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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Zhen had a headache, but military matters waited for no one. After resting for a night, she prepared to set off for Ganzhou the next day. However, after the troops were organized, she realized that the situation was becoming increasingly troublesome.
Her main force of over two hundred Rouran Gasar soldiers was naturally obedient, but the rest were under the control of Hou Polu and Zhang Shenzhi. It was one thing to abandon the Cavalry, but they had also recruited over seven hundred new infantry soldiers!
Was this not a deliberate delay tactic by Xu Zhenzhi? Although she knew it was a trap, she had no choice but to jump in. Lacking strength, she had to resort to cunning and pressure; it must be said that the Hou Family Father and Son's scheme was indeed effective!
The newly recruited infantry might follow orders from their superiors and bring extra supplies to save their lives. For Xu Zhen, who wanted to travel light, this large amount of supplies was undoubtedly adding insult to injury!
Just when things couldn't get worse, the newly promoted Chief Officer of the Upper Court, Colonel Chengxun Duan Zan, unexpectedly accompanied the army, taking on the role of military supervisor, as if placing a shackle around Xu Zhen's neck!
Xu Zhen donned her armor but did not dismount. The generals in the army, accompanied by their personal guards, came one after another under the pretense of sending her off, but in reality, they wanted to see her make a fool of herself.
Though still young, Xu Zhen had been rapidly promoted. Regardless, she had already been pushed onto the high platform of public enemy number one within the military by Hou Junji, feeling trapped and overwhelmed.
Many generals speculated that due to her youth and impetuosity, she would surely try to assert her authority in battle, which would naturally lead to losing the morale of the eight hundred new soldiers!
At that moment, Xu Zhen was already armored but had not mounted her horse. As she walked along the front lines inspecting troops with a grim expression, after a round of inspection, she surprisingly said nothing. She mounted her Azure Wind Antelope, waved her hand grandly, and ordered her personal guards to lower their flags before simply leaving!
The new soldiers were still waiting for the new Colonel Murong Xiao to inspire them. The veterans in the army also hoped that Xu Zhen would deliver some stirring words to ignite the fighting spirit of the new recruits. Little did they know that Xu Zhen would leave so dejectedly!
The veterans exchanged glances; they hadn't even stabilized their footing yet, and the Chief of Military Operations had not even taken his position before the new Colonel Murong Xiao had already led his team away!
Duan Zan, being an experienced soldier, knew that Xu Zhen had made a mistake. If it were anyone else, they would have certainly reminded her as military supervisors should do—perhaps even expressing gratitude towards their comrades and rallying support for the soldiers. However, he was pleased to see Xu Zhen make a blunder and merely exchanged knowing smiles with Hou Polu, filled with cold amusement!
Xu Zhen did not need to sneak a glance; she could imagine how Duan Zan and others looked. Caesar was naturally close by as her bodyguard while Zhou Cang protected Li Wushuang and Li Mingda, who had changed into their uniforms. Her brothers seemed to have become central figures and did not mingle with Duan Zan and others. Before long, they had already exited towards the main camp.
When Li Daozong arrived personally, he found the training ground empty. Hearing that Xu Zhen had left without saying a word, he understood that she was upset with him. He could only smile wryly and silently pray that his daughter would not suffer collateral damage.
Once on the main road, delays caused by foot soldiers and supplies became evident. The new recruits were lazy, compounded by many instigators among Duan Zan's subordinates causing further disorder. The military appearance was disheveled; chaos reigned as noise filled the air. Only Xu Zhen's two hundred personal guards maintained an air of solemnity and discipline reminiscent of an iron-blooded army.
Before setting off, Xu Zhen asked Li Daozong for one hundred spears. Lacking curved sabers, she took one hundred Zhanma Swords, each over three feet long with a guard over one foot long and a large ring at the top for ease of handling—ideal weapons for battle formations. In her brothers' hands, combined with their fierce spirit, they appeared exceptionally valiant, greatly intimidating the new recruits!
Throughout their march, it seemed that Xu Zhen paid little mind to the chaos around them. On their first day, they only managed to cover several dozen miles before setting up large tents under the cover of night. Meanwhile, Hou Polu and Zhang Shenzhi, under the guise of soothing troop morale, privately gathered people for drinking—violating military prohibitions—but no one reported it. The supervising officer Duan Zan remained silent while Xu Zhen turned a blind eye; seeing their leader inactive only emboldened the soldiers further!
As they reached Shanzhou Baorong, military discipline had completely vanished; ranks were disorganized. Soldiers joked around and even harassed local civilians’ livelihoods while allowing carts and horses to trample on goji berry fields!
The new recruits were easily swayed and manipulated. The Xu Zhen, feeling pity for them as they were about to step onto the battlefield, where their lives were uncertain, did not want to pursue the matter too harshly. However, their harassment of the civilians and damage to the Tang Army's reputation was intolerable.
The Xu Zhen immediately issued an order. Zhou Cang led a dozen brothers to capture the recruits who had trampled on the fields, bringing back a total of twelve, who were bound and displayed in front of the army.
Before long, Duan Zan stormed in angrily, pointing his whip at the Xu Zhen and glaring, " Commander Xu, how dare you overstep your bounds and take away my authority as the military supervisor!"
Many soldiers had long wanted to undermine the Xu Zhen. Seeing their friends captured and displayed publicly, they lost face and began to incite trouble. Except for those loyal to the Xu Zhen, the rest were filled with righteous indignation, showing signs of a potential brawl.
As chaos erupted in the inner courtyard, the Xu Zhen should have sought to calm things down. However, having tolerated enough, she ignored Duan Zan and silently dismounted her horse. She strode forward several steps and fiercely lashed her whip across the backs of the offending recruits. Zhou Cang seemed to have received prior instructions from the Xu Zhen; seeing their lord take action, he quickly signaled to his brothers and swung his whip down hard.
With each strike from the whip, the cries of the punished soldiers grew louder. The Tang Dynasty valued martial prowess highly; military service was seen as an honor. Many young men joined the army not just for glory but also to ensure their families' well-being. These recruits had never been on a battlefield before and were naive; how could they withstand such brutal punishment from the Xu Zhen?
When the whip finally broke, the Xu Zhen stopped her assault, throwing it onto one of the soldiers and kicking him to the ground as she shouted fiercely, "Get back! If you dare offend civilians again, I will have you executed according to military law!"
Throughout this ordeal, the Xu Zhen did not spare a glance at Duan Zan. His face turned pale with anger as he tried several times to intervene but was intimidated back by Gao He Shu and his fierce brothers. As an old soldier in the army, he could sense the murderous intent in Gao He Shu's eyes; if things escalated further, her brothers would indeed take action.
After discussing for a long time with Zhang Jiunian without finding a solution, the Xu Zhen had no choice but to confront them head-on in such a crude manner. Since they were already at odds, there was no reason for her to show weakness anymore. Turning towards Duan Zan with a cold voice, she said, "Duan Supervisor, I have come all this way to guard our nation's borders. I am not interested in your scheming. If you have any skills, when we reach Ganzhou, prove yourself by killing enemies instead of trying to undermine me. Otherwise, take these fledglings back to your godfather. If you dare obstruct my march again as Colonel Murong Xiao, we can part ways right here; my two hundred men are not pushovers!"
Upon hearing this, a sense of relief washed over the Xu Zhen's chest. Zhou Cang and others had been holding back their frustrations for days; seeing their lord explode in anger finally allowed them to vent their grievances. Their faces beamed with pride as Zhou Cang placed one hand on his sword while stealthily reaching for his massive Yuanrong Crossbow behind his back—if Duan dared to provoke them further, he would shoot him down along with a couple hundred of his men!
Duan Zan did not expect such bluntness from the Xu Zhen; there was no pretense or subtlety in her words—her brazen remarks were no different from those of street thugs! Yet he realized that while he had eight hundred new recruits under his command, they lacked real combat experience. If it came down to internal conflict now, he felt somewhat apprehensive.
Before setting off, he had already made plans with Hou Polu to slow down the Xu Zhen's march. However, after tolerating for some time, she had directly torn off any pretense of civility, leaving him at a loss.
The Xu Zhen snorted coldly as many brothers mounted their horses. She turned her horse around and drew her long knife while loudly declaring: "We must reach Snowy Mountain by noon tomorrow! Anyone lagging behind by a hundred steps will face punishment from me personally!"
The new recruits had initially been grumbling and filled with resentment; however, upon witnessing the Xu Zhen's escalating fury and Zhou Cang's two hundred elite soldiers brimming with killing intent, they recalled tales of this newly appointed Colonel Murong Xiao—who even dared to kill Qibi people!
This display of intimidation caused many recruits to quiet down significantly. Although they continued to grumble under their breath during their march, their pace did not slow down. Meanwhile, Duan Zan felt humiliated by how openly disrespectful the Xu Zhen had been towards him; he remained sullen throughout the day while plotting something in his heart.
Li Wushuang already held no good feelings towards the Xu Zhen; seeing her initially weak demeanor made him scornful. However, when she suddenly erupted in anger, he realized that she still possessed some semblance of masculine spirit.
This also allowed her to witness one aspect of the internal struggles within the military. She thought about how her own superior had been navigating the military for decades, experiencing both rises and falls, and couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion. The Xu Zhen, though tough, lacked any real skill in handling this situation; she couldn't solve every problem through life-and-death confrontations.
Facing someone like Duan Zan as a supervising officer was one thing, but if it were a general in the army, with the temperament of the Xu Zhen, it would lead to her demise.
With such thoughts, her yearning for military life diminished slightly. Her interest waned, and she began to think about bringing Li Mingda back to Chang'an.
The Xu Zhen led her troops out of Shanzhou and entered the Ganzhou Border, where she caught sight of a divine mountain in the distance. It was far away yet strikingly visible, magnificent and sacred, a creation of nature's beauty stretching across the horizon. The snow and wind had turned its peak white; it was indeed the Snowy Mountain of the Ganzhou Border!
The Xu Zhen reined in her vast aspirations and urged her troops to move quickly. They finally arrived at the foot of the Snowy Mountain, where melting snow converged into rivers. Even though it was late autumn, the plains below remained lush with water and grass, and wild horses could be seen galloping past without restraint!
According to their planned route, they would bypass the foot of the Snowy Mountain, follow the tributary Weak Water north along the Shandan River, pass through Heli Mountain Pass, reach Shandan County, then transfer to Zhangye to arrive at Ganzhou!
However, when the convoy reached the mouth of the Shandan River, they had to stop because the crossing was overcrowded with migrants heading south—Rogues!
This meant that the Turquoise Hu Man had indeed crossed over the Qilian Mountains and made their way into Lianzhou territory; they might even be closing in on Ganzhou!
(Note 1: The Zhanma Sword, also known as the Horse-Slaying Saber, has a long blade and a short handle. It resembles Zhou Cang's simple sword; however, Zhou Cang's sword has a long handle and a short blade. The simple sword first appeared during the Song Dynasty and is also known as a draw sword or broad sword. The former refers to Zhou Cang's blade called a simple sword; it is a rare weapon found in tombs and is also unique. The Xu Zhen borrowed this name for use here; readers should not take offense.)
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