"Deng Xian and his men are trapped!"
On the city wall, Song Yu held a telescope, his voice brimming with undeniable excitement.
Song Shihuan glanced at Song Yu, who was acting like a child who had found a new toy, her expression shifting slightly. He looked... somewhat lacking in the dignity expected of a Crown Prince.
But for Song Yu, seeing the battle formation personally devised by his daughter take effect, he naturally couldn't be bothered with anything else.
"The flanking troops have already charged. Within two hours, this battle will be over."
Song Shihuan's gaze returned to the battlefield. Clearly, Deng Xian and the others were utterly bewildered upon seeing the Daqi soldiers suddenly turn and fire arrows back at them.
"Disaster! We've fallen into a trap!"
Deng Xian ordered a retreat, but as soldiers tried to break through the encirclement, a series of crackling explosions rang out, and fireballs were hurled at them one after another.
Deng Xian, who shared Gu Zheng's wealth of combat experience, paled completely. That old dog Gu Zheng was actually playing dirty tricks.
Deng Xian also understood that Dayue had no way out.
With no retreat, they could only fight desperately.
But the formation Song Shihuan had laid out was flawless, and with soldiers like Li Laoba who fought fearlessly, the Dayue forces were gradually worn down, falling one by one.
Seizing the moment when the Dayue army was in complete disarray and devoid of any formation, another small team arranged by Song Shihuan precisely located Deng Xian.
The battle lasted for an hour and a half.
Until the sunset burned like fire, casting its glow, and the war banner of Daqi was planted atop the newly captured city walls—another city taken.
The army medics silently led the cleanup of the battlefield. Song Shihuan had specifically ordered that the bodies of every fallen Daqi soldier be retrieved. A geomancer would then find an auspicious burial site to inter the sacrificed soldiers.
A monument was also to be erected.
"In past battles, the bodies of fallen brothers were never properly buried."
Li Laoba suddenly spoke, his attitude towards Song Shihuan now one of utmost respect.
In the past, winning a battle was achievement enough; who could afford to care about so much? Returning to the capital, tallying the numbers against the military roster, and sending condolence payments to the families of the sacrificed soldiers was already the best that could be done.
But with Song Shihuan, everything had changed.
Gu Zheng also looked up at Song Shihuan. Previously, he hadn't understood why the Princess had brought a geomancer when leaving the capital, but now he fully comprehended.
"When we are strong and the enemy is weak, we have the time to do something for our fallen soldiers."
Song Shihuan looked down at the tallied roster: over forty thousand Dayue soldiers slain, with Daqi casualties numbering less than ten thousand.
"Where is Deng Xian?"
Song Shihuan asked. She wanted to meet this general hailed as the God of War by Dayue.
Now a prisoner.
......
Gu Zheng and his men treated Deng Xian with rare civility, merely binding his hands behind his back.
Upon entering the command tent, Deng Xian immediately began cursing:
"Gu Zheng, you shameless old fool, using such underhanded tactics in battle! How is this any different from having your pants pulled down on the street?"
Several of Daqi's deputy generals couldn't help but laugh. Song Yu swiftly covered Song Shihuan's ears.
"Just tell me, did we win or not?"
Gu Zheng's eyes held a hint of smugness. "And you call yourself the God of War? You couldn't even see through such a formation. With two hundred thousand Daqi soldiers at my disposal, would I only send a weak, outnumbered squad to provoke you?"
"You even rallied your other troops to give chase. Meat delivered right to our doorstep! Thank you, God of War of Dayue."
Gu Zheng's every word was laced with sarcasm, revealing a personal grudge between the two.
Song Shihuan thought to herself silently, but refrained from showing any reaction, especially since her father was still covering her ears—though not very effectively.
There were some gaps.
Deng Xian let out a heavy sigh and sat down on a chair of his own accord.
"In war, all is deception. I admit I am no match for you."
"You calculated every detail perfectly."
"You calculated that Li Laoba's foul mouth would provoke me, calculated my desperate desire for a victory to restore Dayue's national prestige, and led me step by step into your trap."
"After decades apart, Gu Zheng, how have you become so cunning?"
Deng Xian's eyes were filled with desolation. The previously lost cities could be blamed on Dayue being unprepared, caught by surprise.
But this time...
This battle was likely to break Dayue's backbone.
It was then that Gu Zheng spoke up to clarify. "It wasn't me."
"What?" Deng Xian was momentarily confused.
"The one who devised this battle strategy and formation wasn't me."
Deng Xian gave a grim smile. "Gu Zheng, I never took you for the type who'd deny responsibility after the deed is done. I know exactly what your deputy generals are capable of."
"And your Crown Prince here... he doesn't look like someone who could command a large army..."
"It was me."
An unexpected voice spoke up. The young girl who had been keeping her head down revealed her face.
Behind her, Song Yu stiffened. He was sure he had covered A'Huan's ears...
Deng Xian looked towards the source of the voice. It was an exquisitely beautiful girl, with almond-shaped eyes, a delicate nose, and skin as white as snow—completely out of place among the rough men filling the tent.
A young girl whom the Crown Prince of Daqi would protect so closely... Deng Xian's eyes widened in shock.
"I was the one who devised the formation. What of it?"
"God of War of Dayue, this was our first encounter. You lost."
Stunned, Deng Xian turned to look at Gu Zheng, who nodded in confirmation.
Old friend, such a meticulously calculated plan... this old brother of yours truly couldn't have come up with it, Gu Zheng felt wronged.
"You... how old are you?"
"Thirteen."
Deng Xian suddenly let out a strange laugh. "The tactics of this battle will surely be recorded in military manuals."
"To have crossed strategies with a genius like you, Princess, my life has not been in vain. I lost fair and square."
Deng Xian took a deep look at Song Shihuan. "Deng Xian is defeated, but our vast Dayue is not. If the Princess wishes to swallow Dayue whole, she should first consider whether her appetite is large enough."
With that, Deng Xian rushed out of the tent.
He charged headlong into a giant boulder, clearly intent on death.
No one tried to stop Deng Xian throughout the entire process, as if suicide was the universally accepted outcome for him.
A God of War could not become a prisoner.
Song Shihuan stared blankly at Deng Xian's corpse. Gu Zheng and the others, thinking she was frightened, hurriedly moved to block her view.
"Princess, we will go and bury him at once."
The Princess was young; she must be soft-hearted and unable to bear such a bloody scene.
But the next moment, Song Shihuan's voice rang out:
"Hang his corpse from the city gate tower. Consider it a greeting gift for Prince Rui."
Gu Zheng and the generals: ???
Where had the imagined delicate and adorable young Princess gone?
But Song Yu showed no sign of finding this problematic. Instead, he said, "Hurry up and hang it. The smell will start bothering people soon."
Indeed.
Like daughter, like father.
