The eldest prince, Li Hui, was protected in the middle of the convoy, guarded by more than a dozen soldiers.
He had seen the scene clearly; it was the first time he had witnessed the bloody battle between two groups of people, and it had left a huge shadow in his heart.
Wan Jinda had someone take a headcount, and the number of casualties in the convoy was not significant and was entirely manageable.
It was not a good place to stay, so Wan Jinda directed the convoy to continue on its way until dusk. After traveling more than 30 li, the convoy stopped and set up camp.
Wan Jinda knew that once the first attack occurred, more attacks would follow, and the attacks would not stop until the convoy left the desert.
At this moment, Li Hui had lost the demeanor of the eldest prince. He looked nervous, and although he had arrived full of vigor, he was now completely lost.
Wan Jinda, as expected of a seasoned general, remained calm and composed, determined to protect not only the convoy but also the eldest prince.
He increased precautions at night, and to avoid being discovered, they did not light any campfires, and the soldiers spent the night in the cold.
The next day, the convoy continued its journey. Around noon, a group of people appeared in front of the convoy, estimated to be over a hundred. Instead of rushing over, they blocked the way.
Upon seeing this, Wan Jinda immediately ordered the convoy to stop and change formation, and everyone immediately went on alert.
Someone from the convoy immediately stepped forward and shouted:
"Listen up, you people in front! This is a convoy transporting supplies for the imperial court. Please get out of the way immediately and do not obstruct it, or you will be killed without mercy."
Immediately, someone urged him to step forward and answer:
"My lords, we are subjects of the Great Northern Dynasty. Due to natural disasters, our people are short of food and clothing and cannot survive. Please leave us some supplies so that we can get through this difficult time."
"As citizens of the Great Northern Dynasty, you should know the laws of the country. These are imperial supplies, and no one is allowed to use them. Please leave immediately."
"Without supplies to save our lives, we are all doomed. If the officials don't leave us a few cartloads of supplies today, we will not leave."
These are clearly a group of robbers, but they are clever; instead of taking the initiative, they are waiting to see what happens.
"Archers, prepare!" Wan Jinda immediately ordered. There was no need to be polite when dealing with these bandits; they should be dealt with as quickly as possible before continuing their journey.
One hundred archers immediately stepped forward, took their positions, and awaited Wan Jinda's orders.
Unexpectedly, the group immediately bent down, picked up a shield from the ground, held it in their hands, and began to approach.
Wan Jinda was taken aback. It seemed that these people were prepared, as they were holding shields to block crossbow bolts.
However, the crossbowmen knew that their crossbows were not comparable to ordinary arrows. The crossbows were powerful and, if the distance was not too far, could completely penetrate shields and kill opponents, although it would be much more difficult.
Wan Jinda was aware of this as well; he was looking for the optimal distance before ordering the arrows to be fired.
The soldiers were focused on the robbers in front of them when, unexpectedly, another group of robbers appeared behind them. This group was much larger, numbering two hundred.
It seems the robbers have learned their lesson this time. They deployed over 300 people, with over 100 blocking the convoy's path to draw their attention, while the other 200 quietly approached and attacked from both sides.
Even if they can't eliminate all the soldiers in the convoy this time, they can still plunder a lot of money.
The convoy had dozens of soldiers brought from Yuanxi. Some of them were locals who had lived in the desert since childhood and could distinguish sounds from all directions.
Soon, they noticed a group of robbers approaching from behind and immediately reported this to Wan Jinda.
Wan Jinda was taken aback. The soldiers in the convoy should have no problem dealing with the robbers on one side, but dealing with robbers coming from two directions at the same time was definitely not an option.
If the robbers from both sides attack simultaneously, they can steal the vehicles while the convoy is in chaos.
Wan Jinda turned to look behind him and saw at least two hundred robbers quietly approaching the convoy.
Once the convoy engages with the robbers ahead, they will immediately rush forward and fight.
The soldiers are currently focused on dealing with the bandits in front, leaving the rear of the convoy vulnerable.
The bandits need to be dealt with, and the eldest prince needs to be protected, but the number of soldiers around him is too small to cope with this situation.
At this moment, a soldier from Yuanxi spoke up: "General Wan, don't worry. Leave these bandits to us. We can at least hold them off for a while."
Wan Jinda knew, of course, that sending these few dozen soldiers to deal with so many bandits was tantamount to sending them to their deaths.
But at this point he had no choice but to let them hold them off for a while while he dealt with the robbers in front of him as quickly as possible and then went to meet them, hoping they could hold them off for a while.
Prefect Jin ordered them to accompany the convoy and gave them more than ten bombs. These were left to Prefect Jin by Zhao Xian when he left Yuanxi. Prefect Jin instructed them to take them with them in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Prefect Jin had instructed them not to use the bombs lightly, but only in life-or-death situations.
The convoy is currently being attacked from both ends and is at a critical moment of life and death. Although there aren't many bombs, they should have a certain deterrent effect, and these people should be able to hold out for a while.
When the robbers behind them saw that only a few dozen people came to intercept them, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.
At the front of the convoy, the robbers were getting closer and closer. When Wan Jinda saw that they were close enough, he shouted, "Fire the arrows!"
When the archers began to fire arrows, the bandits raised their shields to block them. To their surprise, the crossbow bolts were so powerful that they pierced through the shields.
A crossbow bolt that pierces a shield can still hit a robber. However, once the bolt pierces the shield, its power is greatly reduced, making it difficult to kill a robber with a single shot, but it can still seriously injure them.
Soon, the robbers were thrown into chaos. Seeing his chance, Wan Jinda immediately led his team to charge forward and engage the robbers in a fierce battle.
A fight had already broken out in front of them. Seeing this, the robbers behind them immediately rushed towards the convoy, intending to rob the vehicles loaded with silver. They didn't take the dozens of men rushing up at all seriously.
The two sides quickly approached each other, and the soldiers took out bombs and threw them into the crowd of robbers.
As the violent explosions rang out, the robbers were thrown into disarray. After more than a dozen loud bangs, nearly a dozen people were killed, and many more were injured.
The soldiers, who were fighting fiercely, suddenly heard a violent explosion behind them. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw the bandits being blown to pieces, and their morale was immediately boosted.
At this moment, Wan Jinda was extremely excited. He hadn't expected that the soldiers from Yuanxi had brought bombs. With bombs, what was he afraid of? It would be much easier to deal with these bandits in the future.
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