Chapter 973: Standoff

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Cannonballs exploded one after another within the Northern Di army, bursting into clusters of fire as flesh, blood, and snow splattered simultaneously.

Under the bombardment of the artillery, the Northern Di soldiers fell into chaos, fleeing northward in a swarm.

And the confusion caused the soldiers to crowd together in dense masses.

A single cannonball landing in a crowded area would sometimes kill as many as thirty people.

The shelling and the chaotic retreat lasted for nearly half an hour.

The Central Army kept chasing and firing at them until they were beyond the range of the artillery.

When the Northern Di soldiers within the artillery range became sparse, the shelling stopped.

"Verify the casualties!" Mule Hongzhen escaped the range of the shelling under the protection of Bamudan and other kings.

Looking at the five-mile road littered with the corpses of Northern Di soldiers, his hands gripping the reins trembled incessantly, and he was furious to the extreme.

Just moments ago, he had been in high spirits, harboring the determination of certain victory to conquer Lingwu County.

But now, he was fleeing in a rout, in a state of extreme wretchedness.

The massive contrast made him feel that he had been severely humiliated by the Great Song army.

Bamudan and the others were equally covered in dust and dirt.

It could only be said that it was a stroke of luck that they were able to escape the range of the artillery bombardment alive.

If not for the soldiers guarding them tightly in the center, they might well have been injured themselves.

Upon receiving Mule Hongzhen's order, Bamudan and the others immediately dispatched their subordinate Langlu to reorganize the army.

Another half an hour passed, and the Langlu returned one after another, reporting the casualty figures.

"Khan, three Langlu were killed by the explosions, seventy-three other officers of various ranks were killed or wounded, and over three thousand six hundred soldiers were killed or wounded," one Langlu replied.

Mule Hongzhen clenched his fists, furious: "The battle hasn't even truly begun, and we have already lost over three thousand six hundred men. Good, very good. Once we conquer Lingwu County, I will leave not a single Great Song soldier here; I will kill them all!"

Looking fiercely in the direction of Lingwu County, he said: "Set up camp ten miles away, and tonight, send the Servant Soldiers to dig trenches nearby."

If they were to dig trenches from ten miles away, it would likely take more than ten days to reach the front of Lingwu County, and he naturally did not want to wait that long.

By taking advantage of the darkness, when the soldiers of both sides could not observe the battlefield, and then sending men to dig in a place close to the enemy's trenches, they could avoid being attacked.

Having decided this, Mule Hongzhen gave a heavy snort.

At the same time, although he was unwilling to admit it himself, he felt a sense of dread.

The fact that Yan Wang's artillery could reach a distance of ten miles was simply incredible and unimaginable.

Central Army trench position.

Seeing the Northern Di setting up camp ten miles away, Bai Shang could not help but chuckle twice.

Turning around, he took a brown object the thickness of a finger from his bosom, lit it by the campfire in the trench, and began to puff away.

This was precisely the cigar that Zhao Xu had brought back from Luzon.

Returning to Yancheng from the Nanzhan Continent, he had bestowed the one hundred cigars he brought back upon Liu Fu, Chang Wei, Yang Feng, and others, and even sent a few to Zhao Heng to have a taste.

Because Luzon had a large number of high-quality tobacco plantations left behind by the Folangji.

He prepared to continue the Luzon cigar industry while also transporting tobacco back to the Great Song to produce cigarettes.

After all, just like White Wine, this was a highly profitable trade.

"General Bai, your skin must be itching; you even dare to steal the Great General's things." Seeing the cigar in Bai Shang's hand, Huo An's eyes went straight.

Because the cigars brought back by Yan Wang were few, they had not received any this time.

It was their Great General Chang Wei who had ten of them.

Originally, Chang Wei had also been hiding them to smoke, but they had bumped into him when reporting military affairs.

Only then did they understand what a cigar was.

Bai Shang wore an intoxicated expression: "To be able to taste this, it's worth getting a beating."

In his daily life, he often smoked dry tobacco, but the tobacco shreds of dry tobacco were clearly inferior to the top-grade tobacco shreds of Luzon.

Once he tasted it, he realized the difference.

Huo An had initially felt worried for Bai Shang, but immediately revealed a curious expression: "What does it taste like? Let me have a taste too."

Bai Shang chuckled twice, took another one out from his bosom, and threw it to Huo An.

"Take it."

Huo An was startled again, wanting to say, "You actually stole two," but upon second thought, if the matter were exposed, it would be Bai Shang getting scolded anyway.

He then lit it with peace of mind and began to smoke, following his example.

"Cough, cough..." Bai Shang had never tasted it before and began to cough.

However, he could not bear to throw it away and continued to smoke.

By the end, he had managed to experience a bit of the flavor, but unfortunately, it was already finished.

Just at this moment, Bai Shang was seen taking two more cigars from his bosom.

Huo An could not help but be stunned: "General Bai, the Great General will surely beat your backside to a pulp."

Bai Shang was not nervous at all; he smiled: "I was lying to you. This wasn't stolen by me at all; it was given by the Great General, one for each person. These two are Liu Tan's and Chu Shifei's. The Great General said that after smoking the tobacco, we must fight the battle beautifully. Once he has face, it will be easier for him to ask for things from His Highness and give us some benefits too."

Huo An breathed a sigh of relief, chuckled twice, and said: "This face must be earned back for the Great General. This route is personally commanded by Mule Hongzhen; when the time comes, we will find a way to capture him alive."

"If we can do that, it would naturally be a great achievement." Bai Shang's heart stirred.

Although they had this idea, this matter was clearly extremely difficult to accomplish.

Suddenly thinking of something, he said: "Tell the soldiers to be sharp tonight and have the Illumination Flares ready."

Hearing this, Bai Shang nodded, thinking of something.

For the Northern Di, no matter what actions they took, it was naturally most suitable to do so at night.

When the time came, he would have to send out scouts to probe the situation.

Winter days are short and nights are long; night fell quickly.

Because the accumulated snow reflected the light, the outskirts of Lingwu County were not pitch black at night.

However, visibility was only twenty or thirty meters, and anything further away could not be seen.

Under the orders of Bai Shang, a team of scouts crawled out of the Trench and felt their way along the banks of the Jin River toward the Northern Di encampment.

These scouts wore white cloaks, allowing them to blend in with the snow.

Just as they were about to reach the Northern Di stockade, they suddenly heard the sound of snow being trampled.

The scouts immediately became vigilant, then followed the sound of the footsteps back toward the Trench.

But just as they were over five hundred meters away from the Trench fortifications, the footsteps suddenly stopped.

A sound of digging into the earth rang out, which left the scouts feeling suspicious and uncertain.

In the end, they sent one person to crawl toward the direction from which the sound originated.

Because the white cloaks blended the soldier and the snow together.

The soldier was still not discovered when he was thirty meters away from the Northern Di soldiers.

But the scout learned of the Northern Di's movements; they were digging a Trench.

Having obtained this intelligence, they immediately returned to report to Bai Shang.

"Damn it, I knew they wouldn't behave themselves," Bai Shang cursed.

He then said, "Fire an Illumination Flare to provide visibility for the Artilleryman."

If you like "Starting as a Feudal Lord Today," please bookmark it: () "Starting as a Feudal Lord Today" updates fastest on Young Girl Student Net.