Chapter 60: Qin Qingxue Falls into the Trap

These soldiers had long been harboring a surge of anticipation, though all of them had been feigning illness to avoid returning to the camp. Yet, because Li Ye had taken such good care of them, they constantly thought of ways to repay him. When questioned, they immediately answered in unison, "We are willing to go into battle and serve the Sixth Prince!"

Li Ye knew his guess was spot on. The food provided to them these days had been exceptionally lavish, with plenty of vegetables and meat, and white rice served in generous portions. This was all done to restore their physical strength and simultaneously win their gratitude. Only by securing their genuine allegiance could their utmost combat effectiveness be unleashed.

The smile at the corner of Li Ye's mouth was almost impossible to suppress. He continued, "Many of you have not fully recovered from your illnesses, so do not push yourselves too hard. Those whose health has been restored shall follow this Prince into battle, while the rest will remain stationed here to continue recuperating."

"Your Highness the Sixth Prince, we have already recovered!"
"We swear to follow the Sixth Prince to the death!"
"We believe that following the Sixth Prince will surely lead to victory."
...

Listening to the soldiers' unified responses, Li Ye was thoroughly satisfied.

"Very well! Since you all trust this Prince, this Prince will certainly not let you down. However, there is one thing that must be made clear in advance. Since you are willing to accept my command, you must strictly obey orders. When I order you to attack, even if there is a mountain of knives and a sea of fire ahead, you must charge forward knowing full well it means death. When I order you to retreat, even if the path is piled high with gold and silver jewels, you must fall back immediately. Anyone who dares to defy military orders will be beheaded! Those who die on the battlefield will not only receive full compensation, but this Prince will also take good care of your families. Do you all understand?"

"Understood!" everyone answered in unison.

In truth, Li Ye did not even need to repeat these words. They had long since heard in the military camp that following Li Ye into battle would never result in getting the short end of the stick. Therefore, they had tried every possible means to stay behind.

With the soldiers' morale thoroughly aroused, the army set out immediately. The brothers Lei Ying and Lei Zhan led the way at the front, having long since thoroughly scouted the enemy's situation. Furthermore, the soldiers' weapons were exceptionally sharp. The blades in their hands could slice through iron as if it were mud, and each of them carried a crossbow on their back. These crossbows had been custom-made by Li Ye at great expense, designed so that the draw weight could be adjusted according to combat conditions. The initial bolt fired with tremendous force, possessing extraordinary armor-piercing capabilities. After the first volley, by adjusting the tension, a single soldier could easily re-string the crossbow. In this way, the full might of the crossbows could be unleashed.

Meanwhile, the situation on Qin Qingxue's side was far from ideal.

Gathering thirty thousand troops at the front lines, her combined forces totaled over seventy thousand. Yet, the soldiers—in terms of combat proficiency, weaponry, and morale—were extremely sluggish. However, faced with the enemy's offensive, Qin Qingxue had no other choice. Since she had come, she had to win a decisive victory to boost the morale of all her soldiers; otherwise, even basic defense would be out of the question.

Shi Wushuang had not yet managed to contact the disciples of the Cloud Ridge Pavilion, and at the same time, she needed to conceal her own agenda. Thus, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree to enter the battle. After all, a play had to be performed from start to finish, and a fierce battle was necessary to avoid arousing suspicion.

The only advantage was that the Annan troops, having occupied a large number of cities, had become much more dispersed. The number of enemy troops before them roughly matched the size of the Dayuan army. Furthermore, relying on their walled cities as a backing, even if they were defeated, they could still retreat into the city to defend. It could be said that this battle was fought from an unassailable position of invincibility.

After weighing the pros and cons, Qin Qingxue deployed an offensive formation and took the initiative to launch an attack against the enemy. This formation was a standard infantry setup: the archers stood at the very front, unleashing a hail of arrows upon the enemy's forces. Then, the infantry charged forward while the cavalry swept around the rear, launching a fierce assault from the flanks.

Struck by the violent rain of arrows, the Annan army was caught completely off guard, suffering heavy casualties. Coupled with the charging infantry and the coordinated cavalry, their formation immediately crumbled into disarray.

Seeing this, Qin Qingxue was overjoyed. She had originally prepared herself for a bitter struggle, never expecting the enemy to be so fragile.

"Soldiers, charge for me!"

Qin Qingxue had grown reckless, personally leading her elite guards into battle in an attempt to annihilate the tens of thousands of enemy troops in one fell swoop.

Shi Wushuang, however, felt that something was amiss. The enemy was being defeated far too quickly. No matter how poor their combat effectiveness was, an army of tens of thousands could not be routed so easily. If that were truly the case, the previous few cities would not have been breached so effortlessly.

"Be careful! Do not pursue too deeply! This is very likely a trap set by the enemy," Shi Wushuang warned. Even though the Annan Kingdom had the support of the Cloud Ridge Pavilion in their invasion of the Dayuan Dynasty, and there were even disciples of the Cloud Ridge Pavilion helping to devise strategies within the Annan ranks, the ultimate decision-making power still rested with the Annan commanders.

Qin Qingxue had staked all her chips. Once she failed, it could lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

Desperately in need of a major victory to prove her strength, Qin Qingxue paid no heed to Shi Wushuang's words.

"I know what I'm doing. As long as we defeat these seventy to eighty thousand enemy troops, the Annan army will lose the initiative. We must seize this opportunity."

With that, Qin Qingxue had already led her elite guards charging to the very front.

Her martial arts skills were indeed formidable. Riding at the very vanguard, her precious sword slashed back and forth, and not a single person could withstand her for even a single round. Even the enemy's armor could not block the sharpness of her blade. The enemy soldiers were forced back step by step, fleeing in panic as their formation completely collapsed.

Qin Qingxue led her army in relentless pursuit and slaughter.

At first, Shi Wushuang still suspected it was an enemy trap, and whenever they encountered terrain suitable for an ambush, she would try to stop Qin Qingxue and halt the army's attack. However, after pursuing for a considerable distance and cutting down over ten thousand enemy troops, it looked nothing like a feigned defeat. No matter what kind of trap or scheme it was, surely they wouldn't sacrifice the lives of so many men?

Consequently, Shi Wushuang cast aside all her misgivings and focused entirely on slaughtering the enemy to the best of her ability.

In one breath, they pursued for twenty miles, until the retreating Annan forces reached a mountain. Attacking from the bottom up meant they had already fallen into a tactical disadvantage. Moreover, the Dayuan army had grown extremely exhausted after such a long chase.

Only then did Qin Qingxue order the gongs to be sounded to recall the troops, preparing to withdraw. This great victory was more than enough to boost the army's morale and establish her prestige within the military. From then on, whenever she issued commands, no one would dare question them.

Qin Qingxue's face beamed with joy, never expecting the first battle to progress so smoothly.

"It seems the Annan army is nothing special after all, completely vulnerable to a single blow. The Emperor giving me fifty thousand troops was actually a bit too many. Three thousand—no, thirty thousand troops are more than enough to defeat the Annan army."

"Indeed, I didn't expect this either! I truly wonder what the garrison troops were doing to have been defeated by such an army." Shi Wushuang was also utterly baffled. Could there really be such a vast disparity in combat prowess between the northern and southern troops? Fighting the northern enemy forces had been extremely grueling, and they always had to rely on outnumbering the enemy to win. Yet, fighting in the south, the enemy was completely frail and useless. She could hardly believe the victory before her eyes.

Just as Shi Wushuang finished speaking, as if the enemy were answering her, a massive elephant trumpeting suddenly echoed from the mountain. The ground began to tremble slightly. Focusing their eyes, they saw a line of elephants charging down from the mountain slope, with multiple soldiers perched on the back of each beast, wielding various weapons.

The expressions of Qin Qingxue and Shi Wushuang instantly changed drastically.

"Not good! It's a trap!"