Li Laosi immediately became anxious, "No, my lord. The vanguard army has always been under my command. Besides, you are the commander-in-chief, so naturally you should be stationed at the border!"
The Marquis frowned and pleaded, "A sneak attack via a detour is the key to this decisive battle. I won't feel at ease if I don't lead the troops."
Li Laosi absolutely refused, "No, I'll lead the troops. I'll be extra careful!"
The two had their first disagreement, and neither could convince the other.
At this moment, Jiang Cheng smiled helplessly and suggested, "Lord Marquis, Fourth General, why don't you both lead your troops to take a detour? Leave the border to me. It's just a matter of issuing orders and sending troops. I'm sure I can handle it! If anything goes wrong, I'll answer to you with my head!"
"Besides, we're about to return victorious. I hold the title of general, yet I've never led troops into battle even once. It's truly shameful. Just consider it me stealing the credit, and share some of the responsibilities with me!"
They've gone this far, it seems really hard to refuse.
Li Laosi and the Marquis exchanged a glance, hesitated for a moment, and then both nodded.
Thus, the tactic of bypassing the valley and encircling and attacking from both sides was finalized.
To keep it a secret, the Marquis didn't tell anyone else. He simply led his personal guards around the border to check the defenses.
After the three thousand vanguard men had eaten and drunk their fill and fed their horses, they left the border under the leadership of Lord Hou and Li Laosi as soon as it got dark.
Mu Xu led several scout teams and set off early to explore the area.
Jiang Cheng stood on the city wall, watching the departing troops, his expression somewhat inscrutable.
A lieutenant approached and said, "General, the brothers on patrol have been instructed that no one will reveal that the Marquis has sent out troops."
Jiang Cheng nodded and replied in a low voice, "This military expedition is highly confidential, as it concerns the outcome of the final battle. The news must not be leaked; we must keep it a secret for at least one day, lest we ruin the Marquis's plans."
The lieutenant was genuinely curious and asked, "This time, Lord Marquis has personally led the vanguard battalion. I wonder how you plan to arrange things? I'm sure you'll be able to wipe out all the barbarians, which will save you a lot of trouble in the future."
Jiang Cheng glared at him and scolded, "Stop asking questions you shouldn't know. Once the war starts, just focus on wielding your sword."
Having said that, he descended the city wall, and the lieutenant who remained behind didn't seem to mind, smiling as he saw him off a few steps...
Meanwhile, the vanguard troops wrapped their horses' hooves and quietly circled around the hill.
It was already midnight when we arrived at the valley.
The Marquis ordered everyone to rest where they were, preparing to march quickly after crossing the valley, hoping to get behind the barbarians as soon as possible and launch an encirclement campaign.
There was a risk that the plan would be ruined if the barbarians discovered it within fifteen minutes of nightfall.
Mu Xu and his men had already circled the hills on both sides of the valley and returned after confirming there was no danger.
"My lord, there are no problems on the mountain. You can pass through without worry."
The Marquis handed the water bag and dry rations in his hand to Mu Xu, then gazed at the valley with a deep look in his eyes.
Perhaps he was too nervous because of this final battle.
Why does the dark valley always seem like the gaping maw of a giant beast, waiting to devour his troops?
Li Laosi choked on his dry rations, gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, and finally recovered. He muttered under his breath, "Let's finish this battle quickly so we can go home! This is no human life. I dream about home-cooked meals!"
Mu Xu also laughed and said, "Yes, the princess has come up with a new dish called cold noodles. The soup is sweet and sour, with smooth noodles, slices of braised meat, shredded cucumber, spicy cabbage, and lots of sesame seeds. It's delicious, appetizing, and a great way to beat the summer heat."
"The threshold of Cyclamen Restaurant was almost worn down by diners, all rushing to eat cold noodles. Other restaurants followed suit, but unfortunately, the taste is far inferior to ours."
Everyone laughed at this, even the Marquis had a smirk on his face.
When it comes to cooking, many people in the world may be better at it than I am, but when it comes to originality, no one can match me...
After resting for a quarter of an hour, the group got up and prepared to cross the valley.
Just before setting off, the Marquis gave the order, "Divide into two groups, the fourth brother and his men go through first. Once you've passed through, I'll lead the rear group into the valley."
Li Laosi wanted to say that this was too troublesome, but with soldiers all around, he couldn't argue, so he took half of his men and left first.
The valley is not long, only five or six miles long.
In just a quarter of an hour, the tail of the vanguard will be out of the valley.
Seeing that there was no problem, the Marquis led his rear guard and quickly rushed into the valley.
But halfway there, countless torches suddenly lit up the previously quiet hills on both sides.
The warhorses of the Northern Expeditionary Army were startled, sneezing and extremely agitated.
Before anyone could react, countless boulders of all sizes rolled down the mountain, crashing down with a thunderous roar.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" everyone shouted.
The Marquis drew his sword and loudly gave the order.
"Climb up the hill on the left! Don't run away, don't panic!"
The vanguard was a seasoned veteran, and the soldiers were not cowards; they were simply caught off guard by the sudden attack and were thrown into disarray for a moment.
Upon hearing the commander's order, everyone rushed up the small hill on the left.
Large and small stones rolled down, inevitably hitting horses or soldiers.
But it's still safer than being smashed into mincemeat in a valley.
Soldiers were thrown down one after another, and warhorses neighed.
But the enemy is on the mountain; only by climbing up can we turn the tide!
When the Marquis took the lead and rushed to the top of the mountain, there were indeed several hundred barbarians pushing stones. When they saw the Northern Expeditionary Army coming up, they also drew their waist knives and charged up while yelling.
The two sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle!
Li Laosi had already led half of his vanguard across the valley and was about to scout ahead when he heard the commotion and was genuinely startled.
The valley, which should have been quiet, has become a battlefield of blood and fire in the blink of an eye.
"My lord!"
Li Laosi was so shocked that his eyes widened in horror. He turned his horse around and led his men to the rescue.
Having served in the military for many years, he had not been blinded by anger.
He led half of his vanguard directly up the hillside. Only by defeating the enemy at the top of the hill could he save most of the soldiers on the hillside!
In the darkness, shouts, neighing horses, and the clash of swords and spears mingled together, filling the air with the stench of blood!
As dawn broke, the battle finally came to an end.
The remaining troops on the hilltop were all from the Northern Expeditionary Army; the barbarians who had launched the sneak attack were almost all killed.
Of course, the Northern Expeditionary Army also suffered considerable losses.
At least half of the warhorses died, and many of the survivors had broken legs and were groaning in pain.
Of the three thousand northern expeditionary soldiers, five hundred were killed in battle and seven or eight hundred were wounded, their fighting strength was almost halved!
This was after they entered the valley in two separate groups; if they had all gone through together, I'm afraid there wouldn't be any of the three or four hundred survivors left!
Even the Marquis had a hole pierced in his thigh by a spear.
Li Laosi was heartbroken and regretted leading the vanguard, leaving the Marquis in danger.
Mu Xu's face turned ashen. He had clearly led his men to investigate and found no ambush on the mountaintop. Why did the barbarians suddenly appear?
Did the barbarians already know the news and lie in ambush behind the mountain, waiting for him to investigate before sneaking up?
Today's update is here!
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