Chapter 1563 – Attack on Nie Liang and Yang Tao, Sword Pointing at the World (101)
Fu Wang felt an itch in his nose, and with a huge sneeze, Qi Kuang thought he had caught a cold.
“The river wind is strong outside, General Fu, why don’t you take shelter in the cabin to avoid the breeze?”
Qi Kuang suggested gently, a sincere expression written all over his face. This made Fu Wang a bit frustrated because he didn’t like to bully honest people.
“A big man like me is afraid of a little wind? Just now, who was it that was mumbling about me?” Just as Fu Wang finished speaking, he sneezed a few more times, his nose tingling and warm, as if his blood was rushing to that spot. He speculated, “Maybe it’s the two little darlings mumbling about their grandpa.”
‘Grandpa’ is a respectful term for elders like grandfathers or fathers, often used in folk speech. Although it’s not as popular now, some small regions still hold on to this tradition. Hui Jun was influenced too and taught her dragon and phoenix twins to address Fu Wang as “grandpa.” When Fu Wang heard the kids call him that, all grievances disappeared.
“Not necessarily, it’s late, the kids should be asleep now.” Qi Kuang, being an honest man, bluntly shattered Fu Wang’s fantasy, saying frankly, “I think the likelihood of Military Adviser Feng and Military Adviser Yang discussing the General is higher, what do you say?”
Fu Wang spat in disdain, “Those two old foxes discussing me probably have no good intentions.”
Qi Kuang chuckled, “I believe both military advisers are quite nice, very kind, and rarely put people in difficult situations.”
It’s quite rare for civil and military officials to get along because their values are different and they excel in different areas.
Military officials think civil servants only know how to run their mouths, dragging things out annoyingly, boasting about a bit of knowledge, and when faced with tough issues, they like to back down, lacking any real spirit of action. Civil servants also find military officials lacking, like failing to think things through when facing problems, acting recklessly and violently, prioritizing brute force over strategy. They essentially pick at bones in an egg, finding fault no matter how well it’s done.
These two groups have a lot of contradictions, overlap each other, and have significant conflicts, making it hard for them to coexist harmoniously.
Qi Kuang felt lucky; the people he worked with were all good-natured and understanding, never intentionally making things hard for others.
Fu Wang had seen through this conclusion.
“What good does it do? Those two old foxes plot against people, and they don’t even realize they’ve been plotted against.”
Fu Wang clearly expressed his disdain, but only privately; it wouldn’t affect official matters or military strategy.
“Could it be the General has suffered a loss?”
Fu Wang replied, “Of course, every time I think of it, those two make me furious.”
Qi Kuang was increasingly puzzled. Fu Wang was usually solitary, strong-willed, but not one to provoke trouble.
How did he end up with a grudge against Yang Si?
How did the grudge form?
That’s a long story, like a child without a mother.
Fu Wang never intended to be the commander; he wanted to recommend Li Yun or Xie Ze and find time to arrange his marriage with Hui Jun.
Indeed, Fu Wang had shamelessly lingered for years and finally convinced Hui Jun to agree, for which he had to sign a bunch of unequal treaties. Little did he expect, at the last moment, Yang Si and the others would push Fu Wang onto the hot seat. He became the commander for the attack on Yang Tao instead of just a regular general, meaning his tasks were of a whole different level, completely squeezing out his time to hold the wedding.
If it were a coincidence, that would be fine, but the fact these two acted with intent made Fu Wang grit his teeth in anger.
“Don’t mention those two old foxes; talking about them ruins my mood and jinxes my luck.”
Fu Wang had made his stance clear, so Qi Kuang stopped discussing Yang Si to avoid upsetting him.
In the meantime, over a thousand large and small warships were already sliding down the river, getting close to the water stronghold where Yang Tao camped.
To increase their chances of success, these warships had been painted black and were quietly approaching the enemy under the cover of fog… of course, that was impossible. Yang Jian’s perimeter would have soldiers on timed patrols, and when the warships drew near, they sounded alarms!
Despite that, Yang Jian and his crew managed to gain some precious time.
Yang Tao was still awake, waiting for news from Yan Lin while reviewing military affairs, his brow furrowed tight.
At that moment, he keenly heard the faint sound of a fire arrow signal.
“Did I just imagine that?”
Yang Tao muttered softly, and swift footsteps sounded outside the tent.
“What’s going on?”
A soldier reported, “My lord, there’s a large force of enemies ambushing us outside the camp!”
An ambush?
Those two big words jumped out at Yang Tao, tightening his nerves as he recalled Yan Lin’s vague words before leaving.
Sure enough, the enemy was ambushing!
“Gather the troops and repel them!”
Still in his battle gear, he strode out of the tent, grabbing the weapon hanging from the rack.
Outside the camp, the warships were ablaze, the enemy vessels lined up as if aiming to engulf the entire coastline.
The soldiers on their side were already busy; a sky full of arrows cleared the fog, and the roar of battle made his eardrums throb.
Fu Wang had fully prepared for this ambush, giving the enemy no time to react, launching a ferocious wave of attacks right away.
Due to the southeast wind, Fu Wang and his crew couldn’t afford to engage the enemy for long, or else those raging flames would come roaring in.
Standing on the deck, Fu Wang slashed down more than a dozen enemies attempting to board, kicking their bodies into the water, which soon surfaced.
“Fight through, destroy their ships… this wind is against us; we shouldn’t prolong the battle, we should board swiftly!”
Riding the wave of battle fervor, the soldiers rushed onto the enemy’s deck like they were on a caffeine high, ignoring the licking flames, directly engaging in close combat with the enemy. Accompanied by the battle cries, bodies from both sides kept falling into the water, the air thick with the smell of blood and char.
Qi Kuang commanded the naval forces to limit and destroy the enemy ships, while Fu Wang ordered the archers to clear the foes.
With a united effort, they broke through the weakest point in the enemy’s defenses, seizing the chance to land.
With a heavy hammer crashing onto the enemy ship, which was already surrounded by flames, one blow was enough to collapse half of it.
Having taken the initiative, the enemy never had time to muster their forces, and by the time their main force arrived, Fu Wang had already landed his troops.
Though lacking large siege equipment like crossbows or catapults, they had plenty of archers and shield bearers, barely stabilizing their position.
The soldiers onboard the warships were far more composed, using the height of the ships to avoid most attacks and landing effective hits on the enemy.
Yang Tao’s soldiers were indeed not just a rabble; their morale had not declined much, their spirits still high.
With battles breaking out on three fronts, Yang Tao found himself at a disadvantage.
However, the Qiu Clan had no idea about this turn of events and was still lost in beautiful dreams of spring and autumn, completely unaware that disaster was looming.
In the midst of sleep, the mansion was already surrounded by over a hundred soldiers, led by a centurion who kicked the door open forcefully.
“You go there, you go this way, no one is allowed to escape alive from this entire estate!”
