#454 - Going to War

The next day, early morning.

The carriage, which had been running continuously all night, slowly stopped at a narrow pass, with the mountains on both sides resembling solidified waves, their shapes vaguely discernible in the morning glow.

This was Niu Tou Mountain (Ox-Head Mountain).

Beyond the pass lay dozens of miles of mountainous terrain, not particularly steep, but the only way to get from Guanghan County to Shu Prefecture City.

"Changtian."

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, a man in a purple robe led a group to greet them.

This man was none other than Qin Guanrong, the current Left Elder of the Tianluo Sect and Wei Changtian's third maternal uncle.

"Uncle."

Wei Changtian, who had gotten off the carriage after a sleepless night, looked somewhat tired.

He forced himself to introduce Shen Ran to Qin Guanrong, and then strode towards the interior of the pass.

"Have the brothers of the Tianluo Sect and the Freemasons all arrived?"

"They have."

Qin Guanrong nodded succinctly: "As you said, a total of one thousand people are all within the pass."

"Good."

Wei Changtian walked into the pass at the forefront, and immediately, burly men in a flurry of activity appeared before him.

Most of them were members of the Freemasons and the Tianluo Sect wearing black robes, and a small number were Shu Prefecture soldiers wearing cyan armor.

As for ordinary civilians, there was not a single one.

"Uncle, the plan has changed."

Wei Changtian looked at these men who were carrying something and said as he walked:

"The battle of Niu Tou Mountain is crucial and must not have any mistakes."

"The traps we set up before may not be enough, and may not be enough to seriously damage the enemy."

"Therefore, I came here this time to make more preparations."

Wei Changtian nodded, and immediately walked towards a few small buildings not far away with Qin Guanrong.

Shen Ran, dressed in a white robe, silently followed behind Wei Changtian, without saying a word.

"Uncle, Young Master Shen is one of us."

Seeming to have guessed Qin Guanrong's thoughts, Wei Changtian suddenly smiled: "And he may be of great help to us in this battle."

"Is that so?"

Qin Guanrong was a little surprised, and looked at Shen Ran carefully again.

Although he knew that the latter was the Holy Son of the Kui Xing Academy, he did not know what Shen Ran's abilities were.

More importantly, he didn't know why Wei Changtian could order Shen Ran around.

"Thank you, Young Master Shen."

Nodding to Shen Ran, Qin Guanrong didn't ask any more questions.

And Shen Ran also nodded slightly in response: "Elder Qin is too polite."

"."

Soon, the three entered a small building, and after about half an hour, they came out again, leading a hundred or so people on horseback into Niu Tou Mountain.

The morning mist was about to dissipate, and the apes and birds were chirping in confusion.

There were birds circling in the sky, but they all seemed to be avoiding a certain area.

Whenever they flew over this area, they would hurry to flap their wings and change direction, and some would even drop a few feathers.

The colorful feathers swirled and fell, crossing the sky, falling into the darkness, between the valleys, or on a calm water surface.

It was as if fresh lives were being driven by invisible forces into the abyss of an unknown destiny.

Four days later.

Twenty miles outside Guanghan City, the main camp of the 300,000-strong rebel army.

"General Han! The soldiers have all rested!"

"We are ready to lead our troops to attack and capture Guanghan County!"

"The brothers are waiting for your order!"

"."

Inside the spacious camp tent, Han Zhao sat in the central seat, and in front of him stood more than a dozen generals in armor.

At this time, it had been two days since the imperial army arrived in Guanghan County, and the soldiers were full of energy after a full rest, waiting for Han Zhao to give an order to launch a full-scale attack on the city not far away, officially starting this "suppression war".

Under this situation, even if Han Zhao wanted to delay any longer, there was no reason to do so.

What's more, now that everything was ready, he didn't need to delay any longer.

"You all listen to the order!"

The not-too-loud voice made all the generals shut up suddenly.

In the "whirr" of armor rubbing, more than ten generals stood up straight, their eyes fixed on Han Zhao's serious expression.

"General Li, you lead your men forward fifteen miles and arrive at Luoye Slope outside Guanghan City before Xu time (7-9 PM)!"

"General Zhang! You lead the Hussar Camp to bypass Guanghan County and cut off its supply route from the enemy's rear!"

"General Tan! You lead ."

"."

One military command tally after another was sent to the hands of the generals, who then responded in unison, raising the white tally to their foreheads.

The black tally came from the Ministry of War and could mobilize troops from all over the country.

The golden tally came from the chief military officer of each state and could mobilize troops from one state.

And the white tally in front of them came from the commander of an army and could mobilize the corresponding number of soldiers in the army.

Therefore, the generals who received the orders at this moment were all in high spirits, eager to make enough contributions in the upcoming war to get promoted and become nobles.

And the others who had not yet received military orders were not disappointed, because they knew that sooner or later they would have the opportunity to lead troops to fight the enemy.

"Have you all heard clearly?!"

Under the eager gaze of the crowd, Han Zhao asked in a deep voice.

Then, in the next second, a neat and loud answer resounded throughout the military tent.

"Reporting to the General! We have heard clearly!"

"Good!"

Han Zhao waved his hand, his voice loud and clear.

"Go down and prepare!"

"Today at Hai time (9-11 PM), the war drums will sound twelve times!"

"Attack the city!"

"Rumble!"

In the distance, the sound of various large siege machines rolling over the road was muffled and oppressive.

Standing on the city wall, Wei Changtian, who had returned from Niu Tou Mountain, had a serious expression, his eyes lingering for a long time on the looming smoke and dust in the distance.

"Young Master, General Han sent a message."

Beside him, Chu Xianping took a step closer and whispered in his ear: "The imperial army will start attacking the city at Hai time, mainly attacking the West Gate, and the other three sides will be feigned attacks."

"."

"Got it."

As if his thoughts had stalled for a moment, Wei Changtian's answer was somewhat delayed.

He slowly withdrew his gaze and then walked down the city wall.

"Go tell Uncle Liang to adjust the defense."

"Also, as long as we hold this battle today, we can show weakness appropriately."

"Yes, I will go and inform General Liang."

Nodding, Chu Xianping quickly left first.

At this time, Xu Sui Sui, who had been following Wei Changtian, also came up.

"Hey, are we going to fight today?"

"."

Turning his head to look at Xu Sui Sui, who looked excited, Wei Changtian's tone was somewhat indifferent.

"You don't seem to be afraid."

"What am I afraid of! Haven't you arranged everything?"

Xu Sui Sui was slightly stunned, and then rubbed her hands excitedly: "I haven't seen what a war looks like yet! It must be shocking?!"

"Shocking?"

Wei Changtian shook his head, his attitude noncommittal.

He had seen the scene of war with his own eyes in Yuanzhou City.

It was indeed shocking, but also indeed...

"Believe me, after seeing it once, you won't want to see it a second time."

"Tch!"

Xu Sui Sui dismissed Wei Changtian's "alarmist talk": "I'm very courageous, and I've seen dead people and stuff!"

"Dead people?"

Wei Changtian smiled bitterly and did not immediately respond.

He just turned his head and looked at the Shu soldiers who were still running in teams beside the city wall, and then slowly said:

"You must know the saying that people's fate is always in their own hands, right?"

"Ah?"

Xu Sui Sui was stunned. Although she didn't know why Wei Changtian was saying this, she subconsciously replied:

"I know, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just want to tell you that this sentence does not actually apply to everyone."

Wei Changtian nodded lightly and smiled and nodded to a team of soldiers not far away who were greeting him.

"At least for them, once they go to the battlefield, what determines their life and death is no longer themselves."

"Then, then what is it?"

"Luck."

"."

Leaving the last two words, Wei Changtian walked away on his own.

And Xu Sui Sui stood there blankly, not following immediately.

Luck.

When a person's life and death can only be determined by luck... the cruelty of war is revealed vividly at this moment.

The afternoon breeze was quiet, and the sun overhead was warm.

However, Xu Sui Sui suddenly shivered.

I haven't recovered from my illness today, so I insisted on writing a chapter.

Actually, I can continue to write, but the next whole section of the plot is too important, and I don't want to write it in a daze, so please take another half day off.

If nothing else, I will get better tomorrow, and I will make up for the content that was missing in the past two days!