Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 454: If You Surrender Honorably, You Shall Not Lose Your Title of Marquis

Chapter 454: Chapter 454: If You Surrender Honorably, You Shall Not Lose Your Title of Marquis

And what is called "leading the charge," in other words, means acting as cannon fodder.

Tie Muer’s gaze swept over the circle of generals below and finally rested on a slightly thin middle-aged general.

Of course, being slightly thin is relative to Jin Xia’s generals, making him appear somewhat frail, but compared to ordinary people, he was indeed a stout man.

"General Hu." Tie Muer said with a smile.

"At your service." Hu Shu lowered his eyes, rose, and cupped his hands.

"I have decided to appoint you as the Vanguard General, to lead your subordinates to face Chen Mo." Tie Muer said.

"This is..."

Hu Shu’s expression changed; he’s not a fool. Tie Muer’s words clearly meant that he was being sent to lead the charge, acting as cannon fodder, and all his subordinates were the Song people who had defected to Jin Xia.

"What, General Hu is unwilling?" Tie Muer raised his bowl of wine, speaking with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

"...I accept the order."

As the saying goes, "man is the knife and I am the fish," though Hu Shu was unwilling, he could only comply.

"Haha, everyone, let’s toast General Hu and wish him victory at the very first engagement." Seeing Hu Shu agree, Tie Muer laughed heartily.

The Jin Xia generals opposite Hu Shu also stood up to toast him, but there wasn’t a hint of respect on their faces, only a touch of mockery.

...

At the end of July.

On a hillside on the Guan Mountain Plain.

Although it was called a hillside, it was only about a few yards higher than the surrounding flatlands, making it the highest elevation on the plain.

With logs as beams and earth as towers, Chen Mo ordered the army to build a camp and defensive structures like arrow towers here.

Xia Zhining, wearing a specially designed women’s battle armor, was dressed as a man, but her fair skin and delicate features immediately revealed her female identity.

She stood beside Chen Mo, looking around at the busy soldiers, and asked in confusion: "Jin Xia has many cavalry, excels at mounted archery, and has just annexed Gao Liao recently. Jin Xia soldiers are known to be brave and skilled in battle. Why aren’t we defending the city at Nanyang and instead coming to this Guan Mountain Plain to fight them? The terrain here favors cavalry; it’s disadvantageous for us."

"Prince Huai has withdrawn from Qingzhou less than a year ago. I don’t want the flames of war to reach Qingzhou again, and Jin Xia is an outsider, fighting on Great Song’s territory without restraint. According to the scouts, as Jin Xia marches south, the populace is either persecuted or corralled like livestock. I absolutely cannot allow this to happen in Qingzhou."

Chen Mo said determinedly, "I must stop them outside of Qingzhou."

Hearing this, Xia Zhining was slightly taken aback, looking at Chen Mo’s resolute profile facing north, and her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

His serious demeanor was truly Divine Martial.

...

At this moment, Tie Muer stood atop a watchtower, holding a "Thousand-Mile Mirror," gazing at the orderly and well-spread-out "Song Army" camps in the distance, his expression slightly dazed.

His eyes seemed to question, how dare he?

The Eastern Army he commanded, mostly composed of cavalry, was best at charging, and a plain like this was essentially their home ground.

In his view, the Song Army should be dutifully defending the city, waiting for their attack. Yet, they’ve dared to set up camp on the Guan Mountain Plain.

Since the first move made by Chen Mo wasn’t anticipated, their tents were very rudimentary, with no defensive structures constructed, not even the simplest obstacles.

For Jin Xia, they weren’t good at defense. Their Khan often said that the best defense is a good offense.

"What do you all think?" Tie Muer handed the Thousand-Mile Mirror to the Jin Xia generals behind him. On this watchtower were all Jin Xia generals; the Song generals who defected didn’t even have the right to discuss.

After each Jin Xia general looked through the Thousand-Mile Mirror, Yelv Nuku put it down and laughed, "The Song people do love to exaggerate. Chen Mo has been praised to the skies by them, but from the looks of their camp on this plain, it’s just an empty reputation, nothing to worry about."

"General Yelv is right. And since you’re having that Song person Hu Shu lead the charge, it’s perfect to gauge their strength on this plain."

"..."

Tie Muer nodded, then stroked his chin and said, "Then it’s the usual way, diplomacy before force."

...

In the central army tent, heads were crowded, and noise filled the air.

The moment Chen Mo entered, the tent fell silent. Sun Meng hurried forward to welcome him, saying, "Marquis, Jin Xia has sent an envoy over, requesting to see you."

Chen Mo was taken aback. He knew the Jin Xia army was right across, and a battle was imminent. Why send an envoy now?

"Bring him in."

Since an envoy had been sent, Chen Mo decided to meet him to avoid the impression of fear.

Soon, Chen Mo met the Jin Xia envoy.

The Jin Xia envoy, seeing Chen Mo was indeed as young as rumored, was momentarily dazed, then got straight to the point.

In summary, it was just one sentence.

If Chen Mo was willing to surrender to Jin Xia, Tie Muer would report it to the Khan, granting Chen Mo the title of an Alien King, and after annexing Great Song, the entire northern part of Great Song would be given to Chen Mo as a fief.

To be fair, the terms offered by Tie Muer were quite grand.

After hearing this, Chen Mo laughed: "I have a sentence for you to deliver to your commander."

The Jin Xia envoy looked at Chen Mo in confusion.

"If he switches sides, lays down his arms, and surrenders respectfully, he will still retain his position as Marquis," Chen Mo said seriously.

"You..." As someone capable of being an envoy, the Jin Xia envoy had a fair level of literacy, and upon hearing this, couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger, internally thinking how dare you compare yourself to our general.

He cupped his hands and said: "I ask the Marquis to reconsider. Our general has said that if the Marquis stubbornly resists, when the Royal Army of Jin Xia marches into Qingzhou, we will surely cleanse all of Qingzhou with blood. I hope the Prince considers the people of Qingzhou."

"Rude."

Hearing these insolent words from the Jin Xia envoy, Sun Meng, Chang En, and other generals immediately shouted angrily.

However, the Jin Xia envoy remained unfazed.

Chen Mo’s eyes narrowed slightly, a cold gleam flashing in his gaze, as he said, "If he’s capable, let him try."

Seeing that Chen Mo was determined not to surrender, the Jin Xia envoy snorted coldly, pulled a letter of challenge from his pocket, and said, "Knowing you all would be stubborn, our general has issued a challenge letter for you. Tomorrow at 7:00 AM, our army will send forces to battle. Does the Marquis dare accept?"

Sun Meng took the challenge letter from the Jin Xia envoy and handed it to Chen Mo.

After reading it carefully, even though Chen Mo knew that the content of the letter was meant to provoke him, he still said, "I, the Marquis, accept this challenge."

"Bold. Then I shall return to report."

"Wait."

"Has the Marquis regretted?" The Jin Xia envoy turned back, puzzled that Chen Mo seemed to have regretted, a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth.

Chen Mo said blandly, "Someone, slap him."