After leaving Prime Minister Yan Wu Ji’s residence, Zhi Li handed the envelope containing Zhi Ning’s blood letter and the baby’s lanugo to Li Zhu, saying, “Send this to Suo Lun in Tian Shui City with the greatest speed.”
Li Zhu said, “But we no longer have any griffin beasts in hand.”
The five griffin beasts in Zhi Li’s possession had all been used during the king’s assassination, and had now all been captured by Gao Yin at the royal palace.
Zhi Li said, “Then take the envelope to the princess’s residence. They will quickly send it to Tian Shui City.”
“Yes.” Li Zhu said.
Then, Li Zhu took this envelope and headed for the princess’s residence.
“Also, spread the news of the king’s death with the greatest speed to Tu Ling Tuo, Chu Ye, and Jian Ze.” Zhi Li said.
The eunuch Li Cheng Lian beside him bowed and said, “Yes!”
……
Bai Yun Commandery City!
It took a full three to four days before Chu Ye finally led his two hundred and thirty thousand great troops across the Fury River in full, then marched another hundred or so li to arrive below Bai Yun Commandery City. The army was at the city walls, completely surrounding the entire city!
Lin Hai Commandery City had a population of about eighty thousand, and the entire city’s perimeter was over ten li.
Tu Ling Tuo’s eighty thousand great troops were arrayed upon the city walls.
Chu Ye’s two hundred and thirty thousand great troops surrounded three sides of the entire city, only leaving the east side open. And the eastern direction was precisely the territory of Tian Shui City.
Tu Ling Tuo stood atop the city walls, majestic and imposing, his tiger eyes glaring furiously as he said, “Chu Ye, have you eaten a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall? You actually dare attack a kingdom commandery city, you actually dare attack my Dragon Guard Legion. Do you want to rebel?”
Tu Ling Tuo’s martial arts were supreme, and when he shouted loudly like this, it was truly like thunder. Moreover, his accumulated prestige was extremely heavy, and Chu Ye was truly so frightened that his heart shuddered.
After all, for these several decades, Chu Ye had always played the grandson before Tu Ling Tuo, even kneeling who knew how many times. Suddenly having blades pointed at each other, he truly did not have much confidence in his heart.
Gui Xing Fu beside him frowned and said in a low voice, “Brother Chu, the great army is all watching you.”
Chu Ye shook himself, raised his head and said fiercely, “Tu Ling Tuo, you colluded with Zhi Li to murder Young Lord Tu Li Yang, and pinned the blame on Lord Suo Lun. Moreover, you single-handedly directed the siege of Tian Shui City by all under heaven, brewing enormous calamity for the entire Fury Wave Kingdom. Such conduct is tantamount to rebellion. I come in the name of Princess Zhi Yan to exterminate you!”
“Ha ha ha ha……” Tu Ling Tuo laughed wildly, “Foolish Chu Ye, you truly have been blinded by profit. Did Suo Lun promise you that as long as you destroy me, Tu Ling Tuo, you can take my place? You are truly incomparably stupid. He wants the two of us to perish together, and then he will reap the benefits as the fisherman, capturing both of us in one net!”
The moment these words were spoken, Chu Ye’s expression changed slightly. Tu Ling Tuo had indeed hit upon the place he feared most in his heart.
If this were truly the case, then he, Chu Ye, had truly been pitifully played by Suo Lun.
Seeing this, Tu Ling Tuo continued, “Chu Ye, there is no path of survival for us on Suo Lun’s side. At this moment we need even more to huddle together for warmth. If you and I join forces, we will have a total of three hundred thousand great troops. You withdraw to the Northern Legion, and I withdraw to the Southwest Legion. At that time the troops in our hands will even exceed five hundred thousand. With our north and south echoing each other, once the fact of separatist rule is formed, then it will be Suo Lun coming to beg us.”
The moment these words were spoken, Chu Ye’s heart leapt wildly again.
Gui Xing Fu behind him said coldly, “Do not indulge in wishful thinking. Brother Chu, you only have eighty thousand Northern Legion troops in hand. The remaining hundred and fifty thousand are all provincial allied troops. If you attack Tu Ling Tuo, they will obey your military orders. But if you want to withdraw to the Northern Legion, they will immediately turn around and attack you.”
Count Chu Ye said, “I of course know this, and I also know that withdrawing to the Northern station is out of the question. Not to mention that the hundred and fifty thousand provincial allied troops will not follow me, but once Lord Suo Lun dispatches several thousand cavalry in pursuit, I can forget about safely withdrawing to the Northern Legion station. But what Tu Ling Tuo says makes sense. If Lord Suo Lun truly intends to kill with a borrowed knife, having me and Tu Ling Tuo perish together, and then dispatching troops to destroy both me and Tu Ling Tuo, I truly would have nowhere to cry.”
Gui Xing Fu coldly looked at Chu Ye, not knowing whether he felt disappointment or contempt.
Chu Ye had become commander of the Northern Legion through seniority and ancestral favour. Even if this man held too high a position, he would not accomplish much. No matter what he did, he was always worrying about gains and losses, timid and hesitant.
“First, I am certain Lord Suo Lun will not do this.” Gui Xing Fu said coldly, “Second, even if he has such intentions, what do you intend to do? Collude with Tu Ling Tuo again and make an enemy of Lord Suo Lun?”
Chu Ye’s body could not help but shudder.
Gui Xing Fu said, “Brother Chu, what I most despise is your appearance. You want glory, splendour, wealth, and rank, yet you dare not gamble. Let me ask you, relying on your own ability and breadth of mind, how much of a future can you have in this life? You want to sit in the supreme command’s first chair, yet you do not want to take any risks? Is there such a cheap thing under heaven?”
These words struck the deepest chord in Chu Ye’s heart.
At forty one is free from confusion, at fifty one knows heaven’s mandate!
Chu Ye of course knew what kind of goods he was, and knew his own limitations. He knew even more clearly what achievements he could have in this life depended more on heaven’s mandate than on his own ability.
What was heaven’s mandate? That was the opportunity bestowed by heaven, plus one’s own choice.
Now the opportunity had come. The position of supreme command’s first chair was right before his eyes. What remained was his own choice.
Gui Xing Fu said, “I know, right now as long as Lord Suo Lun stands by your side and tells you, do not worry, go fight Tu Ling Tuo, I am right here supporting you, then you will be completely at ease. But I tell you, Lord Suo Lun will not come. What he most likes to do is watch coldly from the sidelines, fixing you with his mocking yet wise gaze, watching your every move.”
Just at this moment, suddenly a black dot flew in from the distance.
Chu Ye’s heart leapt with wild joy. Gui Xing Fu was startled. Could Suo Lun slap his face so quickly? He had just said Suo Lun would not come, yet he immediately came.
Gui Xing Fu already knew Suo Lun quite well. If Suo Lun personally came to the battlefield, that would actually be very inauspicious news for Chu Ye, representing that he wanted to secretly destroy Chu Ye.
The griffin beast quickly landed before Chu Ye and Gui Xing Fu. It was actually Fen Mo.
“Lord Suo Lun has sent me to lead the long-range firepower troops to provide support.” Fen Mo said indifferently, “Two hundred catapults and one hundred and fifty cannons are on their way and will arrive at the battlefield in about two hours. Lord Yan Yan is leading twenty thousand cavalry to escort them, but these twenty thousand cavalry will not participate in battle, only responsible for the final pursuit!”
Fen Mo still had that dead face, expressionless towards everyone.
The greatest worry in Chu Ye’s heart disappeared. Suo Lun had actually dispatched such massive long-range firepower, plus twenty thousand cavalry in support.
Instantly, his heart was filled with great joy. Disregarding that his position was far higher than Fen Mo’s, he stepped forward to shake hands and said, “Many thanks to Lord Suo Lun, many thanks to General Fen Mo.”
Fen Mo nodded, then stepped back to one side, somewhat indifferently looking at Tu Ling Tuo atop the city walls.
Gui Xing Fu suddenly remembered something. Should Suo Lun be considered broad-minded or narrow-minded?
This man would retaliate for the slightest grievance. If he did not like you, he would directly kill you. The number of people who had died unjustly under Suo Lun’s sword was countless.
But for someone like Gui Xing Fu, who had offended Suo Lun so severely, Suo Lun still put him to good use as he should.
And Fen Mo had never shown Suo Lun a good face. At this moment Gui Xing Fu and Chu Ye repeatedly called Suo Lun “Lord,” yet only Fen Mo still said “Lord Suo Lun.”
But Suo Lun still put Fen Mo to such important use. Others might not see it, but Gui Xing Fu saw the profound meaning behind Suo Lun dispatching Fen Mo to exterminate Tu Ling Tuo.
First, let Fen Mo vent the resentment in his heart. Second, Suo Lun wanted to cultivate Fen Mo to become the future Dragon Guard Legion commander.
If Fen Mo did not make mistakes, then in ten to twenty years, Fen Mo would certainly serve as the Fury Wave Kingdom’s military’s supreme commander.
Instantly, Gui Xing Fu felt incomparable envy in his heart.
He had three sons, Gui Qin Bi, Gui Qin Qu, and Gui Qin Zhong, but they were still imprisoned by Suo Lun without any sign of release.
Gui Xing Fu knew the reason for this. Because these three people all had greater claim to inheritance than Gui Qin Shao. If these three were allowed to grow powerful, they would pose a threat to Gui Qin Shao’s position as Lin Hai lord.
Perhaps, only when Zhi Yan’s position as queen was stable, and Suo Lun had completely grasped the entire Fury Wave Kingdom, would his three sons be released to display their talents. But their achievements would still be far from comparable to Fen Mo’s.
……
Fen Mo raised his head to look at Tu Ling Tuo atop the city walls, his father by blood.
Many people felt that Fen Mo must certainly hate Tu Ling Tuo. After all, from the day Fen Mo was born, Tu Ling Tuo had ignored him completely, simply throwing him outside to fend for himself, his status not even equal to that of a servant.
After growing up, Tu Ling Tuo repeatedly used Fen Mo, and after using him up, directly tried to kill him to silence him, not caring in the slightest for any father-son affection.
Actually Fen Mo did not hate him. Perhaps he once had, but after coming to Tian Shui City, that hatred was gone.
It was not that Suo Lun had baptised Fen Mo’s state of mind, absolutely not.
Between Fen Mo and Suo Lun, they were both lord and subordinate, and rivals in love. The two rarely spoke. In three years, the words the two had spoken to each other totalled less than several dozen sentences.
Most orders were basically conveyed through Yan Yan or Yan Nai Er, because Fen Mo’s direct superior was Yan Nai Er.
There was no such thing as heart-to-heart conversation that completely won Fen Mo over. The two completely ignored each other.
It was just that the miracles Suo Lun created along the way were too dazzling. In merely three years, he had transformed from a foppish young master who had lost his territory into the regent prince about to rule the entire kingdom.
Fen Mo had witnessed all of this happen with his own eyes, and even participated every time.
Watching Suo Lun’s rise caused Fen Mo’s own state of mind and vision to become elevated as well. The previous petty grievances and affections all became insignificant.
Moreover, at that time he had competed with Suo Lun for Yan Nai Er. The proud and arrogant Fen Mo had felt he was superior to Suo Lun, but along this journey, Suo Lun was completely a heaven-defying level figure. Fen Mo thought to himself, I cannot fall too far behind.
Thus, no matter what he did, he kept his eyes on Suo Lun, always thinking that he could not fall too far behind, could not be thrown so far that he could not be seen.
Walking along like this, he had reached his current height. The previous slight hatred towards Tu Ling Tuo had also vanished without a trace, leaving only cold indifference.
That’s right, that was his father by blood, but Fen Mo would absolutely not be constrained by so-called father-son relations.
He had only one family member, and that was his mother, who had now been rescued by the Shadow Pavilion and settled in Tian Shui City.
As for Tu Ling Tuo, he had merely been drunk and forcibly violated a maidservant, thus fathering Fen Mo. The grace of giving birth was not as great as the grace of raising!
Moreover, in the end the Tu Ling family had tried to kill Fen Mo to silence him, already severing that trace of blood relation.
Before coming to Bai Yun Commandery City, Fen Mo had specifically gone to see his mother and asked her how she felt about Tu Ling Tuo. His mother pursed her lips and did not answer, but Fen Mo already knew the answer.
……
Tu Ling Tuo atop the high city walls saw Fen Mo, and his heart was somewhat complex!
From the very first day Fen Mo was born, he had never stayed in the Tu Ling Duke’s mansion. He was completely raised by his mother’s hard toil. Tu Ling Tuo had not given a single coin.
After Fen Mo grew up and revealed astonishing talent, Tu Ling Tuo still did not value him. Instead it was Tu Ling Duo who took a fancy to Fen Mo, recruiting him into the Black Ice Mansion, and taking his mother to the Tu Ling Duke’s mansion as a hostage to force Fen Mo to work for her.
Was Tu Ling Tuo such a short-sighted person? In his kind of person’s view, every son was wealth, even illegitimate sons. Not to mention that Fen Mo had revealed astonishing talent, so he should even more be taken into his service.
The reason it happened like this was because after Fen Mo was born, a physiognomist had told Tu Ling Tuo that this child’s facial features were inauspicious, the face of one who would overcome his father!
At that time, Tu Ling Tuo immediately drove Fen Mo and his mother out, even though this woman had just given birth.
The day after driving them out, Tu Ling Tuo immediately sent people to poison the newborn Fen Mo.
For whatever reason, Fen Mo did not die, but instead disappeared together with his mother. It was not until over a decade later, when Fen Mo had grown to adulthood, that he was once again discovered by the Tu Ling Duke’s mansion and re-entered Tu Ling Tuo’s field of vision.
Although Fen Mo displayed astonishing talent, Tu Ling Tuo always remembered what the physiognomist had said about Fen Mo: overcomes his father!
Thus, Duke Tu Ling Tuo never had any intention of letting Fen Mo return to the family. Even when he found the opportunity, he wanted to put him to death.
Now seeing Fen Mo again, Tu Ling Tuo’s heart was incomparably complex, with some faint sense of foreboding.
……
Over two hours later!
Yan Yan led twenty thousand cavalry, escorting two hundred catapults and one hundred and fifty cannons to arrive below Bai Yun City.
Chu Ye and Gui Xing Fu immediately stepped forward to pay their respects. Chu Ye even directly handed over supreme command, saying, “Lord Yan Yan, please take over battlefield command!”
Yan Yan shook his head and said, “No, I am only responsible for escorting the long-range firepower troops and the final pursuit. How to fight is entirely General Chu Ye’s decision!”
“Yes!” Count Chu Ye said respectfully.
Although in terms of position he far outranked Yan Yan, he being the Northern Legion commander while Yan Yan was the forty thousand Silver Wolf Legion commander.
But the other party was Suo Lun’s father-in-law! And this father-in-law was different from Gui Xing Fu, someone he, Chu Ye, absolutely needed to fawn upon.
“Then first use long-range firepower to bombard, then dispatch troops to attack the city!” Chu Ye still asked cautiously.
“Yes!” Yan Yan said.
Fen Mo rode on the griffin beast, circling above the catapult positions and cannon positions, shouting loudly, “Catapults begin assembly, cannons take position, gunpowder prepare, cannonballs prepare!”
Instantly, several thousand soldiers began methodically assembling catapults.
They began transporting cannonballs, taking out gunpowder, wiping cannon barrels, adjusting cannon muzzle positions.
……
Tu Ling Tuo stood atop the city walls, looking down contemptuously at Chu Ye’s two hundred and thirty thousand troops below!
Although he only had eighty thousand troops in hand, they were all elite Dragon Guard Legion troops. He did not put Chu Ye’s motley troops in his eyes.
Moreover, he had a strong city in hand, and was not too fearful of Suo Lun’s cannons. As long as they hid in covered positions, even gunpowder could not cause much killing damage to the soldiers.
“Suo Lun, if you want to destroy me through Chu Ye’s motley troops, then you have truly miscalculated, and you also underestimate me too much.” Tu Ling Tuo sneered.
Apart from artillery and catapults, Suo Lun had actually only dispatched twenty thousand cavalry, which clearly would not participate in siege warfare.
Then as long as they endured the initial long-range firepower attack, the main force dispatched to attack the city afterwards would certainly be Chu Ye’s great army. Although there were two hundred and thirty thousand, only eighty thousand Northern Legion troops were truly useful.
So in this battle, by the intuition of an old battlefield commander, Tu Ling Tuo was still quite confident.
And once he won against Count Chu Ye, Suo Lun would no longer have that borrowed knife for killing. At that time, when negotiating with Suo Lun again, he would gain the initiative.
Instantly, Tu Ling Tuo roared, “Brothers, see the motley troops below? Defeat them, and the path before us will be smooth! Since you have gathered under my banner, I will certainly be able to fight our way home, and will certainly give you glory, splendour, wealth, and rank. You only need to win this one battle!”
“Defeat Chu Ye, and that brat Suo Lun will have no way to deal with us, and will have to obediently negotiate with us!”
“Chu Ye is such a good-for-nothing, losing nine out of ten battles. Our victory is beyond doubt!”
Hearing Tu Ling Tuo’s shouts atop the city walls, Chu Ye’s face was completely without light.
But what Tu Ling Tuo said was indeed true. Although Chu Ye’s battle record could not be said to be losing nine out of ten battles, he truly had not fought any remarkable victories. No wonder Tu Ling Tuo was so full of confidence.
And the Northern Legion was mainly for defending against the Yan Empire. Dispatching such a general also happened to put this world hegemon at ease, showing that the Fury Wave Kingdom harboured no improper designs against the Yan Empire.
……
All catapults and cannons were fully prepared!
Fen Mo raised his hand, then fiercely swung it down, shouting, “Fire!”
Instantly, two hundred giant catapults fiercely launched, hurling massive gunpowder packages onto the city walls four to five hundred metres away.
Over one hundred cannons fired in unison.
“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh……”
Two hundred gunpowder packages, still that primitive cluster bomb type. They violently exploded on the city walls, below the city walls, and inside the city walls.
A terrifying metal storm madly sprayed!
However, the casualties were not great. Because the vast majority of Tu Ling Tuo’s eighty thousand troops were hiding in covered positions.
And over one hundred solid cannonballs fiercely struck the city walls, only making a hole in the wall!
Tu Ling Tuo had learned his lesson and knew how to defend against this hellish killing god of a primitive cluster bomb.
Seven minutes later!
The catapults’ second volley, the cannons’ second volley.
The entire city walls of Bai Yun Commandery City trembled violently once more, with another earth-shaking explosion.
It was as if the entire city was shaking, the entire earth was quaking.
But the casualties were still very limited. Only occasionally did a projectile shoot through a hole into the covered position, killing the soldiers inside.
“Boom boom boom……”
Suo Lun’s army’s catapults and cannons roared as if they knew no fatigue!
Round after round, as if they would never stop.
But the casualties caused were still very small.
Tu Ling Tuo could not help but laugh heartily and say, “Suo Lun, you brat, you truly have too much money. Such a waste of gold coins, how many of my men can you kill? This battle, my victory is beyond doubt!”
Tu Ling Tuo became even more firm in his confidence.
Hiding in covered positions, enduring Suo Lun’s long-range firepower attack, then next it would be Chu Ye’s great army attacking the city. At that time, fighting at close quarters against Chu Ye’s motley troops, his victory was beyond doubt.
“Ha ha, Suo Lun brat, you have exhausted your tricks. Your borrowed knife killing scheme cannot deal with me, Tu Ling Tuo, ha ha ha!”
……
However……
Suddenly came terrible news. The defenders of the western city walls opened the gates and raised white flags to surrender!
Immediately after, the southern city wall defenders also opened the gates and raised white flags to surrender!
Tu Ling Tuo had calculated everything correctly, but he had misjudged the morale of his eighty thousand troops!
The reason these eighty thousand troops had gathered under Tu Ling Tuo’s banner was not because they were particularly loyal to him, but because they felt there would be safety.
After the defeat at the Wind Thunder Fortress defence line, after Zhi Li fled, the morale of these troops had already fallen to rock bottom.
They had only one thought: flee far away immediately, never wanting to fight again.
Now, Suo Lun’s long-range firepower was madly bombarding. Although it did not cause great casualties.
But the entire city was shaking. That feeling of heaven and earth shaking was an enormous blow to morale.
These people simply did not want to fight. If they surrendered they would not die, but if they continued fighting they would likely die.
You, Tu Ling Tuo, say that as long as we defeat Chu Ye, the path ahead will be smooth. That is the Tu Ling family’s smooth path. What relation does it have to us ordinary soldiers?
Defeat Chu Ye? How many of us must die, thirty thousand? Fifty thousand? On what basis?
For these eighty thousand troops, the war was already over. They did not want to fight anymore, so amidst the shock and terror brought by the artillery bombardment, these eighty thousand troops surrendered one after another!
The Bai Yun City defensive battle that Tu Ling Tuo was counting on had not even truly begun before it was already over!
Watching the soldiers raising white flags and swarming out of the gates to surrender, Tu Ling Tuo only felt waves of dizziness.
Tu Ling Chen desperately roared, leading family retainers and warriors in mad slaughter of the fleeing surrendering soldiers, but this only made the soldiers flee faster.
“Finished, finished……” Tu Ling Tuo’s heart ached as if being twisted. His final capital was gone!
Why like this? Why like this?
This battle could clearly have been won. If fought normally, it could clearly have been won!
Why flee? Why surrender?
This surrender directly pushed the Tu Ling family to the brink of desperation!
Feeling waves of darkness before his eyes, waves of pain in his chest and abdomen.
“Puff……” A mouthful of blood sprayed out, and Tu Ling Tuo collapsed in a faint!
But Tu Ling Tuo quickly woke up, because he feared Tu Ling Chen would do something foolish and have trusted warriors fight their way out to take him back to the royal capital. And Tu Ling Chen was indeed preparing to do this!
“Clothe me. I will go to pay my respects to Suo Lun. I will go kneel before Suo Lun!” Tu Ling Tuo said in a trembling voice, “I will go to seek the final path of survival for the Tu Ling family.”