Chapter 129: The Standoff Between Two Armies

Huang Wenlong ushered Fei Wen and his party into the main hall of the county magistrate’s office.

After taking his seat, Fei Wen surveyed Huang Wenlong’s wretched state. His hair and beard were matted together, his body was coated in thick dust, and his robes were torn in several places. His eyes were bloodshot, his lips covered in blisters, and his face was smeared with grime. Where was the dashing spirit of the great general who had once held command at the Yongzhou camp?

"Brother Huang, how did you end up in such a sorry state at the hands of the barbarians? From what I saw, those barbarians are nothing special," Fei Wen remarked with a curl of his lip, his tone dripping with disdain.

Huang Wenlong was rendered speechless by the jab. The facts were the facts, and he had no rebuttal; after all, it was Fei Wen who had arrived and driven the barbarians away, relieving his immediate peril.

"It is my incompetence, Brother Fei. I have let you see me at my worst," Huang Wenlong replied with forced humility.

"You truly lack talent in warfare. Look at the state of your troops—what have they been reduced to? You brought fifty thousand men, did you not? How many remain now?" Fei Wen asked, his voice full of arrogance.

"I am incompetent. There are fewer than fifteen thousand left," Huang Wenlong admitted, bowing his head in shame. These living, breathing soldiers were the men he had led, and now he could never bring them home.

"It seems your ability to command is mediocre at best. Let us do this: leave the tactical command to me, and you shall simply assist," Fei Wen declared. He had arrived with the intent of seizing military authority. Since he and Huang Wenlong held equal rank, neither the Prefect of Yongzhou nor Fei Wu had issued clear instructions on who should command the front lines.

Huang Wenlong considered that his own forces were decimated and that the primary strength now lay with the reinforcements Fei Wen had brought; it seemed only logical for Fei Wen to take charge. "Then, Magistrate Fei, I leave the heavy burden in your hands," he replied.

"Now, what is the situation at Pubian City and Xinquan City?" Having secured command, Fei Wen did not stand on ceremony and immediately began his inquiry.

"My scouts have not yet returned with reports, so I am not entirely certain of the situation in those two counties," Huang Wenlong answered truthfully.

"You see? You see? This is why I say you are unfit to command. You do not even know the status of those two cities—how can you expect to win a war?" Fei Wen looked at Huang Wenlong with increased contempt.

At this point, Magistrate Yang of Dingbian County could no longer remain silent. He spoke up in Huang Wenlong’s defense: "Dingbian City has been under siege by the barbarians for many days; it is only natural that we have lost contact with Pubian and Xinquan."

Fei Wen cast a sideways glance at Magistrate Yang. Seeing that the man was also haggard, covered in soot and dust, with bloodshot eyes, he mocked, "Magistrate, have you been engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the barbarians? How did you end up so filthy?"

Magistrate Yang met Fei Wen’s gaze, neither subservient nor defiant. "I have merely done what little I could to protect this city."

"Magistrate Yang, rest assured. Now that I have arrived, I will certainly drive the barbarians back to the Great Xia Kingdom." The implication was clear: with him in charge, the Magistrate would no longer need to suffer the hardships of defending the city.

"And how does Magistrate Fei intend to deploy his forces next?" Magistrate Yang asked with a faint smile, choosing not to take offense.

"I plan to locate the main body of the barbarian forces and annihilate them in one stroke!" Fei Wen said dismissively.

"To my knowledge, the barbarians still have at least fifty thousand remaining. If we face them in a direct confrontation, I fear the infantry of our Great Song Kingdom will suffer greatly!" Magistrate Yang said with concern. He worried that Fei Wen would truly pit infantry against the barbarian cavalry, which would only lead to further loss of Great Song soldiers.

"Hahaha, Magistrate Yang, I fear you have been frightened out of your wits by the barbarians. Rest assured, even in a head-on clash, we will not be at a disadvantage. I have my own brilliant strategies to deal with them," Fei Wen said, full of misplaced confidence.

"The battlefield is a place of life and death. I advise you to proceed with caution, Magistrate," Yang warned.

"Do not inflate the morale of the barbarians and diminish the spirit of our own troops, Magistrate!" Fei Wen replied with utter indifference.

While Fei Wen, Huang Wenlong, and Magistrate Yang discussed military affairs in Dingbian, Li Daocheng in Tuhe Town was nearing a fit of rage. When news of the barbarian army’s defeat at the front reached him, he was consumed by fury. Hearing that fifty thousand reinforcements had arrived for the Great Song, even his strategist, Mao Yanshun, fell silent.

Mao Yanshun’s original plan had been to scatter the enemy’s main force and destroy them piece by piece. While the first step had succeeded, the second had not. He had then proposed concentrating their strength to strike a single point, but just as success seemed within reach, the reinforcements had arrived. This was an unforeseen complication.

With Mao Yanshun out of ideas, Li Daocheng was even more lost. Beyond cursing his subordinates for their incompetence, he had no solutions.

"I will go to the front lines to oversee the battle myself," Li Daocheng declared, his tone ironclad. His mind was made up.

"Very well. With the First Prince present, it may serve to steady the troops," Mao Yanshun replied, seizing the opportunity.

"Men! Prepare to break camp and march toward the Dingbian front!" Li Daocheng ordered loudly.

Li Daocheng still had about ten thousand men at Tuhe Town; combined with the forty thousand survivors at Dingbian, he had nearly sixty thousand troops in total.

Upon arriving near Dingbian and merging with the remaining forces, Li Daocheng sat in the central command tent. Looking at his generals—Balatian, Han Qianhu, and Chibugou—his anger flared again. The plan had been sound, but because these generals were so useless, they had wasted days besieging cities without capturing a single one, squandering a perfect opportunity.

Previously, when the disparity in strength was significant, the strategy of dividing and conquering had been viable. Now that the forces were nearly matched, capturing any further cities would be an Herculean task.

As Li Daocheng sat in the main seat, about to unleash a torrent of abuse, a soldier rushed in. "Reporting to Your Highness, a Great Song general is outside the camp, challenging us to battle."

Oh? The Great Song actually dared to take the initiative!

Li Daocheng hurriedly led his generals out of the camp, forming a wild-goose formation to confront the Great Song army.

On the Great Song side, it was indeed Fei Wen leading the challenge. Having seized command, he was determined to force a confrontation with the main barbarian force, marching his troops directly to their encampment.

Seeing the barbarians emerge to meet them, Fei Wen asked, "Which general is willing to step forward and engage?"

"I shall go!" A Captain Zhang, eager for merit, stepped forward to claim the first bout.

"Be careful, Captain Zhang," Fei Wen said with a wave of his hand.

In this era, it was common for armies to begin with a duel between champions. A victory could bolster morale, while a defeat could dampen spirits and sap the army's resolve.

Captain Zhang spurred his horse into the space between the two armies, shouting, "Which general dares to face me?"

Li Daocheng looked at Balatian and said, "Go and face him."

"As you command!" Balatian spurred his horse and charged into the fray.