Lure the enemy deep into your territory and attack them separately is a good tactic for the relatively weaker side. However, if the strength of the two sides is too different, this tactic will no longer work after being used a few times. After all, human physical strength has its limits.
After Yun Wenfang and his men had killed five or six hundred enemies, they had lost nearly half their own troops. The remaining half were either injured or exhausted. Finally, they were surrounded by the imperial troops in a forest. If it weren't for the cover of the trees and their familiarity with the terrain, they would have been completely wiped out.
When they entered the woods, they had abandoned their horses.
Yun Wenfang had been struck by an arrow in his left shoulder blade and a deep blade wound in his abdomen. The blood loss had left him extremely pale. He was leaning against a tree, his face remarkably calm as his subordinate bandaged his abdominal wound. After the subordinate had briefly tended to the large abdominal wound, he wanted to also tend to the arrow wound in his back, but Yun Wenfang stopped him.
"Let's do this for now. Go check on the others."
The subordinate glanced at the wound where the arrowhead remained lodged in his body despite the tail being severed. He wanted to say something, but Yun Wenfang had already closed his eyes indifferently. Ultimately, the subordinate didn't dare disobey orders and retreated to check on the other injured.
The calm young man who had been fighting beside Yun Wenfang walked over slowly. "General, we have sixty-eight men left, and more than a dozen are seriously injured. I'm afraid..."
He gritted his teeth, lowered his head with red eyes. Although they were prepared to die on the battlefield the day they became soldiers, these people were brothers who had fought bloody battles with them. They had experienced countless dangers together at the border and survived, but in the end they died at the hands of their own people. There was always some resentment in their hearts.
Yun Wenfang opened his eyes and looked at the soldiers sitting or standing around him. His cold gaze finally wavered. He said in a hoarse voice, "I've let you down."
The young man nearly burst into tears upon hearing this. He stifled a sob and said, "General, what are you saying? If you hadn't blocked the blow for me earlier, I wouldn't be standing here alive. Furthermore, as soldiers of Yanbei, it's our duty to protect the people and the Yanbei Palace. Why are you taking all the responsibility on yourself? We all followed you voluntarily. If we can keep the people of Yunyang City alive until reinforcements arrive, then, like you, we will not hesitate, even if it means a thousand deaths."
Yun Wenfang twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a tired and sarcastic smile: "I'm not as brave and selfless as you think. I just..."
Just what? Yun Wenfang's eyes were a little dazed.
He felt that he had gone out to meet the enemy simply to protect the person he wanted to protect, to keep her safe and not to die a violent death like in his dream. He never considered himself a broad-minded person. Even the fall of the Yanbei Palace before him didn't bother him much, and he might even have secretly felt happy. Everything he did was in accordance with his heart.
But looking at the young faces around him, looking at the subordinates who had been through thick and thin with him and had placed their entire trust in him, Yun Wenfang couldn't finally put his finger on the matter. Although he never cared about how others saw him, at this moment, Yun Wenfang chose to remain silent.
At this moment, the people standing slightly outside were getting a little agitated. The young man standing next to Yun Wenfang was about to shout something when someone hurried over and said, "General, there's smoke up ahead. I'm afraid those cowards don't dare to come into the woods to fight us, so they're setting fire to force us out."
Yun Wenfang could also smell the smoke and faintly see the fireworks. Fortunately, the wind wasn't blowing towards them yet, otherwise they would have been in trouble.
The calm young man went to observe for a moment, then quickly ran back, saying with a grim expression, "These people are simply despicable and shameless! Let's have a real fight."
Yun Wenfang smiled coldly, "It's understandable to use some tricks when facing a life-and-death battle, especially since we've killed so many of them. Do you still expect them to treat us with courtesy?"
Although the young man's face still looked unhappy, he finally said nothing more.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com