Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 16 Conspiracy
The clash of swords and knives shook the heavens with sharp sounds. Green and jade-colored streams of light collided with each other. The energetic energy turned into thousands of roaring blue dragons, and broken branches and leaves were swept up by the aftermath of the fierce battle.

Huang Chao's "Green Fire and Golden Light Sword" has a continuous sword intent, like the endless ocean. Even if facing a continuous rain of arrows, it can cut them all off.

But Qi Kerang's swordsmanship was equally impressive. He stopped the flow of the Sword of Death and changed his moves to "Emperor's Destruction". The sword intent turned desolate, but it contained the true essence of extinction. The sword's brilliance broke through the sky. In order to break the cycle of life and death, he had to destroy Huang Chao's endless Qingmu sword intent.

Like the sad wind blowing through tall trees, the fallen leaves in autumn frost, the emerald green blade light faded away at an extremely fast speed, but the extinction sword intent of the Zhishang Sword attracted the attention of everyone in the field.

"If I become the Jade Emperor someday, I will reward you by letting the peach blossoms bloom together!" Huang Chao shouted, "Life is like an everlasting song, and how can extinction be its end?"

The emerald green blade light surged again, sweeping towards Qi Kerang.

Qi Kerang did not answer, but stepped back to relieve the force. His sword of Zhishang surged like frost and snow. No matter how many killing moves Huang Chao had or how many magical powers he had, he could dissolve them into nothingness with his vast and unrestrained sword strokes. From time to time, he would also slash out with a sharp sword and attack Huang Chao fiercely, forcing Huang Chao to draw his sword for protection.

The two countered each other's moves, Huang Chao attacking with all his might, seemingly boundless power. However, Qi Kerang, on the other hand, was defensive, impeccable, and relaxed, strolling leisurely in the garden.

The fierce battle between two peerless masters in the willow forest was like the arrival of gods. The flashing of swords and sabers flew, the swirling of willow catkins danced wildly, painting a tit-for-tat martial arts scene across the world. The soldiers of both armies watched with bated breath, their eyes fixed fixed, fearing to miss a single moment.

Such a duel between two masters is something most people would only witness once in their lifetime. If one could gain some understanding from it, it would undoubtedly be of great benefit to those who practice martial arts.

Zhu Wen watched the two men fighting carefully, but let out a long sigh.

During the fight, although Huang Chao mainly used the offensive and his sword strokes were powerful and invincible, he could not break through Qi Kerang's sword power and ultimately could not gain an overwhelming advantage.

Qi Kerang was mostly on the defensive, a fact dictated by his personality, but his sword intent was dense and impenetrable, leaving no flaws, and he didn't fall behind. This battle could only end in a draw.

After the two commanders finished fighting, the flags in the battle formation were waving, and the soldiers of the Cao army filed out like wolves and tigers, and launched a fierce attack on the Taining army's position.

Sweat poured down like rain, dust flew in the air, and deafening roars continued. Even though the Cao army had lost the strong support of chariots and cavalry in the forest, the fierce offensive of the rebel army also caused the Taining army's formation to break like waves, and they were frustrated and retreated.

However, the Taining army, relying on the high slopes for their formation, had already established numerous fortifications, relying on these to fight and defend, thus wearing down the Grass Army's fighting spirit. Not only were there numerous caltrops set up in front of the formation to divide the rebels, but there were also frequent crossbow arrows and flying stones, which pierced the Grass Army soldiers' heads and left them bleeding.

The battle on the battlefield was like the clash of clouds, dragons, wind and tigers. The two armies advanced and retreated, exchanging offense and defense, just like warriors countering each other's moves.

The two sides fought for half a day, rising and falling, but it was just like the one-on-one fight between Huang Chao and Qi Kerang, and it was difficult to tell the winner. Seeing that it was getting dark, Huang Chao had no choice but to give the order to sound the horn, and his army was in good order and invulnerable, so Qi Kerang did not dare to pursue.

"Marshal, the enemy has retreated." Yan Lingkong, one of the "Six Stars of the Southern Dipper" under Marshal Xue, said to Qi Kerang.

"Yes. Huang Chao has strict military discipline and is good at training soldiers. Even when using infantry in the forest, he can still launch such a fierce offensive. He truly has the style of a famous general in ancient times." Qi Kerang had a very high opinion of Huang Chao.

Yan Lingkong showed a look of surprise, but saw Qi Kerang turned around and pointed at the auxiliary soldiers who were working hard on the construction site.

"However, people are the city, people are the moat, people are the trench. The efforts of these people forced the battle-hardened Huang Chao army to retreat in frustration."

"It is precisely because of human labor that we can transform the world and create all the prosperity we have today. Human labor can make civil engineering easier, and earthwork tools can be equivalent to a million soldiers. Therefore, as military commanders, we protect people."

Qi Kerang sighed, "Huang Chao viewed all the sufferings of the changing times as necessary sacrifices. While this may seem reasonable in terms of the broader world, it's far too cruel. Remember, a speck of dust from the past, when it falls on the shoulders of an individual, is like a towering Mount Tai..."

His eyes were filled with compassion. "As a general, while the sword inevitably stains innocent blood, how can one abandon the compassion inherent in human nature? On the battlefield, one's fate is ultimately uncontrollable."

Yan Lingkong nodded, as if thinking about something... In the next few days, Huang Chao mobilized his troops and launched a fierce attack on the Taining Army, trying to dig up the position of the Beibian River. He also dealt several blows to the enemy and hindered the Taining Army's progress in breaking the dike, but in the end it was difficult to make a big breakthrough and maintained a situation of neither winning nor losing.

Without the support of chariots and cavalry, Huang Chao used infantry to fiercely attack the breached fortifications of the Taining army. Although Huang Chao was skilled in using troops and commanding, which reduced casualties, such high-intensity offensive operations eventually made the soldiers tired. Even the elite soldiers who had experienced many battles could not help but complain, and the speed of the attack slowed down.

Because of a delay, Qi Kerang had already established fortifications along the Beibian River by the time Huang Chao launched his attack. This dike-breaking scheme had gone from a conspiracy to an overt one! Although the righteous army was the pursued party, they had no choice but to attack the Xueshuai army's strong positions, engaging in a war of attrition in order to disrupt the Taining army's ability to breach the dike.

Although it is a fight for survival, how can such a boring and difficult battle maintain high morale?

Huang Chao himself had certainly discovered this a long time ago. Although he was still passionate and used his personal charm to inspire the morale of the troops, he could not hide the hint of worry between his brows.

Zhu Wen, a rising general of the Cao army, also lost his smile.

From the beginning, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but everything seemed to be shrouded in fog, and he could not find any clues.

He looked up at the blue sky again.

The sky that once seemed vast and endless now seemed to be encircled by the horizon into a semi-spherical cage, suppressing his soul and will, and preventing his thoughts from soaring above the thirty-three heavens.

“How much I can see depends on how high my heart is.”

"It seems that facing a truly powerful opponent, it's not that easy to calmly overlook it."

Some were happy while others were sad. When the morale of the Cao army gradually declined, outside the east gate of Songzhou City, there was a sense of jubilation among the Song Wei army.

"God has truly destroyed these bandits!" During the military meeting, Song Wei's nephew Song Xiangling clapped his hands and said, "Snow Commander Qi Kerang actually has such a brilliant plan to defeat these bandits. I believe the two armies will clash soon, and the two bandits Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao will be surrendered to the capital and have their heads hung above the Northern Palace.

Song Xiangling was also from the Guangping Song family and was a relative of Song Wei outside the fifth degree of mourning. He served as a ninth-rank accompanying military captain.

"Xiang Ling is right," said the white-haired old commander, Song Wei, stroking his beard. "Now, as long as General Qi digs the dike of the Beibian River, the Yellow Bandits will be defeated. If the Chao Bandits fear a water attack and abandon the advantageous location of Yanwang City and flee, our army can pursue them with all its might and kill them in one fell swoop."

"Now that the thieves' nest has been destroyed, the thief king is isolated and will be captured by me. Then, the Heavenly Family will bestow their grace upon you, and you will all be rewarded!"

All the generals in the tent cheered and praised General Song for his wisdom and bravery, seemingly forgetting that it was Qi Kerang who made the strategic plan and deployed the troops successfully to trap Huang Chao's army.

But at this moment, a rough voice broke the harmonious scene.

"Does Marshal Song really think that letting Marshal Qi take the first credit is enough? Or does Marshal Song really think that this will completely wipe out the bandits and secure complete victory?"

Everyone turned their eyes and saw that the young man who spoke had a face as bronze as a mirror, eyebrows as sharp as swords, and a strong physique. It was Wang Jian, the general of the Zhongwu Army.

Amidst the praises, Wang Jian remained unhurried and continued to speak unpleasant words, ignoring the unfriendly look from "Heavenly Sword" Song Jue beside Song Wei.

"During the Battle of Yizhou, many people believed Wang Xianzhi to be dead. But not long after, he reappeared alive and kicking. If our army underestimates the enemy and neglects its will to fight to the death, even if we achieve a decisive victory, who can guarantee that the bandit leader won't flee and regroup, becoming a grave threat to the nation?"

"I have a suggestion, and I hope General Song will listen to it. It will allow General Song to fully realize the great merit of suppressing the bandits, and our country will no longer be plagued by bandits. If this plan fails, General Song will behead Wang and command the three armies!"

(End of this chapter)