Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 375 Two Tigers Fighting
Pseudo-Chen, Jingshan, and Matou City.

The rapid sound of Qi's war drums tore through the dawn.

The fully armed Qi soldiers formed a square formation and approached the city step by step to the sound of war drums.

A large flag with the word "Duan" on it fluttered in front of the army.

They were not panicked or confused at all. They walked with steady steps, as if they did not see the tall city walls, and just walked forward step by step.

The guards on the city wall roared loudly, and the soldiers aimed their crossbows at the enemies outside the city.

Waiting for the enemy to come into range.

Duan Shao was riding a horse in the middle of the army. He was wearing heavy armor and a standard northern helmet that covered almost half of his face. One could not see his expression, but only his straight figure, looking up at the city in front of him.

"Boom~~~"

The city wall made a loud roar and then began to shake.

The next moment, the city wall on the south side began to collapse.

Chen Bing screamed, feeling that the whole world was shaking and he couldn't stand steadily. They fell to the ground in fear and some fled under the city wall. The wall kept shaking and then collapsed one after another.

The rising dust covered half of the city.

The commander fled, covered in dust and dirt, surrounded by several of his personal soldiers.

"typical?"

"how is this possible?"

The commander-in-chief was so scared that he just kept muttering that it was impossible. While the South was still engaging in traditional siege warfare, the North's military had been well-trained. The Northern and Southern Dynasties was the golden period of development of ancient China's military level, especially in the North.

There are more and more ways to attack and defend cities, and both the Zhou and Qi people have made great progress in these two areas.

The southerners are still somewhat lacking in this aspect. After all, the terrain and climate are different, and the skill points they have chosen are not quite the same. If people like Duan Shao and Wei Xiaokuan were sent to the south, the southerners could also open their eyes. It's a pity that they are now in the north.

The Qi people were not surprised at the collapse of the city wall. They were used to it and continued to maintain their formation and move forward at the original speed. The Chen people were in chaos and no longer had much ability to fight back. After they walked onto the ruins, their formation changed. The Qi army sped up in units of buildings, climbed over the ruins in front of them, and rushed into the city.

The Chen people in the other areas could not wait for the commander's order, and seeing the Qi people entering the city, they also abandoned the city and fled under the leadership of their respective generals.

The Qi people did not pursue, but continued to capture the city at their own pace, shooting and killing those Chen people who did not have time to escape.

Duan Shao rode his warhorse and swaggered into Matou City.

Dust was flying like thick fog. Duan Shao walked out of the fog. General Chen, who was being held captive by several Qi people, looked up in horror at the cruel monster in armor in front of him.

"Where is Chun Yuliang?"

Duan Shao asked coldly.

The general slowly came back to his senses, "He is hiding near your camp, waiting to chop off your head when you let your guard down."

"killed."

The soldier stabbed the prisoner's abdomen with the sword in his hand, and then pushed him away. General Chen covered his abdomen and fell heavily to the ground.

Duan Shao looked further south and said, "Let's rest in the city today and gather food and fodder."

"only!!"

The Qi army just relaxed at this time, and began to talk and laugh and carry out the old tradition of cleaning up the battlefield. This was their favorite part.

Several generals surrounded Duan Shao, with gleams in their eyes.

They hadn't had such a satisfying fight in so many years.

This time, Duan Shao led more than 18,000 Heluo soldiers, plus the defeated soldiers from various places, formed an army of 36,000 people, and began to march south.

The nearly 20,000 Heluo soldiers were considered the most capable troops in Henan. However, only 8,000 of them were the most elite, and the other 10,000 were just recruited by Dugu Yongye in recent years. After the emperor fled to Jinyang, Dugu Yongye no longer worried about accountability from the court and began to actively recruit troops.

As for the rest of the defeated soldiers, they were even more vulnerable. Everyone knew their strength.

But even with such an army, Duan Shao became stronger and stronger and was invincible. When the defeated soldiers in the south learned that Duan Shao was coming, they all came to join him, and the army grew larger and larger.

Duan Shao crushed everyone along the way and was much more terrifying than Liu Taozi was back then.

He fought his way all the way from Nanqiao, and had no rivals along the way. He was truly a famous general unrivaled in the world.

The generals surrounding him at this moment were all Dugu Yongye’s favorite generals in the past.

"Da Sima, where are we going to capture tomorrow?!"

They are all extremely positive.

After following Duan Shao into the war, they went crazy with boasting about their military achievements. For example, the one who started the war was a fourth-rank General Jianjie. After fighting for a few months, he has now been promoted to a third-rank General Fuguo. In the past, no one would have dared to think of this.

The title also rose rapidly, and there were also those invisible incomes.

After defeating the enemy, Duan Shao did not keep the spoils for himself. Although he was a money-loving person, he still distributed the spoils to the soldiers and let them clean up the battlefield on their own.

The more they fought, the more excited they became, and they wished they could fight all the way to Jiankang.

Duan Shao glanced at everyone, "Tomorrow's affairs will be discussed tomorrow. Go and rest first. Keep an eye on the army and don't let them harm the local people. Those who violate this will be punished by military law!"

"only!!"

Duan Shao led a small group of people to the government office and made it his base.

The people in the city were in a state of panic, but the soldiers were particularly happy and cheered loudly.

Everyone finally made it to dawn, and before the sun even came out, everyone had already impatiently shown up at the door of the government office.

More than ten generals were all present, without any one missing.

They looked at each other, knowing each other's thoughts, and couldn't help laughing.

"You guys came early enough."

"Aren't you here to obey the general's orders?"

"How can we delay national affairs?"

Everyone pretended to say a few empty words, and then someone quickly got to the point, "What do you think, will the Grand Marshal take us to capture Chunyu Liang and Huang Fachu next?"

"I think so. Previously, Chunyu Liang failed to stop Da Sima and retreated in a hurry. Now he has no way to retreat and can only fight us."

"I heard that the Chen army has already withdrawn. Chunyu Liang currently has less than 50,000 men under his command, and there are so many places to garrison. Hahaha, if we capture him, it will be a great achievement!"

"It would be great if we could fight all the way to Jiankang. Maybe we could all be crowned kings!"

"Don't dream. We can still fight in Jiangbei, but forget about crossing the river. Have you seen the southerners' ships? They are like a fortress that can move on the water. Damn, they can hold at least 5,000 people, right? It's terrifying."

"Maybe Da Sima has a solution?"

Everyone was happily discussing today's important events, and just as they were daydreaming, the sound of fierce horse hooves was heard in the distance on the road.

The generals all looked in that direction, and in the blink of an eye, a group of people appeared there.

The warhorse raised its front hooves and neighed.

Many knights quickly dismounted and walked in front of the generals.

The leader, with a gloomy face, walked in front of the generals in a few steps.

Everyone was shocked and hurriedly bowed to greet him.

“Prince!!”

Dugu Xuda forced a smile and said, "Hello everyone."

"Are you here to see Da Sima too?"

"Yes. Why are you here?"

"I have something to see Da Sima."

Dugu Xuda waved his hand and said, "You guys can leave first."

He brought his men to knock on the door and then broke in. The generals looked at each other, but did not leave as requested.

After a while, an official came out and invited the generals to come in. The generals walked into the office together without any hesitation.

When the generals arrived at the door of the study, they heard the prince's excited voice coming from inside.

"Grand Sima, we must withdraw our troops! We must withdraw our troops now!"

"Liu the bandit is about to attack, the army is outside, your majesty is in trouble"

The generals were astonished, pushed open the door and walked in.

Dugu Xuda was talking when he suddenly saw the generals coming in. His face darkened and he said, "I was not..."

"No problem. National affairs should be discussed by everyone. Please sit down."

Duan Shao interrupted Dugu Xuda and motioned for the generals to sit down. After everyone sat down, Dugu Xuda continued, "Grand Marshal, you took the initiative to chase the enemy here without informing us this time. You are too far away from Jinyong City. If Liu wants to attack, how can you support him in time?"

Duan Shao took a sip of tea and asked nonchalantly, "Didn't you just say that Liu the thief was about to attack? Why is he going to attack again?"

"Your Highness, please explain clearly whether Liu the thief attacked or not."

Dugu Xuda's lips trembled, and then he said: "They haven't attacked yet, but many of their troops have gathered in the direction of Danliu, ready to move, and it seems that they want to seize our Hanoi and other places."

Duan Shao said seriously: "The general has tens of thousands of elite soldiers under his command, not to mention the troops from various places. Even if Liu Taozi gets the Jinyang soldiers, he will disperse them and will never dare to use them directly. Among the soldiers from various states under his command, the Shuozhou soldiers he can use are only more than 10,000. How can he take the initiative to attack Hanoi?"

"General, you are worrying too much. I think you don't need to worry about it at all."

When the generals heard this, they nodded immediately.

"Correct!"

"The war has just begun, and we have just recaptured these cities. How can we be in such a hurry to retreat?"

"Liu Taozi doesn't have the strength to attack at the moment."

Dugu Xuda looked at these generals with disbelief in his eyes. It was indeed as that person said! !

The smile and politeness on his face gradually disappeared, and he said seriously: "Whether Liu the thief will send troops or not, how can the Grand Marshal see clearly from such a distance? Zhou people, Liu the thief is ready to move, and the generals of several cities in the north have called for help several times, but the Grand Marshal is unwilling to leave for the sake of the military merit in front of him!"

"Since the Grand Marshal went to war, the consumption of food and fodder has been quite a lot!"

Duan Shao interrupted the other party again.

"Even if Liu the thief sent troops, he won't be able to take Hanoi in a short time. The general is enough to stop him. I can go back anytime. I sent troops this time to recover the lost territory. The soldiers are also for the country, not for military merit. As for food and grass, we have captured a lot along the way. Except for the time when we just set out, most of the food and grass in the future were captured by ourselves."

Dugu Xuda stopped pretending and asked gloomily, "So, the Grand Marshal is determined to disobey the Emperor's order and is unwilling to go back?"

"Where is the edict?"

"Once I see the imperial edict, I will naturally go back."

Dugu Xuda's face darkened and he clenched his fists. "Okay, I'll send someone to inform the imperial court and have them send the imperial edict!!"

After saying that, Dugu Xuda turned around and left the house.

Duan Shao looked calm. He looked at the people around him and said slowly, "Generals, it seems that His Majesty doesn't want me to fight the enemy anymore. I want to lead you to achieve great things, but it seems that this is all I can do."

"Please don't blame me."

There were more than ten generals sitting in the room, but the atmosphere was exceptionally quiet.

They all had stern faces and said nothing.

Everyone is not a fool. They know exactly why the emperor is opposing and who is opposing.

In response to Duan Shao's comfort, they said nothing, but silently bowed to Duan Shao, and left one by one with unspeakable loss, sadness, and a hint of anger.

Watching these people walk out, a faint smile finally appeared on Duan Shao's face.

The purpose has been achieved.

The generals walked out of the mansion. Unlike their happiness just now, they were now extremely irritable.

"My Lord, what does this mean?"

"Do you think we will follow Da Sima in rebellion?"

"We have followed our lord for so many years and have never had any disloyalty. Why is this happening?!"

To the generals, Dugu Yongye’s behavior did not mean that he did not trust Duan Shao, but that he did not trust them.

Many of them were old brothers who had followed Dugu Yongye through thick and thin, but now, they all felt that they had been betrayed and hurt.

Some people also defended Dugu Yongye, "Perhaps the lord is just worried about those newly organized defeated soldiers. The lord certainly would not distrust us."

Not long after, the imperial edict came to Duan Shao. Duan Shao no longer refuted and led the army back to Jinyong.

Hefei.

Chunyu Liang sat in the room with many documents in front of him, all of which were the latest news about Duan Shao.

Several generals and counselors sat beside him. Everyone looked very comfortable. They had never felt so relaxed before.

The pressure Duan Shao put on them was really too great.

Duan Shao previously was like a war machine, leading tens of thousands of people to kill all the way, without changing direction, and just forced his way through the Chen people's defense line, making everyone dizzy. Some people even suggested abandoning Lianghuai and retreating to Jiangnan.

Finally, the enemy withdrew and several generals were almost crying.

Finally fucking gone.

First it was Liu Taozi, and then Duan Shao.

Each one is more terrifying than the other, and the pressure keeps coming.

They have been beaten for more than a year and have done nothing else.

Chunyu Liang looked at the people in front of him with a smile. He knew what these people were thinking.

"Duan Shao really withdrew, and the last army also withdrew."

"Great!"

"The general is mighty! He defeated Duan Shao!!"

Everyone shouted.

Chun Yuliang shook his head. "At the beginning, many people advised me to write to the imperial court to seek reinforcements and to stop Duan Shao with all my strength. I told you at that time that Duan Shao's purpose in sending troops was not to attack us, and there was no need to fight him to the death. He would definitely retreat. Do you believe it now?"

Several people nodded.

"We have always believed in the general."

Someone asked, "Why did Duan Shao suddenly withdraw his troops? His food and supplies are sufficient, and his morale is high. If he gets closer, we can no longer avoid fighting. If his purpose is not to defeat us, then what is it?"

"The person he wants to deal with is Dugu Yongye, not us. Dugu Yongye is ambitious. He is good at fighting, but he has no wisdom in major events. How can he hand over his army to an outsider to lead? Especially a famous general like Duan Shao."

"Duan Shao has a high prestige and is good at winning people's hearts. If he leads those soldiers to fight, they will naturally become closer and closer to him. By then, Dugu Yongye will lose control."

"Duan Shao's sudden withdrawal this time must have been caused by Dugu Yongye's forced intervention, but this is also a bad move. What will the generals who followed Duan Shao think?"

"Dugu Yongye is no match for Duan Shao. When Duan Shao returns this time, I'm afraid Dugu Yongye will die in his hands."

Chun Yuliang frowned, "Once Duan Shao has sorted out the domestic affairs, he may come to attack us again. We must be prepared. The next time Duan Shao comes, he will not withdraw so suddenly."

Many subordinates who had been somewhat relaxed before were now in a tense state again.

He's coming again? ?
Jinyong City, the General’s Mansion.

Dugu Yongye, like his son, had a gloomy face and looked at the young man sitting in front of him without saying a word.

The young man was wearing prison uniform and had some scars on his body, but he didn't care at all. He looked up at Dugu Yongye with his chest held high and said, "General, it seems that you believe what I said? Did you really send someone to call him?"

"So, you don't want to come back?"

Dugu Yongye sneered, "I'm already on my way back. Did I disappoint you, little Western thief?"

"The Emperor's edict?"

The young man suddenly asked.

Dugu Yongye was stunned, "You"

"Alas, General, this is wrong. What will the soldiers who followed him think? They will think you don't trust them. Now the gap is getting bigger and bigger."

Dugu Yongye stood up suddenly, somewhat at a loss.

The young man said calmly, "General, don't doubt it. My Majesty really wants to form an alliance with you. What I said was also sincere. I know that you are loyal to Qi, but does Duan Shao think so? As early as when he said he wanted to go to war, he already had evil intentions."

"He was ready to take your men, and then your life."

Dugu Yongye gritted his teeth and said, "Then I will kill him first!!"

"It's easier said than done. The reason you can get these states and counties is not because of the little emperor of Qi, but because of Duan Shao. Moreover, he brought those new soldiers with him this time. Even many of your generals would find it difficult to attack him. And there is also Bai Bao. Right now, the situation is not favorable to the general."

"How about it, General, do you want to join forces with us?"

"As long as you agree, we can help you kill Duan Shao. Whether you want to assist Qi or establish yourself as king, we can help you. We can work together to deal with Liu Taozi and divide his territory equally."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I am Yang Su, the Chief of the Great Zhou Military Office."

ps: I really feel sorry for everyone. This month has been very unlucky. Earlier, my family members caught a cold and I was fine. Now they are well, but I caught a cold. I dare not leave the study for fear of infecting them. I feel groggy and still want to make up for it, but I can't even finish two chapters. I have been writing this chapter until the early morning. My head hurts, and it will be three or four o'clock if I continue writing. I will try to post more and update more next month. If I feel better tomorrow, I will make up for it with three chapters. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I apologize again.

(End of this chapter)