Clay Pots Always Break at the Well

Knock knock knock!

On the walls of Xunzhou, the deep, resonant sound of drums echoed across the sky as rows of armored and armed guards rushed toward the city walls.

The militia were also well-trained and carried out the city defense equipment in an orderly manner.

Amidst the drums signaling the approach of the enemy, from militiamen to soldiers, and from soldiers to generals, everyone displayed exceptional skill and experience. For the people of the city, having a highly qualified army to defend their city was a blessing.

For the garrison commander personally, the hardships he endured were indescribable to outsiders.

It took countless trials of iron and blood to develop the composure and discipline we possess in the face of battle that we have today.

As the drums thundered atop the city walls, in the prefectural courtyard, Yang Gong donned his official hat, straightened his clothes, and looked toward Zhang Shen and Li Mubai inside the hall.

"The elite troops we brought from Qingzhou are almost all wiped out, and the forces of the Yongzhou garrison have also suffered heavy losses. Now it's our turn to personally take to the front lines."

Yang Gong smiled and said:

"Jinyan, Mubai, we've known each other for half our lives, yet it seems we've never fought side-by-side on the battlefield."

Zhang Shen chuckled and said:

"Cloud Deer Academy has been silent for two hundred years, and the world has long forgotten the power of Confucian School."

The scholars of the Cloud Deer Academy throughout history have all shared two wishes:

First, Confucian School scholars could return to the imperial court.

Second, it reminds cultivators from all the major systems in Kyushu of the fear of being dominated by Confucian School.

Before the emergence of the Warlock System, what supported the dynasties and formed the backbone of the Central Plains were not crude warriors, but Confucian School!

It was Confucian School that suppressed shamans and intimidated Buddhist School.

The Western Regions have Buddhism, the Northeast has witchcraft, the Southern Frontier has Gu poison, and the Northern Border has demons and barbarians—they're all trash!

Only the Confucian School of the Central Plains reigns supreme over the entire land.

Two hundred years ago, Sage Cheng flattered the emperor and established the Imperial Academy, squeezing Cloud Deer Academy and even the entire Confucian School system out of the imperial court.

The supervisory authorities also played a role in this.

Confucian School thus fell into a period of silence for two hundred years, with only a handful of people holding the third rank, and second and first ranks disappearing altogether.

The cultivators of today's Kyushu have long forgotten the glory of Confucian School at its peak.

Li Mubai appeared more pragmatic.

"Those who come are all the elite troops of the Yunzhou army. Kill as many as you can. We must wipe out the elite troops of the Yunzhou army in Xunzhou."

"The Dean has already gained the Empress's approval to enter the Imperial Court. After this battle, the merits that Jinyan and I have made will be enough to make us kings and prime ministers. If we can advance to the extraordinary level in the future, we'll go and cause trouble for that old man, the Dean."

"He stole several of our poems."

"No, they stole it from me," Yang Gong and Zhang Shen both thought to themselves.

The three great scholars exchanged a smile and said in unison:

"I am not in the main hall, but on the city wall of Xunzhou."

Law Follows Speech!

Three beams of clear light rose up, enveloping the three figures and carrying them away from the hall.

Boom boom boom!

On the city walls, cannons roared, and shells shot out of the barrels, landing among the densely packed attacking army.

Each shell was a burst of exploding fire, blasting up large amounts of earth, rocks, and severed limbs.

After suffering some casualties, the Yunzhou rebels successfully advanced their cannons and crossbows, bringing the city walls within their firing range.

What followed was a battle of artillery fire between the two armies.

With the cover of their own artillery fire, the densely packed enemy troops rushed to the city walls in an instant and then began their swarm attack.

The first to be responsible for the siege were the vanguard battalion and the siege battalion. Each of the two battalions had nine smaller battalions, with a total of 3,600 people, composed of martial arts practitioners and new recruits, led by martial artists of the Transformation Realm or those with the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm.

The role of the two battalions was clear: to create a breakthrough for the subsequent elite infantry battalion.

Therefore, the vanguard and siege battalions suffered the highest casualties, but Qi Guangbo didn't care. A commander must understand the principle that one cannot command troops with kindness, and also have the awareness to use troops like mud.

Since ancient times, besieging a city has always been a matter of sacrificing soldiers' lives.

Holding a monocular telescope, Qi Guangbo gazed at the fierce battle raging on the city walls.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the vanguard and siege battalions braved logs and arrows, paying a heavy price before finally scaling the city walls and engaging the defenders in a fierce battle.

The incision has been made.

Qi Guangbo remained calm and casually pulled two small flags from his saddlebag, one black and one red.

The black banner represents the elite of the Hundred Battles Camp, a full ten thousand infantrymen, led by Yang Chuannan, the former governor of Yunzhou, and a group of fourth-rank experts. They are the true elite of the elite.

Whether it was Great Feng or Yunzhou, their main force was actually infantry.

How many cavalry could there be? The Central Plains are not like the northern frontier; they have vast grasslands and herds of cattle, sheep, and horses.

Knock knock knock!

As the war drums sounded, the Hundred Battles Battalion, which had been eager to fight, rushed out, spreading out in a square formation of ten thousand men, each led by their respective leaders, and heading towards the city wall.

"The cannons on the city wall are firing fiercely."

Qi Guangbo then tossed the small red flag to his deputy.

The lieutenant immediately relayed his instructions, and soon a large banner painted with a giant red bird was being vigorously waved.

"Rage!"

Amidst a cry that resounded through the sky, four hundred Vermilion Bird Army riders charged up from the rear of the main force, flapping their wings and soaring into the sky.

On the back of a giant, crimson-feathered bird sat a rider carrying a quiver of arrows, its claws hooking buckets of oil as it swept majestically toward the city walls.

The oil splattered and shattered on the city wall, splashing onto the ramparts, the horse path, and the soldiers.

The city walls were covered in scorch marks and flames. The oil that fell from the sky was like oil being cooked in a raging fire, scorching the Great Feng garrison.

The Flying Cavalry is known as an elite force, ranking first among all troop types, surpassing heavy cavalry and artillery.

In this era, there was no concept of "air supremacy." All that was known was that when one side completely controlled the initiative in air strikes, it was a devastating disaster for the other side.

The Vermilion Bird Army's powerful attack, coupled with the Hundred Battles Battalion's siege, caused the situation on the walls of Xunzhou to spiral out of control in an instant.

Great Confucian scholars like Yang Gong tried their best to promote the power of Law Follows Speech, attempting to extinguish the flames.

However, the Hundred Battles Camp was full of experts, forcing them to focus on dealing with them and leaving them no time to deal with these swift flying cavalry.

Inside the city, at the Flying Beast Army's quarters.

A staff officer, gazing at the fully equipped and ready-to-go Heart Gu Masters and the ferocious black-scaled flying beasts, bowed and said:

"In this battle, we must exhaust the enemy's flying cavalry and then get rid of you all."

Tamo grinned:

"We'd rather fight to the death. Warriors of the Heart Gu Tribe keep their word. They promised Xu Yinluo they would serve your Central Plains court, and they will never fear death."

Inside Xunzhou City, two hundred mounted flying beast soldiers soared into the sky and fiercely entered the battlefield to intercept the Vermilion Bird Army.

Following the earlier desperate fight where the attacking and vanguard battalions risked their lives to "carve" a hole in the city wall, the second fierce battle took place high in the air, a height that even a fourth-rank martial artist could hardly reach.

High in the sky, the Vermilion Bird Army, with its fiery red plumage, and the Flying Beast Army, with its jet-black scales and flapping membranous wings, collided at high speed, like a red cloud and a black cloud.

The leading crimson giant bird had no knight on its back; it was a fourth-rank great demon, a subordinate that Xu Pingfeng had subdued in his early days, and also the leader of the Vermilion Bird Army.

In the Battle of Songshan County, the Vermilion Bird Army it led slaughtered most of the Flying Beast Army of the Heart Gu Tribe, reducing its number from four hundred Flying Beasts to two hundred and twenty riders.

While the Flying Beast Army suffered casualties, the Vermilion Bird Army also suffered heavy losses. At this moment, the four hundred Vermilion Bird riders were the only remaining flying cavalry in the Yunzhou Army.

The fearless spirit of the Heart Gu warriors left a very deep impression on this fourth-rank demon.

The moment the two flying cavalry armies met in the air, the great demon Vermilion Bird suddenly spread its wings backward, causing its body to stand upright, and its claws, sharper than steel, covered Tamo.

Tamo was at the initial stage of the fourth rank, his cultivation was inferior to that of the great demon Vermilion Bird, and his close combat ability was far inferior. However, the Heart Gu was best at control, so he immediately let out a light whistle and used sound waves as a medium to forcibly affect the Primordial Spirit of the great demon Vermilion Bird.

The claws that were closing in on Tamo paused slightly. In that brief moment, the black-scaled behemo that Tamo was riding brushed past the great demon Vermilion Bird, and the long sword in his hand drew a string of dazzling sparks from Vermilion Bird's abdomen.

Only a few red feathers were cut off.

Unlike horses, flying cavalry cannot stop once they take off. The two leaders brushed past each other and crashed into the enemy's formation.

The great demon Vermilion Bird spun around, its wings like sharp blades, instantly slicing two Heart Gu Clan warriors, man and beast, into several pieces. Blood stained its crimson feathers, making it appear even more alluring.

On the other side, Tamo rode his black-scaled behemoth, using his mind-controlling Gu technique to intimidate the Crimson Bird while wielding his battle blade, cutting down the Vermilion Bird Army riders along the way.

The corpses of the black-scaled behemoth and the crimson bird fell to the ground.

After the first wave of attack ended, the two sides switched positions, each losing more than thirty riders.

The two flying cavalry quickly adjusted their formation, and Tamo raised his battle sword, shouting in the Southern Frontier language:

"Warriors of the Heart Gu Clan, charge with me!"

The great demon Vermilion Bird let out a sharp cry and led its army to meet the attack.

The second wave of fierce fighting ended, with both sides losing more than twenty riders each, and corpses falling like rain.

After the third wave of attacks, only one hundred riders remained in the Flying Beast Army of the Heart Gu Tribe, while the Vermilion Bird Army had two hundred and sixty riders left. Putting aside the great demon Vermilion Bird as their leader, the individual combat strength of the Vermilion Bird Army was far inferior to that of the Flying Beast Army of the Heart Gu Tribe.

The Heart Gu is an expert in beast taming and can also influence enemy flying cavalry.

After the fourth wave of attacks, the Heart Gu tribe was left with only fifty riders, while the Vermilion Bird Army was reduced to just over one hundred and eighty riders.

The great demon Vermilion Bird did not risk her life for another. Of the four hundred Vermilion Bird soldiers, only one hundred and eighty remained. Her heart was bleeding with grief, for these were all her direct descendants.

"What right does it have for a man from the Southern Frontier like you to risk your life for the affairs of the Great Feng Dynasty?"

The great demon Vermilion Bird roared:

"How many flying beast troops does your Xin Gu tribe have to be tormented like this? Is it worth it for the sake of Great Feng? Given the fickleness and shamelessness of the Great Feng court, if you die on the battlefield for Great Feng today, you might just march south tomorrow and wipe out your Gu tribe."

"Has the Great Feng Dynasty done far too little of things that turn out to be ungrateful?"

Tamo chuckled.

"You bitch, shut the hell up! Warriors of the Gu Clan aren't afraid of death!"

"Brothers, charge with me!"

The remaining fifty-odd riders of the Xin Gu tribe roared in unison and charged towards the Zhuque Army on their flying beasts. They had always kept their mission in mind, which was also what the Great Feng was striving to do—to wipe out the elite of the Yunzhou Army.

This is the fifth time we've hedged.

This time, none of the fifty flying beast riders survived. Like their comrades, they fell to the ground below and remained forever in the Great Feng.

Only Tamo remained, covered in blood. His armor was shattered, his knife was dulled, and he had multiple fatal wounds.

The great demon Vermilion Bird was utterly enraged, for its painstakingly built Vermilion Bird Army had dwindled to less than a hundred riders, and more than a decade of hard work had been reduced to ashes.

"I won't let you die so easily. I'll tear off your hands and feet, cut open your belly, and devour your internal organs bit by bit," Zhuque said fiercely.

Tamo lowered his head, gazing at the scattered corpses of his kinsmen and beasts atop the city walls and below, and murmured:

"They're all dead."

Xu Yinluo's cousin, Xu Xinnian, once said something quite apt, "A clay pot is bound to break at the well, and a general is bound to die on the battlefield."

That's fucking right. How come he can't say anything so insightful?

I really wish that the children in my clan could have the same opportunity to study for a few years as children in the Central Plains.

Fortunately, such an opportunity is not impossible in the future.

Once the Great Feng wins this battle, the Gu Clan, as its ally, will be able to trade with the Central Plains. The Gu Clan will no longer lack tea, porcelain, and silk from the Central Plains.

With the wisdom of Chief Chunyan, she would surely think of borrowing a tutor from Great Feng.

Reading is good; children who read are smarter.

Tamo lowered his head, looked towards the city walls of Xunzhou, and shouted:

"Tell Xu Yinluo that he promised to give me the Gu Clan, and he can't shortchange me by a single penny. This is what I deserve."

"The names of my Gu clan warriors must be inscribed in the stele forest outside Xunzhou City. You sons of bitches from the Central Plains, you must remember us!"

After shouting those two sentences, he didn't wait for the response from the guards on the city wall. He raised his chipped sword and roared:

"Brothers, charge!"

But there was no one behind him.

A lone rider charged forward, a suicidal charge.

The four hundred flying beast soldiers of the Heart Gu tribe were completely wiped out, dying in battle in Xunzhou City.

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