Chapter 122 Blitzkrieg to Seize Lintong Pass!
Wei Zhongxian received a secret letter saying that his spies had already made initial infiltration into Lintong Pass.
He couldn't help but smile.
Lintong Pass would soon be his, and a million coins would be within his grasp. Thinking this, Wei Zhongxian chuckled smugly, his face still flushed from the slaps he'd just received from Zhu Di.
Did they think eunuchs couldn't cause any trouble?
ridiculous.
Wei Zhongxian was born to stir up a storm.
——
Huo Qubing counted the thousand soldiers he had been assigned, his fingers unconsciously stroking the ring-pommel sword at his waist. In the morning light, the red ribbon binding the young general's hair stood out vividly, like a dancing flame.
“One thousand and seventy-eight people.” He murmured the number, his eyes suddenly lighting up.
The new recruits stood nervously in formation on the drill ground. Most of them were sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys; some held rusty machetes, while others carried homemade wooden bows. The boy in the front row was so nervous that he kept swallowing, and the long spear in his hand trembled uncontrollably.
Huo Qubing suddenly leaped onto the command platform, his iron armor gleaming in the sunlight.
"Do you know who I am?" His voice was clear and sharp, like the ringing of a sword.
A thin, small soldier asked timidly, "General Huo...?"
"Wrong!" Huo Qubing laughed, the red rope fluttering in the wind. "I am Marquis Huo Qubing! The one who led eight hundred cavalry deep into the desert at the age of seventeen, making the Xiongnu cry out for their fathers and mothers!"
The boys stared wide-eyed.
Is this general really that powerful?
How come none of them have heard of it?
Huo Qubing drew his ring-pommel sword with a clang, the tip pointing straight north: "Now, I'm going to lead you on a great mission—to seize Lintong Pass!"
The training ground erupted in commotion. A freckled boy stammered, "But...but we haven't trained yet..." He didn't even have a proper weapon.
“Training?” Huo Qubing grinned, revealing two tiger teeth. “The best training is real combat!” He suddenly lowered his voice. “Let me tell you, the garrison at Lintong Pass definitely doesn’t expect us to catch them off guard.”
Not only were the garrison at Lintong Pass caught off guard, but even the other comrades in Songyang County probably couldn't predict Huo Qubing's actions.
"Listen up!" The young general jumped down from the command platform and strode quickly in front of the ranks. "I don't need you to form any battle formations. Remember three things: stick close to me, don't fall behind, and kill anyone you see!"
He suddenly stopped in front of the trembling boy: "What's your name?"
"Big...Big Head..."
"Alright, Big Head!" Huo Qubing unfastened his own sword and placed it in his hand. "From now on, you are my personal guard!"
Big Head was stunned. The new knife in his hand felt heavy, and the hilt still carried the warmth of the general's body.
Not only did one person get a weapon, but everyone else also upgraded from a musket to a cannon and got a new knife.
With a knife, I don't seem so scared anymore.
The setting sun, like blood, dyed the walls of Lintong Pass a crimson red. The soldiers guarding the city were yawning and preparing for their changing of the guard, none of them noticing the gleaming blades flashing in the woods outside the pass.
Huo Qubing lay prone behind an earthen mound, his red ribbon in his hair soaked with sweat. He squinted at the lazy guards on the city wall, a slight smile playing on his lips. The young general gripped the new sword at his waist—a sword he had acquired from the system shop, incredibly sharp.
"General..." Big Head nervously leaned closer, the brand-new leather armor making a soft rustling sound.
"Are we really going to fight?"
He's fought wars before, but never one that's been decided on a whim. This... this is far too hasty.
Huo Qubing did not answer, but suddenly raised his right hand. A thousand youths held their breath at the same time, their weapons gleaming coldly in the twilight—these were all purchased by Huo Qubing.
"remember,"
The young general's voice was extremely low: "There will be a 15-minute gap during the changing of the guard at the city gate. We..."
Before he could finish speaking, the sound of the changing of the guard gong suddenly rang out from the city wall. Huo Qubing's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his sword was instantly drawn: "Kill—!"
A thousand boys rushed toward the city gate like arrows released from a bow. Dressed in matching brown short jackets, they resembled a moving mound in the twilight.
The alarm gongs on the city wall suddenly sounded, but the defending soldiers had no time to react.
"Stay close to me!" Huo Qubing took the lead, his blade flashing in an arc, and two guards who had just rushed out of the city gate fell to the ground. Da Tou followed behind him, his sword trembling, but he still gritted his teeth and cut the rope of the drawbridge.
"Enemy attack! Close the city gates!" the captain on the city wall shouted hoarsely. But it was too late. Huo Qubing charged into the gate like a whirlwind. Wherever Huo Qubing's blade passed, the defenders' weapons were cut in two.
The boys seized the opportunity to surge into the city gate. Although they were disorganized, they were fearless. One thin boy, with a long spear piercing his shoulder, clung tightly to the spear shaft; another boy with freckles swung a hammer and managed to jam the gears of the city gate mechanism.
Huo Qubing caught a glimpse of this scene amidst the chaos of battle and was greatly shocked.
These teenagers are hardly new recruits.
They are clearly a pack of wolf cubs who have seen death many times over!
"Up the city wall!" He swung his sword, cleaving aside the oncoming halberds, and led his personal guards toward the ramparts. The garrison captain was organizing the archers there; once they were in formation, the consequences would be dire.
Huo Qubing's figure flashed like a crimson lightning bolt, shattering the chaotic battle at the city gate. Before his blade even touched the ground, his chilling killing intent forced the defending troops to retreat repeatedly.
"Stop him!"
A loud shout rang out from the city tower.
General Wang Ben, clad in heavy black iron armor and wielding a twelve-foot-long spear, leaped down from the horse path. His imposing figure, like an iron tower, caused the ground to tremble slightly upon landing. With a sweep of his spear, three young soldiers at the forefront were instantly sent flying backward, spitting blood.
"A mere brat who hasn't even grown up yet dares to offend my Lintong Pass?"
Huo Qubing's lips curled into an arrogant smile, his red ribbon fluttering wildly in the smoke. With a light tap of his toes, he leaped into the air, stepping on the overturned barricades, and his sword, whistling sharply, slashed straight at Wang Ben's face.
"clang--!"
The clang of metal clashing echoed through the city gates. Wang Ben parried with his spear, sparks flying from the point of impact. Both men retreated half a step simultaneously. Wang Ben's hand went numb, and he was horrified—this young general's slender frame concealed such astonishing explosive power!
Huo Qubing launched another attack as soon as he landed. His swordsmanship was devoid of any fancy moves; every strike carried the ruthlessness honed by the harsh winds and sands of the northern desert. His blade swept like a whirlwind, sometimes striking like a venomous snake aimed straight for the throat, sometimes like a tiger tearing out the heart to ambush the chest and abdomen.
Wang Ben was forced to retreat repeatedly, and seven or eight more gruesome knife marks appeared on his heavy armor.
"General, you are mighty!" Big Head led the boys in a thunderous cheer.
Wang Ben's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he suddenly roared, his long spear piercing Huo Qubing's heart like a black dragon emerging from its cave. This thrust was a desperate gamble, imbued with all his strength.
The spear tip tore through the air with a piercing sonic boom.
Huo Qubing quickly turned to the side, the spear blade grazing past his iron armor, carving a blinding spark on his breastplate.
In a flash, Huo Qubing suddenly released the hilt of his sword with his left hand and delivered a powerful elbow strike to Wang Ben's nose.
With a cracking sound, Wang Ben's vision went black, and blood gushed from his nose. Taking advantage of the moment, the young general spun around, his blade sweeping upwards at an angle, the edge cutting through the gaps in Wang Ben's armor and leaving a bloody gash in his ribs.
"Ah!" Wang Ben roared in pain, swinging his spear horizontally. Huo Qubing leaped behind him, only to see the spear suddenly change its attack, slashing downwards, the shaft slamming heavily into his left shoulder. The young general groaned and knelt on one knee, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
"Go to hell!"
Wang Ben grinned maliciously and raised his long spear high.
In the nick of time, Huo Qubing suddenly grabbed a handful of sand and threw it at Wang Ben's face. The general instinctively closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a blade tip was already at his chest!
"Pfft!"
The cleaver pierced through the iron armor, emerging from Wang Ben's back. The defending general looked down in disbelief at the blade embedded in his chest. Huo Qubing twisted his wrist, the blade spinning half a circle in the flesh, before swiftly pulling it out.
Wang Ben suddenly knelt down, his long spear clattering to the ground. He opened his mouth, but a large amount of blood gushed out.
Huo Qubing's blood-stained face appeared as chilling as a demon in the twilight. He flicked the blood from his blade and turned to look at the stunned defenders:
"Who else?"
These words struck the city walls like a thunderbolt. Someone dropped their weapon first, and in an instant, the sound of weapons clattering to the ground echoed across the walls. The setting sun, like blood, shone on the young general's proud, upright figure, his red ribbon still fluttering wildly in the wind.
Those who surrender will not be killed!
The garrison was stunned. They had never seen a general like this before—young as a boy, yet with eyes as sharp as an eagle; not particularly burly, yet his sword could cleave through iron and shatter armor!
As the last rays of the setting sun sank below the horizon, the flag of Songyang County had already been raised atop the city walls of Lintong Pass. Huo Qubing leaned against the crenellations, panting heavily, blood slowly dripping from his blade.
Big Head limped over, carrying a water pouch: "General, have some water..."
The young general took the water pouch and suddenly noticed that Big Head's left ear was missing and half of his face was covered in blood.
Does it hurt?
He asked softly.
"This is much better than going hungry." Big Head grinned, revealing a smile with a missing front tooth. "Besides, his ear is useless to us."
Huo Qubing's throat tightened. He recalled what his uncle Wei Qing had said when he first went to the battlefield at the age of seventeen: "A general carries not fame and fortune on his shoulders, but lives."
The shops along the street had their doors and windows tightly shut, with only a few flickering candlelight shining through the cracks in the window frames. Old Zhang, who sold tofu, huddled behind the counter, tightly covering his grandson's mouth, listening to the increasingly loud clatter of military boots outside.
"Why did they suddenly send troops? Is this a rebellion? What should we do?" The proprietress of the cloth shop next door asked in a trembling voice.
Suddenly, a series of orderly footsteps stopped at the street corner. Old Zhang peeked through the crack in the door and saw a group of soldiers standing in formation with torches in hand. In the torchlight, a young general with a red rope tied around his arm dismounted, the bloodstains on his armor still wet.
"Fellow villagers—"
The boy's clear voice pierced the twilight. Huo Qubing took off his blood-stained cloak and casually tossed it to his personal guard, revealing the gleaming sword at his waist.
In the shadows of the street corner, a few daring young men peeked out.
"I, Huo Qubing, am taking the pass today solely to punish the tyrannical officials; I will not harm the innocent!" He suddenly raised his voice, startling the child hiding in the rice jar. The young general seemed to sense something and turned to whisper a few words to his personal guards. Before long, several soldiers carried sacks of grain and distributed them from house to house.
"By order of the general, anyone who takes advantage of the chaos to commit rape and plunder shall be executed! Anyone who destroys houses shall be executed! Anyone who takes property from the people shall be executed!" The messenger's loud voice echoed through the streets and alleys.
Old Zhang shakily pushed open a crack in the door, only to be met with Huo Qubing's gaze sweeping across the entire city. His eyes were sharp as knives, yet softened instantly when he saw the common people.
"Did you all hear that?" On the second floor of the teahouse, the private tutor's hand, gripping the ruler, trembled slightly. "He said he was going to open the granary and distribute grain..." Before he could finish speaking, cheers suddenly erupted from the street. It turned out that several young soldiers were helping the old woman pick up the overturned vegetable basket. The one leading them was none other than the fiercest guard during the day, but now he was blushing as he accepted the eggs that the old woman insisted on giving him.
Huo Qubing stood atop the city wall of Lintong Pass, gazing at the scattered lights in the distance. Big Head limped over; his left ear was bandaged, but blood still seeped through the gauze.
"General, the casualty statistics are in." He handed over a piece of paper: "Thirty-seven dead, sixty-eight seriously wounded, and over two hundred slightly wounded."
Huo Qubing took the paper and studied it for a long time by the light of the torch. He remembered some of the names, but he hadn't even had a chance to recognize some of them.
“Tomorrow morning,” he said in a hoarse voice, “send people to send the belongings of the fallen soldiers back to their hometowns, and give each of them a pension of twenty taels of silver.”
Big Head nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "General, where do we go next?"
Huo Qubing looked towards Songyang County: "First, hold Lintong Pass, then capture the remaining four cities." He paused, "But before that, we must train these children into real soldiers."
——
Meanwhile, Jiang Ge and his group waited and waited in the clerk's office in Songyang County, but Huo Qubing never showed up.
Then I realized that those soldiers were gone too.
Django immediately deduced that they were probably going to launch a blitzkrieg.
The blitzkrieg tactic was a military strategy developed by Huo Qubing when he was seventeen years old. Its characteristics are surprise attacks and catching the enemy off guard. He dared to invade the Xiongnu royal court with only eight hundred cavalrymen, let alone now that he had a thousand men.
Wei Zhongxian asked rather anxiously, "Magistrate Jiang, where has Huo Qubing gone?" His face was covered in bruises, clearly indicating that he had been beaten again.
But nobody cares about his face anymore.
Although everyone had a premonition, they also held a sliver of hope that Huo Qubing might have taken his soldiers out for field training.
【bite--】
The system notification sounded abruptly. A semi-transparent light screen unfolded before everyone, and glaring red text slowly appeared:
Huo Qubing was rewarded with one million for capturing Lintong Pass.
-----------------------
Author's note: Upon seeing the settlement, Wei Zhongxian exclaimed: [bursting into tears] My one million!
Please, everyone, add my story to your favorites! [starry-eyed] I also have a new story! [Let me see it!][Let me see it!][Let me see it!]
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