Chapter 211: Want to See Her. Want to Build a...
Xiao Li sat in the upper seat, half his face concealed in the shadow against the light, making it impossible to discern his expression at this moment.
Ever since Li Xun confessed that the military strategies explained to him in Pingzhou back then were actually instructed by Wen Yu, he had fallen into an unusually deep silence.
After Li Xun finished recounting the full story of those past events, Xiao Li finally spoke: "Thank you, Lord Li, for informing me of this."
This old matter had been a heavy burden on Li Xun's chest all these years. Now that everything was clarified and Xiao Li understood Wen Yu's years of hard work, Li Xun felt an immediate lightness in his heart. He bowed again to Xiao Li and said, "I simply don't wish to see the Marquis and the Princess become enemies."
After Li Xun left, Zheng Hu came in the evening to deliver military reports from various camps. Entering the tent and finding it pitch black, he initially thought Xiao Li wasn't there. After lighting the candle stand with his tinder, he was startled to discover someone sitting in the upper seat and complained, "Second Brother, why didn't you light even a single candle in the tent?"
The candlelight illuminated Xiao Li's sharp and intense features. Clearly, he had been lost in thought before, but the expression Zheng Hu had never seen on his face vanished the moment the candle was lit.
He turned his head and asked, "What is it?"
Zheng Hu placed a stack of reports on Xiao Li's desk and said, "The casualty reports from each camp and today's count of captured enemy weapons are all here. Take a look when you have time, Second Brother."
Xiao Li acknowledged with a sound.
As Zheng Hu was about to leave the tent, he couldn't resist stealing a couple more glances at Xiao Li and asked, "Second Brother, is something on your mind?"
Xiao Li lifted his gaze, looked at Zheng Hu for a moment, paused briefly, and then said, "No."
Just as Zheng Hu was about to say more, he heard Xiao Li order, "Tell the soldiers to rest early tonight and conserve their energy. We attack the city tomorrow."
With this interruption, Zheng Hu couldn't continue the previous topic and had to say, "Then I'll take my leave now. You should rest early too, Second Brother."
As the tent flap fell, the interior returned to silence, with only the flickering candlelight casting shadows on the tent walls.
Xiao Li's jawline was sharply defined in the dim light. He sat motionless for a while, then opened the drawer beneath his desk and took out a broken arrow with a dark bloodstain on its tip. He silently examined it against the light.
There was a time when he had regarded this Poison Arrow that nearly cost him his life as evidence of Wen Yu's heartlessness, using it to remind himself not to harbor any hope for her.
Yet when he encountered her again, it was like sinking into quicksand once more.
He could only allow himself to wakefully sink in this wakeful sinking.
Though he had long ceased to care whether Wen Yu had truly intended to kill him back then, he could no longer distinguish whether their past affection was merely her method of controlling subordinates or if there had been genuine sincerity in it.
Now he knew.
The life-and-death experiences they had shared were not insignificant to Wen Yu either.
His heart felt warmed and fervent, yet it grew even more greedy.
She never intended to kill him, nor had she ever treated him poorly.
But that was all.
He knew.
All her kindness toward him stopped at the boundaries of ruler-subject relations and repaying favors.
Once that line was crossed, he had already witnessed her indifference on that stormy night in Pingzhou.
Even though she later admitted to liking him and spoke of owing him, she remained stingy in giving him any promises.
Perhaps for her, being even with him was what she truly desired.After all, the greater picture, vengeance, her subjects, the common people... these were what she constantly held in her heart.
She had sacrificed herself to these lands, thus she could sever her affections so decisively.
She tacitly accepted that she should bear all these responsibilities—therefore she could marry King Chen, agree to bear a child with Jiang Yu, spend that night with him in the mountain temple, and after returning to Southern Chen, bear another child with King Chen to consolidate her position.
Just as she had told him when she was captured by Pei Song's Hawk Hounds—she didn't care.
When he learned of her pregnancy, he had been so enraged that even in his dreams his eyes were blood-red. Reaching out to choke her neck and demand an answer, yet at the moment his hand actually touched her, he could only gasp in near despair, clutching her tightly against his chest.
Like a drowning man finally grasping that lifesaving straw.
Every time he woke from such dreams, the emptiness in his chest was overwhelming, and that void continued to expand with time, eroding what little rationality he had left.
Endless campaigns and killings couldn't suppress the overwhelming emptiness that was driving him mad.
He wanted to see her.
Wanted to forge a chain.
Once forged, to lock her away.
Firmly tethered to his side.
Since her affections could be so easily discarded, then he would be the one to force them.
Her heart was filled with her subjects, with this empire.
Then he would fight to claim this empire for her.
The siege of Luodu also began on a clear day.
The allied forces of Liang, Chen, and Xiao surrounded all four gates of Luodu.
Amid the dark mass of troops, siege engines like battering rams, scaling ladders, and catapults were faintly visible.
When the thunderous war drums sounded from below the city walls, the powerful waves of sound crashed against Luodu's walls standing several zhang high, creating countless echoes—like muffled thunder rolling through valleys, making hearts tremble in response.
The allied forces' battle formations advanced like black floodwaters, frontline armored soldiers beating their round shields with long blades. Though no battle cries were uttered, the synchronized footsteps and shield strikes became the second wave of thunder on this battlefield.
Ahead, Luodu's city towers remained solemn and imposing, yet under the tide-like advance of the military formations, they resembled an old junk ship destined to be swallowed by great waves and sunk to oblivion.
Pei Song had suffered continuous defeats over the past six months, and morale among his troops had long been unstable. After the surrounding cities defending Luodu fell, his position became completely isolated.
Previously, he could still promise territorial concessions to the Outer Pass Barbarians to secure temporary respite, but the conflict between the barbarians and the Northern Border had continued unabated since Xiao Li was framed and left Northern Wei last year, allowing the barbarians to exploit the vulnerability.
During both the spring and autumn—peak seasons for livestock breeding—the barbarians had been exhausted by continuous warfare in the northern territories. Their losses throughout the past year far exceeded those from their usual winter raids on the northern lands.
The barbarians could no longer sustain this either.
When Xiao Li previously defended Yanle Mountain with the righteous army, he had developed tactics specifically countering barbarian raids. After teaching these strategies to Yuan Fang and others, veteran Northern Wei generals like Yuan Fang and Wei Ang could now securely hold Yanle Mountain.
Throughout this entire winter, the barbarians gained no advantage in the northern territories. Their current offensive was clearly exhausted, seemingly just trying to endure this harsh winter before recuperating—naturally making them unable to serve as Pei Song's external allies anymore.
Everyone knew clearly—in this battle for Luodu, Pei Song was destined to fall.On the distant battlements of Luodu City, Pei Song gazed at the black iron tide of the approaching army below without a trace of panic, his expression even carrying a hint of detached nonchalance, as if watching a play from the sidelines.
He glanced sideways at the gaunt, armored elder beside him, a faintly mocking smile playing on his lips as if to validate some wager: "General Qin, the rebels are attacking the city. His Majesty has summoned you to protect the throne and rescue the sovereign."
The elderly man, whose grizzled beard and hair—though neatly groomed—still bristled like a lion's mane, had initially worn a dazed look in his eyes. But at the words "rescue the sovereign," he began to murmur along: "Rescue the sovereign..."
Pei Song's eyes were cold and sardonic as he curled his lips and said, "Yes, His Majesty awaits your rescue in the palace."
Suddenly, a gleam of spirit and battle intent ignited in Qin Yi's previously vacant eyes, like a long-discarded mechanical device being retrieved, its hinges repaired. His gaze, both dazed and blazing, fixed on the scene below: "What insolent fools dare to assault our Luodu?"
The Pei soldiers stationed at the crenellations, armed with crossbows, were already pale with terror at the overwhelming momentum of the army surging forward like ocean waves. Their hands gripping the crossbows trembled faintly.
Were it not for their fear of Pei Song's authority and the fact that Luodu was surrounded on all sides, some might have deserted on the spot.
Everyone awaited Pei Song's command once the enemy entered crossbow range, yet they understood that even with a barrage of arrows, it would likely only briefly hinder the advancing black iron tide.
The wind whipped the numerous banners on the battlements, and the air seemed to freeze taut on the bowstrings.
As the enemy army entered crossbow range, Qin Yi, observing from the crenellations, suddenly roared hoarsely: "The traitors are in range! Loose arrows!"
His voice was raspy and grating, yet piercingly powerful, like an aged maned lion roaring in fury. The nearby Hawk Hounds and soldiers shuddered, goosebumps rising on their skin. The signal officer responsible for relaying the commander's orders on the battlements faltered for a moment before hastily signaling with flags and shouting the command: "By the commander's order, loose arrows!"
The volley of arrows released was neither orderly nor dense, scattered and askew, yet it spread out like a net cast from the battlements.
The besieging army below was well-prepared, instantly forming overlapping round shields to create a protective wall overhead.
The vanguard soldiers, in pairs, lifted massive shields to block the hail of arrowheads as they advanced.
"Catapults, ready—" Qin Yi continued to bellow hoarsely.
Using catapults to launch rolling stones to crush the shield formation was a common defensive tactic, but the outcome would hardly change.
Veterans of numerous city defense battles waited almost numbly for the stones to be launched, expecting only minor casualties among the enemy below before the shield formation would continue its advance toward the city walls. The next steps would be battering the gates and scaling the walls with ladders.
But as dozens of earthen jars sealed with oil were launched from the catapults on the battlements, and another volley of arrows followed, the jars shattered mid-air, splattering oil downward.
At the row of crenellations near the main battlements, every Pei soldier's arrow was tipped with ignited pine resin. When this wave of fire arrows was released, wherever the oil had splashed below instantly erupted into a sea of flames.Even though the round shields blocked most of the oil, any soldier whose clothing was splattered with even a drop would instantly be engulfed in flames while running through the firelight. Many soldiers rolled on the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the flames, and the military formation quickly disintegrated into chaos.
This sudden turn of events was unexpected by both the attacking and defending sides.
When the Pei clan soldiers on the city wall realized what had happened, they erupted into cheers that pierced the heavens, their previously low morale instantly soaring.
Without waiting for Qin Yi's command this time, Pei Song leaned against the battlements, laughing maniacally as he shouted: "Fire the arrows! Keep firing arrows!"
The soldiers below, too preoccupied with the flames to maintain their shield formation, couldn't even retreat in time and were immediately riddled with arrows like sieves.
Among the rear formations that hadn't yet advanced, the soldiers were inevitably intimidated upon witnessing this disastrous assault.
Within the central formation, Zhang Huai, who stood with Xiao Li on the war chariot, frowned at the scene and said with a grim expression: "My lord, it appears the Pei camp held back in previous battles. Our vanguard has suffered heavy casualties - we should sound the retreat rather than continue the assault."
Xiao Li coldly watched the dense hail of arrows raining down on the retreating vanguard formation in the distance like a net. "Sound the gongs," he ordered.
The bronze gongs hanging on the war chariot clanged loudly, but instead of the peripheral troops withdrawing, two cavalry units charged from the flanks toward the city wall, seemingly intending to use the vanguard as cover to attack the city base.
On the wall, Pei Song narrowed his eyes at the sight and immediately commanded: "Archers! Target the flanking cavalry!"
The Pei soldiers, who had been firing at the retreating vanguard within range, immediately adjusted their great bows in unison.
Spotting Xiao Li leading the left flank cavalry at the forefront, Pei Song laughed triumphantly, a ferocious glint suddenly appearing in his eyes as he ordered his attendants: "Bring me my bow!"
The Hawk Hound quickly brought a specially crafted great bow.
While crossbows offered greater range for ordinary soldiers, for generals skilled in mounted archery, bows far surpassed crossbows in range.
Though recent consecutive defeats had aggravated Pei Song's heart condition and indirectly triggered the recurrence of his old illness, his martial foundation remained intact. He drew the great bow into a full moon shape, the straining bowstring seeming ready to snap as the cold-gleaming arrowhead aimed directly at Xiao Li - now clad in black armor astride a dark steed, gradually riding into range.
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