Chapter 292

Scout said: "The Qiang People held a hunting competition yesterday; their leader richly rewarded the tribesmen who obtained large game, including wealth and women. Afterwards they muttered a lot of words that we didn't hear clearly, but it seemed they were motivating the troops."

Chen Wuji thought, "This isn't a big deal; why does this scout look so grim?"

Scout continued, "After that, they held another hunting competition, but this time they hunted the civilians they had plundered, killing for fun. They nearly killed all the captured men, and gave the women as rewards to the soldiers who killed the most."

"Utterly inhumane!" Chen Wuji said with a stern face, "Any other news?"

Scout shook his head. "They drank and made merry until midnight yesterday; the Camp Tent was filled with women's wails and the sounds of livestock cheering. This morning, no news has come yet."

Chen Wuji patted the scout on the shoulder, "You've worked hard; continue to hold this position."

Understood!

Chen Wuji led the main force, continuing along the north-facing slope of the mountain; after reaching Elephant Trunk Ridge, he assigned two hundred soldiers under Chen Luozi to set up an ambush there.

The rest continued forward.

Upon reaching the Qiang People's encampment, Chen Wuji led the main force to a halt.

Wu Bu Yong then led over three hundred Tianchi Guan Militia forward, needing to reach the ambush site designated by Chen Wuji and set up an ambush there.

After the two divisions of troops, Chen Wuji had only twenty-seven personal guards left, plus five hundred sturdy youths from the Qian Family and over four hundred clan troops, making a total of about one thousand soldiers.

He did not set up camp directly on the mountain's rear slope; instead, he went down along the mountain and then walked about four li toward the direction of Nan Jun, finding a spot near a water source on the north-facing side of another mountain where he temporarily camped.

They were too close to the Qiang People's Daying; if the enemy sent out Scouts, they would easily be discovered.

Once the enemy discovered their whereabouts, they would lose the element of surprise for a sneak attack.

The soldiers quickly felled trees, built a simple Yíngzhù in the mountains, and densely surrounded it with thorns and traps to prevent the enemy from sneaking up.

Although it was unlikely that the Qiang People would find this place and launch an attack, Chen Wuji always believed that caution makes for safe passage, and these preparations would not be excessive.

After the camp was set up, Chen Wuji did not rush to attack; instead, he also led the soldiers into the forest to hunt, which puzzled Chen Li and the others.

Chen Li hesitated for a long time, but still couldn't resist saying to Chen Wuji, "Brigade Commander, the Qiang People drank all night yesterday; their combat strength must be low today—this is a good opportunity to use troops."

"The Qiang People held two hunting competitions yesterday, likely to reward the troops and stabilize morale; they may split up and move tomorrow, so attacking now would be the best timing."

"I've thought of that too, but our forces number only a thousand." Chen Wuji put away his bow and arrow.

"Even with dense forest cover in daylight, the enemy could still discern some of our true situation, risking exposure. Our aim in this battle is not to raid the camp and kill enemies, but to disrupt the enemy's morale, causing them to fall into disorder."

"I think dusk, when the light is dim, or perhaps early tomorrow morning would be the best time. At those times, visibility is poor; we can fly many banners and advance with noise, making it hard for them to gauge our numbers, which would be advantageous."

Chen Li nodded after hearing this and said, "Brigade Commander, is this the plan devised by Mr. Xu?"

Chen Wuji nodded and said, "Shi Yi Shu, what do you think?"

"The enemy's forces far outweigh ours; this plan is indeed a steady one. Actually, if our strength were just a bit greater, I would dare to lead them straight to raid the camp while they were drinking all night—if we sent a special force to strike now, our chance of victory would be at least seventy percent." Chen Li said regretfully.

"Let's be cautious then." Chen Wuji sighed; he knew full well that this was a great opportunity, but as the saying goes, even a clever woman cannot cook without rice—he could not act rashly.

"These soldiers have never been on a battlefield; some have never even killed. Expecting them to charge the enemy's camp is indeed difficult—we must proceed steadily, step by step."

Chen Li nodded and said, "Family Head, your considerations are thorough."

"Don't flatter me; I know how much I've learned." Chen Wuji laughed and shook his head, "Trouble Shi Yi Shu to help me cut some branches—about the height of two people, not too thick, but not too thin either."

Chen Wuji glanced around, pointed to a distant tree, and said, "That tree will do—keep the whole trunk and the two upper branches; I want to make a large slingshot."

Yes!

Chen Li responded, then immediately asked puzzled, "Family Head, what are you making the slingshot for?"

"I've prepared a surprise for the Qiang People to increase our chances of victory." Chen Wuji said mysteriously.

Zhang Lao prepared plenty of Shocking Heaven Thunder for him.

Why not use this now? When else would you save it for?

The Qian Family had placed a heavy bet, putting their chance to change fortune on Chen Wuji; Chen Wuji was likewise gambling. This battle was extremely crucial for the Chen clan—victory was the only option, defeat unthinkable.

If they lost, the Chen clan's reputation would plummet to the bottom instantly.

The favors and residual prestige earned by their ancestors could at most give Chen Wuji two chances to fail.

After that, likely no one would believe in the Chen clan anymore.

They would surely think that, after being exiled, the Chen clan was no longer what it once was.

Chen Li stopped asking for reasons and immediately took a few clan troops to go chop wood.

Afternoon, Wei hour.

Chen Wuji personally used the game hunted that morning to cook a fragrant meat stew for the soldiers.

After the meal, the army set out.

The soldiers picked up a large number of fist-sized rocks at the mountain's base, each bundling them in cloth, and followed Chen Wuji up the nameless hill.

The sunny foothills of the mountain are where the Qiang People have set up camp.

The Qiang People did not camp right at the mountain's base; they were about several tens of meters away.

Looking at their overall camp layout, they were clearly also trying to stay away from the mountain base, but this Gu He Dao is not wide—there is a mountain ahead, a lake behind, and the left and right sides are even narrower, leaving them very limited space to use.

If it weren't for pursuing the water source, this place would absolutely not be a good site for setting up camp.

At this distance, rolling stones and log rams would be ineffective, but fist-sized stones could be thrown.

The soldiers didn't need to exert full force; with just some strength they could hurl the stones into the Qiang People's Yíngzhù. Fist-sized stones, thrown from this height, actually have greater destructive power than arrows—if they hit, broken bones and bloodshed are inevitable.

Chen Wuji selected a spot and had the soldiers bury three huge slingshots deep in the ground.

The slingshot's material is a rope made from large amounts of ox tendon mixed with ox hide; its elasticity cannot match modern materials, but here it is more than sufficient—enough to launch bundles of Shocking Heaven Thunder into the enemy Yíngzhù.