The drums behind him beat faster; it was his beloved wife cheering him on. If he retreated now, regardless of whether he could escape unscathed, he would surely be despised by his wife upon his return. Lu Xiang died at the hands of his own people, while he was able to die at the hands of a traitor, which was better than Lu Xiang's death. In an instant, Dong Cheng's resolve to die in battle hardened once more.
"Li Jun, let's settle this once and for all!" he shouted as he turned around.
But a chilling aura already enveloped his back, and in that brief moment of hesitation, Li Jun's halberd was already pointed at his back. Although the breastplate on his armor was made of polished bronze, it couldn't possibly withstand Li Jun's attack.
Cold sweat poured down his face; this was the second time he had ever broken out in a cold sweat. The first time was when he was commanding a battle at a critical moment and found himself in dire straits; the second time was when he broke into the enemy ranks in close combat, only to find himself surrounded and unable to achieve anything.
"Do you still want to fight me to the death?" Li Jun asked in a low voice. He had been inspired by Dong Cheng's bravery and had personally gone into battle. Now, he felt quite regretful. He shouldn't have competed with his generals for the credit of capturing the pass, seizing the city, and killing enemy generals. If he hadn't, how would Dong Cheng have had the opportunity to attack his flag bearer, and how would Zeng Liang and the others have almost died in battle?
"..." A thousand thoughts raced through Dong Cheng's mind. Only now did he understand that it was easy to make grand pronouncements in the heat of the moment, but difficult to make a decision when faced with life and death. He took a deep breath, suppressing the fear deep within his heart, and smiled calmly: "If I die, I die. Why say more?"
If he had begged for mercy, Li Jun, who harbored deep hatred for him, might have killed him immediately. But since he remained defiant at this moment, Li Jun's goodwill towards him increased even more.
"Then die!" Li Jun's killing intent hardened, and he thrust out his halberd, knocking Dong Cheng off his horse.
"You..." Dong Chengben had already closed his eyes and awaited death, but unexpectedly, Li Jun merely used his halberd to flick his golden-threaded armor, sending him sprawling to the ground. He got up and stared blankly at Li Jun, who had already sheathed his halberd, coldly staring at him, and said, "I will spare your life. Pass on my order to halt the attack on the mountain and allow the enemy troops on both sides to retreat!"
Dong Cheng's eyes widened in anger, and he was panting heavily. Part of it was because under Li Jun's condescending and domineering aura, he had to rely on panting to calm his heartbeat. The other part was because he couldn't believe Li Jun's words.
"Kill me if you want. My forces are insufficient, and defeat today is inevitable. You don't need to pretend to be kind and righteous to deceive me!"
"Hypocritical benevolence?" Li Jun chuckled, sheathing his halberd. "What need do I, Li Jun, have for the pretense of benevolence and righteousness in my actions? Considering you are a hero, I will spare your life today. Go back and prepare your troops for another battle. After breakfast tomorrow, I will attack Wakou Pass again."
If Li Jun had killed him with a single halberd, Dong Cheng would have felt better. But Li Jun neither killed him nor forced him to surrender, but instead told him to go back and fight again, which made Dong Cheng suspicious.
"The art of war says to let go in order to capture the enemy. Could it be that Li Jun used this tactic?" he thought to himself. After this thought, his determination to die was greatly diminished.
Generally speaking, a person's determination to die is merely a momentary impulse; once they calm down and find a way out, they will never seek death again. Dong Cheng was like that at this moment.
"No matter what tricks Li Jun is up to, if I can escape unscathed, I will surely have a chance to repay him. As the military strategist said, 'Where there's life, there's hope.' This is exactly what it means." Having made up his mind, he looked at Li Jun again and felt that Li Jun's dark eyes were like cold lightning, piercing straight into his heart, as if Li Jun had already seen through his thoughts.
"Let my men retreat back to Guanzhong first, and I will leave last." Although he had made up his mind, Dong Cheng was not in a hurry to return to Guanzhong. If Li Jun did not kill him, there was no need to rush. It would be more beneficial to understand this man's thoughts in order to fight in the future.
"As you wish." Li Jun chuckled coldly, glancing at the hills on both sides. The battle on the hills was over, and Dong Cheng could only take back some remnants of his army.
"If you think that I will surrender and hand over the pass just because you let me go today, you are sorely mistaken." Li Jun's indifference made Dong Cheng feel extremely empty. He wondered what kind of turbulent waves were hidden beneath his opponent's calm and composed exterior, so he spoke vehemently.
Li Jun then turned his gaze back to him and said calmly, "It doesn't matter. If you have the chance, feel free to kill me."
Filled with doubt and confusion, Dong Cheng led his remaining troops back to Wakou Pass. Seeing that he had survived, Lady Sun finally felt relieved, but her anxiety quickly returned.
"General..." She glanced around, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"No need to say more, I did not surrender to Li Jun!" Dong Cheng waved his hand impatiently. His subordinates looked at him with astonishment at his safe return from the enemy ranks. Although they couldn't see clearly in the midst of battle, they all vaguely remembered him being shot down by Li Jun, and then the two talking for a long time. It was hard for anyone to believe that Li Jun hadn't agreed to any of his conditions for him to return safely.
Dong Cheng felt that gaze, but he couldn't and disdained to defend himself. Back then, Lu Xiang was killed on trumped-up charges, and everyone thought he was wronged. If he were to be killed now on charges of treason, everyone would probably think that he had indeed surrendered to Li Jun. No matter how many mouths he had, how could he defend himself?
"Li Jun, Li Jun, do you not only intend to completely defeat me physically, but also ruin my reputation?" Dong Cheng seemed to see Li Jun's intentions in his subordinates' eyes.
"Li Jun will attack again tomorrow morning." Ignoring the expressions on his generals' faces, he said slowly, "Do you think Wakou Pass can still be defended?"
“When Li Jun attacks again, we will be outnumbered and outgunned. How can we possibly hold out?” the advisor asked boldly.
"Indeed, the high ground outside the pass has been lost, and the strategic advantage has been broken. Although Wakou Pass is high and the road is dangerous, if Li Jun sends archers to fire from the high ground, I'm afraid our army will have difficulty defending it."
“Li Jun’s army not only has Qiang people, but also Yi people who are extremely skilled in archery. Tomorrow, he will definitely let the Yi people shoot. At that time, our army will be attacked from multiple sides and will be unable to resist, with only defeat as the only option.”
The subordinates chattered amongst themselves, though they deliberately avoided mentioning what Dong Cheng and Li Jun had discussed. However, their strange expressions told Dong Cheng that everyone was wondering whether Dong Cheng had reached an agreement with Li Jun to surrender the pass.
"If it weren't for the general, I'm afraid none of our soldiers on those two hills would have survived. Of the 6,000 who went into battle, only 3,000 have survived. With a third of our strength gone, how can we possibly continue fighting?"
“Actually… actually, Li Jun’s campaign this time was not a baseless one. The treacherous officials in the court do need to be punished. If it weren’t for them, how could our army have such a small force?” a subordinate general said boldly.
Dong Cheng glared at him, and the rest of his men fell silent, speculating on his reaction. He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking, a testament to his intense agitation. After a long pause, he sighed and said, "Let alone you, even I myself couldn't believe Li Jun would let me go unconditionally. Now I understand his plan. Although he didn't ask me to surrender the pass, he's forced me to abandon it as my only option."
The generals remained silent, only to hear Dong Cheng slowly say, "The art of war says, 'Favorable timing, advantageous terrain, and popular support.' Today, the timing is unfavorable to me, I have lost most of the advantageous terrain, and popular support... Li Jun released me alive, so you all can no longer trust me. As for popular support, we have lost that too. To fight again would only be sending you all to your deaths, or even forcing the soldiers to defect on the battlefield. Li Jun, Li Jun..." His voice trailed off, becoming almost silent.
"As the commander predicted, Dong Cheng indeed withdrew his troops overnight, and Wakou Pass had already fallen into our hands."
Wei Zhan gently waved his paper fan. Yesterday, Li Jun suddenly let Dong Cheng retreat when he was at the height of his victory, which puzzled the generals of the army. Only he expressed his deep approval.
"This pass is high and the road is dangerous. If we attack it by force, even if we capture it, we will lose several thousand more elite soldiers. Letting Dong Cheng retreat will make his soldiers suspicious and disloyal. This man is extremely orthodox in his use of troops, and he has lost his will to fight to the death. He can only retreat and choose another place to fight." Li Jun looked at the iron-clad pass and couldn't help but sigh.
"I'm afraid that before he can even choose a place to fight again, someone will already be holding him accountable for losing the pass," Wei Zhan said slowly, observing Li Jun's expression as he watched him closely.
"Mr. Wei means..."
“Dong Cheng’s military tactics, though somewhat rigid, are extremely difficult to break through. If we gave him 30,000 men, entering Wakou Pass today would be as easy as climbing to heaven,” Wei Zhan said. “In that case, why not let that foolish and treacherous ruler of Su eliminate this great threat for us?”
"Is this another attempt to sow discord? We've learned the same trick that Lan Kingdom used against Commander Lu." Li Jun said, half self-deprecatingly and half with a sigh. "Throughout history, the pillars of a nation have rarely been destroyed by the enemy; most have perished from within. If this campaign succeeds, the tyrannical ruler and treacherous ministers of Su Kingdom will be credited with the greatest merit."
Knowing that Li Jun had agreed to adopt his plan, Wei Zhan was overjoyed: "Then please ask the commander to reward them handsomely in Liuzhou."
"Yes, they should be rewarded handsomely." Li Jun smiled faintly, turning his gaze to the north. After breaking through the dangerous Wakou Pass, there was a flat plain of Yunyang behind. If all went smoothly, he could take over the entire Yunyang territory within three days, unless Dong Cheng still wanted to put up a futile resistance.
He already had a plan for the next step. Taking over Yunyang was not urgent; the army was separated by the high and rugged Qionglu Grassland, and resupply was the top priority.
"Send an urgent order to General Meng Yuan, instructing him to disregard all other matters and head straight for Canghai County to capture Xizhou City. Also, send an order to Tu Longziyun, instructing him to cooperate in the attack on Xizhou," he whispered.
Wei Zhan frowned and said, "Wait a moment." The messenger then waited.
"How is it?" Li Jun asked in surprise.
“Meng Yuan’s small cavalry force has ventured deep into enemy territory alone. At this time, Yunyang has not yet completely fallen into our hands. If something happens in the rear, I’m afraid Meng Yuan’s five thousand men will be in danger.”
Wei Zhan's timely words made Li Jun take a slight breath. For some reason, he still had concerns about Liu Guang behind him and was eager to achieve victory in the present moment.
"What you say is absolutely right, sir," he said. "Send Meng Yuan to send scouts to investigate the situation in Canghai County. Proceed slowly for now, and wait for me to join them." He estimated that Meng Yuan's light cavalry was extremely fast, and even though he took a detour, he should arrive at the capital of Yunyang before him. If they could get there quickly, they might be able to seize Yunyang County before the fleeing Dong Cheng. How would Dong Cheng deal with that then? This thought intrigued him.