Chapter 342: Pigeon Delivers Message
Because Alie was injured, after Granny Hu treated his external injuries, Tongrui handed Alie over to Anan's care.
Wanquan had not rested all night and was severely exhausted. He was a little drowsy at this time, but he still persisted during the critical period of evacuation.
Most of the supplies brought by Tong Rui and his group were consumed during this period, and a lot of space was freed up on the sled, which was just enough to send dozens of Da Qi soldiers back to Da Qi.
The valley is eight days away from the nearest city gate of Da Qi, but now it is snowing, so it will take a few days longer than usual, and it is estimated to take at least twelve days to arrive.
"Is everyone ready? Let's get ready to go."
Anan stood at the door of the igloo, watching the servants who were still busy going in and out to load things onto the sled.
"Brother Nan, it's almost done, we can set off now."
A quarter of an hour later, the team rushed towards the valley entrance.
Not long after the group left, the Beiliang army caught up with them.
"General, there is something going on in the valley ahead." The scout reported quickly.
"Let's go and take a look." Yale Chuxiong was the first to get off the sled and walked into the valley.
Because the Beiliang people live in cold areas all year round, they have their own means of transportation that can travel on the snow. The most commonly used one is the horse-drawn sled. Because they have vast grasslands, the most common animals are horses, cows, and sheep. However, the animal they want to use on the battlefield must be the fastest horse.
So they invented the horse-drawn sleigh, which could pull more than a dozen people at a time.
This time, Yale Chuxiong and his men chased after them on a horse-drawn sleigh.
However, although the horse-drawn sled can carry more people, it is not as fast as the special sled dogs used by Tong Rui.
This is also the reason why Wan Quan and his men were able to escape right under the noses of the Beiliang people.
"Damn it, aren't these people from Da Qi? How did they get mixed up with the people of Yue? Did Da Qi and Yue team up?"
Yale Chuxiong searched all the snow houses and found the bodies of the Da Qi soldiers buried outside.
"General, the two Yue people we killed didn't look like Yue soldiers, but more like ordinary people. If they were Yue people, why were there only two? Look here, they are all Da Qi people, and there are also snow wolf skins. Looking at the wounds of these Da Qi people, it is clear that they encountered a large group of snow wolves before, and suffered heavy casualties."
Deputy General Batu also checked it out and came to a conclusion.
Yale Chuxiong touched the stove in the igloo, then stood up and shouted, "Chase them! They haven't gone far, Batu. Their sleds are too fast for our horses to outrun. But I know they are definitely heading to Daqi. The straight-line distance from here to Daqi is the shortest, and our camp is right in the middle. They must be taking a detour. Let's go back the same way and ambush them. We will definitely make it in time."
Batu immediately responded yes and shouted to the others to return the same way they came.
At this time, Wan Xingmo and his group had already arrived at the wooden house where Tong Rui and his group had stayed before.
"General, it's getting late. For safety's sake, shall we rest here tonight? I think they'll have to wait a day or two if they want to catch up with us."
Tong Rui glanced at the sky. It was gloomy, as if there was another heavy snowfall.
"Okay, I'll listen to you, madam."
Wan Xingmo looked at the crumbling Wan Quan with worry in his eyes. He also wanted to find a place for Wan Quan to rest.
The house was still the same as when they left, which meant that the owner had not been there in the past few days.
With so many more people coming at once, the wooden house definitely couldn't accommodate them all. Wan Xingmo immediately gave an order for all the people of Da Qi to help build a temporary camp.
Tongrui brought a tent, and the people of Daqi only needed to set it up.
Wan Quan was helped into the house by Wan Xingmo. Grandma Hu quickly spread out the blanket and arranged Wan Quan and A Lie side by side next to the brazier.
The moment Wanquan arrived at the cabin, he finally fell asleep.
Everything was in order and we were busy until midnight, when everyone had their meal and started to rest.
Wan Xingmo, however, had no desire to sleep. He felt that the Beiliang people would definitely not give up and would try every means to capture them. He heard that the Beiliang people had sleds, which were not as fast as snow sleds, but not slow either.
If they really used a sled, they would definitely be able to catch up by now, but there is no movement at all. There must be something wrong.
"Madam, are you asleep? Wan wants to discuss something with you."
Tong Rui had just fallen asleep when she heard Wan Xingmo talking at the bedroom door, so she got up and put on her shoes.
"General Wan, what do you want to discuss? Come in."
Wan Xingmo then walked in.
Hongmei and Granny Hu stood on both sides of Tongrui, who was sitting on the bed looking at him.
"General Wan, this wooden house is simple, why don't you just stand and talk?"
"It's okay. I just suddenly thought that the Beiliang people seem to have a tool for traveling on the snow, called a sled. Although the speed is not as fast as our sled, it is not slow. But they haven't caught up with us yet, which means they don't plan to chase us. But according to the temperament of the Beiliang people, this is almost impossible."
Tong Rui understood immediately. She frowned and asked, "So the general is saying that they have a conspiracy?"
"Madam, you may not know that the route we took to return to Da Qi this time bypassed the Beiliang camp. If they were to return the same way and ambush us on the road we must take, I think none of us would be able to escape."
"What should we do? General, do you have any other ideas?"
Tong Rui had never expected that something unexpected would happen just when she was about to enter Da Qi. This journey was truly bumpy.
"I'd like to borrow Madam's carrier pigeon. I want to send a distress letter to the Da Qi military camp and ask them to pick us up. Right now the Beiliang army is demoralized. If they hear that Da Qi is sending troops, they will surely not ambush us again, and we can return to the city smoothly." Wan Xingmo only told Tong Rui part of his plan. As for the second part, he did not tell Tong Rui.
Now Wan Jinshu doesn't know that Wan Xingmo has succeeded, and they have been out for too long, so Wan Jinshu must think that they have been wiped out. So Wan Xingmo must pass the news of their burning of the local military camp back to Da Qi, so that Wan Jinshu can launch a surprise attack at this time, which will surely win a great victory and catch the Beiliang people off guard.
Tong Rui asked Hongmei to bring the pigeon in without hesitation.
"Hongmei, prepare paper and pen for General Wan."
"Yes, ma'am." Wan Xingmo wrote a few lines on the table in the bedroom, tied it to the legs of a carrier pigeon, and handed it to Hongmei.
"General, have you thought it through? No more information to add?"
"Thank you for your reminder, ma'am. I have already written it and can send it out."
Tongrui nodded slightly to Hongmei. Hongmei walked out of the wooden house, touched the pigeon's head, and let it fly away.
"Madam, I suggest that we set up camp here temporarily and wait for the right time to set out again to avoid casualties."
"Listen to the general, but we don't have much supplies. You can see that with so many of us, we can only last ten days at most. If we haven't reached Da Qi in ten days, we will all starve to death here."
"Don't worry, ma'am. It won't take ten days." Wan Xingmo said firmly. Speed is of the essence in war. He believed that his father would definitely seize this opportunity.
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