A single timid soldier makes a timid army; a timid general makes the whole force weak.
An army’s combat strength, discipline, and morale are directly tied to its commanders.
Qinghuai and General Fan, both staunch advocates of battle, led the Iron Forest Army and the Fan Family Army, two of the few Dakang forces capable of fighting tough battles.
After crossing the lake, the two armies charged toward Clearwater Valley with unstoppable momentum.
Although Li Jikui had placed scouts near the lake, they hadn’t eaten for days, weakened by hunger and without horses. By the time they staggered back to the Dangxiang camp to report, the Iron Forest and Fan Family armies had already crossed.
Li Jikui immediately mustered his forces, preparing for battle.
Soon, the sound of disciplined footsteps echoed from the south.
The Zhenxi allied forces, composed of the Iron Forest and Fan Family armies, marched in neat phalanxes, appearing in view and halting on the open ground outside Clearwater Valley.
This terrain was ideal for cavalry in a decisive battle, the main reason Li Jikui had chosen to camp here.
But now, the southern expedition’s warhorses were almost entirely gone.
“Why are they flying the banners of the Iron Forest Army and Qinghuai?” Li Jikui asked, pointing at Qinghuai’s general flag.
A flag represents the army and its commander. Typically, Qinghuai’s banner would only be raised if he was with the phalanx.
But wasn’t Qinghuai and the Iron Forest Army on Clearwater Mountain?
“Commander, from their armour, it’s definitely the Iron Forest Army,” the advisor said, studying the phalanx. “There are quite a few of them, probably over three thousand.”
“The Iron Forest Army has less than five thousand men total, and we killed so many last year. Holding Clearwater Mountain is already impressive. How could they have over three thousand down here?” Zhuoba scoffed. “These must be imposters using their banners to disrupt our morale.”
Before he finished, Qinghuai rode out from the rear, inspecting the phalanx.
“Qing… Qinghuai? Commander, Qinghuai is really here!” Zhuoba’s eyes widened, glancing back at Clearwater Mountain. “Then who’s commanding up there?”
“It doesn’t matter who,” the advisor said, closing his eyes and shaking his head slightly.
General Fan rode to the front and spoke, “Li Jikui, you know the situation. Surrender and give your men a chance to live.”
On Clearwater Mountain, Jin Feng, Zhao Lao, and several captains stood on a boulder, watching the scene unfold.
“Sir, if we wait a few more days, the Dangxiang will all starve. We could just collect their bodies. Why are the Marquis and General Fan bothering to fight?” a captain asked curiously. “Besides, the Dangxiang are weak now. Why waste words on surrender? Why not just wipe them out with the phalanx?”
“What do you know?” Zhao Lao said. “Dakang has two princes held hostage in Dangxiang, not to mention the princesses married off over the years. If we kill the entire southern expedition, what happens to them? If we capture these Dangxiang soldiers, we can negotiate to ransom the princes and princesses, and free more Han slaves taken to Dangxiang. Isn’t that more useful than killing them?”
“So that’s the reasoning,” the captain said, enlightened.
Jin Feng nodded slightly.
Perspective shapes thought.
From a common soldier’s view, vengeance feels best—kill all the Dangxiang.
But from the court’s perspective, Dangxiang corpses are worthless and require effort to bury. Capturing them alive for negotiations with Dangxiang is far more practical.
Below, Li Jikui spurred his gaunt horse forward, facing General Fan with false bravado. “Fan Wenyuan, Dangxiang has only warriors who die in battle, not cowards who surrender. You’re dreaming if you think we’ll give up!”
“No cowards who surrender?” General Fan sneered. “Li Jikui, don’t lie through your teeth. Weren’t the cavalry captured here by the Iron Forest Army a while back your Dangxiang men?”
“They were rescued and drove the Iron Forest Army back to…” Li Jikui began, but General Fan cut him off.
“Enough. Do you think the Iron Forest Army couldn’t hold you off?”
“What do you mean?”
“Figure it out yourself,” General Fan said. “I’ll ask you now: fight or surrender!”
“I told you, Dangxiang has only warriors who die, not…”
“I get it,” General Fan said, turning his horse back to the ranks.
Drums thundered, and signal flags waved, issuing the attack command.
The Iron Forest and Fan Family armies formed a disciplined Macedonian phalanx, advancing in unison.
The Dangxiang pushed out siege carts, attempting to break the phalanx as before.
But with the Yong’an Army’s failure as a lesson, Qinghuai and General Fan had prepared for the siege carts.
A signal flag waved behind Qinghuai, and dozens of small jars flew from the rear of the phalanx.
In an instant, the siege carts and the Dangxiang soldiers pushing them were engulfed in flames.
“Teams one, two, and three, break through their flanks!” Zhuoba, having faced the Yong’an Army’s phalanx before, saw that the Iron Forest and Fan Family phalanxes weren’t fully fortified on all sides. He directed his men to attack the flanks, targeting their weakness.
But would Qinghuai give them the chance?
As the Dangxiang soldiers reached the flanks, a dense barrage of stones flew from the Iron Forest Army’s rear.
In just two volleys, the three Dangxiang teams were nearly wiped out.
Meanwhile, the phalanx of the Iron Forest and Fan Family armies pressed toward the Dangxiang main force.
The Dangxiang, starved for days and demoralised, were no match for the Iron Forest Army.
The battle began at noon and lasted until evening.
The Dangxiang southern expedition suffered heavy losses, retreating as they fought, cornered by over a dozen phalanxes.
The phalanxes closed in, with steep cliffs behind, leaving the expedition no escape.
“Li Jikui, I’ll ask you one last time: surrender or not?” General Fan demanded again.
“Commander, we’ve lost. Surrender and give the men a chance to live,” the advisor whispered.
“Old fool, shut up!” Zhuoba glared at the advisor, clasping his fists. “Commander, we still have so many men. Even if we pile up corpses, we can take down plenty of Dakang soldiers. I’ve been captured once and know how Dakang treats prisoners. If we surrender, we lose everything.”
“But aren’t you alive and well now?” the advisor persisted. “Commander, Dakang’s royal hostages are in Dangxiang. They won’t kill us all. As long as we survive, His Majesty will find a way to save us.”
“Old fool, if you keep confusing the commander, I’ll cut you down!” Zhuoba drew his sword, glaring.
