After the battle for the defense of Jizhou Town, the grand-scale war in the northern borders had suddenly become clear cut.
The three commanding generals of the enemy knew they had lost their best chance to breach the Great Wall, and that continuing the fight would only lead to the destruction of their remaining 300,000 elite troops outside of the wall. It was imperative for them to leave, the sooner, the better, but they also knew that the Wei garrison inside the bulwark would not just watch them retreat calmly back into the depths of the Northern Desert Grasslands.
Wei forces in Liaodong, Jizhou, Datong, and the Grand General, Lan Ying, also clearly understood that the enemy would surely try to flee, and they knew they could not allow these 300,000 soldiers to return to the grasslands and recover only to come back stronger.
Both sides were urgently preparing for war.
The tribal leaders of the enemy quarreled daily in their tent about who should retreat first and who should cover the rear.
The Wei side was also continually deploying troops and dispatching generals, building up strength to send forces beyond the wall for battle.
An increasingly oppressive atmosphere of impending battle hung over both sides of the bulwark like dark clouds...
All were struggling under this suffocating pressure.
War divides right from wrong.
Yet it seemed there was no difference between winner and loser.
Perhaps when the guns fire, everyone loses.
Yang Ge, a marginal man who was not a soldier but lived in the military camp, was at the heart of this oppressive atmosphere, reflecting profoundly.
He heard the commanding shouts of the officers, strategizing and commanding.
He also saw the anxious and sighing murmurs of the lower-ranking soldiers.
Below the same sky, two starkly different scenarios unfolded, stirring some waves in his long-calm mindset...
But he could not find the answer.
One day, as Yang Ge was seated inside the tent, focusing intently on writing a mathematics textbook by the bright daylight streaming through the skylight, a voice from outside suddenly reached him, sounding somewhat familiar, "Second Lord, lunch is served."
He did not think much, and without looking up, he responded softly, "Come in."
The tent flap was lifted, and the sound of light footsteps reached Yang Ge’s ears.
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He glanced up casually, but his hand ceased moving the charcoal pencil.
There, standing below, clad in black with noticeably more white hair at the temples and appearing a decade older despite just a short month having passed, was Shen Fa, alongside Wang Dashi, in grey attire with graying hair and beard, both holding a tray side by side, looking at him with a gentle and calm smile.
Yang Ge looked at Shen Fa, then at Wang Dashi, and slowly a smile also surfaced on his face.
Setting down his charcoal pencil, he asked with a light chuckle as if greeting an old friend, "How have you aged so much?"
Shen Fa chuckled, "Time ages us all."
Yang Ge said, "But your time seems to have moved quite fast."
Shen Fa replied, "Haven’t you heard? ’A day feels like a year.’"
Yang Ge said, "I’ve heard that a day apart for those in love feels like an eternity, but which act are you playing here?"
Shen Fa said, "No need to be in love, making mistakes feels just the same..."
Yang Ge said, "Misstep by not killing me sooner?"
Shen Fa said, "That was a small matter..."
Wang Dashi, looking between them, sighed in resignation, "Can you two speak normally? Can you consider how it feels for an outsider like me?"
Yang Ge glanced at him and asked, "What are you here to stir up?"
"Stir up?"
Surprised, Wang Dashi pointed to the ground, "While I was shedding blood and losing my head in this place, you were still serving at Yuelai Inn!"
Yang Ge sized him up and down and suddenly realized something, sighed lightly, "Why bother? Weren’t you doing well under Wang Jiangling’s command?"
Wang Dashi nodded, "Indeed I was. I was counting the days, but who could have guessed your actions would be so swift? If I don’t come now, I wouldn’t even get a sip of warm soup, let alone a bite of meat!"
Yang Ge shook his head, "If you seek death, find another place, and don’t annoy people here."
At those words, Wang Dashi sat down right there, stubbornly saying, "I’m tired, weary, can’t go further, can’t go anywhere else. I just want to return upright to my brothers..."
Yang Ge looked at Shen Fa, "Aren’t you going to manage him?"
Barely hiding a smile, Shen Fa said, "Just let him be, he hasn’t had an easy time..."
Yang Ge, somewhat exasperated, said, "Who has had it easy?"
Shen Fa laughed lightly, "That’s why we’ve come, haven’t we?"
Yang Ge said, "To add to the chaos?"
Shen Fa countered, "After this battle, you should retire, right? How could I not see you off on your last journey? After all, it was I who dragged you into this mess."
Yang Ge said, "Why do good words coming from your mouth always sound so twisted?"
Shen Fa said, "You just mean to ask if I’m here to send you off on your last journey, don’t you?"
Yang Ge laughed, "You’ve been looking forward to this day, haven’t you?"
"Hard to say..."
Shen Fa, pursing his lips, slowly shook his head, "If I had a choice, I’d rather you had stopped at becoming a Grandmaster... If so, maybe Yang Erlang could have been accommodated by this world, and I, Shen Fa, might have had one more friend in you, Yang Ge."
Yang Ge sighed speechlessly, "You really are stubborn!"
Shen Fa also shook his head regretfully, "It’s inborn, can’t help it!"
Yang Ge frustratedly waved his hand, "Take your tainted food and get out of my tent."
The two did not move, clearly resolved with a ’we won’t leave unless you agree’ attitude.
Just then, the sound of armor clashing entered the tent, and the three looked toward the tent flap.
They saw Zhou Fu, clad in armor, quickly entering, his eyes straight ahead as he clenched his fists and said, "Second Lord, Bo Bai’s main forces are fleeing north, leaving 30,000 infantry to cover their retreat."