Chapter 001: A Dazzling Entrance

The man draped in a yellow cloak on the high slope quietly observed everything before him and said softly, "It is raining"

A flash of lightning illuminated the sky once again, revealing the young warrior clad in white, who was now bathed in the bright and dazzling light of the lightning. The shining armor he wore reflected an even more brilliant radiance. Many knights, hastily retreating, turned their heads only to be forced to shield their eyes from the blinding glare.

Mao Yi tied the armor he had stripped from the enemy general onto the horse's back, smiling as he looked at the pair who could always find a reason to quarrel, no matter the time or place. He then turned to look at the tall figure of the leader, Chen Kefu, who was standing upright and squinting at the city wall.

Chen Qing also said with a face full of envy: "Exactly, exactly, the leader. Just now, your heroic performance must have been seen by His Majesty the Emperor. I guess you will definitely receive a great reward soon, and perhaps you could be promoted from team leader to captain. At that time, the leader will be able to lead fifty people."

The people on the opposite bank clearly did not anticipate that the enemy would suddenly appear; the floating bridge, which had just been completed, became a tool for the enemy to swiftly cross the river and launch an attack on them. The cavalry had already charged across the newly constructed floating bridge to the opposite bank, with clouds of dust rising behind them as their infantry followed closely behind.

On this dim and bloody battlefield, a young general in a striking white robe rode a white horse, closely followed by eight or nine knights, each brandishing spears and halberds, moving in formation, striking up and down. In an instant, they overwhelmed all who stood in their way, launching a powerful countercharge across the vast battlefield

The sudden appearance of enemies caused chaos among the soldiers on the opposite bank, with many soldiers losing their footing and falling into the icy Liao River to evade enemy attacks. The cavalry that appeared unexpectedly on the opposite bank were like merciless reapers of life, continuously thrusting their spears, stabbing, withdrawing, stabbing, and withdrawing. Sometimes, the thrusts went too deep, and the spears could not be pulled out. The knights did not hesitate, still holding the spears with corpses attached, and once again thrusting them toward the next target. The string of corpses, in this increasingly dim twilight, appeared so cold and ruthless.

Like a massive rock in a flood, they faced the surging waves head-on, advancing against the current. In the wake of their counterattack, more soldiers quickly formed small formations behind them, launching a counteroffensive against the enemy

Lu Shishen retorted: "Look at your little ambitions. Today, our leader has achieved such a great feat; I believe he should at least be a brigade commander. Who knows, he might even marry one of the princesses for our leader. I’ve heard that the princesses of His Majesty the Emperor are all exceptionally beautiful, even more so than the daughters of Old Man Niu in our village."

A drop of cold rain fell on the knight's face, and he knew it was not blood; blood carried a warm sensation, while this was a cold and damp feeling. He realized it was raining again, as the wind swept across the banks of the Liao River, causing the banners to flutter and snap in the midst of battle.

The man on the high slope across the river, only turned to the armored generals behind him after the army had crossed the Liao River, and said to them: "My lords, can anyone tell me who that young general in white was just now? Such bravery truly rivals that of Zhao Zilong from Changshan in the Three Kingdoms!" After saying this, he changed from his previously indifferent expression, stroked his long beard, and laughed heartily.

The cavalry from our side had just passed, when a dense mass of cavalry, accompanied by the thunderous sound of hooves, surged forward again under the command of a dazzling knight in white. Lances, spears, long swords, and curved sabers came rushing in before they had a chance to react. Just as one attack was evaded, another came whistling in from behind. The knight did not even glance at the outcome of the battle; he simply continued to charge forward relentlessly, following the young general in white.

Is it possible that someone would actually say such a thing? The people of Goguryeo killed over 300,000 of our brave men from the Central Plains last year, so of course we must seek revenge for them; otherwise, how can we still call ourselves heroes? You find him, and we must make him publicly acknowledge his mistake, at the very least, he should treat everyone to a drink.

At this moment, the drums and horns sounded in unison from the rear formation, and the commanding general of the camp finally ordered the infantry to form into phalanxes with long spears. Marching in unison, they pressed forward towards the riverbank like an impregnable wall. Meanwhile, on both sides of the spear phalanxes, a large number of knights galloped past on their warhorses, beginning their assault from the flanks

He knew that the other party had finally reacted from the chaos, and they were using the large drum to organize the soldiers to resist their attack. The other party was attempting to thwart their intention to catch them off guard and cross to the other side.

Who said that the people of Goguryeo are very strong

The cavalry general leading the air raid realized that they had fallen into the enemy's trap; it turned out that the opposing forces had already set up this ambush, waiting for their arrival. There were only three floating bridges to cross the river. Although the cavalry horses were fast, retreating across the riverbank in a short time was not so easy. In order to successfully retreat across the river, they could only continuously leave men and horses on the riverbank to block the pursuing enemy. However, these men could hardly hold back the enemy, who surged forward like a tide, for more than a few minutes.

As the last rays of light at dusk faded, clouds of dust could be seen rising from the opposite bank of the river at hetushucom.com. Swift knights, brandishing their lances, charged to the riverbank in an instant. By this time, many impatient soldiers had already crossed the floating bridge to the banks of the Liao River. Before they could set foot on the land, the knights, like a gust of wind, began to mercilessly reap the soldiers trapped at the riverbank with their lances

On a high slope not far from the Liao River, a man clad in exquisite armor and draped in a yellow cloak is gazing into the distance at the Liao River. Behind him, nearly two hundred knights on tall steeds stand quietly, guarding him on either side

"Boss, you haven't been very righteous today. You actually came up with such a flashy idea, and you managed to create such an impressive set of armor all by yourself, even stealing my Thousand-Mile Snow. Today, you really stole the spotlight. If you had told us earlier, we could have gotten ourselves a set too. Just now on the battlefield, seeing you like that made me incredibly envious; you are just like the Zhao Zilong from the Three Kingdoms that I used to hear about from the storyteller."

The young general in a white robe smiled slightly as he listened to the nonsensical chatter of his subordinates and said, "Let us return to the camp; perhaps Lord Dui Zheng is looking for us."

In the year 613 AD, during the ninth year of the Sui Dà Yè era, in the third campaign against Goguryeo, the Sui army finally achieved a great victory over the enemy at the Liao River and successfully crossed the Liao River

At a distance of one arrow shot from Liaodong City, a young general in a white robe stood provocatively, accompanied by several knights who closely followed him, gazing at the Goguryeo soldiers atop the city. Behind him, a bearded man named Lu Shishen, around thirty years old, looked with satisfaction at the headless cavalryman he had just felled to the ground, the tall steed of the Goguryeo cavalry now held by his hand. As for the cavalryman's head, it was impaled on his spear, raised high as a demonstration of provocation towards the guards of Liaodong City.

Chen Qing was still just a young man around twenty years old. How could he possibly hold his own against a seasoned veteran like Lu Shishen? He could only glare at him with resentment. Lu Shishen, unfazed, whistled and brandished his spear, showing off before the guards on the city wall of Liaodong.

Behind the young man in the white robe stood a knight in his twenties, Chen Qing, who cast a disdainful glance at the person who had just spoken. "I remember when the chief wanted to take us to Liaodong, some people said it was a death sentence and insisted that the chief take us to flee to Shandong instead, right"

The sound of massive war drums has already echoed from across the river. The knights, clad in light armor, are charging towards the enemy, continuously crossing the floating bridge in formation, while contemplating that this sound can only be produced by more than a hundred war drums, and it is certainly from high-quality cowhide big drums

By May, the ice on the surface of the Liao River had already melted. For the army to cross the river, they could only build several floating bridges. Surrounded by the crowd, the man clearly observed that, with the efforts of numerous soldiers and craftsmen, three floating bridges had already been erected over the wide Liao River, and it was evident that they were just a little bit away from reaching the opposite bank

Another burly man with a full beard, Mao Yili, also ignored him. He was searching the corpse of a figure who appeared to be a general, standing on the ground. After a long while, aside from a few pieces of gold and silver, he found nothing that could prove the identity of the deceased. Angered, he furiously stripped the armor off the corpse.

The cavalry that had just rushed over was merely a surprise attack; their infantry was still several hundred paces away from the Liao River. Although they had previously taken advantage of the cavalry's high mobility to unexpectedly cross the floating bridge, they could no longer withstand the increasing pressure. Under the continuous assaults of the spear phalanx and the cavalry on both sides, knights and foot soldiers occasionally fell from their horses, trampled into the mud by the thundering hooves.

The knights arrived swiftly, but they were defeated just as quickly. Before their infantry could form ranks to support them, the main army, led by the young general in a white robe who resembled a celestial being, had already surged forward. The poor infantry, having hurried for so long, finally reached the riverbank, but before they could halt their steps and arrange themselves in formation, they were already thrown into disarray by their own cavalry.

As soon as he finished speaking, the winds and clouds changed dramatically, the landscape transformed, dark clouds gathered, and countless bolts of lightning struck from the sky. Behind a group of panicked soldiers and craftsmen on the west bank of the Liao River, a young general in a white robe riding a white horse emerged amidst the thunder and lightning, wielding a long spear and drawing his bow. He shouted loudly, advancing without hesitation, causing the cavalry that had just charged forward to momentarily falter under his overwhelming momentum

The situation on the battlefield quickly underwent subtle changes; the cavalry that had previously launched an attack could not wait for the infantry's support and could no longer withstand the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy before them, beginning to retreat in succession

The towering Liaodong City is within reach, yet the more than 30,000 troops of Goguryeo who rushed out of the city to ambush the Sui army crossing the river will never return to Liaodong City. The several dozen li from the Liao River to Liaodong City has become a road stained with the blood of Goguryeo warriors. They fell into the trap set by the Sui; the Sui army had long been waiting for them. The initial response of the Sui troops by the Liao River was entirely to lure them deeper, preventing them from having the opportunity to form a defensive line along the shore.

The previously anxious young general in white felt the pressure he faced had eased considerably. As he charged forward with renewed vigor, he let out a long howl towards the sky, leading a few riders beside him like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, breaking through left and right, with no one able to obstruct him even slightly. His gaze was fixed intently on a leading commander in the opposing ranks.