Crowned Consort in Golden Age-Chapter 299 - 297. The Power of the Veteran
297. The Prestige of the Old General
The speculation about Mo Xiuyao’s intentions caused both Long Yang and Zhu Yan to worry. After receiving the news from Lei Tengfeng that indeed, a significant number of the Mo Family Army had secretly left, their worry had turned into a harsh reality. Zhu Yan sat silently in his chair for a long time, then sighed, "Good, the Mo Family Army really lives up to its reputation."
Upon seeing the countenances of the two old generals, Lei Tengfeng felt that something had probably gone wrong. He asked worriedly, "Old generals, what has happened?"
Zhu Yan and Long Yang glanced at each other, eventually deciding to explain the whole situation. By this time, there was no point in keeping it a secret. Upon hearing their story, Lei Tengfeng was equally horrified, "General Zhu, you mean... you still have an elite force of over 100,000 soldiers in your hands?"
At this point, he looked at Long Yang in disbelief. The Southern Garrison Prince’s Mansion had kept a cautious eye on Zhu Yan, who resided in Biancheng City, over the last two decades. Zhu Yan never contacted his old troops and led a secluded life in the city. Lei Tengfeng had nearly relaxed his guard completely around him, only to find out Zhu Yan was silently commanding an elite troop of over 100,000 soldiers.
Over 100,000 soldiers might seem insignificant among the nearly 3,000,000, potentially growing, troops in Xiling. However, if used effectively, this force could be terrifying. For example, multiple times over the past two decades, the king visited Biancheng City. If Zhu Yan decided to strike out then... Lei Tengfeng shuddered at the thought and finally understood why his father always kept these old generals in check. Power politics may be chaotic, but those who can change dynasties or usurp the throne are generally warriors. Without military power, all is in vain.
As if he understood what Lei Tengfeng was thinking, Long Yang sneered, "This elite troop was conferred to Zhu Yan by the late emperor. Even the current emperor doesn’t have the right to reclaim it. Why should the Southern Garrison Prince’s Mansion be informed? Besides... this elite force was prepared specifically against Prince Ding’s Mansion."
Lei Tengfeng fell silent. He believed what Long Yang said. However, some issues cannot be solved just by trust. And now was not the time to discuss these matters. "An army of over 100,000 soldiers... can they really oppose the Mo Family Army?"
"Foolish!" Zhu Yan retorted coldly. "The late emperor was wise and intelligent. He understood early on that the Mo Family Army posed the greatest threat to Xiling. He prepared our forces to counter the Mo Family Army from the very beginning. If he hadn’t died suddenly, how would it have gotten to this point... Furthermore, there was Lei Zhenting. When Prince Ding’s Mansion was greatly weakened back then, he squandered the perfect opportunity to eliminate opposition. As the saying goes, ’If you don’t kill the snake, it will bite you.’ Now, the Mo Family Army is at our gates!"
Lei Tengfeng had nothing to say in response. Back when the Mo Family Army had suffered major losses and Mo Xiuyao was severely injured and on the brink of death, pro-royalist factions within the borders of Xiling were most active. To suppress these factions, his father gave up the golden opportunity to attack Great Chu. But then, who really believed that Mo Xiuyao would ever rise again? Even though they were not involved when Mo Xiuyao was severely poisoned and injured, it didn’t mean they knew nothing about it.
"Old general, what should we do now?" With the atmosphere becoming tense, Lei Tengfeng quickly brought the conversation back to the matter at hand.
Zhu Yan sighed, "Old Dragon, you help the heir defend the city. I will go meet the world-renowned Prince Ding myself."
"Zhu Yan..." Long Yang frowned. He was a few years older than Zhu Yan, but Zhu Yan was also no longer young. It was too dangerous for him to go out onto the battlefield himself.
Zhu Yan waved his hand. "Don’t worry, I can still move. You’re right, I can’t just stand by and watch Mo Xiuyao swallow my over 100,000 elite soldiers!"
Long Yang knew this was the best choice, so he sighed, "Alright, just be careful. I will restrain some of the Mo Family Army here in the city."
"Take care!"
"Take care." The two white-haired old men looked at each other, bidding a solemn farewell. As Zhu Yan turned to leave, his slightly trembling and hunched body seemed to straighten up instantaneously. Watching his friend’s receding figure, Long Yang closed his eyes. He turned to Lei Tengfeng and ordered, "Prepare to leave the city and fight!"
「By then, it was already high noon on the third day.」
The Mo Family Army beneath the city walls was continuously hurling abusive words, and the defenders of Xiling on the walls retorted without hesitation. Given that both nations originated from the same place, there were no cultural or customary barriers, making the verbal fights unrestrained. If they had been hurling abuse at Nanzhao or Beirong, probably half of the people wouldn’t have understood a word.
At the front of the army, Yun Ting and Chen Yun stood side by side on horseback, looking towards the far-off watchtower. Yun Ting seemed somewhat agitated. "Didn’t they say Long Yang and Zhu Yan were renowned generals of Xiling? Why are they hiding like turtles, unwilling to come out!"
Chen Yun could only shrug helplessly in response. How was he supposed to know?
"Could it be that they’re trying to delay us till reinforcements from Lei Zhenting arrive?" Chen Yun made a somewhat unsure suggestion.
"Don’t jest. Even if Lei Zhenting rushed, it would take at least a month," Yun Ting retorted. They only had three days, and soon these three days would be up. They hadn’t even touched the edge of Biancheng City’s wall yet. Over these three days, they had tried many strategies such as frontal attacks and sneak attacks. They had to admit, even though reluctantly, that when old generals took action, they were quite formidable. They couldn’t find any breaches in Biancheng City’s defense. This defeat made these young generals’ faces grow more grim day by day. Even now, Yun Ting’s face looked quite pale. In fact, if Yun Ting knew that neither his Prince nor the Princess Consort could find any breaches in Biancheng City’s defense in the short term, he wouldn’t be so depressed.
"Look, it seems like they’re about to come out," Chen Yun pointed at the fluttering flags on the city wall. Obviously, troops were moving rapidly over there.
Yun Ting’s eyes narrowed, a hint of a cold smirk appeared on his young face. "Zhu Yan! Brothers, keep on jeering!"
The soldiers of the Mo Family Army behind him once again loudly cursed Zhu Yan’s ancestors for eight generations and all his relatives.
Long Yang appeared on the city wall with a group of soldiers. Squinting at the young man making a show of strength below the city, he laughed and raised his voice, "Young man, announce your name."
Yun Ting proudly declared, "Yun Ting, Vice General of the Ninth Division of the Falcon Army, Mo Family Army!"
Long Yang was momentarily taken aback. This arrangement was obviously different from the typical military structure, which made it difficult for him to discern Yun Ting’s identity. However, based on Yun Ting’s age, he could guess a thing or two. Such a spirited, daring youth was probably not a Chief General. He amicably looked at Yun Ting and said, "Where is the Chief General of the Mo Family Army? Or is there no one left in the Mo Family Army?"
Yun Ting was displeased and raised his gaze to the old man on the tower. "I am the Chief General! There’s no need for anyone else for a mere Biancheng City. I will show you the power of my Mo Family Army!"
Long Yang was not angered, and with a paternal smile, as if dealing with an ignorant child, he said, "Really? Then let me see what this young general of the Mo Family Army is capable of. Also... I’m not Zhu Yan."
"Long Yang!" Yun Ting uttered wrathfully through gritted teeth.
As expected, experience still counts. Without even officially engaging in battle and only idly exchanging a few words, Yun Ting had already lost the upper hand.
Under the city tower, the tightly shut city gate burst open, and the drawbridge over the moat was lowered. The Xiling soldiers who had been hiding inside the city swarmed out like a tide to attack the Mo Family Army camp. The Mo Family Army soldiers were not the only ones feeling pent-up these few days; those soldiers who had been brought in for reinforcements by Lei Tengfeng felt the same way. Being gruesomely insulted by the enemy but unable to counterattack and massacre them was the greatest disgrace for a soldier. Now that they could finally leave the city, these soldiers were each rushing with bloodshot eyes towards the Mo Family Army soldiers who had been making a show of strength in front of them all these days.
The battle was about to explode. The deafening sounds of war drums and battle cries filled the air outside the city in an instant.
From atop the city tower, Long Yang calmly watched the vicious fight below. Both the Mo Family Army and the Xiling forces had impressive fighting capabilities. Hence, the encounter between these strong forces was naturally intense. Long Yang gave a light laugh as he watched the young white-robed commander below, then lifted his hand to wave the small red flag in his grip.
Guided by the flag, the grey-clad Xiling soldiers rapidly shifted their formation. Those standing atop the city tower could clearly see the entire battlefield. The black ranks of the Mo Family Army were swiftly divided and surrounded by a grey tide, then eliminated one by one. Yun Ting’s response was not slow. He too led his troops with the fastest speed. However, he was always a step slower than Long Yang, and the Xiling forces shifted formations again, like a giant grey dragon wreaking havoc in the ranks of the Mo Family Army.
Although the Mo Family Army soldiers were brave, courage alone could not solve everything on the battlefield. When a single Mo Family Army soldier was faced with three Xiling soldiers, when a small squadron of Mo Family Army soldiers was surrounded by a large Xiling unit, Yun Ting could only watch his soldiers fall one by one in front of him.
He hastily turned around to see an old man in white on the top of the city wall. He was dressed in common clothes, seemingly just an ordinary rustic villager. But the confidence and pride revealed in those aged eyes showed this old man’s extraordinariness. Yun Ting shouldn’t have been able to make out the man’s facial expression from such a distance, but Yun Ting distinctly felt that he was as insignificant as an ant in the man’s eyes.
"Yun Ting! What are you doing? Charge!" Chen Yun kicked Yun Ting, who stood there in a daze. An arrow barely missed the spot where Yun Ting had been standing. With an annoyed look, Chen Yun glared at him. On a battlefield, dazing off equaled courting death!
Only then did Yun Ting come back to his senses. For a moment there, he was so shocked by Long Yang’s aura that he had forgotten he was on a battlefield. Dodging a slash headed towards him, Yun Ting broke into a cold sweat. This was the might of the demon warrior from the Western Region!
The sound of the horn signaling the retreat of the soldiers sounded at the back; the Mo Family Army soldiers no longer wished to fight and broke through the encirclement of Xiling forces. However, the sight of such a retreat was something the Mo Family Army had not experienced in years. On the city tower, watching the receding Mo Family Army, Long Yang also signaled a retreat with the horn.
Lei Tengfeng furrowed his brows and asked, "General, why not pursue and attack while winning?"
Long Yang indifferently remarked, "Today was just a probe. It seems that the Mo Family Army has indeed divided its troops. The Mo Family Army was on the verge of defeat just now, but no one came to their aid. Instead, they blew the horn to retreat."
"So..."
"Don’t rush. Let’s try them again tomorrow," Long Yang said in a low voice.
Having lost the battle, Yun Ting and his dejected party returned to the main camp, intending to apologize to the Prince and the Princess Consort. But they were informed by Zhuo Jing, who was guarding outside the tent, that the Prince and Princess Consort were occupied. All military affairs were temporarily placed in the hands of Chen Yun and Yun Ting. Upon hearing this, Yun Ting nearly collapsed in fear, while Chen Yun also turned pale. It wasn’t that they were being unduly modest; with their abilities and experience, they were barely qualified to command a single army, let alone the entire Mo Family Army camp? The two exchanged nervous glances, both sweating in anxiety. Yun Ting looked to Zhuo Jing for help.
Zhuo Jing shrugged helplessly and patted Yun Ting’s shoulder, saying, "If the Prince has given you such instructions, it means he trusts your abilities. Don’t worry."
"But... but we just lost a battle..." Yun Ting said in shame. He had failed to complete the Prince’s assigned mission and had initially thought he would be punished by military law. However, given the current situation, he would rather face military law!
Zhuo Jing chuckled, "Just now, you only almost lost. Isn’t it true that you didn’t actually lose?" He gave them an encouraging look, then turned and went back into the main tent.
Yun Ting was disheartened. Had Zhuo Jing not ordered a retreat just now, he might have already been killed in battle.
「One hundred miles to the southwest of Biancheng City, a small county town was situated.」
The area of the whole county town was less than one-tenth of that of Biancheng City, but it was just on the official road between the Imperial City of Xiling and Biancheng City. In other words, if the troops from the west wanted to reach Biancheng City as quickly as possible, they would necessarily have to pass through here. Three days ago, following Mo Xiuyao’s orders, Zhang Qilan led 70,000 troops to occupy this small town. Given the primary defensive focus of Xiling was on Biancheng City, this small town was naturally weak in military power. Zhang Qilan had taken this small town with minimal effort.
Once the 70,000 troops had occupied this town, they seemed idle. But Zhang Qilan knew that there was a nearby force of over 100,000 elite soldiers. Even the most elite Qilin forces of the Mo Family Army couldn’t locate their specific location despite being mobilized, yet Zhang Qilan knew they were hidden in the mountains thirty miles away. It wouldn’t be wise for the Mo Family Army to venture into the mountains, so Zhang Qilan waited here. If this force wanted to approach Biancheng City, it would inevitably pass through here. He was in no hurry.
「Not far from the outskirts of the small town, off the official road, a group of Mo Family Army soldiers was chasing a small group of people.」
This group consisted of five people, four men protecting a girl in simple clothing. Despite the men’s proficient skills, they were unable to keep up with the vast number of pursuers, all of whom were competent soldiers of the Mo Family Army. The four men were already heavily wounded but remained desperate to protect the girl in the middle.
"Miss, go! We will cover you! Go to the Capital City... Go to the Capital City and find..." One of the men forcefully pushed the girl onto a narrow path ahead and yelled hoarsely. Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, he was impaled in the stomach and fell to the ground. The remaining three men didn’t have time to look at their companion. One of them grabbed the girl and started to sprint, while the other two stayed behind to fend off the pursuing Mo Family Army soldiers.
The pair ran wildly, but unfortunately, they had not gone far before the girl gasped for breath and fell to the ground. "I can’t go any further... You guys go without me..."
"No! Miss, keep going! You have to get back to the Capital City. Don’t forget... The general wants you to live!" The guard said sternly, dragging the girl into the nearby forest. Shortly after, the footsteps of pursuers sounded behind them. This indicated that the two other guards had most likely been killed.
The two of them hid in the thorny bushes of the forest. The pursuers lost sight of them and searched around for almost an hour, randomly stabbing and slashing at any bushes and grass where people could hide. In the end, they couldn’t find any traces of the two and gradually left, taking the bodies of the dead guards back to collect their reward.
Gradual silence fell over the forest. After a long while, movement came from the roadside bushes as a haggard girl crawled out. She pushed at the man beside her and said, "Wake up! Wake up..." Her delicate hand was covered in blood, which scared her into screaming. It turned out that when the soldiers were searching, the guard had used his body to block the swords that were hacking at the bushes. A long wound on his back kept bleeding, and he had already lost consciousness. The pale-faced girl, looking at the desolate wilderness and the unconscious guard, the only one she could rely on, couldn’t help but start crying.
In her drowsy crying, she faintly saw a figure in moon-white appear before her. Her gaze was blurred as she lifted her head. "Help me..."
The young man in the moon-white clothes silently looked at the unconscious man and girl. His handsome face wrinkled slightly. Checking the man’s wounds, the various scars and a near-fatal wound on the back were enough to show the man had gone through a hard battle. Although the girl was dressed in common clothes, her beautiful face and jade-like hands revealed she was certainly of high birth. Normally, he could have saved them, even the dead guards. But his unique identity meant he had to think carefully before acting, so he had been watching from the shadows, watching the guards die one after another, watching the helpless crying of the girl in the wilderness.
"Young master, what should we do?" a guard who followed behind him asked softly.
The young man was silent for a moment before saying, "I just heard that guard mention a general. Is she the daughter of some garrison commander?"
The guard shook his head. "I don’t know. Presumably, she is the daughter of a general who was defeated by the Mo Family Army."
The young man thought for a moment and said, "Check if they have any tokens on them."
The guard came forward, crouched down, and soon found a waist token on the unconscious guard. Also, he took a purple jade bracelet off the girl’s wrist and respectfully handed it to the handsome man in the moon-white clothes.
The man took it and looked at it with a frown. "This is General Tiger’s guard, Yang Hu. This purple jade bracelet... was a tribute from the Western Region during the late emperor’s reign. The late emperor had presented it to Grandmaster Ling. And General Tiger’s wife is Grandmaster Ling’s daughter."
The guard whispered, "Does this mean she’s the daughter of General Tiger, who defended Licheng City and was killed in action ten days ago? The girl..."
The man pondered for a while before finally saying, "Bring them back."
「In the secluded depths of this mountain, scattered courtyards and houses lay hidden by dense forests and perennial fog, making it nearly impossible for outsiders to detect any sign of habitation.」
In a rudimentary room, the unconscious girl seemed to wake up from a nightmare, sitting up abruptly. She saw a handsome young man not far from her, and in her surprise, she exclaimed, "Oh?! Help..."
"Silence!" the young man commanded in a stern voice.
Frightened, the girl retreated to the farthest corner of the bed, wrapping herself up tightly in her blanket. She asked, "Who... who are you?"
The young man responded gravely, "That’s what I should be asking you. Who are you?"
The girl bit her lower lip and did not answer. She asked, "Where has Ah-Lin gone? Is he... is he still..." She started to shake, as if too afraid to continue her question.
The man calmly replied, "He is still alive, if that’s what you want to know."
At this, the girl seemed to relax. "That’s good, that’s good... Did you save us?" she asked.
The man neither confirmed nor denied. He simply asked again, "Who are you?"
"I...I’m Yang Xianya. My father is General Tiger. My father...my father..." As she spoke, the girl’s eyes began to well up with tears. A crystal tear slid from the corner of her eye as she started to sob.
The man frowned slightly and sighed. "I know. General Tiger died on the battlefield ten days ago. Did his guard escort you out?"
Nodding, the girl, Yang Xianya, bit her lip and muttered, "Before Licheng City was taken, Father had arranged for an escort to take me back to the Capital City. Originally...originally there were twelve of us. But now... only Ah-Lin remains," she trailed off, sobbing.
The man furrowed his brows and reflected for a moment before asking again, "Why is the Mo Family Army relentlessly pursuing you?" Even as the daughter of General Tiger, she wouldn’t be so important to the Mo Family Army. Their continuous and relentless pursuit was indeed unreasonable.
The girl shook her head, confused. "I don’t know. Father only told me to return to the Capital City to find my uncle."
The man stood up. "I understand. Rest well for now. Once your injuries have healed, I will have someone escort you back to the Capital City." With that, he turned and walked out.
"Sir," Yang Xianya said in a low voice, "I still don’t know your name... For this lifesaving grace, once I return to the Capital City, I will surely repay you."
The man hesitated slightly and then said quietly, "Zhu Ling."
As the man stepped out, the guard, who had been waiting outside, immediately approached him. "Master, we’ve confirmed it. After the late Grandmaster Ling’s daughter was married to General Tiger, they only ever had one daughter. General Yang and his wife were extremely fond of her. To say that she was cherished in a thousand ways would not be an exaggeration. The current Master Ling, who is actually Miss Yang’s uncle, also treated her as he would his own child. It is said that Miss Yang, aged seventeen this year, has been engaged to the Eldest Young Master Ling since she was a child. If not for the sudden outbreak of hostilities in the Northwest, General Yang was prepared to take his daughter back to the Capital City to hold her wedding in a few days," the guard reported.
Zhu Ling nodded. "I’ve also asked her. What she said is almost the same as your report."
The guard then asked, "Can we trust what she says?"
Zhu Ling said, "Let’s keep her here for now. My grandfather has some friendly relations with the Ling Family. If she really is the granddaughter of the Ling Family, it wouldn’t be appropriate to ignore her plight. Assign someone to keep a close watch on them."
"Yes, Master," the guard acknowledged.
