In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 910 Swift as the wind, silent as the forest, plunging like fire
The battlefield cleanup on the northeast side continued until late at night.

Disorganized noises and cries for help echoed in the darkness.

But the people of the Three Guards of Doyan would never brave the wind and snow to go and rescue them.

At most, they would tie up anyone within sight and keep them by their side, using them as prisoners in exchange for military merit.

As for those who hide in the darkness, let them be.
After one night, there was no more sound.

Horseshoe Village!
The temporary camp of the Goryeo Northeast Army had just been set up during the day.
As night falls, everything becomes deathly still.

The laborers huddled in their tents, gazing anxiously towards the southwest.

They said they went to meet the enemy, so why haven't they returned by nightfall?

They had some vague guesses in their minds.
But reason tells me not to overthink it, just wait quietly.
Time passed slowly, and soon it was midnight.

The moon, unusually, peeked out from behind the clouds.
It cast down a silvery-white light, illuminating the entire earth in a snowy white glow.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves rang out outside the camp.

The soldiers guarding the camp were not fast asleep. They opened their eyes abruptly upon hearing the noise, and their bodies tensed up instantly!
"who!"

“Who’s coming!”

The soldiers, weapons in hand, stood up tensely.
They were filled with immense fear, terrified that the visitors were Jurchens.

At that moment, the familiar accent coming from outside made the guards breathe a sigh of relief; it was one of their own.

They rushed out immediately:

"Someone! Someone!"

Shui Yong'an, the Right Vice Minister of the Privy Council, rode on a warhorse.

His gaze swept across the camp ahead, his face extremely gloomy.

What about people?

Soon, he saw more than a dozen soldiers rushing over.

Before they could even stand still, Shui Yong'an shouted sternly:
"Where is your General Lu?"

"May I ask who you are, General?"

Shui Yong'an's expression turned extremely solemn. His heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition instantly surged up within him.

"You Chengxuan, from Yong'an, has come to meet us on the orders of Prime Minister Li."

Upon hearing that the other party was from the Privy Council,
More than a dozen soldiers immediately knelt down, the leader wailing:

"My lord, my general led his troops to meet the enemy this morning and has not yet returned!"

"what?"

Shui Yong'an gripped the reins tightly, his teeth grinding together.

"Where did they go? Haven't you heard anything from them?"

"General, the army has headed southwest."

I once overheard adults talking about this.
They said the enemy came too quickly and they had no choice but to engage them.

As for the news, not a single word came back after the army left.

The garrison soldier's voice was choked with sobs, sounding as if he might burst into tears at any moment.

Shui Yong'an's face grew increasingly grim, and a sense of panic inexplicably welled up within him.
He couldn't help but pray secretly.
They must have gone to pursue the enemy.

He looked at the soldiers and demanded:

"Has no one gone to investigate the matter?"

"Reporting to my lord, besides the laborers, there are other people in the camp..."

There are only about a hundred of us left; we simply don't have enough manpower to investigate!

"waste!"

Shui Yong'an's face turned ashen. He abruptly turned his horse around, waved his hand, and shouted:
"Let's go, head southwest! Be careful along the way!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers accompanying Shui Yong'an quickly caught up with him and rode off.

They moved with extra caution in the darkness.

They looked back almost every step of the way, terrified that the Jurchens would actually come and surround them.

The further Shui Yong'an walked, the heavier his heart became.

He knew very well that their opponent this time was the Ming army.
Moreover, they were elite troops led by Lu Yunyi.

Given Lu Qidong's abilities, he is likely in grave danger.

"Sir, something's happened!"

The group walked cautiously for nearly half an hour when one of the soldiers at the head of the group suddenly exclaimed.

"Damn it, keep it down!"

Shui Yong'an cursed loudly and spurred his horse to catch up.

What kind of feeling?

His voice stopped abruptly.

Without the soldiers needing to explain, he could already smell the stench of blood in the air, so strong it was nauseating!

"It's a battlefield, we're not far from it!"

Shui Yong'an made a judgment in his mind, while also being secretly surprised.

How could the enemy have arrived so quickly?

This place is more than 30 miles away from Shun'an City. How did they know there was movement here?

Could it be that the Ming army's scouts could detect situations more than 30 miles away?
Suppressing his doubts, Shui Yong'an lowered his voice and gave the instructions:
"Scatter and find the location of the battlefield!"
Remember to act with extreme caution, and do not act rashly under any circumstances!

"Yes!"

As the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) approached, the sky was once again covered by deep black clouds.

The moon was completely blocked, and the silvery-white color on the earth disappeared entirely.

The soldiers carefully spread out, advancing slowly in a fan shape.

Shui Yong'an followed behind, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Before they had gone far, a soldier tripped over something and cried out in surprise:
"Ouch!"

Shui Yong'an immediately turned his gaze over:

"what happened?"

"Sir, it's too dark; we can't see the road."

Shui Yong'an could hear the sound, but couldn't find the soldier's location.

A sudden surge of irritation rose within him, and he cursed angrily:
"Damn it, light the torches! Forget everything!"

Upon hearing the order, the soldiers felt as if they had been granted a pardon and immediately lit their torches.

The orange-red flames shone from Shui Yong'an, illuminating the dark earth.

The next moment, everyone held their breath, their pupils contracting to their maximum size.
A chill ran from the soles of my feet straight up to the top of my head, instantly enveloping my entire body.

As far as the eye could see, the earth was neither silvery-white nor pitch black, but rather a bright, blood-red color.

Blood plasma was densely spread on the ground.

Like spider webs, they continue to spread outwards.

A gentle breeze blew by, causing the torchlight to flicker and the congealed blood to extend outwards.
"what--"

A soldier at the very front suddenly screamed.
His body kept moving backward, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

The torch lay fallen to the side, its light reflecting the terror filling his eyes.

And faces contorted with extreme fear!

Shui Yong'an looked in the direction of the firelight.

His pupils contracted instantly, and he felt a chill run through his body.
At that moment, a gentle breeze blew away the thick clouds in the sky, and moonlight shone down on the earth once more.
It was like a black curtain being slowly drawn back.

Corpses! Corpses everywhere!
The black curtain kept moving.

More and more corpses were exposed, endlessly, without end.
Only when the black curtain was completely removed did the open field before us be fully revealed.

Everywhere I looked, there were corpses!

There were soldiers with only half their bodies remaining, and warhorses with twisted heads.
There were discarded military weapons and hands and feet that had turned white from the cold.
Shui Yong'an even saw a soldier whose abdomen had been ripped open.

He lay half-prone on the ground, his palms raised high in front of him, as if silently pleading for help.
A sudden wave of dizziness washed over me.

Shui Yong'an felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and his body began to sway involuntarily.

An unacceptable thought surfaced in his mind:
They lost, and lost so decisively!
The army had barely arrived when they were defeated!
We've only been here for a day!

"My lord, what...what should we do?"

A guard rushed forward to support Shui Yong'an, his eyes filled with fear and his voice trembling with unease.

"How am I supposed to know what to do!"

Shui Yong'an's voice suddenly became impassioned, sounding particularly jarring in the deathly silence of the battlefield.

Just then, a rustling sound came from not far away.

Shui Yong'an was startled and abruptly turned his head to look over:

"who!"

At the edge of the battlefield, pairs of eerie green eyes lit up.

Those eyes were fixed on the flesh and blood on the ground.
A foul stench filled the open mouth, and saliva dripped continuously from the corners of the lips.

"Go, hurry! Go back and report to Prime Minister Li!"

Shui Yong'an's voice was urgent, trembling with fear.
He turned around and galloped away on his horse.

The scattered guards saw that the master had run away.
They all took off running to follow, as if there really were evil spirits chasing them.

"Who are they? Why are they so timid?"

In the dark jungle, a childish voice rang out, full of doubt.

"I don't know. It's pitch black. I can only see that the person is wearing officer's armor. He must be one of the guards."

Another voice responded, "Hmm, let's go after them and see! It's strange that someone so timid is a general."

The rustling sound started again.
Several figures leaped down from the tree and silently followed.

The north gate of Shun'an City was wide open, and returning soldiers flocked in.

The stench of blood drifted into the city on the breeze.
The soldiers guarding the city sniffed, then their eyes lit up.

Judging from the smell of blood, they must have won a great victory.

As soon as they entered the city, Tuoluhuchar and Azashili rushed over.

The two of them looked extremely uneasy.

They had been on tenterhooks ever since Lu Yunyi led his troops out of the city.

Regardless, this is enemy territory.

They launched an attack after only a cursory reconnaissance.

If we lose, all the good things we've done will be ruined.

However, when they saw Lu Yunyi looking refreshed and with bright eyes, they felt relieved and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Judging from his appearance, nothing seems to have happened.

"Meet the General!"

The two bowed in greeting.

Lu Yunyi laughed and dismounted.

"So, what's the situation with the other two enemy forces?"

Tuoluhuchaer's expression was somewhat strange.
He left the city in the morning and didn't return until late at night.

It would only take a little over a day at most, so the enemy wouldn't make any moves.

But he still replied respectfully:
"My lord, the enemy forces in the northwest are still encamped."

They also sent scouts to investigate the area towards Shun'an City.
Their every move is under our control.

As for the enemy forces on the northern route, they are still advancing slowly, seemingly intending to set up camp twenty miles away.

Tuoluhuchar's expression grew more serious, and he voiced his guess:

"I suspect that the enemy troops on the north side may have brought weapons and wanted to get closer to the city."
When we actually launch a four-pronged attack in the future,

They can keep up with the pace and won't fall behind.

Lu Yunyi stood still, took off his armor, and handed it to the guard beside him.
He asked him to help shake off the snow, then nodded solemnly.
"That's possible. If we assume they're stationed about twenty miles away, how long would it take them to arrive?"

Tuoluhuchaer looked at Zou Jing not far away, a questioning look on his face.

Zou Jing stepped forward and spoke calmly:
"Reporting to the general, the staff estimates that the enemy will arrive at their encampment before noon tomorrow."

There is a place called Huangtuchi, about 20 li to the north.

It's a small pond in the summer, but it dries up in the winter.

The terrain there was low-lying, providing effective shelter from wind and snow, making it ideal for a large army to encamp.

Lu Yunyi nodded after hearing this, and then asked:
"What if they don't set up camp at Huangtuchi and continue advancing? Are there any other places they could set up camp?"

"General, besides the loess pond, there are only two other places that can accommodate large engineering equipment and troop deployment."
One is Huayan Village, six miles north of Shun'an City.

The other place is Eagle Valley, ten miles away.

However, these two places are too close to Shun'an City.
Given the cautious nature of the Koreans, they probably won't continue advancing.

"In other words, they will most likely be stationed at Huangtuchi."

They should arrive by noon tomorrow; if we calculate the time, we can still make it if we leave now.

Lu Yunyi muttered to himself, and the surrounding generals instantly widened their eyes.

They all looked at him eagerly, hoping to get accurate instructions.

Only Zou Jing remained calm, stepped forward, and said in a deep voice:
"My lord, my soldiers have just been through a fierce battle and are exhausted. They should rest first."

If we were to attack Huangtuchi now,

After a twenty-mile march, it will probably be dawn soon;
Moreover, the noon time predicted by the General Staff was only an approximate time.

The enemy might arrive even earlier, or they might send scouts ahead to explore.

Sending troops at this time is not a good strategy.

"I believe the General can rest for a day and discuss the follow-up plans the day after tomorrow."

Zou Jing's words calmed many generals down.

Indeed, we have won a great victory today.

If we rush into sending troops rashly,

If something goes wrong, the glory of today's victory will be greatly diminished.

Lu Yunyi paced slowly at the city gate, hands on his hips, carefully considering his options.

The draft through the city gate was very strong.
His hair was loose and unmoved, already congealed by blood plasma.

"Da da da"

His footsteps fell softly, and the emotions of the crowd rose and fell with each step.

Military campaigns inherently involve countless moments requiring decisive choices.

The public says that the public is reasonable, and the mother says that the woman is reasonable.

As the leader, choosing the right path from among these voices is by no means an easy task.

The city gate was quiet.
Everyone was waiting for Lu Yunyi's decision.

Only the orderly footsteps of soldiers entering the city could be heard continuously.

After a quarter of an hour, Lu Yunyi suddenly raised his head, his eyes sharp as knives, and said in a deep voice:

"Duoyan Guards and Xincheng Guards, cease entering the city!"

"The logistics department must immediately replace the armaments and replenish the food, arrows, and gunpowder!"
"Set off north in half an hour, sparing no expense, and reach Huangtuchi before dawn to set up an ambush."

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Although I was mentally prepared

However, Tuoluhuchaer and Azashili were still deeply shocked by Lu Yunyi's boldness.

Azashiri stepped forward and softly advised:

"My lord, perhaps we should postpone this for a while?"

If things really go wrong, we simply won't be able to handle the situation!

Lu Yunyi waved his hand to interrupt him:
"In war, we must press on while the enemy is winning; we cannot stop for even a moment!"
If we don't seize the opportunity to press our advantage and launch a fierce attack when morale is high...

Should we wait until morale is low before launching a forced attack?
That's settled then.
Tomorrow you will leave the city and move southeast to provoke Yi Seong-gye.
This will allow him to focus all his energy on Shun'an City and prevent him from easily mobilizing troops!

Tuoluhuchaer and Azashili exchanged a glance, knowing that further persuasion would be useless.

The two took a deep breath and replied in a low voice:
"Yes!"

Zou Jing, who was standing to the side, also put away the documents in his hand, straightened his posture, and replied respectfully:
"Yes!"

"Alright, everyone get ready! We'll depart promptly in half an hour!"

"Yes!"

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking,
Yi Seong-gye's army camp gradually came to life.

The cooks were busy starting fires and cooking.

The soldiers got up and stretched to ward off the chill of the night.

The entire camp was blocked on the main road.
The area within a radius of several miles was completely surrounded.

The caravans that had departed from Xijing were stuck behind the army, but no one dared to complain.
They could only hope that the war would end soon so that they could travel and do business in peace.

Yi Seong-gye didn't sleep all night.
He had been staring at the map of Shun'an City, Xijing and Dingzhou area in the military tent.

At this moment, his eyes were sunken, his face was greasy, and his hair was matted together from staying up all night.

"Prime Minister Li, please wash up."

A bodyguard came in carrying hot water and said softly.

Only when he heard the sound did Lee Seong-gye take his eyes off the map.

With a hint of weariness and sigh, he asked softly:

"Have any messages been sent back from the three armies in the Northwest?"

"Reporting to Prime Minister Li, not yet."

The former general said that news from the Northeast Route might arrive around noon.

You should rest for a while.
"If you get exhausted, the army will be leaderless."

Yi Seong-gye stood up and walked to his personal guards.
He took the warm towel he offered and applied it to his face, saying softly:
"I can't sleep. With a formidable enemy at hand, how can I dare to sleep?"

Moreover, this time the opponent is no ordinary person.

I've seen his record; he excels at long-distance raids and maneuvering.

Now our four armies have surrounded Shun'an City.

However, the gap in the middle is nearly thirty miles long, so we must be wary.

The guard's expression was somewhat strange. He put down the basin of hot water and softly advised:

"Prime Minister Li, with four armies surrounding us, even a god couldn't escape."

"I hope so."

Just then, a guard rushed into the tent and hurriedly said:

"Prime Minister Li, Lord Shui is back!"

"what?"

Lee Seong-gye gasped in surprise, deftly ripping the towel off his face, his eyes instantly flashing with a fierce light.
"Why is he back? Where is he?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a piercing wail echoed from outside the military tent:
"Prime Minister Li! Prime Minister Li! Something terrible has happened!"

(End of this chapter)