Dugu Qun and Gongyang He shivered in unison.
Gongyang He grumbled, "It would have been enough to send a eloquent subordinate, why must you send us two into danger? You know Liang Xiao's temper, but do you not also know that Great Gan has the extremely severe punishment of Lingchi? We will never return!"
Achilles said in a deep voice, "You two have plenty of ways and means, so don't think I don't understand Great Gan culture! Furthermore, we have given you so much convenience to support Jiaozhou, even sending troops across vast distances to assist. And I, Achilles, will risk my life to fight the Heavenly General! Do you two still have a choice now?"
The two fell silent.
Through the propaganda of the Great Gan Daily, the soldiers and civilians of Great Gan only knew that Jiaozhou was supported by aristocratic families who had been massively acquiring grain in the Jiangnan region for years, leading to famine in Jiangnan even in years of abundance.
However, they did not know that for a century, the Peacock Dynasty had been transporting various pearls and treasures to Jiaozhou, exchanging them for gold and silver in various parts of Great Gan, and then sharing the profits with the warlords of Jiaozhou.
A large part of Jiaozhou's wealth came from cooperation with the Peacock Dynasty.
In recent years, the Peacock Dynasty had even been continuously mobilizing slaves to transport troops and grain to Jiaozhou, having these soldiers disguise themselves as foreigners from Jiaozhou, waiting for the opportune moment to invade Great Gan in one fell swoop!
But the Peacock Dynasty was four thousand li from the Jiaozhou border, and over six thousand li to the Jiaozhou prefectural capital, making the transport of grain a time-consuming process.
Hannibal was also furious at being forced to march from Jiaozhou into Jiangnan, losing the opportunity to control Jiaozhou. He roared, "Your Jiaozhou has lost over a hundred thousand troops and millions of piculs of grain in Jiangnan. If you have no resolve, let us withdraw now. Then Great Gan will occupy Jiaozhou. Where will you flee? Submit to Great Gan? Or seek refuge with Great Liang, which is too busy with its own affairs and is eager to mend its relationship with Great Gan?"
Xiao Chang also had to brace himself and persuade, "What the two gentlemen say is very true, after all, Achilles saved Gongyang Qiu. However, there is no need for both of you to go together..."
Gongyang He looked at his son and nodded helplessly.
The news of the Heavenly General manifesting to retrieve the remains of his soldiers quickly spread throughout Yuzhang. While the military and civilians were invigorated, their hatred for the invaders grew even stronger.
"The Heavenly General will surely lead his troops to annihilate all the rebels!"
In the streets and alleys, the confident voices of the common people could be heard everywhere.
Gongyang Ye merely sighed in the military camp.
Now he only worried that Liang Xiao's burden was too heavy and would affect his performance on the battlefield.
"Marshal! The rebel army has sent an envoy, requesting an audience!"
Gongyang Ye immediately rushed to the military camp. Upon entering, he was furious, "Old villain Gongyang, how dare you come here to make a fool of yourself?!"
Gongyang He, who had been making eye contact with Liang Xiao, turned to look at Gongyang Ye, his smile insincere.
"Marquis Dingguo, I hope you are well!"
"Even if our Emperor is magnanimous, according to the laws of Great Gan, a traitor like you should have his entire clan exterminated!" Gongyang Ye said sternly.
"I am here as an envoy of the Tianri tribe. Two warring nations do not execute envoys. Must Great Gan also learn from barbarians?" Gongyang He said calmly.
Gongyang Ye frowned and couldn't help but sneer, "You were not satisfied with defecting to the Southern King, you actually defected to man-eating ghosts?"
Gongyang He, knowing he was in the wrong, blushed and no longer paid attention to Gongyang Ye. Instead, he looked at Liang Xiao and said loudly, "The War God of the Tianri tribe, Achilles, requests a fair duel with the Divine Warrior of Great Gan, the Heavenly General. Outsiders are not to interfere!"
At this moment, besides Nan Jiyun and others, there were also a number of generals and officers present. All of them were filled with righteous indignation.
"Marshal! The Tianri tribe is cunning and vicious, they cannot be trusted! These foreign scoundrels are shameless and unworthy to fight the Heavenly General!"
Gongyang He stroked his beard and laughed heartily, "Don't worry, since it is a fair fight, there will naturally be conditions to exclude all interference! Achilles will lead one hundred men to challenge outside the Yuzhang military camp. The Heavenly General will also bring one hundred men, mounted on warhorses. Both sides are only allowed to carry weapons. No baggage or crossbows are to be placed on the horses!"
Seeing Liang Xiao looking at him with the eyes of an idiot, Gongyang He suppressed his annoyance and continued to explain.
"You can send scouts to patrol the surrounding area to confirm that our army has not set any ambushes, and then inspect Achilles' squad's military equipment to confirm there are no crossbows! Then, the Heavenly General's and Achilles' escorts will each guard at a distance of two hundred paces from the battlefield, only allowed to watch from afar and not intervene! If the battle is a draw within three hundred rounds, both sides will cease fighting and continue the next day, in a cycle!"
The generals looked confused.
The request to actively come to the Yuzhang military camp to challenge was advantageous to the Heavenly General, as it at least guaranteed that the Heavenly General would not be attacked by the enemy en masse, while Achilles would be risking an attack from all sides.
"And then?" Liang Xiao asked Gongyang He with a smile.
"You must write a pledge that regardless of who wins or loses this battle, both sides must allow one hundred escorts to return to their respective units, and they shall not be harmed. You must also restrain your soldiers and not pursue them!" Gongyang He replied proudly, then retorted, "Is that fair enough? Achilles only wants a fair duel with the Heavenly General. Your country's Heavenly General is proclaimed to be invincible. With such a foolproof battlefield duel environment, you wouldn't dare to refuse, would you?"
Liang Xiao laughed heartily, "Gongyang He, you have not learned a single bit of the politeness, righteousness, and shame of scholars, but you are solely focused on deconstructing my Great Gan culture."
Gongyang He sneered in response, "Achilles has gone this far, guaranteeing no tricks or schemes, only seeking a fair fight! If the Heavenly General still dares not to fight, then I have nothing more to say. Upon my return, the world will know that Achilles of the Tianri tribe is the true invincible one under heaven!"
Liang Xiao waved his hand impatiently, "You don't need to use any more provocations. The soldiers of Great Gan wish they could personally slay Achilles. Even if you didn't come, the Heavenly General would find an opportunity to personally execute Achilles in battle and promote our military might! Go back and tell Achilles that three days later, on the flat ground one mile south of the Yuzhang military camp, the Heavenly General will fight as promised!"
Gongyang He finally breathed a sigh of relief, then was overjoyed.
"The Heavenly General will have a fair duel with the rebel general Achilles in three days!"
The news spread throughout the city, and the military and civilians rejoiced, "Execute Achilles in battle!"
Yue Wenxin heard of this and was greatly alarmed. She rushed to Liang Xiao's residence.
"Brother-in-law, there was absolutely no need to agree to such an unreasonable demand. If my sisters knew about this, they would surely worry, for the enemy is cunning!" Yue Wenxin said nervously.
"Wenxin, this is the destiny of a warrior, and even more so, my mission as the Heavenly General," Liang Xiao said earnestly.
"Ah?" Yue Wenxin looked confused.
Liang Xiao casually picked up a history book of the Great Zhou dynasty and solemnly explained.
"Hundreds of years ago, the Martial Saint of the Great Zhou personally executed Achilles of the Tianri tribe. This is the invincible reputation passed down through generations of the Tianri tribe, which severely struck the Tianri tribe's faith, causing them to never dare to invade Great Zhou again. In fact, the Martial Saint of the Great Zhou was an ancestor of my Liang family."
"I want the people to deeply understand: no matter when, no matter where, no matter in what aspect, the soldiers and civilians of Great Gan are not comparable to the Tianri tribe. Just as the Martial Saint of the Great Zhou could execute Achilles in battle back then, the Heavenly General can still execute Achilles today."
"After analyzing the culture of the Tianri tribe, I can be sure that after killing Achilles, the faith of the Tianri cavalry will be greatly hit. The Great Gan elite cavalry from the rear will also be arriving in Yuzhang soon. Our army can take advantage of this opportunity to launch a cavalry decisive battle. But my true purpose goes far beyond that."
"Individual bravery will eventually become a bygone echo of an era, but the soul of our Great Gan army is invincible. Whether collectively or individually, they can look down upon the world. Let this battle be proof! Even if dynasties change over thousands of years, and this land experiences ups and downs, the soul of Great Gan will still inspire the people of this land, ultimately uniting them into an unprecedented collective."
"Nation."
With the last two words, Liang Xiao's tone was extremely heavy.
His homeland's Tang Dynasty had far greater global influence than the Han Dynasty of the same era. However, the nationality of his homeland was "Han," not "Tang." This was precisely because the Han Dynasty had carried out groundbreaking cultural integration, and Emperor Wu of Han had expanded the territory and defeated the Xiongnu, marking the first time the Central Plains region had shown overwhelming superiority over the northern nomadic peoples, setting the spiritual tone for this land for two thousand years.
The Han soul!