Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 399: Three of the Seven Western Rong Countries Withdraw Their Troops

Chapter 399: Chapter 399: Three of the Seven Western Rong Countries Withdraw Their Troops

Before leaving Huai State, Chen Mo temporarily entrusted his tasks at hand to Geng Songfu.

After finishing lunch, he took Chu Juan, Xiao Yunxi, and the spoils of war seized in Huai State, along with the Personal Guard Battalion, and boarded the Fish Scale Guard’s warship to return to Linzhou.

...

Longyou.

On the plains, smoke and dust billowed, swords and spears clashed.

"Woo..." The loud and long horn sound rang out, followed by the drum beats.

"Form up."

The troops of the Yuezhi Clan, dressed in light gray armor, together with the Chong army aiding Longyou dressed in black armor, hearing the horn sound, neatly and orderly formed their battle array.

The main general stood on the command stage in the middle of the great array, and the command flags fluttered around, with the scout cavalry of the Chong army, feathered on their backs, shuttling through the aisles of the formation.

Soon, a formation resembling a tortoise shell was set up.

Looking at the opposing well-formed battle array, the Seven Countries’ army, who were up against them, charged as they did before.

In an instant, two torrents of human forces collided, and the Seven Western Rong Countries’ troops evolved from a straight line during the charge into a curve.

In the shouting and killing that echoed like mountains and seas, the two armies engaged in close combat, with the shrill cries of the soldiers rising and falling, blood spurting in waves, and sharp blades harvesting lives on the battlefield as cheaply as ants.

But the battle array formed by the Chong and Yuezhi armies presented no flaw for the charging soldiers of the Seven Countries.

The battle array stood firm like a boulder in the turbulent river against the wave after wave of assaults by the forces of the Seven Countries.

As time went by, lives were harvested one by one, and the originally aggressive soldiers of the Seven Countries showed signs of fatigue and fear of battle.

At this moment, a desolate drumbeat suddenly sounded from within the "Song Army" formation, and the heavy footsteps that followed, like horse hooves on the ground, instantly opened up the "Song Army’s battle array", which they had been struggling to breach.

The soldiers of the Seven Western Rong Countries at the front suddenly saw the light open up in front of them, and then many heavily armored infantrymen, clad head to toe in near-seamless armor, suddenly surged out from the "Song Army" formation.

Before they could react, these heavily armored infantrymen, like tigers descending the mountain, tore the front line of the Seven Countries’ soldiers to shreds.

The soldiers of the Seven Countries panicked for a moment; a commander stood with a horizontal saber and shouted, trying hard to stabilize morale, but only the troops from his own nation obeyed, while the troops of the other six nations fled in panic and disarray.

Then this "tiger descending the mountain," like a sharp arrow, penetrated the Seven Countries’ army, while the "Song Army" formation that had opened up behind them immediately changed its formation, following the "tiger descending the mountain" to charge into the Seven Countries’ army as one.

Instantly, the "Song Army" soldiers took on everything with unyielding determination, and the Seven Countries’ army before them fell like harvested wheat.

...

The momentum of this battle was rather grand, and it ended very quickly.

The "Song Army", composed of the Chong and Yuezhi armies, once again defeated the forces of the Seven Countries with fewer troops.

And this battle was initiated proactively by the "Song Army."

The victory in this war also allowed Longyou to regain the five cities that had initially been occupied by the armies of the Seven Countries.

Currently, the armies of the Seven Countries have been driven to the borders of Longyou by the "Song Army", leaving only a few counties at the border, and it would be possible to reclaim all the territory occupied by the Seven Countries.

The generals of the "Song Army" were discussing whether they should pursue the victory.

The generals dispatched by the Seven Countries, at this moment, were arguing in the military tent.

The first to attack Longyou was the Bolu Kingdom of the Seven Western Rong Countries, not only seizing five cities in Longyou but also capturing three hundred thousand people and livestock.

Seeing the Bolu Kingdom gaining such a large advantage, the other six nations of the Western Rong Countries only then stepped in.

In other words, the Seven Western Rong Countries, including the Bolu Kingdom, never really intended to capture Longyou; they merely wanted to raid the Great Song for a bit of profit.

Apart from the Bolu Kingdom initially sending in elite troops, the forces sent by the other six nations to Longyou were not considered elite.

With this mindset at the top, naturally, the people below would not risk their lives against the "Song Army."

Under such circumstances, whenever the Seven Countries’ army met resistance from the "Song Army," it inevitably ended in defeat.

Ever since the King Chong sent troops to aid Longyou, the Seven Countries’ army has suffered more defeats than victories, losing all the crucial battles.

After several battles, the Seven Countries have suffered heavy casualties and naturally have lost the will to continue fighting.

The Bolu Kingdom was the first to shout about wanting to go home.

After all, it had already taken its fill of benefits, and though it intended to take more, upon seeing the "Song Army" was not to be trifled with, it planned to cease while it was ahead.

Additionally, two other countries with fewer losses also planned to withdraw alongside the Bolu Kingdom.

But the remaining four countries insisted on continuing the fight.

Because since their invasion of Longyou, they hadn’t gained any advantages. After several lost battles, they had suffered the most casualties. They gained nothing and paid such a heavy price, so they were unwilling to accept the outcome.

They clamored for their most elite troops from home to be sent over for another battle.

...

At the northernmost edge of the Great Song Dynasty.

Jin Xia.

At a training ground at the foot of a mountain outside the Imperial City, a grand military parade was being held.

This parade had gathered a force of one hundred thousand troops, with flags extending over thirty miles.

Jin Xia is a kingdom formed by the union of a dozen tribes from the grasslands, thus the men here are very wild.

The grasslands lack iron mines, and coupled with less advanced craftsmanship compared to the Great Song, Jin Xia soldiers rarely wore armor except for the most elite troops.

Although the Great Song looked down upon this place they called the "Beihuang Kingdom, Barbarians," they were not unguarded against it, so they strictly prohibited resources like iron mines from being transported to Jin Xia.

Because they were not armored, and it was exceptionally hot weather, the soldiers stood together, baring their chests and exposing their brawny builds, which gave off an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Civil and military officials gathered at the temporarily built viewing platform in front of the training ground.

Jin Xia closely emulates the Great Song, so the court structure and official system were basically copied from the Great Song Court, but they still referred to the Emperor as the Khan.

"Great Khan, the Queen arrives, play the ceremonial music for the Emperor."

A eunuch shouted, and soon the majestic and noble ceremonial music resounded around the training ground.

The imperial carriage, under the guard of the Imperial Guard, stopped outside the training ground.

The Khan, along with the Queen, descended one by one from the imperial carriage, supported by the maids.

The moment the Queen descended, she immediately captured the attention of the entire audience.

Although Jin Xia learned from the Great Song, some customs and traditions were still kept.

For example, in Jin Xia, women from royal noble families to commoners dressed rather boldly.

In the Great Song, only women from brothels would, in front of everyone, wear clothes that exposed their forearms, navels, and calves, and if someone dared to wear such clothes on the street, they would undoubtedly be pointed at and criticized for being indecent.

But in Jin Xia, it was completely different, and almost every beauty-conscious woman dressed in such a manner.