The General Says She Won't Marry - Chapter 52 Part 1

Early the next morning, Lin Aoxue led twenty thousand elite soldiers out of Xingbei Pass in secret. They took a detour through the treacherous mountains on the eastern side, advancing toward the rear of the barbarian army. After two days and one night of arduous travel, with only a single hour of rest along the way, the intense march left Lin Aoxue’s troops somewhat exhausted—but not a single soldier deserted.

Before their departure from Xingbei Pass, Beichen Long had personally given them a send-off, delivering a rousing speech about the significance of this battle and the military honors they would earn once the war was won.

The troops were in high spirits, determined for a successful campaign. They pushed forward with utmost focus, following Lin Aoxue as they climbed rugged mountains, navigated dense forests teeming with wild beasts, and silently eliminated barbarian scouts along the way. Without alerting the enemy, they successfully reached the rear of the barbarian army.

Hurrying along, Lin Aoxue encountered no major obstacles. Her familiarity with the terrain beyond the pass gave her a crucial advantage over Yang Jin, allowing her to complete the journey an hour ahead of schedule. This extra time let her order a one-hour rest for the troops after reaching a trench five miles behind the enemy.

The trench provided natural cover, and just beyond it lay a gently sloping hill with a clear vantage point. Lin Aoxue dispatched a unit to the hilltop to observe enemy movements and received a report confirming no unusual activity in the barbarian camp.

Nodding at the news, she sent two more squads to conduct a thorough search of the surrounding area, ensuring there were no hidden threats within a one-mile radius.

Surveying the terrain, Lin Aoxue quickly identified two likely supply routes for the enemy. She stationed two thousand-man teams in ambush along these roads while assigning another thousand soldiers to block the fastest reinforcement route the barbarians could take.

Meanwhile, she positioned herself with the remaining troops in the dense forest between the two supply routes. From here, she could quickly deploy reinforcements in any direction if trouble arose.

They remained hidden for two full days. The last attack by Yang Jin had dealt a severe blow to the enemy’s supply convoys, making them more cautious in their movements. Then, at last, two separate groups of barbarian soldiers appeared on the supply routes simultaneously—each numbering two thousand troops, followed by long lines of ox carts.

As soon as the Beichen Empire soldiers stationed along the supply routes detected the movement, they reported it to Lin Aoxue. She observed from afar and then sent two scouts to circle behind the enemy and examine the depth of the cart tracks.

One of the scouts, Lu Sheng, had fought alongside Lin Aoxue through countless battles. Though she had warned him about the dangers of this mission, he had insisted on following her out of the pass without hesitation upon hearing of her deployment.

Moved by Lu Sheng’s unwavering loyalty, Lin Aoxue was more determined than ever to keep him close and groom him for a higher position. If he survived this battle, he might even be promoted to baihu.

After hearing the scouts’ report, Lin Aoxue narrowed her eyes slightly before waving her hand, signaling the troops to remain in ambush and not act rashly.

Both Lu Sheng and another guard named Xu He looked puzzled. After a brief silence, Lu Sheng took the initiative to ask, “Deputy General Lin, why aren’t we attacking? These two groups combined only have four thousand soldiers, while we outnumber them five to one. Even if they split up, we could easily wipe them out. Why let them pass?”

Hearing this, Lin Aoxue’s eyes glinted with a hint of amusement. She looked at the earnest faces of Lu Sheng and Xu He, then openly shared her reasoning, “From your observations, the ox cart tracks are shallow, meaning they aren’t carrying a full load of grain. These two groups are merely a diversion—the real supply convoy is likely still behind them. If we strike now, there’s a ninety percent chance we’ll alert the real target.” She paused for a moment before continuing, “Look carefully. Though these troops appear vigilant, their movements are light and quick, indicating they’re not truly on edge. That further supports my theory. If we attack now, not only will the forward units retaliate swiftly, but the real supply convoy in the rear will be spooked and take a different route. That would be a disastrous loss for us.”

Her explanation made Lu Sheng and Xu He suddenly see the bigger picture. Lu Sheng had always deeply admired Lin Aoxue, considering her his mentor in life despite her being several years younger than him. His respect for her only grew.

As for Xu He, his initial doubt and surprise turned into unrestrained admiration and awe.

Before today, like many soldiers within Xingbei Pass, he had assumed Lin Aoxue’s rapid rise—from squad leader in her first year of enlistment to qianhu, and then suddenly to county commandant overnight—was due to sheer luck and Beichen Long’s favoritism. But after witnessing her keen judgment firsthand, he realized her accomplishments were far from mere luck.

After today, he finally understood—some people succeed for a reason. Even if someone else had the same conditions, the same opportunities, and carried out the same mission, they would never be able to reach the heights that Lin Aoxue had achieved.

Xu He was deeply impressed and respectfully lowered his head to the young deputy general.

Lin Aoxue let the two enemy teams pass, and the group remained in ambush in the forest for another half a day. Sure enough, a third convoy appeared on the supply line. This one consisted of about three thousand troops and traveled along the left route, which was closer to the barbarian army’s camp. Upon receiving the report, Lin Aoxue once again sent Lu Sheng to investigate.

Upon returning, Lu Sheng was visibly excited as he reported, “Deputy General Lin! This time, the grain carts are real!”

As he spoke, he gestured to show the depth of the wheel tracks he had observed. A sharp glint flashed in Lin Aoxue’s eyes, and she curved her lips into a smile as she commanded, “Deploy the troops. Swift and decisive victory!”

The twenty-thousand-strong force launched a full-scale assault, throwing the barbarian transport team into complete chaos. Against Lin Aoxue’s overwhelming numbers, the three-thousand-strong convoy was quickly scattered. In the first wave of attacks, half of their forces were cut down. The remaining troops finally regained their composure, and someone among them released a signal flare—a burst of red smoke blooming in the sky.

Lin Aoxue glanced up, estimated the time, and then ordered, “Burn the grain carts. Withdraw immediately!”

The soldiers obeyed without hesitation. The remaining barbarian troops were swiftly eliminated, leaving no survivors. Xu He led a team to inspect the carts and confirmed that they carried a large stockpile of food—enough to sustain one hundred thousand barbarian soldiers for several days.

Lin Aoxue’s troops acted quickly, and soon, a raging fire engulfed the supply convoy. Anticipating that the enemy reinforcements were already on their way, she immediately led her twenty thousand elite soldiers back along their original path. By the time the barbarian reinforcements arrived, the transport convoy had already been wiped out, and even the grain carts had been reduced to ashes.

Meanwhile, scouts sent by Beichen Long observed that the barbarian army had dispatched twenty thousand soldiers to reinforce the supply team. Realizing that Lin Aoxue had already made her move, Beichen Long seized the opportunity. He immediately ordered an attack, leading over one hundred thousand troops out of Xingbei Pass to clash with the starving and exhausted barbarian forces. Caught off guard, the barbarians suffered yet another devastating blow.

Seeing the situation turn against them, the barbarian general finally ordered a retreat, leading the remaining forces eastward.

Lin Aoxue methodically withdrew her troops two miles away, intending to wait for the enemy to cease pursuit before returning to the battlefield to coordinate with Beichen Long and launch a pincer attack on the remaining barbarian forces stationed outside Xingbei Pass.

Just as she was preparing to lead her troops along their original route, she suddenly saw a massive force of fifty thousand soldiers approaching in an imposing formation. Her heart sank, and her brows furrowed deeply as she wondered—where had this army come from?

They were coming from Poyan. After a brief moment of contemplation, Lin Aoxue immediately understood their origin, and she couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Damn it!

This force of fifty thousand was clearly part of the army originally sent by the barbarians to attack Poyan.

The barbarian army had initially deployed eighty thousand troops to besiege Poyan. To repel them, Beichen Long had drawn twenty thousand soldiers from Poyan to reinforce his own forces. Now, the barbarians were mimicking his strategy—quietly pulling fifty thousand troops back from Poyan, intending to merge them with the hundred-thousand-strong army outside Xingbei Pass. They planned to feign retreat, lure Xingbei Pass’s forces into a trap, and launch a devastating counterattack.

Lin Aoxue clenched her teeth in frustration. She had not anticipated such a maneuver from the enemy. Likewise, Beichen Long had received no intelligence about this movement. If these two armies successfully merged, today’s battle would no longer have a certain outcome.

Fortunately, Lin Aoxue had acted swiftly and decisively, executing her deep-strike operation with precision and speed. By attacking before the two enemy forces could merge, she had seized the initiative, tilting the battle in favor of the Northern Frontier Army.

Her mission to disrupt the barbarian supply lines had gone smoothly. She had originally planned to coordinate with Beichen Long to deliver a crushing blow to the enemy forces outside Xingbei Pass. Yet now, she had unexpectedly stumbled upon this dire situation, one that left her in an extremely precarious position—trapped between two enemy forces.

As soon as Lin Aoxue spotted the fifty-thousand-strong army, the enemy also noticed her troops.

In the next instant, the barbarian forces accelerated, charging straight for Lin Aoxue and her twenty-thousand-strong army. They intended to encircle her and swallow her entire force whole.

Lin Aoxue knew she couldn’t afford to engage the fifty-thousand-strong enemy head-on. Making a snap decision, she ordered an immediate retreat in the opposite direction.

They couldn’t face this force directly. Their only option was to head toward Xingbei Pass. Although there were still twenty thousand barbarian troops positioned there—troops originally sent to reinforce the supply convoy—the barbarian forces outside Xingbei Pass had gone days without proper supplies. Their combat strength was nowhere near as formidable as the well-fed, battle-ready soldiers returning from Poyan.

Against those weakened troops, Lin Aoxue had a much higher chance of survival.

Besides that, if she forcefully engaged the 50,000 barbarian troops withdrawing from Poyan, even if half of her soldiers managed to break through after the clash, they would still face relentless pursuit. If she lured the enemy away, her forces would be doomed. But if the barbarian troops did not give chase, they would merge with the forces outside Xingbei Pass, increasing the pressure on Beichen Long.

This would only deepen Beichen Long’s suspicions. Lin Aoxue quickly dismissed this option. If they instead charged toward the battlefield at Xingbei Pass, they had a chance to regroup with Beichen Long’s forces, raising their odds of victory to fifty percent—an undeniably better choice.

The army swiftly retreated, and sure enough, at the site where they had previously cut off the enemy’s supply line, a barbarian force appeared. Lin Aoxue immediately gave the order to charge. She had to clear the path before the fifty thousand enemy soldiers behind them caught up.

The twenty thousand troops under Lin Aoxue erupted in a deafening war cry and clashed with the twenty thousand barbarian soldiers dispatched to reinforce the supply convoy. Lin Aoxue, mounted on a black warhorse, charged ahead like an arrow. Wherever her silver spear struck, blood spurted, and barbarian soldiers were knocked from their mounts, their bodies bursting into thick sprays of blood.

Her troops were equally fierce. Though both sides had twenty thousand soldiers, Lin Aoxue’s elite forces, despite marching for two consecutive days, were well-equipped and far superior in individual combat. The enemy’s casualties quickly reached nearly double that of Beichen Long’s forces.

Seeing this, Lin Aoxue’s soldiers gained confidence, their morale soaring. Meanwhile, the barbarian soldiers, unaware that Lin Aoxue’s forces were being pursued by their own reinforcements, were shaken by the sheer ferocity of her troops. They began retreating in panic, their formation breaking apart. With each push and pursuit, the enemy’s losses mounted.

Before long, the twenty-thousand-strong barbarian force had been reduced by more than half under Lin Aoxue’s assault. By the time they managed to retreat to Xingbei Pass, fewer than five thousand remained.

From a distance, they saw their comrades at Xingbei Pass being forced back by Beichen Long’s army. Panicking, they rushed to regroup with the main force. Meanwhile, Lin Aoxue’s army, despite their victory, had suffered nearly five thousand casualties. Along the way, many wounded soldiers fell behind—alive but with no one to save them.

As Lin Aoxue led her troops in pursuit of the retreating barbarian stragglers, she suddenly faced the overwhelming presence of the main barbarian army, with fifty thousand more soldiers closing in behind her. Standing atop a gentle slope, she gazed at the vast barbarian force charging toward her, her eyes flickering with a dark, steely glint.

Behind the barbarian army lay Beichen Long’s force of over one hundred thousand soldiers. If Lin Aoxue and her remaining ten thousand troops could hold back the retreating barbarians for just the time it took to burn an incense stick, Beichen Long’s forces would catch up. At that moment, they could seize the opportunity to break through and join his army.

However, she had only ten thousand men. To halt an army of one hundred thousand, cut through them, and still withstand an attack from the fifty thousand pursuing them from behind—how many of her troops would survive? Lin Aoxue could not say.

The retreating barbarians were effectively a barrier in front of them, while the enemy forces behind them sealed off any escape. Lin Aoxue’s situation was dire. She knew this was a calamity she had no choice but to face head-on. There was no other path forward—only one of sheer force.

Sitting tall on her horse atop the slope, she watched the barbarian soldiers draw closer. Yet, instead of fear, her eyes shone with increasing determination.

The more enemy soldiers they could take down in this charge, the less pressure Beichen Long would face. After this battle, the barbarian army, having suffered devastating losses, would have no choice but to retreat to the grasslands to recover. The northern border would finally know peace—at least for a long while.

Even if it meant the complete annihilation of her soldiers, they had no other choice.

Gripping her silver spear tightly, Lin Aoxue raised it high and let out a resounding command, “Charge!”

The fifteen thousand warriors behind her showed no trace of fear. They were the most elite troops of the northern border. They may not have been able to fight one against a hundred, but in the face of the overwhelming barbarian army, they charged with unyielding courage, casting aside their fear of death. Their blood would soak the burning earth beneath them, paving the way for a future written in legend.

At Lin Aoxue’s order, the soldiers roared and surged forward, rushing down the slope like a black whirlwind, crashing into the retreating barbarian forces. At the forefront, Lin Aoxue wielded her spear like a shadow, cutting through the enemy ranks. Wherever she passed, soldiers were thrown from their horses, lifeless bodies piling upon one another.

Yet, against an army ten times their size, the difference was overwhelming. As soon as the two sides collided, Lin Aoxue’s soldiers were swallowed into the barbarian ranks. Amid the chaos, they struggled to maintain formation, but with every passing second, more of their comrades fell, trampled under the iron hooves of the enemy.

The ground beneath them was soon drenched in blood. Against the tide of battle, their mortal bodies seemed so small, so fragile—one misstep, one stumble, and they would never rise again.

***

From a distance, Beichen Long caught sight of Lin Aoxue’s forces. When he saw her leading her soldiers, unshaken, charging into an enemy force ten times their size, his pupils contracted, and an unfamiliar tightness gripped his chest.

For the first time, he felt regret.

He should never have allowed Lin Aoxue to go behind enemy lines. No matter how brave and fearless they were, there was little room for luck on the battlefield. Against such overwhelming odds, he truly did not know if they would survive.

He widened his eyes, letting out a furious roar as he led his army of over a hundred thousand northern border troops to accelerate their charge. Beichen Long took the lead, charging into the barbarian forces, relying on his brief memory from before to head straight toward Lin Aoxue’s location.

Lin Aoxue was a soldier he could not afford to lose.

The northern border troops fought with increasing ferocity, their momentum unstoppable. In just a brief clash, the barbarians suffered heavy casualties. They could not hold their ground—even when they regrouped with the fifty thousand soldiers retreating from Poyan, they could only briefly withstand the forces at Xingbei Pass.

But the soldiers under Beichen Long’s command had been suppressing their bloodlust for months, and this battle had fully unleashed it. Every man fought with bloodshot eyes, casting aside the fear of death, focused solely on driving the barbarians out of the northern border. In the end, the barbarians could not hold out. After suffering nearly half their forces in casualties, they were forcibly pushed back to the grasslands by the high-spirited soldiers of Beichen.

The battlefront advanced dozens of miles, all the way to the border between the northern frontier and the grasslands. Beichen Long watched as the remaining seventy to eighty thousand barbarian soldiers retreated beyond the border, while behind him, the Beichen army still had a force of over 150,000 remaining. This was a monumental victory, one that would be engraved on the northern border’s legacy of resisting the barbarians.

After ensuring the enemy had truly retreated and would not return to Xingbei Pass, Beichen Long finally let out a breath of relief. At the same time, he began strategizing how to reclaim Mingzheng.

The reinforcements the barbarians had drawn from Mingzheng and Poyan had set out at the same time, both aiming to aid Xingbei Pass. However, since Mingzheng was farther from Xingbei Pass than Poyan, their reinforcements were still on the way and had not arrived in time. By the time they neared Xingbei Pass, scouts had already reported that their main forces had been driven back to the grasslands.

The barbarian generals had no choice but to halt their march, retreating with their troops back to Mingzheng and sending messages to the grassland leadership, awaiting further orders on how to proceed after this crushing defeat.

With the battle concluded, Beichen Long ordered the battlefield to be cleared and, most urgently, sent men to search for Lin Aoxue. His soldiers soon returned with grim news: Lin Aoxue was nowhere to be found among the ranks. Beichen Long’s heart sank.