nycdaug Chapter 287 Going to the North Again
Chapter 287 Going to the North Again
"Of course I recognize it." Zong Yanguanghe said in surprise, "If you can't read, how can you learn to deploy troops? My father left behind many handwritten military reports, and I have read them all."
He Honglang's eyes widened when he heard this. He suddenly felt that being an emperor was not that great. The food in his mouth no longer tasted good.
Looking up, he saw Zong Yanguanghe stuffing food into his mouth without being picky and eating very quickly. He Honglang immediately became anxious. Could it be that he couldn't even eat as well as Zong Yanguanghe?
He picked up his bowl and ate heartily. Others were happy to see the two young boys getting along so harmoniously.
After breakfast, Zong Yanli took He Honglang to inspect the camp to learn what each camp and tent were doing. Zong Yanguanghe followed them and learned as well, looking at the military deployment and the rotation of soldiers.
They went to the stable again in the afternoon, and He Honglang finally saw Zong Yanli's warhorse. He was excited for a long time.
The next two days were like this, until the third day when the military battle began. The generals in each camp had made preparations early. Zong Yanli invited Empress Dowager Gao and the Emperor to the spectator seats, and the two main generals Wang Yi and Yu Jinghui served as referees.
The battle site was set up outside the city, in an extremely wide area, so that the battle could be carried out to the best of its ability.
Zong Yanli was explaining the rules of the battle to Empress Dowager Gao and He Honglang, while Long Feiguang was also explaining to Monk Chi and others. Then Zong Yanli stood up and said a few words, and then asked the Emperor to speak to cheer for the soldiers.
It was the first time that He Honglang had given such encouragement. After all, as the king of a country, how could he be afraid of such a scene?
"Draw lots to be opponents." Gao Jiayue looked at the two parties who came up below to draw lots and then went down to prepare for battle. He watched the sound of drums ring out. The battle situation that he thought was frightening in the past, but now as he watched such a magnificent and huge army march out, Gao Jiayue's smile became even wider.
She was very glad that she had made the right bet. Every step she took was so dangerous, yet so correct.
Gao Jiayue turned her eyes slightly to look at Zong Yanli who was sitting next to her, with a hint of smile in her eyes. So many years have passed, and perhaps she did have unspeakable feelings for him in the past, but Gao Jiayue also knew clearly that the most solid relationship is not maintained by that kind of affection.
The most stable relationship is one where interests are aligned.
She would not be foolish enough to destroy the current relationship. Now that Daqian was determined, it was inevitable that some people would talk to her. Zong Yanli had too many troops, and the Zong Yan clan was growing larger and larger, which might threaten the royal family...
If she could be provoked so easily, how could she have been so brave as to commit regicide?
Ha ha.
Gao Jiayue suppressed the coldness in her eyes. She was willing to let Zong Yanli serve as the emperor's teacher in the court, so she would never do such a thing as abandoning him after he had done his job. Moreover...
Gao Jiayue raised her eyes slightly and looked at Zong Yanguanghe. He Honglang was huddled together with Zong Yanguanghe. However, after spending a few days together, the two teenagers seemed to have endless things to talk about.
"Is this military formation powerful?" He Honglang asked excitedly.
"Average." Zong Yanguanghe was also racking his brains to recall what he had learned, fearing that he would not be able to express it and embarrass his father.
The battle below lists the military formations, showing them various situations of charging and breaking through the formation. The final victory comes when the opponent's military formation is broken through and the enemy is no longer able to fight.
The generals of both sides sat on the platforms on the left and right to command the battle, and standing beside them were naturally their counselors.
He Honglang felt his blood boiling as he watched the battle below.
"It seems that the training these days has been effective." Zong Yanli saw Lu Hao being defeated first. His opponent was Jie Hu, and it was only a narrow victory.
Since we have to decide the winner, it doesn’t matter if you lose, there is still the loser group competition.
There are eight teams in total, and you can fight by lining up yourself in order.
Such a competition lasted for five days. Almost every general's command was remarkable. The military formations they used were sometimes risky and sometimes steady. The soldiers under his command had been trained very well during this period, and they came to the final day to decide the victory.
Gao Jiayue took out a precious sword and a silver helmet as gifts, which made the soldiers even more excited.
Five days later, the winner was decided and Sang Caijie came in last. Most of his soldiers were used for scouts, spies, or roaming around the city to gather information, so they were unable to cope with this kind of charging battle.
Having said that, he still put in a pretty good performance. The bad thing was that he was defeated against Sha Haoqian.
Sha Haoqian originally thought that with his level of experience in fighting like this, he should be at least in the upper middle level, right?
I didn't expect that...
second last.
Sha Haoqian's old face turned red, as if he had just understood that all the soldiers and generals under Zong Yanli were capable. The reason why Daqian could be so invincible was not due to the ability of Zong Yanli alone!
Bai Xiujun won first place as expected, and Panshi, who led the White Eagle Army, won second place, narrowly defeating Monkie!
Monkey was in third place and was so angry that he went crazy, but he still felt refreshed after defeating Fu Jiashi.
"It's really interesting." After watching the battles over the past five days, He Honglang seemed to be very excited. He said excitedly, "I wonder when I can lead the army!"
"If there is a chance in the future." Zong Yanli said with a smile.
"The training results are very good. General, are you ready to send troops to the northern country immediately?" Gao Jiayue raised his eyebrows and looked at Zong Yanli and asked.
"Yes."
Zong Yanli nodded in agreement and prepared to rest for a few days before mobilizing the troops.
Gao Jiayue understood what was going on. During the days she brought He Honglang to the military camp, she saw He Honglang studying hard day and night, and his closeness and respect for Zong Yanli growing day by day. Gao Jiayue was very happy to see this situation, as only in this way could their relationship be better consolidated.
Another five or six days later, Gao Jiayue led the emperor in holding a farewell banquet for the soldiers, who were deeply encouraged.
March twenty-fourth.
Zong Yanli led the army from Shouxi County, then went to the north and headed straight for the northern territory.
On the same day, Gao Jiayue brought the emperor back to Beijing.
The ice and snow in the north were melting. When the flag of Daqian entered the north, the people of the north were no longer confused, curious or contemptuous. Instead, they were visibly panicked and afraid. Everyone could immediately say Zong Yanli's name.
"Your Majesty! The troops of Daqian have entered the country!" In the northern country, the emperor sitting on the high seat in the royal court had a gloomy face. He had spent this New Year's Day in fear and anxiety. Finally, he heard the nightmare news. His face changed drastically, his lips trembled twice, and he couldn't utter a word.
"Has there been any response to the request for help sent to the State of Lu?" the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom asked without hope.
"No, the envoy couldn't even enter the gate of Lu..." The State of Lu can't even protect itself now, so how can it care about the Northern Kingdom?
The Northern Emperor was extremely distressed, and seemed unable to accept the demise of the Northern Kingdom. He slammed the table in anger, stood up and said, "I will lead the army in person!"
Soon after Zong Yanli arrived in the northern territory, he heard the news that the Northern Emperor had led the army in person, and he gathered the country's military forces to resist the foreign enemy.
Outside Taiyi Pass, where Zong Yanli's army was stationed.
Zong Yanli frowned slightly as he looked at the news brought by Sang Caijie. The Emperor of the Northern Kingdom was named Zai Yongnian. He was considered a pretty good emperor in the Northern Kingdom. He became emperor at a young age and has been on the throne for decades.
"How many troops does the Northern Kingdom have this time?" Zong Yanli put down the letter in his hand and looked up to ask.
"The Northern Emperor still has some appeal. A rough estimate is that the Northern Kingdom should have about 50,000 to 60,000 troops this time." Sang Caijie thought for a while and said.
“Well…” Zong Yanli lowered his eyes and said, “Without Yi Tiangan, a capable general, the Northern Kingdom’s military force is just a mob. Even though the Northern Emperor has gathered the military strength, it only takes one strike to break up the morale.”
"Pass the order down, rest the troops and choose another day to fight."
"Yes!"
Zong Yanli was deploying his troops at a leisurely pace, and the governor of Taiyi Pass, Yongnian, also arrived with his troops and was deploying the city defense tightly. The generals of the Northern Kingdom were eager to tell Yongnian how terrifying Zong Yanli was.
This time, Daqian has a force of more than 100,000 troops, which is not enough to deal with the Northern Kingdom.
Zai Yongnian sat upright on the general's seat, listening to the reports from his subordinate generals one after another. His heart sank a little with every word he heard, and his frown remained on his face for a long time.
But none of them sounded as real as when one saw it face to face. When Zai Yongnian heard the siege horn, he went to the city wall of the pass and saw the black mass of enemy troops rushing towards Taiyi Pass, and saw Zong Yanli riding high on his war horse.
At this moment, Zai Yongnian finally felt the impending storm that was about to destroy the city.
With an army of hundreds of thousands attacking the city, why would we need to challenge them again?
"Kill!" With Zong Yanli's order, thousands of soldiers and horses attacked Taiyi Pass fiercely.
"Our general is quite aggressive..." Zhan Haoyue couldn't help but exclaimed as he looked at Zong Yanli who was skillfully rushing out with the army formation.
"It's all because the Northern Kingdom attacked Shouxi County and destroyed Pingnan Camp." Pei Liang said calmly, "If the Northern Kingdom hadn't done this, perhaps the general would have challenged them to surrender."
"Now..." Pei Liang looked at Zong Yanli who was drawing his bow. Three arrows flew towards the city wall, and three enemy soldiers were shot to death.
The Northern Kingdom can only bear the general's wrath.
This siege was fought with absolute patience and momentum, in a wheel-like manner, and lasted for two full days without a break. On the third day, Taiyi Pass was finally breached.
When this news reached Baines' ears, he felt his scalp tingling. He turned around in agitation, cursing inwardly, "Zong Yanli is simply not a human! The King of the Northern Kingdom personally led the battle, and with such high morale, he was able to break through so easily?"
No matter what, the Northern Kingdom is still a country. How could it be so vulnerable in front of Zong Yanli?
"Zai Yongnian was wounded and retreated to the entire ancient city." Kan Shi sat at the bottom, frowning slightly and said, "With Zong Yanli's offensive, he will be able to enter the heart of the Northern Kingdom and capture the royal court within half a year."
"Alas..." Baines sighed, feeling somewhat powerless.
Zai Yongnian on the other side didn't expect that he would end up in such a situation when he fought against Zong Yanli for the first time.
Taiyi Pass was lost unexpectedly and Zai Yongnian was also injured. He was now lying on the bed with a pale face. His injury was not serious but it was as if he had been slapped hard in the face. With Zong Yanli's attack like this, how could he defend it?
On the wall of Taiyi Pass, Zong Yanli curled her lips as she looked at the flag of Daqian, then turned around and looked at the vast northern land. She knew that everything would be soon.
"General." Long Feiguang, Meng Qi and others climbed up the city wall, bowed slightly to Zong Yanli and said, "Everything has been counted."
"Okay." Zong Yanli raised his eyes and said, "Send a batch of military supplies to Wuhuan."
"Give my regards to my brother-in-law for me." Zong Yanli said calmly with a smile.
Long Feiguang leaned forward to respond, and Meng Qi beside him hesitated to speak: "General, aren't you worried that Wuhuan will become stronger after annexing Qi, and that you will raise a tiger to cause trouble and then bite back?"
Zong Yanli turned his head and looked into the distance, with a bit of ruthlessness and determination in his eyes, he said: "I can not only break his palm, but also chop off his head."
"Saya is a smart person." Zong Yanli put his hand on the handle of the long sword at his waist and rubbed it gently, saying, "I hope she is a smart person."
"General, that's right." Monkey nodded silently in response.
"General." Pei Liang stepped forward and said, "That being said, I still want to give you some advice."
"It is not a good thing for Wuhuan to take over Qi. Although General Duzhe is sworn brother to you, there may be villains who will instigate..." Pei Liang lowered his eyes and said, "General, you trust Princess Sai Ya, but don't forget that the king of Wuhuan is Duzhe now."
Zong Yanli glanced at Pei Liang, and Pei Liang said patiently: "As power expands, desires will also increase..."
Zong Yanli had witnessed Duzhe's unwavering feelings for Saiya and had seen the difficulties faced by the Wuhuan. After getting along with Duzhe, he thought he had understood him well. However, as Pei Liang said, human hearts are fickle and nothing is constant.
"What does this mean?" Zong Yanli paused for a long time before asking.
"We must be on guard against others. General, why don't you let General Sang go and monitor it personally?" Pei Liang thought for a moment and said, "General Sang is the most alert. The combat effectiveness of his soldiers is average. If there is any unusual movement, he can report it immediately."
"Tell the Wuhuan that you are sending more troops to help them. If the Wuhuan have no second thoughts, you can also gain a good reputation by doing this. Why not do it?"
Zong Yanli thought about Pei Liang's words and nodded. He felt that there was nothing wrong with doing so, so he nodded and said, "Let's do as you say."
That same day, Zong Yanli summoned Sang Caijie, gave him some serious instructions, and then let Sang Caijie take his troops and escort the military supplies to the battle between Wuhuan and Qi.
After Zong Yanli occupied Taiyi Pass, he did not stop his attack. Instead, after a short rest, he sent troops towards the entire ancient city again. Zai Yongnian did not even have time to recuperate and had to fight again.
But this time Zong Yanli did not attack fiercely, but slowed down.
"When we attacked Taiyi Pass, we launched a fierce attack to damage the enemy's morale and inspire our soldiers. Now that our goal has been achieved, why should we make such a fearless sacrifice and launch another strong attack?" Zong Yanli sat upright in the tent and said to Zong Yanguanghe calmly, "The Northern Kingdom is already in our pocket. There is no need to rush. Reducing our casualties is the way to be a general."