Chapter 669
Chapter 669
Inside the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate.
Shen Mi was a little anxious. The last time in the capital, the sound of several thousand people surrounding the Marquis of Changping’s estate had frightened the baby. But now, a massive enemy army of over fifty thousand was laying siege to the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate, their repeated roars of intimidation shaking the very heavens and earth. It was only natural for Shen Mi to be scared. Her baby brother, Shen Ye, on the other hand, was beyond excited. The child was only a little over half a year old but already had eight teeth. He could not only walk but also ran better than his older sister. Hearing the great army shouting outside, Shen Ye spun in place with excitement.
"Fight, fight."
Shen Lang's mother held Shen Mi, stroking her gently, while Bing'er looked after Shen Ye.
"Mama, fight! Papa, fight! Squeal, squeal, squeal!"
The little one's swinging fist nearly connected with Bing'er. The several adults watching felt a pang of worry. It seemed this little rascal was destined to grow into a great villain who would turn the world upside down.
* * *
The Marquis of Xuanwu's estate was built on a mountain, making it easy to defend and difficult to conquer. However, its walls were not as sturdy as Raging Tide City's, nor was its terrain as treacherous as the Marquis of Zhenyuan's estate. This was because the mountain slope was relatively gentle, and below the fortress walls lay a manor. Over countless years, the manor had been developed and cultivated, with some parts serving as pastures and others as farmlands. Thus, though it was a slight incline, it was more than enough space for Nangong Ao's army of over fifty thousand to array themselves and lay a watertight siege on the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate.
Among Nangong Ao's fifty-thousand-strong army, only five thousand were Savage Tribe warriors. Twenty thousand were troops from the Southern Gull Kingdom, and the remaining thirty thousand were surrendered soldiers from the State of Yue. In terms of combat strength, they were inferior to Su Nan's sixty-thousand-strong army, but they could not be called weak. The soldiers of the Southern Gull Kingdom were originally of Savage Tribe stock; their combat prowess had not been prominent when they pledged loyalty to Princess Yingluo because they were treated as auxiliary forces and lacked fighting spirit. But after swearing allegiance to the Yan Emperor, their fighting spirit was rekindled, and they became incredibly valiant. Though weaker than the main Savage Tribe army, they were not to be underestimated.
And what of the elite soldiers of Yue who had surrendered to the Yan Emperor? The very fact that they had survived to the end spoke volumes. People often assume that surrendered armies have poor combat strength. But the sad truth is that some armies become even fiercer after surrendering. For example, after the Qing Dynasty entered through the pass, most of the battles that destroyed the Southern Ming were fought with surrendered Han armies at the vanguard. These troops had seemed utterly pathetic and incompetent under the Ming Dynasty, but after surrendering to the Qing, they became unstoppable and valiant when they marched south to fight their own people.
Now, the Yan Emperor's power was like the midday sun, blazing and ascendant. Having been crushed by his forces, these elite soldiers of Yue developed a sense of reverence for him. Seeing that the Yan Emperor was about to sweep across the entire State of Yue and even attack the capital, the morale of the surrendered Yue army naturally soared. They hoped that the Yan Emperor would conquer Yue, turning their surrendered force into the emperor's personal army. With such complex feelings, these tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers were eager for battle. Therefore, Nangong Ao's fifty-thousand-strong army was brimming with murderous intent. What was a mere Marquis of Xuanwu's estate to them? In their eyes, it seemed too weak to withstand even a single blow.
When Su Nan's army annihilated Tiannan Province, it took them only two hours to wipe out a defending force of twenty thousand. The Marquis of Xuanwu's estate before them was neither as large, sturdy, nor as high up a mountain as Tiannan, and its defenders numbered only five or six thousand. It should be taken within two hours at most. Anything longer would be a disgrace.
* * *
The commander of this great army was Sayan, a chieftain of the Savage Tribes and one of the Yan Emperor's fathers-in-law. He was arrogant and looked down on the people of Yue, but no matter how brave and invincible he was, he was certainly no match for Nangong Ao in commanding a large army. So, during the advance, he remained silent, entrusting all military affairs to Nangong Ao. Nangong Ao stepped forward and called out.
"Where is Marquis Jin Zhuo?"
A moment later, Jin Zhuo appeared atop the fortress wall. Anyone else might have cursed Nangong Ao for selling out his country for wealth and glory. But Jin Zhuo did not. He asked calmly.
"Brother Nangong, what guidance do you have for me?"
"Brother Jin, what do you think of my master, the Yan Emperor?"
"An enlightened sovereign of grand vision and far-reaching strategy."
This was a view shared by both Shen Lang and Jin Zhuo. To be frank, the Yan Emperor was indeed more enlightened than Ning Yuanxian.
"My master, the Yan Emperor, has the extraordinary bearing to embrace the world. Moreover, he holds your son-in-law, Shen Lang, in high regard. Why, then, does Brother Jin not surrender? I won't speak of earning merit, but you could at least preserve your family."
These words were spoken from the heart. A man of Jin Zhuo's standing was already at the pinnacle of the aristocracy; surrendering to the Yan Emperor would not grant him a higher position. But he could preserve his family, wealth, and honor. Furthermore, Jin Zhuo's surrender would be good news for Nangong Ao, as it would greatly reduce the public pressure on him for defecting to the enemy.
'It wasn't just me, Nangong Ao, who surrendered. The upright and selfless Marquis Jin Zhuo also surrendered.'
Jin Zhuo shook his head and said.
"Regrettably, I cannot."
"In that case, how about you relinquish the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate and take your family and a ship to Raging Tide City?"
All Nangong Ao needed was to remove the thorn in his side that was the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate. Jin Zhuo sighed.
"I, Jin Zhuo, have a duty to defend my lands. For the past few hundred years, our Marquis of Xuanwu's estate has never been conquered by anyone. If I lose it under my watch, what face will I have to show my ancestors?"
"Brother Jin Zhuo, soldiers are a great weapon of misfortune. Once a sword is drawn, it cannot be sheathed without tasting blood. When the battle begins, rivers of blood will flow. It will be too late to surrender then. The tradition of the Savage Tribe warriors is to kill every last one of their enemies. The start of the battle will mean the annihilation of the Jin Clan, the death of everyone within the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate! Has Brother Jin Zhuo considered this carefully?"
"I have."
"Very well. Then do not blame me for showing no mercy."
With that, Nangong Ao drew his sword and roared.
"Army, attack the fortress! Kill every last one of them!"
At his command, the war drums thundered, and an army of over twenty thousand surged toward the walls of the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate like a tidal wave.
"Kill, kill!"
The nearly thirty thousand soldiers charging the enemy lines were mostly the main forces of Yue that had surrendered to the Yan Emperor. Nangong Ao believed he could easily take the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate without even deploying the Savage Tribe warriors, so he let the surrendered army earn some merit. Sayan, the Savage Tribe commander, glanced at Jin Zhuo on the wall and didn't even bother to look again. He seemed too weak to withstand a single blow.
'If my army of over twenty thousand cannot take a fortress and defenders like this within two hours, then I, Nangong Ao, am not fit to be the Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Military Affairs of the Great Southern Kingdom.'
* * *
Jin Mulan appeared. She wore a suit of blue armor, personally designed and overseen by Shen Lang. It was not made of steel but of an alloy. The armor was long, covering her entire body, yet it allowed for agile movement and was exquisitely beautiful. Her appearance startled the enemy army outside the walls. Of course, her face was hidden by a helmet, but the armor she wore was so vividly colored and intricately crafted, and her figure captivated all eyes. Even without seeing her face, it was enough to leave one breathless.
"Ready!"
Jin Mulan drew her sword, and three thousand eight hundred soldiers of the Second Nirvana Army appeared atop the walls. In perfect order, they nocked their arrows and drew their bowstrings. Nangong Ao was stunned at the sight of this army, and Sayan, the Savage Tribe commander, instinctively flinched. The soldiers' armor was not ornate; it was mostly chainmail to enhance agility. But their disciplined movements, as if they were a single entity, were astonishing. One could judge the whole by its parts; an army trained to this degree needed no demonstration of its combat prowess.
'But so what? No matter how strong they are, can they be stronger than the Savage Tribe warriors? No matter how strong, can a few thousand of you stand against our army of over fifty thousand?'
"Charge, charge! Kill everyone inside the fortress!"
Seeing the Second Nirvana Army appear, Nangong Ao gave the order, and the drumming intensified. Instantly, the beat grew more urgent and frenzied. In time with the drums, the twenty-thousand-strong army quickened their pace, charging with even greater madness. They crashed like a wave against the black fortress walls. Yet, the three thousand eight hundred soldiers of the Nirvana Army on the wall remained motionless. They held their drawn bows, aiming silently and stoically.
Nangong Ao was once again taken aback by their strange bows. To be able to hold a drawn bow for so long without firing meant they couldn't be strongbows. As everyone knew, the aiming time for a strongbow was very short because drawing it to its fullest required immense strength and consumed a great deal of stamina. Yet the Jin Clan's soldiers held their drawn bows for the time it took to take more than ten breaths. They must be lightweight bows. Jin Mulan watched as the enemy below swarmed closer, a dense and unending mass.
'Four hundred meters, three hundred meters, two hundred fifty meters. Now!'
"Fire!"
*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.*
At Jin Mulan's command, a volley of arrows rained down. The enemy soldiers below the walls found the archers' actions both astonishing and laughable.
'Isn't this distance over three hundred paces? The Jin Clan's archers are already starting to shoot? How much of a waste of arrows is that? Even the most elite archer units have a range of no more than one hundred fifty paces. Yet they start firing from over three hundred paces away? Are you insane?'
But then, something bizarre happened. The madly charging enemy soldiers suddenly heard a whistling sound overhead. As soon as they looked up, they saw countless black dots suddenly plummeting toward them.
'What... what the hell! Can bows really shoot this far? This is insane, completely insane!'
Nangong Ao and Sayan also stared at the scene in disbelief.
'This... this is over three hundred paces, isn't it? It's nearly three hundred fifty paces. At such a distance, only a large-scale siege crossbow can hit a target. How can a bow possibly hit anything? Are... are those all strongbows with a draw weight of over two seok? In a regular army, a master archer who can use a two-seok strongbow for an extended period is one in a thousand. But now, all three thousand of them can draw two-seok strongbows? This is madness, utter madness.'
The arrogance in the heart of the Savage Tribe commander, Sayan, vanished in an instant. Even the Savage Tribe warriors only used strongbows of one-seok draw weight. Their most elite archer units used top-tier strongbows of one and a half seok, but the Yan Emperor had never even deployed such a unit. Yet a mere family's army was using two-seok strongbows? Had the world gone completely mad?