Chapter 62: You haven't eaten any candy, why are you so sweet? ...
After saying goodbye to Fang Yicen, Zhao Huaixu took Fang Yilan's hand and walked back into the house side by side. Fang Yilan did not even rest, but picked up the topographic map and started studying it.
Zhao Huaixu sighed, put a soft pillow under her lower back, then leaned to the side, supporting his head and staring at her.
Noticing Zhao Huaixu's gaze on her, Fang Yilan paused holding the wolf-hair brush and asked, "You've been staring at me for half a minute. What's wrong?"
Zhao Huaixu sank into the soft pillow beside the desk, his cyan collar untied. With a light lift of his fingers, he twirled the tassel of Fang Yilan's jade belt around her waist, saying, "Alan, you've been busy all day. Why don't you take a break? Remember to balance work and rest. Don't overwork yourself."
Fang Yilan didn't even raise her head and replied, "I'll come after I finish reading the Southwest War Report. You go to sleep first."
Between feeling wronged and angry, Zhao Huaixu chose to act coquettishly and feel wronged.
His eyes were full of ulterior motives. He tugged at the tassel at her waist and gave it a strong tug. "Alan, your spearmanship was beautiful today."
Fang Yilan staggered half a step as he pulled her, and then fell into his arms, but her hand holding the blueprint was very steady.
She simply spread the blueprint across Zhao Huaixu's chest. The edge of the parchment scraped across his chin. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Why are you so talkative today? Tell me, have you done anything wrong?"
"How can Alan assume this about me?" Zhao Huaixu smiled and took the scroll from her hand. He held Fang Yilan's lower back with his left hand, leaned closer, rested his chin on her shoulder and smiled softly.
Warm breath sprayed on Fang Yilan's neck: "Yuan just saw his uncle and thought about everything that happened before... I'm very lucky... to be able to accompany A Lan until now."
When Fang Yilan heard the word "uncle," she feigned anger and said, "Uncle? Who allowed you to make random connections? Are you addicted to taking advantage of me?"
"Don't try that on me." Fang Yilan waved his hand away and warned him fiercely, "If you try to use the self-torture trick again next time, I'll beat you up."
Zhao Huaixu ran his fingers through her hair, combing it slowly. "Alan is too soft-hearted. She can't bear to be truly angry with me."
Fang Yilan rolled her eyes inwardly when she heard this. Men who can pretend to be pitiful are so lucky.
"Okay, next time, I'll do it as hard as you can."
Zhao Huaixu's hand, stroking her long hair, slid to the back of her neck, holding her tighter, and nuzzled the tip of his nose against the side of her neck, "Alan..."
Acting like a spoiled brat again! ?
Fang Yilan was somewhat frustrated by his clingy behavior and scolded him, "Zhao Huaixu, are you a dog-skin plaster?"
"She's a fox." Zhao Huaixu suddenly lowered his head and nibbled her earlobe. "She specializes in cold-hearted female generals."
Fang Yilan felt some changes under him.
This Zhao Daji... this man who just had sex is really... Fang Yilan was almost tempted by her beauty.
She quickly took the opportunity to retrieve the battle report and angrily said, "If you disturb me again, get out of this room and sleep in the stable tonight."
"So fierce." Zhao Huaixu laughed softly and let her break free. Seeing Fang Yilan glaring at him, he added, "But...Yu'an likes it."
Fang Yilan stood up and sat back at the desk to study the topographic map.
Seeing the light was dim, Zhao Huaixu gently snapped the wick, brightening the candlelight. He leaned forward and looked at the areas Fang Yilan had circled on the map. The laziness in his eyes faded, replaced by a hint of curiosity and seriousness. "Alan, what's the significance of these circled areas?"
Fang Yilan explained: "Our food supply is a big problem, and we must reduce consumption as much as possible."
She pointed to several marks on the map. "These places are valleys, passes, or dense forests. The terrain is dangerous. We can disperse our forces there, taking advantage of the terrain and defeating the enemy with fewer troops."
"This is called the 'sparrow tactic'."
Zhao Huaixu couldn't hide his admiration in his eyes, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "This trick is very clever, A Lan is indeed very talented."
Fang Yilan shook her head slightly. "This wasn't something I came up with. It was created by a very powerful person. I just borrowed his wisdom."
"It's impressive that Alan can put his knowledge into practice."
"Let me have a taste..." Fang Yilan suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him closer, tilted her head back and kissed him, then let go.
She stepped back half an inch, tilted her head, smacked her lips, frowned, and asked, "I didn't eat any candy, why are you so sweet?"
Zhao Huaixu smiled gently: "Alan, I will tell you what you like to hear every day."
His eyes darkened, and he lifted her up onto his knees, his thumbs rubbing heavily over her moist lips: "Alan, you didn't taste it carefully enough..."
Before he could finish his words, he bit her lips and pried open her teeth like conquering a city.
Fang Yilan's fingers on his shoulders curled and stretched, until she felt a slight numbness in her waist and realized that her belt had been untied.
…
The next morning, at daybreak, Fang Yilan summoned the Cold Sparrow Cavalry with great vigour. They gathered in the mountains and forests outside Nanxi City.
Fang Yilan stood at the front of the team, one foot on the rock, and shouted the command: "Remember this clearly! If the enemy advances, we retreat; if the enemy stays, we harass; if the enemy tires, we attack; if the enemy retreats, we pursue."
"yes!"
Zhuang Gu wiped the sweat from his face, held onto a tree trunk to catch his breath, and watched the members of the Linque Camp jumping up and down on the hill. He couldn't help but wonder why the general always had so many wonderful ideas in his head.
I still need to learn more about military strategies.
A week later, Fang Yilan changed into a crimson suit and led his team to harass various places near Nanqi City, trying to steal whatever they could. If the enemy fought back, they would run away.
I can't hit it by hitting it, and I can't catch it by catching it. If I don't hit it, I feel sick.
"General, there is a small group harassing the granary at the east gate." Before the guard finished speaking, smoke suddenly rose from the southwest corner tower.
He Pingfei stood on the Nanqi city wall and ordered in a cold voice: "Don't pursue them. They are trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain and force us to send troops. There must be a trick."
This cat-and-mouse game lasted for seven days, and the Nanqi defenders didn't even find Fang Yilan.
The Ruining military tent was brightly lit with candles every night. His subordinates brought in the documents on the casualties. He Pingfei stared at the ink words "763 casualties" with bloodshot eyes.
There are five or six more posts like this, all of which are battle reports sent from near the southwestern border.
He Pingfei stared at the sand table covered with small red flags. Each red dot was biting at his flesh and blood. Suddenly, he swung his knife to smash the table, and the sand table overturned with a loud bang. "Fang Yilan! I will grind you to ashes!"
...
On the eighth day, heavy rain poured down, and the crimson figure arrived at the foot of the Nanqi city wall as promised.
He Pingfei rushed up the city wall without even fastening his armor. His men asked, "General, are you going to give chase this time?"
He Pingfei punched the city wall and said, "That little thief Fang Yilan has been so arrogant and provoking us so many times! Gather the troops and follow me out of the city. We must capture her!"
As soon as the city gate opened half a foot, Fang Yilan and the Linque Cavalry immediately turned their horses around and retreated into the mountains.
Ten thousand light cavalry rushed out of the west gate of Nanqi, rolling up a cloud of dust, and followed closely behind.
The sound of horse hooves clunked as He Pingfei, with a grim face, rode his horse to the front, whipping his horse as fast as he could to catch up with the person in front, but the red shadow was as nimble as a tit, always turning into a side road when it was about to enter the range.
Jiaoyue quickly took Fang Yilan into the mountains and forests. The branches and leaves quickly closed together, completely covering the figure of Lin Queqi.
Fang Yilan looked back at the dust rising from the mountain road behind him, and the corners of his lips curled up: "It's time to give General He a gift."
He Pingfei clearly saw a red shadow flash by on the mountain road ahead, but when they rushed into the mountains, the forest was filled with rain and fog, and nothing could be seen clearly.
"Divide the troops and give chase!" He Pingfei forced a cold sneer through his teeth. He swung his sword vigorously, chopping away the dead branches that were in the way. "Team one, follow me forward. Team two, go east. Team three, block the western pass! We can't let them escape!"
Fang Yilan had already placed the bright moon in a dark corner she had prepared beforehand, covering it with a blanket of grass. He leaped onto the ledges of the rock face and leaped to the top of the mountain, whistling with his fingertips to his lips.
Soldiers crouching on the mountaintop simultaneously pulled at the vines, sending bowl-sized gravel, coated in mud, tumbling down. The long-laid-in ambush, the Cold Sparrow Cavalry, emerged from the various passes, preying on isolated soldiers.
As He Pingfei led his personal guards into the canyon, they heard the sound of tumbling gravel overhead. The horses, startled, threw their hooves high, sending men and horses careening off, and the entire column was thrown into chaos. Soldiers, unable to dodge, were struck by the tumbling boulders, leaving some dead or wounded, their screams unceasing.
"Rush forward quickly!" He Pingfei said anxiously.
A tripwire suddenly popped out from the seemingly ordinary pile of leaves under their feet. The cavalrymen in front of the team were caught off guard and fell heavily into the slippery mud with their horses, splashing large amounts of mud.
"General! Hundreds of people have been killed on the left wing again!" The deputy general's face was covered with mud, and half a leaf was stuck in the gap of his armor.
"Those people were like mountain ghosts. Just when they were about to catch up, they disappeared. Then another group came from behind to kill us."
Fang Yilan squatted on the top of the mountain, chewing wild fruits, and looked down at the battlefield below with interest, watching He Pingfei chopping hard among the rolling rubble, trying to break out of the encirclement.
She spat out the core and hit his helmet accurately. Fang Yilan couldn't help but chuckle, "Huh? I've eaten all the fruit, why hasn't General He caught me yet?"
He Pingfei's back teeth were chattering as he could only watch the crimson figure leap down from the top of the mountain, fly across the mountain stream, and disappear behind a dense forest in the blink of an eye.
Her crimson sleeves suddenly flashed in the woods, and the rising white mist instantly engulfed the entire forest, and Fang Yilan's figure could no longer be seen.
"Whoever takes Fang Yilan's head will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!" He Pingfei roared at the top of his voice and rushed towards Fang Yilan with his men.
"General, we can't chase them anymore."
He Pingfei cursed angrily, "Fang Yilan only has a hundred or so remaining soldiers. If we can't capture her today, you'll all be fed to the dogs!"
The soldiers behind him looked at each other, but had no choice but to follow.
Not long after they entered the woods, they finally caught a glimpse of the crimson color again. He Pingfei saw the perfect moment, raised his hand, and shouted, "Shoot!"
Hundreds of arrows shot towards the crimson figure. He Pingfei clearly saw several arrows hit the target firmly.
"Run!" He Pingfei said sarcastically with a ferocious smile on his face, "Why don't you run?"
But when the fog cleared, only three hundred scarecrows were seen, all wearing the clothes of the Lin Queqi. Mixed in among them was a scarecrow in crimson clothes, his body densely pierced with arrows.
A clear female voice rang out from a boulder on the left side of the mountainside, accompanied by a mischievous smile: "General He, you are a great archer. Thank you for the gift."
He Pingfei was startled and furious, about to explode when his horse suddenly neighed and plunged its front hooves into a hidden mud pit, causing him to lose balance and nearly throw him off. From both sides of the ridge came the sound of arrows piercing the air, hurtling towards them. Before the remaining cavalrymen could react, the Linque soldiers suddenly emerged from the dense forest and hacked them all down into the deep ravine.
"General, be careful!" A personal guard, quick-witted and quick-handed, leaped towards He Pingfei. But he was still a step too late. An arrow pierced He Pingfei's left shoulder. He Pingfei groaned in pain, his body swaying a few times.
Fang Yilan stood in the rain with his hands behind his back, and the soldiers behind him shouted in unison: "When the enemy is tired, we will attack!"
Only then did He Pingfei realize that all of the remaining 300 personal soldiers were injured.
He suddenly came to his senses, and his instincts, honed over many years of battle, made his hair stand on end: "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
Fang Yilan did not chase after him, but just watched He Pingfei escape in panic.
By the time He Pingfei fled back to Nanqi City with the remaining troops, the capstan at the city gate was stained with blood.
On the city wall stood a tall man with a green-tooth mask covering most of his face.
"He Pingfei, I accept this city."
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The author has this to say: When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue. - Chairman Mao
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