Chapter 151: A Fight to the Death (Part I)

Fighting with one's back to the river is an extremely perilous military tactic. As ancient military texts state: "Put them in a desperate situation, and they will survive." Since there are precedents to learn from, let me test today whether the ancient theories of warfare truly hold validity.

While leading Xuan and Chunhua in their run, Kaiming secretly made up her mind.

Commander Yu led his two squads to the riverbank first. True to expectations, the horses reached the water and could advance no further, milling about in confusion.

Anxious soldiers crowded around him, shouting, "Commander, Commander, what should we do?"

Commander Yu was far more panicked inside than his subordinates, but he maintained a calm exterior and barked, "What is there to panic about? Didn't you see the General arrive just now? Reinforcements from the Central Palace will surely follow shortly!"

"But where is the General?"

"The General..." Commander Yu faltered, raising his gaze to scan the surroundings. In the pitch-black night, aside from his own men, the torches in the distance were as numerous as the stars in the sky. The Southern Palace had surrounded them completely, leaving not a single gap.

At this moment, he could only sigh inwardly: Heaven has doomed us!

Suddenly, a crisp voice pierced the air: "Commander Yu!" Everyone heard it clearly—it was unmistakably the ringing voice of a woman.

Commander Yu could not believe his ears, but as the voice drew closer, several figures parted the crowd and stepped before him. Rubbing his eyes, he saw it clearly: despite wearing night-wear, the person standing before the horses was indeed their commander, General Kaiming.

Commander Yu hastily dismounted, dropped to his knees, and repeatedly begged for forgiveness: "Without the General's permission, I led the troops out without authorization. Please punish me, General!"

Kaiming waved her hand impatiently. "This is not the time to assign blame. Your matter will be dealt with after we return to camp. Are all your soldiers here?"

*After returning to camp?* Commander Yu was stunned. Is she so confident that we can escape unscathed and return to camp alive?

"Yes. Except for those who died in battle, everyone is here," he answered in a muffled voice.

Kaiming nodded and addressed the crowd in a loud voice, "Brothers, do not be afraid! Since I am here, it means our camp has already received news of the encirclement. It won't be long before reinforcements arrive!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd. Only Commander Yu raised his eyelids, looking at her with skepticism.

Having boosted their morale, Kaiming pressed on with determination: "You are all valiant soldiers selected by the Central Palace, heroes capable of taking on ten men each! Now that we stand with our backs to the river and face the enemy, there is nowhere left to retreat. If we cower and retreat, death is the only outcome! The only course of action now is to fight to the death, and only then will we find a glimmer of survival. I am not exaggerating; those who doubt me are free to try running, but the price will be your lives!"

The crowd fell silent for a moment, each man weighing the situation in his heart. Seizing the moment, Chunhua raised her arms and shouted, "We will not sit here and wait for death! Follow the General and fight our way to a path of survival!"

Xuan immediately chimed in loudly, "Even a woman shows such resolve, are we, as proud men, going to lose to them?"

These words struck like a heavy boulder hitting the surface of water, igniting the men's passions. The soldiers roared like thunder: "We will not lose to women!"

"Follow the General, fight for a way out!"

Amidst this surging, unified wave of passion, Commander Yu's astonished eyes grew wider and wider, his gaze complex as he stared at the female general before him.

Kaiming stretched out her right arm and commanded in an overwhelming voice: "Form ranks immediately! Shield-bearers in the front, cavalry in the middle, infantry bringing up the rear. Follow my orders, execute coordinated attacks, and we will surely break the encirclement!"

***

Hearing her words, the soldiers felt as though they had swallowed a pill of absolute certainty, quickly forming ranks along the riverbank.

A formation resembling a long dragon immediately took shape beneath the glow of the Southern Palace's torches. Behind sturdy shields, the mounted soldiers were raring to go, and stationed securely among the cavalry were the infantry, ready for battle. Commander Yu and Xuan naturally helped put everything in order.

The Southern Palace commander stood in the distance, secretly startled to see the Central Palace formation so orderly. Qingyun slowly reined in his horse and rode over, to which the Southern Palace commander hastily reported, "The defeated troops of the Central Palace show no signs of scattering at all; instead, they have formed a defensive array."

Qingyun looked over the formation by the river and smiled faintly. "It looks quite proper. They've certainly learned a thing or two about warfare!"

The nearby commander looked at him strangely, failing to understand what he meant.

Qingyun turned his head toward him and asked, "Did this raid on the camp disturb Elder General Quan? Does he have any instructions?"

The commander replied, "The General said it is merely a band of scattered soldiers, and has left the matter entirely to Commander Sikong and the Military Strategist to handle."

Qingyun nodded and said indifferently, "Then, attack."

The commander acknowledged the order, raised his hand, and shouted to the Southern Palace soldiers beneath the surrounding torches: "Archers, ready, loose!"

The final word had barely left his lips when hundreds upon thousands of arrows shot forth like a swarm of locusts, densely blanketing the target area.

Seeing this clearly, Kaiming shrieked, "Take cover behind the shields!" Instantly, a countless number of sharp arrows pierced every prepared shield with a barrage of *thwacking* sounds. The Southern Palace troops drew their bows again, preparing for a second volley.

"Cavalry and infantry, advance, attack!" Kaiming's voice was exceptionally sharp. Following her command, the men roared "Kill!" with such force that it shook the heavens and caused the sun and moon to pale.

The Southern Palace infantry, not expecting the Central Palace to launch a sudden counterattack, failed to nock their arrows in time. The Central Palace cavalry surged forward like lightning, throwing their enemy into complete disarray, sending many to their doom beneath iron hooves.

As the Southern Palace cavalry moved to intercept, Kaiming shouted frantically among the troops: "Central Palace infantry, hack at their horses' legs!"

Receiving the order, the infantry ducked low and, taking advantage of the darkness, relentlessly slashed at the legs of the Southern Palace horses galloping past them. In an instant, blood rained down, men and horses tumbled over, and the chaos became indescribable.

The torches along the riverbank were extinguished row by row. Amidst the pitch-black melee, no one could tell friend from foe. In such an environment, the side with more numbers was actually at a greater disadvantage. The Southern Palace had relied on their massive force to block the Central Palace soldiers against the river, but they had not anticipated falling into this dark, chaotic brawl, where everyone became like startled birds, steadily retreating outward.

The morale of the Central Palace soldiers soared, and they fought with increasing ferocity, truly achieving the magnificent feat of one man taking on ten.

Standing by the riverbank to watch, Qingyun did not show anger at seeing his own forces routed into a shambles; instead, a profound smile touched his lips.

The commander beside him said uneasily, "Strategist, what should we do? How did it turn out like this? Clearly, our side held the absolute advantage."

Qingyun calmly smiled and said, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war; there is no need to panic. This time was merely to probe the enemy's strength."

The commander looked at him in utter incomprehension. Why did the Strategist still look so leisurely when their own forces had been defeated?

Through the bodies locked in combat, Qingyun's gaze, like a bright lamp in the dark night, pierced straight toward the female general fighting valiantly by the river. As if receiving the signal from that lamp, Kaiming abruptly looked up and spotted the young strategist in white upon a white horse on the riverbank, calm and collected, his eyes smiling.

***

"Qingyun!" Pushing past the soldiers around her, she instinctively wanted to draw closer.

Seeing her look up, Qingyun smiled slightly at her, then turned his horse around, horse and rider instantly vanishing into the darkness.

At the same time, the Southern Palace commander's shout rang out abruptly in the air: "Fall back!" The moment the order was given, the Southern Palace forces crumbled even further, withdrawing completely.

Brandishing their weapons, the Central Palace soldiers erupted into endless cheers. It was an unbelievable fact that such a small, weak force had defeated the massive Southern Palace army! The soldiers swarmed toward Kaiming, embracing one another. Chunhua hugged her tightly, almost kissing her in her excitement, and cried out, "Kaiming, you are too amazing! I have to admire you!"

"General! General!" The soldiers' cheers gradually turned into rhythmic chanting that echoed through the quiet night sky.

Before Xuan could express his excitement, he desperately forced his way through the crowd and shouted, "It's too dangerous here, we must leave at once!"

Kaiming's face was flushed with excited smiles. Hearing Xuan's warning, she quickly urged the crowd, "Brothers, if you want to celebrate, celebrate back at camp! If you want to cheer, wait until we've left the Southern Palace's territory!"

"We obey the General's command!" Commander Yu's face was stained with blood. Desperately wiping it away with his sleeve, he vaulted into his saddle and shouted to the soldiers, "Form ranks immediately and return to the garrison camp!"

Following her orders, the soldiers left the riverbank in an orderly fashion, hurrying back toward their own camp.

Over on the other side, Sikong had chased shadows for the better part of the night, but the dark figures darted east and west, leaving no trace to catch. He only knew the chase took him further and further away until he lost them completely.

He stared blankly at the empty plain for a moment, then cursed a blue streak, but it did no good. Left with no choice, he had to trudge back to camp, dragging his painted halberd in dejection.

The moment he returned to camp, he was greeted by scattered, fleeing soldiers, giving him a fright that made his heart leap. After questioning them for details, he learned that the Central Palace had somehow turned a desperate situation into a victory with inferior numbers, and Qingyun had ordered a retreat.

Furious beyond measure, never imagining the duck ready to be cooked had flown away like this, he dismounted, stormed angrily into Qingyun's tent, and launched straight into an interrogation: "You score-settling bastard! Did you deliberately shield your woman and let their whole gang go?"

Qingyun lazily raised his eyelids to glance at him and said nonchalantly, "Ah, it's you."

"Who else could it be?!" Sikong aggressively slammed his painted halberd onto the desk, producing a loud *clang* that made the nearby guard shrink back behind Qingyun.

Qingyun waved at the guard: "You go out first. The Commander and I have matters to discuss."

Naturally sensible, the guard slipped away instantly.

"Speak!" Sikong strode over to straddle a seat beside him, glaring with eyes as wide as copper bells. "What is the meaning of this?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Qingyun's lips as he cast a sideways glance at him: "Sikong, I didn't see you capturing any enemies just now. What were you busy doing?"

"Me?" He paused slightly, not expecting Qingyun to turn the tables on him. Clearing his throat, he said, "I'm not as leisurely as you. I chased a petty thief for most of the night, only for her to escape."

"A petty thief? What kind of petty thief?" Qingyun pressed on relentlessly.

Driven into a corner, Sikong waved his hand irritably and said, "Isn't it that petty thief who tricked us? She claims to be Kaiming, the General of the Central Palace. I saw her and gave chase, but who knew that little thief was so cunning?"