Wei Tingyu gently raised his left hand and made a slashing motion. Chuyue, the young female general on her first battlefield, immediately understood the command. She turned her horse and led her five thousand Western Shazhou tribal cavalry toward the Central Shazhou army. This was all the strength her tribe had; all her cards were on the table.
The ten thousand soldiers of the Central Shazhou were only a few hundred paces from the city gate. Seeing the Western Shazhou charging at them, they let out war cries and met the charge. These grassland horsemen fought with a ferocity that made alliances fragile. Yesterday's ally could be today's deadly enemy.
The two armies collided with a deafening clash of steel and a thunder of hooves. The two female Golden Shadow Guards with Chuyue immediately unleashed their sword auras, instantly felling a dozen Central Shazhou tribesmen. But the numerical disadvantage was too great. The Western Shazhou was quickly surrounded. Once nomadic cavalry was bogged down in close combat, they lost their mobility and became no different from infantry. The Western Shazhou was in a dire situation. Even with the two female Golden Shadow Guards fighting fiercely, the casualties on both sides were rising at a similar rate. At this pace, when the Western Shazhou was completely wiped out, the Central Shazhou would still have four to five thousand men left.
The Duke of Chu watched, his fists clenched in anxiety. These were the strongest men of his tribe, and his own daughter was surrounded in the battle. The An Emperor, however, was ecstatic. "What kind of trap is this?! The Western Shazhou will be wiped out first!" he shouted gleefully. "Then it will be your turn!"
Wei Tingyu remained silent. He pulled a small whistle from his clothes and blew a sharp, piercing note. Immediately, from the woods bordering the battlefield, a massive sound of hooves erupted. A large force of heavy cavalry in black armor and riding black horses charged out of the woods without warning. They galloped onto the plain, their momentum carrying them directly toward the intertwined tribal armies.
The battle-hardened Duke of Chu quickly estimated their numbers to be around two thousand. He turned to Wei Tingyu in shock. Wei Tingyu's face was calm and composed. The Duke understood. This was Wei Tingyu's trump card: a force of two thousand heavy cavalry. How had he hidden them in the woods outside Andu?
The An Emperor and the other ministers also stared in a daze at this new, sudden force. Wei Tingyu's Xuanjia Army was covered in black heavy armor, and their hooves made a heavier sound than the nomadic light cavalry. The rumble of these two thousand heavy cavalry was comparable to the Central Shazhou's ten thousand light cavalry.
The Central Shazhou cavalry, locked in combat with the Western Shazhou, noticed the new army charging at them. But they were unable to move away. As a result, the Xuanjia Army, with its overwhelming charge, tore through the Central Shazhou's encirclement like a knife through butter.
The Western Shazhou soldiers, who had been struggling to hold their ground, saw this new army fighting alongside them and were instantly re-energized. "It's over!" Anyone with military knowledge could now predict the outcome. The Duke of Chu sighed in relief, taking a deep breath. He realized his legs were trembling. The sudden charge of the Xuanjia Army had truly shocked him. They had broken through the encirclement in a single charge.
Once the armies were mixed together, the heavily armored Xuanjia Army easily overwhelmed the lightly-armored Central Shazhou tribesmen. The disparity in armor—heavy steel versus simple leather, or nothing at all—meant the kill ratio was easily ten-to-one or more. The Central Shazhou began to break. They were dropping one by one to the Xuanjia Army's blades and spears, while barely a scratch was laid upon the heavily armored soldiers. Their morale plummeted. They began to flee, and the rout quickly escalated into a full-scale retreat.
The remaining Central Shazhou tribesmen fled back toward their territory. Wei Tingyu estimated that four to five thousand men had escaped. That they had fought until more than half their forces were dead was a testament to their courage. However, Wei Tingyu was not surprised by the retreat. Nomadic tribes had always held this advantage. It was very difficult to completely wipe them out. When they saw a losing battle, they would immediately flee, regroup, and return to raid another day. This was a tactic that had plagued the Central Plains dynasties for centuries.
But Wei Tingyu had prepared for this, too. As the Central Shazhou warriors fled, another force of one thousand elite Grade 6 light cavalry emerged from a different part of the forest. These expert horse archers didn't engage in close combat but instead chased the fleeing enemies, firing arrows as they went. The Central Shazhou tribesmen, already terrified, made no attempt to fight back, exposing their backs and flanks to the deadly arrows. With each volley, more men fell. Wei Tingyu's light cavalry chased them until they were nearly out of sight before turning back. It was estimated that less than a thousand men of the Central Shazhou survived the retreat. Having lost almost ninety percent of their young men, the Central Shazhou was now a crippled tribe, destined to be bullied by its neighbors. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around.
After leaving a small force to clear the battlefield, Wei Tingyu's army swiftly entered the city and took control of all key locations, including the armories, granaries, and government offices. The Western Shazhou troops, meanwhile, set up camp outside the city, as planned.
"Your servant, Chuyue, greets her Master." Princess Chuyue, in her full armor, walked up the city tower and knelt before Wei Tingyu. She spoke as a general, not as a concubine.
"Rise," Wei Tingyu said with a gentle smile.
"Father," Chuyue said, turning to the Duke of Chu after rising. "Did I not disappoint you?"
"Well done, well done!" The Duke was overjoyed. His daughter had performed heroically, and his decision to align with Wei Tingyu was now validated. He was now one hundred percent loyal to Wei Tingyu. The Xuanjia Army's ferocity and Wei Tingyu's cunning were beyond anything he could have imagined. He shuddered to think what would have happened had he been an enemy of Wei Tingyu.
The An Emperor, finally recovering from his shock, was in a state of denial. "No... I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" His powerful mother clan, which he had placed all his hopes in, was completely defeated before even reaching the city gate. He had no one left, and he had alienated every minister. The An Emperor's mind, now sober, finally grasped his inevitable fate. He tore at his hair and screamed.
Ren Ruyi frowned, putting away her sword. There was no longer any point in holding him hostage.
"This must be fake! I must be dreaming!" the Emperor shrieked. Then, in full view of everyone, he rushed to the city wall and leaped to his death, crashing into a bloody pulp at the city gate.
The crowd was stunned. After a moment of silence, they finally reacted to the shocking reality.
"Your Majesty!" The Duke of Chu cried out in a performance of grief. The An ministers also swarmed down from the wall, kneeling around the Emperor's body and wailing dramatically.
"Your Majesty! Why did you leave us? What are we to do?"
"Your Majesty! The Central Shazhou rebelled, but the Duke of Chu came to your aid! Why did you not wait, and choose to die for the nation instead?"
"Woe is us! The world mourns! Your Majesty, oh!"
Wei Tingyu and Ren Ruyi exchanged smiles, watching the tearless wails of the An ministers. He had considered having the Emperor secretly executed, but this turn of events was even better. The Emperor had taken full responsibility for his own death. And, judging by their wailing, it was clear that none of the ministers were truly loyal to him. The dramatic end of the An Emperor had ironically saved Wei Tingyu a lot of trouble.
Wei Tingyu gave a subtle look to Princess Chuyue. She paused, then quickly went to her father's side. "Father! All you officials!" she said in a somber voice. "His Majesty is gone! What are we to do about the government? We must make a decision, not just mourn!"
"Yes, yes!" The ministers came to their senses. This was not the time for tears. They turned to the Duke of Chu. It was a no-brainer. The city was controlled by the Duke's master's army, and his own forces were stationed outside. All their lives were in his hands.
The Duke of Chu understood. He looked to Wei Tingyu for confirmation, and Wei Tingyu gave him an encouraging nod. Reassured, the Duke cleared his throat. "Cough, cough!" he said mournfully. "His Majesty has passed! And the First Prince also died a few days ago."
"We must now decide who will ascend the throne. I believe we should quickly recall the Second Prince to take the throne, to prevent the government from being weakened and exploited by foreign enemies!"
The ministers were taken aback. Was he serious? Did he really want the Second Prince to rule?
"No!" Before anyone could speak, Princess Chuyue interjected. "The Second Prince was banished to Tianguan Pass by the late Emperor! We cannot go against the late Emperor's wishes so soon after his death!"
The ministers suddenly understood. The father and daughter were playing good cop, bad cop. They had no intention of letting the Second Prince return.
"Yes, the Princess is right! We cannot go against the late Emperor's wishes!" Prime Minister Wang Donglai said, bowing to the Duke of Chu. "Your loyalty is unmatched! But now is not the right time to bring back the Second Prince. The people of An would not accept it. I believe the Third Prince, who is still in the palace, is the most suitable successor!"
The Third Prince was just a baby, but the ministers all nodded in agreement.
"But the Third Prince is too young!" the Duke of Chu said, frowning. "A nation needs a strong ruler. If the throne is unstable, the court will be in chaos..."
"That is not a problem!" Prime Minister Wang Donglai interrupted, bowing respectfully. "We ask that the Duke of Chu follow the example of the Duke of Zhou and become regent to stabilize the court!"
"We ask that the Duke of Chu become regent!"
"Your loyalty has been proven today! This concerns the safety of An. Please, Duke, do not refuse!"
"If the Duke of Chu does not agree to become regent today, I will kill myself at this city gate!" another minister shouted, pretending to move toward the gate while his colleagues held him back.
Everyone clamored for the Duke to become regent. The ministers pretended to be passionate and desperate, while their colleagues played along, holding them back and begging the Duke to accept. Wei Tingyu and Ren Ruyi watched from above, barely able to contain their laughter. These old political foxes were a wily bunch!
This scene, of course, was faithfully recorded by the historians. Future generations and the world at large would know that the Duke of Chu was not ambitious, but reluctantly accepted this heavy burden out of genuine concern for the stability of the An government and the well-being of its people.
"Since you insist, and for the good of the people, I will take on this great responsibility!" The Duke of Chu nodded with a reluctant expression, accepting his new, glorious position.
With the sudden death of the An Emperor, Li Shun, his funeral was simple. Luckily, his tomb had been under construction since he took the throne, so his body was quickly interred. The new Emperor's coronation was equally simple. The Duke of Chu, in the solemn presence of the ministers, held the baby prince to the throne. He then established his unique position as regent before the entire court. After accepting the cheers of the officials, the matter of succession was settled.