Moreover, over the past year or so, the story of Fang Tiande's death has spread throughout the entire Great Zhao, and storytellers in inns and restaurants across the country have even revised the story several times.
The princess of the Great Zhao Dynasty killed the Tianliang rebel marshal on the battlefield - just this simple description was enough to attract the people of the Great Zhao Dynasty to listen.
Singing this story could earn more copper coins than telling other stories about gods and ghosts, so the storyteller was naturally happy to do so. He would travel around several villages and towns every day and tell the story several times.
The story naturally spread to the army as it was passed on by word of mouth, and most of the soldiers in the Northern Frontier had already heard of the name Xi Heng.
And now, Her Royal Highness the Princess, who had only been heard of in stories, suddenly appeared and brought reinforcements to help them break the siege of the enemy.
There was no one in the city who was not excited, whether civilians or soldiers.
Therefore, wherever Xi Heng went, he was met with admiration and cheers.
But hearing such calls too often would inevitably become annoying to her ears, and soon after, she ordered the soldiers behind her to return to their respective military headquarters.
He changed his direction and took several hundred elite soldiers from Qiming City to the general's mansion in the city to find Zhao Wanli and arrange a resting place for his soldiers.
The general's mansion was not far away, and Xi Heng walked in without any hindrance. He saw Zhao Wanli receiving treatment from a military doctor.
After briefly stating his demands, General Zhao Wanli ordered his subordinates to reward the reinforcements that had come to the rescue of the city. He then respectfully addressed Chao Xiheng as "Your Highness the Princess" and personally bowed to express his gratitude.
Xi Heng accepted the other party's thanks indifferently, and then just talked about the battle situation he had just led:
"Today I led the troops to run for dozens of miles, intending to pursue the enemy until they were worn out and dispersed, but on the way I encountered a large river, and the enemy jumped into the river to cross it, making it difficult for the cavalry to follow up, so I had no choice but to turn back."
"Today's results are already very fruitful." Zhao Wanli was quite satisfied with this:
"Now that the siege of Kezhou has been lifted, our army is no longer trapped. We will surely be able to gain an advantage and gradually launch a counterattack... and Your Highness has made such a great contribution, so you should be rewarded handsomely."
He took out a gold-rimmed official badge from the drawer beside him and pushed it gently towards Chao Xiheng.
The characters "Wu Yi" were printed on the official badge, and the material details seemed to be more perfect than those of the Yiwei doctor badge.
"Was I promoted?" Xi Heng asked casually, not caring much.
"Doctor Wuyi can lead 3,000 elite soldiers, which is also the highest rank I can give to a general as the King of Zhenbei County."
Xi Heng had already led several thousand cavalrymen today, and he didn't care much about the empty title of this official position. He just picked it up and looked at it before putting it around his waist.
"Although this group of enemy troops has fled across the river, they still have a large number of troops. After returning to the camp on the other side, they will surely still be eyeing Kezhou..." She first made up an excuse and then stated her real purpose:
"Give me three thousand elite soldiers. I will cross the river and march east to destroy them. There is no Huajin in this enemy army. I only need to lead the army to the front of the enemy and defeat them."
But Zhao Wanli shook his head and said:
"Don't chase after a desperate enemy. Although Qiming and Kezhou have been secured, the situation in Xingzhou in the north is still difficult... Now that the situation in my army has finally eased, we should go and support our friendly forces."
"But I have internal injuries and need to rest for a few days. Please lead the cavalry to help Xingzhou."
"Okay." Xi Heng just wanted to kill the enemy, no matter which battlefield it was.
"We'll set off tomorrow." Zhao Wanli said directly.
"So anxious?"
"Kezhou has already been attacked, and the situation in Xingzhou will certainly be even more serious. Your Highness, lead the cavalry to rescue first. After I reorganize the military, I will lead the main force to sweep the surrounding areas and then rescue the North City."
……
The next day, Xi Heng took the military order and led 3,700 cavalry soldiers out of the city.
The sound of the galloping horses was like an earthquake as they headed north along a smooth road.
The next day, he encountered a postman from Xingzhou running towards him, heading south with a request for help.
The document claimed that Xingzhou was under siege by enemy forces, the city walls were filled with black fog, soldiers from both sides were engaging in close combat, and the sounds of hacking and killing continued.
Xi Heng then quickened his pace, shortening his soldiers' rest time by another hour, making it almost like they were marching day and night.
Four days later, he met another military envoy on the official road.
She thought it was another request for help, but the messenger did not relax after seeing the reinforcements she brought. Instead, his eyes were filled with tears...
When the information came, Xi Heng unfolded the scroll, read it through, and sighed softly.
"Xingzhou City has been breached by Yan Meng. The enemy troops entered the city and killed people wantonly. The city was full of corpses and blood. A large number of civilians, soldiers, officers and officials were captured, and countless money and grain were looted..."
"After capturing the city, Yan Meng's army did not stay in the city. Instead, they set fire to it and burned Xingzhou to the ground."
There was a hint of murderous intent in Xi Heng's eyes.
She thought that the Great Zhao was already under her control.
He has a hidden desire to protect the people who have treasures among them.
When Yan Meng's enemy troops robbed her of money, food, silk and other items, they were actually robbing her property.
Anyone who dares to steal her things will surely die.
So even though the mission was invalid, she had no intention of leading the troops back, and only said briefly:
"Continue to the north, attack the enemy camp and rescue the prisoners."
The vanguard cavalry continued to accelerate and galloped northward.
……
After another day of marching, Xi Heng encountered the remnants of a defeated friendly army.
Although they had more people, their morale was almost gone. The army had no formation and the soldiers had no posture. Many of them were walking slowly with crutches or carrying patients on their backs.
She led her troops closer, and only then did the scattered soldiers react.
At first, the military thought that the enemy was approaching, and the formation became chaotic. There was a constant stream of swords being drawn, orders being given, and panic sounds, and the soldiers had no idea whose orders they should follow.
Then, when they saw the word "Zhao" flying on the dark red flag in front of the cavalry, the army finally calmed down.
With such low morale and disorganized command of the soldiers, she only needed to send 300 soldiers to overrun the city.
Xi Heng shook his head and walked forward with his deputy general to ask for information about the enemy army and Xingzhou City.
Just as the postman we met at the beginning said, Xingzhou City failed to defend against the enemy's black fog ammunition attack, and the city walls were gradually breached.
Moreover, there was a famous Hua Jin general in the enemy army who had extremely fast body movements and suppressed their own generals.
The enemy's attacks continued, and the soldiers were almost exhausted from killing all the climbers.
Eventually the city walls were captured and the gates opened.
The four or five thousand dispirited Zhao soldiers in front of them barely escaped through the back door on the other side of the city wall.
There were originally tens of thousands of them, including many elite soldiers and generals, but most of them were lost after a counterattack they had planned earlier. Most of the braver elite soldiers had died in the battlefield, and the rest were mostly just service soldiers who did ordinary odd jobs and had no involvement in the fighting.
By now, this defeated army had completely lost the will to fight.
After understanding some of the situation, Xi Heng pondered for a moment, then announced his own name and achievements to the defeated army in front of him and asked:
"I intend to counterattack Yan Meng's camp and rescue the captured soldiers. Are you willing to join me?"
"This……"
The defeated general hesitated and could not make a decision.
"Don't force it. Anyone who is capable and willing to go to the battlefield with me, just step forward." She said in a calm voice.
The generals then agreed and asked the military headquarters who was willing to continue fighting and killing the enemy.
Immediately, many brave soldiers who were still fully equipped with armor stepped forward and knelt down, clasping their fists, as if they had discussed it beforehand:
"We are willing to follow Her Highness the Princess to fight the enemy and rescue our comrades!"
After they walked out of the army, more and more defeated soldiers walked out of the defeated ranks in groups to prove that they were not cowards.
During this period, Xi Heng's reputation that spread throughout the Great Zhao also played a role, and many miscellaneous soldiers came forward just because of their admiration.
Gradually, nearly 50% of the defeated troops were under his control, and the rest were mostly just service soldiers.
Letting the remaining defeated troops walk away, she and several lieutenants beside her spent half an hour reorganizing the troops.
Gradually, the 3,700 cavalrymen expanded into an army of 6,000.
Although the march speed slowed down, Xingzhou City had been breached and there was no need for quick support.
Xi Heng even gave his soldiers some time to rest and have a meal on the spot before continuing their journey.
On the way, the former Xingzhou soldiers who had joined the army marked several enemy camp locations on the map, and noted which one was the food camp, which was the enemy's main camp, which camp was most likely to house prisoners, etc.
Xi Heng and his deputy general planned the route and chose the most direct and quickest route to attack the enemy camp.
Calculating the distance, we will probably reach the enemy camp by nightfall tomorrow, which will be the best time to launch a surprise attack.
……
As night fell, the enemy camp was already in sight.
But tonight was not as dark as she had hoped, but instead there was a bright moon hanging high in the sky.
The full moon casts its bright light, illuminating the world clearly.
Although it was a clear night and not the best time for a surprise attack, Xi Heng was unwilling to waste time and still ordered the military to surround the smaller camp in front of them.
The various formations drew circles on the field, and the pattern looked like the Bagua.
Xi Heng, as usual, threw a fireball at the enemy camp in front of him.
The loud bang was like the sound of a war drum, followed by the sound of thousands of horses galloping, and suddenly shouts of killing were heard from all directions of the enemy camp.
Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Yan Meng's enemy troops were unable to react after being attacked by surprise.
As soon as the attack began, the entire enemy camp was scattered and easily defeated.
When Xi Heng led his troops to charge, he suddenly realized that there seemed to be only five or six hundred enemy soldiers in the enemy camp, most of whom were just servants who did not even have weapons or armor.
No wonder there were not many patrols around this small camp and they failed to detect her approaching army.
So Xi Heng saved a few prisoners and interrogated them about where the soldiers who were supposed to be stationed there had gone.
But it turned out that after their army captured Xingzhou City, they only came to the camp to reorganize for one night, and then immediately went east to join another army.
The task of the service soldiers who remained here was to dismantle the camp and transport tents, food, livestock and other supplies to keep up with the army.
And now, they had just sent out a team of grain carts and had not yet started to dismantle the tents when they were attacked by the Zhao army that came from nowhere. They were quite at a loss as to what to do.
The sudden transfer of the enemy's siege army created a large gap in the garrison in the area surrounding Xingzhou City.
And Xi Heng seemed to have passed through this gap inadvertently and entered the rear of the enemy when no one expected it.
So when she arrived at the enemy camp, all she met were the enemy's remaining logistics troops.
The girl held her forehead and sighed.
I'm afraid the generals of Yan Meng's army could not have imagined that such a large Zhao cavalry would suddenly come around behind them and directly destroy a part of the enemy camp.
"The enemy's army has gathered together, perhaps to gather strength and then attack the city from the south..."
"Perhaps Kezhou City will be attacked again soon. Perhaps we should return to garrison."
"Or maybe I can just stay behind the enemy lines, destroy the enemy camp and disrupt the supply routes." Xi Heng thought.
Perhaps offense is the best defense. As long as the momentum made when attacking the enemy camp is large enough, Yan Meng can be forced to return to defend, disrupting their offensive and plans.
However, if they return because they are worried about the safety of the friendly city, they will directly lose the advantage of being behind the enemy.
But I don’t know whether Zhao Wanli, who is already injured, can still defend Kezhou.
If the city fortress cannot be defended, the enemy can choose to attack the city directly, and then return to the north to surround the army led by Xi Heng after breaking it.
"He Jiedushi of Qiming City has also sent troops to help Kezhou. Perhaps they can hold on..."
She sighed softly, "It would be nice if there was a small strategic map to look at."
In that way, we can compare the strength of the two armies and directly decide whether to attack or defend.
And now, she was standing in front of two forked roads.
Returning to rescue was a safer approach, but returning empty-handed would waste several days of cavalry operations.
"It would be better to destroy another part of the enemy camp and rescue the captured friendly soldiers first."
Xi Heng looked around at the friendly soldiers surrounding the camp, his eyes flashing.
She first called a central army messenger, described the intelligence she knew, and said that the vanguard army she led would cut off the enemy's supply, and asked General Zhao Wanli to hold the city firmly, or to adapt to the situation...
The intelligence was rolled up into a scroll, which was sealed by the deputy general with the general's seal he carried with him and mounted on a thousand-mile horse. The rider then rode on the scroll and galloped south.
After the information spread far away, Xi Heng continued to lead the soldiers around him northward, seizing the opportunity to attack another enemy camp in the north.
The cavalry attacked in the middle of the night, set up camp for a short rest until dawn, and then arrived at the food storage camp behind the enemy at noon the next day.
