Lord of the Desert

Chapter 386 The whole army marches
The 20th day of the sixth month, the 30th year of Zhenghe.

Yunlan Royal City, afternoon.

The scorching sun, unique to summer, pierced the streets vertically like a plow.

The guards struggled to push open the palace gate, and the red sedan chair carried by sixty-four people emerged like a colorful snake out of a cave, escorted by two teams of Biaofeng Guards in front and behind as it toured south.

On the roof of the second-floor sedan, Feng Chengyi, wearing a pearl crown, stood like a clay puppet.

The long street was empty.

Dust drifted on the blue bricks, and occasionally someone would see the team and stay away from them, as if to ward off evil spirits.

Behind the window frames and door cracks, more gazes pierced left and right, each one coming from a pair of eyes filled with fear and hatred.

Feng Chengyi, who was leaving the palace to visit the troops, endured it numbly.

Today, Feng Mubai no longer pretends to be polite. When he meets him, he even skips the formalities and orders him around directly.

The sedan chair was shaking slightly and was not as stable as the large carriage.

Feng Chengyi endured the scorching heat and looked at the lifeless Yunlan City all the way. He couldn't help but recall its prosperity and gentleness when he first remembered it.

At that time, this city was his cradle, but now it may be his coffin.

The sedan chair stopped at the foot of the city, in the shadow of the six-foot-high wall.

It wasn't a good sign, but no one cared.

After all, the hardest thing to find in Yunlan City right now is a good omen.

Feng Chengyi got out of the sedan chair with his hands behind his back, feeling uncomfortable because of the sweat on his neck.

He heard some sporadic cheers, but whenever he looked up, he saw that the cheers had quickly died down wherever they came from.

This silence is a provocation.

The king narrowed his eyes in anger, an expression that was enough to paralyze any eunuch in the palace. However, the faces of the soldiers looking down from the city were backlit, and their facial features were blurred and could not be seen clearly, as if they were dark holes growing between the parapets.

Do you dare to treat Feng Mubai like this?

Feng Chengyi thought angrily, lowered his head and did not dare to wipe the sweat off his face, and walked quickly on a stone staircase.

Yunlan is the most important city among the three counties.

The city wall was iron-gray and magnificent, with a double-story corner tower every fifteen meters. The long line of city walls was now filled with defenders.

Feng Chengyi pressed his hands on the bricks to shake off his spirit, and stared intently.

Separated by a city in the south, Storm Mountain connects heaven and earth like a giant cloud-white tree.

Two miles to the north, the camp of the Baisheng Army darkened into a patch in the sunlight, like an ochre ant nest from which endless vicious insects could pour out at any time.

Between the two were the soldiers of the Tianfeng Army who were looking back at him.

The surface of their eyeballs was bulging and bloodshot, like red-hot iron fibers.

Feng Chengyi concealed his expression with a pearl curtain and lowered his eyes, not daring to look again.

Ever since he had seen through the end of the future with his natural intelligence and keenness, he had been fanatically looking forward to his own death, fantasizing about its grandeur and solemnity.

But at this moment, when Feng Chengyi actually saw the dilapidated city walls and the shriveled defenders, and realized that death was approaching on tiptoe, there was only indescribable fear in his heart.

According to Feng Mubai's request, he should have spoken to boost morale, said some nice words about "living and dying together", and made the glorious decision to go out of the palace and supervise the battle in public.

However, in the dizzy sunlight, he could only see the swollen faces of the princess and father-in-law.

Feng Chengyi's lips trembled and he even retched in public, unable to utter a word.

There were bursts of laughter on the city wall; most of the soldiers just curled their lips silently, as if it was just a formality.

Feng Chengyi returned to the palace as if he was escaping.

This time, he was unable to share his inner pain with the eunuch by whipping him.

······
On the same day, at the beginning of the hour of Wei.

North of Yunlan City.

The day reached its hottest point.

There was not a single cloud on the north side of the sky; only a hole-like incandescent light was scorching silently.

The camp of the Baisheng Army was in a state of chaos. The officers shouted to the soldiers to go out of the camp, put on their armor and line up in neat rows outside.

At their feet, clusters of white flowers swayed in the green grass, like broken bones.

A thousand meters away, Tianfeng Army General Chen Zhenghong was looking out from the corner tower.

"The enemy's camp has just been set up and their position is not stable yet, but Xu Yuntao is just pretending to be so."

He sneered, laughed for a moment, and turned to look at Qiao Song, the deputy commander of Qianmianfeng.

"When will the remaining three innates arrive?"

"The recalled messenger set out yesterday. If nothing unexpected happens, the fastest of the three will arrive in three days." Qiao Song replied.

"Why didn't you send an envoy earlier? The enemy army will march south on June 17th. Our army will retreat to the city. I told you earlier!"

Chen Zhenghong complained.

"General Chen, the situation in Yunlan is not critical after all, but the transportation of human sacrifices outside the city will take less than a day."

Qiao Song smiled bitterly and lowered his voice.

"Now the city is eating three to four hundred people every day. If we only take it from within the city, the situation will probably be even worse."

Chen Zhenghong was unable to refute and snorted after a moment.

"Three days later is not too late. The enemy will need at least five days to transport wood and build large siege equipment."

He said confidently, looking at the light and heavy infantry of the Hundred Victory Army arranged in square formations by legion two miles away.

Afterwards, many ladders and two or three meter long spliced ​​wooden boards were carried out from the business gate.

"What does Xu Yuntao mean by this?"

Qiao Song asked.

Chen Zhenghong didn't answer, his brows furrowed.

There was no reading of the manifesto as expected, and the two armies exchanged insults with each other.

The command flag fluttered silently, and a large number of heavily armored soldiers emerged from the Victorious Army. They meticulously formed into small formations of four and used large shields to cover their heavy axes and clear the chevaux de frise.

Although they were clearly at shooting range, the soldiers on the city wall were staring in a trance, as if they were out of touch with the situation and not on duty to defend the city.

It was not until the officers shouted and intervened that a few arrows were fired, most of which were powerless.

Seeing that Chen Zhenghong was neither anxious nor angry, Qiao Song called out "General Chen".

The latter glanced at him sideways.

“There have been many rumors in the city in recent years, and some even say that the royal court will sooner or later fill the lives of all the people in the city with Fengyunding. Commander Qiao knows this better than I do.

Last year and the year before, human sacrifices were taken from villages in the mountains, and everyone just laughed it off; but since the Gong family was wiped out overnight in May, many people in the Tianfeng Army have believed it without a doubt. "

Qiao Song was speechless after hearing this.

Chen Zhenghong was also stunned for a moment, until he saw the enemy general raising a large flag with the word "Xu" on the stage, and his attention focused again.

"Seeing that I am exhausted, the enemy may be hoping for a lucky break and want to go up to the city and give it a try."

"Has the king invited me out?"

he asked suddenly, cracking his knuckles.

"He has already sat down on the throne in front of the Zhongzheng Gate."

Qiao Song replied, motioning behind him.

Chen Zhenghong turned his head and looked from the height of the corner tower. He saw a golden throne at the end of the straight road through the city. On it was a vague shape with a head and limbs, but he couldn't tell whether it was a human or a dog. Of course, at this point, as long as there was a person wearing a pearl crown sitting there, it didn't matter whether it was a human or a dog.

The sun is scorching.

There is no canopy on the throne, which represents sharing the joys and sorrows with the soldiers.

Chen Zhenghong heard that Feng Chengyi did not come out voluntarily, and it was Feng Mubai who personally persuaded him and even slapped him in the face before he had to come out.

This also doesn't matter.

With Taotie'er's poor reputation, Feng Mubai didn't expect to boost morale much. He just wanted to let the people below know that the king was not running away.

Shen Shizheng (four o'clock in the afternoon).

The enemy army roughly cleared the caltrops in front of the north gate and laid two wooden plank paths across the horse-trapping ditch.

The moat is still intact, and the river surface reflects the green of the bricks when viewed from outside the city, and the blue of the sky when viewed from above the city.

The sky is naturally at the highest point, like lightly dyed pure blue linen.

Under the sky was a stormy mountain, slowly spinning and tearing away every wisp of cloud.

The sun has not set yet, but the moon has risen.

The two celestial bodies are opposite to Arashiyama in the north and south, like the only gap in the closed world.

Chen Zhenghong sat high on the roof, staring at the former general of the Tianfeng Army across a distance of several miles.

See you on the battlefield, each serving his own master, no need to say more.

Xu Yuntao suddenly stood up and beat the drum.

Less than an hour before dusk, the entire Victory Army was marching forward.

(End of this chapter)