The Wife is First

Ch63 - Ambush

Carefree days were always short. Ten days later, an imperial edict arrived at Cloud City. Emperor Hongzheng first praised Jing Shao lavishly, then ordered him to lead his troops to the southeast to immediately subdue the revolt of the Southeast King, who was sheltering traitors and had tried to assassinate a prince. Along with the edict came the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, who had been dispatched to temporarily take over the administration of the southwest fief. 

The southwest had always been ruled by vassal kings. Now that it had suddenly returned to the control of the imperial court, there were hundreds of thousands of things to do. The emperor had already given the governor a secret order earlier on to take over the duties in the southwest once the rebellion was put down. The governor had thought that it would take at least a year or two, but never expected that it would only take the Cheng Wang two months to accomplish it. The governor’s gray-flecked beard was quickly going to turn completely white.

Jing Shao was very glad that his Imperial Father didn’t have him stay to deal with government affairs. He patted the governor, who had a miserable expression, and on that very day, set off with an indifferent air.

The southeast fiefdom wasn’t connected to the southwest, but was separated by the two provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi. These two provinces had always been the home of exiles. The cities and towns were scattered, sparsely populated, and looked quite desolate, but the scenery was very beautiful. There were many high mountain ranges with varying peaks, clear streams, and waterfalls; it was truly a feast for one’s eyes.

In autumn, the weather was no longer so hot. When the scenery was good, Jing Shao pulled out the person in the carriage to ride Xiao Hei with him. Because the little tiger cub had gotten fat again, Jing Shao refused to let it mount the horse, so it could only aggrievedly slump against the window and look out. 

The right protectorate general looked at the military advisor who was leaning comfortably against the Wang Ye as his back rest. After riding for several days, his own back couldn’t help but ache. The left protectorate general saw him moving about on his horse, and gradually leaned over. “If you’re tired, ride with me.”

During a rapid advance, when they had to move quickly day and night without stopping, they would ride the same horse and take turns resting, so the left protectorate general’s suggestion wasn’t too strange, but…

When the right protectorate general heard these words, he finally realized something. “The relationship between Wang Ye and I is like the one between the right and left protectorate generals” – the Wang Fei’s words from that day still echoed in his ears. He looked at the two people in front of him, and then looked at the expressionless left protectorate general. It seemed like he had suddenly been struck by lightning, and he almost fell off his horse.

“Who says I’m tired, go away!” The right protectorate general waved the left protectorate general off like a fly, then spurred his horse forward to catch up with Zhao Meng, who was in front of him.

It wasn’t too far a distance, but the mountains were high and the bodies of water wide. They had to take a roundabout route for more than half a month before they arrived at Liang Yi Mountain.

In the beginning was the Supreme Ultimate deity, who created Liang Yi.

Liang Yi referred to Yin and Yang. Liang Yi Mountain was named as such because, like Yin and Yang, there was a tremendous difference between both sides of the mountain. On the southeast side, it rose from a small hilly area with an imposing air. Standing at the foot of the mountain and looking up, one would only feel that this landform hid the sky and covered the earth, omnipotent and heart-rending. Liang Yi Mountain was thus named as a symbol of Yin and Yang.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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“This is far beyond the range of the southeast fiefdom; who would set up an ambush here?” Zhao Meng, who came to chat with him, said, “It’s still hundreds of li away from the fiefdom.”

“Maybe I’m just worrying too much.” Mu Hanzhang pursed his lips and looked down at his book, “Jade Water Sacred Scriptures.” According to the book, Liang Yi Mountain was the largest mountain in the southeast. Behind and in front of the Liang Yi mountain range were only parallel roads which passers-by used to travel back and forth between the imposing peaks. Jing Shao said that in his dream, he didn’t go through Liang Yi Mountain. Instead, he went along Jiangnan to get to the southeast, and marched on the flat land along the coast. Thus, he didn’t know what they would encounter along the way.

“Wawu!” Seeing that its master hadn’t paid attention to it for a long while, Xiao Huang threw itself on the book in Mu Hanzhang’s hands, and with sharp claws, cut through the pages in the book on Liangyi Mountain. 

Mu Hanzhang picked up its paws and slowly pulled the book out from under them, tousling the fur on the little tiger’s head in passing. The little tiger cub had already grown a lot. From when it had only been as long as a child’s arm at the start, it was now already about 2 chi long, and had gained a lot of weight. Mu Hanzhang pinched the paw pads that were still pink and fleshy from not running around much. They were soft and warm, and he couldn’t help pinching them a few more times.

Xiao Huang sat there obediently and let him knead its paws. Mu Hanzhang scratched the little tiger’s head, and then lowered his head to read again. The little tiger rubbed against his legs and lay on its back, revealing his white belly covered in fine, fluffy fur, and it raised its head to stretch out its claws and grab the book. Mu Hanzhang laughed and took out a small piece of dried meat to feed it.

“Neigh~” Suddenly, there was the sound of a horse whinnying in the front. The carriage stopped with a bang. Mu Hanzhang quickly steadied himself against the carriage wall. He lifted the curtain and looked out. The cavalry in front was confused. Smoke and dust rolled in the distance, and there was the sound of horse hooves getting closer.

Jing Shao sat on his horse and looked coldly at the black mass that was the enemy cavalry in front of him which surged fiercely onto the narrow mountain path. He had guessed that the old southeast traitor wouldn’t wait for death quietly. 

“Cavalry, retreat!” Jing Shao ordered in a clear voice, raising his hand. The infantry behind him quickly rushed forward, arranging their spears and iron shields in a formation to protect each other. WIth a “kakakaka,” they lined up in a long row, sealing off the mountain road tightly. At the same time, archers lined up behind the shields and “swish and swish” began to shoot at the incoming enemy.

The strongest force in the southeast army were the archers, so it was necessary to strike first.

Ten thousand arrows were fired at once, like tens of thousands of birds suddenly soaring into the sky. After the magnificent sound they made as they cut through the air, there was the neighing of warhorses and the cries of soldiers.

The enemy didn’t expect Jing Shao to react so quickly. They would soon be within range to shoot at Jing Shao and his cavalry, but they were now blocked. 

After a while, the enemy’s arrows came shooting through the air. However, they could only reach the infantry from there, and not the cavalry behind them. Some infantry soldiers fell to the ground one after another. Jing Shao ordered the infantry to disperse in a cross formation, leaving half the space open. The number of people hit by the arrows decreased sharply, but some still couldn’t block or avoid them.

Jing Shao sat unmoving on his horse as he waited for the enemy’s rain of arrows to subside. He then said coldly, “Zhao Meng!”

“This officer is here!” When Zhao Meng heard his name, he immediately spurred his horse to the front.

“Take five hundred cavalry soldiers and break the archer formation!” Jing Shao raised his silver spear and pointed it at the man in the middle of the archer formation. The man was the general in charge of the troops, but Jing Shao wasn’t sure if he was the Godly Archer General from the 18th year of Hongzheng in his previous life. 

“Executing the order!” Zhao Meng raised his broadsword and rushed out first. The five hundred cavalry soldiers formed a sharp cone which cut through the infantry shield formation, and they rushed straight toward the enemy troops.

“Kill –” Zhao Meng took the lead, waving his broadsword to block the continuous arrows as he ran. Rushing forth like this without care for their lives inevitably led to the loss of some cavalry soldiers. The other side hadn’t expected them to use this tactic, and had directly placed their archers at the front in order to shorten the range. Seeing this, the southeast troops frantically tried to change their formation, but it was already too late.

“Kill!” Seeing this situation, the commander on the other side waved his hand and led the cavalry in a rush forward, shouting a rally cry which shook the sky for a moment.

Mu Hanzhang lifted the curtain and frowned at the battle. The enemy cavalry broke through Zhao Meng’s conical array and attacked the infantry. 

Jing Shao turned his head and looked at him. “Jun Qing, don’t come out.” He then gestured to the left and right protectorate generals, who immediately brought two teams of men and horses forward a few steps. It didn’t seem like much of a change, but they firmly protected the four sides of the carriage.

The cavalry met the spears in the front row, and fighting in close quarters immediately broke out.

Wielding his Hun Yuan sword, Hao Dadao charged forward with the other cavalry soldiers. He cut off the head of the enemy cavalry soldier who was in front of him, instantly boosting the army’s morale.

At that moment, there was a sudden change, and a southeast army party suddenly rushed out from behind the mountain stream on the left, cutting off the infantry formation behind the cavalry. 

Jing Shao motioned to Hao Dadao to continue to press forth with the cavalry in front. He quickly turned his horse’s head. The commander of the Shu army in the back immediately understood, and rushed to kill the soldiers and horses that had yet to cross the mountain stream and step onto the mountain road. The mountain stream was clear and shallow, and was soon dyed a brilliant red with blood.

The sound of horse hooves splashing through water grew louder. A group of cavalry soldiers followed the infantry closely, and rushed out of the blocked exit. The leader was courageous and unstoppable. He killed three cavalry soldiers in succession and attacked Jing Shao with an azure dragon halberd.

Jing Shao raised his spear to block the crescent blade of the halberd, then flipped his wrist to press the azure dragon halberd under his silver spear.

Sitting by the window, Mu Hanzhang frowned as he worriedly watched Jing Shao fight the other man. Suddenly, he heard the sound of something cutting through the air. He saw a sharp arrow pass through the crowd, shooting straight toward Jing Shao’s back. The left protectorate general drew out the sharp blade at his waist and, with a slash, cut the threatening arrow in half. It turned out that the positions which he and the right protectorate general had taken up not only helped to protect the carriage, but could also help obstruct any attack on the Wang Ye from two directions. 

Mu Hanzhang quietly let out a sigh of relief. He knew that he wasn’t of much help on the actual battlefield, so naturally wouldn’t go out to make trouble.

The man who fought with Jing Shao was very good at martial arts, and handled the azure dragon halberd like a work of art. One strike aimed right for Jing Shao’s heart. Jing Shao’s silver spear slipped between his arms and moved in front of his chest to block the strike. He flipped his spear around and twisted the crescent blade to stab at the man’s eyes. The other party was surprised and quickly parried. The Cheng Wang was this young but unexpectedly had already practiced the spear to the point that it was as if man and spear were one: the silver spear was just like a part of his own body, and his strikes and counterattacks were extremely accurate.

The man sidestepped to avoid Jing Shao’s attack. The flat blade of the azure dragon halberd lay horizontally against his chest, the smooth silver spear firmly clamped between the iron halberd and his armor.

The corner of Jing Shao’s lips drew up in a sneer, and he suddenly released his grip on his spear. The man was too strong, and he couldn’t help but fall backward at the momentum. All this happened in a flash, and Jing Shao suddenly pulled out his long sword from his waist. With one slash, he cut the man’s throat, his left hand quickly grabbing the spear shaft as he struck the man hard in the chest and threw him off his horse. 

“Good spear prowess!” Hao Dadao killed the last cavalry soldier. Looking back at Jing Shao’s last move, he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. It took more than ten years of hard work to achieve that kind of accuracy. Despite the Cheng Wang’s young age, he had already attained such excellence; he was truly an innately talented prodigy.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!” The successive sounds of whistling in the air suddenly roused all the people who were still immersed in their happiness. Jing Shao suddenly turned around and saw three arrows shooting right at him in the shape of the word 品.

Three arrows at once – the Godly Archer General!

Jing Shao’s eyes widened abruptly. The reason why he didn’t dodge this time was that the three arrows were fired at the same time. When they reached his body, they were still in the 品 formation, sealing off all his escape routes. If he dodged one of them, he wouldn’t be able to escape the other two. At this moment, people would subconsciously dodge to one side. 

“Jing Shao!” Mu Hanzhang cried out in alarm and watched helplessly as the three arrows shot toward Jing Shao. However, Jing Shao didn’t dodge; he didn’t even try, as he stood where he was and let the arrows fly right at him!