knife

Chapter 14 A powerful reason

The Qin Dynasty favored the color black.

Black military flags fluttered in the air. Three thousand elite cavalrymen from the garrison outside the Great Qin Pass, dressed in black uniforms, black leather armor, and black helmets, spread out and slowly approached from the outside in an arc. Li Dachui's men immediately abandoned their attack on the bandits and quickly regrouped.

"They look just like a flock of black crows!" Li Dachui said with disdain.

Zhang Ruo, whose legs had been weak before, now stood up straight. Hearing Li Dachui's disdainful remarks about the Qin army, she immediately retorted. However, she did not discuss whether the Qin army was a black crow, but instead attacked the clothing of Li Dachui's subordinates.

Although Li Dachui called himself a bandit, his subordinates were all dressed in the same uniform.

brown.

"It's definitely more classy than your outfit, which is neither red nor yellow!" Zhang Ruo said.

“Isn’t this because we’re poor? We have no money. So we can only wear such simple clothes. When I get rich, I’ll definitely get them a set of high-class clothes.” Li Dachui readily agreed and nodded repeatedly.

One of them felt safe upon seeing the Qin army, while the other seemed to disregard the Qin army outside the pass. However, the others did not share this view.

The three hundred men of the Emperor's Camp retreated, still forming a battle formation. The sixty-six heavy cavalrymen even changed their warhorses, and now they stood in front of their new warhorses.

This amount of weight was nothing to them, but even the finest steed would tire under the weight of over two hundred pounds.

The horse didn't practice any martial arts, nor did it know anything about controlling qi.

As for Yuan Rong and the others, their bodies were even more tense.

These Qin troops outside the pass might be deadly enemies to them.

At that moment, the black crows were methodically reaping the lives of the bandits who had been scattered and fled by the Tianzi Camp.

If the Tianzi Battalion's slaughter of the bandits was a crushing massacre, then the current garrison outside the Great Qin Pass is more like a streamlined operation.

They are all seasoned veterans whose skills have been honed through countless trials.

Compared to the suppression of the Heavenly Battalion, the cold-blooded harvesting now shocked Yuan Rong and the others even more.

Even the heroes of the martial arts world, who usually face life and death with equanimity, still felt a chill run down their spines when they witnessed such a large-scale slaughter scene, where lives were harvested like leeks.

It's not that there aren't people with high martial arts skills who can harm these soldiers, but if they kill the first one, two more will approach, and if they kill those two, four or even more will approach, endlessly, until they wear you down to death.

Throughout the entire process, the large black flag fluttering on the distant mountain ridge remained completely still.

The Tianzi Battalion defeated these thousands of bandits in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
The troops stationed outside the Great Qin Pass then wiped out all the bandits, which took about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The difference is that the Heavenly Battalion mobilized three hundred men.
The Qin army mobilized nearly three thousand men.

They left no one alive.

Even those who had been knocked off their horses by the Tianzi Battalion but were not yet dead were now dead. The Qin soldiers dismounted, carefully cut off their heads, and then carefully stacked them up.

Look at how meticulously they measured the distance and angle of each head, even wiping the blood and grime off their faces.
Zhang Ruo's face turned pale once again.

Zhang Qingyun couldn't help but lower her head and gag.

A mound of over two thousand heads appeared before everyone.

Seeing someone build a mound of skulls right in front of you is far more impactful than seeing one immediately upon arrival.

Having witnessed all of this, the Yuan brothers suddenly felt that all their bravery and fighting in the first half of their lives had been utterly meaningless.

What's the point of having high martial arts skills when faced with a violent machine like the military?

Just as Li Dachui said, facing an army of tens of thousands, even a master of innate skill would only have one option: to flee.

It should be understood that a person's human strength is finite.

After the Jingguan (a mound of corpses) was completed, the three thousand soldiers lined up in formation behind it.

The vanguard of nearly three thousand cavalrymen maintained a high level of vigilance, neither dismounting nor sheathing their swords, nor leaving their bows, as they eyed the Tianzi Camp in the distance with predatory intent.

The remaining soldiers dismounted and sat cross-legged on the ground. Thousands of them, apart from the neighing of their warhorses, were completely silent. Their discipline was impeccable, which made all the onlookers feel awe.

"Master Zhang, how do you compare to the Imperial Guards of Chang'an?" Li Dachui's lips curled up, his tone clearly sarcastic. This sarcasm wasn't directed at the black crow he was talking about, but rather at the Imperial Guards of Chang'an.

Zhang Ruo's expression was extremely solemn.

Even though he was an outsider, just watching the spectacle, he knew that the fighting strength of an army could at least be discerned from their daily posture and demeanor. Moreover, he had just witnessed how these soldiers had easily wiped out a band of several thousand bandits.

"The border generals and their arrogant soldiers are no wonder they dare to threaten the imperial court and treat it as nothing!"

Li Dachui sneered: "From the very beginning of the Qin Dynasty, the Imperial Guards were the great weapon to suppress the four directions and ensure the dynasty's survival. Since when have the Imperial Guards become cowards, while the border armies on all sides have become stronger and stronger? Isn't this the fault of the emperor? The fault of the prime minister? The fault of the court? Why has the court lost effective control over the border armies and gradually turned them into the private tools of the generals?"

"Rome wasn't built in a day," Zhang Ruo said. "So we need to start planning ahead now." "Is the court's planning ahead not about strengthening its main body, but rather about weakening its branches?" Li Dachui said. "The reason the Northern Yuan is still kept out of the pass is because of this powerful army. Even if Linghu Ye has any disloyal intentions, at least he's not thinking of colluding with the Northern Yuan right now. If the court really pushes us too far, Lord Zhang, have you considered the consequences? What will the court do if 100,000 troops from outside the pass march in?"

"Among the 100,000 troops, are there none loyal to the court?" Zhang Ruo asked somewhat guiltily. "They can't all be Linghu Ye's lackeys, can they?"

“Yes!” Li Dachui pointed to the large black banner facing this way on the distant mountain ridge: “Xiao Changche is a general under Linghu Ye, but he is certainly not a lackey. However, his desire to kill you is probably even stronger than Linghu Ye’s. It’s a wonder that the bigwigs of the court could come up with the idea of ​​abandoning the land outside the pass.”

Zhang Ruo did not offer any explanation this time.

The black flag is getting closer and closer.

They passed over thousands of soldiers who sat in silence, over five hundred knights who stood ready for battle, and over the still-blood-stained mound of corpses.

Fang Xiaomao remained unmoved.

The Tianzi Camp remained as immovable as a mountain.

When Xiao Changche was about ten feet away from Fang Xiaomao, he reined in his horse and stood still. Behind him, a large banner fluttered in the wind, and two generals stood on his left and right. A little further behind, a dozen generals lined up in a row.

The momentum is compelling.

Li Dachui mounted his horse, tapping the horse's rump with his pretentious ceremonial sword, still looking as lazy as ever, and slowly rode forward.

"Li Dachui, what heinous things have you done that you can't bear to be seen in public, that's why you changed your face like this?" Xiao Changche raised his riding whip and pointed at Li Dachui's face, which was now covered with a thick beard.

“I didn’t force anyone to come and die, nor did I intend to use someone else to kill me. What’s so shameful about it?” Li Dachui stroked his beard and said, “I mainly think that a face like this is very manly. If I encounter an enemy, I might be able to subdue them without a fight.”

Xiao Dongwei flew into a rage, pointed his halberd at Li Dachui, and roared, "Li Dachui, do you want to die?"

Xiao Changche has feminine features and is truly quite beautiful; if she wore women's clothing, she would be an absolute beauty. Li Dachui is blatantly mocking Xiao Changche!

"Yes, I've certainly lived long enough. How about we ask this one-eyed general to send me to the Western Paradise?" Li Dachui chuckled.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Dongwei tried to spur his horse forward without hesitation, but before he could move, Xiao Changche had already reached out and pressed down on the head of Xiao Dongwei's warhorse. The horse could not move forward and instead retreated a few steps.

"Scared now? Don't dare to come?" Li Dachui laughed loudly.

Xiao Dongwei's face turned purple with anger. He looked at Xiao Changche, wanting to say something, but Xiao Changche coldly said, "What? You still want to fight him one-on-one? And then get caught so you can negotiate with me? Don't even mention this guy, even that sick cat next to him wrapped in an iron shell could capture you alive within ten moves in a one-on-one fight. This guy's favorite thing is to sell on the spot."

“Xiao Changche, he’s no good. Why don’t you give it a try? Let’s test each other’s mettle today, how about it?” Li Dachui continued to provoke.

"The day I retire from military service, and before that, if you haven't been killed by me or someone else, I will definitely fight you!" Xiao Changche narrowed his beautiful peach blossom eyes. Those who knew him well knew that Xiao Changche was extremely angry at this moment.

"You're the one who provoked me, not me!" Li Dachui ignored this. "We used to work together quite well, didn't we? Three years ago, if it weren't for me, could you have achieved such merit? Could you have snatched a famous beauty from Beiyuan and given birth to your only son?"

Xiao Changche sneered, "No one gets up early for nothing. I haven't asked you where those tens of thousands of people went yet. They are all citizens of my Great Qin."

"I don't know!" Li Dachui shrugged. "Xiao Changche, are you trying to settle old scores with me? Fine, let's go over this in detail."

"I don't have time to waste on your nonsense!" Xiao Changche said, "Li Dachui, I want certain people dead. Tell me, what do you want in return?"

“No, you can’t give me the benefits that others have given me this time!” Li Dachui shook his head resolutely.

"Then I'll consider it a favor I owe you!"

“You still haven’t repaid the favor you owed me last time!” Li Dachui said decisively. “It makes no sense to owe new debts before settling old ones.”

"So, you really want to fight me?" Xiao Changche raised his hand, and thousands of knights behind him stood up with a roar.

"You scared me to death!" Li Dachui patted his chest, but there was no fear on his face. "Xiao Changche, do you really want to fight me? How much stronger do you think you are than Wutu? Even if you and your soldiers are very powerful, and you fought me and won, how many of your soldiers who have been with you day and night do you think will be left?"

Xiao Changche remained silent for a long while before asking, "What benefits did they give you?"

“They’ve already given me their daughters, and you have a son, so why can’t I have one?” Li Dachui chuckled. “You can give me that too? Or how about giving me that beauty from Beiyuan? That woman has big hips, she looks like she’ll be able to bear children.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Changche wore a constipated expression.

"If Commander Linghu wants to kill this person, he will die sooner or later."

"Then don't let him die by your hand!" Li Dachui said calmly, "Xiao Changche, if this person really dies by your hand, you'll have no way out. You'll truly become Commander Linghu's dog. Although a plucked phoenix is ​​no better than a chicken, it's still a phoenix after all, with a whole bunch of phoenixes, pheasants, and swans following behind. You've stirred up a hornet's nest, which is something Commander Linghu would love to see. Besides, Commander Linghu might not even want to kill this person now!"

“I have never seen a commander-in-chief change his mind after issuing an order!” Xiao Changche said.

“You’ll see soon!” Li Dachui said.

Xiao Changche was somewhat puzzled.

"Look, they're here!" Li Dachui pointed towards Zhenwu City. Xiao Changche turned his head and saw a group of knights speeding towards them amidst the fluttering autumn leaves.

"Linghu Zhishu? What have you done now?" Xiao Changche looked at Li Dachui in disbelief.

(End of this chapter)