Chapter 254

Jiang Jinshi stood on the city wall, feeling the biting wind of Beijiang; the scouts he had sent out these past few days hadn't found any useful information.

Adunla, that old and cunning Xiongnu, even after retreating, had split off quite a few scouts to roam around, making it impossible for the scouts sent out to get close.

But the Ming Army's scouts were also biting hard, at least they wouldn't lose their target.

And after a week of integration, the current Ming Army had been reborn; the morale of the original Zhenbei Army had been diluted quite a bit by the full meals and the laughter of the Ming Army.

The two sides interacted very harmoniously, and from then on, there was no longer a distinction between the Zhenbei Army and the Ming Army, and everyone happily accepted the 'Ming' flag.

He had originally intended to let Luo Feng find the location of the Xiongnu Royal Court, but there were no elite cavalry in the Ming Army before, and although there were some in the Zhenbei Army, their morale had been hit, so it had been dragged out until now.

Now that morale had risen, it was time to attack!

"General, Captain Luo is here." Han Xiao's voice interrupted Jiang Jinshi's thoughts.

Han Xiao spent more time in the military camp and wasn't used to titles like 'Commander' or 'Eldest Brother', so in the end, he chose to call Jiang Jinshi General.

And the various captains had discussed it privately and decided to call him Eldest Brother in private, but for now, they would respectfully call him 'Commander' in public!

Jiang Jinshi turned around and saw Luo Feng riding a horse galloping from afar.

"Commander, you were looking for me?" Luo Feng saluted, a light of eagerness flickering in his eyes; clearly, he knew the purpose of Jiang Jinshi looking for him.

Jiang Jinshi nodded, signaling him to follow him into the military tent.

"The matter of finding the Royal Court can begin. According to the map left by the Zhenbei Prince, I do have some ideas!" Jiang Jinshi pointed to the sheepskin map spread on the desk.

Luo Feng leaned over to study the map, his fingers moving along the direction of the mountains and rivers, but it was a pity that this map was incomplete: "Where does the Commander think the Xiongnu Royal Court is now?"

Jiang Jinshi shook his head: "The area to the north on this map hasn't been drawn, so the information that can be obtained is relatively small, but..."

Jiang Jinshi pointed to a river that hadn't been finished and said: "Whether it's the Xiongnu or livestock, they cannot leave water; searching along the river might yield results."

Han Xiao looked at the map; every bit of this map outside of Lin City had been drawn slowly by scouts sent by the Zhenbei Prince.

And the river Jiang Jinshi pointed to was the furthest place the scouts had ever been.

Any further, and the people sent out hadn't returned!

"So your main purpose this time is to find the Royal Court, and secondly, to supplement the incompleteness of the map!" Jiang Jinshi didn't expect Luo Feng to find the Xiongnu's lair in one go; drawing the map would also be very useful for the subsequent battles with the Xiongnu!

"Give me eight hundred light cavalry." Luo Feng suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with unprecedented focus, "Five days, no matter the result, I will return for supplies!"

Jiang Jinshi frowned: "Eight hundred cavalry? Too risky! The Xiongnu cavalry are elusive; if you encounter their main force, you will have no power to resist. Better take three thousand cavalry!"

"A large army moves slowly, which will instead alert the enemy."

Luo Feng's fingertips pointed to the location of the Xiongnu main army on the map, "The Xiongnu will never think that we dare to penetrate their hinterland with a small force, bypassing this area to go to the rear; fewer people will actually make it easier to act!"

A confident arc rose at the corner of his mouth, "Speed is the essence of war, not the number of troops."

Hearing this, Han Xiao couldn't help but feel respect; taking eight hundred people and daring to bypass to the rear to find the Xiongnu Royal Court, without the guidance of a map.

This task sounded no different from suicide, yet Captain Luo could still laugh?

A real man!!

Jiang Jinshi thought carefully about what Luo Feng had said; if the main focus was on drawing the map, naturally the fewer people the better, but if they encountered the Xiongnu main force, Luo Feng's life would be in jeopardy!

Just as Jiang Jinshi was hesitating, a piece of history about Huo Qubing suddenly came to his mind.

Huo Qubing once led eight hundred cavalry deep into the desert, beheading the Xiongnu Prime Minister and Danghu, capturing and killing the Chanyu's uncle, and was enfeoffed as a marquis in one battle.

And now, Luo Feng had made such a bold decision; perhaps it really had a chance?

"Good! Eight hundred it is!"

Jiang Jinshi finally nodded, "But you must return within five days, regardless of whether you find the Royal Court! I cannot lose you!"

A flash of emotion passed through Luo Feng's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by fighting spirit: "Understood!"

Twenty miles outside Lin City, beside the valley where the Zhenbei Prince died, the Xiongnu main army was currently setting up camp.

"What kind of background does that army have?" Adunla's pale face still held the lingering fear of having survived a disaster.

He looked at his severed arm, his expression gradually becoming ferocious; he hadn't expected the opposing commander to be so brave and fierce, completely incomparable to the Zhenbei Prince.

And his subordinates were all capable of fighting; the several tribal leaders who had faced the other side that day had two dead and two seriously injured.

There was even one person whose archery was extremely excellent, almost costing him his life on the spot.

But as the bravest wolf on the grasslands, how could he be afraid because of this?

"Just wait! We don't lack grain now, and the weather is getting colder; that is the moment when the sons of the grasslands are at their fiercest!"

Adunla's eyes revealed a murderous light; he would definitely repay this debt of a severed arm a hundredfold!

At dusk that day, eight hundred light cavalry had finished gathering.

Luo Feng stood in front of the team, his gaze sweeping over every face.

Among these people were experienced veterans and green recruits, but they all had one thing in common, and that was excellent horsemanship!

Perhaps they were still inferior to the Xiongnu, but this was the most outstanding batch of people among the 100,000-strong army!

"Brothers!"

Luo Feng's voice was clear and powerful in the cold wind, "The mission we are going on will be very dangerous, but I have confidence in this!"

The cavalry listened quietly, no one whispering to each other.

"The Xiongnu think that we people of Beijiang only know how to defend the city!" Luo Feng continued, "They think the cold winter is their protective umbrella, but we are going to do the opposite!

This trip is dangerous; we may encounter enemies several times our number, we may get lost, we may freeze or starve to death. Now, if anyone wants to quit, there is still time."

Not a single person moved.

Luo Feng nodded, appreciation in his eyes: "Prepare enough arrows, bring ten days of dry rations, but do not bring any cooking utensils."

This order left some of the recruits stunned.

Not bringing cooking utensils meant they could only eat cold, hard dry rations, and couldn't even drink a mouthful of hot soup.

The veterans, however, already understood Luo Feng's intention; cooking utensils would slow down the march, and the smoke from starting fires would expose their tracks.

In the Xiongnu hinterland, any slight negligence could be fatal.

Luo Feng flipped onto his horse, "Set off!"

Jiang Jinshi stood on the city wall without saying a word, just watching Luo Feng and the eight hundred cavalry leave!

The first day of the march was extremely smooth.

Luo Feng chose a route that wound forward along the hilly area; although it was a detour, it was hidden, mainly to bypass the location where the Xiongnu were camped.