Chapter 177
The moon was above the branches, and the cold wind made Chu Xu rub his arms. He jumped down from the city wall along the rope, his movements were clean and neat, without leaving any sound. He turned around and said, "Be gentle, and move more neatly."
Countless black shadows rushed down from the city wall, each of them was extremely agile. These were soldiers that Lin Shuge had selected from the soldiers and runners in the county, who were agile and had great endurance.
Chu Xu hid his body and rushed forward at an extremely fast speed. The soldiers following him also tried their best to keep up. In front of them was the camp where the Huns were stationed.
The Xiongnu had many cavalrymen and could march very quickly. They could usually go out on an expedition with just dried meat and water. Therefore, Qingquan County was a difficult task this time. Every attack was repelled, and the soldiers were exhausted and could only rest temporarily until the next day.
There were Hun soldiers patrolling around the camp. Chu Xu waved his hand and said, "Stop, there are people." He crouched down and moved forward step by step. He touched his heart which was beating very fast. Lin Shuge's instructions were in his mind. He closed his eyes and fought.
He quickly drew out the ring-handled sword from his waist and rushed to the lone soldier at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint in later life. In a flash, the Hun soldier didn't even have time to cry out before he was killed with one blow.
The 100-meter sprint was something Lin Shuge casually mentioned when he was training county runners and warriors. Chu Xu had always admired Lin Shuge very much, so he naturally applied it to his usual endurance and speed training.
The Yan soldiers reacted very quickly. While he was dealing with the night patrol soldiers, they sneaked over in the dark. Chu Xu took out the kerosene he had on him and fired three arrows at once, setting the Huns' felt tent on fire. The flames burned very high. For a moment, the smell of burning fire could be smelled and there was chaos in the camp.
The Xiongnu leader heard the noise and came out to ask, "What happened?"
A soldier hurriedly replied: "The camp is on fire."
The chieftain naturally saw the burning tent and the spreading fire. Some Hun soldiers tried to put out the gunpowder, but found that the fire could not be put out.
The big boss's expression was startled. No, this kind of fire was only seen by the Yan army. "Someone is setting a fire. Don't panic." The Xiongnu soldiers gathered quickly at his command. Unexpectedly, the sound of gunpowder that had caused them so much trouble was heard. Countless gunpowder exploded around them like a death warrant, and the soldiers fled in all directions.
Chu Xu watched the scene coldly, "These barbarians launched a sneak attack at night. We are giving them a taste of their own medicine."
He set a few more fires very quickly. Seeing that the Hun cavalry had already noticed him, he looked into the distance with some worry. Why hadn't County Captain Yang arrived yet?
In the blink of an eye, the sound of horse hooves was heard, and Yang Yan led the soldiers of Dayan to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu camp. Arrows came with a sound of breaking through the air, and the smell of gunpowder smoke and the smell of burning fire filled the entire camp.
The incident happened suddenly. The Huns did not expect that the Yan soldiers, who had suffered severe damage yesterday, would take advantage of the night to launch a surprise attack. In addition, the power of gunpowder was really their nightmare. They were in a panic for a while and could not form an effective fighting force.
Yang Yan rode his horse into the camp, and Chu Xu followed him with his men. The sound of fighting in the camp was deafening. After fighting for half an hour, the Xiongnu soldiers were seriously injured. Yang Yan immediately said, "Return to the city."
The Xiongnu leader has organized Xiongnu soldiers to defend. They don't have enough people, so they can launch a surprise attack, but a head-on confrontation is definitely not an option.
The horses were extremely fast, and soon Yang Yan and his companions rode back to the city. How could the Huns behind them let them go, so they also mounted their horses and chased after them.
"Your Excellency's prediction came true. Let's go quickly." Chu Xu and a soldier rode on the same horse and shouted loudly.
As they were getting closer to the city gate, the Hun cavalry's footsteps were getting closer and closer. "Spread to both sides." Yang Yan said immediately.
The soldiers of Dayan rode their horses and dispersed at lightning speed. When the Xiongnu leader saw their movements, he suddenly tightened the reins and said, "Stop, everyone stop."
The horses made continuous "whinnying" sounds. Although the soldiers quickly changed direction, the huge inertia still made them step into the trap set by the Yan army long ago.
Dust was flying, and the huge tiger's fall caused the Hun soldiers to fall to the ground. Yang Yan took the opportunity to lead his men into the city gate.
On the tower, Lin Shuge's eyes were cold. After hearing the soldiers' report that Yang Yan and others had safely entered the city, he said in a cold voice, "Shoot."
Archers all drew their arrows and shot countless arrows at the Hun soldiers trapped in the trap. Da Danghu wielded his scimitar very quickly and blocked all the arrows coming towards him. The Hun soldiers did not have such good skills as him. After a round of arrow rain, the ground was littered with corpses.
Before the Xiongnu soldiers could adjust themselves, the roar of gunpowder sounded again. The chieftain's eyes were red with anger, staring at Lin Shuge with hatred in his eyes. Looking at this city that could not be conquered, he could only say, "Retreat."
The soldiers on the Great Wall tower cheered happily when they saw the heavy casualties of the Xiongnu. Yang Yan and Chu Xu strode up to the tower and said to Lin Shuge, "Sir, we are back."
Lin Shuge smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, you are the biggest contributors today."
Chu Xu scratched his head. "No, no, no, without your strategy, we wouldn't have dealt a heavy blow to the Xiongnu." He snorted coldly. "Let them have a taste of being ambushed. It was a painful killing today, but the Xiongnu soldiers are indeed very strong. The people I brought are all carefully selected warriors. If we hadn't taken the lead today, and if it weren't for the gunpowder, we probably wouldn't have gotten away with it."
Lin Shuge usually asked Chu Xu to train the villagers, no matter it was physical training or riding and archery, and he did not dare to slack off at all. Otherwise, how could the warriors who were only gathered together at the last minute defeat the brave Huns soldiers.
Lin Shuge said: "Don't boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige. The soldiers in the county are not the best in the army. Have you ever lost in the defense and raids in the past few days? You all did a great job."
Yang Yan also said: "Zhu Zuowei led his soldiers to successfully raid the Xiongnu camp today, so I can lead a large force to kill them by surprise."
Lin Shuge said, "It's almost dawn, you two should go and rest as soon as possible. Oh, and inform the people to do their best to treat the injured soldiers. If they die, the county will pay a pension to their families, and the county will also help take care of their wives, children and the elderly. If they are seriously injured or disabled, Boss Chen has promised that all factories will accept them to work."
"I would like to thank you on behalf of the soldiers." Yang Yan's heart was boiling. The soldiers in the county performed bravely, but there would always be casualties in a war. How could they not worry about what would happen to their families if they died? With Lin Shuge's words, the soldiers had no worries.
The soldiers guarding the city around also had tears in their eyes. Since Lord Lin treated them like this, they should repay him with their lives and defend the city to the death.
"Also, Achuan, remember to distribute the rewards to the Qiang soldiers. They have been eating and living with us and guarding the city with us during this period. They are also good soldiers of our Great Yan." Lin Shuge said.
"Understood, sir." Lu Yuechuan replied.
After the victory, the county held a small celebration. The soldiers also heard about Lin Shuge's arrangements and were moved to tears of gratitude. They couldn't wait to go into the battlefield and kill the enemy.
Lin Shuge ordered the soldiers to take turns guarding the city and not to be careless. He and Lu Yuechuan also went back to take a rest. They had been tense and exhausted both physically and mentally in recent days and had not been able to sleep. As soon as they lay down in their clothes, they fell asleep immediately.
Xie Chen encountered a crisis. Yellow sand filled the entire sky and there was no way forward. Xie Chen held the map given by Lin Shuge in his hand and looked at the faint mountains in the distance. He could not tell the direction for a moment.
They had just experienced a battle, destroyed a small group of Huns and captured hundreds of people. Xie Chenxu successfully persuaded a small leader to speak and lead them towards Shiting Mountain by offering a large sum of money.
Xie Chen originally wanted to lead his army back to rescue Lin Shuge, but he had already penetrated deep into the Western Regions, and it would take a long time for the army to return, and he might not be able to make it in time for rescue. It would be better to take a gamble and launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu's base camp, Shiting Mountain, thousands of miles away, to cut off the source of the problem and force the Xiongnu troops that were going to attack Dingyuan to return for support. Secondly, if he could directly attack Huanglong and capture the Xiongnu Chanyu, the siege of Qingquan County would naturally be resolved.
Moreover, he believed that Lin Shuge would be able to stop the Huns' attack. The city had sufficient food and fodder supplies, as well as gunpowder. With Lin Shuge's talent, that army would surely suffer the consequences.
"General, a storm may be coming. We have to find a place to hide as soon as possible." He Xin used his hands to resist the wind and sand. He opened his mouth and fine sand entered his mouth. He spat out the sand while reporting to Xie Chen.
Xie Chen summoned the Xiongnu leader and asked him how far away they were from Shiting Mountain.
The leader replied that this place was still a thousand miles away from Shiting Mountain.
One thousand miles, Xie Chen calculated the distance silently in his mind. They did not bring much food and grass on this trip. Although they gained a lot in the battle of Jiwei Mountain, most of them were cattle and sheep. The army consumed a lot of food and fodder, and Xie Chen had to almost rush all the way here to feed the entire army. Otherwise, if the food and fodder of the Wei envoy had not arrived, his subordinates would have no food to eat. Even he would have had to return home, let alone a thousand-mile raid.
He looked into the distance, "Where are the Hun tribes stationed?"
The chief swallowed his saliva, but before he could speak, Lao Zhang asked, "Is the general going to rob the rich again?"
Old Zhang claims that he is not a gentleman, and he usually speaks and acts carelessly. However, everyone who sees General Zijia says that he looks like a noble young man from an aristocratic family. How come he has been doing such things all the way? But the general cannot be blamed. The food and grass were delayed and the general had no choice but to do so. He can only blame the small Hun tribes for setting up camp where the general was marching, hindering the army's march. Naturally, he cannot blame them.
Xie Chen glanced at him. The wind and sand were getting stronger and stronger, making Xie Chen squint his eyes. He had to find a place to rest as soon as possible.
The Xiongnu leader was extremely surprised when he heard what Lao Zhang and Xie Chen said. Fortunately, he surrendered quickly, otherwise, according to Lao Zhang's words, this very handsome general was obviously the reincarnation of the god of killing, and he actually killed his way here.
He had dealt with the Yan people before and could roughly understand Chinese. Otherwise, he would not have shouted loudly in Chinese under the attack of Xie Chen and led the entire tribe to surrender. Not only did the entire tribe survive, but he also got the opportunity to make meritorious service.
He thought for a while and then said, "But a hundred miles away is Xiye Country."
Xiye Kingdom? A smile appeared on Xie Chen's lips, and he touched the jade pendant in his arms with his fingers. His brother was indeed a lucky star, helping him everywhere.
"Pass my order, the entire army will set out immediately, we are going to Xiye Country."
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