Chapter 980: First Volume, Chapter 980: Expeditionary Brigade and Xiongying Brigade

First Volume, Chapter 980: Expeditionary Brigade and Xiongying Brigade

Jing Qianying's "political value" outweighs heaven itself; after all, Qin Feng's initiation of this Winter War was merely an excuse, with the true core that rallied hearts being the four characters "Former Emperor's Princess"—this is precisely why the Wild Emperor Party has continued to grow.

Should Jing Qianying suffer any mishap, this war would lose its justification, and Qin Feng, already Riding Tiger, Hard to Dismount, could never withdraw; the campaign to install a new emperor would then become outright "invasion," at which point Qin Feng would fail to win hearts and become the blood feud of all Beidi, who would spare no effort to avenge him.

One person's strength is ultimately limited; facing the full might of a nation's retaliation, even Qin Feng would struggle to withstand it.

Thus, hearts and minds are most crucial—this is why, from the very outset of the Winter War, Qin Feng had ordered strict prohibition against troops entering villages or towns, maintaining distance from Beidi civilians.

Xiongying Brigade, fully aware that the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade possessed the strongest combat effectiveness, nonetheless risked launching a surprise assault on it—clearly targeting Jing Qianying; furthermore, the earlier band of dead soldiers who slipped through chaos into the formation to strike directly at Jing Qianying further proves this point.

At this moment, the main army has entered Ezhou; even with snow blocking the mountains, Beidi still holds the home-field advantage in intelligence gathering.

Clearly, Beidi already knows Jing Qianying is within the Expeditionary Brigade, hence they have launched the "Capture the Leader First" tactic.

Although Jing Qianying desperately wished to meet Qin Feng, she understood the importance of being the Former Emperor's Princess, and thus obeyed Xu Mo's arrangements without question; moreover, her accompanying Xu Mo was the result of Li Zhang's compromise—if anything went wrong, not only would Qin Feng be unable to forgive it, even Li Zhang could not answer for it.

Xu Mo fully understood Li Zhang's intentions: allowing Jing Qianying to travel with him was not only a concession to her, but also to swiftly reunite her with Qin Feng—personal matters secondary, convergence primary.

Given Beidi's current military deployment, it is nearly impossible to withstand the Expeditionary Brigade's fierce assault; at fastest, they could reach Jingji within five days and head straight for Changshui County.

Unfortunately, plans cannot keep pace with sudden changes.

According to intelligence returned by the Jin Yi Wei, Xiongying Brigade was originally ordered back to Jingji to assist the Beidi King in consolidating power, yet inexplicably appeared on the Ezhou North Line—there are only two possibilities: either the Beidi King, seeing his efforts to win hearts as hopeless, is preparing for a desperate gamble, or… the Beidi King has employed a feint-and-ambush tactic, secretly communicating with Xiongying Brigade to ambush the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade here.

Regardless of the reason, it is now meaningless.

The Beixi Expeditionary Brigade's situation is dire: directly ahead lies Chen Si's Army, and on the right flank stands Xiongying Brigade—highly vulnerable to being attacked from both front and rear; thus, Xu Mo dared not advance further, ordering full defensive readiness while dispatching messengers to the Rear to immediately summon the Light Cavalry Corps for support.

Unfortunately, that night, the messenger returned drenched in blood—the dispatched couriers had been continuously ambushed and killed by Xiongying Brigade, communications severed.

Although the message had not been delivered, due to the constant activity of Jin Yi Wei agents nearby, news of Xiongying Brigade's ambush on the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade would reach the Rear in no time—this, Xu Mo was not overly concerned about.

What he truly feared was their current predicament: since Xiongying Brigade could brazenly slaughter messengers, it meant their encirclement had silently closed in!

Xu Mo immediately dispatched numerous scouts to reconnoiter—and as expected, Xiongying Brigade was active frequently between twenty and fifty Li from Xu Mo's Headquarters, having formed a vast encirclement.

Xiongying Brigade had not yet launched an attack because they understood the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade's strength; a rash assault would risk heavy casualties, so they waited—for Chen Si to receive word and send forward his vanguard, so the two forces could encircle and devour the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade whole.

According to Xu Mo's judgment, it would take at least five days for Jin Yi Wei to deliver the message to the Rear, and for the Light Cavalry Corps to arrive.

Meanwhile, the Enemy Army would surely launch a fierce assault during this period; if the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade suffered severe damage, even if the Light Cavalry Corps arrived, it would be too late.

They must not sit idle and await destruction—otherwise, catastrophic strategic losses were inevitable.

Xu Mo acted decisively, ordering an Offensive Action: before engaging Chen Si's Army, they must first repel Xiongying Brigade, or the coming battle would be unwinnable.

Xu Mo rode his Warhorse and issued orders to the troops.

"Is the Guerrilla Colonel present?"

A young man clad in Light Armor spurred his Horse forward; within the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade, even officers were overwhelmingly young, making this army exceptionally youthful.

"General, your subordinate is here!"

Xu Mo gazed at the dark, endless Huang Ye beyond and said gravely: "According to Jin Yi Wei reports, heavy snow is imminent; if this snow falls, not only will Beidi be affected, but our own advance speed will plummet—we must push forward to Bei Xian before the snow arrives."

"Xiongying Brigade is the elite among Beidi's elites; they will cling relentlessly to our heels. To prepare for the coming great battle, we must first repel Xiongying Brigade."

Here, Xu Mo did not immediately order the Guerrilla Colonel, but shouted loudly: "Snow Wolf Brigade, Xiongying Brigade's equal in infamy, has already been exterminated by the Marquis of Qin—what are Beidi's elites, then? Beneath the iron hooves of our Beixi Soldiers, they shall be reduced to dust!"

Because Xiongying Brigade was infamous, Xu Mo had to first boost military morale, making every soldier understand that Xiongying Brigade was no god of war—they were merely ordinary soldiers; with a determined counterattack, they could still be defeated.

In warfare, nothing is more dangerous than fear before the battle even begins.

Xu Mo would never allow his army to lose on morale; he fixed his gaze on the officers and growled: "Bring me the head of Xiongying Brigade's Main General, or you dishonor the Marquis of Qin's trust!"

The officers present all raised their arms in response.

"Xiongying Brigade? Worthless!"

"Rest assured, General—even facing Xiongying Brigade, our troops will not retreat an inch."

"Since the Marquis of Qin has slain the wolf, today is the day our army hunts the eagle!"

Hearing the officers' shouts, Xu Mo felt no further doubt and immediately ordered: "Guerrilla Colonel, take two thousand Light Cavalry and harass the Enemy Army—remember, do not venture more than twenty Li from ZhuZhen; if you advance alone, the rear forces cannot reinforce you in time, and you will be surrounded by superior enemy numbers."

The Guerrilla Colonel saluted, then spurred his Horse away; as a long-serving officer who had fought alongside Xu Mo, he instantly grasped Xu Mo's true intent.