After saying that, Chen Zhennan turned around and walked out of the tent, where the horses were already ready.
Ai Zijun walked out of the tent and came to Chen Zhennan's side, her eyes still showing some worry.
"Are you sure everything's okay? Should I send a few people to protect you?"
Although Chen Zhennan is not the emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty now, those who understand know that he is no different from the emperor.
Chen Zhennan waved his hand and shook his head slightly: "No need. Just follow the plan. Remember, you must march quickly under the cover of night. If your tracks are discovered, pretend that you have been discovered during a sneak attack, launch an attack, and then quickly disengage from the battle before finding an opportunity to go to the Serga River."
Ai Zijun hummed in agreement, said nothing more, and then watched Chen Zhennan ride away on horseback.
It's afternoon now, and there are less than two hours until it gets dark.
Ai Zijun turned around and said loudly, "Chen Zexu, pass on my order: if the Slavs launch an attack after dark, you must avoid their sharp edge and feign a retreat!"
Chen Zexu was taken aback. A feigned retreat? Although there were only 100,000 people in the Northeast, Ai Zijun had never been afraid of fighting before, let alone used any tactics such as feigning surrender.
"Your Highness, what should we do if the Slavs keep pursuing us?"
Upon hearing Chen Zexu's question, Ai Zijun was also somewhat perplexed and took a deep breath.
"If Elena really keeps chasing us, then we can only try to break up their formation and buy some time for Chen Zhennan to return with the special forces."
Chen Zexu grunted, a troubled expression slowly appearing on his face.
"Your Highness, although I know that Chen Zhennan is the Great Martial God of War, he only has 1,500 men by his side. What can such a small number of people do?"
Ai Zijun pursed her lips, a hint of uncertainty on her face.
“We’ve only worked together once, but now I have no choice but to trust him. Since he dared to come, it means he’s confident of victory, and we should have confidence in him too. Let’s prepare.”
Chen Zexu hummed in agreement, then turned and left.
...
Winter seems to hibernate the entire Northeast. The daylight hours are much shorter than in summer, and it gets dark after 3 PM, around 4 PM.
As time slowly passed, it was past Shen Shi (3-5 PM) and reached You Shi (5-7 PM), by which time it was completely dark.
Meanwhile, Elena was already prepared.
Looking at the eight thousand cavalrymen outside the camp, and Sergei who was already prepared, Elena didn't know what to say.
She knew the man in front of her liked her, but she couldn't go against her own heart.
Sergei noticed her predicament and smiled helplessly: "Elena, you are a general now. You should know what to say. We are ready. Give the order."
Sergei's words calmed Elena down. She nodded slightly, walked past Sergei, and looked at the cavalrymen sitting on their warhorses.
"Soldiers, I have no doubt that you are all the bravest. Your mission to penetrate deep behind enemy lines is to cut off Ai Zijun's Northeast Army's reinforcements. I hope you can complete the mission. In three days, I will launch a formal offensive. That will be the time for you to truly make your mark!"
As Elena spoke, all the Slavic cavalrymen drew their sabers from their waists and raised them into the air.
"For the glory of Slavs!"
Elena hummed in agreement and turned to look at Sergei, who was standing to the side.
"Sergei, it's almost time, we should set off."
Sergei nodded slightly, grasped the reins, and mounted his horse.
"I hope we can meet again. Don't forget, three days from now, in the morning, we will turn around and surround Ai Zijun's rear. Don't forget to meet us."
Elena gave a heavy "hmm" and slowly drew the longsword from her waist.
"Don't worry, I'll remember. Pass on my orders: the cavalry will harass the enemy's flanks from both sides, while the infantry will charge from the front to cover the cavalry's passage!"
Following Elena's command, the 250,000-strong army moved swiftly and charged towards Ai Zijun's camp.
Ai Zijun was getting increasingly anxious as her 5,000 soldiers were still escorting civilians away from Heichuan and had not yet returned.
The disparity in troop strength was already enormous; the loss of 5,000 men would undoubtedly have a significant impact on combat effectiveness.
Just as Ai Zijun was feeling troubled, Chen Zexu rushed into the tent in a great hurry.
"Your Highness, they've moved! Elena's cavalry has moved and is rapidly advancing towards both sides of us!"
Upon hearing this, Ai Zijun's eyes widened suddenly, and she slammed her hand on the table and stood up quickly.
"They've finally arrived. By the way, where are their infantry?"
Both sides knew each other's numbers very well, and Ai Zijun especially knew Elena's cavalry, and she knew them like the back of her hand.
If Elena had only deployed her eight thousand cavalry, Ai Zijun wouldn't have taken her seriously at all; her own tens of thousands of cavalry could have easily annihilated them.
Most importantly, the number of her infantry forces was too large. If Elena's infantry also launched a full-scale attack, Ai Zijun would have no choice but to follow the plan, retreat first, and then find an opportunity to cross the border.
Chen Zexu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The sentries at the front are observing. There should be quite a few of them, at least more than us, but it's unclear whether the entire army has been mobilized."
Ai Zijun frowned slightly and pondered, "Let's hold back for now. Have the archers on both sides get ready to fire as soon as the enemy cavalry gets close. The horse-slaying soldiers should be ready to react at any time. After the archers retreat, the horse-slaying soldiers will focus on attacking their warhorses."
Chen Zexu nodded emphatically, then turned and walked out of the tent.
Ai Zijun turned around, picked up her sword, cracked her neck, and stepped out of the tent.
...
After crossing the border, Sergei ordered his cavalry to split into two groups and move towards the flanks of Ai Zijun's army, only allowing feigned attacks and forbidding them from engaging in prolonged battles.
Soon, Sergei's cavalry charged to within a short distance of the infantry garrison on the left flank of the Northeast Army.
The sound of the warhorses' hooves was like rolling thunder, as if the whole earth was trembling.
Although the soldiers were mentally prepared, the shocking scene still made them somewhat uneasy.
Faced with a massive, dark mass of cavalry charging forward, even the most mentally strong person would feel a sense of dread.
However, being cowardly is not shameful. Facing this group of cavalry, the archers of the Northeast Army still stepped forward and drew their bows.
"Release the arrows!"
At the commander's order, the archers unleashed their arrows, countless arrows soaring into the air and flying towards the Slavic cavalry.
It was too dark for anyone to know how many people were hit by the arrows, but what they could see was that the Slavic cavalry had no intention of charging.
Chen Zexu looked at the front line and found that the Slavic cavalry had not made contact with their Northeast Army comrades. Instead, they were moving quickly toward the rear of the entire camp.
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