Chapter 829 Jiaojiao Goes into Battle (Second Update)
"This is insane! This is insane! It's really insane!"
Zhao Dengfeng crawled into Wenren Chong's tent and kicked the sleeping Wenren Chong, shouting, "Wake up! The young commander has gone mad!"
"If he's crazy, he's crazy." Wenren Chong impatiently turned over and went back to sleep.
Zhao Dengfeng stared in disbelief: "No way, what's wrong with you? Have you gone mad from working as a blacksmith for the past ten years? I'm telling you, the young commander has gone mad! He's going to attack the city tomorrow afternoon! And he's going to fight two battles, can you believe it! How many troops do we have, how many troops does Quyang City have, how tired we are from our journey, and how relaxed the Quyang City army is, waiting for us to tire ourselves out—can we possibly win?"
"It's not like we haven't fought before," Wenren Chong said casually.
Zhao Dengfeng was stunned for a long time before he realized that he was referring to the battle many years ago, in which Xuanyuan Li defeated the Jin army of 80,000 with 20,000 cavalry.
The problem is that on that occasion, the Jin army was on a long march, and it was the Jin army that was exhausted, while the Jin army was waiting in comfort.
They are at their peak in both combat strength and morale.
Looking at things now, what can compare to the Black Wind Riders of yesteryear?
"If Commander-in-Chief Xuanyuan were still alive, we might have a chance of winning, but our young commander... tsk tsk." Zhao Dengfeng was not optimistic.
Why would I come?
"I've gone crazy too."
"I'm here to die."
"I thought I could fight a few more battles and kill a few more Jin and Liang dogs, but look what happened, I got killed by the Nangong family's army before I even faced them! Why am I so unlucky—"
Wenren Chong was driven crazy by his noise.
He had a lot of contact with Gu Jiao and knew that this young commander was not as incompetent as he seemed, but to be honest, he didn't dare to have too much hope for tomorrow's battle.
Is this what they mean by dying before achieving one's goal?
Gu Jiao has an exceptionally strong mental fortitude; even with a fierce battle the next day that she has almost no chance of winning, she still fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
I slept without any dreams.
In the morning, she summoned the six commanders to the big tree and carefully instructed them on the battle plan.
Mu Qingchen and Master Hu were also there.
Master Hu was in charge of taking notes, and these files would be submitted to the imperial court later.
Gu Jiao drew a simple map on the ground with a twig, pointing to a small triangle and saying, "This is our current location. Two shipments of grain are approaching Quyang City, one from the North Gate and the other from the East Gate. We are closer to the North Gate. I just checked the terrain, and there's a canyon along the way that's suitable for an ambush. I'll personally lead two thousand cavalry to raid the grain outside the North Gate in a bit. After that, I'll return here, and we'll ambush the Nangong family's army from here."
"In addition, in order to disperse their forces, someone must also raid the grain supplies at the east gate. After the Nangong family's army arrives, do not engage them in a direct confrontation. Instead, feign a retreat and lead them on a roundabout route, the further the better."
"By the time they realized they had fallen for a diversionary tactic, it was too late to reinforce the canyon."
“I have a grudge against the Nangong family. I killed Nangong Li. If I show myself, they will definitely send their main force to hunt me down. Therefore, I need to reserve 18,000 troops here in the canyon, and only 2,000 troops can be sent to the east gate. This is a difficult and dangerous task. Even if they use most of their troops to hunt me down, there will still be at least 10,000 left. Once you are caught up, the only outcome will be the annihilation of the entire army. I hope you all understand this.”
Cheng Fugui, the left commander of the vanguard battalion, clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Commander Xiao, your subordinate is willing to lead the troops to the East Gate!"
Zhao Lei, the right commander of the vanguard battalion, also clasped his hands and said, "Let me go! My mother is from Quyang. I lived in Quyang for a while and am quite familiar with the terrain here."
Gu Jiao looked at Zhao Lei and said seriously, "Alright, the grain supplies outside the East Gate are entrusted to you. Go and muster the troops."
Zhao Lei got up and left.
Gu Jiao then explained the ambush location and specific arrangements to the remaining people, and asked Cheng Fugui to go to the vanguard camp to gather two thousand cavalrymen to go with her to raid the grain supplies.
After everyone left, Mu Qingchen said to Gu Jiao, "I'll go with you."
“No, you and Zhao Lei go to the east gate to rob the grain supplies.” Gu Jiao said, then paused and looked at him calmly. “After you get the grain supplies, kill Zhao Lei.”
Mu Qingchen was taken aback: "He..."
Gu Jiao said, "He is a spy."
In the dream, the Black Wind Camp's whereabouts were leaked by Zhao Lei, and they were besieged by the Jin and Liang armies while crossing the mountains of Liuzhou, paying an extremely heavy price.
This time, it was Zhao Lei who relayed the message to the Nangong family, which is why the Nangong family knew in advance that they had arrived in Quyang.
The Nangong family deliberately sent people to deliver provisions as bait, luring them into sending troops while they were exhausted.
The reason we don't attack them directly is because they are backed by mountains and forests. Once they retreat into the forest, it's hard to say whose hunting grounds are in there.
Therefore, we must find a way to lure the Black Wind Riders, who are skilled in jungle warfare, out of the jungle.
As for why the supplies were divided into two batches, it was because the Nangong family thought highly of her and hoped to draw away half of the Black Wind Riders so that they could more easily surround and kill her.
Unfortunately, she did not intend to divide her forces equally.
Once Zhao Lei encounters the Nangong family, he will immediately inform them of the truth and join forces with the Nangong family's army to wipe out the two thousand Black Wind Riders.
Mu Qingchen had a question: "Why don't you kill him now?"
Gu Jiao said, "Take Zhao Lei to seize the grain supplies. They're all our own people, so those soldiers won't fight the Black Wind Cavalry head-on. They'll just pretend to fight a couple of times and then scatter and run away. This will reduce the Black Wind Cavalry's casualties. Also, you can get some information out of Zhao Lei on the way there. He sees you as someone who's about to die, so he'll definitely be generous with his words."
Mu Qingchen didn't know what to say: "...Who taught you all this?"
With one hand behind her back and the other patting her outer thigh twice, Gu Jiao arrogantly said, "Self-taught, exceptionally talented!"
Mu Qingchen: "..."
In the afternoon, Zhao Lei led two thousand soldiers toward the east gate, with Mu Qingchen accompanying him.
Gu Jiao and Cheng Fugui led the other two thousand cavalrymen toward the north gate.
The remaining 16,000 cavalrymen were led by Li Jin and Tong Zhong to ambush the enemy in the canyon that Gu Jiao had mentioned.
"Why isn't this related to us?"
Zhao Dengfeng sat outside the tent, gazing at the sky with utter boredom.
Wenren Chong found a well-lit spot to sit down and repair his armor.
Li Shen was sharpening a knife on the side.
He and Zhao Dengfeng are now both junior soldiers in the reserve battalion, responsible for cooking.
Seeing that the two of them were resigned to their fate, Zhao Dengfeng became impatient. He spat out the foxtail grass in his mouth and said, "Can't you two have some backbone? You can take a life or a life. A real man should die, what kind of man hides in the rear camp!"
The blacksmiths were forging iron, and the knife sharpeners were sharpening their knives; nobody paid him any attention.
Meanwhile, Gu Jiao led two thousand iron cavalry on a rapid advance and intercepted the grain supplies being sent to Quyang City in the open area of Baima Slope.
Although the soldiers transporting the provisions wore the armor of the local state government, they were actually the Nangong family's army.
Gu Jiao was also pleasantly surprised to learn that the general leading the troops to escort the grain was none other than Nangong Ze, the third master of the Nangong family and Nangong Li's younger brother.
There weren't many rumors about Nangong Ze in Shengdu. He had always been guarding the border with the army, and only went back once when the commander of the Black Wind Camp was being selected. Unfortunately, he didn't have a direct confrontation with Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao had seen his portrait in the Imperial Preceptor's Hall.
He was more imposing and robust than in the portrait, his skin tanned bronze by the scorching sun of the border region, and his piercing eyes looked at Gu Jiao with a half-smile, revealing an undisguised sarcasm.
"You are the new commander of the Black Wind Cavalry?"
His gaze fell on the birthmark on Gu Jiao's left cheek.
This feature is so obvious that no one would mistake it.
Gu Jiao, dressed in a red battle robe and black iron armor, sat proudly on the back of the Black Wind King. Her youthful face still had a touch of immaturity, but her eyes revealed a calm and icy composure that did not match her age.
"So it was you who killed my second brother?" Nangong Ze asked with a cold smile.
"It's me," Gu Jiao readily admitted.
Nangong Ze was clearly surprised by her quick admission. He paused for a moment before sneering, "My second brother actually died at the hands of a brat like you. It's a disgrace to the Nangong family. Originally, I didn't want to go to such lengths, but they all told me to be careful of you and to lure you out by transporting some supplies. My fourth brother and I both went. It seems I'm luckier."
As he spoke, he glanced behind Gu Jiao and said disdainfully, "It's a pity that we only attracted two thousand people. Should we say that our plan was poor, or that you are incredibly audacious? A mere two thousand people dared to rob my five thousand troops! But it doesn't matter. Once we capture you, your Black Wind Riders will naturally flock to you like moths to a flame and come to rescue you."
Gu Jiao calmly said, "What a coincidence, that's what I was thinking too. If we capture you, we can attract your Nangong family's 80,000-strong army."
"Hahaha..." Nangong Ze was almost laughing himself silly. "I've lived for over thirty years and I've never heard such an arrogant tone! Your Black Wind Camp has only twenty thousand cavalrymen, yet you dare to challenge my eighty thousand Nangong troops! I think you're scared out of your wits!"
His gaze fell on Gu Jiao's armor. "Do you really think that just because you're wearing Xuan Yuanli's armor, you can become the second Xuan Yuanli? You're still a long way from him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he drew the long sword hanging on the saddle, pointed it at Gu Jiao, and said, "Give this person to me, and kill the rest of you!"
Five thousand troops surged toward Gu Jiao and the Black Wind Cavalry like a tide.
Cheng Fugui drew his longsword: "Brothers! Kill them!"
In an instant, weapons clashed, and the sounds of battle shook the heavens!
Gu Jiao stared at Nangong Ze, who was leaping into the air and slashing at her with his sword. Her young face remained expressionless, her calmness frightening.
Nangong Ze, who was charging towards her, frowned.
Gu Jiao calmly drew the red-tasseled spear from her back and said, word by word, "The first battle must draw blood."
Are there any monthly passes left?
Can I vote for Jiaojiao?
(End of this chapter)
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