Frost for a Thousand Years

The 1,600 straw sandal soldiers were actually Imperial Guards in disguise. To confuse the crowd and make the refugees seem more real, they actually mixed in hundreds of women and children. These women and children were placed in the front row, and under the cover of darkness, the soldiers could not distinguish them and therefore let their guard down.

Even if these people had already made their way to the ground below their camp, lying flat and straight, with a third of them already on the edge of the cordon, the soldiers above wouldn't take it too seriously, since it was difficult for refugees to form a fighting force.

So when they suddenly sprang up from their snoring positions and charged toward them, the soldiers on the watchtower didn't even have time to shoot. They had just hurriedly picked up their crossbows, nocked the arrows, and before they could even fire, those 'commoners' were within ten paces.

Only a few scattered arrows were fired, yet they already struck the bottom of the gate, like countless ants chiseling at a tree stump. Moreover, their hoes and axes were specifically designed for attacking trees, and with their overwhelming numbers, they were about to conquer it.

"Quickly report to the centurion, the people have rioted!"

One of the men shouted at the soldiers beside him, then drew his bow and fired an arrow at the group of people under the gate.

Then a crisp knocking sound was heard, and although the arrow had clearly hit the body, it hadn't penetrated...

Did you hit the hoe?

In the chaos, he saw that the villagers had already torn down the gate. If he didn't run now and they came in, he would be like that pitiful monkey hiding in a tree surrounded by jackals and leopards. So he quickly took a few steps and hurriedly ran towards the camp.

These soldiers hurriedly left the camp gate and then ran into the centurion who was leading his troops.

"Damn it! What are you doing running away, you bunch of civilians?!"

General Bai immediately drew his sword and berated the deserters.

At the same time, almost all the soldiers gathered together.

Although they weren't so wary of ordinary people, there were still so many of them that everyone was on high alert, and they all gathered together as soon as something happened.

Including those who tried to escape but were stopped, a total of 112 soldiers formed a single file under the command of the centurion.

The front row consists of shields, the second row of spearmen, and the rear row of archers.

Even though the door was about to be kicked open, Bai Zong remained calm.

"These are just farmers. If they're really not afraid of death, then wipe them all out!"

General Bai stared intently at that direction, gripping his knife tightly, his fighting spirit at its peak.

The soldiers found their leader and were no longer afraid.

If 500,000 soldiers and civilians were to rebel, it would indeed be capable of destroying the world.

But a mere thousand refugees are not a concern, especially against a regular army of a hundred men, they are even less of a threat.

When regular troops suppress bandits, it's as easy as cutting melons and vegetables.

Moreover, ordinary people would absolutely collapse if the casualty rate reached 10%.

Everyone, hold your breath.

The next moment, the gate was removed directly.

Surprisingly, the people did not storm in.

After the door was removed, it was placed horizontally.

Then it was used as a solid and heavy shield, held in front of a dozen people, and charged towards their barbarian king at an extremely fast speed.

Stand behind Bloom!

"Fire the arrow! Fire the arrow!"

At this moment, General Bai gave a loud order.

Nearly fifty arrows were fired in that direction in an instant.

But before they could land, almost simultaneously, countless forks were gripped in the hands of these people like javelins, and they charged forward, ready to launch them with precision!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, harpoons rained down from the sky.

Immediately, about ten people were strung together.

The door, like a bulldozer, came towards their formation and smashed open with a loud bang!

The well-prepared formation was breached by this single blow, creating a huge gap.

Then, several farmers with sickles, like hedgehogs, took the opportunity to roll around and squeeze inside. Under the cover of night, they frantically chopped at their feet like harvesting wheat.

"No, these people are wrong—"

General Bai wasn't stupid; how could he not see their exceptional discipline and fighting prowess? He immediately shouted, "Hold on! Hold on!"

Several shield bearers stood in front, while soldiers with spears fought the 'farmer,' thrusting a spear into his chest. The trembling in his hand made him almost cry out in despair.

The common people are all in armor!

General Bai's face turned ashen, and then he took advantage of the chaos to run away, climbing onto a horse. There were many others who wanted to escape as well, and they were all fighting over the horses.

Then the farmers devoured the soldiers like autumn leaves in a gust of wind, picked up their crossbows, nocked them, and fired. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the soldiers fell one after another!

Of course, it's impossible to eliminate everyone.

Someone delivered the message immediately.

This is not a variable that can be controlled.

"Everyone, quickly sweep the area, go to the kitchen to get a day's rations, and then assemble here!"

General San Gou maintained a high level of focus without the slightest slackening.

What he wanted to do was to use this 'white-clad' army to stir up a storm in the territory of the Duke of Li.

But the other party's reaction won't be slow.

Therefore, they had no front, middle, and rear armies, no auxiliary troops, no logistics, and no aid.

Just like Huo Qubing's expedition to the grasslands, they conquered and ate wherever they went.

This is the strongest combat unit.

There is no 'headquarters'.

These Imperial Guards were already strong, and with their numerical advantage and the advantage of striking first, they only suffered the loss of a dozen or so men when they pacified this defensive line.

"My lord, please don't move, let me wait..."

While the battlefield was being cleared, several very strong farmers surrounded a tall, handsome man, protecting him throughout and preventing anyone from getting close to him. They also closely scanned the corpses on the ground, stabbing anyone they saw to prevent them from feigning death or coming back to life.

"I'm fine, I'll obey General San Gou's orders..."

The cleaning was completed quickly.

Then, this simple camp, which was set up after the Duke of Li arrived, was burned down completely.

After these "straw sandal soldiers" passed through, they prepared to advance under the guidance of General San Gou.

"The five main camps of the military settlements are as fortified as fortresses, and are well-equipped with troops and provisions. They cannot be attacked by force," San Gou ordered. "However, the settlements themselves are no different from villages, each with only a dozen or so weak soldiers in charge. What we need to do is lead all the soldiers from the settlements to collect provisions, and then use our numerical advantage to besiege the branch camps. Finally, we will connect the points into a line, and the line into an area, completely isolating the traitor Wu Qing!"

General San Gou's military skills have always been good, but these words are not something an ordinary illiterate soldier could say. He is a reflection of Song Shi'an.

Song Shi'an was the sun they pursued unconditionally.

Cry loudly/(jump) Cry loudly/(jump) Cry loudly/(jump)...

This kind of play has never been seen before.

But these Imperial Guards all knew in their hearts that this was simply a brilliant idea.

The Duke of Li had no real power base here, only the Crown Prince under his control. His so-called control was basically based on prestige. This prestige was acceptable in the army, but it was negligible among the common people.

The highest official that many ordinary people had ever seen was probably the county magistrate. Every time they met him, they had to kneel down and didn't even dare to raise their heads.

Therefore, there was no difference between county magistrates, prefects, the Nine Ministers, dukes, and even the emperor to them.

They were all important figures who dared not breathe when face to face.

But a single spark can start a prairie fire, which means clearing away all their identities.

We are both carbon-based life forms, so who is more noble than whom?

This is also the charm of military settlements; only through military settlements can the integration of the military and civilians, their mutual fusion, and the indistinguishability of "you" and "me" be achieved.

The coup led by Wang Shuishan exploded in the heart of Huaijun, but he had no loyal army, only overwhelming public opinion. It was like a house on fire; the Duke of Liguo could not extinguish it with water, but he could watch it burn to the end.

But what if there's a volcano or forest outside the house?
.........

The meeting of the iron triangle of Duke Li, Hua Zheng, and Zhao Yi was initiated after receiving news of the 'White-Clad Crossing the River'.

Three people are in front of a sand table.

“Wei Wusheng has already led his troops north, heading towards us. He must be going to be the enemy of the Qinzhou army that came to our aid,” Zhao Yi analyzed. “On the east side, he has sent out an army disguised as civilians to stir up trouble and instigate rebellions in various military settlements.”

“This is Song Shi’an’s usual trick. He always resorts to these underhanded schemes before a major battle,” Hua Zheng said. “This eastern side is just a way to gather the people together and cause trouble. The real battlefield is on the front.”

Their main adversary was the powerful Qinzhou Army.

“We’ve deployed troops here to block the main roads and prevent them from maliciously instigating and spreading their influence. At most, we’ll lose a dozen or so branch camps. But the main camp is truly sealed off and heavily guarded; it won’t be easily taken,” Zhao Yi said. “Moreover, Huaiyang County is also in our hands, so they have no way to take it immediately.”

“Yes, so what if the people make a fuss? Since ancient times, when has there ever been a time when the people’s fuss could actually lead to anything?” Hua Zheng said optimistically.

But the Duke of Li remained silent.

He followed their instructions, deploying heavy troops to guard that line and block traffic. Then, as they also instructed, even if all the branch camps fell, he replaced the flags of each branch camp with Song Shi'an's.

Finally, he extended his hand and said calmly, "You are the generals of this branch camp, and you are the magistrates of this county. What should you do?"

"..." The two of them were stunned at the same time.

This is what they call cutting their losses and abandoning all the less important branch camps.

This led to all the strongholds around the headquarters and county town changing their flags and banners.

When you feel stressed, you can be the general here.

Back then, when Cao Cao was fighting Lü Bu because of Chen Gong's betrayal, almost all the cities in his rear had fallen, leaving only three remaining.

The three cities of Juancheng, Fanxian, and Dong'e.

You might be thinking, "Aren't there three more?"

Yes.

The people in charge of these three cities were Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, and Xiahou Dun.

Now that he, the Duke of Li, has been parachuted here, will he have Xun Yu and Cheng Yu to defend the city to the death for him?

Once a spark ignites a prairie fire, that area is essentially doomed.

The Duke of Li's political acumen was so sophisticated that Zhao Yi and Hua Zheng admired him immensely.

They only considered the city's defenses and the disparity in military strength between the two sides, but forgot to consider the human element.

“Even so, it is still beyond our control,” Zhao Yi said, pointing to the ceremony of the military settlement. “Since his army is all in the north, wanting to confront my Qinzhou warriors head-on, we should also gather all our strength and march south from here to defeat Wei Wusheng head-on. As long as we win and rescue the officials, the world will be at peace.”

You want my rear, I want your main camp.

All tactical converters!

However, the Duke of Li still did not give a direct response to this proposal.

On the contrary, I'm a little confused as to why young people these days all like to play Texas Hold'em.

They insist on this kind of all-out attack: if I win, I win big; if I lose, I lose everything. There's no turning back.

Yu Yu is like the world itself, a gamble where the winner is determined.

"It's too risky." Hua Zheng is slightly weaker than Zhao Yi. Back in court, when Prince Jin frantically hinted that he should replace Song Shi'an on the mission, he chickened out. But when arguing with Chen Kefu, Zhao Yi dared to bet with him that he could lead troops to conquer Qi. This directly highlights the difference in their personalities.

The advantage of being timid is that it's stable.

The advantage of recklessness lies in courage.

Their differences, ironically, gave the Duke of Li someone to use.

"We need to send someone to Wang Shuishan's side," Li Guogong said.

His meaning was clear: neither side could be abandoned.

The rebels must be suppressed, and a direct confrontation must be fought.

“Indeed.” Hua Zheng nodded in agreement. “We don’t need to completely subdue Wang Shuishan. We just need to prevent them from turning everyone against us. Holding them off will help us in the main battle.”

As long as Huai County is not completely transformed into the shape of Song Shi'an, but is instead stretched and rubbed together, unable to intervene in the fierce attack of the Qinzhou army, then the outcome remains uncertain.

What Zhao Yi just said was very good; their goal is to seize power.

Song Shi'an couldn't possibly spare too much power to manage the emperor, the Prince of Jin, and the officials. At most, he would only place those who needed to be placed under house arrest under house arrest, those who needed to be controlled under control, and those who needed to be monitored under surveillance. Taking these high-ranking officials with him, or even with the army, was like giving himself a father figure.

Most people were at the land reclamation ceremony.

By seizing control of the military colonization ceremony, all political correctness could be overturned.

The army in Qinzhou must be led by the Duke of Li, because he is the main force.

To deal with those rebels, they would have to choose between Hua Zheng and Zhao Yi...

Duke Li began to consider the matter.

These two people also realized that the Duke of Li was making a choice.

So everyone waited patiently.

After a long while, the Duke of Li suddenly pointed to the sand table and said, "Do you think Song Shi'an's focus is here?"

He was referring to a direct confrontation.

Both of them felt that this was the place.

"The Qinzhou army has descended from the sky, and they are strong and well-equipped. If they lose in a head-on confrontation, then we will have won a great victory," Hua Zheng said.

“Yes, under normal circumstances, how could Wei Wusheng’s troops possibly stand up to us?” Zhao Yi said. “He must have some insidious scheme he’s using here.”

"Could it be that the main battle is being delayed so that the flags on the flanks can be pulled down one by one?" Duke Li retorted.

They began to think deeply.

"If it were me, I would definitely be here, pouring my heart and soul into it," said the Duke of Li, pointing to the main battlefield.

The two were a little confused. You said that if it were you, you would definitely focus on the main battlefield. Isn't that a contradiction?

"But," Duke Li said after mentally deliberating over the matter, "given Song Shi'an's personality, those common people are his top priority. The real cover is that brat Wei Wusheng."

The Duke of Li put forward such a surprising viewpoint.

That is, the battlefield where tens of thousands of people clashed head-on was part of Song Shi'an's scheme.

The purpose was to allow his influence to spread like wild grass in spring, covering the entire land of Huai County.

They were guessing where Song Shi'an was.

Where is the real general?

If Song Shi'an is really there, whether I send Zhao Yi or Hua Zheng, it will be a gift.

The two of them are definitely no match for Song Shi'an.

"I'll go catch him."

In the end, the Duke of Li stuck to his judgment.

This great general did not choose to pursue his expertise in conquering cities and territories. Instead, he chose to be the defender, focusing all his efforts on countering Song Shi'an.

He came to delay the enemy on the front lines.

"Then what about the front..." Zhao Yi was a little nervous. He had never personally led an army in a real large-scale battle before.

"He, Wei Wusheng, is just like you. Although he personally led troops to Qi, he didn't experience a truly fierce battle," Duke Li said to Zhao Yi. "His strength lies in his conviction and his courage to fight to the death. I want you to also be prepared to die in battle, to fiercely overcome this tough challenge, and to uphold the prestige of your Zhao family!"

If you trace the lineage of the noble families of Qinzhou back to their ancestors, the first generation of them were basically all famous generals.

Even the previous generation was still okay.

There was the Duke of Li, who single-handedly destroyed two kingdoms; the Duke of Zhangping, who single-handedly pacified the Baiyue region; and Xiao Qun, a famous general who resisted the Qi dynasty.

As for this generation, Zhao Xiang, who is considered the new generation leader of the "Fragrant Generals," is just a bunch of braggarts. Han Yuan was beheaded by Ji Yuan. As for the others, none of them have been able to prove themselves.

"Yi'er, we are a noble family from Qinzhou, and we will rely on you for the future."

The Duke of Li gently placed one of his hands on his shoulder, giving him a strong affirmation.

Zhao Yi has been enhanced.

At that moment, he was completely ignited.

It is our inescapable duty to restore the glory of our noble lineage!
"My lord, I will surely defeat that unworthy descendant of Wei Wusheng!"

Zhao Yi knelt on one knee, clenched his fists, and accepted the main DPS role that would initiate the team fight head-on.

"Hua Zheng, you are one of the Nine Ministers, your rank is above Zhao Yi's." The Duke of Li looked at him again.

"Duke," Hua Zheng said, bowing with his hands clasped, "I am willing to assist General Zhao."

Hua Zheng is different in that he is of a higher generation than Zhao Yi, and his father died early, so he took over the position early as well. The current Empress Dowager is also his aunt, so he has a very high status. When the Crown Prince was assigning positions, he was the main one and Zhao Yi was the assistant.

But now that war is truly about to break out, it will definitely be led by those with a stronger will to fight.

"Alright." Duke Li nodded, and that was the decision.

"I will give orders to the generals from Qinzhou to let you lead them," said the Duke of Li. "Your presence is equivalent to my presence. If they violate military discipline or show any disobedience, they can be dealt with according to military law without any leniency."

"Yes," Zhao Yi replied.

And that's how it was settled.

However, Hua Zheng still had one thing on his mind, and asked, "Then, His Highness the Crown Prince, with whom?"

That is indeed a good question.

Both sides hold a strong claim.

One is the newly enthroned emperor.

Another is the crown prince who has been publicly announced to the world and is currently serving his regency.

How this symbol is used is crucial.

"I'll take the crown prince with me; what use will it be in deterring the Song dynasty?"

As if he had foreseen something, the Duke of Li said, "And you, become rebels, and no matter what flags they are raising, kill them all!"
-
I'm 800 words short of 6,000 today, so I'll make up for it with a super long chapter tomorrow. The plot is also reaching its climax, respect~ (End of this chapter)