White Horse Crosses the River

When the battle report from Jiangdong arrived, Gong Lince and the others in the central command tent were overjoyed. The supposedly impregnable Song army defense line had actually been breached in one stroke in such a short time—something they had never imagined before.

Naturally, Gong Lince and the other cultivators showered Meng Shanming with praise, saying Marshal Meng was indeed Marshal Meng and the like.

Having witnessed Meng Shanming's capabilities in this battle, Gong Lince and the others gained confidence in the battles to come.

Yet Meng Shanming, upon reading the report, could not rejoice. Gong Lince and the others did not understand. Perhaps, in the eyes of these cultivators, the dead were merely numbers. But Meng Shanming understood. He knew what a terrible price had been paid to take it.

One look at the report told him how fiercely each unit had fought in each location. Leaving aside Zhang Hu's side, the Imperial Court's forces alone had suffered nearly two hundred thousand missing men in this single all-out assault. Adding Zhang Hu's losses, their accumulated casualties had in fact exceeded those of the Song army at the Hukou Defense Line.

And all of it had been caused by a single command from him. With one order, how many Great Yan soldiers had he left with shattered homes and ruined families?

How could he possibly be happy? Faced with the chorus of praise, he felt unworthy of it. Slowly closing his eyes, he spoke into the excited atmosphere of the tent, "Send the good news to An Xianzhao, Su Qitong, and Shi Xinmao. Order their three divisions to prepare to cross the river at any time! At the same time, order Xu Jingyue's division to advance toward me. Also order Zhang Hu to send the river-crossing wooden rafts back as