Chapter 143.5
Tuoba Yu was really vicious. Everyone knew that a fire on the grasslands was the most troublesome thing to deal with because the fire would be fierce, fast, and scorching. In addition to that, the grassland was in an open area and there were very few rivers. The fire would also break out in the area, spreading quickly by the wind. For the Mo Bei northerners, after a fire broke out, the livestock lying in range would spark another dark fire. Those could sometimes last for several months, leaving the hidden risk of resurgence which was extremely dangerous. However, the wind directions on the grassland were susceptible to change, so the people of Da Li would never use a fire attack lightly. That was because a change in the wind direction would very possibly cause tragic casualties on their own side!
Furthermore, the 500,000 troops of Mo Bei gathered in batches and Da Li was never alarmed. How could they suddenly think of using fire to attack?! Tuoba Yu was clearly just chasing after him, so why would he bring torches? Could it have been their strategy all along? Li Yuan Heng didn’t have time to think about this. He only thought that he had a total of half a million people, so even if one person contributed to a mouthful of spit, he could definitely find a way to control the flames. But suddenly, he heard a loud bang. A string of tragic wailings erupted from his team. He looked back and saw that the carriage that took them the entire way here had suddenly exploded, spreading another surge of fire all of a sudden. Countless soldiers were already rolling on the ground as they let out cries of agony from the pain before he was even able to react.
That carriage, that carriage has been tampered with! Li Yuanheng stared in disbelief. It was with Jiang Hua’s agreement to station troops from Mo Bei so that the emperor would reactivate the Jiang family— how dare Jiang Hua use this sort of carriage to frame him!
Tuoba Yu was on his horse, looking coldly at the tumbling flames across him with stern eyes. Zhou Dashou wasn’t wrong, after all. The direction of wind today would not affect Da Li and it would only cause heavy casualties to the people of Mo Bei! Moreover, the timing of the carriage exploding due to the hot temperature was just impeccable!
The flames had burned throughout the grassland for thousands of miles and Li Yuan Heng ordered his soldiers to quickly put out the fire, but it was of no avail. He said bitterly, “Jiang Hua, you good man! You’re too great! It turns out that all this was an act when in reality, you collaborated with them to harm me! Just wait and see! I must make you pay the price!” Obviously, he had already put everything under control. He even felt that the Jiang family deliberately lured him into the capital in order to kill him. Jiang Hua was too vicious! Whatever covenant they shared was simply a pretence for the Jiang family to regain power!
It was impossible for the Mo Bei soldiers to run with the wind since that meant that they wouldn’t be able to escape the fire. Hence, they had to run against the wind, falling into Tuoba Yu’s encirclement. After this battle, 200,000 troops were detained and the remaining 200,000 were burned to death. Li Yuan Heng fled in haste with only 100,000 soldiers. Tuoba Yu won a complete victory without bloodshed from Da Li. This was a strange way of winning as even the soldiers of Da Li didn’t know how they managed to win.
Tuoba Yu looked at the raging fire in front of him with gleaming eyes. He remembered Li Weiyang’s last meaningful smile as it flashed in his mind. He couldn’t help raising his lips and said in a low voice, “Li Yuan Heng, goodbye.”
The fire burned for an entire day and spreaded all the way to the north. With thick smoke billowing, it burned farther and farther, only extinguished under a heavy rainfall that occurred in the evening. However, this battle had already severely damaged the people of Mo Bei. Within the next decade, they probably wouldn’t have the means to start a large-scale war.
The capital of Da Li was rather peaceful. With a bang, the locked door of the Li family was opened again.
Bai Zhi held the lamp for Li Weiyang. The contrast of light and shadow swayed behind Li Weiyang as a sliver of pure moonlight shone on the courtyard wall. The dim shade of vermilion light seemed to be covered with a veil, creating a hazy and ethereal surrounding, as if they were in a dream.