"The Imperial Army has won a great victory!"
"The Imperial Army has won a great victory!"
"Our army has won!"
"Our army has won!"
That afternoon, as the sun sank westward, Liu Acheng rode up to the pontoon bridge over the Ying River, wearing Iron Loin Armor. Reports of victory rang out everywhere around him: another Fortified Manor had fallen up ahead, or another county had theoretically been occupied, or a crucial pontoon bridge had been secured.
It was understandable. The Imperial Army... especially the Imperial Army from Jiankang, had not won a great victory in a very long time, so naturally their excitement was hard to contain. In practice, military merit often had to be distributed down to the Banner Chiefs, and General Who Pacifies the West Xie Shang was generous, so naturally there were great victories everywhere.
"Raise Duke Huan's Red Banner." After watching for a while, once the bridge guards had finished inspecting his credentials, the Chief Secretary turned back and issued his order.
The Black-Clad Guards behind him unfurled the banner with practiced ease. The warm southerly wind was blowing hard, twisting the banner into such a tangle that its lettering could not even be seen. But that did not matter. The banner was there, and with an escort of more than a hundred riders, the messengers sent by those Banner Chief-level commanders naturally knew to give way and let them cross first.
Once the road was clear, Liu Cheng rode onto the pontoon bridge, then headed straight for the Terrace Mound on the opposite bank, where the great standard of the General Who Pacifies the West stood.
Yes, Liu Cheng had ultimately chosen to seek out Xie Shang and Yao Xiang.
At first, he had naturally thought of trying to stay with the Qiang central