In the old calendar, on the 16th day of the 2nd month of Longqing Year 78, the former dynasty mobilized a 1,000,000-strong army and assembled at the Fei River in Yuzhou to attack Kunyang Prefecture City. Founding Emperor brought the Yuntai 28 Generals and joined forces with Sheng Xianzong to resist them. History called it the Battle of Fei River.
Kunyang City.
The Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan, together with the civil and military officials, stood atop the city wall and gazed into the distance. From dozens of miles away, they could already see the court army's formations and encampments, spreading across the land like a blanket over the sky - a line without beginning or end.
It truly was enough to "throw a whip and sever the river"!
Witnessing such a scene, Cao Huan and the officials, who had originally only agreed to come to this decisive battle because the King of Northern Liang had insisted, began to waver. They truly felt there was no need to fight head-on.
"How are we supposed to fight this?"
Officials from the great clans muttered among themselves.
"So many people."
"Even if you piled up the corpses, you could just step on them and walk straight up to the city wall."
"Your Majesty!"
Minister of Revenue Shangguan Haichang came before the emperor, clasped his hands, and bowed. "This subject has recently observed the course of the war and keeps feeling that something is wrong."
"Oh?"
Cao Huan raised a hand to indicate he should continue. "Speak, Beloved Minister Shangguan."
"Does Your Majesty not find this campaign calm to the point of being eerie?"
Shangguan Haichang said solemnly, "During the period when both sides were moving troops, Chang'an had multiple chances to send soldiers to attack us. Especially some time ago, when the King of Northern Liang was not stationed here, they completely had the chance to make it hard for our army to concentrate, and hard for provisions to be transported into the city.
"If that happened, it would greatly benefit Chang'an in what followed.
"But they made no move at all, just quietly watched our great army mobilize.
"It's practically like going back to the Spring and Autumn era."
Thousands of years ago, during the Spring and Autumn era, there were countless vassal states across the world.
At that time, there were not yet all kinds of military stratagems.
Wars between states also lacked scheming and deception. They were straightforward, fought by "setting an appointment": two states would exchange a challenge letter, agree on a battlefield, then on the set date both sides would deploy in formation and begin.
This crucial decisive battle actually gave people that kind of feeling.
"It really is!"
Everyone said thoughtfully.
"The enemy deliberately waited for us to gather? What are they trying to do?"
After a brief moment of thought,
they suddenly understood, arriving at a shared answer that sent a chill down the spine.
"Chang'an wants to wipe us out in one stroke!"
"They're so confident - could it be that the whole of Kunyang City is a giant pit, waiting for us to jump in?"
"Otherwise..."
Someone suggested, "Retreat?"
"Not a full retreat, at least withdraw a portion."
Minister of War Ming Qingfeng advised, "Kunyang City is sturdy, but it is not large. There is no need for the entire 200,000-strong army to be packed here. This subject believes leaving 100,000 troops to defend the city is enough. The remaining 100,000 troops should withdraw to Songzhou and await orders. That way we have two preparations.
"If the frontal decisive battle goes smoothly, they can immediately cross the river to support us.
"If the frontal battle goes badly, they can also cover the army in the city as it retreats."
A 1,000,000 troops!
No matter who it was, seeing such a grand spectacle would feel fear in the heart.
"Mm..."
The Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan pondered.
"Minister Ming!"
A loud and commanding voice pressed down. "At the moment of decisive battle, any flaw on the other side may last only an instant. How can we keep shuffling troops back and forth and miss the chance?"
Everyone turned around.
They saw a man in a white robe had somehow climbed onto the city wall.
"Minister Chen came at just the right time!"
Shangguan Haichang repeated his earlier view and stressed, "This battle is very likely Chang'an's scheme of catching turtles in a jar. They want to trap us in Kunyang City and then annihilate us in one stroke! Minister Chen, we cannot fall for it. Even now, it is not too late to regret it. Why not follow what Minister Ming said and withdraw a portion first?"
"Minister Shangguan's analysis is very correct. This is indeed a scheme of catching turtles in a jar."
Chen Sanshi paused, then said each word clearly, "But the Chang'an army is the turtle in the jar. This Fei River campaign is not them annihilating us - it is I, Chen Sanshi, who will annihilate them in one stroke!"
200,000 men, wiping out 1,000,000!
A 1,000,000 troops!
To everyone's ears, no matter how they heard it, it sounded absurd.
And the entire Kunyang City, the more they looked, the more it resembled the "jar." Who was the turtle was self-evident.
"Minister Chen."
Shangguan Haichang pressed on with his counsel. "Inside Kunyang City is all of the court's elite. If anything unexpected happens, it will overturn both court and countryside. We absolutely cannot take such a risk!"
He made it sound easy.
But more than half of what was in the city was their family wealth!
Provisions, baggage trains, even military generals - which one of these was not the foundation their great clans and sects had accumulated over hundreds of years?
To gamble with someone else's family wealth was truly like talking without your back hurting while standing; like selling your grandpa's land without a twinge in your heart!
This great decisive battle had never been approved through collective agreement in the first place. It was entirely the white-robed man's unilateral decision, and His Majesty the emperor had even dragged them along to defend the city. If they collapsed, it would be total defeat.
"Minister Chen," Shangguan Haichang insisted, "why not follow Minister Ming's strategy? Defending the city doesn't require so many people anyway. Why not withdraw half first and leave ourselves a way out?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Military matters should be handled with caution."
"Withdraw."
"There's still time."
The calls for retreat came without end.
How could Chen Sanshi not understand their thoughts? They were simply unwilling to let their clans' or sects' long-hoarded family wealth suffer losses. This was the drawback of having such a mixed source of troops: the people below easily harbored their own private motives, and they could not truly unite in hatred of a common enemy.
He simply stopped explaining. His calm gaze swept across the officials one by one. He offered no further justification, only issued a final ultimatum with a face like a heavy lake bottom: "Among the civil and military officials, regardless of rank, anyone who dares speak of retreat again will be executed without mercy!"
Executed without mercy!
After speaking, he turned and left, leaving the many officials staring at one another.
What was he trying to do?
Was he truly planning to use them as expendable material, so that the Northern Liang Army alone could dominate?
The assembled high officials had lacked confidence in this battle to begin with, and now they had been scolded as well. Their hearts filled with displeasure.
"Sigh..."
The Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan sighed. "My beloved ministers, it is best not to bring up the matter of retreat again."
"Your Majesty."
Shangguan Haichang frowned, lowering his voice. "This subject has something to say, though I do not know whether it should be said."
The Zhengtong Emperor nodded. "Beloved Minister Shangguan, speak freely."
"Your Majesty."
Shangguan Haichang leaned closer. "The King of Northern Liang has the authority of the false Yellow-Axe, but that is only with respect to subjects like us. Just now, however, Your Majesty was still here!"
"Yes, yes."
Several officials echoed him. "Just now, after seeing Your Majesty, the King of Northern Liang did not even perform the most basic courtesy."
"And this time, sending troops out..."
"He completely forced Your Majesty and us to agree."
"Your Majesty is benevolent and uses people without suspicion, but you cannot be without guard against others!"
"This subject truly cannot understand. Even if we must defend Kunyang, why must we go all in and bring out everything?"
Shangguan Haichang continued, "Now Your Majesty, the Prince of Yan, and most of the court's elite are all inside the city, but Chen Sanshi and his Northern Liang Army still have over half in the rear. If something happens to Your Majesty and the Prince of Yan, the imperial clan will be left with only the prince still in the capital, merely 12 years old. Then..."
A young ruler would invite doubt over the realm!
The implication was extremely clear.
It was not impossible that the King of Northern Liang meant to deceive them into coming here to be wiped out in one net, then seize all power for himself.
"Enough!"
The Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan cut him off and said righteously, "Beloved Minister Chen is my brother, loyal to the Great Sheng Dynasty with all his heart. How could he have ulterior motives?"
In truth, how could he not know what these ministers were saying?
The Northern Liang Army had long controlled half the realm.
But now they faced a great enemy, and they still needed the white-robed man to lead them into the capital.
After that...
They would have their own methods!
Twelfth Brother had made it perfectly clear: Guiyuan Sect could deal with the white-robed man. There was no need to worry that he would rebel. They only needed to use every person to their full potential and every thing to its full use.
When the ministers failed to sow discord, they could only change their wording and continue. "Your Majesty, we absolutely do not mean to impeach the King of Northern Liang. We only wish to remind Your Majesty that your priceless person should sit in the rear, not come to the front and risk yourself!"
The Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan fell silent.
He naturally knew the danger, yet in the midst of fighting for the realm, how could a king of kings hide in the rear?
But there was no need to worry too much.
He had many immortal masters to aid him. If the fighting truly went poorly, it would not be too late to withdraw then.
At one corner of the city wall.
Wang Zhi and the others watched the emperor and the officials whispering among themselves, and they could not help cursing under their breath.
"What are these people?!"
"This time going south, who forced them to come?"
"Wasn't it this bunch worrying that all the merit would be taken by our lord, so they wanted to come and get a share? And now they want to run."
"Exactly, especially the emperor. An imperial campaign, my ass. Doesn't he just want to buy people's hearts? Not only is he useless, we still have to send people to look after him. He's nothing but dead weight!"
"Report!"
As they spoke, several scouts climbed up onto the city wall one after another.
"The enemy's vanguard has already set out!"
"They are expected to reach outside Kunyang City in about 4 hours!"
The scouts' voices were loud, and everyone heard them clearly.
Almost in an instant, the city wall, which had been noisy a moment ago, went quiet, and the atmosphere grew heavy.
Even those who had been through a hundred battles would have their bodies and minds stretched taut to the extreme when facing this moment again.
Because once again...
People were going to die!
"Clang -"
The sound of blades being drawn rang out one after another.
"Brothers!"
"To the battle!"
Under the command of each general, batch after batch of armored soldiers climbed up onto the city wall and went to positions they had drilled countless times, waiting on standby. Some held spears, some carried bows, and there were also large and small crossbows, along with rolling stones and log traps.
"Huang Lao, Senior."
"How are your preparations going?"
The old-farmer-looking cultivator Huang Laojiu from Guiyuan Sect's Golden Feather Peak was directing several cultivators to help set up the formation, but his movements looked not only clumsy, they were also unfamiliar. A single formation flag often had to be placed back and forth many times before he could confirm its final position.
"Go 2 steps to the southeast."
"No, no, that's not right. Seems like 3 steps to the northwest."
"Hiss, it's not working? It shouldn't be."
"Let this old man take another look."
"Boom boom boom boom boom--"
At the same time, the sound of war drums had already carried over from dozens of kilometers away.
The setting sun stained the bloody battlefield red; the evening glow burned like fire upon the city's eastern side.
War drums thundered, banners danced.
Hooves shook the earth, blade-light flashed.
Before everyone's eyes, a black flood surged toward the city, only stopping to array its formation about 2.5 kilometers away. As far as the eye could see there were only enemy armored troops, so dense they even blotted out the thick earth beneath.
"Senior Huang!"
A cultivator urged, "The enemy is about to attack. Is the formation still not set up?"
"Aiyo, aiyo, it'll be ready right away, right away!"
Huang Laojiu grew even more flustered.
The cultivators of Guiyuan Sect could not help muttering among themselves.
This was a second-tier formation master?
No wonder they had never seen this man before.
Who knew what the sect was thinking, sending someone this unreliable for a matter of life and death.
Among the enemy ranks, one rider spurred his horse and rode out.
It was Zhu Ming, the newly appointed Minister of War, and the vanguard general for this campaign.
"Your Highness, Prince of Jin!"
Zhu Ming reined in about 800 paces away, tilting his face up toward the city wall and calling loudly, "Your Highness was once Regent, already controlling the military and civil affairs of the realm. Why, then, would you rebel and usurp?!
"Now the court's mighty lions, 1,000,000 strong, press beneath this city. You have reached the end of the road. Why not surrender at once? His Majesty today is benevolent. For the sake of father-and-son affection, perhaps he can still grant Your Highness a way to live!"
"Nonsense!"
The gray-haired Zhengtong Emperor Cao Huan refuted him. "I received the Mandate of Heaven and inherited the great line! Within Chang'an, the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Qi harbor wolves' ambitions. First they failed to kill their elder brother, and afterward they colluded with Yan Liang and his son to bring calamity upon the realm!
"In the hour of peril, I upheld the altars of state. I led an army of righteousness southward, seeking only to return bright, clear skies to the Great Sheng realm!
"Since you are all subjects of Great Sheng, you should immediately execute Yan Liang and Yan Maoxing, capture the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Qi alive, then turn your spears and come over to us, instead of standing before two armies to invert black and white and commit the deeds of rebellious traitors!"
"It seems Your Highness, Prince of Jin, insists on going his own way!"
Seeing persuasion was useless, Zhu Ming said no more. He turned, tugged the reins, and rode back. Just before he disappeared into the ranks, the war drums thundered again, and siege engines like iron mountains began to advance one after another.
On the central army war chariot.
Shan Liangcheng opened his eyes and gave a final confirmation to the generals beside him. "The rebel army has already gathered inside the city?"
"All 200,000 defenders are inside the city."
The old general Xu Chonghao first answered with firm certainty, then said with some worry, "It's just that we did not strike earlier. Now that they've concentrated their forces, I fear it will be difficult to take Kunyang City in a short time."
"But they can't get away either, can they?"
As Shan Liangcheng spoke, he was already rising into the air. He formed seals with both hands, and a massive formation plate appeared. One Shengyun Sect cultivator after another arrived in quick succession, all injecting mana into the plate together.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The earth began to tremble.
One gigantic stone pillar after another, each tens of meters tall, burst up from the ground, revolving around the cultivators in midair. In total there were 81 pillars, erupting with piercing golden light before shooting up into the sky.
"Fall!
"Boom--"
A pillar wreathed in golden radiance crashed down from the heavens. The auspicious divine beasts carved into its stone surface, under the gleaming spiritual light, actually came to life. They soared and circled among the clouds, spewing golden radiance.
Then came the second pillar, the third...
Each pillar was like a heavenly support. As more and more of these sky pillars fell, the battlefield, spanning 500 kilometers in every direction, was lit until golden light filled the heavens, as though the 1,000,000-strong army were all divine soldiers of a terrestrial heavenly court!
"Mark the ground as the bureau, open the Heavenly Gate, enter the Earth Door, close the Metal Gate, ride the Jade Chariot!"
The Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation!