Chapter 559: The Decisive Battle! Prelude!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Geluofeng, Duan Gequan, and Fengjiayi quickly took their leave. In the tent, Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang were also getting ready to depart. The roughly one hundred thousand soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army and their various a.s.sociated forces had already left Lion City. By cutting them down, they would succeed in cutting down the last barrier to the southwest.
Without Xianyu Zhongtong"s soldiers holding them down, the southwest would belong completely to Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang.
This war involving three countries would come to an end!
And both of them had already decided that the Great Tang youth could not be allowed to leave this place, no matter what.
Once Geluofeng had left with the Mengshe Zhao generals, Huoshu Huicang suddenly turned his head and asked Dalun Ruozan, "Great Minister? Why did you want to tell all that to Geluofeng?
"Don"t tell me that you didn"t think Geluofeng would get any ideas after hearing about this matter."
"Hahaha, stupid people have their uses, as do smart people. Didn"t you realize? Ever since he managed to defeat Xianyu Zhongtong by accident by the Erhai, Geluofeng hasn"t regarded our Ü-Tsang with much importance."
Dalun Ruozan"s smile faded as his gaze suddenly became extremely profound.
"This—"
Huoshu Huicang was dumbstruck for a few moments. He truly hadn"t thought of this problem before. He was a general, a soldier, so the things he pondered were strategies and tactics, victory and defeat on the battlefield. The questions that Dalun Ruozan brought up concerned the aspects of the human mind, things that he never truly wasted his energy thinking about.
"At this stage, Geluofeng can no longer turn back. Does he really dare to betray us?"
"Ha! Who knows? Didn"t that s.h.i.+ning Son of Heaven in the Great Tang"s capital also think that Geluofeng wouldn"t betray him?" Dalun Ruozan said as he waved his fan. As he lightly took a step forward, an invisible energy emerged from his feet and covered the area.
"The hearts of men are the most unfathomable of all. Geluofeng is burning with ambition, and I"m afraid that the southwest alone won"t be enough to satisfy him. Since he isn"t willing to submit to the Great Tang, there"s naturally no guarantee that he would be willing to submit to our Ü-Tsang. This being the case, now is the time to let him understand the threat the Great Tang represents. There are no downsides to this, only upsides… Don"t forget that we need his three hundred thousand Mengshe Zhao troops to deal with the Great Tang."
"But what about the brat?"
Huoshu Huicang furrowed his brow as he said, "Although I clashed with him last night, I don"t think he"s as formidable as you say. But if he really does have some secret military text on him, Geluofeng is the type of person who would attempt to s.n.a.t.c.h it for himself or simply kill the brat. Either option is of no benefit to us."
"Hahaha, it seems like you"re the smart one. I spoke of that military text as an offhand comment. Whether it actually exists is a whole other matter. And we"ll find out soon, at any rate. As for Geluofeng and his son… since we"re allies, there"s no difference between a military text ending up in our hands or in their hands. If it falls into Geluofeng"s hands, we"ll ask for it from him, as if Geluofeng is a wise person, he won"t refuse. And if there is no military text, what difference is there if that child lives or dies?"
Dalun Ruozan chuckled as he waved his feather fan.
Huoshu Huicang helplessly shook his head at Dalun Ruozan. He had worked with Dalun Ruozan for several decades as a minister and general pair. In terms of command abilities, the pair were even praised as existences on the same level as Zhangchou Jianqiong.
Yet Huoshu Huicang still found it difficult to get used to Dalun Ruozan"s thinking style and demeanor.
"Let"s go! No matter what, the Annan Protectorate army and that child called w.a.n.g Chong must die today! It"s about time this war came to an end!"
Huoshu Huicang stretched out his hands. Clangclang! Two cold lights suddenly flew out from a place along the edge of the tent. As Huoshu Huicang s.n.a.t.c.hed these two Tibetan scimitars out of the air, he strode out.
Boom!
When Huoshu Huicang walked out of the tent, a ma.s.sive gale suddenly stirred, and within and without the tent seemed to become two different worlds. The entire camp was boiling with killing intent, and the entire army was on the verge of moving out to scorch the heavens with their fire.
"Begin! Quickly!"
"The army is about to move out. Bring out the supplies."
"Cavalry, get ready! Inspect your weapons, armor, and rations!"
……
The vast Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army packed the Erhai plains, suffusing the land with a bleak aura.
As Huoshu Huicang looked forward, he waved his hand and asked without turning his head, "Have you found the tracks of the Tang army?"
The clopping of hooves came from behind Huoshu Huicang as an elite scout rode up and respectfully gave his report.
"Reporting to Milord: although the Tang army attempted to pull a few tricks, we have already succeeded in finding their tracks. They"re on a mountain to the north!"
"Excellent! Pa.s.s on my order. The army… will soon move out!!"
"Yes, Milord!"
The elite scout turned around and quickly galloped off, the clopping of hooves fading into the distance.
As Huoshu Huicang gazed up at the dark clouds overhead, his eyes turned harsh and cold. Regardless of the political situation, the job of a soldier was to fight, destroy, and annihilate his opponent.
The rest had nothing to do with him!
"Zhangchou Jianqiong, you"ve lost!"
As his eyes glowed with harsh light, Huoshu Huicang mounted his horse and quickly began to ride north.
Bwoooom!
The horns began to blare, their sounds reaching toward the horizon, accompanied by a chorus of war drums and neighing horses. The Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, the most powerful army in the southwest, began to move northward.
The dark clouds of war had reached their absolute limit.
Without the protection of Lion City, the Great Tang would finally have to engage in a decisive battle with the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army for the southwest!
……
Rumble!
The earth quaked as war descended faster than anyone could have imagined.
However, when the mountain that the Annan Protectorate army had chosen to make its final stand on appeared before the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, everyone was stunned. What lay before them was not some bare mountain, but something completely different.
On the summit, gray plumes of smoke roiled into the sky. And ringing this erect mountain from top to bottom, one could see what appeared to be a steel fortress.
The countless soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army were encamped on this mountain, their somber aura evident even from these distances.
"What"s going on here?"
The winds howled over the distance as even someone of Huoshu Huicang"s level appeared shocked. This was completely beyond his expectations.
"What is this? It looks to me like a fortress!" Fengjiayi said in shock.
"What did that brat manage to do?"
Jiaosiluo"s eyes were twitching while his face was a picture of surprise.
All of them looked like they had eaten flies. They had originally believed that on this vast plain, the Annan Protectorate army would have been bereft of any protection and simply no match for the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army. But the sight before them clearly indicated otherwise.
The Tang army had somehow managed to miraculously construct an extremely imposing fortress in this incredibly short time. At the very least, from a distance, it seemed like quite the daunting prospect.
"Just how did that brat manage to do it? Lion City has already fallen and the Great Tang"s border protectorates have their own problems to worry about. There"s nothing else in this wilderness, so where did he get all these things from? It looks to me that if we want to deal with the Annan Protectorate army, we first have to kill that brat!" Longqinba said, his face br.i.m.m.i.n.g with hatred.
This feeling was far too familiar. It was Lion City all over again, and it could only be the handiwork of that Qilin son of the w.a.n.g Clan. This was not a good omen for the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army.
"This is not good news! It seems that the Tang were well-prepared before we came!"
The King of Mengshe Zhao, Geluofeng, rode through the army on a black Erhai steed. His brow was furrowed in worry as he rode up from the rear, the army parting before him.
"This should be the work of that youth once more, no?"
Geluofeng had not been present when the Tibetans chased the Annan Protectorate army through the rain and suffered two consecutive defeats, so this was only his speculation. After all, Geluofeng had always had his doubts about the Tibetans" words.
But at this moment, the sight of that somber and imposing mountain had completely washed away Geluofeng"s doubts. Even though the battle hadn"t started, Geluofeng could already feel that this mountain would be a th.o.r.n.y problem.
That boy from the w.a.n.g Clan was harder to deal with than he had imagined.
"Hahaha, isn"t this very normal? Since you already know that child"s deeds, no one should be surprised, right?"
Waving his feather fan, Dalun Ruozan rode his highland steed over. Unlike the others, Dalun Ruozan had a very leisurely reaction to all this.
Having already experienced the harm that Great Tang youth had inflicted on the Tibetan army last night, Dalun Ruozan wasn"t shocked by the sight at all.
"In truth, I"m only getting more and more curious. Just where did that child learn all of this? A teenager shouldn"t have this sort of ability, no? And such strange tactics probably couldn"t be found in a single family of the Great Tang.
"The long history of the Great Tang conceals many strange and wondrous individuals. I find myself more and more confident that this youth has some formidable military text or strategy manual on his person."
Geluofeng and Duan Gequan paled at these words, but n.o.body said anything.
"However, no matter how many schemes or tactics he has, this can"t change the fact that the Annan Protectorate army will become history today. Those things on the mountain… if I"m correct, they should be a few simple fortifications. Walls are not that easy to build. Even Lion City needed more than a year. It"s impossible for him to erect a wall in such a short amount of time."
Dalun Ruozan"s eyes shone and he appeared very wise.
"Great Minister is correct!
"No matter what sort of tricks the Tang have, their army will still be wiped out today. In the future, the southwest will no longer have an Annan Protectorate!"
Geluofeng was slowly regaining his calm. With a wave of his arm, a roar resounded through the heavens. The vast Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army began to proceed like a flood of black steel, sweeping toward the mountain.
Neeeeigh!
Winds bl.u.s.tered and horses neighed as thousands of cavalry began to exude an extremely bleak aura. At this moment, the atmosphere instantly grew even more fraught with tension.
"Forward! Forward!"
"Not a single Tang soldier can be allowed to escape!"
"Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed without question!"
"Get into your ranks! Do everything according to your orders. Anyone who dares to act selfishly will be executed!"
"The army awaits orders! Today is the day when we, the people of Mengshe Zhao, will utterly defeat the Tang!"
……
A continuous stream of orders went down the hierarchy, from the higher-ups down to the lowest level of officer. Cursing and the cracking of whips could be heard as the officers went to work.
Tens of thousands of soldiers began to work like a finely tuned machine as they surged over the land to the final stronghold of the Annan Protectorate army…