The snow continued to fall, floating down slowly. On top of the Lin Nan City wall, thick straw mats had been spread all over and charcoal braziers had been set up every 100 metres. The soldiers on duty huddled together beside the braziers, secretly thanking General Ping Nan for his sympathy. Liu Jue had ordered that all the families living in high areas were not to have lights and all the lanterns and torches on the Lin Nan City wall were to be put out. Under the moonlight and from a distance, the Lin Nan City on the northern side of the Han River simply appeared as a dark shadow. The mountain and the city were indistinguishable from each other.
At midnight of the 21st solar term, a layer of fog rose on the surface of the Han River. Half an hour later, the fog gradually thickened. At the beginning, the scattered light from flames on the opposite shore was still visible, yet the line of sight was slowly blocked by the surging white fog. There was only a boundless void in front. Liu Jue made his arrangements properly, then returned to rest at the generals’ residence. If the Chen Army began to cross the river at midnight, then he could rest for at least six hours. He should sleep for a while and while he was at it, he wanted to see Ah Luo.
Ah Luo calculated the time and was not asleep yet. She was just wondering how the Chen Army would cross the river. Her gaze fell on a line of words: All the empires along the river lined up boats to offer sacrifices. Line up boats? She muttered to herself, “Line up boats. If the bamboo boats are set off upstream and connected into a bamboo bridge, with the people downstream responding, then the bridge would lead the way and by following it, the direction would not be lost in the fog. If someone ignited a big fire in Lin Nan, it would become a navigation light. Then that means the men in black clothes were going to set fire in the city.”
Liu Jue was just walking into the inner hall, when he heard Ah Luo talking to herself and he blurted out, “We can also cross the river like this!”
Ah Luo turned around and their gazes met. Liu Jue was stunned momentarily and his heartbeat rose. Standing under the lamplight, Ah Luo’s eyes were radiant and a faint light halo shone on her hair. Her face was gentle and bright and the brilliance of the room reflected onto her. Liu Jue became crazy without him noticing. After a moment, he walked over slowly and lightly stretched out his hand to touch her face, only to retract it hastily, afraid that this was an illusion.
Ah Luo could not help but smile. Liu Jue caught his breath and suddenly returned to his senses, saying, “Who told you to dress like that?”
Huh? Ah Luo felt slightly vexed. She turned her face to the side and said irritatedly, “What are you doing here instead of commanding the garrison?!”
Liu Jue stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say and the corner of his mouth twitched, “I’m here to see whether you’re being honest, don’t cause trouble for me again!”
“See it now? You can go! I’m going to sleep!” Ah Luo did not dare to look at him and laid down on the **, casually putting down the bed canopy. With her back to Liu Jue, she really fell asleep.
The pale yellow canopy blocked Liu Jue’s sight and he stared at the ** obscure figure bitterly. Remembering that there would be a tough battle tomorrow, he said to himself that he would deal with her once the battle was over! Blowing out the lights, he turned around and left the room.
Gu Tian Xiang received Liu Jue’s report and dispatched the navy according to the plan.
Just as the whole Lin Nan City was on alert, a small boat floated on the Han River from upstream near the Chen Empire, bringing with it a line of bamboo boats that slowly approached the opposite shore. The river was turbulent and the fog was thickening. The commander of the Chen Army waited anxiously and six hours later, a hawk flew down and landed on his hand. His thin lips finally revealed a smile.
At around 7-9am, the Chen Empire’s three hundred thousand soldiers on battleships were connected by iron chains. The huge fleet assembled along a line guided by the bamboo boats and slowly advanced towards the Ning Empire on the other side.
At 10:30am, the Chen Empire reached the shore and the first group of soldiers disembarked and lined up. Lin Nan City was silent. A low and slightly dull voice sounded from the commander of the Chen Army’s ship, “Unlink the chains and attack!”
Next to him, an arrogant voice sounded, “Don’t worry Brother Wang. Including the commoners, there are only around fifty to sixty thousand troops in Lin Nan City. Chu Nan will purge Lin Nan!” His voice was familiar. It was the man in black who had sneaked into Lin Nan City yesterday.
At the south gate of Lin Nan City, the sentry post suddenly noticed small black shadows emerging from the fog. As the bell was rung, the defence force that had waited for so long waved their flag and tens of thousands of flaming arrows soared outwards densely. In the darkness, the sparks of light charged towards the shadows. The miserable screams were endless. After a round of flaming arrows, even more soldiers sprang out of the Chen Army’s battleships, their war cries deafening. Lin Nan City fell silent again.
The Chen Army raised their shields. Not long afterwards, a square formation was formed by the ships outside the Lin Nan City gate.
The ships were hidden in the fog, yet the sun shone brightly several metres away from the river and the light reflected off the ice wall of Lin Nan City in colourful rays. Standing on the city wall, Liu Jue looked towards the Chen Army two li away. He was calm and composed.
Chu Nan looked at the black figure on the city wall and gritted his teeth. The flag was waved and the soldiers rushed forward like a tide. A hundred metres away from the city, they stepped onto the ice and immediately slipped. Another round of arrows flew forth from the city wall and shot down a group of people. Chu Nan furrowed his brows and sounded the signal for retreat. The Chen Army retreated hastily.
Seeing the situation, Liu Jue shouted loudly, “Prepare the logs.”
After a while, the Chen Army quickly laid down thick grass mats under the cover of their shields. Logs were released from the top of the city wall, crushing another group.
This continued repeatedly until around 1-3pm when the Chen Army neared the city. Chu Nan felt anxious. It had taken them four hours to reach the edge of the city, yet they had lost thousands of soldiers. Thick ice had formed on the Lin Nan City wall so climbing them would not be easy. He understood somewhat that the Ning Army was stalling for time. When the fog dissipated and the navy came, the Chen Army would be attacked from both the front and back. He hurriedly ordered them to launch the stone projectiles.
Many trebuchets were lined up beneath Lin Nan City’s wall and huge stones smashed onto the wall with great impact. As soon as a layer of ice was smashed, hot water was poured down from the city wall. Before the water froze, the Chen Army’s frontline shot hooks into the city wall and formed a ladder. People fell down in waves, yet more people took over them and climbed on.
Liu Jue felt anxious. The ice wall could only obstruct for a while and give them the upper hand in the beginning, however, the enemy was numerous and sooner or later, they would climb up the wall.
Chu Nan laughed wildly, “Send forth the order. Those who reach the top of the city wall will be rewarded with ten gold each, regardless if they live or die!”
Time was tight and the Chen Army rushed forward like a swarm of locusts. All the soldiers in Lin Nan City, the young and middle-aged citizens all resisted them stubbornly. Liu Ying and the black-clothed force followed Liu Jue closely in a fierce battle on the wall. The frozen wall of Lin Nan City was stained red with blood and corpses were strewn everywhere under the wall. In the evening light, the bloody ice wall glowed with a strange light like it was a demonic hell.
The South Army also suffered heavy losses. After eight hours of intense fighting, they had run out of arrows and had exhausted their supplies of wooden logs and stone projectiles. The stones taken from the mountain and wood from the citizens’ houses seemed to be insufficient. The soldiers looked tired.
The copper sun fell to the west and the moon rose high. Relying on their sheer numbers, the Chen Army did not need to rest and attacked in turns. Liu Jue looked into the distance, yet his gaze could not penetrate the thick fog on the surface of the river. His black robe and blue armor was stained with an unimaginable amount of blood. The hair of his face was drenched with sweat. Finally, a few soldiers of the Chen Army climbed onto the city wall and slashed down a few of the soldiers guarding the city. There was a red mist in Liu Jue’s eyes and without waiting for the black-clothed force to take the lead, he swung his sword down like the falling snow, quickly closing the gap.
Chu Nan looked at Liu Jue standing proudly with his sword and felt anger rise in his heart. He burst out of the army with a loud roar and climbed up the wall with Qinggong. Turning into a red arc, he fought with Liu Jue.
Originally, the two of them were equals in terms of their skills. Liu Jue had already spent a large amount of his energy. Chu Nan was a hundred times more energetic and his dagger swung around Liu Jue like a dragon. Chu Nan shouted, “Today I will avenge all insults.”
Liu Jue glanced at the time and laughed loudly, “It’s too late! My navy has already crossed the Han River and taken control of your navy barracks!”
Chu Nan was shocked and the sword in his hand swung even more urgently. His sword pierced Liu Jue’s right chest. Disregarding all else, Liu Ying and the black-clothed force charged forward, risking their lives. Chu Nan’s sword flashed everywhere and felled two elite soldiers, yet they wrapped themselves around Chu Nan. Liu Jue coughed blood and laughed loudly, “Look, the fog is disappearing!”
It was already nearing midnight and the fog on the Han River was starting to dissipate, revealing the dense ship shadows on the river. Suddenly, a roaring military drum sounded on the surface of the river, its cry shrill and biting.
Chu Nan looked bitterly at Liu Jue’s bloody face which had a calm and composed expression as though he had not been pierced by the sword at all. He felt anxious about the situation on the river. He no longer cared to fight and flew down from the city wall.
Not long after, the Chen Army’s attack on the city gradually weakened. Liu Jue pushed Liu Ying and stood up straight, declaring loudly, “Soldiers, our navy has infiltrated the enemy’s camp. Open the city gate, we will attack them from both the front and back!”
The ten thousand infantry and cavalry who had long been waiting at the city gate had watched the fierce battle on the wall, yet they had been ordered to wait inside the city and not act rashly. Now, they heard the order and having already been impatient, they roared and rushed towards the Chen Army as soon as the city gate opened.
History of Ning Empire: in the 33rd year of the Qing Yuan, the Chen Empire attacked. The Ning Army defended the city with forty thousand soldiers, and thirty thousand navy had taken advantage of the fog to cross the river and destroyed the Chen Navy and its camp, causing them to retreat 30 li. On the 21st solar term, thirty thousand soldiers of the Chen Army had been defeated in Lin Nan City. After this battle had ended, the Chen Navy had been hit hard and the Chen leader requested for peace. They paid 400,000 taels of silver and would need to pay the Ning emperor every year.
Lin Nan City stood bathed in blood under the moonlight. Wails and screams floated through the night. Gu Tian Xiang rushed hurriedly into the city. Seeing him come, Liu Jue smiled slightly. Excitement showed in Gu Tian Xiang’s eyes and hugged Liu Jue.
Hearing a shout, he pulled away and saw his white armor stained with fresh blood. He frowned and said, “You’re injured?”
Liu Ying and the black-clothed forced knelt down simultaneously, “Lord, please return to the residence!”
Liu Jue chuckled lightly and his handsome face was relaxed. He blinked at Gu Tian Xiang, “I hate dealing with the aftermath the most. Clean up the city for me!” After saying that, he fell down in Gu Tian Xiang’s arms.
“Damn! How were you protecting your master?!” Gu Tian Xiang roared angrily.
Liu Ying ignored him and picking up Liu Jue, he rushed towards the generals’ residence. The black-clothed force mounted their horses and followed him. Gu Tian Xiang’s voice was filled with resentment, “He raised scoundrels with eyes on top of their heads!”
Yet he quickly sent orders to tidy up and put everything back in order.
