Chapter 1024: War Drums Like Thunder

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Yin Huaixi said, “In the past two years, the Di people have often disturbed the border cities, and small-scale battles have almost never stopped. The soldiers’ armor has been seriously damaged, but it’s still barely useful. It’s just that I will have to trouble General Li with medicinal herbs.’

“The weather in Liaodong is cold and wet. After the soldiers were injured, their wounds recovered slowly. If they weren’t treated properly, their wounds would seriously fester. Many soldiers were slightly more seriously injured and almost lost their combat strength. Many soldiers lost their lives because of this.”

“According to the spy’s report, after our victory in the first battle, the Northern Barbarians has increased their troops again. There are no less than 200,000 troops. Our army is in the midst of the change of old and new troops. There are only 200,000 people who can really go to the battlefield. We can’t afford to lose a single soldier.”

General Li was also from the military, so he empathized with what King Yue Fei had said. “King Yue Fei, don’t worry. I will definitely report this situation to the Imperial Court in detail.”

Yin Huaixi was naturally extremely grateful.

In addition to escorting the military supplies, General Li and the others also wanted to understand the situation in the army further.

Seeing that the soldiers were full of energy, were not depressed by General Ming Wei’s death in battle, and were filled with fighting spirit, iYin Huaixi’s ability to lead the troops was obvious. General Li and the others were secretly shocked.

Then, he saw dozens or hundreds of soldiers forming various formations and practicing. it was actually some kind of strange military formation.

General Li quickly asked, “What kind of military formation is this?”

Yin Huaixi did not hide it. “It’s the Eight Trigrams Formation. I learned a little from an ancient book, so I tested it in the army. This array is good at defense and attack. It’s very useful in large-scale battles and can reduce casualties.”

General Li exclaimed repeatedly, “Was this the array used in the first battle with the Northern Barbarians to annihilate more than 30,000 people?”

In that battle, other than the fact that General Ming Wei had died in battle, the army could be considered talented. They had killed more than 30,000 enemies and captured more than 1,000 Di Army soldiers. The army had only lost less than 3,000 people and had more than 10,000 casualties.

After the news spread to the capital, many ministers in the court sighed with emotion. Like father, like son. King Yue Fei had the legacy of a great ancestor.

Yin Huaixi nodded.

General Li was immediately interested and asked Yin Huaixi for guidance on

the Eight Trigrams Formation.

The Eight Trigrams Formation was too complicated. Yin Huaixi had studied it for two to three years, but he could only barely put it together. It was also because many Daoist experts had come to the army recently and had guided him that the Eight Trigrams Formation had gradually been optimized. The formation was not as rigid as before, and it looked more unpredictable and flexible.

When General Li asked, Yin Huaxi was also straightforward. He taught General Li a few powerful and relatively simple array formations in the Eight Trigrams Formation.

“Hahaha.” General Li felt that he had benefited greatly. He patted Yin Huaixi’s shoulder and laughed. “The new generation surpa.s.ses the old. Our Great Zhou Dynasty has produced a peerless talent.”

Yin Huaixi said humbly, “It turned out that it was also because Liaodong was bitterly cold and the border war was frequent. The casualties of the soldiers were too high, so I racked my brains to think of a way to reduce the casualties, which was why I studied military formations. In terms of experience, I still have many shortcomings. Otherwise, General Ming Wei wouldn’t have…” At this point, his expression was a little sad. “General Li, please give me more guidance.”

General Li also felt sad. He patted his shoulder again. “You’re a good general. General Ming Wei’s death was worth it.”

In order to reduce the casualties, Yin Huaixi had painstakingly studied military formations. It was obvious that he was a responsible general. That was why the You army was so cohesive.

Next, Yin Huaixi shared a lot of military strategies and experience with General Li.

Just like General Ming Wei, General Li was a general who had climbed up from the bottom. His own battle results were far more glamorous than his status as a third-grade general.

Over the years, he had conquered the south and north, fought the Northern

Barbarians, killed traitors, exterminated bandits, destroyed the Southern Barbarians, and killed pirates. Not only was he knowledgeable, but he was also rich in combat experience, causing Yin Huaixi to gain a lot of knowledge.

The court officials who had come together, including Eunuch Li and the others, were not idle. General Lin sent someone to bring over a list of names, accounts, and so on from the army for them to consult.

They checked all the letters and books that could be found in the army.

The military situation in the North was urgent. The Imperial Court wanted to understand the situation in the army further so that when they returned to the capital, they could further optimize the military supplies. Naturally, General Lin did not dare to be careless.

Fortunately, after King Yue Fei guarded Liaodong, the original information about the army was abolished and revised. Everyone in the army was recorded cleanly and was not afraid of being investigated.

This ordeal lasted for seven to eight days.

When General Li and the others returned to the capital, the cabinet held an urgent meeting. The officials accompanying them praised them repeatedly and admired King Yue Fei even more.

The outcome was better than expected, and the court officials felt a little more at ease.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve. The army killed sheep and cows and lived as if they were in a drunken dream for three days.

The next day, before dawn, Yu Youyao was woken up by the sound of the war drum. She hurriedly put on her shoes and ran out of the tent and towards the drill ground without even putting on her cloak.

When they arrived at the periphery of the drill ground, Yu Youyao was stopped by the guards. There were many soldiers who were stopped outside with her, including Madam Ming.

Although the soldiers’ relatives were admitted into the army, they were all in the periphery of the encampment and did some a.s.sistance. Other than soldiers, no one was allowed to enter or leave some important places in the army.

The cold wind howled, and the war drums were like thunder. They could be heard far away, so far that the Di army could hear them.

The soldiers raised their swords and shouted, “Fight, fight, fight..

The soaring battle intent also cut through the sharp and angry wind. The army formed an orderly square formation and turned into two dragons that rushed out of the drill ground like dragons and tigers.

Yu Youyao stood outside the drill ground and saw Yin Huaixi’s dark golden cloak draw a cold arc in the cold wind.

He sat on his big horse and looked back at her. The red ta.s.sel on his helmet fluttered, and his determined face was mostly covered by it. She could only vaguely see that he seemed to be saying something to her, yet it was also as if he was saying nothing.

However, Yu Youyao could clearly see that his thumb had pushed open the scabbard at his waist. A section of the shining blade hummed, reflecting the pale snow and looking cold.

“Let’s go!” She heard it. She really did.

The buzzing sound was very faint, but in her ears, it was like thunder. It was deafening. The soaring battle intent and dense killing intent even froze the air.

Yu Youyao’s mind buzzed, and she said in a voice that only she could hear, “Take care!”

“Dong, dong, dong—” The sound of war drums came from the distant camp of the You army, echoing endlessly in the long mountain range and into the Di army’s camp.

Due to his serious injuries, Meng Duo did not partic.i.p.ate in the battle.

The Northern Barbarians had changed their leader again. It was the leader of the Zamo Tribe, Zamo He.

There were many large and small tribes in the Northern Barbarians, and among them, the Meng, Har, and Zamo tribes were the strongest. The Zamo tribes were supporters of the main battle faction and had been active on the battlefield in the North for many years. Zamo He’s reputation was not inferior to Meng Ying’s..