Chapter 460: Burning the Grain and Fodder

Ning Hanmo looked at the two wounded people, and also at his companions who had already been injured.

"Remember well, in guerrilla warfare, if a strike fails, retreat a thousand li."

"Don't linger in battle."

Of the three units, only his unit had no casualties; he had always followed his mother's words.

"The grain and fodder… it can't be transported away."

"Then…"

"Let's burn it."

In Ning Hanmo's eyes, a kind of pleasure seemed to flash.

These days, with guerrilla warfare, isn't he feeling stifled?

Naturally he feels stifled; clearly, if he advanced even a little further, something might happen…

But he cannot!

"Burn." Kang Wu nodded.

Then the two of them looked together at Kang Nai Xin, and she also nodded.

The three squads reached agreement, fearing the fire wouldn't be clean, so they added many dry firewood to the wagons and grain, then set a blaze.

Ning Hanmo gave the order, "Withdraw."

The members of this unit had formed an instinct; upon hearing that word, they would instantly mount their horses and ride off.

No one paused, no one hesitated, and not even anyone gave an extra glance.

"Withdraw." Kang Wu also issued the order; he seemed to know why his unit had casualties, and with a gloomy gaze he looked toward Kang Wen on the side.

"They're gone."

Kang Nai Xin also left; the three said nothing, consulted nothing, yet acted in tacit understanding, running off in three directions. The horses of Xijiang were scattered by them, with prints in every direction—trying to track them by hoof marks would be extremely difficult.

The blaze ignited, burning not only the grain but also the firewood, the wagons, and even half a mountain.

"It's on fire—run!"

"Who is so wicked as to set the whole mountain ablaze?"

"Run fast, the fire can't be put out!" a strong young man panted, bolting straight away in fright.

The crowd panicked; the mountain connects to several cities—if the fire on the mountain cannot be extinguished, their cities cannot be saved either.

"What sin have we committed!" a woman wailed, clutching her child as she rushed out.

"It must be heavenly punishment; the heavens have punished us for always invading other lands." An old man with a white beard, his clothes patched, said this.

All are frontier townsfolk, yet the people of Da Ning can live in peace and first retreat to save their lives.

But the people of Xijiang must stand at the front, dying before the others.

"What sin!"

The elders silently shed tears; to live to this age in this city means they have already lived long enough.

Their children had long since died; they were alone and feared nothing.

"Those who spread rumors shall be killed without pardon." Xi Lang arrived with his men, and the shaman stabbed the old man with a single blade.

Blood trickled from the old man's mouth corners, a "hee-hee" sound, and his cheeks kept twitching, yet the intense pain seemed to prevent any other sound.

"Heaven… punishment!"

In the end, those two words became his last words.

Xi Lang coldly glanced at the shaman, then waved his hand and said, "Put out the fire."

They had come following the traces, but never imagined they would set the mountain on fire.

"Ruthless!"

Yet they forgot that they themselves invade other nations, occupy foreign lands, and kill those peoples' civilians—aren't they ruthless too?

A great fire burned away all traces.

Although it had burned through, the remaining ash still testified to what had been burned here.

"Da Ning!" Xi Lang's face turned black as ink, his fists clenched, his emotions reaching a breaking point.

"I said it long ago—storm in."

At that moment the shaman gave a cold chuckle, looking at Xi Lang's eyes as if mocking him.

This time Xi Lang fiercely seized his throat, his grip gradually tightening.

"The shaman must have forgotten—my reputation, Xi Lang's, was earned through killing."

"Not earned by yielding!" The second sentence he whispered into the shaman's ear, while the shaman, his face covered, showed no discernible emotion.

"If the shaman can't keep his mouth shut, this general won't mind relieving him of his post." Xi Lang flicked his hand, throwing the shaman to the ground as if nobody noticed.

Da Ning received the news much later than Xijiang; upon hearing it, Jiang Fengsheng summoned Jiang Yunchu to the grand tent.

"Their gall is too great! They actually sneaked off to Xijiang!" Jiang Fengsheng gritted his teeth, his face showing a hint of coldness.

Minor skirmishes, petty harassment—those would be tolerable.

But they actually went to Xijiang—Xijiang!

Again they ventured into a place of no return—how could their courage be so great?

"What did they do?" Jiang Yunchu raised her eyebrows; the most dangerous place is the safest, and at this critical juncture, if it were her, she would also go to Xijiang, and she would…

"Seize the grain and fodder."

Jiang Yunchu was speculating, while Jiang Fengsheng spoke with certainty.

A flash of realization crossed Jiang Yunchu's eyes—"What was the result?"

"We succeeded, and the fire burned a whole mountain, leaving no trace; Xi Lang led his men in pursuit, but only obtained the ashes of the grain and fodder—now Xijiang is frantically searching the cities."

Jiang Yunchu set down the water, gave a light smile, and said, "Too late."

If we don't check the mountain and just search the city, those few little guys might not have gotten out yet.

After checking the mountain, the target point was moved; searching the city again is already too late.

Jiang Fengsheng looked at Jiang Yunchu and suddenly felt that she seemed to understand those kids too well, even more than she, as their mother, understood her own children.

"Their guts are too big." She repeated her earlier words.

Just the person sitting opposite, however, shook his head and said, "Strike unexpectedly, attack where they are unprepared."

"It's not that they have big guts; it's that they dare to think and dare to act."

"I'd even dare to bet that in this fire that burned the grain and fodder, all three of their units participated."

General Jiang never spoke; these days he hasn't appeared in public; his methods have been seen through by Xilang; over the years, back and forth, whenever he acts, the other side notices.

"Princess Consort, you mean their three units have gathered together?"

Jiang Yunchu nodded, "Exactly, their three units have gathered together."

"If they were a single unit, they would certainly not choose to act in Xijiang City."

"If they were two units, they would not choose to burn the Xijiang Mountain."

Not every one of them is meticulous and extraordinarily scheming, but each of their units has someone who is extraordinarily scheming; impulsiveness only appears in certain individuals, not in those particular few.

For example, Ning Hanmo, for example, Kang Wu, for example, Kang Nai Xin.

Their three's composure has long surpassed that of many people.

"Their coordination is such that they can't even communicate with each other, showing they thought of the same thing simultaneously." General Jiang thought that was the most frightening aspect.

When one side is in trouble, all sides come to its aid.