Yang Ge’s spirits lifted, "Is Lan Ying ready?"
Zhou Fu, "The troops and horses that have been assembled to pursue the enemy forces beyond the pass are ready. The vanguard will be composed of our Jizhou Town’s main force, with the addition of two cavalry guards taking on the heavy responsibility. I will command the troops and lead the way."
After a pause, he suddenly smiled and said, "Second Master, allow me, Zhou, to accompany you once more!"
Yang Ge smiled and spoke softly, "Go get me a set of soldiers’ armor. This time... I’ll accompany you!"
Zhou Fu glanced at him, nodded with a smile, said "okay," and quickly turned to leave.
No sooner had he stepped out of the commander’s tent than Wang Dashi, who was behind him, put down the tray in his hand, sprang up from the ground, and shouted with eyes shining, "Give me those ten thousand cavalry, and I guarantee I’ll make the Tartars flee in a complete rout, defeated and dispersed!"
Yang Ge looked at him skeptically, and Shen Fa said in a low voice, "This fellow served as a cavalry commander in Liaodong for six years; he once led eight thousand cavalry to decisively defeat fifteen thousand Wala iron cavalry. In terms of commanding cavalry, there are certainly no more than five generals in Wei who could surpass him."
Yang Ge furrowed his brow in thought for a moment and said in a serious tone, "If you can guarantee to bring back alive the ten thousand cavalry you lead out, I’ll allow you to do odd jobs for the cavalry guards."
Without any hesitation, Wang Dashi slapped his chest loudly and said, "I am willing to stake my life on it as a guarantee!"
"If you don’t even take your own life seriously, don’t use it to make promises," Yang Ge shook his head, dismissing his assurance, then pondered for a moment before continuing, "If you dare deceive me, seeking glory without regard for the lives of your soldiers under your command, afterwards, I will have a cast iron statue built of you, set outside the pass, kneeling with hands bound facing the Central Plains, your surname, origin, and the words ’Tartar Running Dog’ inscribed on your back... How about that, do you dare agree?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Dashi’s face instantly turned the color of eggplant, even his eyes filled with blood.
His neck stiff and veins bulging, he shouted with all his might, "Agreed!"
Yang Ge nodded calmly, "Agreed."
Shen Fa glanced at Wang Dashi with pity and muttered to himself, ’So ruthless.’
He turned his head to Yang Ge and said in a negotiating tone, "Allot three thousand troops to me for the advance guard, you know, I’ve always been doing this..."
Yang Ge instantly refused, "I am the best eyes for the army!"
Shen Fa immediately changed his tone, "Then I will supervise the right army, is that okay?"
Yang Ge was unmoved, "You, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, staying behind the pass to assist Lan Ying with overall coordination, will be more effective than following me outside to fight."
Shen Fa resolutely shook his head, "If I cannot take part in this battle, I will regret it for the rest of my life!"
These oddly familiar words and tones caused a flicker in Yang Ge’s eyes, and after a few seconds of silence, he nodded and said, "Fine, then you supervise the right army. If there is any blunder, I will personally behead you."
Shen Fa just smiled.
Yang Ge quickly packed and sealed the textbooks he had compiled in recent days and took up the Cold Moon Saber as he stepped out of the tent.
As soon as he exited the tent, he saw a small flag officer from the Embroidered Uniform Guards leading Erhei toward him at a brisk walk.
Erhei, seeing Yang Ge from a distance, shook his large head to break free of the reins and galloped towards him, head low with a ’Hehehe’ sound as if he intended to charge into him.
Shen Fa turned his head and whispered, "When we were passing by Lu Ting, I went to the Shangyou Office for a visit. Fang Ke asked me to bring this fellow to you..."
Yang Ge watched the oncoming Erhei charging towards him and slowly revealed a smile. He raised his right arm to fend off the creature’s large head, and soothed it with gentle words, "Alright, alright, it’s my fault; I won’t leave you behind again..."
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Erhei raised his head, staring at Yang Ge with his big, glossy eyes as if to say, ’You really mean it? Swear it!’
Yang Ge hugged its large head and gave it a thorough rub, "You’re so smart, could I really deceive you?"
Erhei proudly raised his head, swaying its long, pointed ears, as if to say, ’That’s right!’
Shen Fa, unable to watch, turned his head away... Even deceiving an animal, truly too heartless!
...
The setting sun painted the sky as fifty thousand troops marched northward out of Jizhou Town.
Yang Ge, clad in Tunhu Lock Armor, mounted Erhei at the forefront, charging straight towards the Tartar camp several miles outside the pass.
In the desolate Tartar camp, only thirty thousand Tartar infantry designated as the rear guard remained, and the commanding Tartar general, seeing their overwhelming momentum, immediately shouted orders for his soldiers to retreat behind the supply wagons and set up shields for defense.
In an instant, the forlorn sound of the horns echoed through the mountain passes...
Back in his homeland, Erhei was in high spirits, spreading his four hooves, heedless of exhaustion, and galloped wildly. He leapt over the mountain paths in a bound, leaving the ten thousand cavalrymen who were also galloping wildly far behind.
Under the gaze of tens of thousands, Yang Ge drew out the Cold Moon Saber, raising it high, and in a flash, a dazzling golden saber qi surged a hundred zhang high, appearing as majestic as a bolt of lightning ripping through the evening sky!
Before the tens of thousands could recover from their shock, Yang Ge had already wielded the Cold Moon Saber in a light slash, cutting through the air toward the thirty thousand Tartar infantry who had formed a defensive line behind the wagons and shields.
The solid defensive line that previously seemed never-ending now appeared as fragile as paper under the magnificent force of the saber qi that seemed otherworldly.
"Bang."
In the deafening roar that pierced the heavens, waves of golden light scattered, lifting huge clouds of blood mist, while the slopes of the mountains crumbled and tumbled down, instantly covering the not-so-wide mountain path and smoothing the treacherous terrain, as if turning steep cliffs into a vast, level lake.
The might of a single slash was so terrifying!
The tens of thousands of Wei soldiers who witnessed this scene felt their eyeballs nearly bursting out of their sockets in alarm!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Only the howling night wind brought the distant murmurs of countless people’s hearts.
’With such mighty power, why send any soldiers at all? You alone could charge through the Tartars!’
’With a peerless person like this leading the way, how could we not break the Tartars?’
Zhou Fu and others who had seen Yang Ge take action were the first to snap back to reality, desperately shouting at the top of their lungs, "Erhei is mighty!"
Their scattered shouts, like sparks, quickly ignited the fervor of the tens of thousands of border soldiers inside and outside the pass.
All of them strained their throats and shouted energetically, "Erhei is mighty!"
"Erhei is mighty!"
"Erhei is mighty..."
They truly felt that Erhei was damn mighty, although many didn’t even know who this ’Erhei’ was.
They were also trying to vent their awe... and fear of such superhuman power through their shouts.
The shouting of tens of thousands resounded again and again, reverberating between the mountain passes, reaching the heavens.
Yang Ge, who had charged alone into the midst of the Tartar remnants, listened to the tsunami-like shouts and, with goosebumps all over, summoned all his True Qi and shouted at the top of his voice, "Wei army is mighty!"
His voice, like rumbling thunder, momentarily suppressed the shouting of tens of thousands, and countless border soldiers, influenced by him, changed their cry to, "Wei army is mighty!"
"Wei army is mighty!"
"Wei army is mighty..."
The more they shouted, the more forceful they became, their eyes brighter with each call, chests puffing out prouder.
The fifty thousand soldiers outside the city spurred their horses, swinging legs in unison, keeping pace with Yang Ge’s stride.
And the tens of thousands of border soldiers on the city walls gripped their weapons tightly, wishing they could leave the city right now and join them!
Even Erhei himself said we were mighty!
Who would dare to say we’re not mighty from now on?
Turn their ashes to dust!
What fortune to live in the same era as him!
Against the dimming sky, Yang Ge led fifty thousand troops, flattening the thirty thousand Tartar rear guard as effortlessly as crushing an insignificant lump of mud, and pursued the fleeing Tartar main force into the thickening night.