Chapter 122
Xue Jin'an's swift attack caught the Rongdi army off guard. Just as the Rongdi army was about to fall into panic after being cut off, Xue Jin'an's three thousand men transformed into killing machines, relentlessly reaping the lives of the enemy. They achieved a great victory, annihilating as many as fifteen thousand enemy soldiers and capturing a large amount of supplies and provisions.
Xue Jin'an had meticulously planned all this, and the timing of his attack was also carefully calculated. This time, he wasn't really aiming to annihilate the enemy, but rather to seize their supplies.
Vice General Han was right. Their team had traveled light and hadn't brought much food or supplies. Last time they camped, Xue Jin'an had used up most of it. They didn't have much strength left for fighting.
But as the saying goes, "If the enemy has food, we have guns; the enemy is our granary." Although Xue Jin'an and his men lacked powerful weapons to dominate the battlefield, through a calculated and unpredictable scheme, the enemy's supplies became their own.
Xue Jin'an's cut-off force of the Rongdi army was naturally more than 15,000. After all, it was an army of 200,000. Even though he deliberately chose a relatively rear position, there were still nearly 30,000 of them. If they had faced each other head-on or had a commander, these 3,000 men might not have been able to fight their way out.
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in the world. Half of the more than 30,000 people were killed, and the remaining half became deserters who all ran away. They were separated from the main force and were destined to be no threat. Xue Jin'an did not send anyone to chase after them. He ordered the battlefield to be cleaned up and all the food and supplies to be taken into custody.
Returning to the same camp as before, the entire team's mindset was completely different. The long march and battle should have left everyone exhausted, but the fierce fighting had ignited the warriors' passion, and the great victory had left them feeling incredibly excited. Everyone's expressions were still tingled with excitement, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
"Set up camp and rest. The cooks should prepare the best food to ensure the soldiers are well fed. Also, boil plenty of hot water so they can all wash up and get some rest." Xue Jin'an once again issued the order to use up all the provisions.
Another round of cheers and jubilation dissipated much of the murderous and bloody atmosphere, and this time no one questioned his decision.
Deputy General Han originally thought that the tactic was over, but he did not expect that after he washed off the blood all over his body and was called to the main tent for a meal, he was eating while feeling sleepy when he heard General Xiaolong at the head of the table say, "Keep the generals in line, make sure they are well-fed, well-hydrated and well-rested, and we will set out at dawn."
"Huh?" Deputy General Han was completely taken aback and looked up at Xue Jin'an in a daze. If he was like this, then everyone else was even more confused and blank-minded, unable to follow Xue Jin'an's train of thought.
Fortunately, Xue Jin'an did not force the issue; his only requirement for his soldiers was that they obeyed orders.
After giving his instructions, Xue Jin'an focused on eating, and the main tent was quiet for a while.
Deputy General Han ate several mouthfuls of rice, probably because the sugar had been supplied to his brain and delayed his recovery. He finally digested Xue Jin'an's words and slowly widened his eyes and opened his mouth.
"Wait, cough cough—" He opened his mouth to speak but completely forgot that he was still chewing and almost choked to death on the spot. Fortunately, the soldier next to him was quick-witted and handed him a glass of water. He gulped down a large glass and finally recovered.
"General Xiaolong, should we still attack the Rongdi army? This time it will be a direct confrontation. Their main force is still there, and we barely have three thousand men left, but is it a bit risky to face them head-on?" Deputy General Han hesitated.
In a battle between two armies, even with excellent tactics and a superior position, it is impossible to escape unscathed. Tactics can only reduce casualties, not eliminate them. Of their three thousand men, over two hundred were lightly wounded, over seventy were seriously wounded, and thirteen were dead. Overall, the casualties were negligible, and their fighting strength could still be considered that of three thousand men.
But even if it were just three thousand men, fighting head-on against an army of seventeen thousand Rong and Di... it might be a bit harsh to say they were overestimating their strength, but it would still be fair to say they were throwing an egg against a rock.
Xue Jin'an also had a plan for this: "It's not just us; more than 10,000 people have already been ambushed near the new Rongdi army's encampment."
Calling it an ambush is not quite accurate; more precisely, those 10,000 men actually went with the Rongdi army.
As mentioned before, Xue Jin'an directly used these 3,000 men as the main force and the remaining 97,000 men of the Northwest Army as the mobile force. Their main force had already fought a round of battles, so the mobile force naturally couldn't just stay in their hometown and wait to take advantage of the situation.
In fact, as early as the day before, when Xue Jin'an and his men were stationed here, Xue Jin'an's letter had already reached the Northwest Army camp. Apart from the necessary troops to guard the camp, the remaining 80,000 Northwest Army troops came out in full force, with more than 10,000 cavalry arriving the fastest. They had already appeared nearby when Xue Jin'an and his men were preparing to fight the Rongdi.
However, Xue Jin'an did not allow them to appear. The general in command lay in ambush nearby for a while. Seeing that Xue Jin'an had no new orders, he followed the plan in Xue Jin'an's letter.
They wiped out all the defeated Rongdi soldiers, not letting a single one escape to report the news. Then they put on the enemy's armor and followed behind the main Rongdi army, wandering all the way to the army's new encampment.
They naturally didn't infiltrate the Rongdi army. After all, replacing one or two people would be fine, but replacing an army of ten thousand was really too outrageous. How blind would the Rongdi people be to not recognize an army full of strangers?
They were just pretending to be deserters, wandering around and hiding nearby—deserters are a type of deserter, and sometimes even more dangerous than deserters, as their emotions can infect the emotions of other soldiers like a virus, especially now that they have suffered a major defeat.
Sometimes, in order to stabilize morale, commanders would kill fleeing soldiers. In addition, fleeing soldiers already had huge psychological trauma from the battlefield and were very reluctant to go back to the battlefield. So, many times, fleeing soldiers did not dare to return to the main force. They would wander around the battlefield in twos and threes, turning from soldiers into bandits.
Of course, in ancient times, the line between an army and a bandit was very thin. It was rare to find an army that could truly obey orders, not disturb or oppress the people. Helian City's Northwest Army was one of them, which shows that Helian City was quite capable militarily.
The 10,000-strong Northwest Army thus lay in ambush near the Rongdi army's encampment in a state of disarray. In order to avoid the troops being too conspicuous and being discovered, the general in charge of the troops divided his men into several small teams and scattered them nearby.
One of their groups encountered a group of Rongdi soldiers who were out hunting. They turned and ran, and the Rongdi army did not give chase at all. They silently pretended not to see the tattered armor of their own people, clearly not recognizing them at all.
"General, we're dressed up like this, disguised so well. If we get mixed up with General Xiaolong and his men, won't we get beaten up?" The deputy couldn't help but ask, only to be slapped on the head by his general without hesitation. "What are you thinking? General Xiaolong is such a smart man, how could he not recognize us?"
“Just in case, I mean just in case! Besides, General Xiaolong is smart, but others might not be, especially xx…” The deputy slyly mentioned the name of a general who didn’t get along with his own general. This person happened to be one of Xue Jin’an’s enemies. Seeing the general’s thoughtful look, he quickly seized the opportunity to offer his idea, “Do you think we should make some kind of markings?”
The general thought for a moment and said, "Not wearing helmets? Our hairstyles are different from those of the Rong and Di people; they'll recognize us at a glance."
Due to their living environment and the aesthetic preferences of their leaders, nomadic peoples require their men to shave their heads. If they only shaved their heads, it wouldn't be so bad, but they deliberately shaved only the middle, creating an artificial bald patch that was so ugly that people couldn't sleep.
This aesthetic issue has been discussed since the previous dynasty. In fact, the Central Plains, a land of etiquette, would only say a few words in private, but would still give them face in front of others and would not laugh at them on the spot. So these Rong and Di people have been wearing their bald heads until now.
Although the deputy thought the feature was too distinctive and easy to recognize, he still shook his head, "On the battlefield, swords have no eyes; this is not safe."
The general thought about it and agreed. He then used his less-than-stellar brain to think, "So, when we meet, we should speak in official language? That way, we won't be mistaken for someone else, right?"
The deputy shook his head again, gently reminding him, "There are quite a few people in our army who can speak Rong and Di languages."
After all, they all live on the border. It's unreasonable that if some soldiers in their army know the Rongdi language, then there shouldn't be any soldiers in the Rongdi army who know Daqi. When they challenge or provoke others, they often deliberately use the other side's language.
Furthermore, before the tensions with the Rong and Di tribes, Qizhou was the largest border trading center, and there were even many people who intermarried with other countries. Many of the border residents spoke Daqi Mandarin with a heavy accent, but they spoke Rong and Di languages and Western Region languages quite well.
Qizhou has been closed to foreign trade for many years, while Yanzhou has always maintained trade relations with the Western Regions and the Southern Barbarians.
The general thought and thought but couldn't come up with anything, so he gave up and said, "Then let's just do what we did last time and tie a thin strap on our arms. That way, it will be clear which side we're on."
The deputy thought this method was excellent. Although it was simple and easy to imitate, it was still worth using in wartime.
"General Xiaolong is truly visionary," the deputy couldn't help but boast.
The general was a little displeased: "...It's just a tie, what's the big deal? Besides, I was the one who suggested it."
"Hey, General, listen to me. General Xiaolong has such a brilliant strategy, so why would he use such a simple method to distinguish the teams during the drills? Such a simple method is too easy to imitate and exploit. A tie, no need to think too much, it can be easily impersonated, right?..." The deputy rambled on and on, and the general's expression changed from bewilderment to sudden realization.
The deputy concluded, "General Xiaolong must have foreseen this day, which is why he proposed such an easily imitated method of differentiation, just so we could remember to use it now. General Xiaolong truly deserves to be the successor favored by the Grand General; his intelligence is unparalleled in this world! Even that perfect young master would have to admit his inferiority and submit to our General Xiaolong!"
The general was successfully brainwashed and became a qualified fan of General Xiaolong. As the saying goes, one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things. Such brainwashing is as easy to spread as a virus. From then on, the Northwest Army's faith was no longer solely that of Helian Cheng.
When Helian Cheng rushed back from the capital, he found that the armies of Daqi and Rongdi were facing off. Because of the war, he could not replace the Seventh Prince as commander. Moreover, in such a short time in command of the army, the Seventh Prince had already won the emperor's favor and was regarded as the new generation of war god by the Northwest Army. Unless he killed the Seventh Prince directly, he had no way to take back the military power that had been given to him.
Helian Cheng would never lay a hand on the Seventh Prince. Putting aside whether he could actually kill this cunning and seemingly supernatural Seventh Prince, he was emotionally confident in the Seventh Prince's abilities. Regardless of his status, he trusted the Northwest Army to be in the hands of such a sharp and intelligent person.
Helian Cheng was indeed loyal to the emperor, but he was not blindly loyal. He would not abandon the people on the border for the sake of his uncle, the emperor. Therefore, he could only delegate power to Xue Jin'an, allowing him to command the Northwest Army and the Rongdi Army. He would even actively conceal Xue Jin'an's identity and cover for him in the capital for the sake of the border war.
Helian Cheng did not want to participate in the struggle for the throne among the princes, nor did he pledge allegiance to Xue Jin'an, but their relationship was destined to be inextricably intertwined from the moment Helian Cheng began to pay attention to Xue Jin'an.
To this, Helian Cheng could only sigh, "It is the will of Heaven."
Of course, all of this is for later. Right now, Helian Cheng is still anxiously waiting for Doctor Chang's reply in the capital, and the battle with the Rongdi has only just begun.
At dawn, Xue Jin'an led his well-fed, well-rested men in a surprise attack on the Rongdi army's new encampment. Compared to their well-rested and rested forces, the Rongdi army was completely exhausted and defeated. Their commander had not expected Xue Jin'an to be so bold, daring to fight head-on despite such a large numerical disparity. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Kid, you have guts!"
At first, the Rongdi army was indeed thrown into chaos by Xue Jin'an's surprise attack, but the Rongdi general who could lead an army of 200,000 was no pushover. He quickly stabilized the situation and made full use of his superior numbers to try to keep Xue Jin'an and his men there.
However, at that moment, more than 10,000 defeated soldiers surged out from all directions, directly disrupting their formation. These defeated soldiers mixed in with the army and spoke in the Rongdi language, saying things like "The general is going to kill people" and "The general has been defeated," which undermined morale.
The army was thrown into chaos.
Xue Jin'an immediately seized the opportunity, forming a formation that enveloped the scattered Rongdi army, then divided them into smaller groups, directly annihilating nearly ten thousand Rongdi soldiers! Adding to this the fighting force of the more than ten thousand Northwest Army soldiers who took the opportunity to charge into the Rongdi army and wreak havoc, the total number of enemies killed in this battle was nearly thirty thousand, and fifty thousand captured.
Rong Di quickly discovered that the routed soldiers were actually Daqi soldiers in disguise. However, the incident was sudden, and with the army's formation already broken and morale in disarray, there was no need to continue. He decisively ordered a retreat.
"Don't pursue a desperate enemy." Xue Jin'an still did not give chase.
"Tsk." Deputy General Han and the others clicked their tongues in displeasure as they looked at the still massive army. They knew they were right not to pursue, given their current troop strength, but they were still unwilling to give up and wanted to keep this Rongdi army here.
"No need to rush, it's not over yet," Xue Jin'an said.
"Anything else?" Vice General Han and the others immediately looked at Xue Jin'an with shining eyes, eager to know what other mischief he was up to.
Xue Jin'an didn't say anything, but he still ordered people to clean up the battlefield, collect food and supplies, and let the cooks cook whatever they wanted.
"Should we still attack tomorrow?" Although the strategy of harassing the enemy when they are exhausted is very effective, the Rongdi army must be on guard after such repeated attacks. I wonder what other tricks General Xiaolong has up his sleeve. Deputy General Han had some doubts in his mind, but he didn't say them aloud.
Xue Jin'an shook his head slightly, and this time he gave no instructions.
Deputy General Han and General Zheng—the very general leading the more than 10,000 Northwest Army soldiers feigning defeat—were whispering amongst themselves, their arms around each other's shoulders, trying to guess what kind of scheme General Xiaolong would use. In the end, they couldn't come to a decent conclusion. However, General Zheng's deputy seemed to have thought of something and asked General Zheng, "General, is our main army going to join us as well?"
General Zheng's force consisted entirely of cavalry, who had come ahead to execute Xue Jin'an's plan, while the remaining nearly 70,000 Northwest Army troops followed behind them.
"Shouldn't it be around by now?" General Zheng said casually, not thinking much of it. "Perhaps General Xiaolong has arranged another plan for them to wipe out the remaining 250,000 Rongdi troops."
The main force consists of 200,000 Rong and Di troops, while another 250,000 are scattered throughout Qizhou, posing a significant threat.
General Zheng thought his guess was correct, and Deputy General Han also thought it made sense. The deputy blinked, but ultimately said nothing.
Another night passed quickly, and at dawn, Xue Jin'an once again led his well-fed and well-rested army to set off. However, this time, whether due to the increased number of troops or the fatigue from several days of long marches, their movement speed was far slower than the previous two times.
When they followed the trail, all they could see were the dust raised by the retreating Rongdi army.
Among the fleeing Rongdi army, the commander, upon hearing the scout's report, laughed heartily and slapped his thigh. His subordinate flattered him, saying, "General, you are incredibly insightful! You predicted that the treacherous Qi army would use tricks to attack us again, and you've directly cut off our supply lines. You're truly brilliant!"
The leader chuckled: "That brat from Daqi is cunning, but he's also young and impetuous."
"I suffered such a loss at his hands, and I must get my revenge!" The commander's face darkened as he thought of the army that had shrunk to half its original size.
He spoke kindly, but in his heart he was very wary of this new general who had suddenly appeared in Daqi. Otherwise, even though he still had more than 100,000 troops, he wouldn't have dared to gamble on what tricks the other party still had up his sleeve, and would have retreated immediately. He planned to take advantage of the other party's lack of reaction, withdraw directly to the country, recall the remaining 250,000 troops, and without any pretense, directly attack Qizhou.
The leader had a good plan, but what he didn't expect was that Xue Jin'an had prepared a big surprise for them.
The 70,000 troops that were supposed to join Xue Jin'an and his men crossed the border between the two countries and marched directly into the northern desert sands while they were engaged in battle, waiting in ambush for them to walk into their trap.
Two days later, the doctor who had just received Helian Cheng's secret letter in the Northwest camp received the news of victory. This battle, famous in history for its victory against overwhelming odds, ended with the annihilation of 50,000 Rong and Di troops and the capture of 80,000 prisoners.
Xue Jin'an did not lead the Northwest Army back, but instead pushed the border line directly to the desert, aiming at the Northern Desert Royal Court, forcing the Rongdi Khan to recall his troops.
The Great Qi and the Rongdi officially declared war and entered into a stalemate.
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