Chapter Sixteen: Alliance on the Battlefield

  Just as Bai Qi was using the powerful defensive equipment on the city wall to continuously support Feng Yu, and Feng Yu was forced to gradually approach the city gate, it seemed that the entire battlefield had already been firmly controlled by Gesu Hanwen, and was unfolding according to his plan.

  Gao Shou Hangwen stood on a distant high slope, a smile spreading across his face - he was going to be the first general to successfully storm Lunyu Pass.

  Then he gently raised his hand, and the troops beside him began to take action.

  They braved the hail of stones and arrows from the towers above Linyu Pass, beginning to cross the river in preparation for a final all-out assault on Linyu Pass.

  At this time, it is inevitable that some degree of disorder will occur - the formation of the troops crossing the river in the distance, with stones constantly coming over, is more or less chaotic; the army on the battlefield has been fighting for so long and can't help but be a little tired; seeing one's own main force start to act and the victory is about to be decided, it is psychologically natural to relax a bit.

  All of this was originally very subtle and should have had no impact on the battle. Unfortunately, fate disrupted Gesu Hangwen's plan to capture Lianyu Pass.

  In the distance, a massive cloud of dust suddenly rose up, accompanied by the sound of horseshoes.

  Good counsel in stormy weather

  Autumn is good for hunting

  Bai Qi is good at defense

  Luo Xin is good at fighting

  These four sentences can be said to be a powerful summary of the combat style of the early Feng Yu leaders. In fact, the Battle of Lunyu Guan was the best verification of these four sentences. And when the battle reached its climax, two of them became the key to victory or defeat.

  Lü Bu was good at launching surprise attacks, while Bai Qi was good at defense.

  "If General Bai Qi hadn't demonstrated his superb defensive capabilities, the Lianyu Pass would have been embroiled in a bitter battle of attack and defense, with no time to support the commander outside the city; and if General Qiu Li hadn't launched a decisive cavalry charge at the critical moment, then it's likely that nobody could have predicted who would emerge victorious from this entire campaign."

  But what I admire most is the commander, who can still grasp the development of the entire battlefield in such a fierce battle and ultimately use clever means to lead the battle that has already been very different from the original deployment to a favorable outcome. This requires not only excellent military quality but also unique political talent.

  So in my mind, what really decides victory or defeat is still "good planning in a favorable situation".

  Memoirs of Imperial General Zhao Liang

  The Akatsuki, who had been sneaking in from the side door, finally made their move. The most elite troops of the entire Wind and Rain Army began the most crucial attack of the entire battle.

  Ten thousand heavy cavalrymen, armed with long spears, took advantage of the great impact brought by their high-speed charge and quickly broke through the formation of the Hulan people, who were somewhat tired, somewhat slack, and numb to the impending victory.

  Qiu Li chose a very precise timing for the raid, and the location of the raid was even more brilliant.

  The entire Hulan army was cut off at the waist, and the Hulan army that was halfway across suffered a severe blow.

  Supported by the heavy cavalry's powerful charge was the light cavalry's guerrilla warfare. Thirty thousand light cavalrymen galloped back and forth on the battlefield, leaving the Hulan people dazed and confused.

  A flash of sword light, people and horses overturned.

  Everywhere is the sound of slaughter, everywhere is the clash of steel on steel.

  The Hollanders, who were still reeling from the sudden attack, only heard slogans such as "The Holy Dragon Allied Army has arrived, and our entire army is being attacked from both front and back" ringing out across the battlefield, causing widespread panic.

  This time attacking Lunyu Pass, what the Hulan people feared most was that there were famous passes blocking their way in front and the Shenglong Allied Army pursuing them from behind.

  The most critical thing is that the highest commander of the entire army, Geshou Xingwen, was blocked on the other side of the river and could not timely boost morale and effectively organize the troops to counterattack.

  The entire Hulan army fell into a state of disarray and fought separately.

  When the evening breeze of July swept across the battlefield, nearly 100,000 Hulan cavalrymen and more than 40,000 Shenglong warriors had fallen asleep forever here. Without ethnic divisions, without identity differences, these brave men who galloped on the battlefield finally found their own haven on the battlefield.

  At a critical moment, Gao Shun stabilized his own army, while Feng and Yu were exhausted and had no strength or heart to fight again.

  Thus, the war took a strange turn. After fierce fighting for a whole day, tens of thousands of Gao Shuhan's troops suddenly withdrew and disappeared without a trace, as if they had sacrificed so many lives just to practice their skills in the wind and rain.

  At the time when dawn was about to break, on a small hill not far from Lianyu Pass, Feng Ru stood facing the wind and rain. Right in front of him were his arch-nemesis Ge Shuwen, who had been fighting with him till death just the day before, as well as the Crown Prince of Hulan, who was supposed to be held captive under Lianyu Pass.

  "I'd like to take this opportunity to wish the great prince a successful campaign against the rebels. I hope that in the future, you and I can cooperate across the north and south, and work together to conquer the world!" Feng Yu smiled as he said this.

  "It's all thanks to General Feng's great help this time. Who would have thought that after such a fierce battle, our two families would actually make peace? I'm afraid that when the Crown Prince led 700,000 elite cavalry into Hulan City, Zhang Zhongjian still didn't understand how the Southern Expeditionary Army, which had been forced to retreat westward, could suddenly appear at Lunyu Pass. Hahaha!" The Great King of Hulan couldn't help but feel a little elated at the thought of soon having absolute power.

  "Is this really the ending you had in mind from the start, young man?" Unlike the Crown Prince, Geshu Xingwen, a seasoned veteran of many battles, gazed coldly at Feng Yu, as if trying to see through this unpredictable young man.

  Looking at the wind and rain with a smile, the old general slowly said after a long time: "I hope that next time we meet is not on the battlefield!"

  "I hope so!" The wind and rain replied faintly, a surge of tender feelings welled up in her heart.

  Watching Geshu Han lead the army westward, while the Crown Prince led 70,000 cavalrymen rushing northward, Feng Yu sighed and the matter finally came to an end.

  What a wonderful layout. After this battle, no one doubted that Geshu Han would inevitably go west; Moreover, Geshu Han deliberately divided his troops and marched, Zhang Zhongjian had no way of knowing that there was an elite army quietly approaching the capital.

  But will this coup be so smooth? Can Yelü Chuzhi get the tribal independence he wants?

  Feng Yu thought to himself, regarding this young man who was eloquent and had a sharp mind, yet remained calm and composed, Feng Yu rather wanted to recruit him under his wing.

  Years later, a woman who would be known to posterity as the most skilled in politics couldn't help but ask Feng Yu: "Did you plan on fighting a fake battle from the start? If so, there was no need to make it so intense!"

  The storm only has bitter smiles. To be honest, at the beginning, the storm did not intend to cooperate with Ge Shu Xingwen as many people speculated later on.

  Was it the complete annihilation of Geshu Xingwen's army, causing the various forces of Shenglong to think that Hulan's strength had been greatly weakened, and thus recklessly accelerating their internal strife, while Fengyu took advantage of the situation to fish in troubled waters and reap benefits?

  Is it better to ally with Geshu Hanwen, causing Hulan to become embroiled in internal strife, while Feng Yu can focus on dealing with domestic enemies and cultivate a northern ally to some extent?

  These two ideas have been weighing heavily on his mind, the former can accelerate the internal struggle of Sheng Long, thus allowing him to take advantage of the situation and gain the greatest benefit, and it will be easier to deal with Hulan later; the latter adds an ally, gains a playable card, and allows Hulan to continue possessing strong military power, which helps Sheng Long play the role of savior when infiltrating Xiyu in the future, prompting the various kingdoms on the mainland to lean further towards Sheng Long.

  The pros and cons of it have been debated by many people even until now.

  Regarding this battle, Feng Yuxiang was actually commanding such a large-scale campaign for the first time, and it wasn't as glorious as his admirers depicted. Those who try to defend Feng Yuxiang easily fall into one of two dilemmas: either portraying him as a great military leader but a cold-blooded animal who disregards soldiers' lives; or becoming overly emotional and falling into sentimentalism.

  In fact, Feng Yu had only set a general strategic direction, and this battle must be fought no matter what. However, as for how to end it, Feng Yu himself did not make a decision beforehand. But after understanding the actual situation, he quickly chose the right direction, just like the facts of the past proved that Feng Yu was extremely good at using the current situation and conditions to his advantage, making the entire situation favorable to him, possessing extremely high political talent.

  Secondly, in the campaign, Feng Yu's performance was not commensurate with his later fame. Before the war, it was clear that the Hulan people would invade, but no scouts were sent to investigate, and the Hulan people arrived at the gate before reacting, making them extremely passive from the start, which can be said to be a very low-level mistake.

  At the beginning of the battle, as the commander-in-chief, he did not take overall control but instead fought bravely in a one-on-one manner; abandoning the advantageous conditions of the famous pass and strong city, taking a short cut, and engaging in a decisive battle with the Hulan people, who were renowned for their cavalry, on open terrain. It can be said that he almost brought about his own demise and put the entire army in a disadvantageous position.

  If it weren't for Bai Qi's impregnable defense, if it weren't for Luo Xin's bravery in battle; if it weren't for the cavalry charge in autumn; if it weren't for the entire army's fearlessness, the outcome of the war would be hard to predict.

  And if it weren't for the magical army of Hulan marching west, and if Geshu Hanwen hadn't intentionally reserved his strength due to domestic circumstances; if it weren't for the timely ambush by Qiuli that didn't even give the Hulan people a chance to launch their earth-shaking Crazy Warrior attack, perhaps the entire course of history would have been rewritten.

  Successive victories made him underestimate the enemy, and he did not fully estimate the strength of both sides. He had a lucky psychology to annihilate the enemy army, which almost made Feng Yü a joke in history.

  Fortunately, the goddess of fate still favored Feng Yu at this time and gave him the opportunity to correct his mistake at a critical moment. Realizing his mistake, Feng Yu hastily negotiated with Ge Shu Xingwen overnight.

  Rescued the crown prince, was able to dispatch elite troops to secretly pass through Lunyu Pass, and the main army could also safely leave, avoiding the danger of being sandwiched between the front and rear. It can be said that Geshu Hanwen's purpose in coming to attack Lunyu Pass has almost been achieved, and the cost is only the establishment of an alliance that can be used or abandoned in the future, as well as a toll of 30,000 war horses and 1 million gold coins.

  As for Feng Yu, he also got what he wanted. A large number of war horses enabled him to quickly and massively build the most powerful troops of this era - cavalry; helping the Crown Prince would allow himself to have one more ally in the north, effectively weakening Hulan's power, allowing himself to take action southward.

  For the entire army, this battle brought them closer to their commander. What they admired was not his ability to reason and arrange cleverly; but the heroic spirit of the commander who fought decisively and tirelessly, and the image of a family member who led by example and shared life and death together.

  The Holy Dragon is a nation with a long history and civilization, when other nations were still fighting with brute force, the Holy Dragon nation had already put forward a complete strategic and tactical ideology; when it established a set of tens of millions of large armies to fight continuously, the great war conducted by the most powerful empire in the distant Western Continent was only a few tens of thousands of troops.

  Unfortunately, when this powerful nation reached its peak of prosperity, he found that there was no worthy opponent on the known land. So he began to focus on internal affairs, using cumbersome bureaucracy to bind people's minds, and isolationism to hinder exchange and progress.

  However, this nation is inherently militaristic and contemptuous of powerful authorities.

  In the not-too-distant future, Feng Yu and his contemporaries will gradually come to realize that once this nation's long dormant martial spirit and strong sense of national pride and self-respect are combined with its unyielding and unshakeable national character, this dormant nation will surely re-exert its mighty power, shatter the humiliation and shackles imposed upon it by the world, and shake the entire universe.

  Those who offend Heaven's authority will be punished no matter how far away they are!

  This ancient proverb will shine again with the rise of a new generation of Holy Dragon people!

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