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By the time the first rays of morning sun illuminated the top of Jingling’s city wall, Jianghuai Army had already launched wave after wave of attack from all sides, amidst the earth-shattering battle cry. Not only they have cut off the source of the water of the moat, they also used sand and stones to flatten a large section of the moat right in front of the main city gate.

By the time Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and the injured Feng Ge climbed onto the city gate tower, they saw the enemy’s main force was slowly pouring into the plain between the city wall and the Han River. A large banner with a ‘Du’ character was flapping freely in the wind in the middle of the army. A magnificent army with awe-inspiring prestige.

After their first wave of attack was crushed by the slings and arrows raining down on them, the Jianghuai Army retreated and regrouped.

When the swelled-headed Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at the huge array of troops made up of thirty-thousand soldiers outside the city, they were at a loss. Although their intelligence surpassed others, in front of this kind of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, in this kind of situation where they came face to face with the enemy across the battleground, they actually did not know how to deal with it.

Feng Ge simply sat down dejectedly between the two boys.

Were it not for the two boys helping him treating his injury, perhaps he would have had to lie down in bed. But right now his qi was still deficient and his strength lacking. It was with great difficulty that he managed to stand up in order to hand over the command into the hands of the two boys in emergency deliberation with the other high-ranking military officers.

Seven generals defending the city came to the three people’s presence; all their faces showed misgivings.

These generals were Duba Village’s second-tier leaders. In terms of experience and strength, they were inferior to the generals who died and injured in the battle against Wanwan just now. But now that there were no great general in Shu, Liao Hua would have to be picked to make up the number[1]. Similarly, now it became Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling’s turn to act as the Guardian Commanders to defend Jingling.

To avoid leaking the secret information, the people gathered around them were Feng Ge’s trusted aides and trusted soldiers.

Feng Ge addressed the seven generals in heavy voice, “Listen to what I have to say, but don’t be alarm, and do not cry out to avoid disturbing the troops’ morale. Understand?”

The generals nodded their understanding.

Feng Ge himself was originally a Sui Dynasty general, a person of good moral standing and reputation, so that he was respected and quite popular. It was due to him that the situation was under control until this time.

Feng Ge forced himself to straighten his back up and spoke in a nonchalant manner, “Zhuangzhu has been killed by Yin Gui Pai female demon Wanwan.”

Immediately the generals’ countenance changed.

After giving them a brief account of what had happened, Feng Ge opened his palm to reveal the military seal he took from Fang Zetao’s dead body. “Zhuangzhu sacrificed his life in crisis,” he said in earnestness, “He left Laofu in charge of the Village. But since presently the two armies are facing each other, the news of Zhuangzhu’s death must not be leaked out, otherwise the morale of the troops will be shaken.”

The generals’ heart was overwhelmed with grief and indignation, but there was nothing they could do.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling mused that Fang Zetao’s death has already shaken the morale of these seven generals.

Feng Ge forced himself to sound energetic when he said, “Because I also suffer minor injury, it would be difficult for me to personally preside over this battle related to Jingling’s survival, so I am obliged to plot it from the side. Everything pertaining to the defense and offense, Kou Xiongdi and Xu Xiongdi will be in charge. Their command will be like Laofu’s command, disobedience is punishable by beheading. Understand?”

The generals’ thought was in a whirl, they were out of their wits; however, knowing that the two boys possessed outstanding intelligence and strategic thinking ability, also knowing that they had matchless bravery, they all nodded their compliance.

One of the generals asked, “How do we deal with General Qian?”

Qian Yun was actually Feng Ge’s immediate superior; however, in terms of talent, ability, morality and insight, he was inferior to Feng Ge.

A murderous intention flashed through Feng Ge’s eyes; he said indifferently, “Let me worry about this matter. Go back to your post immediately, wait for further instruction!”

The generals withdrew.

Feng Ge’s countenance turned from green to black, he was coughing severely that the two boys hastily transmitted their qi to help. A moment later he recovered somewhat, but he looked even weaker than before.

Morning breeze was blowing, Feng Ge shuddered, scaring the two boys that they hastily took him into the tower.

Feng Ge had a general by the name of Feng Han summoned into the tower. This man was Feng Ge’s nephew, someone they could trust.

After dismissing the other men with a wave of his hand, he had Feng Han close the door, and then he sighed and said to Kou and Xu, two boys, “If the news of Zhuangzhu’s death is spread, the entire Jingling will be thrown into chaos, everybody will fall over each other in their eagerness to flee, Jingling will collapse. Do Gentlemen have any good idea?”

Kou Zhong asked in heavy voice, “How many soldiers are actually available in Jingling?”

Feng Han replied on his uncle’s behalf, “The Village itself is thirty-thousand men strong. If we add the able-bodied men who can be mobilized temporarily, that number will reach fifty-thousand.”

“Won’t that mean we have twenty-thousand more men compared to Jianghuai Army outside the city?” Xu Ziling asked in bewilderment.

Feng Ge swallowed hard and said, “What you just saw was only Jianghuai Army’s main force. They still have several other units that are attacking other city gates. All their forces combined, the number reaches seventy, eighty-thousand, maybe more. Moreover, in terms of training, weaponry and experience, they are superior to us.”

Feng Han joined in, “Our Village force consist of seven army units. The one under Zhuangzhu’s personal command has the highest number of troops, eight thousand in total. The other units have four thousand troops each. Dashu [first uncle] and I lead one unit each, the other generals leading the army were killed by that female demon. Their replacement must be appointed.”

Listening to that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a terrible headache. The adversary they were facing was the Du Fuwei, who was able to move unhindered among the heroes contending for hegemony of the world, while on their side, the people were anxious, their morale was low. In this battle, they were already lost without even need to fight.

Feng Han sighed and said, “If Dashu was not injured, he could still maintain stability, and we could still fight a few hard battle against the enemy. But now? Ay ...”

Feng Ge was about to speak, but suddenly he coughed violently that he even spurted a bit of blood, shocking everybody else.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hurriedly transmitted their qi to regulate the blood flow; who would have thought that Feng Ge’s eyes turned white as he collapsed into the chair?

The three of them looked at each other in panic.

It was quite a while later that Kou Zhong made up his mind and said, “Feng Xiong, take this seal of authority and immediately appoint new leaders from among the generals, and then come back here to discuss how to deal with this situation. Leave Old Feng to us, we will take care of him.”

Feng Han started to open his mouth to talk, but in the end he swallowed it back. Obeying the order, he left.

※ ※ ※

[1] From the novel Sao Mi Zhou (掃迷帚; lit. The broom which sweeps away superstitions), a novel written by a certain Zhuangzhe (壯者; lit. ‘strong man’) during the Qing dynasty, contained a saying about Liao Hua: “If there are no great generals left in Shu, Liao Hua will be the vanguard.” (蜀中無大將，廖化作先鋒). It can be interpreted as: Shu was so lacking in talents and new blood in its twilight years that an elderly Liao Hua had to lead the vanguard of the Shu army in battle. The proverb is also used to describe a situation in which a person who is seemingly unfit for a job is forced into doing it, but is willing to face what seems to be insurmountable odds against him/her (Wikipedia). Liao Hua was a real historical character during the Three Kingdom era, and was also a character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 3 - Part 2

After checking Feng Ge’s pulse, who was reclining on the chair, Kou Zhong let his hand down and said with a sigh of relief, “He is already able to regulate his own qi. Seems like his fainting is slightly better compared to when he is awake. Ay! That female demon is really formidable, I am afraid even Ning Daoqi won’t be able to kill her.”

Leaning sideways, Xu Ziling said, “They died a very tragic death.”

Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Cocking his head, he listened to the neighing of horses and the beating of the drums outside the tower. “I wonder if Flying Horse Ranch people manage to leave safely,” he said in a low voice.

Xu Ziling walked over to the long and narrow peek hole on the wall. Looking outside, he spoke with his back toward Kou Zhong, “There shouldn’t be any problem, because Ol’ Die Du deliberately leaves an opening, to give Jingling people a way out that direction to flee for their lives, and thus he’s actually making things easier for them. Humph! Unless Ol’ Die fought personally, with Shang Changzhu and Liang Zhi’s martial art skill, they ought to be able to escort Luo Fang and Xu Yang to safety. Ay!”

Kou Zhong walked over to his side. He looked out from another window for shooting arrows, and saw that the Jianghuai Army was still sending wave after wave of attack. Suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness, he smiled wryly and said, “I wonder if previously we were too conceited, that’s why today we receive grand, inevitable retribution. Now I feel so depressed that I feel like killing myself, yet I even hate my own incompetence.”

Xu Ziling was silent for half a day. Suddenly he laughed aloud and said, “Do you want to know why?”

Kou Zhong was stunned, “What are you talking about?” he asked.

Xu Ziling calmly replied, “I am talking about you losing your confidence. All because you have never thought that there exist in this world an opponent as vicious, powerful and cunning as Wanwan, you helplessly watched her killing our comrade-in-arms, and could do nothing to stop, thereupon you hated yourself, and blamed your own incompetence. If you cannot restore your fighting spirit, we can forget about leaving this place alive.”

Forcing a smile, Kou Zhong said, “Do you have fighting spirit?”

Xu Ziling’s tiger eyes flashed sharply. Nodding, he said, “Of course! The worst thing that can happen is we die. Do you remember what Bai Laofuzi (see Book 1 Chapter 1) taught us, ‘Those who aspire to be great men must first labor their muscles and bones, must hungry their stomachs, must bring suffering to their will, must deplete their bodies, must brush away the confusion from their minds’?”

Kou Zhong immediately stuck out his chest, solemnly listening to him.

Xu Ziling’s eyes flashed spiritedly as he fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong and continued, “Presently we are at the turning point of our life. Only if you, Zhong Shao, use your brain to think will we be able to contend with that number one female demon in the world with real swords, real spears in one hard battle ...”

And then, pointing to the Jianghuai Army covering the mountains and the plains outside the peek hole, he said, “Outside is the Ol’ Die, who has a chance to unify the world. We have the opportunity to stand off against this martial art master who look disdainfully at the world out of the corner of his eye, no longer the marketplace riffraff of the past, or perhaps low-level martial art players of Jianghu.”

Kou Zhong’s eyes light up at once. “Ha!” he said in high spirit, “I got it now. Just by the fact that not only Wanwan failed to kill us, she ended up wounded and ran for her life, we are actually quite amazing. It’s just that we achieved victory by superior number, so there’s not much glory in it.”

Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, “Vying over the world, how can you equate it with the fighting in Jianghu? There is no such thing as fairness! We have to create unfair situation with thousand ways, a hundred plans. Wanwan was trained at an early age, plus she received brilliant master’s instruction, while we are only halfway out of our home, plus we have to grope about blindly. This is so unfair. Presently what we are fighting for is time. Before Wanwan kill us, we must kill her first. Do you understand?”

“Understand,” Kou Zhong replied; but then turning a little discouraged, he said, “It doesn’t matter how much confidence we have, the fact is that our situation right now is the enemy strong, while we are weak. As soon as the news of Fang Zetao’s death leaks out, Jingling will fall apart without the enemy attacking it. Ay! Tell me, what should I do?”

Frowning, Xu Ziling said, “You must drop this bad habit of easily get excited and easily get discouraged. Only then you will have the hope of accomplishing great things. For a man living in troubled time, worst come to worst, he will die in battle, among the carcasses of the horses. What are you afraid of?”

Kou Zhong was silent, but his pair of tiger eyes gradually lit up.

Xu Ziling reached out to grab his shoulder. He said, “On the battlefield, although thousands and tens of thousands people charging and breaking through the enemy lines, each one is actually alone. In death, he is even more incomparably alone! Think about the feeling loneliness while exerting yourself, fighting at close quarters in the middle of tens of thousands people, you won’t be confused by the scene of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses outside. Zhong Shao, you still want to contend for hegemony over the world, right? What you see outside the city is actually the litmus test for you. I fight for the sake of the innocent people of Jingling, but you fight to pave a path of hegemony.”

Kou Zhong laughed aloud. “You are indeed my good brother,” he said, “Each sentence is like the evening drum and morning bell [Buddhist monastic practice] going straight into the bottom of my heart. But my compassion toward Jingling people is not different from yours.”

This moment, Feng Han stormed in like a whirlwind and cried out, “Not good! Qian Yun was rescued by his men. The news of Zhuangzhu’s death can leak at any time.”

Kou Zhong has fully returned to his old decisive and brimming-with-confidence self; he said coldly, “Have you accomplished your mission of appointing new leaders?”

Infected by his calm demeanor, Feng Han calmed down. “There’s no problem in that regard,” he replied.

Throwing his head back, Kou Zhong let out a long laughter and said, “Very well! Let me give Ol’ Die a good fight, let’s see whose fist is harder.”

“Who’s Ol’ Die?” Feng Han asked in bewilderment.

“It’s Du Fuwei,” Xu Ziling replied, “Feng Han, have your men escort your Dashu to the Ranch immediately, also dispatch your troops to evacuate women and children to a safe place out of town. If the city is broken, tell them to take refuge at the Flying Horse Ranch. Shang Xiuxun is definitely not someone who see people dying and not offer any help.”

And then he turned his eyes to Kou Zhong.

Looking up to heaven, Kou Zhong let out another long laugh, revealing his steely determination, fighting spirit and confidence, before taking the lead to leave the tower toward the city wall.

※ ※ ※

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood side-by-side on top of the city wall. Outside the city the battle was at its peak. Under the sea of fluttering banners was the Jianghuai Army, their number has increased to forty-thousand men.

Du Fuwei’s main force stationed themselves on a small hill; it was dominated by cavalry, with heavily armored infantry as secondary.

The vanguard regiment was equipped with shields, arrows, hatchets, and accompanied by the construction battalion to build fortifications, outfitted with wooden logs, ‘cloud-ladders’, towering vehicles, and other tools necessary to besiege a city.

The left and right flanks had fifty-thousand men each, purely cavalry.

Behind the main force there were two groups of army, both to defend their escape route and to act as reinforcement.

This moment the sun was already at its zenith. Its bright light illuminated the earth, the naked blades reflecting its light flickered dazzlingly, intensifying the already thick murderous aura in the atmosphere.

Battle drums sounded.

More than 70 armored vehicles with tower to shoot arrows began to move in the direction of Jingling. Each vehicle concealed more than a dozen archers. As soon as they reached the shooting distance, they would be able to shoot arrows from behind the iron panel elevated about two zhang above the carriage toward the top of the city wall, and thus providing cover to their comrades’ attack.

Thinking about Jianghuai Army, which managed to conquer such a strong fortified city like Liyang, it was obvious that this seemingly aesthetically unpleasing, the tombstone-shaped armored vehicles, were definitely not just toys.

When the armored carts started to move, it looked like a tall, towering building, was moving toward the city.

Due to their elevated position, the soldiers on the carts were standing eye-to-eye with the soldiers standing on top of the city wall; therefore, not only they were able to cover the entire city wall within their arrow range, when the carts were positioned right next to the wall, the attackers would then be able to directly step over the wall and force their entrance into the city.

Bugle horns blasted.

Under the ministration of the several hundreds construction battalion soldiers, the catapult vehicles sent out several hundreds rocks. The rocks were shot later, but arrived sooner; they flew over the tower carts, overtaking the armored vehicles to block the arrows.

At the same time, forty thousand Jianghuai Army troops shouted and the warhorses neighed wildly, changing the atmosphere outside the city of Jingling.

After exchanging glances with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong raised his voice to shout, “Kou Zhong is here! Du Fuwei, do you dare to have a one-on-one duel against me?”

His voice traveled far into the distance, the voices of several tens of thousands troops were still unable to drown it.

The civilians and military personnel inside the city of Jingling were cowered by the systematic and organized, tight large-scale attack of the enemy. Hearing the shout, their morale was greatly boosted; they all shouted in unison, their voices shook the heaven and the earth.

Even Xu Ziling, who only wished to live a simple life, also felt his heart was burning and his blood boiling.

Slapping the buttocks of his horse, Du Fuwei rode alone down the hill. He shouted coldly, “If Fang Zhuangzhu can guarantee that if you, Zhong’er, lose, the city of Jingling will be handed over to me, then this Ol’ Du is prepared to answer your challenge. Ignorant children, unexpectedly you regard the tens of thousands troops facing each other in battlefield as children’s playground. Ridiculous! Ridiculous, indeed!”

His voice was high, but not overbearing; it spread widely over the hills and the plains, outside and inside the city. The lingering sound rose up in spirals, thus it was clear that his power cultivation was exquisite; in fact, it was above Kou Zhong’s.

The most formidable thing was that he seized this opportunity to use psychological tactics by emphasizing his ‘old ginger’ characteristics, in contrast to Kou Zhong’s shallow experience, painting him as an improbable opponent to him.

The Jianghuai Army immediately followed their Commander-in-Chief’s bold, visionary words, by raising their voices, so that the shouts of Jingling people were pressed down.

His heart moved, Xu Ziling commented, “Female demon Wanwan’s injury must be very heavy, hence she had to find a place nearby to recuperate that she did not even have time to notify Du Fuwei. If we can find her before she recovered, we might be able to eliminate her.”

Kou Zhong had his eyes on the distant Du Fuwei; as if he did not hear Xu Ziling, he said in a low voice, “This time we are in trouble. Xiao Ling, quickly think of something.”

Xu Ziling was stunned and was speechless for a moment. And then he understood.

The sound of footsteps was approaching; Feng Han with about a dozen of his personal guards came from behind. “Evacuation plan is accomplished,” Feng Han reported.

Sure enough, Du Fuwei’s voice rang out, “Fang Zetao, are you dumb?”

Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong and Feng Han’s countenance changed immediately.