Chapter 115: The Wolf and the Fox: Kutu

"Your Highness, the Zhang Family Fort has fallen without a fight. Zhang Kang and his wife have been captured and taken to the dungeon."

Afternoon.

Chang Wei hurried to the Wangfu to report this news to Zhao Xu.

For him, this was definitely good news.

To the Wangfu, the Zhang Family was the last nail in Yan Commandery.

With this nail removed, Yan Commandery would be of one mind from top to bottom.

The Wangfu's governance of Yan Commandery would no longer face any obstacles.

Most importantly, the farmland and commoners occupied by the Zhang Family were the largest in Yan Commandery.

With the Zhang Family destroyed, the land and population would be released.

The commoners of Yan Commandery, from top to bottom, would all gather under the command of Yan Wang.

"So fast?" Zhao Xu was slightly surprised.

In the morning, he was still discussing this matter with Liu Fu; he did not expect the Zhang Family Fort to have fallen by the afternoon.

"Just as Your Highness predicted, the commoners inside the fort rose up against the Zhang Family, which is how the Wangfu Army was able to enter," Chang Wei said with a smile.

Zhao Xu nodded; he was looking at a map of Yan Commandery.

Regarding the Zhang Family, he was determined to have them; it was only a matter of time.

He did not care much.

Right now, the most pressing matter for him was still the Northern Di.

Later, he would likely have to add the Yuan Family to that list.

After all, as his strength increased, these powerful forces would no longer ignore him.

"Keep Zhang Kang in the dungeon for now, and have people watch him closely; do not let him die," Zhao Xu said.

Currently, besides Zhang Kang, the dungeon also held the Northern Di spy Tuoba Lie and Zhang Kang's Steward, Zhang Yue.

These people formed an entire web of evidence, waiting for him to completely drive the Northern Di from the Autumn Hunt out of Yan Commandery.

Then he would slowly deal with them.

Chang Wei replied in the affirmative, then likewise turned his gaze to the map.

"The Scouts brought back news that Kutu's guard has fled into Wuan County. I have already ordered Lv Chang to guard the important mountain passes," Chang Wei said. "Also, two groups of Northern Di Cavalry that were plundering in other commanderies have entered Yan Commandery."

This was the real purpose of his visit.

"Two groups of Cavalry?" Zhao Xu frowned.

He had already learned that thirty thousand Northern Di had entered Yan Commandery.

Kutu's twenty thousand men were soundly defeated, and now there were still ten thousand left.

The ten thousand Chang Wei spoke of were these.

"Since Kutu has reached Wuan County, they will certainly go to rescue him. Leave five thousand men in Yancheng, and have the rest of the troops depart today for Wuan County. If there is an opportunity, annihilate them all," Zhao Xu said.

Once these ten thousand men joined forces with Kutu, Kutu would certainly use them to exact revenge on Yan Commandery.

They would not dare to attack Yancheng again, but they would roam within Yan Commandery, slaughtering commoners.

After all, by this time, those Northern Di Cavalry who had penetrated deep into the countryside must have tasted the severity of Tunnel Warfare.

If they gathered a large army and attacked point by point, it would be troublesome.

Chang Wei nodded.

At present, excluding the soldiers lost in this battle, he could still mobilize over twenty-five thousand men.

In terms of numbers, they could completely defeat the Northern Di.

Moreover, they had all branches of service ready: Cavalry, Long Spear infantry, Shield-bearers, and Crossbowmen.

Most importantly, these were mostly Heavy Infantry.

Even if they encountered Northern Di Cavalry on the Pingyuan, as long as they formed a tight Battle Formation, the Northern Di would have no way to deal with them.

The two were just talking.

At this moment, someone suddenly came to report that a large group of Cavalry had appeared outside the city.

Zhao Xu and Chang Wei looked at each other and immediately went to the city gate.

After seeing the banners of the arriving soldiers, Zhao Xu and Chang Wei both breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing smiles.

These were Cavalry from Yanguan.

"Imperial Guard Captain Mo Yu pays respects to Your Highness."

The young man in the lead dismounted, knelt on one knee, and saluted Zhao Xu.

"Rise," Zhao Xu observed the young man, finding his face somewhat familiar.

After thinking for a long while, he suddenly remembered that he actually looked a bit like Mo Di.

Coupled with the surname the young man had announced, he couldn't help but ask, "Captain Mo and General Mo Di are..."

"General Mo Di is my father," Mo Yu was also observing Zhao Xu.

Sixteen or seventeen years old, neither haughty nor humble in his demeanor, giving people a sense of closeness.

Chang Wei suddenly realized; he remembered now, this Mo Yu seemed to be General Mo Di's youngest son.

"So that is how it is," Zhao Xu felt much more at ease.

This General Mo Di had a good reputation, and he believed that a tiger father would not have a dog for a son.

He said, "Captain Mo, please come to the Wangfu for a chat."

Mo Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "There is no need, Your Highness. I led eight thousand Cavalry here through the night to assist Your Highness in mopping up the remaining Northern Di Cavalry. If we can capture Kutu, that would naturally be best. I wonder if Your Highness has any news of him now?"

Zhao Xu was overjoyed.

Mo Yu had truly arrived at the perfect time.

With the assistance of these eight thousand Cavalry, he was like a tiger that had grown wings.

Thus he said, "Kutu is currently trapped in Wuan County; this Prince intends to send troops to encircle and annihilate him. We can merge our forces here and head to Wuan County immediately."

Mo Yu nodded, "I shall strictly follow your Highness's orders."

Zhao Xu gave Chang Wei a look.

Chang Wei understood and departed with a cupped-fist salute.

Half an hour later, a large number of soldiers emerged from the North Camp and gathered one after another at the city gate.

Mo Yu's eyes lit up when he saw the Armor of the Yancheng soldiers.

He had never seen this kind of Armor that covered the entire body before.

Was it with this Armor that the soldiers of Yan Wang defeated the Northern Di?

He suppressed his questions in his heart, waiting to see for himself once they fought the Northern Di.

The grand army finished assembling.

Chang Wei mounted his horse and headed toward Wuan County together with Mo Yu.

However, in order to capture Kutu sooner, he had five thousand men set off first to rendezvous with Lv Chang, who was garrisoning Wuan County.

He himself and Chang Wei brought up the rear.

……

Wuan County.

Kutu and his guards were resting in front of a river.

Since retreating from Yancheng, they had successfully passed through Zhu County and Yi River County.

Within the territory of Wuan County, he was waiting for Tamu and Charha to gather here.

He had not expected their movements to be discovered by the Scouts of Wuan County.

Afterwards, the garrison of Wuan County seemed to have received orders from Yan Wang.

They quickly exited the city to hold the vital passages.

These Great Song soldiers often operated in groups of five hundred.

Among them were Long Spear soldiers, Crossbowmen, and Shield-bearers.

Upon seeing them, these soldiers would quickly form a Battle Formation.

The Long Spear soldiers were on the outside, and the Crossbowmen were in the middle.

He led his guards in an attempt to charge through a Battle Formation, but the dense Long Spears made it impossible for them to break the formation.

Instead, they would suffer fire from the Crossbowmen while charging.

Helpless, he could only lead his guards to retreat and search for small paths.

"Gurgle..." Kutu's stomach suddenly growled.

He had not eaten for a day, and the other Northern Di soldiers were just as famished.

But he dared not order them to kill their horses for meat, because the smoke and fire would expose their tracks.

He also tried to go to the countryside to plunder.

But on the road, he encountered fleeing Northern Di soldiers who brought him shocking news.

The Scout teams that dispersed to plunder rarely came out of the villages alive.

The Great Song commoners had hidden underground, appearing and disappearing like ghosts.

He was very skeptical of this at first, and personally led troops to a village, only to lose more than thirty men.

Although he eventually burned the village to the ground, he gained nothing.

Instead, because he stayed too long, his tracks were discovered again.

This was an army that had come out of Wuan County, constantly searching for them.

"What kind of person is this Yan Wang?" Kutu looked toward the south.

Although Yan Wang was his mortal enemy, he had to admire the ability of this Yan Wang.

The experiences of these past few days made him realize that the commoners of Yan Commandery had become the eyes and ears of Yan Wang, and Yan Wang's army had shed the fragility of the Great Song army, becoming like tigers and wolves.

Being in Yan Commandery, he felt as if he had fallen into a vast ocean of war throughout Yan Commandery, with no end in sight.

Looking up at the sky, Kutu sighed; he feared that having Tamu and Charha come to Yan Commandery was another mistake.