Early the next morning, the two armies began to close the distance. By the time the red sun hung high in the sky, both forces had finished arraying their lines, confronting each other from afar.
At this moment, the battlefield presented an exceedingly strange sight. Qingming's ten thousand fully heavy-armored infantry dismounted and advanced into formation, leaving all their warhorses to the rear under the protection of war chariots.
Opposite Qingming's battle array stood thirty thousand Zhao iron cavalry. Spears bristled like a forest, blades gleamed like frost, and fire guns hung at the flanks of their mounts. Behind this iron cavalry, another hundred and fifty thousand Zhao infantry anchored the rear—some belonging to the forces brought by the King of Zhao, and some from Cui Shutong's army.
To the flanks of the battlefield, Li Chengfeng's hundred thousand stout soldiers held one side, while Li Zhi's fifty thousand cavalry held the other.
Zhang Sheng checked the hour and said, "The time is about right. Sound the horns!"
Horns blared, marking the formal beginning of the battle. Clad in full armor, Cui Shutong drew his long saber and bellowed, his voice echoing across the wilderness, "Iron cavalry of Great Zhao, charge with me!"
All thirty thousand horsemen surged in unison, gradually gathering speed as they bore down upon the Qingming battle array. Above the charging cavalry, their military qi actually manifested into three massive war wolves!
Seeing this, the King of Zhao smiled to his attendants. "Old Cui's blade is sharp as ever! Just like in the old days!"
As they advanced, the Zhao cavalry parted smoothly and naturally. A detachment peeled off to each flank, accelerating along wide arcs to strike Qingming's left and right wings. All three prongs closed in almost simultaneously, a testament to the elite caliber of the Zhao army!
Yet while they were still a hundred zhang apart, the Qingming troops fired first. A sheet of gunsmoke billowed across the front rank in an instant, and countless Zhao cavalrymen tumbled headlong from their saddles, suffering catastrophic casualties in the blink of an eye. Almost before the roar of the first volley faded, a second pall of smoke erupted. The dense gunfire blended into an unbroken roar!
The King of Zhao's face turned livid in an instant. "What kind of guns are they using? How can their rate of fire be so fast?!"
How could the ministers answer? They could only watch in trembling dread, wishing they could give their cavalry a shove from behind to make them charge faster.
Gunfire hammered like thunder and rain, thick smoke enshrouding the entire battle array. In mere moments, Qingming had unleashed volley after volley, firing almost once every breath. The thirty thousand iron cavalry lost several thousand men in the blink of an eye before they finally came within the range of their own cavalry guns.
The Zhao horsemen were well trained, able to raise their guns and shoot even from the backs of galloping steeds. Yet after their volley, sparks flew across the Qingming soldiers' armor; though knocked off balance and swaying, many actually held their ground without falling!
In that exchange of fire, Qingming's casualties barely exceeded a hundred. The Zhao cavalry were equipped with double-barreled fire guns; after firing two rounds, they would switch to lances or sabers to crash into the enemy formation.
Yet after two rounds of shooting, Cui Shutong was horrified to find that Qingming's battle array had not fallen into disarray in the slightest! His heart sank immediately. He knew all too well what it meant for cavalry to charge a thick, disciplined formation of heavy infantry.
However, the momentum had already peaked and the warhorses had reached top speed; there was no turning back now.
In the distance, the King of Zhao closed his eyes, only reopening them when a continuous roar of dull impacts reached his ears.
The Qingming array kept firing right up until the final moment. Then, in the nick of time, every soldier raised the heavy shield at their feet, bracing with all their might.
The surviving Zhao iron cavalry smashed headlong into a veritable wall of bronze and iron, like surging waves crashing against reefs and bursting into spray. Countless riders were hurled straight from their saddles, tumbling into the middle of the Qingming array. Qingming's formation only buckled slightly inward under the impact before remaining as solid and orderly as before.
Seeing things turn sour, a few horsemen on the outer edges of the flanking charges wheeled their mounts frantically, managing to avoid crashing into the formation and escaping away.
The surviving Zhao cavalry immediately engaged the Qingming soldiers in melee. But these Qingming warriors were covered in armor almost from head to toe. They wielded large-caliber short guns fitted with heavy, short blades at the barrels, slashing like the wind while firing off shots now and then. These short guns packed tremendous punch; being hit by one was like taking a heavy sledgehammer strike—even if it failed to pierce armor, the bones beneath would be shattered by the shock.
Once the hand-to-hand combat began, the Zhao cavalry were cut down in swathes. Among Qingming's ten thousand warriors, Dao Foundation cultivators were as numerous as ox hairs. Even without firing their guns, cutting down Body Casting Zhao soldiers with their blades alone was as easy as chopping melons and slicing vegetables.
With bloodshot eyes, Cui Shutong charged into the fray himself, hacking down several Qingming soldiers in rapid succession. But then a voice rang out: "Your Excellency is a Dharma Idol cultivator after all. Why deign to strike ordinary foot soldiers? It is quite beneath your dignity. Feng Chutang of Qingming asks for your guidance."
Without a word, Cui Shutong manifested a two-headed giant lion that lunged ferociously at Feng Chutang. But vast ruins immediately materialized all around, and an Underworld Dragon swiped its claws to intercept the giant lion. The two clashed violently.
In the blink of an eye, Cui Shutong fell into a disadvantage. Shock gripped him; he wondered just what background this young cultivator had—his dharma idol was uncommonly formidable!
Seeing the Zhao army trapped in a bitter fight and bleeding casualties by the moment, the King of Zhao finally let out a sigh and said, "Pull them back!"
Beside him, an elderly man in lavish robes had a gloomy look on his face. He fumed, "That little wench is far too arrogant! This duke shall go teach her a lesson!"
"Duke of Zhongguo, hold on..." The King of Zhao's warning came a moment too late. The old man was in the Scenery Command realm; the words had barely left the king's mouth before he was already hovering over the battlefield.
Immediately, vast mountains, rivers, and ancient forests manifested over the battlefield. Soldiers fighting on both sides felt as if massive boulders weighed upon them, struggling even to stay on their feet. Yet Qingming's military qi merely contracted slightly; remaining cohesive and intact, it in turn weakened the old man's mindscape world.
High in the air, the lavishly robed elder flew into a rage. "This duke has stepped forth, yet you still dare refuse to stop! Today I shall teach you a lesson on behalf of your elders, girl!"
Zhang Sheng, who had been standing quietly in the central army all along, only now looked up and sneered. "And here I wondered who it was—turns out to be a grand Scenery Command expert! No wonder you struck like thunder against a humble Dao Foundation like me. Still, with just this mindscape world of yours, I fear teaching me a lesson might prove rather difficult."
Zhang Sheng flicked her finger, sending over a hundred streaks of sword light shooting forth. They settled into different positions across the battle array, fusing into one with the military qi. Aided by the sword array, the military qi suddenly seemed to come alive, its power surging abruptly to push back and suppress the old man's mindscape world.
The elder felt a chill in his heart. "The little girl certainly has plenty of tricks..."
Just then, an eerie, damp chill swept across his heart. Unnoticed, a woven doll had appeared in midair, its expression twisted in extreme agony, clutching a rusty little sword in its hand. Everyone who caught sight of this doll felt a momentary coldness seize their very souls, as though beholding the most terrifying thing imaginable.
With a sudden flicker, the doll vanished and reappeared higher in the air, then swung its little sword in a forceful slash. The mountains, rivers, and ancient forests seemed to flatten into a painting—and the little sword actually sliced an opening right through it!
How could a mindscape world be cut open? How could that area have turned into a two-dimensional scene?
Both shocked and furious, before the old man could devise a countermeasure, a sudden, searing pain ripped through his divine sense, turning his vision black.
The doll reached out its tiny hands to seize the tear, ripped violently, and tore off a small piece of the mountains, rivers, and ancient forests, stuffing it into its mouth and devouring it!
The doll grabbed the breach again and tore off another piece, sending another wave of agony through the elder's divine sense. No longer caring about dignity, gripped by shock and fury, he hastily retracted his mindscape world and cursed, "What a vicious little wench! Where did you get such a sinister, ghostly thing?! Devouring another person's mindscape world... How dare you claim to be of an orthodox sect when using such wicked methods?!"
Zhang Sheng stood with her hands behind her back and said indifferently, "The founding patriarch of my Palace of Grand Beginning once said..."
The words of the Palace of Grand Beginning's founding patriarch were naturally of monumental importance, so the elder in lavish robes immediately pricked up his ears. Then he heard Zhang Sheng continue: "Why waste words when you can fight!"
The old man's face turned green and white by turns. His old dignity was utterly shattered, yet he had no graceful way out.
Feng Chutang, meanwhile, was pondering as he traded techniques with Cui Shutong: when had their founding patriarch ever said such a thing?
Just as the lavishly robed elder was caught in this dilemma, two more elderly figures suddenly manifested in the sky—one elegant and refined, the other imposing and majestic. Both elders struck simultaneously, forcing out a dagger swimming through the void like a fish. Had their intervention come a moment later, that dagger would likely have pierced the Duke of Zhongguo right through.
Immediately afterward, a woman in red appeared in midair. Moving with the speed of a wisp of smoke, she clashed with the two elders for hundreds of exchanges in an instant. The majestic elder suddenly groaned, his aura dropping noticeably. Seeing that the opportune moment had passed, the woman in red flickered and vanished without a trace.
The two elders also turned and stepped into a doorway that appeared out of thin air, disappearing from sight. Meanwhile, the Duke of Zhongguo took advantage of the moment to slip away quietly.
Yet as he fled, a dull ache still throbbed in his divine sense; his sea of consciousness had clearly suffered damage. Moreover, a small tear remained on his mindscape world—the part swallowed by the doll had permanently disappeared.
Retreat horns sounded across the battlefield, and the surviving Zhao cavalry began to pull back. Seeing that the victor had been decided, Zhang Sheng did not press too far; she did not order a pursuit, nor did she have her troops shoot them in the back.
The Zhao infantry of over a hundred thousand at the rear grew restless, and several fierce generals repeatedly petitioned the King of Zhao to let them fight. But the King of Zhao looked at the hundred-plus war chariots positioned behind the Qingming line; their cannon covers had long been removed, the gunners were busily at work, and strange firearms were mounted at each of the four corners of the massive chariots.
Furthermore, Qingming's front line remained unbroken, its military qi as concentrated as before.
At this time, stirrings rippled through Li Chengfeng's troops as well, showing signs of preparing for an all-out assault. The King of Zhao nodded inwardly, then instructed, "Tell the Fourth Prince to be prudent. Without my order, what is he getting all worked up for?"
The messenger sped off like the wind and arrived before Li Chengfeng in the blink of an eye, conveying the King of Zhao's exact words. Li Chengfeng looked terrified on the outside but was secretly delighted. The king's words sounded like a rebuke, but were in truth praise; his efforts had not been in vain.
Seeing that the Zhao army showed no signs of continuing the fight, Zhang Sheng ordered the bodies of their fallen officers and soldiers loaded onto the chariots. The army then fell back, mounted their horses, and departed. The corpses and equipment of the Zhao army were left completely untouched where they lay.
In this battle, fully half of Zhao's thirty thousand iron cavalry were slain, with several thousand more heavily wounded; only about eight thousand returned to their lines. Meanwhile, Qingming's total casualties did not exceed a thousand, with only two to three hundred dead. The disparity in losses was staggering.
On the return journey, Feng Chutang voiced his doubts regarding the battle: "We clearly had over a hundred multi-barreled rotary cannons prepared, along with hundreds of thousands of flying swords. Why didn't we use them just now? Even without the big cannons, using only the multi-barreled rotary cannons would have spared us so many casualties. Out of thirty thousand Zhao horsemen, at least twenty-five thousand would have died during the charge."
Zhang Sheng countered, "In this battle, most of the Zhao cavalry still made it into firing range, and many successfully reached our lines. Because of this, the King of Zhao will only conclude that their tactics were flawed or their command was inept—not that cavalry is obsolete. If I had mowed them down too ruthlessly with the multi-barreled rotary cannons, Zhao might have learned from the pain and abandoned its obsession with heavy cavalry. That would be losing more than we gained. Since we have multi-barreled rotary cannons in hand, we naturally want Zhao to invest heavily in cavalry—the more, the better."
Feng Chutang stared blankly for a moment, then realization dawned. His expression turned complex and strange as he looked at Zhang Sheng's flawless profile, leaving him with only a sigh.
You were originally a fine lady; why must you be a traitor to the state?
At that moment, an attendant came to report that Li Zhi had caught up and requested an audience with Zhang Sheng. Zhang Sheng said, "Let him come aboard."
Moments later, Li Zhi entered the carriage. Once seated, he asked, "Hearing Teacher Zhang's summons, I rushed over with all haste. May I ask what instructions Teacher Zhang has for me?"
Zhang Sheng said, "There is indeed an important matter. I see that your Zhenshan Fief is thriving and flourishing by the day. Now that everything is in place, do you have any interest in issuing Zhenshanyuan?"
Chapter 905