CHAPTER 348: CHAPTER 23 NO ONE IS A FOOL_3

Ah, such a cold day, still on guard duty atop the ramparts, so damn annoying.

I had it all planned out, Zheng Fan thought. Deliver the head, finalize the military honors, and return to Green Willow Fortress where everyone would be ecstatic. Then I’d announce the matter of the fifteen hundred barbarian soldiers, and the Demon Kings could all celebrate. Afterwards, I could take a nice, long bath and ask Siniang to wear her white silks tonight.

Alas, the script he had so carefully prepared had been utterly ruined by that Qian cavalry squad.

Zheng Fan rubbed the tip of his nose with the back of his hand and let out a breath.

Just then, a commotion erupted on the ramparts.

Liang Cheng swiftly turned to look out through an embrasure in the parapet and said to Zheng Fan, "Cavalry approaching!"

「...」

Zhong Tianlang’s silver armor was stained with layers of blood. He always preferred to be at the vanguard when charging into battle, so the blood on his armor was, naturally, that of Yan people.

When they first entered the Yan region, they had taken down a small fortress and then pushed deep into the territory. However, they failed to rendezvous with the pre-arranged Silver Armored Guard spy who was supposed to guide them, leaving their unit somewhat "disoriented" for a time.

It was common for army leaders to get lost; many renowned generals in history had experienced it. Besides, Zhong Tianlang wasn’t truly lost; he remembered the way back. However, faced with the haphazard fortress system on the border of Yan, he was somewhat unsure of his target.

Even the local people of Yan State would find it difficult to distinguish one military fort from another, or to pinpoint their locations, given how many had sprung up like mushrooms after rain in recent months.

Fortunately, Zhong Tianlang’s luck held. He took a risk, captured two "tongues" on the main road, and actually managed to learn the whereabouts of Green Willow Fortress.

After breaking through Green Willow Fortress, that general named "Zheng Fan" had shown considerable backbone. Unwilling to surrender or be captured, he had committed suicide on the spot. Zhong Tianlang still remembered the furious, wide-eyed glare of "Zheng Fan" before his death. Clearly, this Yan barbarian had been filled with rage and died with a burning grievance! Still, he was a true man!

Unfortunately, Zhong Tianlang couldn’t leave him an intact corpse; he had cut off his head. Then, under the cover of night, he had successively destroyed three more Yan military forts. The defensive systems of these forts were very lax. With his absolute superiority in numbers, concealed by the night, sudden assaults made it easy to overwhelm them.

However, despite this, the ferocity of the Yan people’s counterattacks when ambushed still left Zhong Tianlang somewhat astonished. Coming from the West Army Division, the opponents Zhong Tianlang had faced since childhood were typically North Qiang tribes or local chieftains in the southwestern mountains. Those enemies, when hit by a night raid, would often rout completely, easily overrun and massacred, their bodies littering the ground. But these Yan people, as long as they had a blade in hand and no way to escape, would often choose to fight to the death. Consequently, his own unit had also suffered considerable casualties.

Originally, while in the West Army Division, Zhong Tianlang had been somewhat disdainful when he heard that the generals of Qian State on its three fronts were so suppressed by the Yan people that they dared not even raise their heads. After this direct engagement, despite a string of victories, he slowly came to realize that these Yan barbarians were indeed not foes to be trifled with.

Most importantly, what he was facing were merely the Yan rat army and those local military commanders. The true elites of Yan in Yinlang County, the Jingnan Army, had yet to make an appearance. Moreover, the Zhenbei Army, an army feared by all three eastern nations, had not yet moved south.

After this experience, Zhong Tianlang better understood how wise his Lord’s decision had been to start digging trenches and building fortifications the moment they entered Mianzhou. The Yan people were arrogant, and their combat strength was formidable. Currently, Qian could only resort to such methods to wear down the Yan people’s aggressive spirit and then seize the opportunity presented by this national war to rearm and reorganize. Fortunately, the Yan people were poor, and the Yan region was also poor.

As a general, Zhong Tianlang knew he shouldn’t harbor such thoughts, yet they persistently swirled in his mind. But, he was a young man, after all. And youth, by its nature, is spirited! This time, at least, he had vented some of Qian’s frustration, letting the Yan people know that Qian, too, had men of courage and valor!

It was getting late. Zhong Tianlang dared not linger any longer and prepared to lead his troops on their return journey.

A report came from the vanguard: they had to pass a Yan fortress ahead. It was well-constructed, resembling a small city.

Zhong Tianlang led his personal guards forward on horseback. Upon seeing the fortress ahead, his heart lurched. The fortress walls were high, with a trench and visible palisades at their base. The upper sections were distinctly layered with protruding corners. Although the design was somewhat unusual, Zhong Tianlang recognized its ingenuity at a glance. No matter which direction one attacked from, they would face fire from three sides. Moreover, this fortress was clearly newly built.

They say Yan cavalry is the best under heaven, Zhong Tianlang mused, but it seems there are also those among the Yan people skilled in defense.

This fortress, though its construction was overseen by Ji Chengjue, was designed by the Blind One, employing European castle designs from a later age. When Koxinga reclaimed Taiwan, he too had been greatly troubled by such Dutch fortresses.

Zhong Tianlang knew that such a castle, especially with the faint figures of soldiers visible on its walls, was not something he could currently take.

However, he felt a certain respect, like one hero for another. After taking down several military forts, it was rare to encounter an opponent who invested such effort into their defenses. Zhong Tianlang spurred his warhorse forward, Deng Ziliang’s head impaled on his spear, and yelled towards the fortress ahead,

"Yan bastards! Green Willow Fortress has been annihilated by your Lord Zhong! The head of Zheng Fan, Commander of Green Willow Fortress, is here! I’ll let you keep your heads on your necks for now. Your Lord Zhong will come to collect them when I have the time!"

For a long while, the fortress ahead remained silent; no one responded.

Seeing the utter silence from the enemy fortress, Zhong Tianlang chuckled and said to the officers beside him, "It seems that beheading Zheng Fan, the Yan man with the greatest recent fame and military achievements, has indeed shattered their morale!"

In reality, after Zhong Tianlang finished shouting, the soldiers guarding Green Willow Fortress looked at each other, then all turned to look at their own Commander, who was also on the wall, enjoying a drink. Then, they all looked back at the Qian officer shouting below under the torchlight.

At that moment, they all had the same thought:

This Qian officer down there... is he an idiot?