The wicked man and his party swayed along the dirt road. As time went by, their horsemanship improved significantly, and their speed increased considerably.
Outside the Two Gorges Pass.
The wicked man reined in his warhorse, looked at the formidable natural barrier ahead, and sighed, "This place is forty li from Jinyang. If the Zhao army comes, they can only pass through here. Let's set up camp here!"
The mountains here stretch endlessly, but the two passes seem to have been cleaved in two by a god, creating a canyon about four or five hundred meters long and only two meters wide. The valley is at least thirty or forty meters deep from the mountaintop to the bottom, making it a natural fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The wicked man didn't want to keep moving forward like a headless fly. He thought it better to wait here and wait for the enemy to come. Even if the Zhao army came, he could use this natural barrier to delay them for a while. The distance of thirty or forty miles was enough for Jinyang City to prepare in advance.
After a moment's thought, the wicked man shouted, "Erniu, take a hundred brothers to the top of the mountain and search for boulders, large trees, and other such objects. If any Zhao soldiers attack, kill them."
"Your subordinate obeys!" Erniu immediately led a hundred men up the mountain.
"tractor!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
The wicked man smirked and whispered, "You lead two hundred men to ambush on the left, and I'll lead the rest to ambush on the right."
"Your subordinate obeys!" A hint of joy flashed in Tie Niu's eyes.
He understood that the wicked man was giving him an opportunity. The war was still undecided and everyone's military merit rewards had not yet been distributed. The wicked man wanted him to take advantage of this gap to gain military merit and thus promote himself!
"Go ahead!" The wicked man nodded with a smile, knowing that Tie Niu understood what he meant.
After setting up the formation, the wicked man led the remaining two hundred soldiers to the right side, sat down against the foot of the mountain, took out some dry rations from his pocket, and said with a smile, "Brothers, you've worked hard. If you're hungry, have a few bites of dry rations first!"
"Once the war is over, I'll treat you all to a big meal, and everyone will get a share!"
Although the soldiers didn't know what bonuses were, they all smiled in response. Having been used to hardship, they weren't so delicate; as long as they had something to eat, they were content.
The wicked man felt a pang of sympathy. His mindset had already changed without him realizing it; life was truly too difficult for soldiers at the bottom of the ranks in ancient times.
Not only are they starving and freezing, but they are also forced to shed blood and sacrifice themselves for the so-called greater good of the nation. How could he not feel heartbroken?
"Sigh..." He sighed abruptly, secretly making up his mind that if he ever held a high position of power in the future, he would do everything he could to improve the treatment of his soldiers.
......
The once bright moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, and the world was shrouded in darkness and silence, with only the occasional calls of birds and beasts from the mountains.
Such an environment is easy to make people lower their guard, and the soldiers had been fighting for a day and a night, so they were all a little drowsy at this moment.
"Brothers, take turns resting, and never let your guard down." The evil man felt sorry for his men, thinking that Zhao Jun couldn't just come whenever he wanted, so he simply let his men rest for a while.
If they continue to endure this, I'm afraid that before Zhao's army arrives, their soldiers will collapse from exhaustion.
Upon hearing this, the Qin soldiers were deeply moved and felt even more certain that following the wicked man was a wise choice. Some generals, for the sake of military merit or to avoid mistakes, would not care about the health of their subordinates at all, unlike the wicked man.
As the night deepened, many soldiers began to snore softly. The wicked man leaned against a rock, closed his eyes to rest, but dared not relax his vigilance in the slightest.
The sky gradually turned blue, and everyone had rested for at least an hour, greatly replenishing their physical strength and energy.
Seeing that there had been no movement all night, the soldiers became even more relaxed, wanting to get some rest before dawn.
Just then, the faint sound of horses' hooves came from afar. The wicked man's heart tightened, and he suddenly opened his eyes and whispered, "Be on guard, something's up!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers immediately came to their senses, stood up, gripped their Qin swords tightly, and stood ready for battle. Many of them listened intently, but could only hear birdsong and insect chirps.
With a solemn expression, the wicked man slowly drew the Meng Ao sword from his waist. His physique, which had been strengthened four times in four years, had also made his hearing extremely abnormal, which was why he was able to catch that faint sound.
Seeing the commotion on the other side, Tie Niu and the others on the left dared not be negligent in the slightest and drew their Qin swords, ready for battle.
"Go quickly and inform the brothers on the mountaintop. Tell them to remember to tell them that they can only launch an attack after we have engaged in battle," the evil man ordered a Qin soldier beside him, who hurriedly ran towards the mountaintop.
A short while later, the sound of horses' hooves became clearer.
"They actually came?"
"Five hundred masters are amazing!"
The soldiers were all filled with admiration.
"Tie Niu, immediately send two men back to Jinyang City to report the news." The wicked man twisted his neck, picked up his sword, and stood magnanimously in the center of the exit, his sharp eyes fixed on the depths of the canyon.
"drive...."
The sound of horses' hooves mixed with human voices clearly reached his ears, but the wicked man remained calm and unmoved.
"Um?"
The sky was even bluer now, and although visibility wasn't as good as during the day, it was still enough for the newcomer to spot the wicked man.
The wicked man also recognized the enemy's military flag; it was none other than the Zhao army's!
"Whoa~"
Zhao Jun stopped twenty meters away. Leading the charge was a middle-aged man with fierce eyes staring directly at the wicked man. Seeing the Qin sword in his hand, he immediately asked in a cold voice, "A mere Qin soldier dares to block my Zhao army all by himself?"
At the same time, he subtly gestured behind him with one hand, signaling the soldiers behind him to be on guard.
The wicked man curled his lips into a disdainful smile. Under the watchful eyes of countless Zhao soldiers opposite him, he raised a hand, beckoned with his index finger, and sneered, "You scoundrel, come here..."
The middle-aged man's eyes suddenly changed, filled with intense killing intent. However, something was definitely amiss, so he could only suppress his anger and dare not make any rash moves, for fear of falling into the Qin army's trap.
The wicked man's disdainful smile deepened, and as his lips moved, he uttered a silent greeting.
Upon seeing the wicked husband's lip movements, the middle-aged man instantly flew into a rage, his chest heaving violently, and immediately prepared to spur his horse towards the wicked husband.
"General, you mustn't!" The guard beside him hurriedly stopped him, saying urgently, "This place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Be careful, it might be a trap!"
To everyone's surprise, the middle-aged man wouldn't listen at all and roared angrily, "He insulted my mother! I'll skin this brat alive today, no matter what!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than he raised his hand and lashed his warhorse hard. The horse, in pain, bolted and charged at the wicked man. Helpless, the guards could only chase after him, shouting, "Quick, protect the general! Brothers behind, watch out for ambushes!"
"die!"
As the warhorse galloped away, the middle-aged man was already two meters away from the wicked man in the blink of an eye, and his spear was thrust fiercely into the wicked man's heart.
"With your composure, you dare to be a general?" The wicked man calmly raised his sword and uttered a sarcastic remark.
"Too slow!"
The middle-aged man's movements appeared to the wicked man as if in slow motion. Just as the spear tip was about to touch his body, he slightly twisted his body to dodge, while simultaneously gripping his sword with both hands and aiming it at the warhorse's neck.
"Pfft, sizzle..."
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