Chapter 48: The False General, on the Battlefield

Chapter 48: The Fake General, Going to War

To be honest, Ning Xishi still found this pattern of building a relationship after the fact rather strange.

They had already been through so much together, yet still didn't have much emotional connection.

Thinking about it gave him a headache.

Meanwhile, Xie Jingxing had quickly received a letter from Qiu Changyu, roughly recounting what Ning Xishi had told him the night before—how General Qi had beaten him as a kid.

And how his expression had fallen apart the moment he saw General Qi enter the tent.

Xie Jingxing couldn't help smiling. Though the man wasn't before him, he could already picture Ning Xishi's eyes widening with that exact look on his face.

Aside from that, the messenger also passed along some military intel by word of mouth—that Ning Xishi had brought people to help improve the crossbows.

Because this intel was too sensitive to be written down, and the messenger wasn't given the full picture, all descriptions of people were vague—but Xie Jingxing read between the lines.

An indescribable feeling slowly stirred in his heart. He suddenly wanted, desperately, to see Ning Xishi right now.

Xie Jingxing looked down at his legs and did the math in his head: ten more days.

He'd be able to walk again by then.

·

Meanwhile, Ning Xishi had gone to war in Xie Jingxing's stead, leading the main army, and arrived at the border fortress on the thirteenth day.

The Xiongnu over there were well-informed—they sent over a war banner that very day, demanding a one-on-one duel on horseback with "Xie Jingxing" the next day.

This was the traditional pre-battle ritual meant to boost morale.

When Ning Xishi received the banner, Qiu Changyu had initially worried that the young man would be provoked by this taunt and rush out to take the bait.

He was about to refuse on Ning Xishi's behalf when he saw Ning Xishi, sitting at the head of the table, casually toss the war banner back to the messenger who had delivered it. Without a word, he rose, reached out, and drew an arrow from the guard's quiver. He tossed it carelessly over his shoulder—and it slammed deep into the war banner on the ground.

The assembled soldiers roared with laughter: "Hahaha, they want to compete with our general? In their dreams!"

"That leader of theirs isn't even worthy of shining our general's boots, and they still want to challenge him?"

"Get lost! Our general won't even spare you a glance, and you're still here humiliating yourself?"

The weight in Qiu Changyu's chest finally lifted. By now, Ning Xishi had already walked out of the main tent, leaving the messenger behind.

Truly not saving them any face at all!

Now that was satisfying!

Qiu Changyu couldn't help but think—the general's usual methods had been far, far too gentle. Now this was a masterclass in humiliation!

The messenger, face twisted with humiliation, carried the arrow-pierced banner back and kowtowed in shame: "General, I failed you—they humiliated us thoroughly!"

The commander sitting at the head of the tent was no longer young. If Xie Jingxing had been there, he would likely have recognized the man at a glance as Wanyan Dahong—the one who had defeated him seven years earlier.

The war banner held in the messenger's hands also bore Wanyan Dahong's red-and-white colors.

The assembled strategists immediately erupted in outrage: "Their army doesn't even have rations left—how can they still be so arrogant? Do they think it's still six months ago, when Xie Jingxing alone chased down four of our generals?"

"Exactly! It's the dead of winter now, nothing like the blazing summer six months ago. Those Han people can't endure the cold like we can, yet they still dare to be this cocky. Let's attack tomorrow and see if they have any way to fight back!"

"General, give the order—I'll lead the attack!"

At that moment, a strategist who looked unmistakably Han stood behind Wanyan Dahong, his face dark and gloomy.

The Xiongnu custom was that discussions in the tent had to reach a conclusion, or no one would back down.

But given what had happened to the Chanyu and several generals six months ago, Wanyan Dahong was now unquestionably the one calling the shots among the Xiongnu. Even when others deliberated, they could only speak by gauging his mood.

Wanyan Dahong said: "Everyone out. Once I've got a plan, we'll attack the city."

As soon as the others left, the strategist immediately spoke up, sounding confused: "Why did you send them out, General?"

In his view, this was simple—since Xie Jingxing had humiliated them right to their faces, just attack directly.

It didn't have to be a brutal assault; just scare the hell out of them would do.

"That man isn't Xie Jingxing." Wanyan Dahong spoke, his hawk-like eyes fixed on the strategist. "Your emperor replaced Xie Jingxing."

The strategist's face changed instantly: "Impossible!"

"Five years ago, I used this very war banner to kill Xie Jingxing's master and hung the man's head from it—there's no way he could forget that. And there's no way he'd see this banner and not come out to fight."

This was no longer something that calculation and scheming could replace—this was raw human nature.

The strategist was dumbfounded: "But when he set out, our emperor personally saw him off, and during the march, generals were coming and going from his tent every day. Those rough military men can't keep secrets."

"Which is exactly why this person must have been swapped at the send-off." Wanyan Dahong's face was grim. "After all, his legs were fully healed at the send-off, and he could ride a horse—"

He looked at the strategist and said: "I suspect the real Xie Jingxing is riding in a carriage, following not far behind the main army. I'd estimate that within two days, the real Xie Jingxing will arrive here."

The strategist gnashed his teeth in fury: "No, we can't delay. If we wait any longer, Xie Jingxing's leg injury will be completely healed. Then his prestige in the army will rise even further—our emperor absolutely cannot allow that to happen."

"Then go intercept and kill him." Wanyan Dahong laughed outright at that. "Your Han emperor is unreliable—sent a fake over here. And now you're wasting our military strength."

"General Wanyan, please wait. Since the real Xie Jingxing is still on the road, intercepting him isn't realistic—we'd first have to get past the encirclement of so many soldiers... that's very difficult to accomplish." The strategist said hurriedly.

"That's your Han emperor's responsibility."

"General, things have come to this. Thanks to your keen eye, we've seen through the fake Xie Jingxing. In that case, rather than hunting down the real one, why not let this fake Xie Jingxing suffer a crushing defeat—that way, even if the real Xie Jingxing does arrive, it'll already be too late to turn things around." The strategist said quickly.

"Hmph, easy for you to say. Xie Jingxing isn't here, but his soldiers aren't pushovers either. And then there's Qiu Changyu—how do you expect me to rout them in two days?" Wanyan Dahong said.

"You don't need elaborate tactics. Just lure that fake Xie Jingxing out of the city, then cut off his head in front of everyone—the army's morale will collapse, and then whatever grain the general wants to seize, won't he be able to seize it?"

Wanyan Dahong's mind stirred, and he said: "Are the people for the inside-outside coordination at the city walls all in place?"

"All arranged. The side gate on the southwest flank awaits the general's entry." The strategist said.

Wanyan Dahong's eyes gleamed with greed: "Then I'll go meet this fake Xie Jingxing."

·

Just as everyone assumed they'd have two days of peace and that the Xiongnu wouldn't attack so soon, they launched an assault on the city at dusk.

Ning Xishi ascended the city gate for the first time. The night wind sent his hair flying at his temples. Beside him, Qiu Changyu held up a torch and said: "Something's off. This isn't Wanyan Dahong's style of fighting."

Ning Xishi stood with a solemn expression, looking down without a word. At moments like this, staring at the thousands upon thousands of troops below, he finally understood just how insignificant one person truly was.

Flames roared into the sky, yet they still couldn't hide the chill in the air. Ning Xishi's armor was crusted with ice; he'd never been out in cold like this, let alone standing atop the city wall.

Qiu Changyu couldn't stay by his side for long and soon headed down to handle military matters.

As he stood on the wall, Ning Xishi suddenly felt eyes on him. It was a cavalryman in a soldier's getup, but his face showed his age. When he saw Ning Xishi looking, he made a point of holding the torch up to his own face.

Ning Xishi instantly caught on—was the man telling him to get a good look at his face?

Too bad Qiu Changyu wasn't there, because Ning Xishi had no clue who the guy was.

Then Ning Xishi saw the man point southwest and take off on his horse in that direction.

Ning Xishi's gaze followed the flickering flame, and he watched in disbelief as the guy rode straight into the city—

Wait.

Wait a second.

Nobody's guarding the southwest gate?

Ning Xishi scrambled down from the wall, hopped on his horse, and led two squads of his personal guards toward the southwest gate.

The heavy stench of blood hit them before they even got there. Ning Xishi's face went cold and hard as he ordered, "Charge."

It was the first time he'd spoken, and while his voice wasn't exactly like Xie Jingxing's, it carried the same weight in the night wind. All the riders surged forward, crashing into the Xiongnu who'd broken in.

Just then, the soldier Ning Xishi had spotted earlier showed up in his line of sight. He was chopping down Han cavalrymen left and right, cackling as he charged straight at Ning Xishi.

"Well, well, General Xie. Long time no see. You still kicking?"

Ning Xishi had almost no training fighting on horseback, and his go-to weapon was still that flashy longsword. Luckily, there was a spear strapped to his horse, so he grabbed it as a backup—good enough.

After just one clash, Wanyan Dahong could tell Ning Xishi's strength was weak—all show, no substance.

He grinned smugly. Just as he was about to chop the fake general's head off, he saw the so-called Xie Jingxing spur his horse straight at him!

This only got Wanyan Dahong more hyped. He swung his saber so fast it left trails in the air, thinking, *This idiot—instead of running, he's charging at me? He's asking to die!*

But before he could finish that thought, his horse's front legs gave out, and the guy across from him jumped off his own horse.

Wanyan Dahong whipped around to see his prized horse stuck full of needles—this bastard had used hidden weapons!

"You Han are sneaky bastards," Wanyan Dahong said without a trace of remorse, charging in with his saber. This time, he wouldn't give the fake Xie Jingxing another chance.

Ning Xishi pulled the soft sword from his belt. When it came down to life and death, he'd trust his best weapon.

The moment they clashed, Wanyan Dahong realized the man before him was no pushover—he had real skill.

Every move seemed ordinary, yet whenever he tried to attack, the defense was impenetrable.

*Damn it, is this man made of turtle shell?*

But Wanyan Dahong had the advantage of raw strength. No matter how clever the technique of deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces, it could not overcome sheer power.

"Shh—" The long saber slashed across Ning Xishi's arm. Even though he dodged quickly, the blade's edge still cut him, and blood immediately flowed, staining his sleeve red.

==========Author's Note:==========

Good night.