knife

Chapter 207 Taking advantage of the opportunity
A gust of wind swept overhead, and the two battle axes were brought to a cross shape. With a loud thud, Lü You's massive body shrank a bit and he knelt directly on the ground.

Looking up, he saw the dark figure soaring into the air again. He cried out in despair and could only muster his remaining strength to climb up once more.

Last time, a Yuan general almost planted him alive in the ground. And now he's doing it again?
Seeing the danger facing his commander, Hu Kan immediately rushed forward, his broadsword meeting the massive spiked club ahead of Lü You.

After another loud bang, another person knelt down beside Lü You.

The Qin soldiers surged forward from behind, thrusting their spears wildly and sending crossbow bolts flying. With a furious roar, Shulu Ping spun his massive mace in his hand like a toy windmill, scattering arrows everywhere. The spears that hit the windmill broke into pieces as if they had hit saw teeth, and the soldiers holding the spears had their hands cracked by the impact, sending the spears flying into the air.

Taking advantage of this moment, the two men who had been forced to kneel on the ground finally stood up.

However, the spiked club came flying through the air once again.

The two cried out in despair, but they had no choice but to grit their teeth and try to block the way. With the city walls so crowded, there was nowhere to run.

This Shulu Ping is at least at the level of Xuan Yuan Eighth Grade.

Lu You felt his leg was about to break. He had been climbing mountains many times and was now bound to encounter a tiger. Last time, Commander Xia saved his life, but who would save him this time?
Hu Kan felt his life was about to end. He wasn't particularly scared, just a little regretful. The tigress in the house had just agreed to let him take a younger sibling, but he wouldn't live to enjoy it. It was really damn pointless.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through their minds.

However, despite his best efforts to raise his arms to block, he missed every single one of the blocks.

The feeling of emptiness caused by that force is incredibly uncomfortable.

His internal energy surged backward, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Looking up, they saw two dark figures clashing in the air with lightning speed. Their movements were so fast that they could hardly see each other. They witnessed countless clashes of swords and clubs, yet they heard almost no sound.

"It's General Fang!" Lü You shouted.

Fang Xiaomao leaped onto the city wall, forcing Shulu Ping to abandon the fatty meat he was about to eat and instead confront Fang Xiaomao.

The tiger-winged blade clashed with the spiked club.

The two were about the same age and both had martial arts cultivation at the eighth level of the Profound Origin Realm. They were indeed outstanding among the younger generation. In the blink of an eye, the two fought from the east of the city to the west of the city, and then from the west of the city back to the east of the city.

It turned out they were evenly matched, and for a time, neither could determine a winner.

However, with Shulu Ping tied up, Tongquan Fort no longer had any experts capable of stopping Xia Zhi.

When Xia Zhi, dressed in red, charged up the city wall with her sword taller than a person, the Yuan soldiers' defenses were immediately breached.

Summer Solstice led the way, followed closely by people like Hu Kan and Ding Ergou. Cai Qi hopped around, firing sneak attacks everywhere. After the few Qi-controlling experts in Tongquan Fort were killed, the entire defensive line collapsed.

The defensive force of Tongquan Fort was not large. With less than three thousand men defending such a large fort, it can only be said that the Yuan people had no intention of fighting to the death here.

After forcing Fang Xiaomao back with a single blow, Shuluping glanced at his mace, now reduced to a few fangs by the opponent's tiger-winged blade, and then at the collapsing defenses. He gritted his teeth and swept down the city wall like the wind. At the same time, he pulled out a horn from his waist and blew it loudly.

This is the call to retreat across the board.

"No need to chase!" Fang Xiaomao grabbed Xia Zhi, who was caught up in the killing spree.

"What are you doing? How can we let go of the opportunity to kick a dog when it's down?" Xia Zhi glared angrily at Fang Xiaomao.

Fang Xiaomao tapped Xia Zhi's helmet with her finger, making a clanging sound.

“Take a closer look at the distance!” Fang Xiaomao said.

In the distant woods, startled birds took flight, and shadowy figures could be seen, suggesting the presence of countless soldiers lurking within.

"The Yuan people have another ambush?" Xia Zhi exclaimed in surprise. "Perhaps it's just a feint."

"There are only this many men in Tongquan Fort. Where do you think their main force went?" Fang Xiaomao said, "If we really chase after them, we will inevitably fall into their trap and suffer a loss in silence. Where can we complain then?"

Although an agreement has been reached at the top, how it is implemented at the bottom still requires careful consideration.

Just like in today's battle, the Yuan people's fighting spirit was commendable, while the Qin soldiers suffered considerable losses.

Abandoning Tongquan Fort was a predetermined strategy for the Yuan people, but it did not prevent them from devouring some of the greedy Qin soldiers.

Shulü Ping cunningly laid an ambush in the distance. If the Qin people dared to pursue, he would be able to take a good bite out of them.

"Taking Tongquan Fort has already achieved our goal. Next, we need to reorganize our troops and prepare to fight Longgou Fort again!" Fang Xiaomao said, "Don't bite off more than you can chew. This guy in front of us is not easy to deal with."

The attack began close to noon, and the battle ended before the sun had set.

The Qin people occupied Tongquan Fort, while the Yuan people, having made preparations in advance, did not suffer too many losses.

As expected, Tongquan Fort had long been emptied by the Yuan people, leaving the Qin people with nothing but an empty castle shell. They would have to wait for the supply train to bring up the grain.

When night fell, the news gathered by the scouts infuriated Fang Xiaomao and Xia Zhi.

Chen Liang of Yuntai Wilderness suddenly led his troops to attack. While Fang Xiaomao and his men captured Tongquan Fort, they also captured Longgou Fort.

"That Chen Liang, he really is like a dog, his nose is so sensitive! He's really infuriating!" Xia Zhi clenched her fists so tightly they cracked.

Fang Xiaomao was also speechless.

Because this was an agreement reached between Tiele and Li Dachui, it was so easy to capture these places. Whether it was Tongquanbao or Longgoubao, the Yuan people did not fight to the death. Chen Liang got a free credit for this.

"The Andong Protectorate has always been ambiguous about resisting the Northern Yuan. Now that Chen Liang has taken action, it can be seen as setting an example for the other Andong armies!" Fang Xiaomao pondered. "If the other Andong armies rush to launch attacks to grab credit, it will put Linghu Ye in a dilemma, which is actually a good thing for us!"

"Anyway, I don't think this is a good thing!" Xia Zhi shook her head and said, "When Zhebie comes, Linghu Ye might use Longgou Fort as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Zhebie. The bargaining chip that Young Master worked so hard to earn is just being given to Linghu Ye for nothing. Isn't that infuriating!"

Seeing Xia Zhi's furious expression, Fang Xiaomao couldn't help but laugh. She knew that Xia Zhi had risked her life to get this opportunity for her young master, but it had been given to someone else, which made her unhappy.

"As the young master said, Chen Liang is not without conscience and is a native of the region beyond the Great Wall, so he is someone who can be won over!" Fang Xiaomao comforted him, "So it's not a bad thing to let him get away with it. If the young master thinks of something and puts in some effort, he might be able to alienate Chen Liang from Linghu Ye and have him defect. Haha, wouldn't that be interesting!"

"This Chen Wuliang has already betrayed his superior once. If he does it again, how can he be trusted? I'm afraid even you, young master, wouldn't trust someone like him, would you?" Xia Zhi snorted.

Fang Xiaomao shrugged. "Speaking of which, Chen Liang is really unlucky. Every time he gets a boss, they're not a good person and they screw him over. But he himself isn't a bad person. Whether it's his character, his ability to lead troops, or his martial arts skills, he's quite remarkable."

While Fang Xiaomao and Xia Zhi were discussing Chen Liang, Chen Liang was standing on the top of Longgou Fort, filled with emotion.

"General, this battle was won so easily. What's wrong with the Yuan people? Longgou Fort is the key to the gate of Qingtongxia. How could they give it to us so easily?" A general asked, half pleased and half puzzled.

Originally prepared for a desperate battle, the general of Longgou Fort was caught off guard. Unlike Shulu Ping, who wanted to save face, the general offered little resistance upon the arrival of Chen Liang's army and immediately fled.

Chen Liang captured Longgou Fort without shedding a drop of blood.

"Why do you care so much? Once it's in our hands, it's ours." Chen Liang patted the other man's helmet with his riding whip and laughed, "Giving it to us is easy, but if you want it back, you'll have to ask us if we'll agree! Brother, Longgou Fort has been lost for twenty-six years!"

"Does the general know so much?"

“Because I lived here when I was a teenager!” Chen Liang said calmly. “Twenty-five years ago, I was only a little over ten years old. There was a dramatic change in the area outside the pass. Ying Zhuo, the ruler of the Northern Yuan, led his troops to attack. Although the Qin army repelled the enemy and preserved places like Zhenwu City, strategic locations such as Qingtongxia and Yezhuling were all lost to the Yuan people. From then on, we actually lost the ability to take the initiative to attack the Yuan people. If it weren’t for the sudden southward invasion of the Northern and Western Hu people in recent years, forcing the Yuan people to deal with them first, I’m afraid this area outside the pass would have been engulfed in flames of war long ago.”

The general suddenly realized, cupped his hands and smiled, "So this used to be your home. Congratulations, General! There's nothing more joyful than reclaiming your homeland with your own hands."

Chen Liang didn't laugh: "We had some luck in recovering it; it wasn't something we did through our own abilities. Whether we can keep it from being taken back by the Yuan people in the future depends on us."

"Now that it belongs to us, how can we let the Yuan people take it back? Last year, Anxi wiped out more than 10,000 of Shaliewen's elite troops in Yuan'an. Those Anxi people will look down on us Andong people!" The general said, "General Chen, even if we die, we will defend Longgou Fort. Then we will use it as a base to attack Qingtongxia."

Chen Liang turned to look at the other man: "What if the commander-in-chief says he doesn't want to defend Longgou Fort and wants us to give up?"

The general was stunned for a long time, then suddenly slammed his fist heavily on the city wall: "When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders."

Chen Liang smiled and looked up at the setting sun gradually disappearing behind the mountains in the distance.

No matter how I got it back, I've got it now. Do you expect me to give it back?

I don't think about it!

He went straight down the city wall and walked along a path.

The generals and Chen Liang's personal guards were puzzled and could only follow behind in silence.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, about three or four miles from Longgou Fort, a slope appeared before them.

Chen Liang pointed to the slope and asked, "Do you know what this is?"

Everyone was stunned.

"More than 20 years ago, when we withdrew from Longbaogou, we buried the bodies of our fallen heroes here. Fearing that the Yuan people would destroy the bodies, we dared not exhume the graves or erect tombstones, leaving this place in such a state." Chen Liang's face was filled with sorrow: "My grandfather, his three brothers, and five uncles are in here."

Everyone stared in shock at the unremarkable slope covered with weeds and shrubs.

Seeing Chen Liang kneel down on one knee, everyone else quickly knelt down to pay their respects as well.

"General, now that we're back, it's time to exhume the remains of these heroes and give them a solemn burial!"

Chen Liang shook his head.

"No, let them lie here quietly, watching us stand on Longgou Fort to fight against the Yuan army. From there, we will advance to take Qingtongxia and then march straight to Yandu! Only then will our generation have the face to return here to build tombs and erect monuments for them."

(End of this chapter)