Chapter 293: A Pivotal Moment in History
In this era, battles required long periods of preparation, lengthy marches, and extended standoffs. Yet, when the fighting began, the time from engagement to resolution often lasted no more than half a day to a full day.
In just half a day, rivers of blood could flow.
The vastness of the grasslands allowed for numerous skirmishes within the larger conflict. Both sides experienced alternating victories and setbacks. Various tribes on the grasslands and the northern five garrisons provided mutual reinforcements.
Offensives and defenses shifted repeatedly, with pursuits and entanglements happening concurrently. The Right Wolf King was defeated, and then the Left Wolf King fell.
With both gone, the people of the golden tent and the imperial court rallied their forces. The remaining men and boys of the grasslands mounted their horses, and additional soldiers were summoned from allied nations, forming yet another army.
Only very few demons occasionally appeared, so Song You seldom had to take action. Still, he traveled with the army throughout the campaign.
When the army stretched for tens of li, Song You walked along a nearby hillside. When General Chen led elite cavalry in a surprise decapitation strike, Song You observed from the side.
At the decisive battle in Starlight River, where 300,000 elite troops clashed and 100,000 soldiers were buried between noon and dusk, Song You stood on a distant mountaintop. He was accompanied by a cat and a horse, bearing witness to this historic moment.
Seeing with one’s own eyes was a feeling entirely different from reading about it in history books.