Chapter 349: Ambush in the Mountains

Soon, his two hundred thousand men exited the city gates and marched south.

The distance between Yizhou and Guizhou is roughly two or three days' journey; yet even as the great army advanced at great speed, Jiang Jiang Mingyu kept urging them on without cease.

"Faster, even faster..."

Calculating the time, Mu Mu Feihang must have surrounded Guizhou for at least half a month; Song An was barely holding on, leaving him no choice but to be anxious.

Fortunately, the journey remained peaceful; after a frantic day of running, no unexpected incidents occurred.

At noon the next day, just as Jiang Jiang Mingyu was about to step onto Guizhou soil, a swift horse suddenly galloped toward them.

"Your Majesty! Our army is in grave peril!" A dust-covered messenger stumbled forward to Jiang Jiang Mingyu, drenched in sweat and looking wretched. "The city of Guizhou is on the verge of falling; Song An, his face full of sorrow, earnestly pleads for reinforcements! Mu Mu Feihang is a cunning and treacherous old fox; he will surely seize Guizhou before the reinforcements arrive!"

"How could the situation change so drastically?" A chill ran through Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart as he asked in a deep voice, "Some time ago, Mu Mu Feihang only surrounded the city to demonstrate his strength; why does he suddenly launch fierce attacks without cease today?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, I estimate Mu Mu Feihang received word that Your Highness personally leads the reinforcements, so he is impatiently eager to capture a city to establish a foothold!" Tu Tu Kesiluo's expression was solemn, his brows tightly furrowed.

The messenger quickly said, "Your Highness's analysis is absolutely correct! Mu Mu Feihang's sudden frenzied assault on the city must be his attempt to occupy Guizhou before the reinforcements arrive!"

"Haha, does he think such a small trick can deceive this King?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu laughed loudly. "How can I allow him to succeed while I plan within my tent?"

"Big Brother, the situation is urgent! Please order the great army to move immediately to rescue them!" Tu Tu Kesiluo's tone could not hide his anxiety.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded and said, "I understand your urgency, but we cannot act rashly. We are still some distance from Guizhou; how can we guarantee arriving in time?"

The messenger quickly spoke up: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I have long resided here and know of a shortcut leading directly to the walls of Guizhou! Although the path is rugged, it can greatly reduce the marching time!"

"Lead the way! Depart immediately!" Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes lit up.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" The messenger knelt and bowed his head in gratitude.

Soon, the two hundred thousand strong army, led by the messenger, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, and Tu Tu Kesiluo, rushed to rescue Guizhou under the stars and moon. The army marched at great speed, dust flying, hooves thundering, and killing intent surging.

Tu Tu Kesiluo occasionally spurred his horse to catch up with Jiang Jiang Mingyu and whispered, "Big Brother, have you considered whether this move falls into Mu Mu Feihang's trap? Can our so-called 'shortcut' be trusted?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu remained calm and composed, saying indifferently, "Why do you say such a thing, brother? I will make the judgment myself. Mu Mu Feihang is extremely treacherous, but Guizhou hangs by a thread; we can only stake everything on this one throw!"

"Big Brother is wise! I hope you will be careful in all things!" Tu Tu Kesiluo bowed deeply.

After walking for nearly an hour, the messenger finally pointed to a narrow mountain path and said, "My Lord, we are about to pass through here."

Tu Tu Kesiluo's face was full of displeasure; he was already anxious about the situation on the front lines at Guizhou and had no mind to examine this small path. He merely shot a glance at the messenger and spoke in an unfriendly tone: "Stop talking nonsense and just hurry up!"

The messenger nodded awkwardly, fearing he might anger this vanguard commander again, whose face was covered in heavy flesh and whose temper was short. He quickly waved his hand, and the two hundred thousand strong army slowly advanced along this muddy and narrow mountain path.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu rode on his horse, seemingly casually observing the mountain and forest scenery around him, yet his eyes were extremely wise and profound. At this moment, he suddenly spoke: "Someone, call Li Goudan over for me!"

Moments later, Li Goudan, his face covered in stubble, walked over quickly and respectfully clasped his hands, saying, "What are Your Majesty's orders?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled mysteriously, looked around, and then whispered, "Goudan, listen to me..." His voice was very soft, and Li Goudan had to lean in close to hear clearly.

After listening, Li Goudan's eyes widened in surprise. Jiang Jiang Mingyu then gave further orders: "From now on, all command of the vanguard is handed over to you. Go, summon Tu Tu Kesiluo and Feng Feng Xiwei to come see me immediately."

Li Goudan was still in a state of shock; he stood stunned for a while before coming to his senses and stammering a reply of "Yes, Your Majesty." At this moment, the messenger walked over and asked with a confused expression, "Commandant Li, what is going on? Changing generals while the army is on the march violates a cardinal rule of the army!"

Li Goudan rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "Mind your own business! This is Your Majesty's deep and thoughtful intention; where do you get the right to talk so much? I am acting on the King's orders; if you speak out of turn again, you will be punished according to military law!" Having said this, he yanked the reins hard, his threat clearly evident.

The messenger, terrified and pale-faced, sensibly closed his mouth and immediately resumed leading the way. However, his heart remained full of confusion and suspicion—Your Majesty must have some great secret behind such a sudden transfer of important generals. Could it be... that something has already gone wrong in Guizhou?

Meanwhile, Tu Tu Kesiluo and Feng Feng Xiwei were looking at Jiang Jiang Mingyu with equally incredulous expressions.

"Your Majesty, this... is it impossible?"

The speaker was Feng Feng Xiwei; his eyes were wide as saucers, as if he had discovered some incredible secret.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu, however, had no intention of explaining and said somewhat anxiously.

"The situation is urgent; there is no time to explain. Do as I order, quickly."

The three exchanged glances, then nodded simultaneously, each busying themselves separately according to Jiang Jiang Mingyu's assignments.

An hour later, the great army was still marching at a frantic pace. Looking at the endless mountain path, Li Goudan grew anxious.

He shouted loudly at the messenger.

"How much longer until we reach Guizhou?"

The messenger wiped the sweat from his face and pointed to the great mountain ahead.

"Once we cross that great mountain ahead, we will be at the city of Guizhou."

Li Goudan looked up and indeed saw an extremely precipitous great mountain; after a long while, he said in a low voice.

"That is excellent; go even faster."

As the saying goes, seeing the mountain makes the horse run itself to death; it took a full hour more before the great army reached the foot of the mountain.

Just as Li Goudan was about to order everyone to cross the mountain, a deep and unfathomable smile suddenly appeared on the messenger's face.

Li Goudan's eyes widened, and he shouted.

"Why aren't you leading people to find a path to cross the mountain? What are you laughing at?"

With Guizhou hanging by a thread, he truly did not know what mood the messenger was in to laugh like this.

The messenger, however, seemed not to notice his angry expression at all and simply asked leisurely.

"Commandant Li, why cross the mountain?"

Why?

If it weren't for the fact that he was relying on the messenger to lead the way, Li Goudan, given his temper, would have long ago chopped this dawdling creature into pieces.

He felt he was on the verge of exploding, so he said in a bad mood.

"Besides rescuing Guizhou, what else do you think we could be doing?"

Unexpectedly, the messenger was not the least bit afraid; instead, he said with a smile.

"My Commandant Li, I am afraid you will never reach the city of Guizhou in your lifetimes."

Li Goudan's eyes changed slightly, and he hurriedly spoke.

"What do you mean by that?"

The messenger's tone remained extremely leisurely.

"There is no other meaning; it is just that hidden on this mountain and around it are several ten thousand ambush troops of my Southern Border."

Li Goudan's eyes instantly bulged round, disbelief coloring his words as he asked instinctively.

"You say... reinforcements?"

This surprise was as if he could never have imagined that this messenger, who had always been so honest, would suddenly change his demeanor.