Having experienced life-or-death situations, Wang Xiaosong is now timid and cautious.
The boy Yang Zhi next to him had been saved from a pile of corpses. Looking around, he felt that there were Tartars everywhere and swords flashing everywhere.
The two were practically hugging each other and calling out to their mother.
To ease his fear, Wang Xiaosong took the initiative to speak, "Why is your name Yangzhi? Isn't that a girl's name?"
Yang Zhi was clearly even more upset. "My mother said that a girl's name is easier to raise."
He definitely needs to be well cared for, because he no longer has a mother and can only support himself.
The air suddenly filled with sorrow. Wang Xiaosong murmured and shut his mouth, choosing to continue staring ahead with trepidation.
As the old saying goes, what you fear most is what will happen to you.
Just as the carriage was charging forward at full speed, a mounted Tatar flashed by on the left.
Wang Xiaosong's heart jumped, and he pointed ahead with a "heh heh" sound, so frightened that he couldn't even speak.
With tears welling up in her eyes, Yang Zhi woke up another farmhand who was resting in the carriage, and they became fully alert.
Everyone was on tenterhooks.
They hoped the Tartars hadn't seen them, that they were seeing things.
Until more and more horses' hooves sounded.
Wang Xiaosong was almost exhausted, his hands were shaking so badly he could not hold the reins, and fear, tension, anxiety and worry flashed through his mind.
There was no regret.
Because this is a path that must be walked eventually; if he doesn't walk it, someone else will; if he doesn't encounter the Tartars, someone else will.
The more intense the sound of hooves behind him became, the calmer Wang Xiaosong became. He gripped the reins tightly, pulling them taut the moment the hooves overtook him.
The horse neighed, raised its two front hooves high, and then lowered them again.
As subjects of the Dayu Dynasty, since we are destined to die under the swords of the Tartars, we cannot die in vain, we cannot waste this life.
He wanted to ram the carriage and its horses into it.
Take one and you win one; take two and you win two.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Xiaosong had gathered his strength and was about to charge forward.
A dashing figure rode up to him on horseback, frowning as he said, "Xiao Song, it's me."
It turned out to be the Third Young Master Fang Heng, who personally led the team to meet them.
Wang Xiaosong instantly relaxed, crying with snot and tears flying everywhere, "Third Young Master, you've finally arrived! I was so scared just now, so many people were chasing us, so many Tartars!"
Yangzhi nodded, sobbing beside her.
Fang Heng pursed his lips and didn't say anything, but Jiang Yi couldn't help but say, "Xiao Song, are you misunderstanding something? It was us just now."
“That’s right, the more we chase you, the faster you run. Luckily we’re on horseback, otherwise we’d have to follow you to the ends of the earth.” Jiang Ba patted his chest.
Wang Xiaosong, “…”
So he just saw things? Or misread them?
But he was clearly a Tartar, wearing a robe, tall and imposing, fundamentally different from the slender and upright men of the Dayu Dynasty.
"I must be seeing things," Jiang Yi said. "It's good to be cautious, but we can't be this cautious. We've been chasing them for ages."
“Yes.” Jiang Liu rarely chimed in.
Even Wang Xiaosong burst into laughter through his tears, thinking he had made a mistake.
Fang Heng frowned and spoke up, "Perhaps it really is."
The scene instantly fell silent. Yang Zhi was so frightened that she shrank behind Wang Xiaosong, even stopping her breathing for a moment.
"Does the captain mean that there really was a Tartar who came before us, but they retreated later?" Jiang Wu speculated.
Fang Heng nodded slowly.
Soldiers make good use of sentries, usually to scout ahead and report any problems immediately, thus minimizing losses and avoiding traps.
That Tartar was probably a sentry from a small unit. He was originally keeping an eye on Wang Xiaosong and his group, but he had to retreat because Fang Heng brought his men.
This shows that their small unit had very few people, and it also shows how correct Zheng Ruqian's suggestion was to have someone from the military camp come to meet them.
Wang Xiaosong decided to kowtow twice to his employer when he got back.
“This road is no longer safe,” Fang Heng analyzed. “The Tartars have seen you here once, and they will probably come a second time.”
If they weren't lucky enough to see the marching soldiers before the Tartars arrived, both people and goods would surely perish.
"Captain, since they're outnumbered, let's find a way to wipe them out. This is the most convenient route right now," Jiang Yi shouted.
Jiang Er glared at him, "Even the sentries have run away, how are we going to find them?"
If the Tartars were so easy to find, the Dayu Dynasty wouldn't have been unable to quell the war for decades.
But they can send the Tartars over.
Fang Heng turned his gaze to the three farmhands who were shaking like sieves.
Military camps have set traps before; tripwires and horse pits are common tactics. They have also used methods such as luring the enemy deep into their territory and the empty city ploy.
After this happened many times, the Tartars also became cunning. When they sensed something was wrong, they would retreat and not fight. They would only gather together and attack, killing and robbing, after observing that the Tartars were genuine merchants traveling by road.
For example, the three of them, including Wang Xiaosong, right now.
The Tartars were unaware of the relationship between the two groups, nor did they know that the meat inside was intended for the military camp. In normal thinking, soldiers encountering merchants would simply escort them to a rest stop and then leave.
By April, according to past practice, the main force of the Tatars would retreat from the border in May. Before that, they would often engage in more frenzied killing, burning, and looting to ensure their food supply before the new year.
Fang Heng gambled, betting that the Tartars hadn't really left, betting that their sentries were still following them from a distance, and betting that they were greedy for this cartload of meat.
He glanced at Jiang Wu and the others.
The long period of training allowed the master and servant to connect with each other, and they immediately understood the meaning behind it.
Jiang Wu led Jiang Qi and Jiang Ba, two smaller individuals, into the carriage, while the others escorted them and discussed the situation with Wang Xiaosong and the others.
“With Jiang Wu and the others protecting you inside, you won’t be in danger, but you might encounter some killing,” Fang Heng said in a deep voice. “If you don’t want to, when you reach the rest stop, unload your meat and give your clothes to Jiang Wu and the others.”
However, changing personnel might alert the enemy and scare them away, causing all previous efforts to be in vain. This is still a path we cannot take.
Finding a new path means new dangers and new explorations.
Wang Xiaosong's big eyes darted back and forth, clearly unsure of what to do.
But Yangzhi, who was trembling behind him, stepped forward and said, "I'm willing."
Only those who have experienced brutal slaughter know how exhilarating it is to be able to cut through the Tartars.
Even if it might endanger their lives.
“Brother Wang,” Yang Zhi said earnestly, “You can wait at the rest stop. I’ll go alone. I can do it. I’m not afraid.”
But he was only a fourteen-year-old boy.
Wang Xiaosong suddenly felt unworthy of being a seventeen or eighteen-year-old older brother. He remembered his unwavering loyalty in protecting his master and his calm composure when he decided to fight the Tartars to the death.
Why should courage only be inspired by adversity? Why can't he be a brave person?
Is it just about being used as bait in a trap? Fourteen-year-old Yang Zhi can do it, and so can seventeen-year-old Wang Xiaosong!
"Okay! I'll go!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with the most heroic ambition he had ever displayed.
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