The Rise of Phoenixes Novel Translation #144

Commanding General Chun Yu Hong paced back and forth nervously in the tent. Scattered around the tent also sits a number of assistant generals and battalion leaders, all looking up at him expectantly with hopeful eyes. In this year long war, while Tian Sheng and Da Yue have taken turns in winning and losing but on the whole, Tian Sheng had been the one with the upper hand. That is until Da Yue committed the biggest faux pas of warfare and switched their commanding general. However, instead of diminishing their soldiers’ morale, the new commanding general, Prince Jin Siyu was able to lead his men to one victory after another thanks to his bizarre and cunning military strategies. He first convinced the Golden Croc tribe to betray their king, leading to the massacre of the old king and his royal army while they were on a scouting mission. The death of Helian’s father and the chaos on the Wild Grassland affected Tian Sheng’s military plans, forcing them to retreat from cities they had already conquered. Later, Prince Jin Siyu launched a surprise attack that directly caused the death of General Qiu Shen Qi (that’s Zhi Wei’s uncle).

Things are not going well but Tian Sheng needs a victory. Receiving one letter after another from the Capital, General Chun Yu Hong is under tremendous pressure. However, this is no time to rush into battle. With so many losses, the men’s morale has suffered heavy blows so if they suffer another defeat then the outcome of this war will become irreversible. 

“General! I am willing to lead three thousand men on a surprise attack on Zi City! After these several battles, Qin Siyu really doesn’t have too many men left. Moreover, he still needs to assign a portion of them to guard the southern battlefront so we can for sure defeat them if we launch a surprise attack!”

The person who spoke was very young. In contrast to the other weathered-faced men in the tent, the young men’s skin was porcelain white and dressed finely. Before the young man finished talking, there were already men who gave him side glances that were filled with contempt.

“Tao Gongzi.” Someone laughs and says “Zi City might not have a lot of soldiers stationed but it is very close to one of the big military bases where it must be heavily guarded. Once they discovered that Zi City is under attack, they will surely cross the southern mountain pass to rescue them. When that happens then you will be trapped…haha, you are young and haven’t been here too long so we all understand you are eager to win some battles but fighting in a war is nothing like book learning, just having the willingness to charge ahead is not enough.” (Gong Zi is a title given when addressing younger men.)

The man was all smiles as he finished talking and shared a knowing smile with all the other men in the tent. 

“Battalion Leader Tao gave up a palace position for the battlefield is indeed admirable.” Chun Yu Hong quickly interjects in an attempt to temper down the mood “How about this, there is a group of robbers on the Geda Mountain. We have long suspected that they are in cahoots with Da Yue. Why not have Battalion leader Tao lead a group of men to get rid of the robbers so we no longer have to worry about them.”

Battalion Leader Tao is actually one of the students from the academy, Tao Yangyu. After their trip to the South Sea, as expected, all the students on that trip were indeed rewarded. Tao Yangyu should have gone into a desk job in the military department but he was unwilling and volunteered to come to the battlefield with a group of his former classmates. 

In the eyes of Chun Yu Hong and those experienced soldiers, these are all young kids they can’t afford to offend nor actually use. These are young nobles who are here to earn some military experience so they can go back to the Capital to further their careers so how could they be placed in any actual danger? 

“Robbers!” A furious Tao Yangyu jumps up, his face twisted with anger “Three to five hundred robbers, you are telling me to lead a base full of soldiers against them? Kill a chicken with cow cleaver? You take me as a fool?” 

Kicking over a small stool, Tao Yangyu storms out of the tent. Heading straight for a cliff, Tao Yangyu yells at the sky “Aaaahhhhh.” 

It has been a year. 

In the South Sea, they had fought off the mob together and survived the dock bombing. How exhilarating and thrilling it was! Yet, in a blink of an eye, the talented and genius young man who had earned his heartfelt respect has disappeared into his past. 

And after that South Sea trip, everyone is no longer the same. Even His Highness… is completely different in private now, no longer his suave self but is now silent and sullen. 

An expression of regret appeared in Tao Yangyu’s eyes. To think his happiest days up to this point in his life were spent by that person’s side. And with that person’s disappearance, nothing can be the same. 

Footsteps can be heard from behind him followed by a hand clasping on his shoulder. Tao Yangyu didn’t turn around, he knew it was all those from the academy that had come with him. 

Like him, they too are getting the VIP treatment on the surface but in actuality are being shunned by everyone. 

“I say,” After a long moment, Tao Yangyu says “Do you guys remember something Official Wei said?”

“What?”

“Back when the Yan Clan of South Sea was stirring up trouble at the ancestral temple, Official Wei had ordered Prince Helian and me to go open the city’s grain storage. At that time Prince Helian had asked what we should do when those in charge would inevitably refuse to open the grain storage.” Puffing up his cheek a bit, Tao Yangyu says coldly “Offical Wei said, these can be killed.” 

Behind him, the boys laughed. 

“Now, I too want to say, they won’t let me fight, then what?”

Turning around abruptly, he laughs and walked quickly down the cliff overlook. 

“This can fight!” 

==========

“Yangyu, you should consider this carefully…”

“Yangyu, not obeying order is punishable by death…”

Wearing full armor on a horse, Tao Yangyu leans down and grinned at his former classmates “How did I not obey the order? They want me to go take care of the robbers then that’s what I’ll do. But if during the process I ended up chasing the robbers and accidentally made it a bit too far, then they can’t blame me for that can they?”

“You want to take back the Zi City with just a thousand men?” The quick-thinking Yu Liang instantly guessed his real intentions. 

“I didn’t say anything!” With a jerk of his whip, Tao Yangyu was riding off with his men. 

Behind him, Yu Liang and Huang Baozi exchanged a glance before resolutely jumping up on their own horses to follow. 

• Young Tao Yangyu enjoyed instant success…at first. After successfully regaining Zi City, Tao Yangyu was eager to capture the general in charge and went on a hot pursuit out of the city against his friend’s advice. 
• By the time Tao Yangyu sensed danger, he and those with him are already trapped in a mountain pass, surrounded by archers with Prince Jin Siyu smiling gently at them. 

The discrepancy of firepower between the enemy and them was too large. After half an hour, the ground was filled with fallen Tian Sheng soldiers, only a few remaining personal guards shakily stood in front of Tao Yangyu. His body was stained with sticky blood, propped upright by his sword, Tao Yangyu and his two friends leaned on each other’s back, all of their bodies showing various wounds. 

The man under the big flag who had the gentle smile never moved while he watched the struggling dying soldiers with a mildly bored yet interested expression 

“Want those alive.”

He suddenly raised a hand and pointed at Tao Yangyu and his two friends. 

Hearing the voice clearly, Tao Yangyu closed his eyes and in that instant understood why the enemy was willing to send such a large amount of men out to deal with his small group of soldiers. It was all because of his identity. As the son of Tian Sheng’s prime minister, once he has been captured then it would deal yet another heavy blow to the already deflated morale amongst Tian Sheng’s soldiers. 

They haven’t even accomplished any great deeds but will instead be tied up and dragged in front of the two opposing armies so they could be bargained in exchange for Tian Sheng’s army’s reluctant withdrawal— if a man really falls to such a state, does he still have the audacity to keep existing in this world?

Letting out a bitter smile, Tao Yangyu tightens the grip on his slipping sword. 

“Brothers.” He slowly says “I have dragged you down with my eagerness to achieve. We will…”

The words caught in his throat as tears flashed in his eyes. His two friends silently clapped his shoulder like they did just the other day and finished his sentence. 

“We will see each other in the next life.” 

The three men exchanged a smile and raised their swords in unison. 

Feeling the cold blade coming close to his throat, a fuzzy thought surfaced inside Tao Yangyu “It would be nice if Official Wei is here now…”

A wry smile appeared on his lips as he laughed silently at his own ludicrous dream as death approaches. 

The shining blade reflects the calm yet hopeless expression in his eyes. 

The enemy soldiers, seemingly surprised and shocked that the three rumored dandies would be willing to sacrifice themselves, quickly rushed towards them. 

*CLANK*

The crisp sound of a rock pebble breaking the metal swords came. A pebble flying through the air softly as if it was floating through water, somehow incredibly breaks three swords at the same time. The broken sword tips, as if they had eyes, soared through the air, heading straight for Da Yue’s commanding general Prince Jin Siyu. Jin Siyu had been completely focused on the three men that were about to kill themselves thus was caught off guard when three token sword tips suddenly attacked him at the same time. Flipping backward, Jin Siyu calmly thrust his long gun out and knocked away the sword tips. Yet, the second the broken sword tips were knocked away a rider from the opposite side, black robe black horse, white arrow white bow, five fingers on five arrows, a light laugh “Watch my Chain of Arrows”

Startled yet again, Jin Siyu knows that with his body leaning backward if the enemy has a highly skilled archer who can shoot a chain of arrows then there is no escape for him. Letting out a cold snort, Jin Siyu smacks down on his own horse with one hand to launch himself into the air and retreating backward.

By the time he lands on the ground and is ushered back into safety by his guards, Jin Siyu looks up to discover that his priceless horse along with Tao Yangyu and his two friends that were just surrounded moments ago had somehow been taken by the enemy. As for the one that had declared his intention to shoot out a chain of arrows is still smilingly sitting on top of his horse leisurely opening and closing the five arrows in his hand like a fan while muttering “How does one shoot a chain of arrows again?” 

“…….”

Under the Da Yue flag, everyone is stony faced but the person has already raised his head.

Under the moonlight, his eyebrows are delicate, his eyes are dark and misty as if they are covered in clouds or fog. 

Jin Siyu, who had lost his horse, stood on the ground, looking up at the young man with long distance between them, only to feel the coldness in his gaze, dimming the moonlight and making the cold wind chill to the bone. 

In the dead silence of the mountain pass, a shout filled with surprise and overjoy abruptly burst out.

“Official Wei!” 

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