Chapter 87

Before the hour of the dog, the distant sound of continuous horns finally came, and Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, finally arrived.

Not only did Emperor Gaozong come, but also Chancellor Lu Yihao, Deputy Chancellors Fan Zongyin, Qin Hui, and Zhao Ding, as well as over thirty important ministers. A large group of officials arrived in a grand procession.

The drill ground was brightly lit, as bright as daylight, with two armies quietly lining up to wait.

Interestingly, the deployment of the two armies was exactly the same, each consisting of 300 spear soldiers and 200 shield and sword soldiers, with ten men forming a unit, each unit having six spear soldiers and four shield and sword soldiers.

Once such combat units were formed, it meant that both sides had abandoned group combat and were about to engage in scattered combat.

In the opposing camp, Zhang Xian shouted fiercely, and the 500 soldiers immediately became filled with killing intent.

Chen Qing waved his long halberd, and it was as if he had pressed a switch. His 500 soldiers, like a black panther that had encountered prey, instantly exuded overwhelming killing intent, ready to strike.

On the high platform, Zhao Gou watched the two armies with great interest. Although he preferred the calm and deep pool-like army of Yang Xizhong, he still needed soldiers to defend the state!

He was very satisfied with both armies and could feel the killing intent in them.

"Minister Li, begin!"

Li Hui immediately waved his hand, and the war drums began to sound, "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Zhang Xian waved his spear and shouted, "Men, kill!"

"Kill!"

The 500 soldiers of Yue Fei's army shouted and surged forward like an unstoppable wave, rushing towards their opponents 100 paces away.

Chen Qing, however, remained exceptionally calm. He and his 500 soldiers were like a panther about to pounce and a reef that had sat for millions of years, coldly watching the approaching enemy without any movement.

Zhao Gou narrowed his eyes, filled with admiration. He suddenly liked Chen Qing's calmness, which remained unchanged even in the face of a collapsing mountain. This was the kind of talent who could stand alone.

Chancellor Lu Yihao glanced at Zhao Gou from the corner of his eye. He sensed the unhidden admiration in the emperor's eyes and was moved. This admiration was definitely not for Yue Fei's army but for Chen Qing, admiring his calmness.

'Who would have thought the emperor values him so much!' Lu Yihao thought to himself, his mind quickly becoming active.

At this moment, Yue Fei, who was watching from below, suddenly became worried. He realized he had underestimated this Chen Qing.

"Zhang Xian, Wang Gui, you must hold your ground!" Yue Fei worried in his heart.

The drill ground remained one moving and one still, the moving like thunder, the still like a mountain.

"Seventy paces... sixty paces... forty paces... thirty paces..."

At this moment, Chen Qing's army had reached the peak of their readiness. The time was ripe, and Chen Qing suddenly waved his halberd, coldly uttering two words, "Charge!"

"Kill!"

Hu Yan Tong roared, and the Western Army, which had been at the peak of readiness, suddenly launched an attack. They were like a collapsing mountain, and the 500 soldiers unleashed their accumulated energy.

"Kill—"

The 500 soldiers shouted in unison, instantly charging forward. After running twenty paces, they collided with Yue Fei's army with a thunderous impact. Dozens of soldiers screamed as they were thrown into the air, the intensity of the collision making the emperor and ministers on the platform change their expressions.

This was no longer a martial arts competition but a battlefield.

Zhang Xian's army's formation was slightly elongated, and they suffered a significant disadvantage in the fierce collision, with most of the soldiers thrown into the air being his men.

The Western Army's momentum was extremely strong, instantly overwhelming the Divine Valor Army.

Once the Western Army gained the upper hand, they would not give their opponents a chance to catch their breath. They were skilled in night combat, with a very stable base and abundant energy, and their tactics were fully utilized. These small advantages accumulated into a significant advantage, firmly controlling the battlefield.

Despite the desperate resistance of Yue Fei's army, trying to reverse the passive situation, they were just a little short and could not break through.

Yue Fei felt like time was dragging on, and he was in great distress. At this moment, the bell signaling the end of the first half rang, and Yue Fei let out a long sigh of relief.

This was Chen Qing's suggestion. Both sides needed to mark their weapons with white lime; otherwise, the second half of the competition would be meaningless.

Officials went forward to count the soldiers who had been hit or stabbed. This match was indeed brutal, with many soldiers on both sides actually injured.

38 to 89, Yue Fei's army was clearly suppressed in the first half, but the situation was not too dire. The number of injured soldiers did not exceed 100, leaving Yue Fei a glimmer of hope.

Zhao Gou smiled and asked Li Hui, "Minister Li, do you think the Divine Valor Army still has a chance to turn the tide?"

Li Hui smiled bitterly and replied, "Your Majesty, from a strength perspective, both sides are evenly matched, but I noticed that the Western Army is more skilled in night combat and has better endurance. These small advantages have given them the upper hand. Now that they have the numerical advantage, their chances of winning are already very high. The Divine Valor Army has only two possibilities to turn the tide."

"Which two possibilities?" Zhao Gou asked with great interest.

"Your Majesty, the first possibility is that the Western Army makes a major mistake, such as running out of energy. However, based on their running performance, the Western Army has abundant energy, and their commander, Chen Qing, is very calm and commands well. I estimate the possibility of a major mistake is low.

The second possibility is that the Divine Valor Army uses a surprise tactic, such as a single combat between commanders. If Zhang Xian can knock Chen Qing off his horse, they can turn the tide."

Li Hui watched as Yue Fei was giving Zhang Xian tactical instructions, estimating that they were discussing this matter.

At this moment, Qin Hui asked, "Minister of Military Affairs, if the Divine Valor Army feigns weakness to lure the enemy deeper, will there be a turning point?"

Li Hui shook his head and smiled, "Minister Qin, if there were more time, a physical trap might be set, but the second half is only fifteen minutes, which is not enough. If they feign weakness, they will not have a chance to counterattack but will instead fall into a hopeless situation."

Fan Zongyin sneered, "Just a martial general. On the real battlefield, it still requires civil officials to lead."

Lu Yihao smiled slightly, "This Chen Qing is both literate and martial, with a demeanor of a scholarly general. I think he can stand alone."

Lu Yihao's words at this critical moment struck a chord with Zhao Gou, who said lightly, "His calligraphy is indeed excellent!"

The second half of the competition began, and everyone's attention returned to the drill ground.

At the start of the second half, both sides went all out, showing no signs of using tactics. Both sides were clear that in the face of overwhelming strength, any tactics would only put them at a disadvantage.

Even Wang Gui's suggestion to use group tactics was rejected by Yue Fei. While group tactics could reduce casualties, they would not be able to eliminate the enemy under the flexible tactics of the opponent, only prolonging the loss from the first half.

The Western Army attacked even more fiercely, continuing the momentum from the first half. They grew stronger as the battle progressed, relying on their advantage in night combat, gradually suppressing the Divine Valor Army and regaining the upper hand.

Zhao Gou shook his head and smiled at Li Hui, "The competition still depends on strength. It seems the Divine Valor Army will not have another chance to turn the tide."

Li Hui watched the drill ground and smiled, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment. I feel the Divine Valor Army will use a surprise tactic."

"Really?" Zhao Gou's eyes lit up, and he focused his gaze on the drill ground again.

On the drill ground, the commander of the Divine Valor Army, Zhang Xian, was in a panic. The enemy not only had excellent coordination but also strong soldiers skilled in night combat with abundant energy and a stable base. Several of their attacks failed to break through the enemy's formation, instead causing heavy losses to their own army.

Now they had only one chance to turn the tide. Zhang Xian spurred his horse and charged at the enemy commander with a golden spear.

Single combat between commanders always drew attention and was a special rule in practical combat competitions. If one commander could knock the other off his horse, the competition would end immediately, and the side whose commander fell would lose the entire match, even if their army had been in the lead.

Zhang Xian was known as the first brave general under Yue Fei. He wielded a tiger-head gold spear, with fierce and ruthless moves. In the battle against the bandit Li Cheng, he had fought against twelve bandit generals.

Because the rules included single combat between commanders, Yue Fei carefully considered and chose the highly skilled Zhang Xian as the new commander, rather than Wang Gui. Single combat victory was limited to commanders.

Zhang Xian had already locked onto Chen Qing. He bypassed the two armies and charged towards Chen Qing from the side.

Liu Qiong saw from a distance and shouted, "Commander, the enemy commander is coming!"

Chen Qing also saw Zhang Xian charging through the darkness. He waved his halberd and laughed, "General Zhang, have you already lost confidence?"

Zhang Xian did not respond. He twisted his spear, and the spear tip immediately turned into a shower of golden flowers, stabbing towards Chen Qing.

Seeing the fierce attack, Chen Qing calmly swung his halberd. With a crisp "clang," the shower of golden flowers disappeared, and the spear tip was precisely deflected by the halberd blade, shocking Zhang Xian. He knew that it was impossible for the opponent to see through all the feints, but the opponent knew exactly where the real spear tip was.

This meant that all his feints were useless in the eyes of the opponent, and he was in trouble.

Zhang Xian was greatly alarmed. The general who could kill Wanyan Lou Shi was indeed a formidable opponent.

He reacted quickly, thrusting his spear at Chen Qing's horse's head. This thrust was fast and fierce. The rule was to knock the enemy commander off his horse, but this was a competition, not a real battlefield, so attacking the horse was the best choice.

Chen Qing had anticipated this move. Before the opponent could strike, he spurred his horse, which instantly accelerated. Zhang Xian's spear missed, and he was shocked. At this moment, his back was exposed, creating a vulnerability.

Unexpectedly, the opponent did not attack his back but passed by. Zhang Xian slightly relaxed, but at that moment, his horse suddenly let out a painful neigh and fell to the ground, throwing Zhang Xian off.

When the two horses passed each other, Chen Qing did not grab Zhang Xian's waist to distract him and lower his guard.

Just as Zhang Xian was relieved to have avoided the vulnerability in his waist, he momentarily neglected the safety of his horse. Chen Qing seized this opportunity and delivered a backslash with his halberd, precisely cutting off the back leg of Zhang Xian's horse.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!" The urgent bell rang, signaling the end of the competition.