519. The First Battle

Translator: DragonRider

After hearing Ling Zhang's explanation, all people present caught on to what it was about, their faces etched with excitement. If it worked, they would actually have an hour to carry out their plan of attack without the enemy noticing. That would considerably reduce both the time they needed to take the mountain pass and the casualties!

"The precondition of all this is the successful deployment of the large-scale Formation," Ling Zhang reminded them in a cool and unemotional tone.

Xiao Jiangyue bobbed his head. "I understand. The hour is of great importance to us. We will do everything we can to help you successfully deploy the Formation, even if we have to do an extra feint!"

"That's true. Just tell us what you need us to do," said Jiang Ke.

Other officers also expressed their willingness to be cooperative. The couple of newly appointed officers changed their opinions of Ling Zhang. They had never heard of this kind of Formation before, but after watching Ling Zhang demonstrate it on the sand table, they were fully convinced and at the same looking forward to seeing the Formation serve its purpose.

...

It took them a long time to finalize the plan of operation. When the meeting was over, the officers took their leave and raced against time to have their men do a dry run.

The first round of attacks was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, so there was not much time left. What with the extra task, the whole army was rushed off its feet.

Ling Zhang's twenty-four bodyguards, along with dozens of guards led by Yao Yi, spent two nights secretly laying the foundations of the Formation outside the mountain pass of Jifang City according to Ling Zhang's requirements. The locations of a couple of crucial Eyes of Formation were too close to the mountain pass, so they had no choice but to wait until the day of the fight to get them ready.

...

Soon, two days passed, and the first found of attacks, which was aimed at taking the enemy's measure, started.

This time around Ling Zhang went to the battlefield with the army. After another two days' rest, the cut in his chest had healed very well, but Yuwen Tong still did not allow him to ride a horse. Instead, he had Ling Zhang sit in a chariot and stay in the rear, and forbade Ling Zhang from going to the front to fight the enemies at close quarters.

Ling Zhang stroked his chest and meekly heeded Yuwen Tong's words.

Naturally, it was not that he did not want to go to the front. He was hoping to be allowed to join the fight when the army launched a full-on attack a couple of days later, so he had to rest more and be adequately prepared.

As the army of the Great Wen came into sight, the sound of a bugle, followed by the beat of war drums, rang out from the mountain pass guarded by Wan soldiers.

Soldiers of both sides tensed up, and the tension was rapidly reaching flashpoint.

Yuwen Jin, He Xiao and the couple of newly appointed officers, leading their respective units, attacked according to the battle plans. Outside the mountain pass of Jifang City, the bugles sounded the charge with deafening blasts, accompanied by thunderous battle cry which was filling everybody present with feverish ardor.

Although they did not expect to take the pass during the first battle, the main purpose of which was to take the measure of the enemy, it did not make the fighting any less real or brutal, and they must take it seriously. Yuwen Jin, He Xiao and the other officers leading the troops at the front concentrated all their efforts on directing their men, not daring be distracted for a single moment.

Xiao Jiangyue stayed in the rear, receiving reports and giving commands. The other officers, who had changed into common lieutenant's uniform and blended into the crowds of soldiers, were covering Wang Dashan and the others who were putting the finishing touches to the deployment of the large-scale Formation according to the plan of operation they had made with Ling Zhang.

It was not easy to deceive the defenders' eyes, which was why they needed the soldiers to cooperate with them. Xiao Jiangyue's role as coordinator was of the utmost importance.

Meanwhile, according to the secret plan they had finalized beforehand, this round of attacks was aimed at preparing the ground for a full-on attack. Xiao Jiangyue needed to direct the troops to ensure the achievement of this objective and at the same time prevent the army from suffering heavy casualties. His face was just as tense as those of his two lieutenants standing beside him. On a tall pole flew the commander's flag. The drummers and the buglers were also under close protection, ready to give signals at the commander's orders.

"TOOT ... "

"RAT-TAT ... "

Every bugle call and drumbeat signified that the battle entered a different phase. Ling Zhang was standing on his chariot, watching. Though not fighting the enemies in person, he was keeping close watch on the development of the battle.

Yuwen Tong was also present, but he was not directing the troops. Just like Ling Zhang, he was also watching the fighting, attentively observing every defensive move of the defenders.

On the ramparts opposite the positions of Yuwen Tong's army stood Chen Jing and some other officers, all of whom were looking at the sea of troops of the Great Wen on the offensive, their faces grave.

"I think their attacks won't last long, seeing as Yuwen Tong is not directing his men in person."

These Wan officers, despite their failure to hold Yuwen Tong back in the previous battles, were fairly competent. As they saw that the enemies outside, though in large numbers, had not suffered many casualties so far, they came to realize the purpose of this offensive from Yuwen Tong's army.

However, aware of Yuwen Tong's attempt to take their measure as they were, they still had to try their level best to defend against the attacks, because Yuwen Tong's army would take advantage of any slip-up of theirs and use it to breach their defense, and if that happened, they might be in big trouble.

"This is by no means the best Yuwen Tong could do. Tighten the security after the fight, and I want an extra line of defense laid outside this mountain pass. We will hold Jifang City or die trying. In no circumstances will we let Yuwen Tong's army get through!" Chen Jing gripped the top of the parapet, staring resentfully in the direction of the imperial carriage in the enemy rear which was heavily guarded. Chen Jing would have some time ago started shooting arrows at it were it not too far away for him to hit.

After a brief moment, Chen Jing inquired, "How long before the reinforcements arrive?"

"His Majesty has given the order for the forces garrisoned in the two northern prefectures to move south. As for the border forces ... they're still standing by for the time being," replied his henchman.

Chen Jing indignantly smacked his fist onto the parapet but ended up frowning with pain. "What is His Majesty thinking? Does he not know Jifang City is the last defensive line of the capital? If this city falls, the capital will take the brunt of the enemy's next offensive!"

"I think His Majesty is probably worried about potential invasions from those northern tribes. Ever since Yuwen Tong's army crossed the border, all those tribes have been itching to make their move, intending to wait until our garrisons are dispatched elsewhere to move south and annex a couple of towns of ours," said his henchman in an effort to justify Shan Congli's decision.

Unconvinced, Chen Jing sniffed, "How much damage could those tribes possibly do? If they do move south, our troops staying there would be able to keep them at bay for some time, and even if they manage to cross the border, we would lose no more than a couple of cities, which we'd sooner or later take back from them, but the threat from Yuwen Tong is different. Isn't it obvious enough which one–"

Chen Jing almost blurted out angry criticism. At the realization that the one his criticism would be directed against was the monarch, Chen Jing restrained himself in a timely manner, knowing that he would be in serious trouble if he said those words and someone tattled on him to Shan Congli.

"It's unwise to give the enemy more credit than they deserve and give ourselves too little, Your Lordship. Never has an army broken through the mountain pass of Jifang City. There's no way Yuwen Tong could breach the defense of this natural barrier, no matter how good a commander he is," demurred the commander of the garrison of Jifang City defiantly, displeased at Chen Jing who he believed had been exaggerating Yuwen Tong's abilities and belittling theirs.

Chen Jing cast him a wintry glance. At the sight of the displeasure and sneer in his eyes, Chen Jing's face also hardened and with that he snorted, "Humph. It would seem you should have been the one who was dispatched to the south to stop Yuwen Tong. You expect to hold Yuwen Tong back with this so-called natural barrier? If you people keep clinging to that idea, it won't be long before Yuwen Tong takes this city."

With that Chen Jing angrily wheeled around and stormed off. The others, naturally, followed in his wake. The couple of officers staying on the ramparts, all of whom were on the garrison commander's side, watched Chen Jing leave, ugly looks on their faces.

"Because of Chen Jing's incompetence, a large army was almost wiped out by Yuwen Tong's men. His Majesty hasn't meted out punishment to him yet, but he has the nerve to judge His Majesty and lecture us. Faugh!"

"Who the hell does Chen Jing think he is? He would've remained a nobody had his daughter not been made a queen!"

"This mountain pass has never fallen. There's no way Yuwen Tong could breach our defense, even if he had three heads and six arms. Chen Jing has been reduced to a gutless coward by Yuwen Tong, which is why he thinks everybody else should be scared of Yuwen Tong as he is. He even talked about letting those tribes take a couple of northern cities. Shame on him!"

"General, we don't need any help from Chen Jing to defend the city. The way I see it, he's nowhere close to a competent commander!"

"Enough," said the garrison commander, flung up his hand to stop his indignant lieutenants from making more angry remarks, looking in the direction which Chen Jing had taken. The expression in his eyes flickered and with that he said, "Chen Jing used to be a famous general, and he did render our country some meritorious service. We should show some respect when talking with him."

"You're too kind, General. I would've given him the cold shoulder some time ago if I were you," said one of his lieutenants.

"Say no more such words. We need to focus on this battle. When it's over, lay another line of defense immediately," said the garrison commander.

"Yes, Your Highness."

...

The disagreement between Chen Jing and the garrison commander had not come to the knowledge of Yuwen Tong or Ling Zhang yet. The offensive had lasted over two hours. The Wan soldiers were on high ground, and the mountain pass was very narrow. The terrain was steep, and soldiers trying to get through could easily be hit by falling rocks. The troops had been advancing risking life and limb, and there had been many casualties. When the foundations of the Formation were successfully laid, Xiao Jiangyue immediately had the bulge sound retreat to prevent needless loss of men.

The wave of soldiers of the Great Wen fell back and quickly made it out of the range of the Wan archers' bows. The natural barrier held back the army of the Great Wen, but at the same time it also kept the Wan army from leaving the mountain pass to pursue them, which was why Yuwen Tong's troops retreated to safe ground without much difficulty.

Yuwen Tong's army returned to their encampment with all haste. This operation was quite fruitful. They had not only got enough information about the enemy's defenses but also successfully deployed the couple of key Eyes of Ling Zhang's Illusion Formation. The Formation was now ready to be activated on the day of the full-on attack.

It was after their return to the encampment that Ling Zhang found that Yuwen Jin was wounded. He had been hit in the arm by a stray arrow. As it was just a common injury, he had an army physician treat it for him.

"Ouch! Easy. This is my arm, not a piece of wood."

Ling Zhang had not entered the tent yet when he heard Yuwen Jin's voice, which sounded as sonorous as always, telling Ling Zhang unmistakably that Yuwen Jin's injury was not serious.

"General Yuwen, I'm a geriatric, and I scare easily. Your loud voice are making my hands tremble," said the army physician in a quite leisurely tone.

Yuwen Jin, however, did not dare say anything else after hearing the physician's words, worrying that the physician's hands might really quiver and accidentally aggravate his injury, which was the last thing he wanted to happen.

The physician had pulled the broken arrow out of Yuwen Jin's arm and was administering styptic drug to the wound when Ling Zhang entered.

"Brother Zhang," called Yuwen Jin as he saw Ling Zhang walking inside.