713 Back to the South (2/2)
The Northern Army tried to breakout when the cavalries of the Golden Palace first arrived. That was their best shot and they almost succeeded. Their later attempts failed horribly.
That was probably because their first shot was when the four High Priests on the carriage weren't fully prepared.
The grassland was soaked by the heavy rain that had lasted for days. The four High Priests had turned the grassland before Helan City into a muddy and boggy marsh with some spell.
The land Helan city sat on had been adapted by Array Tactical Masters. The adaption could prevent the land area from being influenced by the High Priests. However, the land around the city area had been turned into a swamp.
The cavalries of Tang, as strategic or brave as they might be, had no way to rush into the camp of their enemy with the hooves of their horses stuck in the mud. They were shot by arrows and died helplessly.
”The Priests of the Left King's Palace have played this card when the Desolate first came south. The Military Ministry asked generals what to do. The generals believed that our Tang cavalries were too flexible to be trapped by a stretch of marsh...”
Said Han Qing, who looked quite severe as he was standing on the city wall, looking down to the dense grassland cavalries and the four carriages behind. Then he continued, ”But we forgot one thing— this is the perfect way to siege Helan City. And the four Priests from the Golden Palace are much more powerful than those from the Left King's Palace back then.”
In the old days, Helan City would never fear the siege of the Golden Palace because it had enough food stored away. Now that the Northern Army was also stuck in the city, the food supply was running out. The city now was too weak to take any attacks from the enemy.
”As far as I am concerned, we should make a quick decision and march to the Eastern Wilderness through the mountain gap. Then we should make a detour around the North of Yan Kingdom, then return to Tang. That's the only way we can avoid ending up dying here.”
Han Qing suggested as he looked at the Empress who was standing on the city walls.
The Empress then shook her head and said, ”Now that the Golden Palace is attacking me with its Nation Masters who have been long missed, I believe it has let the main force of its cavalries march south to attack Tang.”
”I am now worried about Chang'an.”
Yet, the Empress still looked calm, and she said softly, ”The Chanyu of the Golden Palace wouldn't dare to go south alone. The situation Tang is facing now must be tougher than that we've seen. I'm afraid other countries have joined together to go after Tang.”
Han Qing then argued, ”Then that's one more reason why we should attack Yan Kingdom.”
”Detouring around the North of Yan Kingdom will cost too much time. And attacking Yan carries little weight to other attackers of Tang. We can't afford to waste that much time. The Northern Army should be brought back to Tang as soon as possible, for the Empire needs the cavalries now more than ever.”
The Empress turned over and looked at Han Qing and the other two generals of the Nothern Army. Then she smiled and said, ”I know what's on your mind now. The Northern Army is running out of food supplies, so it won't make any difference even if we can go back to Tang in time.”
”But you're wrong. Without food supply in Helan City, the Northern Army might be the biggest burden of the Empire. But if we go back to the south and find food, we will be the most fearsome force of the Empire.”
She then continued slowly, ”I'm not sure if Chang'an has the same idea as me. And I don't know if the food supply from the Northern Military Camp has been burned by the palace or not. But obviously, the Golden Palace knows that we've run out of food, and that's why they are trying their hardest to besiege us here.”
Han Qing asked after a moment of silence, ”Then what should we do, Your Majesty?”
The Empress then said, ”While we still have food, we should break out of the city as soon as we can.”
Han Qing frowned, and the other two generals became frustrated. The Empress was right, and they agreed with her. The problem was that the idea was too hard to realize, considering how many dead Tang cavalries were now lying outside the city wall.
”Only if we could kill the three Priests.”
The Empress squinted, and looked down to the four luxurious carriages behind the grassland cavalries. Her tone turned colder than ever.
Master Huang Yang, who had kept silent for long, smiled and said, ”I should try it.”
The Empress shook her head and disagreed, ”The grassland cavalries' arrows are too sharp. You can't take the risk.”
One of the two generals of the Nothern Army gritted his teeth and said, ”Your Majesty, I've got several Martial Arts powerhouses. I'll let them try again if the weird and shining thing in the sky could be clouded tonight.”
The Empress shook her head and disagreed again, ”We have already failed twice, so we shouldn't try again. The lives of these generals should be saved for something greater in the future, instead of dying for nothing here.”
The people standing on the city wall of Helan were all silent.
What should they do? Her Majesty was the most respected person in the city. His Majesty's last edict was to let the Sixth Prince be the new Emperor, so all the generals had to listen to her. However, in the eyes of everyone, how is it possible that a woman can come up with any great strategies?
The Empress then smiled as if she had recalled something.
Then she said softly, ”Let me have a try.”
Both Han Qing and the other two generals thought they had heard it wrong.
And before they could react, they heard a breeze. A skirt was dancing on the city wall. In mere moments, the Empress had jumped off the city wall!
Han Qing wailed and tried to grab the corner of the skirt, but it was too late. The other two were totally stunned and they only rushed to the edge of the wall to look down moments later.
All of them were too terrified to see the miserable scene of the Empress' death.
Han Qing wailed and said, ”I knew it! His Majesty's sudden death was too shocking for Her Majesty to take! Her Majesty must have been planning to go with His Majesty for a long time! But Her Majesty...”
The wailing suddenly stopped. He rubbed his eyes until they were red. Still he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The other two generals were staring at the scene with their eyes wide open. Their hands, which were on the brick wall looked as if they were about to crumble the rocks beneath them. Master Huang Yan was the only one who was calm.
...
...
The Empress had jumped off the very high city wall, but she didn't die.
And she was still floating in the air.
She reached out her hands to press on the hard wall at intervals, and every time she pressed, she fell slower. Her skirt hem was lifted up, looking like a floating flower dancing in the air.
The Empress has been wearing white after His Majesty died, so she looked like a white flower now.
Finally, her feet settled on the ground, as did her skirt.
The land outside Helan City was like a swamp.
Her shoes were slowly sinking.
The grass roots around her shoes were sinking as well.
She kept walking towards the cavalries of the Golden Palace, calmly and peacefully, as if she were inspecting a military parade of Tang.