Longzang

Chapter 723 Is this true?

Unable to bear the humiliation, the Zhao general guarding the pass recklessly led several thousand personal guards across the border in a surprise attack. However, the Qingming Army unleashed a barrage of cannon fire, shattering the morale of the Zhao army and capturing him alive, thus inflicting a severe humiliation upon him.

Then, the 100,000-strong Qingming army stormed into Zhao territory and captured tens of thousands of border troops.

The general in the sky could no longer contain himself and roared like thunder: "This is outrageous! Brother Li, I can't tolerate this any longer!"

He swung his halberd, ready to strike, but Prince Duan held him back tightly, repeatedly saying, "Brother Wang, have some dignity, have some dignity!"

"At this point, what need is there for dignity?" The general surnamed Wang tried his best, but he couldn't break free from Prince Duan's grasp.

Prince Duan lowered his voice and said, "That woman is incredibly wicked. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about the child next door."

The general immediately recalled the Great Pure and Tranquil Precious Light in Zhu Yuanjin's hand, and his momentum immediately weakened by three points. He made a few more attempts to struggle, but failed to break free from the Prince of Duan's grasp.

With the departure of the two Zhao emperors, the great battle came to an end.

The Zhao army of 200,000 who entered the country, plus 50,000 troops to support the border, was completely wiped out. More than 10,000 were killed in battle, more than 100,000 were wounded, and the rest were taken prisoner.

There are now many physicians in Qingming, with over five hundred template Dao Foundations. All template Dao Foundations are officially licensed physicians, and each physician has several assistants and disciples, so there is ample manpower, and Zhao Jun's wounded soldiers have all received meticulous treatment.

However, the clinic was filled with beautiful, aloof physicians and their apprentices. As they bustled about, the Zhao soldiers stared in disbelief. They had originally planned to select a thousand of the less seriously injured to help clean up the camp and maintain order, but more than thirty thousand people had signed up.

Thus ended both major battles in the north and south. The northern battle was a grueling and brutal one, leaving the Liao people with another 200,000 corpses on the battlefield. The southern battle, however, was extremely magnificent, like an overture to autumn, where hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers were dismembered imperceptibly amidst a melodious yet chilling melody.

Including the wounded and prisoners, Zhang Sheng had captured nearly 200,000 Zhao soldiers. Then she went back to seclusion, refusing to see any of the three groups of envoys sent by the Zhao state.

By this time, a city had been built in the Azure Water Realm, and Li Chengfeng was leading hundreds of thousands of laborers day and night to construct its defenses. Although there were 100,000 elite troops inside the city, they could not give him any sense of security.

A messenger rushed in and said, "Your Highness, Prince Duan, the Third Prince, and Li Zhi, the military governor of Zhenshan, have all arrived."

"I'll be there right away."

After dismissing the messenger, Li Chengfeng composed himself before heading towards the main hall. Passing by the warehouse, he made a point of taking a look; the mountains of supplies piled inside gave him a sense of security.

When Li Chengfeng arrived, the main hall was already full. His seat was at the head of the table, next to Prince Duan.

After Li Chengfeng was seated, Prince Duan said, "I invited you all here to discuss the matter of the captured soldiers. Qingming is holding my 200,000 soldiers captive. You have all dealt with them before. Can you tell me what Qingming's intentions are?"

Ten days have passed since the battle began, and Qingming has neither released the prisoners nor offered any terms. It's truly baffling what he's up to.

Zhao's army attacked Hanyang Pass, but was intercepted and annihilated by Qingming, losing tens of thousands of border troops in the process. Upon hearing the news from the front, the 100,000 main force that arrived later became hesitant and dared not request battle. Currently, the main force of Zhao's army is engaged in a stalemate with the Western Jin border forces in the east, and cannot spare more troops for the time being. They can only attempt peace talks.

Li Chengfeng was quite emotional at this moment. Who could have predicted that after Wei Yuan left, Zhang Sheng would suddenly appear?
Wei Yuan's battles were characterized by their bold and decisive tactics, often employing unconventional strategies. Although his military achievements were brilliant, upon closer examination, there were always opportunities to win.

In fact, it wasn't just Li Chengfeng; most people who had seen Wei Yuan fight would have felt the same way: that if they were in charge of such a simple battle, they wouldn't be much worse than Wei Yuan. All they lacked were the mighty warriors of Qingming, or perhaps a better jade mountain.

But Zhang Sheng was completely different; he shocked the entire Zhao state with a single battle.

Her fighting style was completely unbeatable; a one-on-one confrontation with her would inevitably result in defeat. The smooth, fluid command of an army of 100,000 as if she were a single person was unprecedented. Even Prince Duan, who always prided himself on being a renowned general, now refrained from mentioning a battle against Zhang Sheng.

Only General Wang Yixin was unconvinced and shouted every day that he wanted to fight Zhang Sheng to the death. However, as a military general who had commanded troops on the battlefield, it was obvious to everyone why he wanted to fight one-on-one instead of in battle, and even more so, why he wanted to challenge Daoji.

Now that 200,000 Zhao soldiers are being held by Zhang Sheng, everyone is at a loss and knows that things cannot continue like this. However, Zhang Sheng refuses to even talk, and they really don't know how to deal with him.

Just as he was lost in thought, Prince Duan turned to him and said, "Chengfeng, you've had quite a bit of dealing with Qingming, what are your thoughts?"

Li Chengfeng hurriedly said, "Uncle, if you have any questions, I will answer them without reservation. In my opinion, Qingming has extremely sinister intentions and wants to turn our elite warriors against us and keep them in Qingming."

Prince Duan laughed and said, "The treatment of the elite troops of my Great Zhao is not the best among the nine kingdoms, but it is not even in the top three. What means does Qingming have to turn them against us?"

Li Chengfeng respectfully said, "In my humble opinion, Qingming is nothing special. It's just that the medical environment is better, the medicines used are better, and the food is better than ours. In addition, the rewards and punishments are clear, and it is said that the military merits are rewarded very generously, and there has never been any case of deduction or fraud..."

Prince Duan's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He interrupted Li Chengfeng and said, "Enough! I've heard that you've entered Qingming several times. Would you be willing to go again?"

A civil official said, "Absolutely not! Your Highness, your life is of utmost importance. How can you risk your life in a barbarian land?"

Prince Duan snorted and said, "With Zhang Sheng's spirit, how could he do such a thing as assassination? Chengfeng, you may go, but the most important thing is to bring back the soldiers of our Great Zhao. If the conditions they propose are not difficult to meet, you can agree to them directly."

Li Chengfeng said, "I'll pack up and leave right away."

Prince Duan turned to look at Li Zhi and asked, "Does Lord Li have anything to add?"

Li Zhi remained calm and said, "My territory is thousands of miles away from Qingming, and we have had little contact with each other recently, so I dare not speak recklessly."

Prince Duan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Then, Lord Li... would you be willing to accompany Chengfeng on this trip?"

Li Zhi's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. He said, "If the Fourth Prince can go, why can't I?"

Prince Duan smiled and said, "As expected of the son of Duke Hui'en! Alright, you may depart now."

An hour later, Li Zhi and Li Chengfeng rode side by side, accompanied by hundreds of guards, into Qingming. As soon as they entered Qingming, a Dao Foundation Warrior flew over and said, "My master is already waiting. Please follow me."

"Your master is..." Li Chengfeng asked.

“Naturally, it is Lord Wei Yuan. When the Lord Wei Yuan is not here, the master is Zhang Sheng.”

The two followed the Daoji warrior all the way over the town of Zhike, deep into the Azure Sky, and finally arrived at the camp where Zhao soldiers were temporarily detained.

The warrior led the two into a quiet courtyard, led them to the main hall, said "Master will be here soon," and then left.

The two sat in the hall for a while, and Li Chengfeng suddenly became restless. He asked Li Zhi, "I heard that this Zhang Sheng is Wei Yuan's teacher. In this battle, she has shown her talent as a leader and can be said to be unmatched in the world. But some people say that her beauty is also unparalleled. Is that true?"

Li Zhi seemed lost in thought, and after a moment he slowly nodded.

(End of this chapter)