Chapter 567 There is another way
The enemy acted in separate groups, sending out 500 men at a time, in batches of 50, so that people from 10 villages would be harmed at the same time.
They moved extremely fast and had excellent reconnaissance capabilities. They specifically targeted areas where the defending troops had difficulty providing timely assistance, toying with tens of thousands of men like dogs. Even if the defending troops were stationed in advance, they still could not cope with them.
Overall, their forces were too small. If they had 300,000 troops stationed on the border like they did decades ago, they could have easily defeated not only this insignificant force, but also the entire cavalry army of the grasslands.
General Sun Chuanting and Taoist Zhang had planned this attack two months ago, but due to insufficient troops and the enemy bandits fleeing too quickly, they were unable to resist.
Therefore, the Taoist priest immediately thought of his junior brother.
They rode to the next village and happened to run into the Xiongnu who had already captured a group of women. It didn't take much effort at all. The Taoist priest and Song Chunxue went first and second, while the rest of the men attacked from both sides. In less than the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, all the people who were trying to escape were killed.
"Damn it, I've never had such a good fight! Giddy up! To the next village, I'm going to wipe out all these sons of bitches, leave no one alive!"
A group of veteran generals who had spent decades outwitting the enemy, today, following the general and two Taoist priests, experienced firsthand what it meant to kill without hesitation.
Excitement made my feet pound and my heart pound. I stepped into the stirrups and hurried to the next place.
Song Chunxue didn't say anything. Before she could comfort the woman who was crying, she threw down a bag of silver, mounted her horse, and followed the Taoist priest on a gallop.
At first, the Taoist priest was worried that his junior brother would feel uncomfortable, but after killing more than two hundred Xiongnu people at such a speed, he found that his junior brother's face was tinged with more and more obvious pleasure.
The Taoist priest handed her the water bag, saying, "If you're tired, save your energy. We might have to chase them all day. These people always rest for a while before moving out together. If we miss the opportunity, it will be difficult for us to seriously injure them."
Song Chunxue took a couple of sips of water, stuffed the bag as she walked, grabbed the saddle, and leaped onto the horse.
She looked intently at the Taoist priest, "Senior brother, you're overthinking it. I was indeed scared when I first felt the warm blood, but now, humph, those beasts who are worse than pigs and dogs, I won't show them any mercy."
"I'm not tired, and I'm getting stronger as I fight. Let's not waste any more time. Let's catch up with the main force. I'll definitely cooperate well with my senior brother." Song Chunxue stretched out her hand. "I'm almost out of darts. Do you have any more, senior brother?"
The Taoist priest handed her several iron needles. "You don't have darts, can you use these?"
Song Chunxue grabbed it and stuffed it into her bosom. "How will you know if you don't try? Giddy up!"
Indeed, the clod of dirt she threw almost knocked him unconscious, and the thick iron needles were extremely lethal; she could use them with ease after just two tries.
From noon until late at night, their elite cavalry, comprised of the most formidable men in the entire Northwest Army, pursued the enemy from north to south for a hundred li, wiping out all 450 men of the enemy's raiding force.
Only a small group waited at the pre-arranged meeting point, but when they still hadn't met up with the others, they realized something was wrong. They abandoned most of the women and livestock they had robbed, kidnapped three young women, and fled westward.
At that time, Song Chunxue and the others had not eaten anything for a day.
As the sun sets and darkness falls, the smell of burning firewood drifts from afar.
Exhausted, everyone sat on the hillside watching the panicked people. After learning that they had killed more than four hundred people and robbed civilians, they went home to cook.
Everyone sat on the mountaintop drinking water, and someone shared two steamed buns with everyone.
The Taoist priest didn't take the steamed buns, but took out a few pastries and shared them with everyone, half for each person. After a long day of work, eating something sweet would definitely give them more energy.
Song Chunxue took out two roast chickens from her Qiankun bag, tore off a chicken leg for herself, and handed the rest to the Taoist priest under his shocked yet delighted gaze.
"Senior brother, please divide it among everyone."
The Taoist priest tore off a chicken leg for himself, stood up and laughed, "Junior brother is so prescient! When did you prepare this? You're practically a fairy godmother."
Seeing everyone's surprised smiles and their thanks, Song Chunxue nodded in response.
She couldn't quite manage a smile.
Because, as a woman, she saw many victimized women that day, especially young women.
The loss of grain and the driving away of sheep are not major issues, and there is no way to recover the lives lost. However, the women who have been violated will live their lives with shame and hatred.
From now on, they will not be able to live like normal people in the village. They may be gossiped about and may even be divorced.
Women already faced difficult circumstances, and those bandits only made their lives worse.
She quietly ate her chicken leg, then took out a buckwheat bun, taking a bite of meat and a bite of bun, trying to regain her strength as quickly as possible.
The horses grazed on a hillside not far away. Everyone ate their food, their moods heavy, and no one was in the mood for boasting.
After finishing his meal, General Sun stood up and paced back and forth on the mountaintop.
The Taoist priest saw through his thoughts. "General, do you want to press your advantage and catch them off guard?"
“That’s right. I’m thinking about whether we should chase them to their base camp, set fire to their supplies when they’re off guard, and eliminate the remaining troops so they won’t dare to cause trouble for months.”
The others frowned in thought.
"But general, our horses have been running all day and may not have the strength to catch up with the enemy."
General Sun lowered his head. "That is exactly what I was worried about. Why don't we go to the nearby government office, change our horses, and then continue?"
A young soldier, holding a black steamed bun, said, "There are troops stationed about twenty miles from here; perhaps we can give it a try."
These horses can still run a distance of more than 20 miles.
But what about the people?
General Sun looked at the others and asked, "And what about you? Do you dare to follow me and strike straight at the heart of the enemy?"
Half the people remained silent, while the other half stood up to follow.
"Don't force yourself. You know your own strength. If you feel that you can't do it, going with us will only benefit the enemy. Don't be stubborn. Take your men back and call for reinforcements to come and meet us."
A white-bearded general snorted, "Don't think I'm too old to tell. You're saying this specifically to me. But I, Old Huang, can still fight. If those people escape back, they'll come back to harm our people again. I won't be able to eat or sleep until we wipe them out completely."
The remaining hesitant people suddenly became more assertive. "That's right! We've eliminated so many people today, they'll definitely come back stronger. But they'd never imagine that we'd be able to take down their stronghold in just one day."
The Taoist priest looked at Song Chunxue, "Are you going?"
Song Chunxue smiled and said, "I couldn't ask for more."
She lowered her voice, "Actually, there's another way, without needing to change horses."
The Taoist priest instantly understood, never expecting her to have such a bold idea.
But comparatively speaking, this is indeed the safest approach.
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