Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 834 Too Fast
As dawn broke, the sunlight dispelled the last vestiges of darkness, illuminating the entire earth clearly, and revealing the horrific scene of the previous night.

The pontoon bridge was in ruins, and many of the boats it supported had been burned to charred wood. Several frozen corpses were still hanging on the pontoon bridge's cables. There were blackened marks on the ice, left by soldiers who had been burned to a crisp with kerosene. They had struggled and collapsed on the ice.

Besides the corpses lying haphazardly, a closer look reveals several large and small ice holes that have been carved out. Although the entrances have been covered with a thin layer of ice, no one knows how many lives it swallowed up during the night.

The scene looked exceptionally horrific.

The Duke of Wei's troops did not encounter the enemy head-on, but some of them died in ambushes and traps.

The deaths and injuries of these people would not have been a big deal in themselves, but half of their troops were blocked on the other side.

Hearing the commotion coming from the opposite bank, the Duke of Wei was certain that something had happened there, and the troops wouldn't be coming. Otherwise, given the abilities of the managers, even if they couldn't immediately turn the situation around, they would have at least managed to send someone to deliver a message.

But since the attack last night, no one has sent a message, not even a single signal arrow has been fired.

Duke Wei appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was already unable to suppress his panic.

"Why didn't you check the pontoon bridge carefully beforehand?" Duke Wei asked the general beside him.

The general hesitated, then lowered his head under that sharp gaze and said, "We saw...we saw...mainly...Wang Yan's troops were...setting up fortifications on the other side, so we assumed..."

"We assumed they had been scammed."

"Moreover... many of those guarding the area are Marquis Changyuan's troops."

Guarding both sides of the river for a day and a night was their punishment for Zeng's army.

Unexpectedly...

“It must have been planned by Marquis Changyuan long ago,” the general said, “which is why he deliberately defied the Duke.”

If it weren't for this, they wouldn't have secretly targeted Marquis Changyuan. At night, they would assign many tasks to Marquis Changyuan's men, giving them time to pass messages to Wang Yan.

"Perhaps we'll hear news from the other side soon, and a few of the managers will come to help." He heard that the commotion on the other side had subsided considerably, indicating that someone must have gained the upper hand. They knew how many people Marquis Changyuan had, and they couldn't possibly suppress their boss's men like this.

Unless Marquis Changyuan has reinforcements.

The general shuddered at his own idea.

"Forget about that," said Duke Wei. "Let's form ranks and deal with Wang Yan."

He couldn't say it outright; perhaps people would come from the other side, but they might not be their troops, because he feared that morale would completely collapse.

The troops had just formed their ranks when the opposing side began waving flags; these people were clearly trying to break through the lines.

Once the general breaks through the enemy lines and beheads the commander, the battle will end.

Duke Wei, holding a long sword, was surrounded by soldiers. He guessed that the one who led the troops first was a young general eager to make a name for himself, who wanted to boost the morale of the court with his sharp edge. To his surprise, a cavalry force split into two groups, galloping towards them from the left and right. The leading generals were Xu En and... surprisingly, Wang Yan.

Even a civil official dared to lead troops.

Duke Wei seemed to see a glimmer of hope. He pushed aside the soldiers beside him and prepared to confront Wang Yan and cut him down from his horse.

……

Sangzhi protected her husband, who had fought a frustrating battle with the He family in the northwest years ago. The imperial reinforcements were slow to arrive, and with a shortage of military supplies, they were ultimately defeated in the battle against the Western Xia.

Many familiar faces were left on the battlefield.

After returning from that battle, my husband remained silent for many days until he made a promise with He Langjun to come to the Northwest again.

Although this time... the young master failed to fight against the Western Xia as he wished,... these people in front of him deserve to die even more. They heard the screams and wails on the ice last night, but they were not moved in the slightest.

The dead are neither pitiful nor pitiful.

Since they have enjoyed the benefits brought by the Jiang family and the Dong family, whatever the final outcome, it is something they should bear.

But these are also lives.

The war caused countless people to lose their lives far from home, and most of them could not be found, their souls unable to return to their hometowns.

Many innocent people lost their lives.

Whose fault is this?

Wang Yan, clad in armor, held a spear in one hand and reached into a cloth bag on his horse's back with the other. When he pulled it out, he had a handful of paper money in his palm. The paper money fluttered in the wind.

Sangzhi and the others also threw out paper money.

This is to commemorate our fallen comrades.

No one may remember their names or hometowns anymore, and no one cares about their birth or death, but their comrades who fought side by side will never forget them.

Wang Yan brandished his spear, thrusting it at the rebel soldiers who came out to meet him. Under the orders of the Duke of Wei, the rebels marched towards Wang Yan, as capturing him might be their only chance.

Blood splattered on the paper money, and one person was thrown from his horse.

The approaching general couldn't help but widen his eyes, revealing a look of astonishment.

This was different from what they thought. Wang Yan was not so easy to deal with. The spear in Wang Yan's hand was an iron spear, which could only be wielded so nimbly by someone with extremely strong arms.

"You..." The general only managed to utter one word before his helmet was struck by the spear shaft. In his haste to grab his spear to parry, he was instead stabbed in the chest.

The encirclement of Wang Yan was broken before it could even take shape.

However, the army's formation moved too quickly in their attempt to capture Wang Yan, causing a lapse in their defenses. Xu En had been waiting for this moment, and he immediately ordered his deputy to charge forward. The attack proved to be easier than expected.

"How stupid!" Xu En scolded the Duke of Wei. As a military general, he should have been the most careful and on guard, but the Duke of Wei led his men to fight Wang Yan.

But then I thought, if he were the Duke of Wei, he probably wouldn't be able to decide who to deal with first either.

In terms of both civil and military officials, Wang Yan was probably inferior to him, which is why he took a desperate gamble to capture Wang Yan in order to turn the tide.

The paper money in the air is blown by the wind, commemorating the dead and opening the path to the underworld for the dying.

……

Duke Wei was stabbed in the shoulder by a spear and was protected by others as he retreated to the side.

Wang Yan's armor was covered in blood, some from others and some from himself. A touch of crimson appeared on his handsome face, and with his cold eyes, he looked like a god of death.

Duke Wei's arm trembled; he never expected to lose to Wang Yan so quickly.

As soon as Wang Yan's troops arrived, they shattered their formation with overwhelming force. From beginning to end, all they heard was the deafening word "kill".

It seemed they had been patient for too long and had finally found the hidden enemy.

Everything happened too fast, leaving the Duke of Wei no chance to struggle.

Movement was heard on the ice; someone noticed that soldiers were carefully crossing the river.

Duke Wei turned his head and saw a huge banner with the character "贺" (congratulations) fluttering in the wind.

It is He Tan.

Wang Yan and He Tan.

Duke Wei snatched the long sword from the man beside him again and spurred his horse to swing it at Wang Yan once more. However, the horse under his feet could not support him and fell to the ground with a mournful neigh. Duke Wei also fell off his horse. The next moment, the tip of the spear was pointed at his neck.

Duke Wei looked down at Wang Yan, who was standing high above him.

Blood flowed down Wang Yan's hand onto the spear, the enemy's blood making the spear tip even more vivid and dazzling.

“It’s a pity that I’ve spent decades painstakingly building up my business at sea,” the Duke of Wei said, his eyes filled with resentment and bitterness, “only to be defeated by you, you brat.”

Wang Yan gazed quietly at the Duke of Wei and slowly said, "You and I both know that the master is not you."

Duke Wei's gaze sharpened.

Wang Yan continued, "You must find it strange that I am so certain, and why... we made preparations in advance."

Wang Yan looked down at the Duke of Wei: "But I will not tell you the truth."

When his immortal first met him, he told him that after Fan Canzheng passed away, he would be given the posthumous title of Wenzheng.

Ten years later, when she returned to his side, the first thing she mentioned was Da Shun City.

(End of this chapter)