Crowned Consort in Golden Age-Chapter 302 - 300. Biancheng City Falls
300. The Fall of Biancheng City
「Biancheng City」
The Mo Family Army outside Biancheng City and the Xiling Army stationed within the city engaged in nearly formulaic daily duels. The commanders of the Mo Family Army were all young men under thirty, and no matter how hard they tried, they struggled to make any dent in Long Yang’s defenses. However, amidst these relentless daily attacks, Long Yang gradually sensed a hint of conspiracy. Yet, he couldn’t figure out what the Mo Family Army was up to.
"Grand General, the Mo Family Army is taunting us again outside the city," Lei Tengfeng strode in, his voice deep as he spoke to Long Yang, who was deep in thought behind a desk. Although there had been no clear victory or defeat against the Mo Family Army these past few days, he was still satisfied with the current state of affairs. He wasn’t a rash man and didn’t expect to defeat Prince Ding’s Mansion and the Mo Family Army himself. If he could just delay until his father and reinforcements arrived from various regions, he would have already won.
Long Yang frowned, saying, "We can ignore them for now!"
Lei Tengfeng furrowed his brow, "I’m afraid that’s not possible. This time, it seems a bit different from before."
Long Yang stood up, saying, "I’ll take a look."
As he climbed to the top of the city wall and looked down, indeed, it was quite different from the previous few days. Even though Mo Xiuyao and other Chief Generals hadn’t shown up, the morale and formation of the Mo Family Army had grown considerably stronger compared to previous days. Yun Ting was still at the front of the formation. They, the young commanders, had been under considerable pressure these past few days. Regardless of their efforts to arrange their troops and launch both overt and covert attacks, Long Yang was able to effortlessly counter their strategies. If it weren’t for the gravity of war, they would almost think that Long Yang was merely playing games with them.
The repeated failures had dampened the young commanders’ initial arrogance. They started to tread more carefully in each battle, no longer daring to hope they could breach Biancheng City, but simply aiming to distract Long Yang and occasionally cause him some trouble. The young commanders also realized that the Prince and the Princess Consort could not possibly entrust the entire Mo Family Army to inexperienced youngsters like them; this arrangement must mean the Prince and Princess Consort had some other plan in secret. Since the Prince didn’t really expect them to capture Biancheng City, their role was to cooperate well with the Prince and the Princess Consort’s plans.
Sure enough, a few days later, they received another order from the Prince and also understood what those accomplished seniors in the army had been up to.
"Long Yang! What kind of skill is it to keep shrinking inside the city? If you have the guts, come out and fight me!" Yun Ting shouted loudly.
Long Yang, looking down from the city wall, laughed, "Young man, if you have the guts, come up here and speak to me. I’m waiting for you."
Yun Ting sneered, "I’ll come up then, do you think I fear you? Haha... Grand General Long, do you want to know how your Grand General Zhu is doing?"
A chill ran through Long Yang’s heart as he squinted at Yun Ting. "What are you getting at?"
Yun Ting laughed, "Zhu Yan is dead, and your Jing Kingdom’s Army that’s been hiding in the mountains, all over a hundred thousand of them, have been annihilated. Did you think by hiding in the city all day that our Prince would be at a loss? Or did you genuinely think that the Mo Family Army had run out of men, that we few were merely here to keep you company, that after dealing with Zhu Yan and the Jing Kingdom’s Army, the Prince would naturally come back to meet the mighty General Heaven, you?"
Zhu Yan is dead?!
The news not only shocked Long Yang and Lei Tengfeng by his side but also the Xiling Army generals guarding the city. Despite the suppression by the Southern Garrison Prince over the past two decades, the renown of the three great generals of Xiling was still well remembered among the soldiers. Biancheng City had been under siege for only a few days, and over a hundred thousand troops of the Jing Kingdom’s Army had been annihilated, with General Jingtian dying on the battlefield. How could this news not stun the soldiers of Xiling?
As a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, Long Yang suppressed his astonishment and sneered, "You spin a fine tale. Why don’t you just come up here and let me see?"
Unlike previous days, Yun Ting didn’t get flustered by Long Yang’s provocation, instead smiling as he waved his war flag. The drums behind the Mo Family Army lines thundered, signaling the soldiers to move into formation, apparently preparing for a siege. With one glance, Long Yang understood why Lei Tengfeng said today was different from previous days. The grandeur of this formation was something these young commanders couldn’t have designed on their own. It was clear the Mo Family Army had no more patience for this standoff. Simultaneously, Long Yang realized that what the young Mo Family Army commander said was possibly not a bluff, and that the over a hundred thousand hidden elite troops and Zhu Yan were indeed gone.
With a somewhat helpless sigh, Long Yang ordered them to defend the city to the death and not venture out.
"Grand General, is Grand General Zhu..." Lei Tengfeng asked with worry.
Long Yang replied indifferently, "It’s likely bad news."
"Then we..." Lei Tengfeng asked.
Long Yang gave him a glance and shook his head, "We can’t venture out of the city for battle anymore. We must hold our ground and wait for reinforcements."
"Yes, sir," Lei Tengfeng responded quietly.
Below the city wall, Yun Ting, seeing the soldiers of Xiling refuse to leave the city gates and fight, could not help but jump up and down in frustration. Chen Yun helplessly pulled him aside and said, "Indeed, just as the Prince predicted, they won’t come out to engage in close combat with us."
Yun Ting angrily replied, "I don’t believe he can hide in the city forever! He calls himself the Killing God of the Western Region; a cowardly turtle hiding in its shell is more like it!"
Chen Yun laughed, "He doesn’t need to hide in the city forever; he only needs to defend for a month or two. When reinforcements from Xiling arrive, we’ll be the ones in trouble."
Yun Ting grew impatient and declared, "This general refuses to believe there’s no way to make him come out! Men, attack!"
In front of Biancheng City was a moat. The channel was quite wide, and crossing it required either the enemy to lower the drawbridge or for them to devise their own means. Over the past few days, the young commanders hadn’t wasted all their time merely shouting insults. They had already ordered the skilled craftsmen in the Mo Family Army to build more than ten long ladders. By laying these across the water and covering them with wooden planks, they could cross. Chen Yun watched as the soldiers ahead braved the enemy’s arrow rain to lay the bridge planks. Many had already fallen under the chaotic shower of arrows, and he couldn’t help but grit his teeth. To conquer a city like Biancheng, so easy to defend and hard to attack, it was impossible to breach without paying a certain price in casualties. Fortunately, despite the arrow rain, the bridge was finally laid. The archery skills of the Mo Family Army were not for show. Even shooting upwards, many Xiling soldiers fell from the battlements.
Most of the Mo Family Army crossed the moat; some began to climb towards the towering city walls using the ladders. Others shot arrows upwards at the city wall from below, and the water in the moat gradually became tinged with red.
Behind the Mo Family Army, Mo Xiuyao appeared on the battlefield with a group of people. They didn’t participate in the fight but stood at a distance, watching calmly. After a long while, Mo Xiuyao chuckled, "Yun Ting and the others look pretty good." To be able to hold on despite more losses than wins recently, and even keep the Mo Family Army’s morale from flagging, was quite remarkable for these young commanders who hadn’t truly experienced many battlefields.
By his side, Zhuo Jing chuckled, "Aren’t the Prince and the Princess Consort also very confident in them?"
Mo Xiuyao nodded, looked up at the distant city wall, and said in a deep voice, "Prepare to assault the city!"
"Yes, sir!"
Under a vast, cloudless sky, a somewhat low, hoarse sound suddenly echoed, and soon brilliant fireworks blossomed in the air.
Some Xiling soldiers defending the city were stunned to notice that from somewhere outside the city, ropes appeared suspended in the air from several directions. Dark figures swiftly slid down these lines towards the city. Naturally, Long Yang also noticed this, his eyes narrowing slightly as he barked, "Shoot!" Numerous arrows were fired at the figures sliding on the ropes. But even faster, groups of black-clad men appeared within the city, ruthlessly firing their arrows at the city’s defenders. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
What’s going on?! Where did these people come from?! Dark figures in Mo Family Army attire appeared continuously throughout the city. These soldiers were clearly more robust and agile than the regular Mo Family Army. In groups of ten to twenty, they inflicted severe losses on the Xiling defenders wherever they went. At the same time, they had to deal with the Mo Family Army attacking with full force outside the city; the Xiling defenders were caught off guard and thrown into disarray.
At the top of the city walls, the faces of Long Yang and Lei Tengfeng were ashen. "Grand General..."
Long Yang gritted his teeth and barked, "Bring all the Great Chu people and people from the Northwest in the city to the top of the city walls!"
"Grand General!" Lei Tengfeng’s face changed at Long Yang’s words. Of course, he knew what Long Yang intended. In fact, such acts were not uncommon in warfare between kingdoms. But he highly doubted how effective this would be. Biting his lip, Lei Tengfeng nevertheless turned and left. Although a number of mysterious Mo Family Army soldiers had appeared throughout the city, hundreds of thousands of Xiling defenders were still present in Biancheng City. This small number of Mo Family Army soldiers could hardly affect the overall situation. Within an hour, the Xiling soldiers had rounded up all the people from Great Chu in Biancheng City and taken them to the city wall.
Biancheng City is the second-largest city in Xiling, just as prosperous as the imperial city of Xiling. There are many people from various countries living here. People from Great Chu were the most numerous, and among them were many civilians from the Northwest, subjects of the Mo Family Army. These people were taken to the city wall and used as shields on the city wall’s crenellations. If the Mo Family Army wished to ascend the wall, they would have to go through them first, and if they wanted to shoot arrows, they would have to kill these people first. Most of these people were simply ordinary civilians, already terrified by the sudden outbreak of war. Now being hauled atop the city wall to block the arrows of the Mo Family Army, many were so horrified they began to howl and cry in terror.
"Long Yang, you shameless old bastard!" Seeing this, Yun Ting could no longer contain himself and cursed loudly again. Chen Yun and the others nearby also wore grim expressions. Never mind that these civilians were from Great Chu and the Northwest, using ordinary people as arrow fodder was an act that any self-respecting commander would find shameful.
"What now?"
"How would I know? Go inform the Prince!" Chen Yun said. After all, they weren’t made of stone. On the battlefield, it was their duty for soldiers of opposing armies to fight to the death. But to shoot and kill these defenseless ordinary people was a decision they found very hard to make.
In fact, they didn’t need to inform him because Mo Xiuyao, who had always been behind the Mo Family Army, naturally had seen this. Standing by his side, Zhuo Jing frowned, "Prince, how should we proceed?" They hadn’t expected Long Yang to resort to such a tactic. However, considering Long Yang was once known as the Killing God of the Western Region, where he had killed countless civilians, such an act, while unexpected, was also within reason.
Mo Xiuyao stood up, gazing at the distant city wall, "He wants to delay us first, to purge the Qilin within the city." The defenses of Biancheng City were excellent. Even after so many days of effort, fewer than a thousand Mo Family Army soldiers had managed to enter. Against several hundred thousand Xiling defenders, they had no chance of victory. Long Yang didn’t want to be attacked from front and rear, so he first had to eliminate these enemy troops who had entered the city and find out how they got in. All this would take time.
"Let’s go check it out."
The attack on the city by the Mo Family Army was temporarily halted due to the civilians on the city wall. However, neither side let down their guard. Suddenly, a path was cleared within the black encampment of the Mo Family Army, and a man in white, with white hair, calmly strode out from the army, followed by a few guards and generals. Mo Xiuyao raised his hand, glanced at the civilians who had been pushed to the front on the city wall, and said, "General Heaven of Xiling, I’ve long heard of your name."
Long Yang appeared on the city wall, looking down at the man in white standing at a distance below the city wall, nodding, "Prince Ding, Mo Xiuyao? A pleasure."
At these words, the weeping civilians on the city wall were stunned. They turned their eyes towards the man in white below the city. Some were so excited they began to call for his help, "Prince Ding has arrived! Prince Ding has arrived... Your Highness, save us..." Once one person started yelling, more people began to cry out. Instantly, the top of the city wall was filled with the sounds of wailing.
"How would you wish to proceed, General Heaven?" Mo Xiuyao asked calmly. His voice wasn’t loud and without a trace of anger, but it strangely resonated across the entire battlefield amidst the crying. Long Yang gave him a deep look and said, "As a commander, I feel terribly ashamed to have resorted to such measures. However... I request Your Highness to order the retreat of your troops by thirty li."
"And if this Prince refuses?" Mo Xiuyao asked.
Long Yang smiled indifferently, and with a wave of his hand, the head of the man closest to him was instantly severed and fell from the city wall. Blood gushed out immediately. The sight sent the surrounding civilians into another round of terrified screams.
Mo Xiuyao was quiet for a moment before finally raising his head to say calmly, "Once Biancheng City falls, this Prince will have you dismembered into ten thousand pieces."
Long Yang laughed nonchalantly and replied, "If Biancheng City falls, then this old man’s life will be over. Since it’s death either way, what difference does it make how one dies? What’s Your Highness’s answer?"
Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow, smiled, and said somberly, "This Prince’s answer is..."
WHOOSH! Mo Xiuyao turned around, took a bow and arrow from a soldier beside him. He drew the bow, nocked the arrow, and released it, completing the whole set of actions almost instantaneously. Everyone watched in shock as the arrow, with a silver glow, pierced the sky and embedded itself into the chest of a young man on the city wall. Mo Xiuyao threw the bow and arrow back and ordered, "Assault the city!"
Once the order was given, the battle cries rose once more. The first to suffer were the innocent civilians on the city wall. Amidst the clamor of battle cries and sobs, Mo Xiuyao indifferently turned away, leaving behind only a silhouette as cold as snow and a deep chilling voice, "Long Yang, this Prince wants all the people of your city to be buried with you!"
The fierce siege continued unceasingly, and it was clear to both sides that this was no longer the minor skirmishing of the past few days. It would not stop unless one side was defeated and the other victorious. Perhaps motivated by the stimulus of those hundreds of innocent Great Chu civilians on the city wall just moments ago, the soldiers of the Mo Family Army attacked with even more valor and ferocity. After several hours, Biancheng City’s defense finally began to show signs of collapse.
Within the city, Long Yang sat in an empty room, lost in thought, his expression bleak. He knew Zhu Yan was dead. Soon, Biancheng City would also fall. To be able to fight on the battlefield again in his old age was perhaps his good fortune. However, such an inexplicable and disastrous defeat left him unable to face it. He had made a grave mistake; he had heard Mo Xiuyao’s parting words clearly. A city full of people buried with him... Mo Xiuyao wanted to massacre the city! Long Yang did not doubt Mo Xiuyao’s words. He himself had done such things in his youth; otherwise, he wouldn’t have earned the title ’Killing God of the Western Region.’ In fact, in his younger days, he might not have thought Mo Xiuyao’s desire to massacre the city was a big deal. But now... he was old, after all. There were still hundreds of thousands of civilians in Biancheng City. If Mo Xiuyao truly massacred the city...
"Grand General!" The soldier outside the door rushed to report in a hurry.
Long Yang opened his eyes and calmly asked, "What happened?"
The soldier said, "The eastern city is about to fall, please order a retreat soon, Grand General."
"Retreat?" Long Yang frowned and asked, "Who said we’re retreating?" Perhaps Long Yang’s tone was too sharp; the soldier carefully reported, "It was the Heir of the Southern Garrison Prince. He said Biancheng City cannot be held and we should retreat to Rong City and try to stop the Mo Family Army’s advance there."
Long Yang shook his head and chuckled bitterly, "If we can’t even hold off the Mo Family Army in Biancheng City, how could Rong City’s flimsy walls possibly stop them? Foolish! The entire army is to remain and engage the Mo Family Army in street fighting. Perhaps we can still take down half of their troops." Street fighting often meant trading lives, with little regard for tactics or strategy. Moreover, they could seize the initiative within the city. The capability gap between the Mo Family Army and the Xiling Army wasn’t that significant; at least, Long Yang was confident that two Xiling soldiers could definitely handle one Mo Family Army soldier. This way, they could at least eliminate half of the Mo Family Army’s forces in Biancheng City, giving the defenders further back a chance to slow the Mo Family Army’s advance.
The soldier hesitated and glanced at Long Yang, "But... The Heir of the Southern Garrison Prince has already prepared his forces for retreat."
"What?!" Long Yang abruptly stood up. The soldier quickly said, "The Heir of the Southern Garrison Prince said that if the Mo Family Army breaches the city, it’ll be too late. He’s already leading the remaining over one hundred thousand soldiers to retreat from the West Gate."
Long Yang quickly headed out the door, commenting along the way, "Idiot! There are still tens of thousands of Mo Family Army troops garrisoned in the small towns ahead. Where does he plan to retreat to?"
By the time Long Yang arrived at the West Gate, all he could see were the distant dust and retreating hooves of the Xiling Army. Lei Tengfeng had taken Xiling Army’s most elite and intact contingent of over one hundred thousand troops. Once they retreated, the defenses that were once solid suddenly had several gaps, and the Mo Family Army poured into the city like a tide. At the West Gate, a fatigued Long Yang briefly closed his eyes and sighed softly, "Zhu Yan... we’re both finished..."
Although Lei Tengfeng had taken away the majority of the troops, the Xiling soldiers were not mere decorations. By the time the Mo Family Army had truly and completely captured all of Biancheng City, it was already noon the next day. After a full day and night of fighting, the soldiers of the famously brave and battle-hardened Mo Family Army were also thoroughly exhausted. With bloodshot eyes and weary bodies, when the resisting Xiling defenders in the city were finally completely cleared out, the soldiers erupted in cheers. Many simply sat down by the roadside or under the eaves of houses and fell asleep.
「At noon, under the bright sunlight, Mo Xiuyao and his entourage finally stepped into Biancheng City.」
The bodies of soldiers from both armies lay strewn across the streets, not yet cleared away. Many soldiers were asleep sitting by the roadsides. Mo Xiuyao waved his hand to stop those beside him who were about to announce his arrival. Stepping over corpse after corpse, he walked forward and asked in a low voice, "Where is Long Yang?"
Zhuo Jing softly replied, "Long Yang is in an empty house in the western district of the city. There are people guarding him there. Also... Long Yang let many civilians escape from the city. Perhaps due to Mo Xiuyao’s comment about wanting the entire city’s populace to be buried with him, Long Yang opened the West Gate as night fell yesterday and let many civilians out of the city. The Mo Family Army’s discipline was strict. Even though Mo Xiuyao had made such a comment, there had not been an official order to massacre the entire city. Hence, as long as they weren’t obstructed or attacked by ordinary civilians during combat, the soldiers would not lay hands on them. About half of the civilians managed to escape last night."
Mo Xiuyao shook his head indifferently, "Let’s go see Long Yang. What’s the situation with the Princess Consort?"
Zhuo Jing answered, "Last night, Lei Tengfeng led his men in a retreat. They had a battle with General Zhang to the west. He managed to break through with about twenty to thirty thousand remnants of his forces. The Princess Consort has ordered a temporary halt to the pursuit, allowing the army two days to rest and reorganize in Biancheng City. The Princess Consort should arrive back here soon."
Hearing this, a trace of warmth flickered in Mo Xiuyao’s otherwise grim eyes. "Order the men to clean up the battlefield and let the soldiers rest well. Go bring Long Yang over."
"Yes, Prince."
Zhuo Jing accepted the order and departed, while Mo Xiuyao turned to enter Biancheng City’s Governor’s Mansion. The Governor’s Mansion had already been tidied up by someone, and the battles in the city did not significantly impact this official residence. The civil officials of Biancheng City who hadn’t fled had already been apprehended by the Mo Family Army and were confined here. Upon seeing Mo Xiuyao, their expressions varied: some pleading, some unwavering, some scared, and some hateful. At this point, Mo Xiuyao had no interest in them and waved his hand to have them taken away. He had just sat down to rest for a moment when a guard outside came in to report, "Prince, Long Yang has been brought here."
Mo Xiuyao opened his eyes, a chilling coldness suffusing his eyes, "Let him in."
In a short while, Long Yang walked in slowly. Zhuo Jing was behind him, but he was not being escorted by guards. Long Yang was still dressed in his white, coarse cotton clothes, appearing much older and more fatigued than a few days prior. At first glance, he resembled an ordinary, unremarkable old man from the mountains, showing no trace of the ruthless demeanor he had displayed on the city wall when using innocent civilians as human shields.
Mo Xiuyao gazed at him, saying indifferently, "General Heaven, pleased to meet you."
