Chapter 477: Chapter 461 Command Tent
"How did they manage to cross the battlefield?" Xie Jue stood atop the shattered remnants of the city wall, his gaze cold and heavy as it swept across the expanse outside Ningzhou City. The battlefield was half a day’s journey from the city, and the Beiman and Ningzhou Iron Cavalry typically clashed there. Only when the battlefield was lost, and the Beiman’s assault became too fierce, would the troops retreat to the city. For many years, the Beiman army had rarely reached the area right outside Ningzhou City.
In the harsh winter, General Chen’s forehead was already drenched in a cold sweat. The commanding presence of Xie Jue now surpassed that of the former Marquis Zhenbei. The Marquis had a more balanced leadership style, blending rigidity with leniency; though he appeared stern, he was often soft-hearted, raising his hand forcefully but letting it fall gently. Xie Jue, however, commanded his troops with unwavering strictness. His approach was utterly distinct from that of the Marquis Zhenbei; the father and son often played out a dynamic of one adopting a stern stance while the other softened it.
"Second Young Master, this year’s winter is particularly harsh. The wind and snow over at the battlefield are so fierce that the tents can’t hold up against the elements. Dozens of warhorses froze to death, and hundreds of men suffered frostbite. I made the decision to lead the troops back into the city to winter. We never imagined the Beiman would launch an assault during winter, catching us completely off guard." Once the battlefield was abandoned, there was only one course of action—lead the troops back into battle, drive the Beiman out, and reclaim the territory.
General Chen, a seasoned veteran, had been entrusted with decision-making by Xie Xun before his departure. Given the circumstances, whether it was right or wrong could no longer be debated or punished. However, abandoning the battlefield was an extraordinarily weighty decision. Xie Jue’s expression remained inscrutable, his brows slightly furrowing as though to mask his emotions. General Chen, unable to discern what the man was contemplating, dared not speak further. Xie Jue merely uttered one line, his tone indifferent, "Report the battle situation to the Prince."
"Understood!"
Xie Xun was in the middle of discussing the repairs to the defensive breaches with General Cui when Xie Jue stood at the gates, gazing outwards. The icy snow whipped against his face. The Beiman, unable to breach the city despite prolonged assaults, now faced a dilemma: they would likely either regroup and launch an even more ferocious attack or retreat altogether. The Beiman’s betrayal of past agreements and their decision to dispatch troops suggested that a retreat was unlikely. Xie Jue, too, could feel just how bitterly cold it had become, as General Chen had described.
It truly was unbearably cold this year, even colder than usual. If Ningzhou’s winter was this harsh, then conditions beyond the Sha Ling Tian Mountain, in the Beiman’s homeland, would be even grimmer.
Amidst the vast expanse of wind and snow, there was no sign of the Beiman army for the moment—they must have withdrawn beyond visible range. Xie Xun dispatched a vanguard unit to scout for enemy movement. The unit soon sent back its signal, and after regrouping, Xie Xun, along with General Chen, Xu Zhou, and four other generals, personally led a force of 100,000 soldiers out of the city. Taking advantage of the Beiman commander Dugu Jing’s army being in the middle of resupplying and resting, they intended to launch a sudden and ruthless attack.
Upon making his decision, Xie Jue chose to let go of the battlefield completely. Given the ferocious wind and snow with visibility severely impaired, Ningzhou Iron Cavalry shifted their focus to defending the city. Xie Jue called for General Cui to discuss fortifications and reinforce the city’s defenses.
At the open plains near the abandoned battlefield, both sides’ vanguard forces clashed fiercely. On the Beiman side too, it was their own vanguard doing battle. Initially evenly matched, the tide quickly turned when Xie Xun’s main forces charged in and routed the enemy. The ensuing bloodshed painted the field red before being swiftly buried by the heavy snow.
Lin Xiao and Zhang Boxin followed Xie Xun out of the city to engage the enemy. For days, the two had stood atop the city walls, witnessing an endless stream of comrades being torn apart by the Beiman’s bombardments and arrow volleys. Both harbored a seething rage; their attacks were ferocious and their strikes merciless. Blood splattered across their faces only to cool and harden moments later in the unforgiving air. Despite being immersed in carnage, they constantly looked out for one another—Lin Xiao would cut down enemies that Zhang Boxin could not evade in time, while Zhang Boxin would deflect or pierce the arrows aimed at Lin Xiao. Caught in a maelstrom of bloodlust, battle frenzy, fear, and vengeance, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry finally fought a battle so exhilarating that it seemed to cleanse their pent-up frustration.
The Beiman’s vanguard retreated as they fought, soon pulling back to the battlefield that the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry had originally abandoned.
Raising his hand, Xie Xun called for a halt. There would be no reckless pursuit.
The abandoned battlefield had been well chosen by Ningzhou Iron Cavalry—it boasted favorable terrain and was replete with traps and mechanisms. Now that the Beiman had taken control of it, Xie Xun felt it held a distinct sense of "luring the enemy into a trap." With an impassive face, he stared at the snowy expanse ahead. Opposing forces faced each other across the white void, the tension palpable, lowering their guards for even a breath. Apart from the occasional whinny of warhorses, all was eerily silent.
Xie Xun saw only snow, no enemy in sight.
The Beiman saw only snow as well—no sign of the Ningzhou forces. Both sides were locked in a standoff, waiting for the moment to strike.
"Your Highness, shall we charge and reclaim the battlefield?" A general at Xie Xun’s side proposed indignantly. Losing the battlefield was a stain on the honor of the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry.
Without a word, Xie Xun continued to watch the snowfall before making a simple hand gesture: "Retreat!"
The command of the main general carried absolute authority.
The Ningzhou Iron Cavalry withdrew in disciplined formation. With visibility severely compromised, launching a forced attack went against every tenet of warfare. If they were to recapture the battlefield, it would have to wait until the snowstorm ceased. With the Beiman actively initiating conflict, opportunities for engagement would not be scarce.
The Beiman forces had fortified their positions, fully anticipating a wild counterattack from the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. Yet to their astonishment, after reaching the outskirts of the battlefield, the Ningzhou troops simply withdrew. Puzzled, Dugu Jing’s voice sank, "Are we certain the commanding officer is Xie Xun?"
"Yes, it’s him!"
"Excellent. At last, I can face Xie Xun in open combat!" Dugu Jing’s chest swelled with fervor, his blood boiling. He had been waiting for this day—for three long years.
Finally, it had come!
Back in the city, Xie Xun ordered reports on casualties, comforted the wounded, and boosted morale. Meanwhile, Xie Jue and General Cui were occupied with restoring the city’s defenses. Dragging Xie Jue aside, Xie Xun said, "Second Brother, we’ve returned from West State after traveling day and night without rest. Go take a break."
Noticing the blood-streaked armor Xie Xun had yet to clean, Xie Jue nodded. "You should rest too."
"Of course!"
In truth, Xie Xun’s stamina and energy vastly outstripped Xie Jue’s. He had once spent seven days and nights lying in ambush along the shores of the Shaling River, sustaining himself on nothing but dried rations and water. Now, with battle looming closer than ever, he felt not even a trace of exhaustion. Xie Jue, however, was still recovering from an eye ailment and could not afford the same kind of reckless exertion. General Cui was more than capable of managing the city’s fortifications on his own.
Though the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry specialized in offense rather than defense, they were by no means strangers to defensive strategies. Sitting in the command tent, Xie Xun methodically arranged every detail. General Chen’s decision to bring the troops back into the city to winter had already played out. Whether right or wrong, it was now a settled matter. He, too, had his considerations, and at the time, all the generals had agreed to General Chen’s decision.
Still, General Chen knelt in the command tent, pleading for Xie Xun to punish him according to military law.
"What fault is there, old General? Bitter cold and snow—your decision to retreat was for the safety of our soldiers. There’s no wrongdoing here. Stand up." After years of peace on the frontier, complacency had inevitably taken root. Xie Xun chose not to pursue the matter further. Since he had entrusted General Chen with such authority, the general’s decisions were, by extension, his own. Whether those decisions were right or wrong, he had to stand by them. To do otherwise would mean no one would dare take charge in his absence.
"Understood!"
"Your Highness, have the Beiman people gone mad? Winter is their harshest season, the time when they usually conserve their strength. Yet in this dreadful weather, attacking us is harder for them than it is for us to hold our ground. Why launch a sudden attack?"
"Should we send envoys to negotiate?"
"We’re already fighting—what’s there to discuss? Afraid of them, are we?"
"Who said we’re afraid? Negotiating has always been tradition—fight on the one hand, negotiate on the other."
Fighting and negotiating—each proceeded without hindrance!
"Nothing to negotiate. They colluded with the court to kill the Marquis and the Eldest Young Master. We should’ve settled this debt long ago—I’ve been holding it in for three years. What’s there to discuss?"
The commanders of Ningzhou, known for their fiery temperaments, were soon embroiled in a heated argument within the command tent. Lin Xiao, Zhang Boxin, and Zhou Liyu—the least experienced amongst them—stayed to the side, taking no part in the quarrel. The three clustered together so far back they were nearly outside the tent. Watching the scene before them, they wondered how the Prince managed to keep this unruly group under control.
Each one was more ferocious than the next!
Xie Xun, seated at the head, rested his eyes. Such commotion was nothing new to him. The tent belonging to the former Marquis Zhenbei had seen far livelier chaos—arguments that often devolved into physical brawls. Yet the Marquis had never intervened. Even Xie Zhang would let them fight it out, occasionally snacking on dried fruits to pass the time and half-heartedly breaking up the arguments when they grew dull.
He himself had been like Lin Xiao, Zhang Boxin, and the others, nodding off in a corner of the tent back in those days.
But when Second Brother was present, the command tent was always silent.