Chapter 74: Trials Within the Camp (Part Two)

The second match was an internal clash within the Tianxiong Army. Without any tricks, they traded blows back and forth right within the drill ground, until one side narrowly won in the end. The soldiers who had been lying on the ground playing dead scrambled to their feet, clearing the arena.

The third match was the duel between Yang Lian and Yao Feng. Yang Lian led his subordinates into the formation in high spirits. At the front were the sword-and-shield infantry, in the middle were the spearmen, at the rear stood the archers providing cover, and twenty cavalrymen eyed the flanks like crouching tigers. Yang Lian's opening formation made everyone's eyes light up.

Prince Qi, Li Jingsui, stroked his beard as he watched closely, hoping that Yang Lian would win. Yao Feng's subordinates quickly took the field as well, deploying in a tit-for-tat formation.

In the private box next to Li Jing, Zhou Zong took a sip of tea and asked, "Who do you favor to win this battle?"

Sitting beside Zhou Zong was a frail-looking middle-aged man—none other than Zhou Ben's eldest son, Zhou Ye. Half-lying on a soft couch, he coughed repeatedly and said, "Yao Feng is a veteran of many battles and a seasoned general. Yang Lian is a newly promoted commander, so logically his ability to lead troops should be lacking. However, the fact that he rapidly rose to this position suggests he has some skill. It's hard to say."

Princess Zhou Ehuang stood nearby, gazing at Yang Lian's figure. The brutal intensity of the previous battle still lingered in her mind with a sense of lingering fear. Even though the blades, spears, swords, and halberds were all wrapped in cloth, it was still extremely dangerous, making her somewhat worried.

The sound of a gong echoed, signaling the start of the battle between the two forces. Yang Lian made the first probe. At his command, the archers loosed their volleys of arrows. Yao Feng's army immediately raised their shields. The dense shower of arrows passed through the gaps between the shields; black ink spots marked the vital points of the soldiers, and those soldiers instantly fell to the ground.

Yao Feng suddenly smiled and shouted, "Charge!" Receiving the order, the soldiers clamored forward, their momentum looking truly formidable.

Yang Lian narrowed his eyes. In his impression, Yao Feng's troop-leading ability was quite competent, yet at this moment, his performance was indistinguishable from that of a raw recruit. Under the fierce and dense assault of the archers, he actually pressed forward head-on—did he disregard the lives of his soldiers? Or did he simply not care about winning or losing?

Before Yang Lian could speak again, the archers loosed another volley of arrows, and many of Yao Feng's soldiers were struck and fell to the ground. Yao Feng glanced back, suddenly spurred his horse forward, and the dozen or so cavalrymen behind him swarmed ahead as well. As the arrows rained down, Yao Feng let out an "ah" and fell from his horse. With Yao Feng's fall, the soldiers completely lost their morale, turned around, and fled in panic.

"What game is Yao Feng playing?" Bian Hao, standing at a distance, watched everything clearly and was utterly baffled.

Li Jing was also bewildered. This battle ended even faster than the internal slaughter of the Tianxiong Army just moments ago, and without a shred of brilliance. How could Yao Feng behave like this? Prince Qi, Li Jingsui, didn't care about such details; he stood up with a smile and announced, "Yang Lian wins!"

Princess Huairou's eyes gleamed brightly, the corners of her lips curling up slightly. This fellow had pretty good luck.

Empress Zhong frowned as she watched and asked, "What is going on here?"

Li Jing looked somewhat displeased and said, "Yang Lian and Yao Feng are both men of the Shenwu Army. Could it be that Yao Feng acted on Bian Hao's instructions and intentionally threw the match?"

Empress Zhong shook her head, unconvinced, but the fact that Yao Feng had been defeated left her speechless.

After stepping down, Yang Lian went straight to find Bian Hao. "Commander Bian, what is the meaning of this?" He had assumed Yao Feng was acting on Bian Hao's orders.

Bian Hao shook his head and said, "I have no idea what is going on either. I'm afraid only Yao Feng knows."

As they spoke, Yao Feng walked over, looking dejected. He came before Bian Hao and said, "Commander Bian."

"Yao Feng, what is the meaning of this?" Bian Hao asked with some displeasure.

"Your subordinate was feeling unwell and accidentally fell from his horse. Commander Yang, Yao Feng accepts this defeat wholeheartedly," Yao Feng said.

Bian Hao wanted to press further, but seeing that Yao Feng looked as though he had no intention of explaining, Bian Hao thought for a moment and waved him away. Yang Lian stood to the side, completely speechless. What on earth was Yao Feng trying to do?

The eight matches of the first round concluded on the first day. The forces led by Yang Lian, Lin Rinzhao, and Zhou Hongzuo all advanced to the next round, along with the mysterious Black-Armored Cavalry. The eight winning teams from that day did not draw lots again; no one knew who their next opponent would be.

As the various armies dispersed, many people talked endlessly about the prowess of the Black-Armored Cavalry, while simultaneously expressing utter contempt for Yang Lian's performance in this battle, realizing he had advanced through such a dubious method.

Just as Yang Lian was about to return to the Shenwu Army encampment, Li Jingsui sent someone to summon him. Yang Lian told Lin Rinzhao and Chen Tie to head back first, and went off to see Li Jingsui.

Li Jingsui resided in a building adjacent to the pavilion, which was similarly decorated with extreme extravagance. It was draped entirely in Sichuan brocade, and red candles illuminated the room as brightly as day. For a mere hunting ground, Li Jing was still this lavish and wasteful—only the wealth of the Great Tang could support such excess.

Led by a eunuch, Yang Lian entered the room. Upon seeing Li Jingsui, he hurriedly saluted and said, "Yang Lian pays his respects to Prince Qi."

Li Jingsui waved his hand and cut straight to the point. "What was behind today's events?" Announcing Yang Lian as the winner on the drill ground was one thing, but he too had seen through the oddities.

Yang Lian shook his head and said, "Prince Qi, I have no idea what was going through Yao Feng's mind."

"When abnormal things happen, there is bound to be a demon at work," Li Jingsui reminded Yang Lian. "You must be careful."

"Your Highness's reminder is most timely; Yang Lian will certainly be careful," Yang Lian promised.

Li Jingsui squinted at him, making Yang Lian feel a prickle of unease. He hurriedly asked, "Prince Qi, is there something dirty on my face?"

"Huairou already told this prince about yesterday's hunting incident," Li Jingsui said slowly. "Who on earth was that person?"

Yang Lian shook his head. Recent events had all been bizarre; perhaps someone was targeting him. If this matter were true, Li Hongji was the most likely culprit. Ever since the day his alliance with Prince Qi was cemented, any good relationship between Yang Lian and Li Hongji became impossible.

However, when Yang Lian left, he had learned certain information and relayed it to Lin Rinzhao.

Lin Rinzhao was also extremely shocked upon hearing this. "What? The Black-Armored Cavalry is actually Li Hongji and his subordinates?"

"Rinzhao, Li Hongji's cavalry has a terrifyingly strong shock force. Both of us are lacking in cavalry; if we truly cross paths with them, this battle will be exceptionally difficult to fight," Yang Lian warned.

Lin Rinzhao nodded. Cavalry was practically invincible in this era, especially in field battles where they could maximize their impact. "It's a pity that in this exercise, we are not allowed to set up caltrops, chevaux-de-frise, or similar defenses. Once the cavalry is allowed to fully leverage their overwhelming shock advantage, infantry—especially archers and crossbowmen—will face nothing but slaughter."

Indeed, during the draw on the second day, Li Hongji was matched against Zhou Hongzuo, who was defeated without suspense. Li Hongji made full use of the cavalry's mobility to assault Zhou Hongzuo's flanks. Zhou Hongzuo frantically shifted his troops on both flanks to counter Li Hongji's onslaught. The moment he inadvertently exposed a breakthrough, the cavalry charged through the gap, and Zhou Hongzuo's forces collapsed like a mountain avalanche.

Li Hongji's mysterious cavalry instantly became the overwhelming favorite to win the championship. Gambling soldiers secretly set up betting pools, establishing odds for each team: the Black-Armored Cavalry stood at one-to-one, Yang Lian—who had miraculously defeated his Tianxiong Army opponent yesterday—had odds of one-to-three, and Lin Rinzhao's odds were similar.

By this stage of the competition, only four teams remained: the Black-Armored Cavalry, Yang Lian, Lin Rinzhao, and Du Zhen, the commander of the Jiankang Army. The Shenwu Army had good fortune, claiming two of the four seats. Yet Bian Hao knew full well that starting tomorrow, at least one of his teams would likely run into the Black-Armored Cavalry, and their chances of winning would be very slim.

Even though Lin Rinzhao and Yang Lian had discussed tactics at length, when Lin Rinzhao actually encountered the Black-Armored Cavalry, he was defeated without a doubt. In truth, Lin Rinzhao had once possessed an opportunity; leading a personal assault, he had nearly seized Li Hongji's command banner. But Li Hongji's martial prowess was extraordinary, and he personally "cut down" several Shenwu Army soldiers to successfully defend the banner. Afterward, Lin Rinzhao was swallowed by the enemy's encirclement and, unable to prevail, was forced to yield.

Yang Lian once again "narrowly" triumphed over Du Zhen. Although Yang Lian advanced to the finals, no one favored him. After all, he had won every single match by sheer luck. Consequently, in the military gambling ring, Yang Lian's odds suddenly plummeted to one-to-five, while Li Hongji remained steady at one-to-one.

The camp's gambling operation was run with great secrecy, and its organizer remained unknown. However, Yang Lian later discovered that Yao Feng seemed to be one of the founders—which neatly explained why Yao Feng had lost so easily. At this, Yang Lian gave a faint smile, marveling at how greedy Yao Feng truly was.

Though disdainful of gambling, Yang Lian secretly brought ten pieces of gold to place a bet on himself. Wearing a black veil, he was regarded by most as insane. With the Black-Armored Cavalry being so formidable and infantry utterly incapable of matching them, anyone betting on Yang Lian to win at this point had to be a lunatic.

Since there were people willing to throw away their money, naturally no one objected. Tossing down the ten taels of gold, Yang Lian took his receipt and left, too lazy to exchange further words with those men. Just as he stepped out the door, he saw Li Hongji swaggering over, followed closely by Zhu Lingyun and Zhou Hongzuo.

Yang Lian paused slightly, suddenly recalling Zhou Hongzuo's provocation the other day. So this fellow had already defected to Li Hongji; no wonder his attitude toward him had been so abysmal. Somehow catching wind of it, Li Hongji had brought a hundred taels of gold to bet on his own victory. Others had no idea the Black-Armored Cavalry was led by Li Hongji, but seeing him place such a heavy wager, they could only accept the bets with bitter faces—Li Hongji was betting far too much, and they wouldn't be able to afford the payout if he won.

Zhu Lingyun and Zhou Hongzuo also produced dozens of taels of gold; such amounts were hardly rareties to them.

This final match served as the grand finale and was scheduled for the hour of Shen in the afternoon. At midday, the soldiers finished their meals and seized the time to rest, building up their energy. Just as Yang Lian intended to rest, he was summoned once more by Prince Qi, who was genuinely worried. Li Hongji had always harbored resentment toward Yang Lian; if Li Hongji suddenly made a lethal move tomorrow, who could Prince Qi turn to for justice?

Li Jingsui hoped Yang Lian would forfeit. After all, having reached the finals and consecutively defeating several commanders, he had already proven his worth. What difference did first or second place make? As long as Yang Lian remained safe, opportunities for promotion would come in due time; Li Jingsui did not want to see him injured.

Yang Lian deliberated for a moment before declining. Li Jingsui had his reasons, and Yang Lian felt genuine gratitude toward him, but fleeing from battle was not Yang Lian's style. Moreover, countless eyes were fixed on this match; if he ran away now, Yang Lian would carry the stigma of being a coward and could never hold his head high before the emperor.

Li Jingsui had anticipated Yang Lian's refusal and could only sigh, urging him once more to be careful.

Yang Lian rose to take his leave. Just as he stepped out the threshold, Princess Huairou appeared. Staring at him, she asked, "What are your chances of winning the upcoming match?"

"If I said seven out of ten, would you believe me?" Yang Lian smiled.

Princess Huairou hesitated for a moment before saying, "Seven out of ten? Don't try to fool me."

"Why would I fool you? There's nothing to be gained from it," Yang Lian chuckled softly.

"Hmph!" Princess Huairou let out a cold snort, stamped her foot, and stormed off. This Yang Lian was far too arrogant. Everyone outside was saying the Black-Armored Cavalry was guaranteed to win and Yang Lian was bound to fail. Yet he stubbornly claimed a seventy percent chance of victory—truly audacious! She hoped he would lose so he could learn that there were always people better than him beyond his little world.