blueteamnovel Chapter 68: Smoke rises, war begins
Chapter 68: Smoke rises, war begins
Waqiao Camp, Commander's Tent.
"The Imperial Censor has arrived!"
The wooden platform creaked as Wu He walked in, sword at his side. He glanced around and saw that all the generals from the surrounding armies of Xiongzhou City had arrived.
A huge sand table map was placed in the center, its surface rugged and uneven, depicting the area within a thousand miles of Xiongzhou City, as well as the pure land of the Liao Kingdom north of the Baigou River.
"General Guo."
Wu He clasped his hands in a salute, and the commander on his throne nodded and waved for them to stand up and join the ranks.
Several more people arrived one after another, and Guo Guiyuan only got up after everyone had arrived.
"The scouts report that the Xi King's tribe on the other side of the river is deploying troops to build a bridge, and the Northern Han army has joined forces with them, acting in concert. This is a sign that they are preparing to launch a major attack while our Great Zhou Dynasty is in jeopardy."
"The reason I have summoned you all here today is to discuss the matter of deploying troops along the riverbank to seize the initiative."
He pointed the long pole in his hand straight at the Baigou River.
Wu He looked thoughtful.
Since the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were incorporated into the Liao Dynasty a few years ago, the Central Plains have had no more barriers to rely on against the northern nomads.
Until Emperor Shizong's northern expedition, when he recovered the three prefectures, the Baigou River became Xiongzhou's greatest asset in resisting the Liao Kingdom.
After the Waqiao camp was established, several sentry towers and simple fortified villages were built on the south bank of the Baigou River. The few thousand scattered soldiers were of little use and could only serve as warnings and messengers.
Now that the Liao and Northern Han armies are stationed on the north bank, the Xiongzhou troops should deploy their main force to try to repel the enemy on the north bank in one fell swoop.
Guo Guiyuan divided 30,000 elite troops from the 100,000 garrison troops of Xiongzhou City and deployed them to the south bank under the command of Liu Qing and others, making arrangements for every detail.
"Now that the flood season is over and the river is calm, there is little hope of completely repelling the enemy on the north bank. Therefore, you should use more fire arrows and oil stones to exhaust the barbarians' strength."
"Once His Majesty's state funeral is over and the Northern Expeditionary Army is fully prepared, we can switch from defense to offense, open the gates to meet the enemy, and then close the gates to beat them."
"Yes, sir!"
Liu Qing and the others accepted the order and went out.
"General Wu."
Guo Guiyuan then turned his gaze to the leaders of the Imperial Guards: "Your Imperial Guards are not yet fully organized, so this battle should be reserved for future use, shall we?"
"As General Guo commands." Wu He nodded.
Although the border troops and the imperial guards were not under the same system, Guo Guiyuan, as the military governor of Xiongzhou and concurrently the military commander, was the true supreme commander of a region.
Even Zhao Guangyi, who was nominally the commander-in-chief of the military camp and the governor, ultimately had to listen to him.
During wartime, Guo Guiyuan could truly wield absolute power.
"I know that the young soldiers crave glory."
Guo Guiyuan's gaze swept over Wu He, Shi Baoji, Xiang Zeting, and the others, his piercing eyes shining brightly.
"This day won't be long, so you all just focus on training your own soldiers well."
……
After we dispersed, the sky outside was filled with stars.
Guo Guiyuan personally added some oil to several fire pits, and the flickering flames made his imposing figure appear somewhat lonely as he left.
"Old Li."
He looked up in a deep voice, and there was Li Bo limping towards the tent entrance.
"Hehe, Brother Guo, you're still as dashing as ever."
He grinned and patted his lame leg and useless arm: "Unlike me, I'm neither human nor ghost."
"You're so silly."
Guo Guiyuan sighed softly: "I advised you back then not to destroy your own defenses. The martial world is not a place you can enter and leave as you please."
"If you back down, all sorts of wolves and tigers will be watching you."
"I've grasped that."
Li Bo felt ashamed and gave a bitter laugh: "I don't mind dying, but it's a pity that I've implicated my adopted son. Nowadays, many people are thinking about killing him."
"Don't worry, he's also my son-in-law. If he's in trouble, how could I not help him?"
Guo Guiyuan gave him a deep look before raising his hand: "Go back and recover from your injuries. You're getting old. Gather your belongings and make the most of your remaining years."
"Brother Guo, I have a favor to ask of you."
"Go ahead and speak."
Li Bo staggered forward, his gaze sharp: "Back in the battle of Gaoping, some disciples of the Hexi Tiancan Sect aided and abetted the wicked. Do you still remember that?"
"I remember." Guo Guiyuan nodded.
"One of the sect leaders died at the hands of the late emperor, and the Earth-rank martial art, Hengque Jue, which he possessed, was put into the armory. Brother Guo, could you lend it to me for a few days?"
The Balance of Deficiencies.
Guo Guiyuan frowned slightly: "You want to practice that evil skill? You'll really become neither human nor ghost."
"Besides, haven't you always been unable to get over your own mental block?"
Back then, Li Bo was in the late stage of the Burning Blood realm, just one step away from the Five Elements of Open Source, but he was unable to take that step because of an insurmountable obstacle in his heart.
This is why he was constantly restricted in his power struggle with Prince Teng and Wang Yan, ultimately leading to his current predicament.
Guo Guiyuan also knew that Li Bo had experienced a fierce battle. After that battle, all seventy-eight sworn brothers who followed him in the war died, leaving only him alive.
No one knows what exactly happened in that battle.
The knot in one's heart is the hardest to untie.
Li Bo sat down, leaning against a pillar, and murmured indifferently, "Even if we can't get through now, we have to."
"Wu He has enemies on all sides, and his excessive rigidity makes him prone to breaking. If I do not become the source of the five government offices, neither my father nor I will live long."
"I've already lost my brothers, I can't lose this child too."
……
With war approaching, 30,000 troops set off.
The Waqiao Pass was brightly lit.
Imperial Guard Camp.
"General Wu, all 931 Tiger Swift Army soldiers are in formation."
Sun Lin presented the roster with both hands, and Wu He flipped through it.
As the elite of the Imperial Guard, the Tiger Swift Army consists of soldiers who are all elites selected from various military camps, and each one is a martial artist.
Besides himself and Xiang Zeting, who were at the Bone Strengthening Realm, there were two other Bone Strengthening Deputy Military Envoys and eight Flesh Refining Realm members.
The number of people is small, but they are highly skilled.
It was also the first army that he truly controlled.
"Hehe, look at these fine young men. On the battlefield, they're all wolf cubs who dare to bite off the ears of barbarians."
Beside him, Xiang Zeting's eyes narrowed into slits with laughter, his crow's feet forming several layers.
"Starting tomorrow, we will practice according to the manual, especially the battle formations. We need to practice a lot before we can go to the battlefield."
Wu He handed the roster to Sun Lin, then asked, "By the way, have the sorcerers from the formation arrived?"
"General Wu!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a clear, crisp voice called out.
The figure ahead, clad in a grey robe, exuded a slender figure with every step, gently waving her whisk-wielding sword. It was none other than Zhang Huaiyu from the Celestial Master's Mansion.
She smiled and said, "The imperial court has ordered my disciples from the Celestial Master's Mansion to assist in the battle. I can serve as a sorcerer under your command."
"That would be great." Wu He nodded with a smile.
In the midst of battle, military formations are of paramount importance.
Soldiers are divided into ordinary soldiers and elite soldiers, and military formations are also different for ordinary and elite soldiers.
Using the techniques of Qi cultivators as a link, numerous soldiers imbued with malevolent energy can form formations that exert unique effects, which are then called martial formations.
Wu He didn't know much about this, but he clearly remembered the scene of Zhao Guangyi's imperial guards surrounding and killing those shamans in the last battle at Sizhang Village.
The following days were spent training and practicing martial arts.
Until noon on the fifth day.
Wu He stood on the eaves of a house, gazing at the distant smoke rising from the horizon in the east.
The smoke signals rise, war breaks out.
"General Wu! General Wu!"
Following the sound, Xiang Zeting leaped up, his face grave, and said, "There is enemy activity at a shallow camp on the Baigou River, at the border of Xiong Ba and Liangzhou. General Guo has ordered us to go and investigate the situation immediately."
"In case of emergency, a decision can be made on the spot!"