Princess and the General

All’s Fair in War (Part Three)

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The sound of a horn signaling a charge rang through the air.
Sure enough, Western Kun’s main force was situated at Zhu Guan.

Kun WuShang sat in the middle of the army and thought back to what his scouts had said.
Sure enough, the Gu family’s army believed that he wanted to attack the two cities on the flanks and that he had moved most of his army to Weizhou and Changchuan.

Now, Zhu Guan was nothing more than an empty city without many soldiers left to defend it.

The official leading the vanguard laughed, “There are only so many people? They might as well just surrender now! Your great general is allegedly known for never losing a battle, but hasn’t he been deceived by His Highness’ plans just like this?”

The Gu family’s vanguard was led by Gu ShuBai alone, and he coldly said: “Your esteemed country’s seventh prince has many schemes.
First, he poisoned the entire area, turning this land into a wasteland.
He then pretended to move to attack the two flanks in order to deceive us.
This one is in awe.”

The enemy loudly said: “Hmph, all’s fair in war.
As long as victory can be obtained, the methods used do not matter! Brothers, forward! We must obtain a quick victory before the soldiers return from Weizhou and Changchuan!”

In Kun WuShang’s strategy, taking advantage of time was of utmost importance.
Taking advantage of the Gu family’s army being spread apart, he
would quickly score a win at Zhu Guan.

As he gave the order, the grand army behind him charged forward.

Gu ShuBai’s hand was like a blade, slashing down in a clean motion.
Upon seeing this signal, the members of the Gu family’s army rearranged their formation without panicking.

It was as if there was not an army numbering in the tens of thousands bearing down on them but a cluster of flies.

The officer in charge of leading Western Kun’s vanguard was stunned, “What is the Gu family’s army doing.
Are they playing at having an empty city? Hmph, regardless of what strategy they use today, we will definitely take Zhu Guan today!”

…

At Weizhou and Changchuan, Gu JiuGe and Gu HanMo rearranged their formations and waited for the enemy army to arrive.

Based on Gu HuaiJiang’s observations and speculation based on reports from scouts, today should be the day of the battle.

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They did not think that after waiting for such a long time, the scouts would repeatedly return with reports that they did not see any sign of Western Kun’s army.

“How can this be? Father and eldest brother both said that Kun WuShang would definitely attack the flanking cities to get some quick victories; moreover, the army returning from Immortals Valley would be closest to Weizhou.
Attacking Weizhou would be their best choice.
Could it be… they’ve gone to Changchun?”

Gu JiuGe could not say for certain what sort of emotions he was feeling.
He both let out a sigh of relief and worried that Gu HanMo would be unable to deal with the situation.

He was a year younger, and he had even less experience in leading a battle.
What if…

“Report! Western Kun’s army has gathered in front of Zhu Guan, and the two sides are about to start fighting!”

Another scout returned from the front with a report.
Gu JiuGe suddenly stood up from his seat, as his stitched armor creaked with his movements.

“What? Western Kun’s army is about to attack Zhu Guan?”

The report replied: “Yes, and young general has already led his troops out of the city.
There are no mistakes!”

Thunk.

Gu JiuGe dropped back down into his seat and removed the helmet from his head.
In a daze, he held it in his lap.

With everything that had transpired, he understood everything.

Gu HuaiJiang knew beforehand that Kun WuShang would attack Zhu Guan and not the two side cities, but he did not directly tell the two brothers, leaving them to worry about this for multiple days.

It was clear that Gu ShuBai knew about it, helping their father deceive them.

Gu JiuGe gnashed his teeth, “Father led us astray again.
Fuck…”

The soldiers below did not hear the latter half of what he had said, “Second young sir, what did you say?”

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Gu JiuGe tossed his helmet to him and stretched while walking out.

“I didn’t say much.
I was just saying that I miss third brother.”

On Gu HanMo’s side, after he found out about the situation, he would also feel quite irritated.
He might feel that only eldest brother was treated like a biological son, while the two of them were just adopted sons whom he could deceive as he pleased.

No, they were treated even worse than adopted children.
At the very least, Gu HuaiJiang would not deceive Yu Fu like this.

In Changchuan, after hearing that fighting was about to break out at Zhu Guan, Gu HanMo did not say anything.
He just quietly removed his armor.

The soldiers were elated, “So the fighting wasn’t going to happen here.
This is great!”

Gu HanMo shot him a cold look, “Great my ass.”

He was a person of few words, and he expressed his displeasure with a concise message.
The soldier rubbed his nose and did not dare say anything.

Gu HanMo then said: “I miss second brother.
After we return from this battle, I need to accompany second brother out for a drink.”

The soldier was perplexed, “But didn’t third young sir like going along with the eldest young sir the most? Why suddenly mention missing the second young sir? In the past, you really disliked the second young sir, saying that if he was not the elder brother, who knows just how many times you would have beaten him for his love of alcohol and messing around with women!”

Gu HanMo coldly snorted, “Because I suddenly found that second brother and I are the ones who are in similar situations, so we should try to get along.”

…

On the battlefield outside Zhu Guan, the officer leading Western Kun’s vanguard was so full of steam that he might float off into the sky.

My side has one hundred thousand troops, while the Gu family’s army has thirty thousand.
This was a guaranteed victory.

He confidently directed the soldiers during the attack but quickly found that he had started celebrating too soon.

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When his grand army charged into the Gu family’s army’s formation, a loud cry sounded from behind the hills nearby.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from the Gu family’s army rushed down the hills.
Waving their swords, they bore down on them!

Did they not say that the bulk of the Gu family’s army had gone to Changchuan and Weizhou?

The sudden onslaught caused great disruptions in the ranks of Western Kun’s army.
Western Kun’s soldiers fell into disarray.
When they started looking for their own officers, they found that they had already fled at some point.

In an instant, soldiers started abandoning their armor on the battlefield.

The Gu family’s army pursued them, and the tables were quickly turned.
Western Kun’s army was slaughtered while they fled, and the killing did not stop even after they crossed over the border.

This was the second time that the killing had continued even after they crossed the border…

During the counterattack, Yu Fu stayed at Gu HuaiJiang’s side while holding her breath in anticipation.

Gu HuaiJiang said: “Don’t worry.
I understand my son and my soldiers.
Even if it was thirty thousand against one hundred thousand, they would not lose.”

The Gu family’s army was always stronger than the army that Western Kun hastily cobbled together.
More importantly, they had a numerical advantage.

Yu Fu nodded vigorously, “Head general, the army that you had sent away was never sent to Weizhou or Changchuan.
Instead, they have been waiting outside Zhu Guan! Kun WuShang definitely thought that you really sent the troops to the two side cities.
That’s why he dared to come and attack Zhu Guan.”

Gu HuaiJiang faintly smiled, “If I didn’t let him see my troop movements, how could he dare attack?”

All is fair in war.
Kun WuShang thought that he was the one deceiving his enemy, but Gu HuaiJiang had seen through his ruse from the very beginning and had actually deceived him.

Yu Fu said: “Western Kun’s soldiers all believed that Zhu Guan’s defenses would be weak, but now, they’re fleeing after a defeat.
The military prestige that Kun WuShang had been wanting has failed.
After this battle, Western Kun’s army will likely need to return to court.
What do you think?”

Gu HuaiJiang nodded his head in approval, “Well done, if Western Kun’s army had not lost this battle so terribly, Kun WuShang would definitely try to fight once more.
Now… if he wants to fight again, the soldiers will not listen to him.”

Yu Fu lowered her head in thought.
Kun WuShang was never a general.
He was a prince.
The soldiers under his command were part of the Liu family’s army and the Wang family’s army.
They never trusted him from the beginning.

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The trust that had been built up from his use of poison was lost from his days spent confined in his tent.
After such a horrific defeat today, it will have completely disappeared.

“Then after he returns to court, he will definitely be suppressed by Western Kun’s crown prince, right? Kun WuShang was originally given power by Emperor Kun to spread the power out.
Without him, Crown Prince Kun JunYue will be able to take the power for himself.”

For some inexplicable reason, Yu Fu was a little worried for Kun WuShang.

He had clearly done a number of horrible things.
He gave Yin SHuo the poison that nearly killed Gu ShuBai, he poisoned Gu HuaiJiang’s study, and now he killed tens of thousands of the Gu family’s soldiers with poison.
Even now, the poison remained in the soil.

But she could not help but think of how things were back in Immortals Valley.
The scenes of them running around and laughing…

Gu HuaiJiang said: “Don’t worry.
Emperor Kun would not all allow Kun JunYue to knock down Kun WuShang.
Once Kun WuShang falls, Emperor Kun and Kun JunYue would need to meet on even terms.
That would make things even more difficult for Emperor Kun.”

“Head general means to say that Emperor Kun is using Kun WuShang as a shield to protect himself against Kun JunYue from taking any open or covert actions?”

Gu HuaiJiang fell silent, and Yu Fu did not say anything else.

This was a story that they had seen all too often with imperial families.
There were fathers that did not act like fathers, sons that did not act like sons, and brothers that did not act like brothers.

In the distance, the Gu family’s banner billowed in the wind, and it was drawing closer to the camp.

It was only now that Yu Fu started smiling.
Gu ShuBai rode at the front.
He rode through the wind with a bright smile on his face, his eyes shining like stars.

The rush of wind caused the red tassel on his helmet to wave and moved his horse’s mane.
He looked truly heroic.

He called out to her, “Yu Fu, I’m back!”

She smiled at him and waved to him, her face filled with joy.

On the battlefield swept by the autumn wind, a small group of daisies stubbornly extended its tendrils and blossomed beautifully.