Chapter 158: Breaking Through

By the third watch, Zhao Qian had already gathered his chosen eight thousand elite death-defying soldiers at the city gate, preparing to launch a surprise attack.

Knowing this departure would likely be a one-way trip from which none would return, everyone gathered before the gate to toast Zhao Qian and wish him success.

In the isolated city of Lueyang, there was no wine to be found. Zhang Chi substituted water for wine and stepped forward himself to offer a farewell cup to Zhao Qian. Zhao Qian accepted the large bowl handed to him by Zhang Chi and drained it in a single gulp. He was well aware that this mission spelled grim peril with little hope of survival, yet he remained utterly without fear. Turning back, he said, "Your Excellency need not worry. A real man should seek glory on the battlefield; even if we fall in battle, we will be achieving righteousness at the cost of our lives—what regrets could there be? Moreover, this trip may not necessarily be a desperate dead end. Once I charge northward, the Hu army will inevitably be forced to redeploy. Then Your Excellency can break out toward the south. If Your Excellency succeeds in breaking through, the Hu forces will surely give chase, and it is not entirely impossible for me to find a way to escape back."

Zhang Chi was momentarily speechless. He nodded and said, "Take care, General Zhao."

Without further ado, Zhao Qian leaped onto his horse and gave the order to open the city gates. The eight thousand death-defying soldiers thus charged out into the shrouding veil of night.

Watching Zhao Qian lead his troops gradually away into the distance, Zhang Chi could not help but sigh softly, "I wonder how many of these eight thousand lads will live to escape back."

Du Ximing said, "General Zhao has embraced a mortal resolve; he intends to sacrifice his life for a greater cause. Even if he truly manages to break out of the encirclement this time, he will find himself deep behind enemy lines. The chances of him surviving to return to Hanzhong are practically nil."

Qin Bo also remarked, "Having served as a general for many years, I have rarely witnessed a man of such loyalty and righteousness as General Zhao."

Zhang Chi turned his head and saw Dark Blade looking up at the sky with a grave expression. He asked her, "What are you thinking?"

Dark Blade said in a deep voice, "Back in Badong Commandery, countless members of the Commoner Faction branches were wiped out by Zhao Qian's troops. Aside from me, not a single one survived."

"So you still remember." Zhang Chi was somewhat surprised. Dark Blade had always remained by his side. Even back when the Northern Expedition against the Hu tribes was first initiated and commanders were appointed outside the city of Chengdu, Dark Blade had laid eyes upon Zhao Qian. Why had she always maintained such an unreadable composure?

In Zhang Chi's estimation, given Dark Blade's intolerant attitude toward evil, she ought to have hated Zhao Qian to the bone and thirsted for his blood.

"How could I ever forget?" Dark Blade gave a bitter smile. "I was an orphan since childhood; my parents and siblings were all slaughtered by the Hu. Fortunately, the Commoner Faction took me in, and the old faction leader taught me martial arts and how to be a human being—yet all of that was wiped out in a single day by Zhao Qian's troops. If you were in my place, could you forget?"

"Then why are you only speaking of it today, when you remained completely silent before?" Zhang Chi was puzzled.

"You taught me," Dark Blade replied indifferently.

"Me?"

"A personal grudge is a petty grudge; the grudge of one's family and country is the grand grudge! How many of our people have the Hu slaughtered, and how many orphans like me are there in Shu? You once said that in the face of such a monumental enmity, we must unite as one if we are to have any hope of defeating the Hu. Therefore, although I recognized Zhao Qian long ago, for the sake of the greater picture, I have delayed killing him."

Dark Blade gazed into the distant night where Zhao Qian's troops had vanished. "Today, he is willing to sacrifice his life for righteousness. Regardless of whatever grievances exist between him and me, I still deeply admire his actions today. However, starting from today, whether his journey ends in life or death, the feud between him and me is written off once and for all."

As she spoke, two silent lines of clear tears welled up and tracked down Dark Blade's cheeks.

With Zhao Qian already out of the city, Du Ximing hurriedly gathered the remaining troops inside, waiting for the moment when Zhao Qian shattered the Hu formations and their main army redeployed so they could seize the opportunity to burst through the encirclement in one fell swoop.

The generals dispersed to attend to their respective duties. Recalling how all the officers had sighed over Zhao Qian's willingness to sacrifice his life, Zhang Chi noticed that only Ding Yizhi wore a faint smile. He turned to Ding Yizhi and asked, "General Zhao is sacrificing his life for righteousness, willingly taking extraordinary risks to buy us the opportunity for a smooth breakout. Why did my cousin wear a smile just now?"

"The same event, viewed from different angles, yields different results. What my elder brother sees is General Zhao willingly taking risks—which is indeed commendable, and grief would be entirely natural and reasonable. What Yizhi sees, however, is the process of General Zhao's transformation."

"Oh?"

"When General Zhao first followed my elder brother, he was still tainted by the bureaucratic habits of the Shu officialdom, deeply entrenched and hard to change. Yet who would have expected that in such a short span of time, General Zhao would actually become willing to sacrifice his life for righteousness? Does elder brother know why this is?"

"Oranges grown in Huainan are oranges, but those grown in Huibei are bitter trifoliate oranges," Zhang Chi shook his head. Ding Yizhi smiled and said, "When General Zhao was originally in Shu, he inevitably carried the airs of the local officialdom. Yet after following elder brother for only a short while, he has become like an entirely different person. Doesn't this prove something?"

Zhang Chi was momentarily stunned.

"Actually, it is not just General Zhao. Those around elder brother are all the same. Whether it is Daoxuan and San Tong who followed elder brother from the very beginning, or Lady Dark Blade who joined most recently, they have all undergone profound transformations without even realizing it."

"Do I really possess such immense personal charm?" Zhang Chi chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Ding Yizhi stopped smiling. "I only hope that if elder brother encounters catastrophe, you will remain undaunted and unyielding. That alone will ensure these soldiers have not followed you through life and death in vain."

Just as they were speaking, Qin Bo shouted loudly from the ramparts, "My Lord, the Hu army is making a move!"

Zhang Chi and Ding Yizhi hurriedly climbed to the city wall. Through the dimness, they could indeed see that bonfires had been lit in the distance among the Hu camp, clearly indicating that Zhao Qian had already charged into the enemy lines.

Zhao Qian's prediction had been accurate. Although the Hu main army surrounded Lueyang, in order to prevent Zhang Chi from escaping back to Hanzhong, the bulk of their forces were deployed to the south, while the troops stationed in the north were relatively sparse.

The night was now deep, and the Hu army was fast asleep when Zhao Qian led his forces in a raid on their camp.

How could the Hu have anticipated that the Jin army, already trapped in an isolated city, would instead choose to break out northward? Since heading further north meant traveling even further from Hanzhong, wasn't that tantamount to seeking their own destruction?

Zhao Qian rode at the very forefront, and the soldiers behind him descended like fierce tigers coming down a mountain, charging straight toward the north. The Hu forces were caught unprepared and their formation was thrown into complete chaos.

"The Jin are breaking out!" someone shouted amid the disarray.

In the dead of night, it was impossible to tell how many enemy soldiers there were, but the eight thousand men led by Zhao Qian were all death-defying elite troops, each harboring a mortal resolve. Once people cease to fear death, they can often fight ten men or more. Thus, this frantic charge tore through the enemy ranks like a tiger entering a pack of wolves.

Yao Shuode was sleeping peacefully in his tent when someone shook him awake. "General, taking advantage of the night, the Jin seem to be breaking out toward the north! The forces in the north are thin; should we redeploy other troops to reinforce them?"

"Breaking out toward the north?" This unexpected development caught Yao Shuode off guard. He hurriedly lit a lamp, opened the map, and began analyzing carefully.

Yet within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, another messenger rushed in with military intelligence: "Reporting to Your Excellency, the northern forces are insufficient and have sent out an urgent plea for help. If we do not send reinforcements immediately, the Jin main army will break through."

"In what direction are they breaking out?" Yao Shuode demanded.

"The direction of their breakout is the city of Qinzhou!"

Yao Shuode was greatly shocked.

Because he had received intelligence that Zhang Chi intended to capture Lueyang, he had made early preparations, allowing him to concentrate his forces and trap Zhang Chi within Lueyang city. Yet he had recently suffered a crushing defeat at Zhang Chi's hands, losing three hundred thousand troops, which had indeed shaken his foundations. In his haste, Qinzhou could not possibly have possessed a large garrison; thus, while he was able to besiege Zhang Chi at Lueyang, Qinzhou itself was left extremely understaffed.

Could Zhang Chi have foreseen all of this and intended to march his army directly to capture Qinzhou?

"Quickly order the troops from other directions to redeploy toward the northern side of Lueyang city! We must not let the Jin break through! At the same time, order Lü Hao's army south of Lueyang to begin the assault on the city. Since the Jin wish to break out and Lueyang's garrison is limited, we shall capture Lueyang. We will deny them their breakout while simultaneously stripping them of Lueyang!"

"Understood!" The soldier acknowledged the command and backed out of the tent.

...

All the lights inside Lueyang city had by now been extinguished. Zhang Chi and the others stood atop the southern ramparts, silently gazing out into the distance. They could already see torches igniting in the far south, clearly indicating troop movements. Judging by their marching direction, they were skirting the flanks of Lueyang city to redeploy directly toward the north.

"The Hu army is making its move. Should we charge out now?" San Tong asked anxiously.

"Wait a little longer," Du Ximing said. "If we sortie too early, our intentions will be easily seen through."

"But the longer we delay, the more dangerous it becomes for Zhao Qian! Besides, once the Hu surround those eight thousand men, they will naturally realize it isn't our main force, won't our ruse be exposed?" San Tong's reasoning was not without merit.

Du Ximing pondered this. In truth, he was just as eager to relieve some of the pressure on Zhao Qian. Glancing at Zhang Chi and seeing the latter nod in agreement, Du Ximing shouted loudly, "Generals, mount your horses! We are charging out of the city to break the siege now!"

When an army breaks out, duties must be clearly assigned. Lueyang was backed against the Qinling Mountains, so the army would break out along the mountain terrain. In this way, even if they encountered resistance, the surface area of engagement could be minimized, and everyone had already agreed that regardless of any resistance encountered, they must not delay—using the fastest possible speed to blast their way out was the supreme strategy.

Furthermore, by breaking out along the mountain contours, San Tong could use his cavalry to protect the flanks of the main army, thereby reducing potential casualties.

Du Ximing and Qin Bo led the vanguard to clear the path, San Tong guarded the flanks, while Han Xiang and Sun Rubai led their respective troops to form the rear guard. With everything prepared, Du Ximing ordered the city gates thrown wide open, and the army surged forth like a torrent from a breached reservoir.

...

Among Yao Shuode's subordinates was a major general named Lü Hao—the very same officer who had previously participated in the siege of Pingwu.

That time, he had been lucky enough to escape when Zhang Chi lifted the siege of Pingwu. Now, the wheel of fortune had turned, and his time for misfortune had finally arrived.

When Yao Shuode ordered him to attack Lueyang, Lü Hao had considered it a stroke of good fortune.

He had already learned that the main Jin army was breaking out toward the north, meaning Lueyang must be virtually empty. If he could capture Lueyang, it would be a monumental achievement.

Beaming with triumph, he rode at the very head of his column, only to see a mass of enemy troops suddenly charging out to meet him from ahead in the dimness of the night.

Through the darkness, the size of the force was indistinguishable, accompanied only by a chaotic uproar. At first, he never imagined this could be the main Jin army, and by the time the troops closed in right before him, it was already too late for him to run.

To break a siege, one must strike with a single burst of overwhelming momentum. If the enemy blunts that sharp edge and the initial breakout fails, trying again becomes exceedingly difficult. Du Ximing knew this truth well. He shouted aloud to Qin Bo from his saddle: "You and I will join forces and strike down the enemy general swiftly, and the Hu soldiers will fall into chaos of their own accord!"

*(Note: The original text includes publication artifacts and reader engagement prompts which have been omitted as per instructions.)*