Chapter 275: Each Displays Their Own Means (Bonus Chapter for Daily Salary)

For this operation, He He Lingchuan felt there was nothing he couldn't speak of openly, which was why he sent this blunt, straightforward man. Of course, it was also because Jiao Tai had the best ability to identify directions and navigate in the wild; if his father was determined to fight, he would have such a reliable person to lead the way.

At this moment, Liang Zhanglao of the Cloud-Piercing Pavilion also arrived and took a seat to listen in.

When Jiao Tai spoke of how the remaining Xunzhou scouts were hiding in the abandoned mine, and that their own side had gunpowder and had found the back entrance to the mine tunnels, He He Chunhua couldn't help but say "Good" repeatedly, then slapped the table and stood up: "Can you still identify the road to the mine?"

"Naturally, I can!"

He He Chunhua was finally able to make a decision: "You lead the way, we set out immediately!"

Having said these words, he felt truly relieved in his heart, and he turned his head to say to Liang Zhanglao: "I must entrust Xinhuang to you, Liang Zhanglao."

"It is easily done." Liang Zhanglao gestured, and the disciple beside him translated, "The Cloud-Piercing Pavilion is willing to do its utmost."

He He Chunhua immediately ordered the entire army to prepare.

Two quarters of an hour later, He He Chunhua personally led a force of 1,200 men west out of Xinhuang, heading straight for the abandoned mine in Bai Lu Town, while the Xinhuang military camp was left under the guard of 500 men led by Wu Wu Shaoyi, assisted by Liang Zhanglao of the Cloud-Piercing Pavilion.

……

The abandoned mine.

Hong Chenglue was eating, a mouthful of yellow millet bun, a mouthful of hot water, wolfing it down.

The yellow millet bun was not fine, a bit dry and a bit choking to the throat. But Hong Chenglue ate it with great relish; this was the best bun he had eaten in the last two months.

Once the yellow millet hit his stomach, it swelled up with the hot water, giving one a substantial sense of fullness.

On the table sat half a golden-brown roasted wild chicken.

Although the chicken feathers hadn't been fully plucked and the skin was a bit charred, the soldier acting as the temporary cook had already done his best.

Hong Chenglue didn't touch the roasted chicken, but instead picked it up and sent it to Master Baili Qing's sickroom.

This general was still lying there, unconscious.

The commander accompanying him stood up when he saw Hong Chenglue enter.

Hong Chenglue waved his hand: "No need for formalities, how is General Master Baili?"

"He is recovering well, he should wake up soon."

Hong Chenglue placed the roasted chicken on the table: "When General Master Baili wakes up, heat it up for him to eat."

"Very well."

He had given up his own ration, yet the commander only felt he was trying to win people over, and didn't even say the word "Yes."

Originally, this man had been promoted by Master Baili Qing.

Just at this moment, the sound of running footsteps rang out outside, and a soldier rushed in, panting: "General Hong...!"

Hong Chenglue waved his hand to stop him, and walked out of the room to the open ground himself: "Tell me here, don't wake General Master Baili."

Seeing that something was amiss, the other commanders also gathered around.

"A large number of Xiazhou troops have appeared at the foot of the mountain, nine hundred or a thousand men, as if searching the mountain, and they are generally heading this way!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's scalp went numb.

Was it true that the Xiazhou troops had tracked them down after all?

Coincidentally, the scouts they had sent to Bai Lu Town for the second time also returned at this very moment, reporting that the first scout had died in Hong Chenglue's empty house! And according to feedback from the townspeople, people from the Xiazhou government office had indeed come to inquire about last night's intelligence.

Hong Chenglue's worries were finally confirmed.

Those two commanders looked at Hong Chenglue at the first opportunity, with two parts of regret in their hearts.

If they had withdrawn in the afternoon...

Everyone was waiting for Hong Chenglue's decision. His expression was grave, and he made a prompt decision: "Xu Xu Yingxian, Tao Ze, you two follow me to lure the Xiazhou troops away!"

Then he turned to the other two commanders: "You stay behind to guard General Master Baili and the injured brothers. If we cannot hold them off, you are to withdraw to Xinqiao Township."

The commander issued orders in a crisis, and the two immediately accepted the command.

The soldiers all felt a sense of admiration.

Fortunately, the Xunzhou scouts had already developed the habit of sleeping with their weapons, ready to rise and kill the enemy at any time; it took less than half a quarter of an hour to saddle the horses and be ready to set out.

Thus, Hong Chenglue left another fifty men to guard the abandoned mine, and set off in a hurry with two hundred and seventy or eighty men.

After rushing out more than two hundred zhang, there was no sign of the enemy.

Continuing along the mountain road for another two or three hundred zhang, there was still no sign of the enemy.

It wasn't until the troop was almost at the foot of the mountain that another sentry rushed over: Report, the Xiazhou troops have turned north.

What was to the north? No one knew.

In that case, if the Xiazhou troops were no longer coming... The soldiers looked at Hong Chenglue with longing, only to see him beckon Tao Ze over to whisper a few words, then point out thirty men for him.

This thirty-man squad then headed toward the rear.

What to do now?

Hong Chenglue waved his hand: "Pass on my order, the whole army moves east, to Xinhuangzhen!"

The soldiers were shocked.

What? Hong Chenglue cast a cold, piercing glance over: "Why haven't you passed the order yet?"

Someone still foolishly asked: "Should we send word back to the mine?"

Xu Xu Yingxian pulled him aside: "The commander has given the order, we just carry it out, don't create extra complications!"

The troop of nearly three hundred scouts immediately set off to the east, neither returning to the mine nor sending any message back along the way.

Seeing Hong Chenglue riding in the lead with no one beside him, Wu Qing rode his horse to keep pace with him and asked: "General Hong, was this intentional?"

Hong Chenglue didn't even lift his eyelids: "What?"

"You avoided the shortest route to Xinhuangzhen." Wu Qing did business in Yanbei and had some understanding of local road conditions, "If we go this way, it will take half an hour longer."

"But it is safe."

Wu Qing was startled, thought for a moment and said: "You mean, that route is occupied by someone? Is it... the Xiazhou troops?"

This was Xiazhou territory; naturally, General He's troops marched without fear, unlike them, who had to sneak around.

Hong Chenglue glanced at him: "Boss Wu is a smart man, Nian Nian Zanli should have invited you to be a staff officer."

"Don't, I am naturally lazy and dislike being constrained."

"The scout went and never returned; I think he was caught, so we must be prepared for the fact that our hiding place has been leaked. The safest way is to change locations, but those two subordinates of General Master Baili disagreed."

"If I were He He Chunhua, once I knew the Xunzhou people were hiding in the abandoned mine in Bai Lu Town, I would most likely send troops to wipe them out." Hong Chenglue said slowly, "This man loves fame; he came to Xiazhou to seek glory and promotion. I burned ten thousand shi of his grain; he won't be able to explain it at the front line, and it will be even harder to explain back at the provincial government, so he must feel he has lost face."

"You also know the situation here in Xiazhou; it has been controlled by the four great families for years. He He Chunhua finally managed to gain a firm foothold here relying on two victories. If he goes back like this this time, his prestige will be at least halved; will it still be so easy to control the military and government in the future?"

Wu Qing smiled: "Yes, I'm afraid by then, the four great families could trip him and break his leg."

"Besides, even if he doesn't come looking for us now, perhaps we will still go to intercept his grain transport team later; the complex terrain of the rocky beach north of Xinhuang is very suitable for an ambush. So he must make up for his mistakes; if he finds out our whereabouts, he absolutely cannot let this opportunity pass." Hong Chenglue gripped the reins, sitting in a relaxed manner, but his tone was filled with murderous intent, "I will fulfill his wish."

Wu Qing's smile faded slightly. General Hong was using Master Baili Qing, his two subordinate commanders, and nearly a hundred old, weak, sick, and disabled men as bait! When He He Chunhua led his army to swallow the bait, his rear would certainly be empty, and General Hong would seize the chance to burn Xinhuang's grain! This move of removing the firewood from under the cauldron was truly vicious. The Xiazhou troops had wounded so many Xunzhou cavalrymen, thinking they would become a burden to Hong Chenglue, but they never expected that in the end, they would become the bait that lured them out themselves.

However, General Hong's treatment of Master Baili Qing and his two subordinate commanders was also truly ruthless.

After Wu Qing conveyed Nian Nian Zanli's military order, he was also very clear that Master Baili Qing had originally been in charge of the Xunzhou scouts, but now a Hong Chenglue had suddenly been dropped in to take away his command. Master Baili Qing was resentful, and these past few days he hadn't been getting along well with Hong Chenglue.

From another perspective, He He Chunhua was helping him get rid of these disobedient leaders and the old, weak, sick, and disabled, so that he could rightfully take over the Xunzhou scouts later—an army could only listen to one voice.

Wu Qing had originally thought Hong Chenglue would use some gentle methods, but it seemed he didn't have that kind of patience.

……

He He Lingchuan was sleeping soundly when someone unexpectedly patted his shoulder:

"Young Master, wake up!"

He He Lingchuan shook his head and rubbed his eyes: "What is it?" He hadn't dreamed of Panlong City again, how boring.

"There's movement below." Mao Tao whispered, "It seems there's a mobilization of men and horses." The Young Master really had a talent for sleeping; he could use a roll of clothes as a pillow, lie on the ground, and sleep until he snored. This sleep quality was top-notch.

He didn't know that He He Lingchuan served as a patrol guard in the Panlong dreamscape, where sleeping in the open and eating in the wind were standard operations, so he was long used to it.

"Mobilization of men and horses?" He He Lingchuan woke up instantly, "How many people?"

"Their horses were originally kept in the woods, but now they are basically all being led back to be saddled."

Where were they going? He He Lingchuan rolled his eyes; could it be that Hong Chenglue was going out to plunder supplies?

He should have gathered enough food after defeating Wu Wu Shaoyi, so he shouldn't be worried in the short term, and might even have had enough to share with the people of Bai Lu Town; could it be he was going to rob medicine?

That wouldn't require mobilizing so many people.

Could it be?

Dan Shan Youjun whispered: "Could these guys be planning to withdraw?"

"It's possible." He He Lingchuan thought for a moment, "After all, the scouts they sent to Bai Lu Town never returned. Perhaps this man surnamed Hong is just that cautious."

The three of them decided to follow.

However, He He Lingchuan was a bit confused by the Xunzhou people's next move: the main force saddled up and set off in a great hurry.

But the sentries around the mine hadn't been withdrawn; Mao Tao went to scout again and said there were still people below.

Quite a few were left behind.

Then they weren't planning to relocate and camp elsewhere?

But where were these two hundred or so Xunzhou cavalrymen heading? The three of them quietly retreated, led their horses, and secretly followed.

The main force of the Xunzhou people went down the mountain first, seemingly circling around; it was unclear what they were actually trying to do.

The sky grew dark, and the mountain forest became increasingly dim; it was becoming harder for Mao Tao to investigate the traces left by the vanguard, such as hoof prints and horse manure.

He He Lingchuan habitually gripped "Fusheng"; the coldness from the hilt helped him think.

It was just then that he suddenly felt a palpitation, as if a great crisis had descended.

He He Lingchuan's ears twitched; he seemed to hear suppressed breathing in the silent wilderness, and not just from one person! He couldn't help but shout in a low voice: "Careful!"

The words had barely left his mouth when an arrow came from the sky, shooting toward Mao Tao with a "swish."

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(End of chapter)