Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 455: Confrontation

If it weren’t for the rule of not killing envoys during a confrontation between two armies, Chen Mo would have beheaded him after hearing his threat to bloodily cleanse Qingzhou.

But while the death penalty might be spared, punishment cannot be avoided.

A slap to the face is definitely in order.

The Jin Xia envoy was carried back.

Although it was just a slap to the face, the envoy’s previous words had stirred great anger, so the person delivering the punishment didn’t hold back.

If it wasn’t for Chen Mo signaling to leave him a breath, a few slaps would have made this Jin Xia envoy explain himself right here.

The person was taken away intact, while Tie Muer looked at the returning envoy, frowning immediately and asking what had happened to him.

The envoy naturally hid the fact that he "spoke carelessly," saying that the other side deliberately beat him to give Jin Xia a show of force, then exaggeratedly relayed Chen Mo’s words to Tie Muer.

Originally, it was if you surrender respectfully, you will not lose your marquis title.

But under his exaggeration, it turned into if you surrender your wife and daughters, a marquis title will be bestowed upon you.

After hearing this, Tie Muer and the gathered generals and staff officers were furious.

They cursed Chen Mo for being vulgar and not observing protocols.

No matter what, you can’t beat an envoy.

And to beat the envoy like this, there’s no regard for etiquette and rules at all.

Since learning from the Song four hundred years ago, the Jin Xia upper echelon has learned to observe rules and etiquette, of course, only in negotiations.

For city massacres, looting, etc., Jin Xia doesn’t observe rules.

In their view, negotiations should observe rules and etiquette.

But hitting our envoy immediately shows no regard for face at all.

They even mocked us as barbarians, but who’s the real barbarian here?

Fortunately, Chen Mo accepted the battle challenge.

"It seems he has been shown face, and yet he even wants you, General, to surrender your wife and daughters." Yelv Nuku sneered, saying, "I’ve heard that all of Chen Mo’s wives and concubines are beauties. Once they are captured, I’ll make sure to humiliate them in front of him."

"Indeed, humiliate to death."

"General, this Chen Mo is too arrogant. In my view, there’s no need for Hu Shu to probe their strength. We should just go and destroy them immediately."

"..."

Tie Muer was equally enraged.

But as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army, maintaining a calm mind is fundamental. He said, "We don’t yet fully understand Chen Mo’s strength. We should advance gradually and not act impulsively. Since Hu Shu has already been appointed as vanguard general, he cannot be easily replaced."

The general who proposed to destroy Chen Mo was a bit disappointed but had to comply with Tie Muer, thinking he would let Chen Mo be arrogant for a little while longer.

...

The next day at 7:00 AM.

"Woo..."

Desolate horn sounds echoed from one watchtower to another outside the Chen Army’s camp.

A massive Jin Xia military formation suddenly appeared on the open plain.

The blazing sun had not yet reached its highest point, but it was already displaying its scorching heat.

It was still morning, but the air on the plain seemed to warp from the baking heat.

The Jin Xia infantry, arranged neatly, moved forward steadily; long spears resting on their shoulders formed forests of spears and pikes. But as they marched, the originally neat formation began to scatter slightly.

However, under the nearly sky-covering banners, this was not too conspicuous.

The Jin Xia soldiers, with red cloths on their heads, carrying dirt-yellow military flags, were striving to maintain order in the ranks, with team flags moving among them.

Sporadic bamboo whistle sounds emerged, while Hu Shu, mounted on a warhorse, looked nervously at the great banner behind him, waiting for Tie Muer’s command.

"Marquis, they’re stopping opposite; likely waiting for us to deploy," Sun Meng, having heard the report from the scouts, relayed to Chen Mo.

"...Marquis, something’s not right." Xia Zhining stood on the watchtower, gazing at the enemy’s forces in the distance, saying, "The ones deploying seem not to be the Jin Xia Army, but... our men."

In the military, Xia Zhining addressed Chen Mo by his position.

"Our men?"

Chen Mo, Sun Meng, and Chang En were all stunned.

"Come up and see." Xia Zhining called to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo climbed the watchtower, came beside Xia Zhining, and looked at the distant Jin Xia formation. After a few moments, he also noticed the oddity.

Jin Xia might be considered outsiders not just by their customs, clothing, but more obviously in their skin and hair color.

Jin Xia, comprised of various tribes, among them the Tuoba Tribe, the royal family of Jin Xia, are white-skinned.

The Wanyan Tribe has not only white skin, but eyes that could be purple, black, or even golden.

Meanwhile, most Great Song’s citizens are yellow-skinned, black-haired.

Thus, telling whether someone is from Song or an outside tribe is easy.

Yet the "Jin Xia Soldiers" deploying now, from their complexion, looked like Song people.

"These aren’t Jin Xia soldiers. If I’m not mistaken, they are Song people who surrendered to Jin Xia, now sent by Jin Xia to probe the front." Chen Mo squinted slightly.

"To probe the front?" Xia Zhining, who after following Chen Mo in battles at Yu State, was no longer simply versed in military books without combat experience, said, "They’re here to test our capabilities."

"Correct." Chen Mo nodded, then commanded, "Xianzhen Guard, move out and form positions. The Divine Courage, Divine Martial, Xiaoqi, Vermilion Bird Four Guards, and Jiangdong troops remain stationary."

"Understood..."

Although Zhao Liang is the Captain of the Central Camp for the Xianzhen Guard, since both Zhao Liang and Deng Tian are in Huai State, the Xianzhen Guard in Qingzhou is directly commanded by Chen Mo. At this moment, he directed Chang En to lead them out for deployment.

With Chen Mo’s order issued.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

-Drums drummed by soldiers from the Personal Guard Battalion resounded throughout the Chen Army’s camp, spreading inspiring beats.

Squad after squad of orderly Xianzhen Guard soldiers, led by a military banner embroidered with the word "Chen," emerged from the formation. Their rhythmic and resounding footsteps echoed across the grassland.

...

"They’ve moved out from the camp."

Observing from the watchtower at Jin Xia Camp, Yelv Nuku informed Tie Muer after seeing through the Thousand-Mile Mirror, handing it to him.

Tie Muer took the Thousand-Mile Mirror and carefully observed.

He intended to use Hu Shu to probe the reality of Chen Mo’s forces, their deployment and mobility, and for him, the battle array aspects were rather secondary.

With the Song Army setting up their battle array, Tie Muer remarked, "Not bad, much better than Hu Shu’s subordinates. That should be the Yanyue Array..."

Tie Muer immediately recognized the battle array set up by the Xianzhen Guard.

"Interesting." Putting down the Thousand-Mile Mirror, Tie Muer commanded, "Pass the order for Hu Shu to attack."

"Understood."