Lu Jian is waiting for Gu Chengzhao and the Dingyuan Army to arrive. Their arrival would indicate that Dingbei Pass is secure, allowing him to "lose" the battle with peace of mind.
anwhile, Gu Lan is waiting for Xiao An’s triumph.
Lu Jian hasn’t seen Gu Chengzhao,
but she sees Xiao An.
A fierce wind sweeps the ground. Outside the camp, a line of soldiers from the Pingnan Army, dressed in heavy armor, stand in orderly formation. As Rong Heng erges, they pound their left fists against their breastplates with a resounding clang, an awe-inspiring display of might.
"Tiger, Tiger, Tiger!"
The Pingnan Army unleashes a thunderous roar.
In the distance, there’s a cavalry unit of only a few thousand, the last of the cavalry from Yinzhou City, split into two groups, with "Gu" character banners wildly fluttering in the wind behind them.
Not Gu Lan’s ’Gu’, but rather, Gu Chengzhao’s ’Gu’.
The Pingnan Army stands solemnly, the "Dingyuan Army" ferocious. Just before dawn, as the cold air chills the city, the tightly closed gates of Yinzhou City silently open, an ominous aura hanging over.
In the distance, the Wei Army, sowhat steadied by Lu Jian’s words yesterday, remains oblivious to these events.
It’s too early in the two-hour period; most of the Wei troops are asleep.
Yet, military intelligence moves swiftly, as quickly as a raging fire.
Two ssengers rush into the Wei Army camp from the rear, shouting as they co, their spirits bleak and panicked, as if having lost their minds, they dismount in a tumble, waking the Wei generals:
"Urgent, urgent report! The Governor of Lu State, in coordination with Yan general Xiao An, launched an attack on our navy outside Ling Port. Nearly eight thousand Yans, General Li is dead, General Wang surrendered, General Jiang escaped with two thousand n and is on his way here now!"
"What!?"
"The Vanguard Army is defeated?"
"There are ten thousand Vanguard Army at Ling Port, and Lu State’s defenders only number five or six thousand. Even with Xiao An’s n, they barely reach eight thousand. How dare they launch a full-scale attack!"
"Impossible, those are ten thousand elite sailors!"
Each mber of the Wei Army shows a face of disbelief.
No one expected that the ten thousand elite vanguard dispatched to Lu State would be the first to encounter problems. Originally, Wei Country considered capturing Lu State first if Yinzhou proved too difficult to conquer, laying plans for the future then.
Upon hearing the ssengers’ cries, the sleepless Lu Jian rushes out of the tent, eyes red with fatigue, muttering through clenched teeth:
"Eight thousand n? It seems Xiao An originally brought more to assist the Governor of Lu State than we detected — that’s why they dared to launch an attack on us."
"General, we should quickly send soone to support General Jiang!"
Lu Jian nods, maintaining order in the camp, loudly declaring: "What’s there to fear? Old Jiang’s n should be coming from Wen City’s direction. Order three thousand soldiers to follow to support him!"
Wen City originally belonged to Yan Country and is only several dozen miles from Yinzhou. After being seized by the Wei Army, it beca a grain storage site.
The deputy general and others, regaining their wits, are about to act when a familiar rumbling suddenly catches their ears.
The deputy general looks up, his expression gradually freezing as he gazes into the distance.
A black line appears on the horizon.
Wei soldiers, also noticing, point at the black line and tremulously inquire:
"G-General, what is that?
"Dingyuan Army, it’s the Dingyuan Army!"
"Yan’s cavalry... Black Armor, Gu Character Banner, it really is the Dingyuan Army!"
As the words fall, thunderous horns sound, spreading from the distance to near.
Lu Jian looks, seeing the ground before the camp suddenly tremble.
In a storm of dust, innurable Black Armored Cavalry beco visible, closing in on every Wei soldier’s eyes.
"Din, Yuan, Army?"
He mumbles in disbelief.
How could they arrive so quickly?
Lu Jian expected defeat — that was the intention, yet he hadn’t considered the Dingyuan Army arriving so soon!
Before he can think further, Yan’s cavalry charges from the dust kicked up by their warhorses, their black armor obscuring the sky, as far as the eye can see, even eclipsing the towering presence of distant Yinzhou City.
Banners emblazoned with the "Gu" character fly furiously among the army, flaunting their wild gallantry, proclaiming loudly that the Dingyuan Army, indeed, has arrived!
Would soone stumble twice in the sa place?
Perhaps they would. Wei Chengyuan fell into the sa tank several tis, but Gu Lan doesn’t gamble on this.
As the news of Lu State’s defeat arrives, the Dingyuan Army suddenly appears before the Wei Army.
The Wei Army camp falls into chaos in an instant. Trembling soldiers watch the approaching cavalry, unable to draw their blades before being slain by a lance.
In na, it’s an army of one hundred thousand, but most are auxiliary soldiers in their first battle, with poor psychological preparedness. The few elite troops were largely lost or injured in yesterday’s siege attacks.
Moreover, so of them already know they are rely bait to lure out Gu Chengzhao.
Seeing the "Gu" banners and cavalry, their capacity for thought vanishes, leaving only one word in mind — escape.
"No, the Dingyuan Army couldn’t co this fast. Even if they could, there would be no way the patrols wouldn’t have warned us. Previously, Gu Lan led a few hundred cavalry pretending to be the Dingyuan Army, and now there should still be so cavalry within Yinzhou City..." Lu Jian’s eyes narrow as he imdiately commands, "Do not retreat! These are not the Dingyuan Army, just the city’s defenders! Gesang, take your light cavalry and et them! They have at most —"
He refuses to retreat, as Gu Chengzhao hasn’t appeared!
Lu Jian doesn’t finish his sentence when, from another direction, ranks of heavily armored infantry erge from the dust, marching heavily.
At the front are Rong Heng and Su Yi, clad in Mystic Armor.
"They don’t have enough n. Do not retreat, you cannot retreat!"
Lu Jian shouts in the army, yet only a small fraction hear his order, picking up swords to face the approaching enemy.
The cavalry charges into the camp, clashing fiercely. In an instant, the Wei troops are shattered decisively.
Their hard-won morale dissipates instantly; where Yan’s cavalry treads, the Wei Army discards helts and armor in panic.
On another front, five thousand Pingnan Army infantry advance under Rong Heng’s lead.
Shrouded in heavy armor, their long blades sweep through, like rciless King Yans, harvesting the lives of Wei soldiers.
Rong Heng slices open the throat of a Wei general with a single stroke, his deanor so serene it borders on coldness, always observing the rear of the Wei camp.
This entire strategy was his doing.
First, the news of Xiao An’s triumph returns, shaking the Wei troops’ morale. Then, a cavalry unit feigns the Dingyuan Army, using the tactic Gu Lan once enacted, attaching dried branches to their horses’ tails, combined with Marquis Gu’s banners and warriors’ roars, the Wei Army instinctively assus the Dingyuan Army has arrived, breaking their ntal defenses.
Then, the second wave of five thousand Pingnan Army slices in like a dagger, where blood and flesh splatter, converting the psychological edge into a tangible advantage.
The Wei Army, although nurous, finds that more is... more chaotic!
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