Chapter 501: First Volume_Chapter 501: Qin Feng Disappears

First Volume_Chapter 501: Qin Feng Disappears

Underestimating the enemy is the greatest taboo on the battlefield!

But seeing the soldiers so excited, their morale soaring, Qin Feng couldn't very well throw cold water on everyone at this moment.

Qin Feng was very clear about his current situation — it was undoubtedly a desperate strait within a desperate strait.

If no reinforcements arrived, including Qin Feng himself, they would all die in the end. This outcome was already fated and could not be shaken.

But this only needed Qin Feng alone to know. For the soldiers, it was the exact opposite of Qin Feng — they had to stay full of hope at all times.

To lift his comrades' spirits, Qin Feng immediately ordered a severely wounded warhorse killed on the spot. Using the great iron cauldron plundered from Pingcang County, he stewed a cauldron full of meat soup. The remaining two thighs were placed over the fire to roast slowly, and salt was sprinkled on quite lavishly — after all, these precious condiments had all been plundered, so spending them freely didn't hurt.

Qin Feng and the soldiers sat around the iron cauldron on the ground, eating heartily. The despairing atmosphere that had blanketed Qingyu Mountain had already vanished like smoke, replaced by an incomparably cheerful mood.

It seemed that in the soldiers' eyes, this desperate death struggle had already turned into an autumn outing to enjoy the breeze — perfectly at ease.

The rich aroma of meat drifted on the wind out of Qingyu Mountain.

The Xiongying Brigade cavalry surrounding them swallowed hard, unable to resist cursing at the top of their lungs.

"Damn it! We're stuck here suffering at this siege, and they — look at them — they're actually stewing meat up in the mountain! Seems like there's roast meat too?!"

"Living like this, it's probably no worse than when they were in Beixi County."

"Hmph, I'll just see how many more days their comfortable life can last!"

"The enemy general must have gotten kicked in the head by a donkey — in a desperate situation like this, he still dares to live lavishly? Who knows how many days the materials and supplies plundered from Pingcang County can last them!"

The reason Qin Feng dared to spend so lavishly was naturally because he had a certain confidence in the materials and supplies.

Originally, the materials and supplies the Jinyiwei had sent to support the Tianji Camp Guards were already considerable, and on top of that came the materials and supplies plundered from Pingcang County, as well as livestock.

Qin Feng had already calculated with extreme precision. Currently in hand he had a total of nine shi of millet, two shi of military rations specially made in Beixi County, and thirty penned-up warhorses. The wind-dried meat hanging at the mountaintop nearly covered the entire Shan Tou — once dried, it was estimated at about ten shi.

Adding in the five warhorses ready at hand at any moment, these materials and supplies, based on the standard of "eating and drinking one's fill, maintaining peak tactical advantage," were enough to last two months!

If after two months reinforcements still hadn't come, then whether to hold this Shan Tou or not wouldn't mean much anymore.

Besides food, drinking water was also extremely important.

The entire Qingyu Mountain had only one mountain stream, and it was located at the MountainWaist. Once the enemy army attacked and occupied the MountainWaist, they would cut off their water supply directly — the consequences would be unthinkable.

Therefore Qin Feng had all the water bladders plundered from Pingcang County filled to the brim and brought up to the mountaintop for storage — a total of two hundred water bladders, each barely enough for one soldier to drink for two days.

This bit of emergency drinking water was utterly inadequate, so Qin Feng had already planned to build a Xu Shui Chi at the mountaintop.

However, the soldiers were already extremely exhausted, so waiting until they had rested before starting work wouldn't be too late.

Just as Qin Feng and the soldiers were trapped on Qingyu Mountain, the Rear Residence of the Beixi Xian Ya had already fallen into utter chaos.

Liu Hongyan couldn't sit still, pacing back and forth in the courtyard. Ever since Qin Feng had left Beixi County, she had barely closed her eyes.

"By the time calculation, Feng'er should be back by now. Could something have gone wrong in between? Is there any news from the Jinyiwei side? Ai, it's enough to worry a person to death!"

Qin Cheng Clan was sitting beside the StoneTable, picking through the little bugs in the dampened millet, appearing quite calm. She said casually: "Second girl, there's no use you worrying here like this. Feng'er will come back when it's time for him to come back. If you keep pacing like this, your mother's heart will be unsettled by your pacing. Didn't Feng'er say it himself? Anyone who could kill him is still cultivating in the womb. We ought to trust Feng'er."

"If you really can't calm your heart, go to the Yiyuan and have a look. Recently quite a few wounded have been pulled back from the Front Line, and even Lin County Magistrate has gone to busy himself there."

Although Liu Hongyan was anxious, since even Qin Cheng Clan had spoken, she couldn't keep dwelling on it.

Qin Cheng Clan glanced at Xiao Xiangxiang and Shu Feng: "You two go along with her, so there's someone to look after each other on the road."

Once Liu Hongyan and the two maids had left, Qin Cheng Clan finally set down the grain in her hands, heaved a long sigh, and a deep worry surfaced in her otherwise calm eyes.

"Earlier, with Second girl and those two maids present, I didn't dare speak plainly, afraid they couldn't bear it."

"The Heir has sent word — there is no trace of Feng'er along the Beidi Frontier. He had planned to send the Jinyiwei to investigate, but the Di's border defense is tighter than usual. Even the Night Owls, whose movements are usually secretive, have been appearing frequently. This shows that the Di side does not intend to let us know what has actually happened within Di territory."

"Every sign indicates that Feng'er's movements have been exposed, and his situation now is worrisome."

Shen Qingci and Jing Qianying, who were nearby, exchanged a glance, their brows furrowing in unison.

Jing Qianying gritted her teeth, grabbed her sword, and headed for the door: "I'll go rescue Feng'er!"

Qin Cheng Clan gave a look, and Shen Qingci hurriedly held Jing Qianying back, consoling her with earnest words.

"Fourth sister, don't be rash. If even Feng'er has fallen into a desperate plight, what use would your going be? Besides, didn't Mother say it? Feng'er's situation being worrisome means Feng'er has not yet fallen into the enemy army's hands. Otherwise the enemy army would be only too glad to let us know, so as to use it as leverage to make Beixi County withdraw its troops."

Hearing these words, Jing Qianying finally calmed down somewhat.

A deep look flashed through Qin Cheng Clan's eyes: "Qingci is right. The enemy army probably doesn't even know Feng'er went into Di territory, otherwise they would have already started trumpeting it far and wide. The more critical the moment, the less we can panic. Everyone who knows of Feng'er's crossing the border has been instructed by the Heir — this news absolutely must not be allowed to reach the Di!"

Jing Qianying's brows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with killing intent, but even more with worry.

Jing Qianying had always thought that, with her iron heart, she would no longer be one to worry herself sick over someone.

But now, the moment she thought Qin Feng might have met with misfortune, her heart couldn't stop pounding wildly.

"Are we just supposed to sit here like this and do nothing?"

Jing Qianying had always been outspoken — even before Qin Cheng Clan, if she had doubts in her heart, she would say them to her face.

This was also why the one who had returned to Beixi County with Qin Cheng Clan back then was Li Xiaolan, who was more deep and good at enduring, rather than Jing Qianying.

Before Qin Cheng Clan could explain, Shen Qingci had already spoken first.

"Fourth sister, even if we are to send reinforcements, it absolutely cannot be now. If we act rashly, we may well pull one hair and move the whole body."