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Chapter 200 The First Battle (1)

Dengzhou.

Zhu Wen hadn’t been in a good mood since he bumped into Li Ye in the tea shed. They had fought hand to hand, but he’d lost and fled with his tail between his legs. Besides, Li Ye had killed Wuyazi.

But Zhu Wen did not go around all day looking miserable. No matter what, he had already met Prince An. Zhu Wen lost the fight to Prince An because there were too many experts around Prince An. It actually had little to do with his own strength. In addition, Zhu Wen had had a conversation with Prince An and now knew more about him. So Zhu Wen felt that the battle wasn’t a total loss.

The most significant change brought by this battle was that Zhu Wen no longer rejected the Taoist sect of Zhongnan Mountain like he used to. If Zhu Wen had enough experts around him, he would not have been in danger and he wouldn’t have fled in a hurry.

Zhu Wen was good at self-retrospection. And he had a clear assessment of the situation. He realized that he also needed some experts around him like Li Ye. No matter what, he didn’t want to suffer this loss again. So when the Taoist sect of Zhongnan Mountain sent someone to Dengzhou again, Zhu Wen gave them a warm reception.

The highest ranking elder of Zhongnan Mountain, namely the master of Zhongnan Mountain and Wuyazi’s senior, came. His cultivation had already reached the Spiritual Master Realm.

Zhu Wen was not surprised. Since Huang Chao captured Chang’an, the overall cultivation of the Taoist priests of Zhongnan Mountain had significantly improved. The master of Zhongnan Mountain had already achieved the Spiritual Master Realm. And the other two cultivators who used to get stuck at the Level 9 of Qi-refining had also reached the Spiritual Master Realm.

Indeed, in turbulent days, heroes would come forth in large numbers. When the Luck and Spiritual Qi scattered around the world, a lot of people would benefit from that.

This Taoist priest called himself Wujizi. This title didn’t surprise Zhu Wen at all.

Wujizi brought two competent assistants with him. Both were at Level 9 of Qi-refining. Thus the strength of the team of Zhu Wen’s personal guards was significantly reinforced. He now had the confidence to face Li Ye in a fight. He even thought about killing Li Ye in Xuzhou. But he gave up after second thoughts.

After the lesson learned in the tea shed, all Zhu Wen thought about was regaining his dignity. A real man was not afraid of failure. In addition, one should take revenge as soon as one could. Zhu Wen had been waiting a long time.

But Zhu Wen was a general after all. He was not really interested in fighting with Li Ye face to face. So Zhu Wen pointed his spearhead at the pioneer officers who marched west and launched a military campaign against him.

Zhu Wen gathered 5,000 crack soldiers, asked for a hundred masters of Zhongnan Mountain from Wujizi, and inserted them among the elite cavalry formation. He wanted to teach Li Ye’s pioneers an unforgettable lesson.

After massing the elite cavalrymen at the drill ground, Zhu Wen told Zhu Zhen. “We have just obtained Deng Zhou. We won the battle and obtained the city at the cost of a great number of soldiers. The city wall and moat haven’t been rebuilt, but we are facing an attack from Prince An, so we are under great pressure. We must think of a way to give Prince An a severe blow, so that we can slow down their progress westward, gain some time for us to rebuild the city walls and moat. We want to make them lose their momentum, and boost our own morale.”

When Zhu Zhen was fighting at the Tea Shed, he did not confront Li Ye. When Li Ye and others chased after Zhu Wen, Wuyazi stopped them. It was a lucky escape for Zhu Zhen.

Zhu Zhen knew what Zhu Wen meant. He said, “Don’t worry, general. This time I will not let you down!”

Shangguan Qincheng would attack Zhu Wen with 3,000 cavalrymen. Zhu Wen had already known that. He planned to defeat the pioneer army of elite cavalrymen. That was why he made such an arrangement.

He said, “Although Prince An’s soldiers and horses are well trained and well supplied, they have not experienced any real battle in Pinglu. Without tempering themselves in the blood and fire of wars, they are naturally not our match because we have fought many times in real wars. I will assign you my personal guards, and you must defeat them. Remember, if you can defeat this army of cavalrymen, then we can still have our chance in Dengzhou. If you fail, Prince An’s army of several hundred thousand soldiers will attack us soon. By then, we will have no alternative but to stay in the city and fight against them. So you cannot lose; you must win!”

Zhu Zhen stood upright and said, “Don’t worry, general. If I lose the battle, I will return to you without my head!”

Zhu Wen patted Zhu Zhen on the shoulder and spoke a few more words of encouragement.

Zhu Wen walked on to the general’s platform. He looked around and his eyes settled on his 5,000 soldiers. Those soldiers were equipped with high-quality armors and were war veterans. He felt a great sense of confidence. As an experienced general, he certainly had faith in his soldiers. It was the same with all famous generals. If he did not trust his army, whom else can he trust?

Zhu Wen said with his head high, “All of you have been following me and fighting for me for years. You are my hands and feet, and you are my sharpest swords! The Qi Empire has just been founded. His Majesty is fighting in the Central Plains and is making the Tang Army flee like mice. To further occupy the Central Plains, I came out and occupied Dengzhou! I trust you as much as His Majesty trusts me! There is going to be war between Li Ye and us. I expect you to show his inexperienced soldiers what experienced soldiers are like!”

After he spoke, Zhu Wen unsheathed his sword, held it high and shouted, “Take Li Ye’s life! Enhance Qi Empire’s prestige! Occupy the hinterland of the Central Plains! We will win this war!”

“We will win!”

“We will win!”

“We will win!”

The 5,000 elite soldiers shouted in unison.

Zhu Wen was very satisfied with his soldiers’ response. Their morale was high enough to win the battle. He returned his sword into the sheath and nodded at Zhu Zhen. Zhu Zhen cupped his fists towards Zhu Wen, then mounted his horse and led the army out of the camp.

After the 5,000 soldiers left, Zhu Wen remained standing motionless on the general’s platform. Soon, Wujizi came and stood behind him. Smiling, he said, “Your troops are really well picked. After I exited the pass, I used to visit Guanzhong. Even His Majesty’s trusted army is not as good as yours.”

In the past, Zhu Wen would not have looked back and would only have given him a perfunctory reply. But this time, he turned around and saluted him. With a smile, he said, “Thank you for the compliment, but my soldiers are, of course, inferior to His Majesty’s.”

Wujizi still smiled, but he ended the conversation. Dust was blowing over the outer gate of the military camp. He looked at the gate and said, “It’s not difficult for your experienced soldiers to win against Li Ye’s pioneers, but you have to prepare for the unexpected.”

“The unexpected?” Zhu Wen frowned.

Shangguan Qingcheng’s 3,000 cavalrymen were making a big noise after they crossed Dengzhou’s boundary and eliminated the Qi Empire’s troops. After careful observation, Zhu Wen’s scouts were sure that there were only 3,000 soldiers. It was impossible for them to obtain any other support. What could the unexpected be?

Zhu Wen asked, “Do you mean Prince An inserted masters in his troops?”

Wujizi smiled more brilliantly, “It’s possible.”

“Then, do you mean...” Zhu Wen asked tentatively.

Wujizi took it as his obligation to say, “If you will allow me, I will follow your troops secretly. If anything unexpected happens, I might be able to help.”

Zhu Wen was exhilarated. Wujizi was in the Spiritual Master Realm. If he was willing to help him, then his troop would win for sure.

However, Zhu Wen also felt something was wrong. He led his army to exit the pass to conquer other armies. This was very important to the general situation—the Qi Empire needed to place its army in the Central Plains. However, the focus of the Qi Empire troops was Guanzhong. After all, only by securing Guanzhong could he conquer the surrounding areas and finally the whole country.

But Fengxiang in Guanzhong was assigned important tasks by Li Yan. Zheng Tian who had military power had not yet been defeated. He was the most hated person in the armies of the Qi Empire. Why did Taoist sect of Zhongnan Mountain not help Huang Chao fight against Zheng Tian? Why did all the masters go to Dengzhou but didn’t even try to touch him?

And even when important figures like Wuyazi was killed, they did not say anything or blame him.

Zhu Wen could not figure those questions out, so he stopped thinking. Cupping his fists, he said. “If you are willing to help me, I will be very grateful.”

Wujizi smiled and nodded. “You are welcome.”

Along their journey, Li Ye had fought over a dozen battles. However, he either fought against small sentry posts established by unnamed military forces, or small teams raising money to purchase food for the army. The number ranges from 15 to 100. All these were indeed not military exploits. At least Li Ye was not satisfied. And Li Ye could see that Shangguan Qingcheng was also not satisfied.

While the army was resting at noon, Shangguan Qingcheng walked toward Li Ye and said, “Your Highness, we have entered the boundary of Dengzhou and have marched for a dozen miles. After today, we will reach Dengzhou. Zhu Wen should have known about our move. If he wants to fight with us, then his soldiers will not be far away.”

Li Ye drank a bottle of water, wiped his mouth and said, “If Zhu Wen is unwilling to fight with us in the field, then he will stay in the city. That means we will not meet any important forces to fight with us on our way to Dengzhou.”

Shangguan Qingcheng answered loudly, “Yes, commander!”

Li Ye hung his bottle next to the saddle and mounted the horse. He said to Shangguan Qingcheng. “Don’t think too much. I know Zhu Wen. As long as there is the chance of changing the situation, he will not give up. I think his troops will not be far away from us.”

Li Ye had just finished speaking when a scout came rushing towards them. He walked towards Li Ye and Shangguan Qingcheng and reported, “Your Highness! The insurgent troops are 20 miles away! They number about 5,000 and are marching towards us at full speed!”

“See? Told you they were coming.” Li Ye smiled at Shangguan Qingcheng.

Shangguan Qingcheng became serious. She saluted Li Ye and leaped up. She landed on the back of the horse, drew the bridle rein, and gave orders to her subordinates. “The enemy’s 5,000 cavalrymen have arrived. Let’s face them!”

During this trip, Li Ye did not tell others his identity, so not all soldiers knew who he was. Shangguan Qingcheng was the one responsible for directing the army.

Li Ye was here to experience war and ensure the victory of the Wolf-tooth Troop. He was not here to walk into a trap. If Zhu Wen knew he was here, he would deploy forces and send tens of thousands armies to capture him.

The three thousand soldiers mounted their horses, but they did not prepare to run. The land ahead was very spacious. Along the road were farms and mountains, which was suitable for cavalrymen to battle. In addition, it was always good to wait at their ease for the exhausted enemy.

“Reporting! The insurgent troops are 15 miles away!” The scout reported again.

Shangguan Qingcheng looked very calm. “Scout again!”

Soon, the scout reported, “Enemy is 10 miles away!”

“Keep scouting!”

“Enemy is 5 miles away. They are charging!”

“Listen to my order! Arrow Formation!”

Shangguan Qingchen took up the horse spear and held it straight. She used her two legs to press the horse belly from both sides. The horse started to gallop.

The whole army began to move and run gradually faster, from jogging to sprinting. And they were running in a very ordered manner.

Soon, the place was full of the sound of galloping horses. The 3,000 soldiers moved forward quickly to form the Arrow Formation. When the cavalrymen were galloping at full speed and gained great momentum, they saw the insurgent troops.

At first, there was only a black line appearing on the horizon. Shortly the shape of cavalrymen could be seen. Horses were galloping. The soldiers were in full force. The cavalrymen were bent slightly over their horses, rising and falling with them. The horse spears connected with each other, forming a forest of thistles and thorns. The dust was flying, resembling blankets of waves.

Like the flood coming down from a breached dam, the soldiers were flying towards them with great momentum.

The sound of galloping horses was so loud that even their eardrums ached. But the soldiers could not hear the sound of the enemy’s horses, because it was drowned out by their own.

Those in the frontline had a full view of the enemy. The flood of armors would’ve made anyone quake with fear. But they had been accustomed to such a scene after a long time of training. They knew very well what they would face and what they should do next, so no one felt panic.

The soldiers at the middle and rear of the battle array could only see the back of their peers. The shaking ground was the only sign to them of the two army’s impending battle. They remained calm and peaceful. When enemy cavalrymen appeared among them, they used their long spears to stab them and force them off their horses.