Xu Beizhi originally thought that after approaching the Maolong area, he would still need to spend some effort to sneak into the south. However, he soon realized that the situation was unexpectedly different. Hundreds of thousands of refugees began to migrate frantically along both sides of the The Post Road. Among them were even luxurious carriages drawn by fine horses. In the Northern Desolate, several key The Post Road were strictly forbidden for any military use, and violators were executed on the spot. Many royal family members had already sacrificed their lives to verify the Northern Desolate Empress’s determination. Therefore, even in the chaos of fleeing, no arrogant clans dared to step onto the The Post Road. Fortunately, due to the massive flow of people, two flat paths had already been trampled on both sides of the The Post Road, allowing carriages and horses to pass unimpeded, albeit at a slow pace.
The The Post Road network in the Northern Desolate was as dense as a spider’s web. Xu Beizhi’s carriage was moving against the current. Behind him, cavalry from other Posthouseroutes rushed southward rapidly. Xu Beizhi ordered one of the accompanying guards, an archer from Arrow Ridge, to investigate the situation. He received an answer that made him even more astonished. With Huang Songzhu personally leading 90,000 elite cavalry to confront the Beiliang army, a unit of Beiliang cavalry still broke through the hastily established defensive line directly and charged southward toward the capital of the Southern Court. The momentum was so overwhelming that it seemed to disregard the three great generals and the two Jieyu Commanders as mere decorations. It aimed to sweep away all the civil and military officials in the Southern Court in one fell swoop. This kind of audacity had only been seen before when Northern cavalry charged southward.
This cavalry unit, whose exact number was yet to be confirmed, was naturally the Snow Dragon Cavalry, identifiable by their white horses and white armor. Its movement caused further disarray in Huang Songzhu’s already fragile defenses. The Southern Court Grand Marshall, who always advocated winning with orthodox strategies, speculated that this was another cunning maneuver akin to the siege and relief tactics used at Hulukou. With numerous military garrisons behind him, none of which were easy targets, he only dispatched 20,000 light cavalry to pursue. He strictly ordered them not to initiate attacks and focused more attention on reinforcing the defenses and closely monitoring the remaining Beiliang cavalry. For the first time, he issued two uncompromising military orders to the Jieyu Commanders of Guse and Longyao provinces under the title of Southern Court Grand Marshall, a title many Southern Court nobles did not take seriously.
The southern populace of the Southern Court cared little about whether the generals had flawless strategies or were confident in their plans, nor did they care about whether the Beiliang barbarians would eventually be completely annihilated. They only heard that once those barbarians’ horses entered the city, it would result in a massacre, leaving nothing but an empty city. They also heard that even the sharp Beiliang swords had become dented from continuous chopping. The 10,000 Dragon and Elephant Army was already so fierce that the combined forces of Wazhu and Junziguang, totaling over 10,000 men, were not even enough to fill their teeth. Let alone the 30,000 personal guards of Xu Rentu? If Xu Yanying were to personally come to the Northern Desolate, could the common people drown that butcher with their spittle? Who the hell believed the promise that as long as the Northern Desolate cavalry was willing to march south and wage war, they could fill the Ganliang River Basin with the corpses of 300,000 Beiliang soldiers, building a monumental pile of skulls unprecedented in history? Which bastard dared to keep deceiving us like this to our faces again, I’d punch him so hard he’d be crawling on the ground looking for his teeth!
Xu Beizhi pulled the curtain aside and smiled at Xu Fengnian while pointing out a unit of cavalry with unusually solemn expressions outside the carriage window, “That’s the Huangxian Garrison. The general leading them is General Gu Luo, the son-in-law of the Jieyu Commander of Longyao Province. He usually looks down on everyone. Seems like you guys really scared him. The soldiers’ expressions are almost like those of men going to their deaths. A few years ago, when they mentioned the Beiliang army, they would scoff with disdain.”
Xu Fengnian said indifferently, “Xu Beizhi laughed, “Are you talking about me?”
Xu Fengnian frowned, “When you get to Beiliang, don’t keep saying ‘our Beiliang this and that.’ Beiliang is naturally insular, both in the military and the bureaucracy. This stubborn habit has its pros and cons, but you should be careful.”
Xu Beizhi nodded, “I understand.”
Xu Fengnian muttered to himself, “Could they really be planning to push all the way to the Southern Court’s court? That would take several ten thousand pounds of lion’s heart and leopard’s gall! Who could be leading the troops? It doesn’t seem like Yuan Zuozong’s style.”
Xu Beizhi hesitated for a moment and slowly said, “Have you noticed that Beiliang somewhat resembles the farmland on the southern slope of the Rouran Mountains that we’ve seen?”
Xu Fengnian asked, “A poor harvest?”
Xu Beizhi slowly continued, “The Beiliang King has six adopted sons. Chen Zhibao doesn’t need to be mentioned; he could carve out his own kingdom anywhere with his abilities. Yuan Zuozong is a natural general, certainly capable of commanding a few thousand elite troops to easily destroy cities and fortresses, but as for leading the entire campaign, it’s hard to say. Qi Dangguo is just a brawny fellow who charges into battle and carries the Xu family banner. Ye Xizhen excels in open strategies and is hailed as the next Yang Cai Zhao Changling, but in the end, he is still a strategist who needs to rely on others. Yao Jian is a Feng Shuimaster skilled in obscure arts, always keeping to himself, not worth mentioning. As for Chu Lushan…”
Xu Fengnian smiled, “Among Xu Xiao’s six adopted sons, the only one who can truly stand shoulder to shoulder with Chen Zhibao is him. He is a true all-rounder; whatever he knows, he masters thoroughly. My master’s reputation was overshadowed by Zhao Changling. Chu Qiu’er is in a similar situation to Chen Zhibao.”
Xu Beizhi continued, “The younger generals like Wei Fucheng, Dian Xiongchu, and Ning Emei are far inferior to Chen Zhibao, not to mention the few who are loyal to you, the young prince, are pitifully scarce. So, excluding Chen Zhibao and Chu Lushan, it’s hard to find a third outstanding general in Beiliang who can stand alone against the likes of Dong Zhuo.”
Xu Fengnian smiled without speaking.
Xu Beizhi asked, “Could there be someone hiding in the shadows?”
Xu Fengnian laughed loudly, “You forgot my second sister?”
Xu Beizhi looked doubtful, “You know that theoretical knowledge and actual command are two different things.”
Xu Fengnian’s face changed dramatically, he clenched his fists tightly, because he knew who was leading the Snow Dragon Cavalry toward Nanjing Mansion.
Xu Beizhi, with his sharp insight, immediately guessed the truth and said bitterly, “If she can survive and return to Beiliang, I will admit defeat.”
Xu Fengnian exhaled deeply, his brows relaxed, and leaning against the carriage wall, he smiled, “Then you can now be convinced. My second sister had already memorized all the military garrisons, fortresses, tribes, villages, and Posthouse Standing on the Beacon Towerof the Northern Desolate before she was fourteen.”
Xu Beizhi pondered meticulously in his mind, then shook his head hard, holding back for a long time before asking, “Why?”
Xu Fengnian rubbed his face gently and said softly, “When she was young, she made a bet with my eldest sister. My second sister said she would definitely lead an army to Nanjing Mansion before she turned thirty. Their wagers were a military treatise and a box of Rouge.”
Xu Beizhi snorted, “How can military affairs be treated as a game?! The route of the Dragon and Elephant Army is clearly calculated by a master strategist, sacrificing some troops to gain a strategic advantage. It can be seen as buying you time. What is your second sister?”
Xu Fengnian teased, “If you dare, ask her yourself next time you see her. As for me, I dare not.”
Xu Beizhi was taken aback, “You dared to go to Ruoshui and killed Fifth Mo, yet you’re afraid to meet your second sister?”
Xu Fengnian sighed with a headache.
Back then, when he started practicing swordsmanship, she wouldn’t even speak to him. Now, after circling around the Northern Desolate, wouldn’t she chase him with a sword?
※※※
That cavalry unit penetrated deep into the heartland like a butcher’s knife through an ox, bypassing many military garrisons and dangerous passes, tearing through the Northern Desolate map at the fastest speed, creating an optimal curve.
The speed, combat effectiveness, and clarity of objectives exceeded the imagination of everyone in the Northern Desolate.
The leading rider wore armor but no helmet. In the young woman’s vision, the magnificent outline of the largest city in the Northern Desolate’s Southern Court was already visible.
Behind her, 9,000 light cavalry’s eyes were filled with Frenzied and fervent adoration。
They had never imagined that battles could be fought like this, as if a grown man were strolling around his own home, giving a hard slap to any disobedient child who couldn’t fight back.
Before every engagement, she had precisely predicted when, where, and how many enemy troops they would face. By bypassing all the tough opponents, the Snow Dragon Cavalry, with its unmatched military might, easily disposed of them without any effort.
Could she truly be the mistress of this Southern Court land?
It was easy to move northward, but the real challenge would be turning southward!
But I could even see the gates of Nanjing Prefecture from afar.， Still afraid of you bastards.？
The woman’s appearance was not particularly striking, but she exuded extraordinary heroism, with no trace of coquetry or delicacy in her demeanor.
After dismounting, she took out a yellowed book from her bosom, lit a fire match, and burned it to ashes. She looked up at the sky, her lips moving slightly, then silently mounted her horse again.
※※※
The winters in Beiliang always brought heavy snowfall, unlike the timid snow in the south, which delighted several children who had recently settled in this barren and desolate land. The eldest daughter was nothing special, a typical girl who liked Rouge Watercolor, but with a fiery temper, swinging on the swing without the usual restraint of a refined lady, always wanting to swing as high as the top floor. The second child was the most intelligent, regarded as a prodigy since childhood, learning to read and write quickly, with a reserved nature, said to resemble her mother. The third child looked most like his elegant and beautiful mother, a typical lucky child of the north with a southerly appearance, perfectly matching his destined noble status from birth. Perhaps the family’s fortune had been exhausted on the first three children, so the fourth child, born and raised in Beiliang, was pitiful. Like the barren land of his hometown, he never cried once from the womb, and after learning to walk, he was dull and foolish, thin and sickly, often with snot hanging from his nose, mixed with drool. The servants in the house all believed that the mistress had died giving birth to him, and they genuinely liked the first three young masters, but disliked the fourth, who had extraordinary strength. Some bold young servants would bully him when no one was around, pinching him hard or slapping him a few times, as long as the overseers didn’t catch them, it didn’t matter.
Xu Weixiong’s study at the age of twelve was spotless and orderly, with no unnecessary decorations, only the four treasures of the study and a vast collection of books covering all schools of thought. Every book on the shelves was meticulously annotated with a vermilion brush. Today, she was meticulously writing the character “ Eternal,” the second princess of the Beiliang Prince’s Mansionwas proficient in everything, except for calligraphy, which was truly deplorable. This made the competitive Xu Weixiong stubbornly determined to write a satisfactory regular script character. If she couldn’t surpass her younger brother, it would be acceptable, but how could she lose to her?! She already knew the true essence of calligraphy thoroughly, without needing anyone to teach her, understanding perfectly how to achieve mastery in straight strokes, pauses, and side strokes. Yet, when she actually wrote the character with her brush, it always looked like a wriggling earthworm, which frustrated Xu Weixiong, who had written no less than 3,000 “ Eternal” characters that autumn.
A boy with red lips and white teeth, exceptionally handsome, carried a “corpse” slightly smaller than himself to the study.
Xu Weixiong slightly lifted her eyes, ignoring him.
The richly dressed child put down the corpse and laughed, “Huangman’er, we’re here.”
The “corpse” on the ground immediately stood up with a fish-leaping motion, grinning foolishly with snot and drool hanging from his nose.
This pair of brothers was none other than Xu Fengnian and Xu Longxiang.
Huangman’er liked being dragged by his older brother, and enjoyed being buried headfirst into the snow during snowy days, his whole head feeling cool and comfortable!
Xu Fengnian reached out to carefully wipe the snot and drool from his younger brother’s face, then carelessly wiped it on his own sleeve, pointing to a Houfeng Seismographin the study shaped like a dragon facing a large-mouthed toad, he patted Huangman’er’s head and smiled, “Go play with the toad, remember not to break it this time, or your second sister will chase you away, and I won’t help you.”
The withered and yellow-faced child obediently squatted quietly next to the large jar, this time not secretly pulling up the toad that was receiving the copper ball on the ground.
Xu Fengnian leaned on the desk and whined, “Second sister, still practicing calligraphy? What for? Come on, let’s go fishing by the lake, the eldest sister has already set up her embroidery stool there.”
Xu Weixiong, already showing signs of becoming a young lady, didn’t even glance at her younger brother Xu Fengnian.
Xu Fengnian scratched his head helplessly, “You’re really not going?”
Xu Weixiong impatiently said, “I still need to write sixty more ‘ Eternal’ characters, and I also need to read.”
Xu Fengnian, accustomed to this, said “Okay!” with a grin, snatched the brush, spread out a large piece of Ripe Xuan Paper, and quickly wrote dozens of sloppy ‘ Eternal’ characters, then handed the brush back to his second sister, “Look, you’ve finished writing, let’s go play together.”
Xu Weixiong glared angrily, but the young prince of the Beiliang Prince’s Mansionwhistled casually, completely unconcerned.
Xu Weixiong put down the brush and snorted, “Only for two hours.”
Xu Fengnian smiled, “Alright!”
The three siblings walked out of the study together, with Huangman’er naturally being dragged out by his older brother.
Xu Fengnian asked, “Second sister, when will it snow?”
Xu Weixiong frowned, “It’s only Frost’s Descent, not even The Beginning of Winteryet, and this year it might not snow until a few days after Light Snow.”
Xu Fengnian made a face, “Second sister, you’re so smart, make the heavens snow earlier!”
Xu Weixiong reached out and twisted the young prince’s ear, giving it a hard pinch.
That year, the first snowfall in Beiliang indeed arrived three days after Light Snowas promised.
The two young ladies and their two younger brothers played in the snow, a game that Xu Fengnian had to persuade his second sister to join after much coaxing from the study. Naturally, he and his second sister were on one team, while the eldest sister Xu Zhihu and the younger brother Huangman’er were on the other. Because of Huangman’er’s extraordinary strength, he was only allowed to make snowballs and not throw them, and under the command of Xu Weixiong, Xu Fengnian fought very methodically. Isolated and helpless, Xu Zhihu was hit many times, but after she surrendered, she secretly stuffed a snowball down Xu Fengnian’s collar, feeling satisfied. Xu Fengnian grimaced while pulling snow from inside his clothes, saying to his sister, “Let’s go to the Listening to the Tide Pavilion to enjoy the scenery, how about it?”
Xu Weixiong immediately refused, “No, I need to study.”
Xu Zhihu helped her younger brother remove the snow, laughing, “A girl just needs to marry a good family and a good husband, why read so many military treatises? Do you want to become a general?”
Xu Weixiong glanced at her eldest sister, who had always been like a rival since childhood, and didn’t even bother to speak, turning and walking away.
Xu Zhihu made a face at her sister’s back, but Xu Weixiong seemed to have eyes behind her, paused, turned her head coldly and said, “Do you think Xu Fengnian can play for many more years?”
Xu Zhihu frowned, already very pretty eyebrows, and defiantly asked, “You know?”
Seeing the signs were wrong, and staying any longer would surely drag him into the conflict, Xu Fengnian quickly pulled Huangman’er and fled the scene.
Later, he learned that the two sisters had made a bet.
That year, the snow in Beiliang was particularly heavy.
The young prince almost thought the heavens were an old farmer raising geese, otherwise how could there be so much “goose feather” snow?
※※※
Xu Fengnian was led into the Maolong military garrison by a man wrapped in a black robe, riding in a carriage with the silent man personally driving.
The soldiers patrolling the heavily guarded city of Maolong stood at attention when they saw the man’s token.
The General’s Command。
In the vast Beiliang, with a total of 300,000 iron cavalry, there were only nine such tokens in total.
Each of the six adopted sons of the Great General had one, and the whereabouts of the remaining three were unknown.
Xu Fengnian recognized the General’s Command, thus identifying the driver’s identity.
There was only one title for him, Ugly.
One of Xu Xiao’s Earthly Branches elite guards.
In the Battle of Consort’s Tomb, the one who survived was not only Yuan Zuozong but also this guard.
The number of people he had killed was almost no less than that of White Bear Yuan Zuozong.
Xu Fengnian did not reveal his identity as the young prince, choosing instead to stay in a quiet inn in Maolong military garrison. The innkeeper and staff had already fled, but with Qingniao by his side, there was no need for Xu Fengnian to do much himself, everything was comfortable.
Xu Fengnian said he would stay here for a few more days, and naturally, Uglyhad no objections.
This guard, known for his iron heart, had a fleeting moment of shock when he first saw the young prince.
While writing four characters in a secret letter, his hand was slightly trembling.
Prince with white hair.
Three days later, Xu Fengnian set out southward from the city.
This carriage had not yet reached the Ligǔ military garrison.
A thunderous sound of iron hooves shaking the earth approached.
No fewer than 5,000 White Horse Iron Cavalrysurged like a line of snowfall from the sky.
Xu Fengnian smiled bitterly and stepped out of the carriage, facing the iron cavalry chasing from behind.
The leading rider galloped forward, then slowed down, the woman rode her horse to about ten steps away from Xu Fengnian, coldly looking down at him.
She originally had many words of reprimand stored in her heart, even thinking of giving him a few horsewhips and binding him to Beiliang, but when she saw the unfamiliar scene in front of her, this divine and valiant woman who had entered the Northern Desolate as if it were her own territory trembled her lips, unable to utter a single word.
Xu Fengnian wanted to say something but held back.
She raised her horsewhip, pointing at Xu Fengnian, furious, “Xu Fengnian, if you have the guts, then die in the Northern Desolate!”
She turned her horse around and galloped away.
After turning her back to the white-haired man, her vision blurred, one hand covering her heart.
Xu Fengnian stood still, looking up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the glaring sunlight.
The iron cavalry came and went like snow.
Xu Fengnian was about to return to the carriage when a barefoot, black-clothed boy fell from the sky, crashing into a huge pit.
Xu Beizhi, who had stepped out of the carriage and was standing beside the horse, opened his mouth wide in shock.
The black-clothed boy originally had a silly smile on his face, Gazing dreamily at her brother., burst into tears, then let out a loud roar toward the north. Xu Beizhi, covering his ears, could hardly bear it, the two horses even died on the spot with blood flowing from their seven orifices. If it weren’t for the guard Uglysupporting his arm, Xu Beizhi’s fate wouldn’t have been much better. Only Xu Fengnian, who had lost the protection of the Great Huang Ting, was completely unaffected.
The black-clothed boy squatted down, He carried his brother, thinking he was severely injured., thinking of carrying him home like this.
Xu Fengnian patted Huangman’er’s head and smiled, “I’m fine, you go stop your second sister first, don’t let her lead the army north.”
Huangman’er shook his head hard.
Nothing was more important to him than protecting his older brother on his back.
Xu Fengnian patiently said, “Listen, let’s go home together as three siblings.”
As Huangman’er carefully put Xu Fengnian down, a rider returned.
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