West of the Hejiang river, stations seventy thousand troops under the command of Li Ming, she had officially called them the revolutionary army. After months of minor skirmishes capturing small towns and villagers, the silver-haired girl finally returned to the camp at Beixi town.
The majority of the soldiers, who had been under the command of Liu One, had never seen a shadow of the supposed major general and were shocked by the delicate appearance of the girl.
After more than eight months, Xu Xiaomeng’s body had not developed in the slightest degree, still appearing of that an adolescent, with a slender figure, undone white hair that flowed along her back, and a delicate face, the soldiers had serious doubts about her capacities as a general.
Li Ming, sitting as straight as a pencil, appeared small in size in comparison with the horse she had been riding on, while her robes usually worn by nobles, along with a slight smile on her face caused her to be in great contrast with the gallant atmosphere within the camp.
Li Ming, with the horse, appeared only two heads taller than the soldiers on foot, looked towards the soldiers, after a few glances, she turned toward Liu One.
“Have the soldiers followed the rules I have set?” her crisp voice rang out, Liu One, who had not heard the voice in more than five months, appeared shocked at first. Soon he had regained his stoic expression, cupping his fist towards the silver-haired girl, who appeared almost minuscule to him, as both rode horses, he replied.
“Of course, the men had not ever engaged in looting, while they treated the commoners courageous,” Pausing for a moment to see the expression of Li Ming, he quickly continued after looking down once more,” All the troublemakers had been dealt with as per according to what you have instructed.”
Li Ming, rather surprised at the skill Liu One commands, reached for a medal out of habit, yet realise that it had not been a concept within the Zui culture, could only offhandedly brush her hand among her side, before she had once again focused on Liu One, after saying a few words of praise, she once again turned to the army.
Exposing the blade of her sword, commonly used by generals in the empire, she points it toward the sky. The soldiers, seeing this sword, did not think any further, and began to stand uniformly in a straight posture.
As Li Ming’s eyes swept over the soldiers, a sea of red, designated as the colour of the army, standing in uniform lines, she once again retracted the sword into the sheath.
Pulling the horse’s lead, she began to trod Westwards, toward the city of Dongan. The army soon followed, while not marching in a uniform speed, remaining largely cohesive through the utilisation of columns. A trail of dust could be seen as the army progressed.
Li Ming slowed moved her horse toward the side of Liu One, to the point where her light fragrance could be smelled.
“General Liu, what are your opinions on the defences of Dongan?” Li Ming asked, continuing a hint of curiosity.
“General Li, no, Lady Li, I have gathered that the defence of Dongan is almost impenetrable, the city possesses a garrison of fifty thousand, it’s water supply are protected by a grand navy, and lead by the prestigious general Xu Li, whose brilliance surpass his father’s, all while protected by a grand wall built during the previous dynasty, it could be considered near impenetrable,” Liu One replied, while his eyes observed the flowing Hejiang.
"Originally, if we had attacked Dongan once we had crossed the river, we may have occupied it, yet as the months passed, the Imperial court had sent countless soldiers to defend and fortify the city," Liu One continued.
Li Ming gave off a slight chuckle, before once again looking toward.
The mighty river flows, with wild vegetation growing in abundance. Li Ming, seeing this, ordered some of her soldiers to collect the wild herbs along the banks to be added to their diet. As the soldiers went down the river, they stopped the major dam, after which, vast amounts of imperial ships could be seen, bring rice and soldiers down the river.
The soldiers, upon seeing the ships, did not advance further and had returned to the main army.
Li Ming, upon hearing this information, simply ordered the army to continue their advance, while her previously straight posture had become slightly slouched.
Perhaps staring too long at the massive navy possessed by the Great Sui Dynasty, on which thousands of troops could be seen, Li Ming’s could not help but unconsciously sigh.
“Sir, why did you not create your own navy,” Xu Xiaomeng’s voice rang out, startling Li Ming slightly, yet the soldiers were seen to not notice.
“Lady, the reasoning is rather simple, at the current moment, it would be simply suicide to sent a contingent of ships to face against the Imperial Navy, you can see by the various scars upon these fleets that they are experienced sailors, our men at the North simply cannot match their quality,” Li Ming replied, her face remaining unchanged.
Before long, they had approached the front of the city. Despite the threat of her army, the city appeared in order, only the private ships that had left the docks gave off any sign that an army looms over Dongan.
The city walls appeared tall and magnificent, almost fifteen meters in height, countless crossbowman and musketeers could be seen stationed at the various towers, unlike those at Bingjiang, they appeared vigorous.
The city likely had been evacuated to preserve their rations, acting nothing more than a fort.
Standing proud above the Southern gates was the general in charge of the city's defence, dressed in capes and armour, they appeared full of confidence.
“Set up camp at a hill, away from the banks,” Li Ming instructed Liu One. Nodding his head, Liu One kicked his horse on the side to give out orders. Li Ming herself remained seemingly uninterested, instead, focusing on the sounds on the remaining few citizens within the walls of Dongan.
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Perhaps feeling a little remorse, she slightly cupped her fist towards the city. Soon she led her horse towards the farthest hill from the city, for the next five months, she would not leave that location.
As the army encamped on the hill, digging trenches to cover their flanks and their front, the defence seems rather primitive, yet effectiveness against cannon and charges could not be overstated. As the trenches were being dug, a contingent of infantrymen had left the city walls, as the heavy door closed behind them, they advance towards at the revolutionary army.
The city of Dongan long knows the presence of the possibility of an attack by the rebels ever since they had crossed into the Central Plain, yet for more than five months, they had laid rotting within the city walls while countless towns and villages fall around them. When their foes finally arrived, Xu Li had sent the majority of the infantrymen along with their cannons to test Li Ming’s strength.
Li Ming herself gave off a slightly friendly smile towards the general upon the city walls.
Xu Li appeared remarkably similar to Xu Xiaomeng, both eyes were bright, while their mouths appeared similarly cherry-like, yet the feeling they give off was completely different.
Xu Li appeared confident, even slightly arrogant fortified within these walls, while Li Ming appeared to be a celestial that had fallen from heaven, maintaining a smile that could not be shaken even if the earth slips.
Xu Li, taking the bottom of the camp, left with a dissatisfied look, leaving his generals to deal with his sister.
Li Ming, upon seeing the general’s disappearance, simply smiled, before focusing on the force advancing towards them.
The soldiers placed down their shoves, and picked up their muskets, while beginning to gather into lines three men deep, after basic instructions were shouted by their lieutenant, the soldiers soon gathered in the trenches.
Soon enough, the sound of cannons could be heard exploding from the city walls, while it had hit some of Li Ming’s forces, yet the majority were protected by the trench or had been missed, regardless the men and women paid no mind to it, only filling the gaps.
The cannon upon those walls has been transferred from the Imperial city of Longjing, developed to be used in sieges, they are cumbersome, yet have extreme firepower, leaving massive craters where they had landed, occasionally, bodies could be found under the heavy iron ball.
Yet it appeared to not have the desired effects of the generals within the city, who order for the rate of fire to increase, as the booming sound was heard constantly, it was deafening. Li Ming paid no attention to the cannon fire, and soon began to call for her own cannons to return fire, while the majority of the cannons missed the imperial army, some had passed through the deep formation, the heavy metal ball causing many of the men’s body to be quashed together, leaving a rather messy and brutal sight.
The soldiers surrounding them were mortified seeing their comrade’s mangled body at the end of the cannon’s trajectory, some paused in horror, yet it was not long before they continued their march in an orderly fashion.
As the cannons on both sides roared, the infantrymen greatly suffered, yet far less lost were inflicted upon Li Ming’s forces, both physically and psychological, perhaps their will to die for their cause made them ignorant of death.
Regardless, the infantry soon came into firing distance, the cannon fire stopped, and the volleys soon began. As the sound of gunpowder rings, a slight spark could be seen, only to leave a puff of white smoke in front of the men, standing on top of the hill, Li Ming’s petite face formed a rather small frown, yet soon returned to her benevolent smile.
As the imperial forces continued firing, as did the revolutionary army, soon enough, casualties with men falling from the lead bullets built up, yet not many had actually died, perhaps only a few thousands.
Ultimately, their foes forgo firing from a distance, leaving their muskets behind, they picked up the spears placed behind their back, and began to charge towards the trenches, in hopes Li Ming’s troops' morale would fall, leading to them abandoning their position.
Yet the revolutionary soldier stayed their ground, attaching the bayonet to the end of their rifle, they prepared to retaliate as they remained in the half dug trenches.
The originally semi-coherent formation of the enemy were destroyed as they charged, as they approached the revolutionaries, fighting developed into close combat, while the imperial troops were more specialised in this aspect, the revolutionaries had formed groups with their platoons, with their greater numbers and command structure, pools of blood made equal of both sides had formed, developing into a stalemate.
As the soldiers fought, they forgo all civility, beginning to stab and slash with their weapons, after their spears and bayonet had been broken, they began using their fists, as they were pinned down, they began to bite using their mouths, ripping out unsightly amounts of flesh, before they were finally put down.
Ultimately, the morale of the imperial troops had been broken after their commander and countless comrades had fallen, retreating hastily, as the city gates opened, the men charged in, while more troops could be seen inside, awaiting for the traitors to charge.
Yet it never had happened, in a matter of extraordinary discipline, the soldiers remained within the protection of the trenches. After inspecting no more were coming out of the city, they once again picked up their shovels and continued digging.
Li Ming inspected the casualties from the battle, young men from both sides lay craters created by the cannons, while with the trenches, the blood had formed a thin layer within the ground of the trenches, a slightly metallic smell pollutes the air.
“Bury the bodies, including the ones you have fought,” she instructed the revolutionary army, the soldiers were slightly shocked by the unusual order, but their disciplined allow them to complete the action swiftly and numerous holes were dug to house the bodies.
After laying the bodies on top of each other, a layer of dirt covered these men, never to see daylight once more.
That day, no more fighting was seen, yet a basic system of trenches was dug, running in a zigzag manner.
Li Ming had remained encamped atop the hill, partly watching for enemy movement, and partly in discussion with Xu Xiaomeng.
“Lady, it appeared that man is your brother,” Li Ming stated the obvious, pointing towards the place Xu Li had stood, perhaps a little uncomfortable, she shifted her sitting posture, after a few attempts, she returned to her original position.
“Sir, you need not worry about my feelings,” Xu Xiaomeng replied, rather solemnly.
“Lady, how could I not, though I had fought against your father, it was with the knowledge that we will never manage to kill him in the conflicts. This time, if we manage to capture the city, it is a possibility that your oldest brother will die at your hands,” Li Ming said, as she waved her hands to indicate her points.
“Sir, my days at the Xu manor had not been a joyous one,” Xu Xiaomeng said,” I had been largely separated from the rest of the family, not to speak of meeting my siblings, to even meet someone outside of my usual servants is quite rare,” Xu Xiaomeng had rarely spoken of her past, so Li Ming was rather serious, straightening her already straight posture as if attempting to appear valiant, she still seemed delicate, as if a single gust of wind would blow her into the skies.
“Sir, I would be rather unfilial of me to say this, yet I do not feel an ounce of familial emotions toward the Xu family,” Xu Xiaomeng said decisively as if cutting with a knife.
Li Ming lowered her head in a sigh, using her slender fingers to massage her temples, before she pulled away from her hands, after staring at it for a little, a slightly bitter laugh came from her voice.
“Lady, would you be interested in meeting with your brother?” Li Ming asked. After she received a sound of affirmation from Xu Xiaomeng, she massaged her temples once more, yet this time she did not stop until it was much later.
As Li Ming stared at the night sky, completely foreign to her, she breathed out a long sigh, before the ever benevolent smile returned once again, completed with her fair skin, she appeared rather divine.