Longzang

Chapter 724 A Fair Battle

When Zhang Sheng entered the main hall, it seemed as if all the spring colors of the world came with her.

She took her seat in the main seat, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and asked, "Why has Your Highness come here?"

Li Chengfeng hurriedly stood up and bowed, saying, "I came for the 200,000 soldiers of my Great Zhao. If you can release them, I will be eternally grateful! If there is any need for me in the future, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Zhang Sheng gently skimmed the floating tea leaves with the lid of his teacup without saying a word.

Li Zhi also wanted to serve tea, not to drink it, but to do something to cover up his embarrassment and nervousness. He couldn't explain why a dignified heir to the throne would be so nervous.

But when he reached out, he found nothing. There was only a cup of tea next to Zhang Sheng in the entire room; nothing had been prepared for the two of them.

Li Chengfeng stood there, unsure whether to sit or leave.

Seeing that the fourth prince looked like a fool, Li Zhi coughed and said, "So many soldiers of the Great Zhao have stayed in Qingming for so many days and spent a lot of money on medicine. They should be compensated for this."

Li Chengfeng seemed to wake from a dream, and said repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I will definitely compensate you! Just tell me a number and I will have someone deliver it to you immediately!"

Li Zhi then said, "The celestial silver is ready, and it will be delivered at..."

Li Chengfeng suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly said, "It can be delivered in half a day!"

Zhang Sheng finally made a move, holding up one finger: "Ten taels of silver per person."

Li Chengfeng immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "No problem!"

Zhang Sheng then held up a second finger: "Two hundred thousand refugees."

"Sure!" Li Chengfeng agreed without hesitation. With the war just beginning, there would be as many refugees as needed.

Zhang Sheng held up three fingers: "Those who don't want to return to Zhao cannot be forced."

Li Chengfeng's heart sank. His worst fears had come true. He immediately asked anxiously, "How many of them don't want to return to Zhao?"

"Not much, only 20,000."

Li Chengfeng gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! I'll go back and report the casualties."

"That's settled then." Zhang Sheng stood up and drifted away.

It wasn't until long after her figure disappeared that Li Chengfeng came to his senses and saw a Dao Foundation Warrior standing beside him, who had been standing there for who knows how long.

Seeing that Li Chengfeng had come to his senses, the Daoist warrior said, "I am here on my master's orders to send you back. My master said that once the goods are delivered, you will be released immediately."

Li Chengfeng was taken aback. The immortal silver was easy to handle, but how could 200,000 refugees be gathered in such a short time?
Li Zhi coughed lightly again, reminding him, "Your Highness, the longer we delay, the more things might go wrong. If we delay for even a day, the number of casualties we can report will be higher."

Li Chengfeng seemed to snap out of a daze. He only had the Daoist warrior point him in a direction before flying towards the blue water. Li Zhi followed him, and seeing his bewildered appearance, he sighed inwardly and reminded him again, "Prince Duan is waiting for a report. I think if the refugees really can't be gathered up in time, we can give Qingming some collateral and exchange the captured soldiers for them first."

"How could I not have thought of that! Lord Li's words have truly awakened me from my dream! But what should I offer as collateral—silver, medicinal herbs, or magical treasures?"

Li Zhi said, "The best collateral is people. Doesn't the Fourth Prince have his own elite troops? Send 100,000 as collateral to exchange for the prisoners first, and then use the refugees to exchange for the collateralized elite troops. Then there's no need to rush; you can exchange them slowly."

Li Chengfeng's eyes lit up immediately, and he exclaimed, "How come I didn't think of that!"

Li Chengfeng acted swiftly, sending 100,000 elite soldiers he had personally trained to Qingming on the same day, successfully exchanging them for 100,000 prisoners. Then, in just three days, Li Chengfeng gathered 70,000 refugees and sent them to Qingming, exchanging them for the remaining 70,000 prisoners.

In less than five days, all the prisoners were successfully brought back. Prince Duan was very satisfied and praised Li Chengfeng highly. Then he set off to return to Zhao capital.

There was no need to rush things now. Li Chengfeng spent over ten days gathering more than 100,000 refugees, then selected 100,000 strong and able-bodied individuals before sending them to Qingming. Li Chengfeng felt he had handled the matter well, and even deliberately eliminated 20,000 old, weak, and disabled people. Such painstaking effort should earn her a high regard, right?

Thinking about it this way, he immediately became uneasy again.

Zhang Sheng's reply arrived quickly, stating that there were a total of 80,000 elite troops and 20,000 refugees. Li Chengfeng was stunned for a moment. After inquiring carefully, he learned that of the 100,000 elite troops he had personally led, more than 20,000 had refused to return after only ten days in the Azure Heaven.

Li Chengfeng found it hard to accept this fact and nearly vomited blood. But apart from bitterly cursing, "Li Zhi has ruined me," he had no other recourse.

Seeing the 20,000 refugees that Qingming had returned, Li Chengfeng was furious. The problem was that within a radius of ten thousand miles, only Qingming could collect refugees, and these tens of thousands of refugees had nowhere to go in Li Chengfeng's hands.

Li Chengfeng couldn't bring himself to drive them away and leave them to fend for themselves. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and personally send tens of thousands of refugees to Qingming, intending to sell them to Qingming at the original price.

He knew perfectly well that all of this must have been part of Zhang Sheng's plan. However, even though he personally brought the refugees over, he still couldn't meet Zhang Sheng.

After the great battle, the northern mountain gates returned to a brief period of peace. Wei Yuan stood on the ruined town, watching small flying boats take off one after another, carrying the Liao people's corpses to Qingming. His heart was no longer stirred.

Trucks kept driving into the town, each carrying tens of thousands of kilograms of cement. Craftsmen and soldiers were working hard, mixing the cement and then pouring it into the gaps in the city wall, which had already been reinforced with steel bars.

Only two days after the great battle, half of the damaged city walls had been repaired. Meanwhile, cement production in the rear never stopped, and the warehouses were already piled high with cement.

It's believed that in the next major battle, the Liao people's giant crossbow chariots won't be able to breach the city so easily. Even if they eventually manage to break through, it will require 50% more giant crossbows.

Wei Yuan had another account in mind. The Northern Liao fired a giant crossbow bolt, which cost one million taels of silver, and then destroyed the city wall that Wei Yuan had built with ten thousand taels of silver.

With nothing to do, Wei Yuan sat at the highest point of the town, gazing at the surrounding scenery. The sky was vast and boundless. Low-hanging clouds drifted across the grasslands, caressing the earth's deep ravines like wounds. As dusk fell, crimson hues stained half the sky, and phosphorescent lights flickered across the grasslands. Horns blared in unison. The northern lands were still quite beautiful at this time of year.

With nothing else to do, Wei Yuan pulled up the footage of Zhang Sheng commanding his army to encircle and annihilate the Zhao army, and watched it repeatedly. He had seen this footage many times, but he never tired of it.

His initial thought when inviting Zhang Sheng to battle was simply to win. Given Qingming's current military strength, they could win regardless of whether Bao Yun or Cui Yu commanded. Even if Li Zhi were in command, they would still win.

But Wei Yuan never expected that Zhang Sheng would win a battle that would make her famous throughout the land. Moreover, she not only won, but she was also dazzling and beautiful from every angle throughout the entire battle.

Just as he was admiring the sight, a flash of silver suddenly appeared before Wei Yuan's eyes. He frowned slightly, looking at the silver-haired Liao woman who had appeared in front of him, and said, "Dare to show yourself here? Are you tired of living?"

The silver-haired woman pointed at Wei Yuan, then beckoned with her finger, saying, "A fair fight, do you dare?"

With the same movements, Wei Yuan felt that Zhang Sheng was eighty-seven times more beautiful than the Liao woman in front of him.

"A fair fight? Against you? How can that be considered fair?"

The silver-haired Liao woman said, "It's not me. Fighting me would be bullying you. Your opponent is called the Whip of the North. He's waiting for you in the wilderness right now. So, do you dare to come?"

Wei Yuan immediately stood up and sneered, "A mere Dharma Aspect dares to come and die? What do I have to be afraid of?"

"Alright, come with me!" The silver-haired woman turned and flew out of the city.

The moment she turned around, Wei Yuan had already drawn "Moment" and was holding it. The gun was already loaded with a Wind Calamity bullet, and with a single shot, it struck the silver-haired woman squarely in the back!

The silver-haired woman turned around in astonishment, her face full of surprise and confusion.

Wei Yuan sneered. Although the Whip of the Northern Border possessed a crucial treasure, in Wei Yuan's heart, the greatest threat was always this silver-haired woman. However, since she was a Yu Jing, Wei Yuan had been patiently waiting for his chance to strike. Several times she had passed by him, but he had refrained from making a move, all for this moment.

But Wei Yuan's smile froze in an instant, as the silver-haired woman's body suddenly turned into sand and scattered in the wind. Then another silver-haired woman appeared in the distance.

The two looked at each other, their faces filled with shock, anger, and heartache.

(End of this chapter)