Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 266 is too early.
Cao Kun discarded the long sword that was about to break and took a new one from Cao Ling.

This is the fourth knife he's changed today.

"kill!"

Cao Kun kicked aside the enemy in front of him and strode forward. Today, he must take Lingzhou City no matter what. Only by taking this city will the Cao family have enough deterrent power to usher in a period of peace for himself.

He needs to make good use of this period of rest to gain control of the Cao family. Only in this way will his efforts not be in vain, and he will not become someone else's trophy.

Previously, he disliked personally charging into battle, and even more so, he disliked braving arrows and stones. He always felt that he was too proud and delicate to do such things. Now, he understood one thing: if it weren't for his valiant fighting at the forefront, these Cao family members who had entered Lingzhou City might have already been defeated or escaped.

When there is no war, everyone respects him as the eldest son of the Cao family. Only when he goes to the battlefield will they realize that if he wants to gain the soldiers' loyalty, he must be braver and more responsible than them.

Only when you can support yourself can you become someone others can rely on, and only then can you truly become a leader they look up to.

Although it is much easier to storm the city walls from the inner city than from the outside, there are still horse trails, corner towers, and footpaths that need to be fought for inch by inch.

"Awooo—"

Cao Ling swung his spiked club and smashed it against a giant shield. The shield knocked off several of the spiked club's fangs, and at the same time, the giant shield shattered with a thunderous crash. Cao Kun swung his sword to deflect two longswords that were aimed at Cao Ling, and used his shoulder to push the almost exhausted Cao Ling off the horse path to prevent him from being killed by the enemy. He then picked up the broken spiked club and swung it again.

Having finally climbed onto the city wall, Cao Kun had no intention of going down. Behind him, a centurion carrying the Cao clan's banner was vigorously waving the flag, beckoning more Cao clan soldiers to gather there.

Zheng Tianshou coughed up blood and thrust his lance out again with all his might. He Tian cleaved the lance with his saber, took a series of steps forward, turned around and swung his saber down. Zheng Tianshou did not dodge, and in the instant he turned around, he thrust his lance horizontally. This suicidal fighting style prevented He Tian from beheading Zheng Tianshou. He could only deflect Zheng Tianshou's lance with a horizontal slash in mid-air.

He Tianchu stood up and said to Zheng Tianshou, who was blocking his way, "Zheng Tianshou, you are so willing to risk your life for the Cao family. You truly surprise me."

Zheng Tianshou was not in a hurry to attack. He also leaned on his horse spear and said, "I have four sons. The eldest is thirty-seven years old this year, and the youngest is nineteen. None of them have the ability to sense qi yet. Even if I have the ability to guide qi into the body, they don't even have the ability to sense qi. What future can they have?"

You say I'm working for the Cao family, but you might as well say I'm working for my four wicked children.

Old He, I still can't understand it. Was He Yu's child your own? If so, how could you bear to put her in a steamer and steam her to death?

He Tian looked up at the sky and asked, "Does Cao Kun care about He Yu?"

Zheng Tianshou sighed and said, "Knowing that you would ambush him, he still led his troops to pursue you, just to have a chance to kill you in person. For this, he was seriously injured and lost more than 2,600 of Cao's sons."

Now, knowing full well that the troops outside the city can't stop your elite troops, he still risks entering the city, all for a chance to kill you. He Tian, ​​if he didn't hate you to the core, he would never have done such a thing.

He Tian laughed heartily and said, "That's right, it wasn't in vain that He Yu was willing to die for him."

Seeing that a huge Cao family banner had been planted on the city wall, Zheng Tianshou said to He Tian, ​​"The situation is hopeless, He Tian. The eldest son said he would kill you personally, so I won't interfere."

Seeing Zheng Tianshou about to leave, He Tian said angrily, "Even if you give me Lingzhou City, I still have three thousand elite warriors who can still roam the world freely."

Zheng Tianshou chuckled and said, "A man who once dominated a province has now become a homeless dog. Let's see how long you can run rampant."

He Tian roared, "I will surely destroy the Cao family!"

Having said that, he leaped onto a stray warhorse with large horns and headed towards the west gate.

A mouthful of blood spurted from Zheng Tianshou's mouth, staining his armor red. He sat down wearily, watching the Lingzhou troops retreat rapidly, and muttered to himself, "Third Young Master, Ninth Young Master, I'm sorry."

Cao Kun continued to lead his troops to clear out the remaining Lingzhou soldiers on the city wall. After a low horn sounded, his vision suddenly cleared. He saw Lingzhou soldiers taking turns covering each other as they withdrew from Lingzhou City. Looking outside the city, he saw even more Lingzhou soldiers attacking the Cao family's barely held position.

Cao Kun felt that his internal energy could no longer circulate, his legs went weak, and he knelt down on one knee in the pool of blood. Looking around, he saw the cheers of Cao's troops everywhere.

He really turned this battle into a battle of attrition.

He had already captured Lingzhou City, and the Lingzhou soldiers who were fleeing in panic outside the city, led by a large banner with the character "He" on it, were charging straight towards the two Cao family banners below the city in a wedge formation.

Seeing the Tiger Warriors outside the city, who had been scattered, slowly regrouping and gathering, Cao Kun struggled to his feet and roared at Cao Ling, who was climbing the city wall: "Gather the troops and leave the city!"

"It seems that no one gained an advantage in this battle. Although the Cao family captured Lingzhou City, the casualties were too heavy. Even if they take Lingzhou, they will need to recuperate for a long time before they can recover their strength."

This outcome should be acceptable to everyone except the Cao and He families.

Seeing the children's confused expressions at the battle situation, Liang Kun immediately stepped forward and explained the gains and losses of the battle from a higher perspective.

Lei Ming said, "It's not worth it, it's not worth it. His two younger brothers are about to die, and Cao Kun's rescue will be too late. He has delayed in the city for too long."

Liang Kun laughed and said, "Yes, it took too much time. Lei Ming, if you were Cao Kun, would you have delayed for so long?" Lei Ming shook his head and said, "No, Cao Kun advanced gradually in order to be safe. In fact, after entering the city and controlling the city gate, he should have stopped advancing and left half of his troops to defend the captured city gate, while the rest should have immediately turned to attack the Tiger Legion's rear."

Once we're outside the city and have wiped out the Tiger Army, it doesn't matter if the city gates are recaptured. The key to victory in this war lies with the Tiger Army, not with Lingzhou City.

Now that most of the Tiger Army has fled, even if Cao Kun takes Lingzhou City, there will be endless troubles in the future.

Therefore, I find it hard to understand why someone as intelligent as Cao Kun would make such a basic mistake.

Liang Kun frowned and said, "You are still young, it is not appropriate to try to understand people's hearts too early."

Lei Ming laughed loudly: "Is this why the two Cao brothers were fighting He Tian on the left, while Cao Kun was chasing after the Tiger Legion on the right?"

Liang Kun looked embarrassed, after all, Cao Kun usually had a good reputation among the Yun family.

Lei Ming watched as some of the scattered Tiger Legion soldiers entered the mountains and forests, and said to Liang Kun, "I've heard that the Tiger Legion soldiers can only be loyal to He Tian for their entire lives because they have an iron thorn in their heads?"

Liang Kun said, "This is common knowledge."

Lei Ming said, "Let's take advantage of the chaos to get a few back and let Huo Liao and the others study them to see what's going on."

Just as Liang Kun was about to stop them, Lei Ming led a group of young people away from the cliff where they had been observing the battlefield and disappeared into the dense forest. The guards hurriedly said, "Lord, they—"

Liang Kun shook his head and said, "They have the ability to protect themselves."

After speaking, he returned to the cliff and continued to observe the war, which was about to end.

The banner of the Cao family finally fell, swallowed up by the earthen-yellow tide of the Lingzhou army. After consuming the few remaining black, stubborn Cao family soldiers, the tide rolled westward.

Cao Kun reined in his horse and raised his hand to stop his soldiers from continuing to pursue the enemy.

"Where is Uncle?" Cao Kun asked the battered Cao Ling, his exhaustion barely concealed.

"Uncle fought fiercely with He Tian and was seriously injured. He is now resting in the city."

Cao Kun dismounted, picked up a Cao clan army flag that had been trampled by countless people, waved it a few times to shake off the dust, and then tucked it into the armor sash on his back. He remounted and roared at the assembled Cao clan troops, "We have taken Lingzhou City. Are you happy?"

The soldiers all lowered their heads and remained silent.

Cao Kun rode his horse back and forth in front of them, roaring as he went, "Are you happy that we've taken Lingzhou?"

Cao Ling, who was right behind Cao Kun, waved his arm and shouted, "Happy!"

Cao Kun continued to ride his horse through the crowd.

"We've taken Lingzhou City, are you happy?"

"Happy!" The voices were scattered.

Cao Kun continued to weave through the crowd, roaring, "We've taken Lingzhou City, are you happy?"

"Happy!" The crowd's voices finally rang out in unison, and their shouts seemed to have gained some strength.

Cao Kun continued to roar, "Since you're so happy, then go into the city and take your spoils! I hereby issue the order: enter Lingzhou City, and seal your swords in six days!"

"Here!"

This time, the soldiers' answers finally had a hint of a cataclysmic event.

Liang Kun stood up from the cliff, looked at the Cao family's troops swarming into the city, and sighed, "No wonder the lord looks down on you. With your behavior of prioritizing eliminating dissidents over military objectives, you are destined to achieve nothing great."

"This chaotic world has only just begun, and you've already revealed your true nature so thoroughly. Cao Kun, you're still too hasty."

As soon as Liang Kun left the cliff, thick smoke rose from the distant city of Lingzhou. This time, the fire didn't seem to be from war...

Yun Ce sat in a chair facing the rising sun. Behind him were two tightly closed rooms. Occasionally, the cries of babies could be heard from inside the rooms, but they would soon disappear.

He couldn't help but look back. Even though it was through the doors and windows, he felt he could still see two tiny figures eating. This scene dispelled all the grievances, resentment, and confusion in his heart.

(End of this chapter)