Chapter 476: Chapter 460 Ningzhou
The signal fires disrupted the plans of Xie Jue and Xie Xun. Both their expressions were deeply solemn. Xie Xun and Xie Jue were already donned in armor, preparing to return to Ningzhou overnight, and Xie Jue would accompany Xie Xun. Xie Jue instructed Fengyu to oversee West State, ensuring the supply of provisions and military needs. He sent Xue Yu to Jiaozhou and ordered the governors from various regions to convene after the snow melted to stabilize morale. The spring farming plans would remain unchanged, and all policies across the twelve states must proceed as planned—at least until the battle situation in Ningzhou deteriorated. Fengyu understood the gravity of the situation; though alarmed, she would not panic. The twelve states had stabilized for only a few years before conflict arose again. Having overseen the development of the twelve states up until now, she had established her own effective system of operations.
"Second Brother, Zhixu, please don’t worry about the provisions." Fengyu gritted her teeth. "I will ensure the supply chain holds."
The supply reserves in Ningzhou had always been ample—food, clothing, and weaponry were all stocked sufficiently. However, the consumption during winter warfare was colossal, and Fengyu was acutely aware of this. West State, being a food-producing region, could now support the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry. Moreover, the crop rotation schedules during wartime would prioritize grain cultivation to guarantee food supplies. There were no concerns regarding weaponry or war chariots—Fengyu’s only worry was ensuring adequate supplies of winter clothing and medicine.
Xie Xun said, "Do not panic. We’ve simulated countless scenarios—trust me, I can win this battle!"
"Be careful!" Fengyu and Xie Xun had met in the Capital City, grown close amidst the twelve states, and fallen in love—but she had never feared for him being wounded on the battlefield before. During the recent years of relative peace, as both forces recuperated, she hadn’t known the dread of peril, even when Xie Xun was out suppressing bandits. Now, however, facing the imminent confrontation with Dugu Jing’s army, unease gnawed at her heart.
Xie Xun was not the kind of commander who issued commands from safety behind the lines. He charged at the forefront, spearheading the battle himself. Fengyu was especially terrified of him coming to harm.
As the hour of departure loomed, Fengyu concealed her distress, though Xie Xun easily discerned her fear. He held her close and said, "Ayu, don’t be afraid. Take good care of Ruyi."
He did not utter a single promise.
He knew that promises, in the face of the battlefield’s volatility, were the most fleeting and illusory of comforts. The next moment could bring anything unforeseen. Every generation of men from the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion had been valiant warriors.
And all of them had died on the battlefield.
He knew this. Fengyu knew this. Thus, promises could never ease her anxiety.
With signal fires ablaze and time pressing, Xie Jue and Xie Xun departed West State under the cover of night.
Zhongzhou.
Fang Chuning was pulled out of sleep and onto the city walls. From there, he too saw the signal fires not far from Jiaozhou. His heart pounded fiercely, and he dispatched a messenger to contact Marshal Fang immediately.
Ting Feng had indeed left nothing out of his calculations. He had predicted with precision that Sangnan’s true intention was to ally with the imperial court to wage war on the twelve states. Prosperous and wealthy, Sangnan would never engage in a battle without preparation. If Sangnan deployed its troops, Beiman would surely coordinate for a pincer attack. It was part of their long-laid strategy: an assault from both the north and the south against the twelve states. Through Ting Feng’s killing of Han Ziqi, this crisis had been averted. Without Sangnan’s cooperation, neither Beiman nor Sangnan dared to provoke an assault on the twelve states.
Why had Beiman still mobilized its army?
Had the King of Sangnan concealed Han Ziqi’s death from Beiman, causing them to follow through with their original plan? Was the King of Sangnan using a borrowed knife to kill, or had Han Ziqi’s death failed to deter him from waging war after all?
He slammed his hand against the city wall, the sharp pain radiating through his bones.
"Ting Feng..." Fang Chuning muttered anxiously, unease swelling in his chest. Now, his only hope was that Sangnan would abstain from deploying its troops, and that Beiman, upon hearing of the developments, would also exercise restraint.
May this war dissipate quickly like smoke.
Zhou Buyan climbed up to the wall, reporting, "Master, the generals request your presence at the council. With Beiman already on the move, they’re eager to launch an attack and flank Ningzhou."
"What?" Fang Chuning thought he misheard. His hand tightened around the hilt of his sword as he responded with a deadly smirk, "Tell me. Who proposed this idea?"
Ningzhou City.
The Beiman Army had laid siege to Ningzhou for four consecutive days but failed to breach its defenses. Though Xie Xun and Xie Jue were not within the city, the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry was commanded by experienced generals like General Cui and General Chen. They had rehearsed the city’s defensive maneuvers countless times and possessed rich battle experience. The core troops of the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry remained in the city, so the situation was not yet dire.
Lin Xiao, Zhang Boxin, and Zhou Liyu had arrived even earlier than Xie Jue and Xie Xun. Upon seeing the signal fires, they immediately set out for Ningzhou. Throughout the twelve states, apart from Jiaozhou and Salt City’s forces holding their positions, the rest of the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry began racing back under the leadership of local State Mansion generals. Within four days, they would all be assembled at Ningzhou.
"After waiting so many years, this young master finally gets a chance to fight the Beiman!" Zhang Boxin exclaimed with excitement. He, along with Lin Xiao and Zhou Liyu, was assigned to the third squad of archers atop the city walls due to their skill in archery. The archers were divided into ten squads that alternated during battle. As one squad fired their arrows, they switched to the next, raining down volleys upon the Beiman Army. Time and again, the Beiman Cavalry advanced, only to be forced back amidst the downpour of arrows. The ground beyond the city walls was stained red with rivers of blood.
"Take care of yourselves!" Lin Xiao warned gravely. The Beiman’s offensives were relentless, their fearlessness in the face of death forcing the defenders to confront unspeakable cruelty.
On the city walls in Ningzhou, the toll of injuries and deaths was enormous. The Beiman’s siege engines hurled giant stones at the walls, and their fire-infused arrows, forged with red sandstone, rained down on the defenders like a relentless storm. Lin Xiao could only watch as a massive boulder smashed into the archer squads, obliterating three soldiers who couldn’t evade in time, their remains mangled and splattered before his eyes. Arrows whistled past his ears, and the sight of blood and dismemberment soon extinguished the thrill and hot-blooded vigor that had gripped him when combat started.
In recent years, the soldiers’ most harrowing challenges had merely involved rockslides during road construction, which sometimes buried their comrades alive. Never had they witnessed devastation of this magnitude. Two breaches had already been torn into the city walls, the signal tower demolished, and the ruins left smoldering as patches of fire ignited by the siege engines burned atop the fortifications. Though the flames were extinguished and injured soldiers carried down, reinforcements surged forward to take their places—yet the archers sustained horrific casualties.
Lin Xiao glanced toward the battlefield. The wind and snow of Ningzhou were harsh, and the desolate plains stretched endlessly. The Beiman soldiers in their red armor rode robust warhorses, forming an extended battle line that stretched beyond sight. At the forefront, the Beiman battle banners billowed proudly in the wind, the sight imposing and fearsome. Siege engines led the vanguard, followed by waves of archers, with cavalry poised for unrelenting charges—majestic and terrifying all at once.
They were tireless, fearless in death, sparing no effort to conquer Ningzhou.
Beyond the city walls, the Beiman Army’s warhorns resounded, accompanied by the thunder of war drums. Their soldiers let out earth-shaking roars, and waves of massive stones and fiery arrows were launched, while siege engines crept closer to the walls.
Lin Xiao’s archer squad was ordered to aim their fire-infused arrows at the gunpowder buried in the trenches outside the city. The resulting explosions sent waves of fire and earth into the air, shaking the ground violently. The terrified warhorses of the Beiman troops neighed and screamed, and many cavalrymen were thrown off their mounts, only to be caught in the relentless rain of arrows.
Another wave of the Beiman’s fierce assault had been repelled!
Ningzhou City, fortified for centuries as a strategic military stronghold, had towering and solid walls. Surrounding the city were hidden traps and defenses. After the latest Beiman attack was beaten back, General Cui and General Chen ordered the breaches in the walls to be repaired and the battlefield to be cleared.
At long last, Xie Jue and Xie Xun returned to Ningzhou.