"General, the barbarian army is stationed ahead. Should we go straight there?"
At the forefront of the marching army, the deputy general asked Jin Mang a question.
Jin Mang's expression was indifferent as he calmly said, "The barbarian army has been heading to Beiliang for a long time. His Majesty sent them a gold medal last time, urging them to arrive in Anyang County as soon as possible to suppress Qin Ze."
"Logically, they should have arrived a few days ago, but they are still stationed at the front. It seems that something has happened."
The adjutant nodded, his face showing hesitation. "General, could it be... that these barbarians, upon learning that Qin Ze has conquered Anyang County, believe that the imperial court is powerless to suppress Qin Ze, and that this might have given rise to their rebellious intentions?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Mang shook his head.
Before the expedition was launched, His Majesty's imperial edict made it very clear that the barbarians had to be sent to suppress Qin Ze, and that his 200,000 troops were merely a backup plan.
Unless absolutely necessary, one should not rashly resort to military force.
He let the barbarian army fight Qin Ze to the death, and after the barbarian army suppressed Qin Ze, he sent them to Beiliang, while his own troops went to Anyang County.
After that, he was stationed in Anyang County to oversee the Northern Liang.
As for whether the barbarians would harbor rebellious thoughts, Jin Mang believed they would not.
In previous years, Qin Haotian defeated the barbarian army. Now, although the barbarians have been recuperating and waging war in the southern barbarian lands, they are still not capable of resisting the Great Khan.
Moreover, once outside the Southern Barbarian Lands, Wu Kui had no one to rely on, and even his food supplies were provided by Da Gan. If the supply was cut off, how could they dare to make a change at this time?
Jin Mang looked at his deputy and said, "No, Peng Yue, the barbarians chose to station their troops here because they must have sensed the danger ahead; otherwise, they would have already passed through."
"Not far from here is a mountain called Yanluo Mountain, which is extremely steep. If Qin Ze continues south, he will pass through there. He cannot afford not to fight for this place."
Lieutenant Peng Yue nodded and then asked, "General, shall we continue to wait?"
Jin Mang hummed in agreement, then continued:
"His Majesty is in a hurry, and we have also been traveling a long way. Since the barbarians have chosen to set up camp here, we will simply garrison behind them, rest, and then make further plans."
"After everything is settled, send a troop of soldiers to the barbarian camp to explain our purpose, so as to avoid provoking their hostility."
"After all, they are not the same kind of people as us."
Peng Yue nodded and immediately rode away.
——
Outside the barbarian camp, time passed gradually, and an hour and a half had passed since noon.
The sky grew increasingly gloomy in the afternoon, and the wind picked up.
The military flag fluttered in the wind, and Wu Kui stood ramrod straight beneath the flagpole, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.
Dan Yi led his team to Yanluo Mountain in the morning. It was only twenty or thirty miles from the military camp, not too far. They rode fast horses and arrived in no time.
But now it's already afternoon.
There is still no news, and the soldiers sent to the front to provide support have not brought any information either.
This situation made Wu Kui increasingly anxious.
If Qin Ze had laid a large ambush at Yanluo Mountain, and Shan Yi had broken into it, even if he fell into the ambush and fought with them, it would be impossible for no news to get out.
Even if a few thousand men were to go and encounter an enemy force several times larger, as long as they didn't fight to the death, some of them would be able to break through.
But in this situation, there's absolutely no news...
"Could it be... that we were ambushed by a large force and not a single person could return?" Wu Kui bit his lip, his face growing increasingly somber.
The generals standing nearby had different expressions, but a hint of worry appeared in each of their eyes.
"Your Majesty, it's already this late, and not a single person has returned. I'm afraid they've already... fallen into an ambush!"
"General Shan has rich combat experience, but we haven't heard from him yet. There are probably a large number of enemy soldiers lying in ambush in Yanlu Mountain."
The speaker was one of the Eight Tigers, named Hong Lun. He was tall and slender, standing eight feet tall, and held a halberd that broke through enemy lines. At this moment, his square face was full of worry.
As soon as Hong Lun finished speaking, a rough and deep voice rang out from the crowd.
"If you ask me, let's not wait any longer, Your Majesty. Just lead our army and charge straight in! No matter how many troops Qin Ze has, with our strength, what are we afraid of?"
"Let's go straight into Yanluo Mountain and fight him with real weapons!"
With a loud thud, the man slammed the meteor hammer in his hand heavily onto the ground.
Unlike most of the tall barbarian soldiers, this man was not tall, but he was exceptionally strong.
Those broad, muscular arms bulged and seemed to grow horizontally.
His name was Wu Rui, Wu Kui's cousin. He was skilled with a pair of meteor hammers and possessed incredible strength and power.
"Wu Rui! His Majesty sent General Shan to gather intelligence on the enemy's situation so that we can obtain more information for our upcoming battles!"
"If we rush in blindly and fall into an ambush, how many people will die needlessly?!"
No sooner had Wu Rui finished speaking than a middle-aged man standing next to him immediately reprimanded him.
Wu Rui looked up at him, pursed his lips, and said:
"Second Uncle, when it comes to war, there's nothing we can do about it. Anyway, if it's a battle, I'm not afraid. I, Wu Rui, dare to be the first to charge in!"
"I was saying that I would go instead of General Shan, but unfortunately he disagreed, and neither did the King."
At this point, Wu Rui lowered his head, looking somewhat depressed.
The middle-aged man he called Second Uncle rolled his eyes and said, "You go? Even if there are no ambushes inside, you won't be able to find anything!"
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