Chapter 971: Leading the Horse

Victory reports from Liuzhou kept pouring in.

First, Kou Jianghuai, in cooperation with the Dragon Elephant Army, attacked Huang Songpu's main camp. Not only did they successfully infiltrate the camp and annihilate the logistics unit, but they also achieved significant victories against Wanyan Yinjiang's elite border cavalry. Following this, Xie Xichui, as if divinely inspired and prescient, led the Lan Tuo Mountain monk army to divide their forces between Fengxiang and Linyao towns. They not only successfully thwarted a surprise attack by the Southern Dynasty's infantry vanguard but, at the same time, Cao Wei's cavalry unit, which had already penetrated deep into Gusei Prefecture, executed a sudden counterattack. They completely annihilated the remaining six thousand infantry vanguards and the Southern Dynasty border cavalry that Xie Xichui's monk army had bogged down in an infantry formation, all at the border of Gusei Prefecture. After this battle, Cao Wei, a cavalry general from Beiliang already renowned for his performance in the Miyun Pass battle, earned the nickname 'Cao Thunderhoof'.

As Huang Songpu's western main force, having suffered two setbacks, slowed its advance, Xie Xichui also led his monk army to reinforce Qingcang City, and the situation in Liuzhou greatly improved!

However, during this period, an impeachment memorial against Xie Xichui, after being circulated at the Liuzhou Governor's Residence, was sent to the Princely Residence in Jubei City. This subtly added a sharp, chilling atmosphere to Jubei City, which was shrouded in continuous autumn rain.

Xu Fengnian stood in the solemn military office, gently setting down the memorial. This document had been annotated in red by Yang Guangdou, the Governor of Liuzhou, Chen Xiliang, the Administrative Assistant, and Kou Jianghuai, the Liuzhou General. Inside the office, besides the young Prince, were Deputy Military Commissioner Yang Shenxing, who was stationed there, Strategist Li Gongde and Liangzhou Governor Bai Yu, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, Xu Huang, who had just been promoted to Jubei City Commandant, and Li Yanchao, who had recently transferred from the Left Cavalry Army to become the First Deputy Commander of the Right Cavalry Army, along with several other border generals. The initial dispatch, penned by a Youzhou infantry captain who had been promoted to commander of the Fengxiang Military Garrison, detailed the start and end of the Fengxiang town's defense. The impeachment content had only one point: during the defense battle, Xie Xichui excessively preserved the strength of the Lan Tuo Mountain monk army. In two days and one night of defense, the monks' participation in the city wall's joint defense numbered only over nine hundred, leading to unnecessary sacrifices among Fengxiang's defending soldiers. Only ninety-two veteran Youzhou infantrymen remained!

Xie Xichui and Kou Jianghuai, both hailed as the 'Twin Jades of Great Chu' and serving as Liuzhou's general and deputy general respectively – two young yet astoundingly talented military strategists – would likely see their standing in the hearts of the entire Beiliang border army diverge from today, regardless of their original intentions. This is because, in the main battlefield north of Qingcang City, Kou Jianghuai's brilliant battle, which utterly frustrated Huang Songpu's army, saw the Dragon Elephant Army fall first, followed by the Liuzhou cavalry. This approach neither lost the respect of the Dragon Elephant Army nor failed to win the gratitude of all the young, able-bodied refugees in Liuzhou.

In contrast, Xie Xichui, despite his excellent proactive moves in the Miyun battle, was seen as having wasted a good opportunity. Outside Liangzhou Pass, there were originally widespread complaints on his behalf, with many feeling that Xie Xichui was better suited to be Liuzhou General than Kou Jianghuai. Although Xie Xichui and Cao Wei's cavalry unit still achieved a massive victory afterward, completely annihilating ten thousand infantry vanguards and three thousand Southern Dynasty border cavalry, there's no doubt that Xie Xichui lost significant popular support. From Jubei City to the distant infantry headquarters in Youzhou, the Beiliang Protectorate General's office, and the Left and Right Cavalry Army garrisons, there would likely be questions about Xie Xichui. This is because the Beiliang border army utterly detested abandoning allies on the battlefield, a sentiment rooted in the Xu family army's early days, when they suffered countless similar hardships while expanding territory for the Liyang court. Xie Xichui's action, in particular, carried the suspicion of preserving his forces to gain military merit.

Under the young Prince's various initiatives, Yang Shenxing, an veteran general from the Spring and Autumn era and a Deputy Military Commissioner who was gradually accepted by the Beiliang border army, actually held significant sway in this matter, second only to Chu Lushan's Protectorate General's office. However, the more influence he had, the more Yang Shenxing hesitated to act on his own initiative, thus immediately sending someone to inform the young Prince. Yang Shenxing knew the difficulty of this issue lay not in how to appease the commander of the Fengxiang Military Garrison, nor even in how to deal with Xie Xichui, the Liuzhou Deputy General who already had two major military achievements. Instead, a slight misstep could lead to a schism between Beiliang's new and old generations of generals. What was even more troubling was that the underlying dynamic, well-known throughout the Beiliang border army, originated from the young Prince himself, who stood behind the desk. From the early Youzhou Cavalry Commander Yu Luandao, the brilliant cavalry general Cao Wei, to the current holders of power in Liuzhou, Kou Jianghuai and Xie Xichui, Jubei City Commandant Xu Huang, or even earlier figures like Youzhou General Huangfu Ping and Heavy Cavalry Deputy General Hong Biao, along with Xu Beizhi and Liuzhou Administrative Assistant Chen Xiliang – the new Prince of Liang not only vigorously promoted young people but also unhesitatingly appointed outsiders with no prior connection to Beiliang. Therefore, this impeachment pierced through a delicate situation that even deeply entrenched veteran border marshals outside Beiliang Pass, like Yan Wenluan and He Zhonghu, dared not, or more accurately, were unwilling to expose.

Bai Yu took a few steps forward and picked up the memorial. Master Bai Lian, whose eyesight was poor, almost pressed the memorial to his nose. Despite the comical scene, no one found it amusing.

Yang Guangdou, the Governor of Liuzhou, who firmly held the top position among Liuzhou's provincial officials, meticulously annotated the memorial with over three hundred characters in small regular script after reviewing its contents. He severely denounced Xie Xichui's actions, his impeachment even more strongly worded than that of the Fengxiang garrison commander. In particular, the line, "Our veteran Youzhou infantrymen can die, but your monk soldiers under Xie Xichui cannot?" likely articulated the unspoken feelings of all Beiliang border troops.

Chen Xiliang's annotation was relatively milder, but still leaned towards disapproving Xie Xichui's actions: "Deputy General Xie Xichui's actions do not violate Beiliang military law, but they are unforgivable in principle."

As for Kou Jianghuai, the Liuzhou General, who had been at odds with Xie Xichui since their time in Guangling Dao of Western Chu, his response was concise: just two characters, "Reviewed."

Although reading had damaged Bai Yu's eyesight, he merely held books at an unusual height. This young Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain was known in his youth for being able to read ten lines at a glance and remember everything he read. Thus, he scanned the memorial quickly, then turned and handed it to Strategist Li Gongde, breaking the silence with a slight smile: "General Kou's handwriting is quite good." And that was all he said.

Yang Shenxing immediately gave a bitter smile. The old general had thought that Bai Yu, with his transcendent status in Beiliang, could help him and the Prince break the deadlock, but he hadn't expected such an evasive response.

The Strategist, who received the memorial as if it were a hot potato, quickly scanned it. He had initially wanted to say that Administrative Assistant Chen's handwriting was also quite good, but after a moment's hesitation, decided to remain silent. He then passed the memorial to Li Yanchao behind him, the new Deputy Commander of the Right Cavalry Army, known as one of Beiliang's 'Four Fangs' alongside Ning Emei, Dian Xiongchu, and Wei Fucheng. Li Yanchao's 'defection' from He Zhonghu's Left Cavalry Army to join Zhou Kang's Brocade Partridge unit had recently caused a stir among the Liangzhou border forces.

After roughly reviewing it, Li Yanchao, unlike the two Beiliang civil officials, Bai Yu and Li Gongde, didn't equivocate. He looked up at the young Prince standing behind the desk and stated straightforwardly: "This humble general believes that General Xie's actions not only do not violate military law but are, in fact, justifiable!"

After receiving the new Prince of Liang's nod, Li Yanchao continued loudly: "Governor Yang questions General Xie for allegedly hoarding troops and being unwilling to sacrifice the Lan Tuo Mountain monk army. However, I believe everyone in this room is well aware of the brutal intensity of the Miyun battle. What were the casualties of Cao Wei's ten thousand elite cavalry? And what were the casualties of Xie Xichui's cavalry?! Although I have never met General Xie Xichui, I believe I understand his military tactics. On any battlefield where he takes charge, Xie Xichui is meticulously calculating. In this defense of Fengxiang Military Garrison, if the Lan Tuo Mountain monk army had participated in the defense early on, without deliberately exposing weaknesses and allowing the Northern Barbarians to repeatedly assault the city walls, how could those ten thousand infantry vanguards and three thousand cavalry have lingered outside the city for two days and one night? If not for this, how could Cao Wei's cavalry have timely intercepted the retreating remnants of the Northern Barbarian forces? In my view, the Fengxiang commander certainly performed commendably in defense, and it is reasonable for him to impeach Xie Xichui on behalf of his fallen comrades. However, General Xie has made significant contributions and committed no fault!"

Li Yanchao handed the memorial to an officer behind him, then cupped his fist and said gravely to the young Prince: "If General Xie comes to Jubei City someday, I, Li Yanchao, would be honored to lead his horse!" For a dignified Deputy Commander of the Beiliang border army to willingly lead someone's horse was practically the highest praise one could bestow upon that person. Throughout his life, Xu Xiao, the Butcher, led a horse for another only twice. Once was for Lin Doufang, a veteran of the Lotus Camp who is still alive today. The other time was for a fallen comrade, leading the horse with the corpse back to camp.

Xu Huang, sporting a handsome beard, frowned and asked: "Your Highness, has General Xie sent any memorial to Jubei City to explain himself? We shouldn't only hear one side of the story."

Xu Fengnian shook his head: "There is a memorial, but it's not about the defense of Fengxiang. It merely explains why he didn't order the ten thousand monk soldiers stationed in the garrison to defend it to the death, and why he didn't engage the seven thousand infantry vanguards who returned without success."

It was indeed peculiar that the Lan Tuo Mountain monk soldiers at Linyao Military Garrison did not proactively sally forth. Even Jubei City was somewhat surprised. Since it was proven that Xie Xichui had indeed anticipated the enemy, given his decisiveness displayed on the battlefield, he should have ordered the Lan Tuo Mountain female Bodhisattva to lead her troops out of the city to engage in battle. With Cao Wei's cavalry advancing at a speed that had already stunned Liangmang, they could certainly have intercepted the infantry vanguards on Gusei Prefecture's southeastern border. However, Xie Xichui missed out on this easily attainable military merit. In truth, if this Liuzhou Deputy General had managed to completely annihilate twenty thousand infantry vanguards and over six thousand Southern Dynasty border cavalry, thus perfectly concluding the majority of the Western Regions battlefield outside Qingcang, then even with this impeachment memorial, it would certainly not have left Jubei City so indecisive. Since Beiliang was established through military might, ultimately, military achievements held the most sway.

Yang Shenxing asked curiously: "May I ask, Your Highness, how did General Xie explain it in his memorial?"

Xu Fengnian calmly replied: "Xie Xichui stated that the western Liuzhou battlefield had settled, and the few thousand Northern Barbarian and Southern Dynasty infantry vanguards remaining were irrelevant to the overall situation. However, in the area north of Qingcang City in Liuzhou, which is the main battlefield facing Huang Songpu's grand army, the difference between having fifteen thousand Lan Tuo Mountain troops at his disposal or only ten thousand monk soldiers to reinforce Qingcang is a world apart."

Xu Huang, deeply knowledgeable in military affairs, was silent for a moment before exclaiming: "I, too, would be honored to lead General Xie's horse!"

Xu Fengnian suddenly smiled. "Xie Xichui fought two incredible, great victories. In the second interception battle, Kou Jianghuai made Huang Songpu's hundreds of thousands of cavalry seem to have been reduced to infantry. The battle situation in Liuzhou has become clear; next, it depends on us beyond Liangzhou Pass!"

Then Xu Fengnian sat in the chair that rightfully belonged to Yang Shenxing, unrolled a sheet of Xuan paper, and before putting pen to paper, looked up at everyone and said: "I will write a letter to explain to the Fengxiang Military Garrison commander. Gentlemen, I will trouble you with Jubei City and the areas north of it."

Everyone in the room felt relieved.

After Li Gongde turned and stepped over the threshold, he smiled at the accompanying City Commandant and said: "Our Prince's calligraphy is truly excellent, full of integrity and spirited flair..."

Xu Huang also smiled and said: "From this distance, aren't you afraid His Highness won't hear those words, Master Li?"

Li Gongde lowered his voice: "His Highness is a grandmaster of martial arts assessment."

Xu Huang gave a thumbs-up. "Impressive!"

Inside, Xu Fengnian, who was formulating the letter's wording, found himself caught between laughter and tears.

Just then, the chief spy of the Fushui Chamber from the Department of Punishments swiftly led a woman to the threshold. The woman wore a veiled hat. Both then stopped, not moving forward. Even though this small building within the princely residence was undeniably Beiliang's foremost confidential and crucial area, the Fushui Chamber spy still felt it was inappropriate to openly announce the woman's identity.

Xu Fengnian stopped writing and looked up. The Fushui Chamber spy did not speak aloud, only cautiously moved her lips slightly.

"Dongyue."

Xu Fengnian was startled and rose to his feet.