Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1595 - 1590: Attack and Defense Transposed
Sima Ping forcefully pulled the reins to stop his startled warhorse, drew his sword, and shouted, "It’s an ambush! Protect the supplies! Don’t enter the valley! Retreat! Fall back!"
If they were ordinary soldiers, they might have panicked at this moment. But coincidentally, this time it was the Bai family army escorting the supplies.
The Bai family army had survived in dire situations countless times, and ambushes during battles between armies were common. After the initial moment of panic upon discovering the ambush, they quickly reacted. Not only were they not driven into the valley by the ambushing enemy forces, but some brave ones had already charged up the hillside with a murderous intent.
However, the soldiers escorting the supplies were far fewer than the ambushers from the Jian Army. In the short term, they managed to fight fiercely, but as time went on, the physical stamina of the Zhou soldiers became visibly inadequate.
Even Sima Ping’s warhorse was pierced in the abdomen by the enemy’s spear, causing him to fall from the horse and engage in a bloody fight with the enemy. His entire arm was already sore and trembling from the killing, his eyes sprayed with thick, hot blood, seemingly glued shut.
The Crown Prince of Jian saw the situation, realizing that the Zhou army had been forced to the entrance but refused to enter, still resisting, and even showing a fierce determination to fight their way out, he didn’t send anyone to report.
The Crown Prince of Jian originally wanted the archers to shoot arrows, but since their Jian Army was mingled with the Zhou Army, unleashing a shower of arrows would result in losses on both sides. With the Jian Army having more numbers, more of them would die, which was not cost-effective.
With this in mind, the Crown Prince of Jian gave an order, directing all the soldiers to swarm down, determined to scare the Zhou army into seeking reinforcements.
Seeing more and more Jian soldiers leaping down from a high place, nearly encircling the Zhou soldiers escorting the supplies, a piercing bone whistle sound came from somewhere.
The whistle, incredibly penetrating, pierced through the sounds of slaughter and reached Sima Ping’s ears.
Sima Ping, drenched in blood, twitched his ears and shouted loudly, "Fight a bloody path, charge towards our camp! Kill!"
As soon as Sima Ping finished speaking, the Bai family soldiers immediately adjusted and charged into the valley...
The Crown Prince of Jian heard that these people were trying to fight their way back to the camp, how could he let his bait escape? Seeing the Zhou army already at their last stand, he brandished his bloodied longsword, pointed towards Sima Ping’s direction, and shouted, "Whoever captures the enemy general’s head will be rewarded a hundred!"
The Bai family soldiers protected Sima Ping as they fought their way through a blood path and dashed into the valley, looking disheveled, killing and retreating simultaneously. The Crown Prince of Jian led the Jian Army, attacking while pursuing, and upon looking up, saw the Zhou army being forced into the valley. With most of the Jian Army following, the Crown Prince of Jian shouted, "Archers, ascend the heights!"
Just as the Crown Prince of Jian’s words fell, two sides of the high slope suddenly revealed a black banner with a white python emblem.
The Crown Prince of Jian widened his eyes, his heart sinking; this was... the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
He watched as a silver-armored woman rode on a high horse, pointing her long lance into the valley: "Fire at will!"
Breathing heavily, holding his longsword, Sima Ping looked up only to see Bai Jinzhi’s silver armor gleaming, her red cape fluttering like the black banner with the white python emblem.
This time... it was Bai Jinzhi who came to his rescue.
"Retreat! Retreat! Exit the valley!" the Crown Prince of Jian yelled, then turned to the deputy general beside him, "Quickly, send someone to inform my father! Hurry!"
As the arrows whistled down and deeply embedded into the ground, screams erupted all around.
"Aim well! Don’t shoot our own brothers! Take no prisoners with the enemy, shoot to kill!" Bai Jinzhi shouted loudly.
The section led by the Crown Prince of Jian suffered heavy losses as they withdrew from the valley, but before they could flee, they were surrounded by the Zhou army.
The offensive and defensive roles were reversed...
Just a moment ago, their Jian Army had all the advantages, encircling the Zhou Army, slaughtering at will.
Now, their Jian Army became the trapped beasts, encircled by the Zhou Army, ripe for slaughter.
"Crown Prince of Jian, the Jian King who set an ambush ten miles ahead has been captured alive and surrendered, does the Crown Prince still intend to resist to the death?"
Hearing Bai Jinzhi’s voice, the Crown Prince of Jian widened his eyes, how could it be?
Could it be that there was a traitor within their Jian Army? How would the Zhou know his father set an ambush ten miles ahead?
The Crown Prince of Jian gritted his teeth, refusing to believe his father would surrender, or that his father would be discovered. He was laying in ambush here, not far from his father’s ambush site. If there had been any movement from his father’s side, someone should have reported it long ago!
Since he hadn’t received any orders to retreat or provide reinforcements from his father, it must be that Zhou’s Gaoyi King was trying to deceive him. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Seeing the Crown Prince of Jian ready to fight to the death, Bai Jinzhi had someone throw the blood-coated sword of the Jian King to the Crown Prince of Jian. The Crown Prince of Jian looked up incredulously at the woman, riding valiantly on a high horse outside the encirclement.
This was not because Bai Qingyu was foresighted or could calculate, but because there were only two suitable ambush sites on that route, which Bai Qingyu had someone watching early on.
Their initial intention was to find out where the Jian King would set the ambush; who knew, they discovered the Jian King had set ambushes at two places.
If Bai Qingyu still couldn’t guess the Jian King’s intentions after that, then it would be a waste of the years of teaching from his grandfather, father, and elder sister.
In the third year of Yuanhe, on March 23, the Vassal King of Yan, Jian King, ambushed the Zhou’s supply convoy but was defeated by the Zhou army, suffering a devastating loss, with the Jian King heavily wounded and dying from his injuries.
·
On March 24, in the third year of Yuanhe.
At the Dengfeng Military Camp, Bai Qingyan and Bai Qingjue stood with hands behind their backs in front of the commanding tent, looking down at the family members of the King of Huangshan kneeling at the wooden steps below.
The Crown Prince of Huangshan didn’t know what was happening; their departure today was a last-minute decision by his father. How did they get surrounded by the Zhou army, with not even one messenger managing to escape?
On both sides of the commanding tent, tall braziers flickered, tongues of fire dancing chaotically with the wind.
The Crown Prince of Huangshan noticed the shadow of Bai Qingyan, cast long and swaying by the bright campfire inside the tent, waver left and right. Boldly, he slightly raised his head, and the erratic firelight illuminated the slender and upright figure of the Zhou Emperor before him with fluctuations of light and shadow.
"Are you the Crown Prince of Huangshan?"
Upon hearing Bai Qingjue’s inquiry, the Crown Prince of Huangshan lifted his gaze to the waist of the Zhou Emperor and couldn’t muster the courage to look further up, heavily lowering his head and bowing: "Yes, Your Majesty, Your Highness, I am! Yan Kingdom has already decided to submit to Zhou. My father is currently coordinating military affairs with the General sent by His Majesty."
"Then, why did the Crown Prince lead the Princess, Crown Princess Consort, and several young lords out of the city at this time?" Bai Qingyan asked.
The Crown Prince of Huangshan quickly adopted a respectful demeanor, bowing again to Bai Qingyan before speaking: "Your Majesty, my mother has been unwell. All matters of military coordination were being handled within the prince’s residence at my father’s orders. Unable to bear the distress, as well as being overwhelmed by the loss of our nation, she did not wish to stay in the residence. I pleaded with my father to allow me to take my mother, younger siblings, and sisters to our maternal grandparents’ home."
