Chapter 546
Chapter 546: Breaking the Encirclement! The Transfer of Authority
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The infantry, axemen, spearmen, cavalry, shieldmen, and master archers all worked together under Wang Chong’s order, steadily advancing up the mountain, piece by piece.
Unlike the previous sneak attacks, Wang Chong’s method of attack was completely unexpected: a frontal assault.
He made no attempts to hide it.
To the complete surprise of the Tibetans, the Tang army of forty to fifty thousand chose to engage in a frontal assault, and the northeast corner just so happened to be where their defenses were weakest.
Through the constant sneak attacks, Wang Chong had already gained an understanding of the Tibetans’ order of battle and the disposition of their forces.
The Tibetans had no secrets that they could hide from Wang Chong.
“Hurry! Time is short! We’ve already distracted Huoshu Huicang, so we have to pierce through the Tibetan formations as quickly as possible and bring the Annan Protectorate army out of here,” Wang Chong said.
Wang Yan, Old Eagle, Chen Shusun, and Commandants Xu Shiping and Xu Andun were gathered around Wang Chong, carrying out Wang Chong’s will and pushing the army forward like an inexorable tide.
Clangclangclang!
The cry of metal against metal was ceaseless as whistling arrows, flying spears, and the clash of scimitar against sword mixed into a single clamor. To the southeast, the Tibetans were caught between two armies and had completely crumbled.
Wang Chong’s attack was extremely incisive, and the place he had chosen to start his attack was where the Tibetans were weakest. His soldiers worked in perfect harmony, leaving no gaps in their defense and completely taking the Tibetans by surprise.
On the summit, Xianyu Zhongtong had already received Wang Chong’s letter via pigeon, so his entire army was cooperating by attacking the northeast.
With armies pressing in from both sides, one could easily imagine the situation in the northeast.
“Flee!”
“How could there be so many?”
“It’s the Wang Clan father and son! They’ve come back!”
“We can’t stop them! Where’s the Great General? Only the Great General can deal with them; only the Great General will have a plan!”
……
The Tibetans were never easy to subdue, but the situation was stronger than a man. Simultaneously confronting the attacks from both Wang Chong and Xianyu Zhongtong and the effects of the Halo of Dusk Stallion and Bane of the Battlefield had made the Tibetans easy to subdue.
The northeast lines collapsed far faster than anyone could have imagined. Wang Chong had given no time for Huoshu Huicang to return before piercing through the Tibetan lines.
“Lord Wang, it really was you!”
On the summit, everyone had been drenched by the rain. Xianyu Zhongtong was standing on the summit, and as he saw Wang Yan approach, he was at first shocked and then elated.
Xianyu Zhongtong had long known who had come to rescue him.
But he was still surprised to see Wang Yan appear at this time, even though he should have retreated a long time ago. Xianyu Zhongtong felt greatly moved that the troops led by Wang Yan had chosen to not give up on him.
“Lord Protector-General, you’ve misunderstood. I was not the commander of this army. It was my son, Wang Chong,” Wang Yan sternly said in response to Xianyu Zhongtong’s words. Without any other words, he took a step to the side to yield the path to Wang Chong.
“Lord Xianyu, long time no see!”
Wang Chong didn’t stand on ceremony. With a brush of his sleeve, he stepped forward, passing his father and appearing before Xianyu Zhongtong.
“Young Master Chong?!”
Xianyu Zhongtong’s eyes went wide upon seeing Wang Chong, and an incredulous expression came over his face.
Xianyu Zhongtong had met Wang Chong before, during Zhangchou Jianqiong’s banquet in the capital. Zhangchou Jianqiong had seemed to treat Wang Chong favorably and with great interest, and for this reason, Xianyu Zhongtong had a very deep impression of Wang Chong.
Moreover, Xianyu Zhongtong had some understanding of Wang Chong’s deeds. What he had done in the capital, including the storm he had stirred in the court, were not things that any ordinary person could do.
And this youth seemed to have the regard of the Sage Emperor as well.
It wasn’t possible for Xianyu Zhongtong to not know who he was.
Besides, the eighty thousand soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army had been saved by the Lion City that Wang Chong had constructed.
Xianyu Zhongtong was actually filled with gratitude for that Young Master Chong in the far-away capital, even though Wang Chong was still a teenager with no official rank or title of nobility.
“Young Master Chong, so it was you!”
Xianyu Zhongtong hurriedly stepped forward and clasped Wang Chong’s hands, his expression extremely moved. For Wang Chong to suddenly descend from the heavens and appear was nothing less than a miracle.
Xianyu Zhongtong would have never expected this.
Wang Chong was also shocked. He had never expected Xianyu Zhongtong to have this sort of attitude. After all, he was a Protector-General of the empire, someone who stood on the same level as Geshu Han and Zhang Shougui.
Though his reputation might not be up to par.
“Lord Protector-General, this isn’t the time to talk about such things. I’ve already lured the tiger, Huoshu Huicang, from the mountain. However, he could come back at any time. Time is short, and we have to leave immediately!”
Wang Chong didn’t mince words. He opened his palm to reveal the private token that Zhangchou Jianqiong had given him. The battlefield was changing all the time, and anything could happen. The smallest moment of negligence could lead the army to its destruction.
Wang Chong didn’t dare to make this sort of mistake.
Because no one could bear the consequences.
“This is the token that Lord Zhangchou gave to me, and seeing the token is the same as seeing the person. Lord Protector-General, before I came here, Lord Zhangchou asked me to tell you that the past is the past. The urgent task at hand is to preserve strength and maintain the structure of the Annan Protectorate army. As for the matter of the southwest, all will be done according to my orders, and I request Lord Protector-General’s full protections. This is Lord Zhangchou’s order!”
As he spoke, Wang Chong took out a white envelope.
Xianyu Zhongtong was an Imperial Protector-General. No matter what status he had held before, he was currently the commander-in-chief of the southwest, and one single token couldn’t change this. Zhangchou Jianqiong’s personal token and his handwritten letter were both needed to gain Xianyu Zhongtong’s trust.
This had also been the reason for Wang Chong’s visit to Zhangchou Jianqiong.
“Chong-er!!”
Upon seeing the letter and token in Wang Chong’s hands, Wang Yan, Chen Shusun, Xu Shiping and the others were all flabbergasted. The token was one thing, but the letter was something that none of them had known about.
Not even Wang Yan had expected Wang Chong to come with the purpose of taking the reins of command from Xianyu Zhongtong.
Wang Yan’s face hardened as he sternly rebuked, “Chong-er, what are you doing? Messing around! Take a step back for me!”
But Wang Chong acted like he didn’t hear. His eyes remained fixed on Xianyu Zhongtong.
The rain continued to pour down, but Wang Chong was using Stellar Energy to prevent any of it from falling on the letter. He didn’t have much time, and the sounds of fighting filled the air.
Before coming, he had hypothesized that Xianyu Zhongtong wouldn’t refuse the order, but if Xianyu Zhongtong did refuse, Wang Chong really wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Hiss!
Xianyu Zhongtong couldn’t hear anything, his gaze moving between the black token in one of Wang Chong’s hands and the letter in the other. With a deep breath, he instantly calmed down.
He didn’t even need to open Wang Chong’s letter to recognize it as being personally written by Lord Zhangchou Jianqiong.
Wang Chong held both Zhangchou Jianqiong’s token and his handwritten letter, putting Wang Chong’s credibility beyond question.
Xianyu Zhongtong had never imagined that the Lord Protector-General would hand over command of the southwestern army to a mere teenager!
And this was someone who had no relationship with the Annan Protectorate army.
For a moment, a whole host of thoughts surged through Xianyu Zhongtong’s mind. As he looked at the extremely familiar token and letter, and thought about the strange movements taking place around the base of the mountain, Xianyu Zhongtong suddenly understood.
“There’s no need!”
Xianyu Zhongtong pushed away the letter proffered by Wang Chong. There was no need for him to see it anymore. Since Lord Zhangchou had already given his own token to this youth, the meaning was loud and clear.
The letter was redundant.
“As Lord Zhangchou has already given the order, then everything will be as Young Master says. Everyone, hear my order! Gather the army and break the encirclement!”
Xianyu Zhongtong gave his last order for this battle.
Boom!
The army on the mountain range responded, their spirits rallying.
For Xianyu Zhongtong to so happily hand over the reins of command left even Wang Chong surprised, much less Wang Yan, Chen Shusun, and the others.
“Everyone, hear my order! Break out of the encirclement!”
Inwardly rejoicing, Wang Chong pressed the flanks of his horse and immediately charged down the mountain, at the same time giving the order for the army to break out.
Rumble! A breakout attempt that would decide the fate of the empire and the course of the southwest began.
“I didn’t think that it would actually be him!”
In the darkness, Wang Chong had no idea that a pair of eyes was silently watching him from the back. Though he had speculations at the start, Wang Chong’s order now made everything clear.
The sneak attacks conducted on the army that had made the Tibetans exhausted from running around had been commanded by nobody else but that youth currently charging down the mountain.
“No wonder the Lord Protector-General gave him command over the army!”
Xianyu Zhongtong had long ago heard of Wang Chong’s ability, but not even he had imagined that he wasn’t just skilled in court politics. He was actually a talented general as well.
Although he was a little surprised, after carefully thinking about it, Xianyu Zhongtong also felt relieved.
A teenager was actually a far better commander than a renowned general of the empire. This sounded absurd and anyone else would find the fact almost impossible to accept, but if it was referring to Wang Chong… When Xianyu Zhongtong thought about the Regional Commanders incident, and about that Lion City that seemed to have miraculously appeared to save the lives of his soldiers, he felt relieved.
It’s unexpected, but it still is the Wang Clan father and son!
Xianyu Zhongtong bitterly laughed in his heart as he mounted his horse and urged it through the rain.
At the start, Xianyu Zhongtong had determined that the commander of the sneak attacks down below hadn’t been Wang Yan or his son, Wang Fu. In the end, however, facts had still proved that it was still the ‘Wang Clan father and son’.
Wang Chong was also a son of the Wang Clan!