On the sixteenth day of the second month in the seventy-eighth year of the Longqing era under the old calendar, the former dynasty mobilized a million soldiers and gathered at the Fei River in Yuzhou to attack Kunyang Prefecture. The Grand Ancestor led the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai and joined Emperor Xian of Sheng in resisting them. History called it the Battle of the Fei River.
Kunyang City.
The Legitimate Emperor Cao Huan stood atop the city walls with the civil and military officials, gazing into the distance. From dozens of miles away, they could see the imperial army's formations and camps, stretching across the heavens and earth, their beginning visible but their end nowhere in sight.
It truly was enough to cast whips into a river and block its flow!
Witnessing this scene.
Cao Huan and the officials had only agreed to come for the decisive battle because the King of Northern Liang had insisted upon it. Now, their hearts began to beat a retreat. They truly felt there was no need to fight head-on.
"How are we supposed to fight this?"
The officials from the great clans began murmuring among themselves.
"So many people."
"Even if their corpses piled up, they could step on the bodies and walk straight to the city walls."
"Your Majesty!"
The Minister of Revenue, Shangguan Haichang, came before the emperor. He clasped his hands and bowed. "This minister has recently observed the state of the battle, and I have always felt that something is wrong."
"Oh?"
Cao Huan raised a hand in invitation. "Minister Shangguan, tell Us what you think."
"Does Your Majesty not feel that this battle has been far too calm—calm to the point of being strange?"
Shangguan Haichang said solemnly, "While both sides were mobilizing their troops, Chang'an had many