Chapter 495

First Volume, Chapter 495: Plunder Materials and Supplies

Under normal circumstances, Qin Feng would have been trembling with excitement, hands on hips, boasting endlessly—but clearly this was not the time for arrogance; the enemy army could strike at any moment, and every second counted, or Qin Feng and all the soldiers would meet a fate no better than the massive rock before them.

Qin Feng did not hesitate, immediately setting about reorganizing the camp.

First, he selected thirty guards and used the Explosive Wedge Technique to dismantle the massive rocks on the eastern, northern, and western sides of the MountainTop—any rock suitable for climbing was pried apart, destroying the enemy's path of assault while also cutting off his own retreat.

Escape was impossible; he would never escape in this lifetime—only fight to the death!

Next, Qin Feng selected fifty guards to cut down trees on the MountainWaist, haul the timber to the platform cleared on the MountainTop, and construct temporary shelters. After completing the shelters, these fifty guards would join the excavation effort: the eastern, northern, and western slopes needed to be "flattened," and the southern face facing the enemy also required modification.

The core strategic idea was simple: give the enemy a chance to climb up, but make the process excruciatingly difficult.

Thus, Qin Feng still had one hundred twenty men left.

He then selected seventy more to build simple fortifications and traps on the Mountain Waist, to conduct segmented resistance, consume the enemy's combat strength, and only then retreat to make a final stand on the Mountain Top.

The remaining fifty men were all assigned to Ning Hu.

According to intelligence gathered by the Brocade Guard, forty Li north of Qingyu Mountain lay Pingcang County, a small town with a population of just over four thousand, defended by three hundred garrison soldiers, plus Yamen Runners and conscripts—totaling no more than four hundred men.

Since a Prolonged Warfare was inevitable, Materials and Supplies were paramount.

Before the Military Retreat yesterday, all remaining Materials and Supplies had been buried on Qingyu Mountain and were relatively intact, but the stock was too meager—only enough to last five days; beyond that, they would starve.

If even basic food could not be guaranteed, what was the point of fighting? The enemy need not attack—just besiege Qingyu Mountain, and Qin Feng and his men would be starved to death.

Attacking Pingcang County and plundering Materials and Supplies was Qin Feng's only chance to survive.

Moreover, the enemy army was surely assembling, preparing to enter the mountains and hunt them down; Pingcang County's garrison would likely have been depleted as well, meaning the actual number of defenders could not possibly reach four hundred. Add to that the element of surprise—no one would expect Qin Feng to dare descend and plunder at this very moment.

Thus, breaching the county town would not be difficult.

Of course, Qin Feng had prepared for the worst, repeatedly instructing Ning Hu: "If heavy casualties occur, abandon the siege and retreat immediately. Also, remember: strike fast and finish quickly. This is Di territory, and large forces are surely gathering nearby. Once news of the attack on Pingcang County spreads, the Di Raiding Cavalry can arrive in less than half a Envoy."

Ning Hu nodded firmly, slapped his chest, and swore: "It's just a county town—what's the big deal? I'll bring back the Materials and Supplies within two hours!"

Qin Feng clapped Ning Hu on the shoulder, full of confidence in him.

Ning Hu led fifty soldiers, riding their Warhorses toward Pingcang County.

It was already the late night; Qin Feng did not rest either—he led the remaining Brocade Guards to drive all the Warhorses at the Mountain Foot up the mountain. Since the terrain beyond the MountainWaist became impossibly steep, the Warhorses could not climb on their own; Qin Feng and the Brocade Guards dragged them up, one by one.

They were then driven into the temporarily cleared platform—though called a platform, it was merely a narrow crevice between rock walls, where the Warhorses, once inside, would be pinned immobile by the cliffs on both sides.

The Warhorses were miserable, but there was no choice—leaving them below would only hand them over to the enemy as captured Materials and Supplies.

The reason for expending such effort to bring the Warhorses to the MountainTop was not to protect them, but to store them as strategic reserves—if food ran out, they would slaughter the horses, eat the meat, and drink the blood.

In the end, Qin Feng brought only thirty Warhorses to the MountainTop—first, because it was extremely difficult, and everyone was utterly exhausted; second, because the terrain was too perilous. Also, the MountainTop area was limited—thirty Warhorses was already its maximum capacity.

Then Qin Feng led the Brocade Guards to harvest wild grass between the Mountain Foot and MountainWaist, hauling it up as fodder to prolong the Warhorses' survival.

Of the remaining hundred-plus Warhorses, Qin Feng slaughtered three on the spot, slicing the meat into long strips, which the Brocade Guards carried up the mountain, stringing them together with Rope and hanging them in the air. The dry, windy climate of the Northern Border was perfect for making Wind-dried Meat.

He kept five Warhorses as food for the enemy's assault, and with a grim resolve, drove the rest down the mountain, cursing and threatening them until they scattered—where they ended up was beyond his control.

Giving them a chance at life was the only thing Qin Feng could do.

At the same moment, Ning Hu had already led his soldiers into Pingcang County City.

The Battle was far easier than Ning Hu had expected.

The soldiers, using the cover of night, crept to the base of the City Wall, climbed up using Rope, and killed several negligent guards dozing on duty—leaving the entire county town in a state of "unpreparedness."

Coupled with the curfew, the Streets were nearly empty; Ning Hu left five men at the City Gate and led the remaining forty-five in two groups.

One group charged straight for the County Yamen; the other headed for the Camp.

At the third watch of the night, when defenses were lax, the Yamen Door was shut—but light seeping through the crack confirmed that Yamen Runners were on duty inside.

Since the County Yamen was surrounded by buildings, there was no way to climb in.

Ning Hu decisively knocked on the Yamen Door.

After a long pause, a lazy voice called out: "Who?!"

Ning Hu replied in a low tone: "You think I'm who? The Grandpa from the Garrison Camp!"

Inside, the voice immediately cursed: "Fuck you, I'm your grandpa! Speak your piece, spit it out!"

Ning Hu snapped: "The general of the Xiongying Brigade sent word—send fifty men from the county to join the hunt for Qingyu Mountain. Bring the order to your superior."

The on-duty Yamen Runner grumbled as he opened the door: "Didn't we just pull a hundred men? Why take more now? It's the middle of the night—can't this wait till morning?"

As the Yamen Runner cracked the door open, what he extended was not the order—but a short dagger.

Ning Hu struck swiftly, slashing the Yamen Runner's shoulder, smashing the door open, and his hidden soldiers surged in—the two on-duty Yamen Runners, stunned, were cut down before they could react.

Ning Hu led his soldiers through the Inner Courtyard, dragged the County Magistrate from his bed, and killed him with a single slash—the entire County Yamen echoed with the terrified screams of women and maidservants.

Ning Hu ignored them, turning toward the Camp.