Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress

Seeing Feng Yao walk away, Wei Zhong then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the servant's people haven't gone to find Chun Zhi girl's handkerchief yet, but the Pingyang City Governor's son has already sent it over, saying he accidentally picked it up today. He also passed a message saying he wants to enlist in the army and serve at Your Majesty's side."

This Pingyang City Governor's son is quite interesting. I don't know if he is truly fond of Chun Zhi or just fond of the status of Chun Zhi as the Emperor of Zhou's personal maid.

"Take him to General Yang Wuce, if General Yang Wuce is willing to accept him, treat him as an ordinary soldier. Tell him... even if he is the Governor's son, the duty of being an Imperial Guard is not something he can wish for. Even Commandant Lu's grandson started from the most ordinary soldier, risking his life several times, barely escaping death. Whether he dares to join the army... he must weigh it himself."

"Yes!"

·

The heavy snow has stopped, and the banks of the rushing Danshui River are blanketed in a vast expanse of white.

The army of Zhou, winding along the east side of the Danshui River, is like a black tide, conspicuously distinct in the white, snowy landscape.

The black sail and white python flag, edged with gold, is held high, flapping loudly in the wind. Bai Qingyu and Yang Wuce lead the heavily armored cavalry at the forefront, followed by the Emperor of Zhou's carriage, with the infantry army close behind, their armor gleaming.

The scout sent by Quanya City first saw the Yan Kingdom's army moving eastward from the north bank of the Danshui River. Now seeing the Zhou army advancing eastward from the south bank, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Zhou and Yan armies have left, at least for now, Quanya City is preserved.

Meanwhile, the Great Shaman's disciple inside Quanya City wrapped himself tightly in a black cloak, revealing only a face under the hood.

As he expected, their Monarch of Tianfeng Kingdom had already left Quanya City, being afraid of the Zhou and Yan Kingdoms' siege, but fortunately… his Majesty left guidance for him before leaving.

Now their Majesty is heading east to join General Aksai, but he has received news… that the armies of Zhou and Yan are already moving eastward. If General Aksai is eager to meet up with Majesty, they may instead crash head-on into the coalition forces of Zhou and Yan, which would not be ideal.

He believes they should first retreat to the other side of the Snowy Mountains, to preserve their strength, and when the owner of this land is born and spring arrives… Tianfeng Kingdom should lead the Elephant Army to attack, then Tianfeng Kingdom will truly have the advantage of time, place, and people.

He needs to catch up with Sal Khan quickly, advising him to turn back towards the Snowy Mountains passage, and send word to General Aksai to bring the Elephant Army back to Tianfeng Kingdom.

Setting aside the fact that the God's chosen owner of this land has not yet emerged, it is now winter, and the Zhou and Yan armies have learned to use pungent smells to deal with the giant elephants. Going to war with Zhou and Yan now is truly not a wise move.

The Great Shaman's disciple borrowed a horse from the General guarding Quanya City, enduring the weakness from a high fever, and left the city to chase Sal Khan.

Before leaving, the Great Shaman's disciple warned the Xiliang General guarding Quanya City not to think they can sleep easy just because the armies of Zhou and Yan have left. Zhou and Yan will not allow them to hold the natural barrier of the Danshui River. According to the Yan and Zhou people… this Quanya City is a must-fight battlefield for strategists.

But evidently, the Xiliang garrison at Quanya City did not take the words of the Great Shaman's disciple to heart, only thinking that without the Elephant Army, these people of Tianfeng Kingdom are nothing… they are just scared off by the Zhou and Yan armies!

Only the sound of wind and snow could be heard as night fell around them in silence.

The sentries of Quanya City had relaxed after the main forces of Yan and Zhou withdrew. They gathered together, sitting by a campfire, hanging a copper kettle to boil tea, and roasting peanuts and potatoes in the still warm ashes to eat.

The sentry, who was using a stick to scramble out roasted potatoes from the charred embers, vaguely sensed something amiss around them. He threw a potato to a companion, stood up, and walked towards the Danshui River, while several other sentries stood up too, crunching peanut shells underfoot.

A strange aura emanated from the darkness on the other side of the Danshui River.

Before the sentry had any chance to react, an arrow suddenly pierced the air, striking the sentry's heart.

The campfire flames danced erratically, casting a reddish glow on the faces of the three standing sentries, but countless arrows immediately followed, targeting the three men.

The campfire dodged left and right from the arrows' strike, swinging wildly.

The three had no chance to scream, becoming riddled with arrows, falling to the ground.

Soon, rafts silently crossed from the opposite side of the Danshui River, raising a pontoon bridge. Soldiers crossed quickly and orderly, heading towards Quanya City.

The campfire flames fluttered towards Quanya City, driven by the wind, as if giving Quanya City a final warning.

But the soldiers of Quanya City, tense for days thinking that Zhou and Yan might attack, finally relaxed today seeing the armies of Yan and Zhou leave along the Danshui River. Their vigilance was lower than on normal days, utterly unaware of the campfire's irregularity, thinking it was just caused by the wind.

By the time the soldiers of Zhou were already under the city wall, they finally discovered Zhou was attacking, sounding the alarm.

"Zhou is attacking! Archers ready! Prepare the oil!"

The sound of horns filled the air, mixed with the panicked shouts of Xiliang soldiers. The previously calm Quanya City exploded like hot oil hitting water.

The Xiliang soldiers who were huddled in the barracks warming up and chatting immediately grabbed their weapons to head to the city wall.

But it was too late…

When Bai Jinzhi captured Pingdu City, Xiliang realized Zhou had a very peculiar shield soldier, almost an invincible siege weapon, immune to blades, arrows, and oil!

Seeing these legendary peculiar shield soldiers already start climbing the walls, the Xiliang soldiers furiously dropped stones and shot arrows, but the sloped shield surfaces deflected everything.

Shen Kunyang and Bai Jinzhi sat on horseback behind the army, watching the Shuoyang Army almost reaching the top, Bai Jinzhi immediately requested from Shen Kunyang, "General, let me lead the troops to charge and open the gates for you!"

The horse under Bai Jinzhi, Pingan, eagerly pawed the ground, even more impatient than Bai Jinzhi.

However, Shen Kunyang called out to Cheng Yuanzhi on his left, "Cheng Yuanzhi! Assault the city!"

Cheng Yuanzhi responded, eyes resolute, suddenly drawing his sword from his waist, and his deep, bell-like voice echoed outside Quanya City, "Soldiers of Zhou! The Xiliang scoundrels have abused our people severely, today… we revenge for our fallen citizens and brothers! Attack!"

"Attack!"

The soldiers of Zhou were all boiling with fighting spirit.