505 The Decisive Battle (2/2)
Dugu Xian decided not to wait any longer asDragon army's morale fluctuated andany further delay would make it worse.
In the face of endless killing and shouting on the battlefield, he had little excitement andcalculated carefully the best time for the surprise attack to begin.
Driven by the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain,theDragon armywerefull of valour and vigour, especially in thisdecisive battle. They tenaciously resistedthe FortJin PengArmy's repeated attacks and moved forwardsignificantly,fillingthose watching thebattle with even more eagerness.
”The Fort Jin PengArmy is not that strong.”
” They will win. ”
”Of course they will.”
...
This was not exactly judgment of the situation but the expectation of all.
The Queen stayed at the frontline and did not return to the capital. Shewas seatedin a nearby tent with five guards running back and forth reporting to her, mostly good news,the progress of the situation.
In the Dragon King's absence, the presence of the Queen on the battlefield greatly boosted morale but only Dugu Xian and Zhong Heng knew that she had a routethrough which she wouldretreat.
The Queen naturally, hoped theDragon army would win, but her visit to the military camp was not just a morale boost. By thwarting the plot of theQueen Motherof the An Kingdom, she had gained the trust of Left General and Prime Minister. She thenmade a request saying, ”The King of the Stone nation was the last of thebloodline of the Ju family. Heis only an infant and cannot affect the outcome of the war. I hope to send him to the Land of Fragrance.”
Dugu Xian didn't think too much at first. But at the suggestion of Prime Minister Zhong Heng, he realized that the Queen was the aunt and guardian of the King of the Stone nation. Sending away the King of the Stone nation also meant arranging a retreat route for her.
Dugu Xian still didn't have much choice.
Zhong Heng was responsible for the specific arrangements and sent his trusted followers to secretly send the King of the Stone nation and his mother to theGulping Wind Gorge, from where they would wait for the result of the war. If theDragon army won, they would be sent back to the capital of the An Kingdom but if it were defeated, a group of designated guards would escort the princess to the Gulping Wind Gorge immediately to join them and set out for the Land of Fragrance. The troops stationed in theGulping Wind Gorge wouldguard it for at least three days, providing the Queen with enough time to escape.
Zhong Heng and Dugu Xian thoughtthe Queen could never be captured by Fort Jin Peng Army andhad hadanother idea that they had never spoken outfor fear that theDragon King might have already been hiding in the Land of Fragrance.
As the battle on the frontline became evermore bitter, it seemed for a moment that theDragon armyhad crushed the enemy, untilthe frontline was soon stabilized. It was at that moment, the enemy's flag fromfarther away began to move closer and the cavalry slowly started marching forward.
Dugu Xian first noticed the enemy's movements, but didn't have enough reserves to reinforce.
It was time for the surprise attack from the flanks.
” Light the beacon-fire.” He said.
This was the signal theDragon King hadagreed with him in advance. When the beacon-fire lit, anarmy was to appear on the seaside slope, an army capable of changing the situation.
When no one showed up, Dugu Xian could still keep calm because the beacon-firehad just been lit and the ambush needed some preparation. But the next scene made him lose whatever confidence he had of victory indeed.
The Fort Jin Peng army suddenly divided into two parts in the process of moving forward, one part continuing to move forward to the Dragon army while the other part, with no less than 10,000, formedinto columns from horizontal lines and turned to the seaside slope. When they reached, they all raised their lances towards the top of the slope.
Even ambush soldiers would not succeed with the surprise attack.
Shangguan Yun claimed that he had foiled the surprise attack plan of the Dragon King but Shangguan Jianyigiving him a deaf ear,didn't take it seriously and still sent his response troops according to the original plan.
Dugu Xian understood that the situation was hopeless and became more calm and ready to make the necessary decisions.
He turned to look at Prime Minister Zhong Heng and nodded, indicating to him to escort the Queen away. He was goingto die withhis army if it cameto it.
Shangguan Jianyi was close enough to the battlefield to see the ferocious expressions of the soldiers, andraised his headto lookat the seaside slope, hoping to spot a surprise attack to make his victory more perfect.
His wish came true then whena lone flag that seemed to be theRed Raven Flagof the Dragon Kingwas raised at the top of the slope.
Then there were more flags and soldiers, and more, and more.
The ambush came on time, but Dugu Xian thought their use had passed. There were at most 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers in Wushan who even though ata commanding height, still couldn't break the frontline made of lances.
The soldiers who were fighting on battlefield couldn't notice anything, but everyone else could see clearly the difference at the top of the slope, especially the right-wing response soldieryofthe Fort Jin Peng army that had been looking up and was closest.
” The people up there...are they all women? ”They kept saying to each other.They were also the first to see the differenceamong the soldiers at the top of the slope.