Chapter 481 Ambush
General Li chuckled softly at Commander Wang and pointed to a low hill beside the Zhang River, saying, "See this place? The Yellow River flows below. Just cut the ropes on both sides of the bridge when they cross..."
Commander Wang was silent for a moment: "General, this is the only suspension bridge left for the local people to enter the mountains."
General Li shook his head gently: "We can build it later. Go ahead."
Commander Wang clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and withdrew, then prepared to reorganize his troops to set up an ambush at Aishan.
At this moment, Lin Changning and his companions were unaware that their whereabouts had been exposed to the soldiers at the mouth of the Zhanghe River, and they continued to rush towards the Zhanghe ferry crossing.
As afternoon approached, they finally reached the low hill beside the Yellow River. The scout leading the way pointed at the suspension bridge and said to Lin Changning, "Commander, this is the suspension bridge. After crossing the bridge, continue for another 20 li to reach the ferry, which is also the shortest route."
Lin Changning hummed in agreement. He saw some rotten wooden planks lying in the middle of the dilapidated suspension bridge. Lin Changning stepped on them a few times, and the crisp sound of the planks cracking quickly came from the suspension bridge.
Lin Changning frowned and turned around: "Big brother, second brother, this suspension bridge is probably not big enough for us to cross. We'll most likely have to take a detour."
Qi Rong stepped forward and shook the suspension bridge, frowning as he nodded in agreement. He looked at the scout with hostility: "How will the army cross such a dilapidated bridge? What route did they take?"
A hint of annoyance flashed across the scout's face: "It's my fault, Commander. I came here two years ago, and the wooden planks were all in good condition. People and horses could cross without any major problems. It must be because no one has repaired it for too long that it has become so dilapidated."
Lin Changning turned to Qi Rong, who was reprimanding the scout: "Second brother, we can't get past him now. Let's take a detour."
Qi Rong sighed, "That's the only way."
After saying that, he turned around, mounted his horse, and prepared to take a longer route to cross the Yellow River and reach the ferry.
Lin Changning rode his horse alongside Qi Rong, speeding towards the next location. However, as soon as they left the low hill, Lin Changning noticed something was amiss.
As soon as the scouts emerged from the forest, countless arrows rained down on them from outside.
Lin Changning's heart tightened. He quickly drew his sword to deflect several arrows beside him and shouted, "Ambush! Everyone retreat!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Changning, Qi Rong, and Li Mingxiu quickly retreated back into the forest in the low hills.
Two pairs of relatives quickly stepped in front of the three people, blocking the arrows.
After one volley, another volley of arrows followed, and after three volleys, the enemy's arrows finally stopped.
Fortunately, Lin Changning led his men to withdraw in time, and the cavalry suffered few casualties.
Lin Changning drew his long sword, a fierce glint in his eyes. Seeing that the enemy's rain of arrows had stopped, he quickly mounted his horse and charged out first.
"What a despicable person!!! All they do is stab you in the back!!!"
As Lin Changning spoke, he led a troop of cavalry at breakneck speed toward the spot where they had just been shot at. Li Mingxiu and Qi Rong, in perfect unison, flanked him from the left and right, heading toward Lin Changning.
Not long after they came out, a group of people rushed towards Lin Changning's direction.
Lin Changning rode over and killed the leader with a single stroke. His personal guards arrived and charged out with him. Qi Rong and Li Mingxiu, who had circled around from both sides, also joined the battle.
Each of the three men led 1,000 cavalrymen, and in a short time they slaughtered all the soldiers who had just appeared.
After exchanging glances, the officers and soldiers, perhaps impressed by the valiant cavalry, quickly discarded their swords and ran frantically toward the suspension bridge behind the low hill.
Lin Changning led his men forward as always, taking bows and arrows from his personal guards and striking with unerring accuracy, almost every arrow taking a life.
Li Mingxiu and Qi Rong were also somewhat bloodthirsty, and they led their men to rush into the woods with Lin Changning.
As the number of people who had just escaped dwindled, several others were frantically running towards the bridge. Lin Changning frowned, suddenly sensing something was wrong.
They had only led a force of about 1,000 men out to fight just now. If it was an ambush, why would there only be so many people? Lin Changning slowly stopped riding his horse, frowning as he wondered if there was another trap ahead.
After waving his men away, Lin Changning rode his horse quietly not far from the suspension bridge.
Qi Rong looked at the person and also felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was for the moment.
But eventually, it followed Lin Changning and slowly came to a stop not far from the suspension bridge.
However, Li Mingxiu became enraged and led a group of men to charge madly toward the suspension bridge. After swiftly killing several soldiers, the bloodthirsty Li Mingxiu rode his horse and leaped onto the suspension bridge.
Lin Changning's expression changed in shock, and he quickly spurred his horse towards the suspension bridge: "Brother! Come back! Be careful, there might be a grave..."
Before he could finish speaking, the sound of horses' hooves echoed from outside the low hill. On the other side of the suspension bridge, several soldiers appeared out of nowhere, brandishing their swords and slashing fiercely at the end of the bridge.
The stone loosened, and the iron chains rattled. Li Mingxiu noticed this, immediately dismounted, and ran frantically towards the back.
The moment his feet touched solid ground, the suspension bridge suddenly snapped. His warhorse neighed and plunged into the deep ravine. Li Mingxiu broke out in a cold sweat, watching helplessly as his horse was swallowed by the surging river and swept away into an unknown direction.
Li Mingxiu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. If Xiao Liu hadn't reminded him in time, he probably would have fallen into the deep ravine on the spot. Before he could even thank Lin Changning, he heard the sound of horses' hooves outside the low hill.
His expression changed, and he quickly snatched the guard's horse and mounted it.
"Damn it, there's an ambush here!"
Lin Changning quickly organized his troops and coldly watched the imperial army slowly closing in from outside the low hill. At a rough glance, there were at least five thousand of them. It must have been quite a feat for them to lie in ambush outside the low hill for so long.
Lin Changning thought again and realized that it wasn't an ambush outside the low hill. The only people lying in ambush outside the low hill were archers. This group must have just arrived to surround and annihilate them.
As for the group of archers from earlier, they were probably bait. We need to buy time and force them into the mountains.
Lin Changning frowned and looked at Qi Rong from afar. With 5,000 men, even 3,000 cavalry might not be unable to put up a fight. Thinking of this, Lin Changning led his team directly towards Qi Rong to join them.
"Second Brother! Charge out!"
Hearing Lin Changning's shout, Li Mingxiu led his men towards Qi Rong at the very back.
Just as the horse had taken a few steps ahead, an arrow shot straight toward him.
Li Mingxiu narrowly dodged the arrow that was shot toward his heart, his tiger-like eyes, which were remarkably similar to those of the King of Chu, glaring at the person who had shot the arrow from the shadows.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
