Chapter 355: Fleeing Is Best

Beneath Anqing City.

“General, a scout has just reported that a rebel force launched a night raid on the militia camp.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Tianrui frowned.

In recent days, he had been closely monitoring rebel movements.

No signs of reinforcements had been detected in nearby prefectures.

Logically, second- and third-line garrison troops left behind could not possibly launch a night raid.

Yet reality told him that a elite enemy force had secretly infiltrated and was lurking nearby.

“Issue orders: night patrols must increase vigilance and guard against enemy ambushes.”

After brief consideration, Qin Tianrui issued the command decisively.

The militia had been attacked—he could not help them.

Venturing out into darkness to reinforce them would only cause chaos.

If the enemy chose to strike the militia at night, they might have laid traps along the way, waiting for them to walk into them.

The militia had plenty of troops; even if they suffered losses, it was no major matter.

…

“Marquis, the Jiangxi troops haven’t moved—let’s join the attack on the militia!”

In the darkness, Fang Yuxuan, who had been sitting for half the night surrounded by mosquitoes along the road, finally received word.

He had planned to lure Qin Tianrui’s Jiangxi First Division out with the night raid and ambush them under cover of darkness.

Unfortunately, the enemy was more cautious than he expected and refused to take the bait.

For Wu, eliminating a single regular Yu Dynasty division was far more valuable than wiping out tens of thousands of militia.

In past battles, Bai Yifeng’s militia had either been defeated or on the verge of defeat.

They occasionally won a battle or two—only when the odds were in their favor.

They had survived this long not because they were strong, but because they ran fast.

That was the advantage of irregular forces: they had no obligation to die with the city.

They didn’t receive imperial pay; when things turned bad, they could simply flee.

Losing territory meant nothing to Bai Yifeng, a mere militia commander without official standing.

“Enough!”

“The false dynasty excels at infighting; ignoring allies in distress is routine, especially at night when the situation is unclear.”

“Issue orders: join the assault on the militia. Aim to capture the butcher Bai Yifeng alive.”

Fang Yuxuan gave the order with evident resignation.

If they missed this chance, both sides would have to fight head-on.

Though he had over a hundred thousand troops available, for secrecy’s sake, only ten thousand formed the vanguard.

With only these forces, his chances of victory in open battle were slim.

Theoretically, the garrison inside Anqing would coordinate with him—but Fang Yuxuan dared not let them leave the city.

If the enemy had a trap and seized Anqing in the chaos, it would be catastrophic.

…

The militia camp.

“Big Brother… the enemy… enemy reinforcements have arrived!”

Hearing this, Bai Yifeng’s expression darkened.

He had held out this long only because his personal guards had charged out and blocked the rebel advance.

Now enemies surrounded them on all sides—devastating for militia morale already in collapse.

Seeing the situation hopeless, the militia’s old habit kicked in: some officers simply led their men away.

“Withdraw!”

Bai Yifeng issued the order coldly.

As a seasoned runner, he had a sharp instinct for danger.

No one dared to object—running when you couldn’t win was the militia’s ancient tradition.

Everyone, from top to bottom, had years of escape experience; those slow to react had long since become rebel corpses.

…

Dawn gradually broke, and the bloody battle drew to a close.

“Marquis, last night’s results were significant—we killed at least ten thousand enemy troops.”

“But we couldn’t find Bai the Butcher’s body; not a single high-ranking militia officer was captured.”

Zeng Haochuan spoke bitterly.

The militia were easy to rout, but hard to annihilate.

Over the past few years, the rebel army had crushed the militia multiple times, once reducing Bai Yifeng’s personal guard to just dozens.

Yet no matter how hard they fought, the man always escaped with his life, then regrouped scattered remnants into a new force.

“That fellow is like an eel—slippery and impossible to grasp. Failing to catch him is normal.”

“Issue orders: clear the battlefield quickly and evacuate this place!”

Fang Yuxuan gave the order with a blank expression.

Clearly, he was dissatisfied with last night’s results.

Though they had severely damaged the militia, they had lost over a thousand of their own—elite troops.

Wu had only tens of thousands of such troops total; they were nothing like ordinary soldiers.

The planned objectives had not been fully achieved, and their forces had been exposed.

Now that the enemy knew they existed, they would surely prepare defenses.

The advantage of surprise was gone; from now on, they would have to fight the enemy head-on in daylight.

…

After fleeing dozens of miles with his troops, Bai Yifeng finally exhaled when he confirmed no pursuers followed.

When he counted his remaining men, he nearly fainted from rage.

Yesterday, he had led forty thousand militia; now, barely a thousand remained by his side.

Most of the militia had merely broken and could be regathered—but only if the enemy gave them the chance.

This operation had plunged them deep into enemy territory, with no allies nearby.

“Big Brother, Wen Yi didn’t make it. I sent men to search the area, but found no trace of him.”

“Perhaps…”

Before Bai Yihao could finish, Bai Yifeng waved him silent.

“Search for Wen Yi will have to wait.”

“Immediately regather the stragglers—the enemy has struck; they won’t let us go easily.”

“If we hesitate, this will be our grave.”

Bai Yifeng made his decision swiftly.

He was deeply worried about his son—but a commander must never show weakness.

Though not a competent general, he had read countless military texts on this very subject.

After years of fighting the rebels, he had long hardened his heart.

“Big Brother, shouldn’t we ask General Qin for help?”

Bai Yihao couldn’t help but suggest.

Last night’s battle had cost them heavy losses—and now their nephew was missing.

Survival must come first.

Deep behind enemy lines, over a hundred miles from any friendly force, Qin Tianrui’s troops were their only hope.

When facing the sole possible ally, one must bow when necessary.

“Too late!”

“Had we followed our agreement and arrived on time to meet Qin Tianrui, asking for help would have been nothing.”

But we were arrogant—we deliberately delayed our march and insulted him.”

Among all imperial troops, the Han River Marquis’s men had the strictest discipline.

By military law, those who arrive late are executed.

If we go to him now for aid, Qin Tianrui might just cut off our heads to enforce discipline.”

Bai Yifeng spoke with helpless resignation.

Too many people wanted him dead; without an army, he was extremely vulnerable.

Killing him would not only enforce discipline but also earn the killer favor.

When his life was at stake, he dared not gamble on Qin Tianrui’s integrity.

…

While the militia high command fretted, Qin Tianrui, upon receiving the battle report, silently cursed.

Even with no expectations of the militia, forty thousand troops should have played a vital role in the siege.

Yet before they even reached the battlefield, they had already collapsed.

Without their aid, Jiangxi First Division alone could never capture Anqing.

Has the information been verified?

Did Bai Butcher really suffer a crushing defeat, or is he pretending to be weakened to avoid battle?

Qin Tianrui asked skeptically.

A night raid requires exceptional execution to succeed.

First, your own forces must be strong; second, the enemy must be unprepared—neither can be missing.

Night raids rarely succeed against experienced enemy commanders.

Bai Yifeng may not have any outstanding victories, but he’s fought for years—he must have accumulated some experience.

“General, based on the number of corpses left on the battlefield, the troop casualties exceed ten thousand—it’s impossible to fake.”

The young commander’s reply extinguished Qin Tianrui’s last hope.

Even a self-inflicted wound tactic isn’t carried out this way.

With the troop’s overall quality, suffering ten thousand casualties without collapsing would be miraculous.

On the chaotic battlefield, it’s uncertain whether Bai Yifeng is even still alive.

“Issue orders: pack all baggage and march toward Luzhou Prefecture!”

Realizing the plan to seize Anqing had failed, Qin Tianrui decisively chose to retreat.

Since the rebels ambushed the troops en route, it means the enemy was prepared.

Attempting to retreat safely back to Nanchang Prefecture would inevitably trigger layered enemy resistance.

His mission was to draw out the enemy, not engage them head-on—he must avoid their sharp edge.

Since retreat was inevitable anyway, detouring through Luzhou Prefecture to reach Huguang was just as viable—and if fortune favored him, he might even seize Luzhou Prefecture along the way.

…

Before the army could fully assemble, the enemy had already fled—Fang Yuxuan was furious, with no outlet for his rage.

Pursuit was impossible.

The Wu Army had just fought a brutal battle with the troops and suffered heavy losses.

In addition to battlefield casualties, there were non-combat losses from the night march.

If he moved in now, his few thousand soldiers wouldn’t be enough to withstand the enemy.

“Immediately send word to the Luzhou Garrison Commander to raise his alertness and guard against enemy sneak attacks on the city.”

Fang Yuxuan issued the order, suppressing his anger.

Although Luzhou Prefecture held high strategic value, it was not the main battlefield, and its garrison was small.

If the enemy stole the city, trouble would be immense.

The Liao Dong Army’s fierce assault on Xuzhou doesn’t mean they’re limited to attacking only Xuzhou.

Once they turned their spear toward Jianghuai and linked up, the entire Jianghuai region would spiral out of control.

With Luzhou Prefecture as a springboard, Anqing, Yangzhou, and other areas would all lie exposed to the imperial army’s advance.

Since ancient times, defending the Yangtze requires defending the Huai—lose Jianghuai, and Nanjing becomes perilous.

From both political and military perspectives, the Wu State cannot abandon Luzhou Prefecture.

“Marquis, you needn’t worry too much.

Luzhou’s city walls are strong; even if the enemy has designs, they won’t capture it easily in a short time.

While we have this opportunity, why not first eliminate Bai Butcher’s remnants and improve our battle record?

Once we finish here, chasing the enemy won’t be too late.”

Yuan Baifeng offered his advice tactfully.

The enemy’s sudden retreat completely exceeded their expectations, derailing all follow-up plans.

Fortunately, they had crippled the troops, salvaging a shred of face—otherwise, they’d have no excuse to return.

“Hmm!”

“Issue orders: annihilate the remaining troops with full force.”

Fang Yuxuan, having regained his composure, issued another order.

If you can’t catch the big fish, you must eat more small ones.

You cannot distinguish between troop soldiers and Yu Dynasty regulars by decapitated heads alone.

When filing battle reports, slightly adjusting the numbers could turn it into a great victory.

But this requires killing more troop soldiers to make the report believable.

If you can’t gather enough heads, you’ll have to kill civilians and pass them off as enemy casualties.

The latter is a high-risk endeavor.

The Wu State has so little territory—if you don’t manage it carefully, what will you use to fight the imperial army?

…

Nanchang City.

With no battle report arriving, the command center’s atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Officials who had previously opposed the campaign now became active.

They pushed rhetorical art to its extreme, deploying all manner of veiled, sarcastic remarks that gave Li Mu considerable insight.

“Director Li, have you received any word from the First Army of Jiangxi?”

Marquis Wuyang asked with concern.

Losing contact with an entire army was a major matter.

As Viceroy overseeing military affairs in four provinces, he commanded only eight armies in total.

Facing the subtle jabs from his subordinate civil officials, as Regional Commander, he felt the pressure.

“No word yet from the First Army of Jiangxi, but we have news of the troops.

According to captured deserters, while en route to Anqing to rendezvous, they were ambushed at night by rebels and completely scattered.

The rebels are now fully engaged in wiping out the troops’ remnants—if true, the troops have suffered devastating losses.”

Li Mu replied calmly.

Alive, they must be seen; dead, their bodies must be found.

He knew roughly what kind of men he had led out.

Qin Tianrui was competent enough—he could certainly serve as a Regional Commander.

Even if he suffered defeat on the battlefield, he wouldn’t be wiped out so quickly.

Sometimes, no news is the best news.

If they had won a decisive victory, the rebels would have loudly proclaimed it—they wouldn’t help the enemy keep secrets.

“Should we send reinforcements to assist? In case they encounter the enemy’s main force, they’ll have backup.”

Marquis Wuyang probed cautiously.

From Li Mu’s calm expression, he sensed something unusual.

His instinct told him Li Mu was plotting again—otherwise, he wouldn’t be so composed.

As his superior, he had his pride and couldn’t bring himself to ask outright.

“Viceroy, we don’t even know where the First Army is now. Even if we send reinforcements, we wouldn’t know where to find them.

Better to wait a while—perhaps news will arrive in a few days.

In my view, the First Army is either continuing downstream along the river seeking an opening, or directly launching a northern campaign against Luzhou.”

Li Mu immediately explained.

Bearing the pressure of restoring his family’s legacy, Qin Tianrui had greater ambition than most of his fellow commanders.

Other commanders, faced with unexpected setbacks, would likely turn back immediately.

But Qin Tianrui’s first reaction was always to turn the tide, seizing the chance to win great glory.

If the troops failed to take Anqing Prefecture, he’d try seizing another strategic location instead.

Whether or not he succeeded, he wouldn’t rest until he’d exhausted every option.

To reclaim his family’s heritage, Qin Tianrui was willing to take risks—and Li Mu naturally had to create opportunities for him.

War is unpredictable.

Beyond strategy and cunning, victory depends on fortune.

(End of Chapter)