Chapter 19 Northern Expedition (6)

  "Brothers, the final battle has arrived. If you are men, stand up straight and remember, as soldiers, our greatest honor is to die for our country!"

  In the crowd, the soldiers who were originally from the Imperial Qinglong White Tiger Xuanwu Army and the Yizhou Road Bai'er Army sang that song which had been silent for over a hundred years: "Don't you see, Han Zhongjun, weak crown tied to the enemy's long rope; don't you see, Ban Dingyuan, absolute domain light cavalry urging war clouds! A man should be on a perilous journey, how can he let Confucian scholars mislead him? The country is in danger like a pile of eggs, and the feathers are rushing without stopping! Abandon my former pen, wear my battle robe, one call to comrades over ten thousand, singing war songs together. Together we march into battle, sweep away the dust of the barbarians, vow to eliminate the Japanese slaves without regard for life! Endure the pain of parting from home, generously offer our hearts to report to the country. With a proud smile, rush to the battlefield, the great flag waves in the sunless sky. The wind blows Taibai into the vast month, strength pulls the long arrow to shoot at the heavenly wolf.

  At that moment, all the soldiers had a surge in their chests. They all remembered the era when this ballad was popular, an era where heroes emerged and laughed proudly. Under the guidance of this ballad, Emperor Taizu, the great ancestor, gradually conquered the domestic vassals, killed more than 5,000 miles of foreign tribes outside the pass, and laid the foundation for the Qing dynasty's three-hundred-year-old empire. Under the leadership of the imperial double dragon flag, this ballad spread from the easternmost coast to the western side of the present-day Rouran. Wherever the banner went, the foreign tribes surrendered without exception. Accompanied by the oath "Whoever offends my heavenly dynasty's heavenly power, I will search the world and destroy them", it has become a nightmare for the northern barbarians for hundreds of years. However, with the decline of the Qing Empire, this ancient ballad also disappeared from the ears of the people in China. Especially in recent years, as national strength declined and large areas of territory were lost, this ballad became even more shameful for the Chinese people. Nevertheless, these soldiers who had been fighting on the northern border of the empire for a long time still remembered it, remembered this ancient song written with the blood and lives of countless martyrs. When they were about to sacrifice themselves, they sang it again, hoping to use their lives to defend the glorious name of China for thousands of years.

  On the enemy's side, Yelü Zhaochang and Shen Jie's expressions were stiff, they obviously also remembered this song that had brought endless fear and nightmares to their nation, remembered the era of bloodshed, remembered the invincible military power of the gods when they were young, and a hint of fear surged up in their hearts. However, the arrow was on the string and could not be released, although they felt the obvious change in the enemy's morale, but they had no choice. The banner unfolded, countless soldiers grasped their weapons tightly, and followed closely behind them with determination.

  "Brothers, let's go to war!" Dugu Yueming burst out laughing, raising the goose feather knife high in his hand. Bian Zhongxing also gripped his long spear tightly, and the rest of the soldiers, as long as they could still struggle to stand up, all spontaneously grasped their weapons. Although their footsteps were not very steady, their eyes were exceptionally firm, and their expressions were passionate and stirring.

  "Kill!" Accompanied by a loud shout, the two armies clashed again, countless icy blades simultaneously pierced each other's bodies, and many young lives were extinguished before they could even let out their battle cries.

  Dugu Yueming's entire body was already soaked in blood, and the originally golden armor was now covered in wounds. Even the goose feather knife in his hand had several notches cut out of it. The only thing that hadn't changed was his fearless momentum and proud smile, which still stood at the forefront of the defense line despite being heavily wounded. Bian Chongxing's face finally regained some color, no longer deathly pale, but instead flushed red, with a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes. Under their leadership, the surrounding soldiers also ignited their strongest fighting spirit, determined to take down the enemy even if it meant dying together.

  However, the enemy army had a numerical advantage after all. Under the command of Yelü Zhaochang and Shen Jie, although they advanced very slowly, they had already steadily gained the upper hand. Dugu Wumai and Bian Rongxing had already done their best, but the defense line was still being breached bit by bit, and thousands of soldiers were gradually becoming isolated.

  "Big brother, the brothers really can't hold on anymore, when will the reinforcements arrive?" In the midst of the fierce battle, a school lieutenant covered in blood stumbled and ran to Du Guo's face, panting heavily. His body was full of wounds, even his face had been slashed with a long knife, although it wasn't very deep, but the fresh blood made him look exceptionally ferocious. Bian Chong faintly remembered that this person seemed to be Du Guo's sworn brother Gao Feng, who had followed him since he fled to Yizhou.

  "Reinforcements will arrive immediately." Dugu Yueming said coldly, and as he spoke, another barbarian soldier fell under his blade.

  "Big brother, let our brothers retreat first. If we continue like this, all of our brothers will be wiped out. Big brother, can't you leave some seeds for the White Eared Army, for our brothers?" Gao Feng said tearfully.

  "As a soldier, dying on the battlefield is the greatest honor! You have time to cry here, it's better to kill a few more barbarians. Whoever wants to retreat can retreat, anyway, I, Dugu Yueming, don't have brothers who shrink back in battle!" Dugu Yueming shouted loudly. Due to a moment of distraction, he was stabbed again, fortunately, Bian Zhongxing reacted quickly and saved him, otherwise, Dugu Yueming's right arm would have been crippled.

  Gao Feng's face changed, as a soldier, Dugu Yu's words were undoubtedly the greatest insult to him, but towards his superior, he didn't have any complaints. He simply stood up straight, saluted and then charged back with his spear.

  A moment later, from his direction came his shrill angry shout, then quickly returned to calmness. Countless barbarians broke in from there. Dugu Yu's eyes dimmed for a moment, because he knew that another brother had sacrificed himself for the country.

  Seeing this situation, Yelü Zhaochang finally let out a sigh of relief. Although the enemy was still resisting in an organized manner, their numbers had greatly decreased. Although morale was still high, it would only take half an hour for him to annihilate them all here. It's just that he didn't know how Iron Eagle was doing on the other side. If they were already defeated, even if his own side won, it would be difficult to turn the tide of the war. On Deep Crimson's face, however, a hint of joy appeared, as he discovered that the enemy's commander flag was swaying precariously. The motivating effect of the commander flag on the battlefield is absolutely enormous. The fact that the enemy no longer had the strength to protect their commander flag made it clear that they were at their last gasp. It seemed that this battle would be won without any suspense.

  The fact is indeed as Deep Jay predicted, now Dugu Yueming and Bian Zhongxing have less than a thousand soldiers left by their side. Although there are still scattered soldiers around them, they are all surrounded by several times the enemy. Dugu Yueming was shot in the chest, and the person who stabbed him was Fred, Yelü Zhaochang's deputy general. If it were in peacetime, Fred would not have had the opportunity to get close to Dugu Yueming. After all, Dugu Yueming's strength, even Song Zhengfeng, the master of the Song family of Yizhou Road, could only fight him to a draw. Even when facing the top ten masters of the Divine State, Dugu Yueming could at least defend himself. However, after a long battle, even Dugu Yueming, who was brave and powerful, was unable to resist the opponent's precise strike due to exhaustion. His originally sturdy armor had been battered by continuous impacts and was already covered in scars. On the spot, Fred shattered his heart mirror with one shot. However, Fred didn't get a good deal either. Although he seriously injured Dugu Yueming, he was also killed on the spot by Dugu Yueming's counterattack.

  His appearance was not much better than that of Du Gu Yan, with his left arm severed at the shoulder, but after a rough bandage, he still stood on the battlefield, directing the fight in an orderly manner. Due to severe blood loss, his face had regained its usual pallor, yet his expression was resolute, like cold granite. Although the flag was already shattered, as long as he stood on the battlefield, it was an unyielding banner, and the surrounding soldiers still had hope in their hearts! It was also because of him that, although the situation was extremely dire, he still firmly guarded the last line of defense. However, the number of soldiers around him was dwindling, and if this continued, within half an hour at most, they would be annihilated.

  Just then, a long-awaited fireworks finally rose from the west of the battlefield, accompanied by countless horseshoes and battle cries coming from the west. Turning back to look, I saw an iron current rushing in like a wave, bringing an unstoppable momentum. On both sides of the iron current were two branches of extremely fast light cavalry, they were like a pair of iron pincers, which had already completed the encirclement of the foreign tribes outside the pass in an instant.

  At the sound of this familiar war drum, whether it was Du Guoyu Ming lying on the ground, Bian Zhong Xing with a expressionless face, or the countless soldiers who were fighting desperately, all shed tears of excitement. Reinforcements had finally arrived. Since they appeared here, it means that the enemy army in Jizhou has been completely wiped out. They paid a huge price, but they finally succeeded in the end.

  Yelü Chaochang and Shen Jie's faces suddenly turned pale, looking at the tens of thousands of cavalry troops that were as agile as dragons. Their brains even stopped thinking. They had thought about the unfavorable situation in the direction of Jizhou, thought that Tieying and Qiuying might be defeated, but they never thought that the opponent would win so quickly, and still retain so many living forces. Looking at the tens of thousands of galloping cavalry, the two men looked at each other, seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

  "General, what should we do now?" Shen Jie, who usually didn't get along with Ye Lu Zhaochang, could only look to him for help with a pleading gaze, despite his bewildered expression.

  Yelü Zhaochang said dejectedly, "What else can we do? Since Tiexiong and Qiūmíng have already been defeated, how can we turn the tide? General Shen Jie, order your soldiers to surrender. The kingdom's brave warriors shouldn't sacrifice themselves in vain."

  Shen Jie was apparently stunned by Yelü Zhaochang's words, and only after a long while did he say: "General, do you think they will let us off if we surrender?"

  "It's a gathering." Yelü Zhaochang nodded affirmatively: "Looking at the opponent's commander's plans over the past few days, he should be a particularly reasonable person. Although we slaughtered hundreds of millions of their civilians, there are still tens of millions of their people in our country. They will inevitably use us as hostages and negotiate with the kingdom, so although they hate us to the bone, they will definitely not kill us."

  Shen Jie's face flashed a hint of helplessness, and he was stunned for a moment before finally nodding his head. At this time, the soldiers on both sides who were still in fierce battle suddenly retreated from the battlefield after seeing the arrival of the Dingzhou army. The soldiers from both sides also gathered together one after another with the support of their comrades around them.

  Bian Zhongxing looked around, and the 30,000 soldiers who set out at the beginning were now left with only over a thousand people. Every one of them was covered in scars. His Xuanwu Army had less than a hundred soldiers left, and his four beloved generals were all severely injured. The situation of the Youyin Army under Du Gu's command was slightly better, but it wouldn't exceed three hundred. Stretching out his remaining right hand, Bian Zhongxing grasped the already tattered Imperial Double Dragon Pearl Flag and waved it with great effort a few times. In a hoarse voice, he said: "Brothers, as long as the flag is here, we are here! We have not disappointed everyone's expectations!"

  Haotian's army had arrived at the front of the formation, looking at the small hill where over a thousand soldiers were standing and supporting each other. Haotian and his men dismounted their horses and walked to Bian Zhongxun who was still standing.

  "General Hao, I told you we would hold the position." Originally lying on the ground, Dugu Yueming looked at Haotian's arrival and hurriedly stood up with the support of the soldiers beside him, smiling hard.

  Looking at the blood and countless wounds on Dugu Yueming and Bian Chongxing, Haotian threw away the sword in his hand, accompanied by the sound of the lock armor, Haotian heavily knelt down in front of the two men and more than a thousand soldiers!

  "General Hao, what's going on?" Bian Zhongxuan hastily handed the flag in his hand to a soldier beside him and grabbed Hao Tian with his remaining right hand.

  Haotian didn't answer, he just heavily knocked his head and stood up to hug the two, loudly saying to the tens of thousands of troops around: "Brothers, do you see? What are heroes? They are heroes!"

  "Hero! Hero! Hero!" Tens of thousands of troops dismounted, waving their weapons and shouting in unison. Meanwhile, Du Gu and his men, along with the thousands of soldiers around them, were all in tears, feeling that the sacrifice they had just made was completely worth it. They had every reason to proudly enjoy the cheers.

  Highly recommended books: "The Little Prince", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "1984", "Pride and Prejudice", "The Catcher in the Rye", "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "War and Peace"

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