Chapter 1010: Secret Path

In the winding valley, the Azure Dragon Army moved forward like a long snake.

The battle at Hezui Mountain did not affect the main force's march.

Merely the reconnaissance squad was enough to beat the Jiaozhi soldiers until they were crying for their fathers and mothers.

When this small episode reached the ears of Qin Shan, Qin Shan wore a look of contempt.

The Jiaozhi people have always been arrogant and conceited; now that they have the Westerners who subdued them as their backers, they actually think they can challenge the current Great Song, which is simply laughable.

What they cannot imagine is that the Great Song under the rule of Yan Wang today is worlds apart from the Great Song of the past.

And the gap between the Jiaozhi army and the Great Song army is just like the gap they faced back then when they held Long Blades and Long Spears against Frankish Rifled Muskets and Artillery.

Faced with this cruel reality, if Jiaozhi still chooses to be an enemy of the Great Song, that is just seeking their own destruction.

After another two hours of travel, the vanguard of the Azure Dragon Army arrived five miles outside Zhiling County.

At this time, the sky gradually darkened, and the gaps in the woods on both sides of the mountain road became pitch black; Qin Shan ordered the main force to camp on the spot and also ordered the commanders to send soldiers to patrol and keep watch in the surrounding area.

To prevent the Jiaozhi army from launching a sneak attack from the mountain forest at night, he also ordered the soldiers to deploy Machine Guns on both sides of the formation and load the magazines.

"It is truly hot in the south; one does not even need to cover with a quilt at night." After relaying Qin Shan's orders, Shang Yi returned to Qin Shan's side, holding a banana leaf plucked from the roadside to fan himself.

Seeing that Qin Shan's forehead was covered in beads of sweat, he playfully fanned Qin Shan as well.

"The quilt is saved, but tonight we will have to feed the mosquitoes." Qin Shan slapped his own left hand, killing three mosquitoes, his hand covered in blood.

He then looked toward the soldiers; under the arrangement of the commanders, they were untying their backpacks and laying out their bedding.

After the Great Song military reform, when soldiers went out to fight, they would bundle up their own bedding and carry it on their backs while marching.

Upon arriving at a place, if there were civilian dwellings, they would borrow them; if there were no dwellings in the wilderness, they would sleep on the ground.

Unless it was judged that a battle might last more than a month, they would not carry heavy Baggage Train items like tents at all.

Clearly, capturing Zhiling County would not take the Azure Dragon Army more than a month.

At this moment, in Zhiling County.

Ruan Youjin was taking advantage of the faint light to observe the Great Song army from the gate tower of the county town.

After watching for a while, he sneered.

"I do not know how many Central Plains armies have been defeated before Zhiling County when marching south to Jiaozhi; this time will be no exception." Ruan Youjin handed the Telescope to Gao Yaozhi.

This Zhiling County was built in an open area within the mountain pass, the terrain resembling a snake with a bloated belly.

The mountain bodies on both sides of the county town were like they had been sliced by a knife, serving as the natural east and west walls of the county town.

Unless the invading enemy grew wings, it would be impossible for them to cross Zhiling County.

However, there was a hidden cave located on the mountain body on the east side of the county town.

Entering from the cave, one could climb out at the top of the mountain three hundred meters outside the county town.

Utilizing this secret path, they could easily appear on the flank of the invading enemy and catch them off guard.

Moreover, because the mountain road was narrow and inconvenient for setting up camp, the invading army's defenses would be insufficient, which was even more favorable for their attack.

Now, seeing the Great Song army so lax in their precautions, his mind suddenly became heated.

At midnight, the Jiaozhi army rushing down from the mountain—just thinking about it made him excited.

Thus, he told his thoughts to Gao Yaozhi.

"I am afraid it will not work." Gao Yaozhi frowned, "This Great Song commander leading the troops is very cautious; otherwise, our sneak attack during the day would not have failed. Since they are stationed in the mountain forest, it is impossible for him not to send soldiers to patrol the forest."

"Foolish talk." Ruan Youjin snorted, "Could the Great Song army be more familiar with the nearby mountains than our soldiers? At night, there is not a glimmer of light in the mountain forest; what could they possibly discover?"

Gao Yaozhi was left speechless by the rebuttal, but he always felt something was amiss.

Yet he could not clearly state or explain exactly what was wrong.

"Go execute it!" Ruan Youjin did not allow Gao Yaozhi to say anything more and ordered sharply.

Gao Yaozhi answered in the affirmative and turned to leave.

The last glimmer of light in the sky disappeared.

The entire valley suddenly became as dark as ink.

Inside Zhiling County, Jiaozhi soldiers carrying Long Blades entered the cave.

To Ruan Youjin, if this sneak attack was to succeed, it would inevitably be a hand-to-hand fight.

The visibility at night was too poor to aim at the enemy, and it might even expose their position.

If they pounced down directly from the mountain and hacked and slashed at the Great Song soldiers, they would surely inflict many casualties and throw the Great Song army into chaos.

At that time, he would order the Jiaozhi soldiers in the city to charge out with torches and Rifled Muskets, and the battle would be decided in one stroke.

While the Jiaozhi soldiers were taking action, flashes of fire appeared from time to time in the woods on both sides of the mountain road.

This was the patrol carrying torches.

However, even with torches, they could only illuminate the area five or six meters around the Azure Dragon Army soldiers; beyond that, it remained pitch black.

Therefore, the Azure Dragon Army soldiers were exceptionally cautious while patrolling.

It was said that before the Azure Dragon Army set out, Yan Wang had specifically sent a Telegraph.

Reminding them that Jiaozhi had many mountains and dense forests, making it extremely easy to hide soldiers, and that they must be cautious and even more cautious.

Therefore, in addition to the soldiers patrolling with torches, they also had hidden sentries lurking in the darkness.

After all, they were like fireflies, obvious targets in the dark night.

If any enemy infiltrated the mountain forest, they would certainly avoid the torches.

And with hidden sentries, they could have one in the light and one in the dark, maximizing the chance of discovering the enemy.

Time passed from evening to midnight, and the Jiaozhi soldiers hiding in the cave lifted a wooden board above their heads.

During the day, this wooden board had a thick layer of fallen leaves on it, blending in with the surrounding leaves, making it very difficult for the enemy to discover.

Crawling out of the cave entrance, the Jiaozhi soldiers immediately noticed the Great Song soldiers patrolling with torches in the woods.

After observing for a while and figuring out the general path of the Great Song soldiers' patrol, he let the other soldiers come up and hide on the back side of the mountain.

The mountain forest is extremely vast, and the Great Song army cannot dispatch too many soldiers to patrol, so the back of the mountain became a weak point in the surveillance, making it convenient for them to hide troops.

Moreover, being extremely familiar with the nearby mountain forests, the Jiaozhi soldiers moved skillfully through the mountains, avoiding the patrolling Great Song soldiers.

In the span of over an hour, about eight thousand Jiaozhi soldiers crawled out from the mountain caves and arrived at their predetermined positions.

They received orders to launch a sneak attack in the center, cutting the Great Song army in two from the middle, leaving its head and tail unable to support each other.

Once ready, the Jiaozhi soldiers crossed the ridge from the back of the mountain and quietly crept down toward the foot of the mountain.

While walking, they still chose to avoid the patrol squads.

"Great Song soldiers are truly stupid; it would be a miracle if they could discover us like this." A Jiaozhi soldier dodged the patrol squad's path and mocked them in his heart.

Lifting his foot to walk forward again, he suddenly felt like he had stepped on something soft.

He was stunned for a moment, thinking it was the carcass of a mountain animal, so he did not pay it any mind and continued walking forward.

Little did he know, what he had just stepped on was the foot of a Great Song soldier.

This Great Song soldier was hiding in the bushes, holding his breath and focusing his attention; he was a hidden sentry.

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