Chapter 255

"Captain, a small group of Xiongnu scouts discovered ahead." The scout reported in a low voice, holding binoculars.

Luo Feng took the binoculars and looked at the black dots on the distant horizon: "Numbers?"

"About thirty cavalry, looks like a normal patrol."

Luo Feng couldn't have imagined that after taking a detour, he would still run into the Xiongnu; it seemed Adunla was truly vigilant enough to have expanded the patrol range quite a bit!

Luo Feng thought for a moment and shook his head: "Avoid them. Our goal is the Royal Court; we cannot alert the enemy."

A recruit was somewhat puzzled: "Captain, this is a merit delivered to our doorstep."

"Don't be greedy for small gains, so that you can plan for the big ones."

Luo Feng's tone was firm, "Pass the order, the whole army will move in concealment, no fires allowed, horses must be gagged."

In the cold night, the soldiers curled up together, relying on body heat to keep each other warm, gnawing on cold and hard dry rations.

Luo Feng shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers; his dry rations were no different from the soldiers'.

When the night was deep and quiet, Luo Feng sat alone on the high ground of the hills, looking at the starry sky.

Taking out the 'secret fa bao zhinan zhen' Jiang Jinshi had given him from his bosom, Luo Feng remembered what Jiang Jinshi had said—this needle pointed south on one side and north on the other; if they got lost, they could use it!

On the second day, Luo Feng successfully bypassed the Xiongnu main army; Adunla wouldn't have thought that the newly arrived Ming Army would be so bold as to bypass them and go to the rear to find the Royal Court.

This resulted in there being no Xiongnu patrols in the rear at all, and Luo Feng's group didn't meet a single Xiongnu!

It wasn't until night fell that Luo Feng reached the location of the river on the map.

So Luo Feng ordered them to rest; they would need to start drawing the map from tomorrow, as they couldn't see far at night, which wasn't convenient for drawing.

On the third day, Luo Feng's group began to walk continuously north along the river; because they had to draw the map, the progress was much slower.

On the fourth day, the sky began to drift with tiny grains of snow; this was the first snow of early winter in Beijiang.

An old soldier couldn't help but sigh: "The snow came a bit early this year!"

Luo Feng shook his head: "It's not that the snow came early, but that we have been walking north!"

The northern land is cold, and the further north you go, the colder it gets, and this is also the reason why the Xiongnu's combat power is stronger in winter.

They have lived in such an environment since they were young, and their cold resistance is indeed much stronger than that of the Da Qian people!

On the fifth day, Luo Feng continued to penetrate north; just as he was preparing to return to Lin City after today, the vanguard cavalry brought back a Xiongnu.

"General, there is a situation!"

"Where was he discovered?" Luo Feng squatted down, looking at the Xiongnu who was covered in blood and had already fainted.

"In a small mountain gully five miles to the northeast; he discovered me and was about to run, so I captured him."

Of course, a struggle was unavoidable between the two; after all, the Xiongnu wouldn't obediently follow him back, which was why he had been beaten into this state.

Luo Feng went to the river to fetch a pot of ice water and poured it over the Xiongnu's head.

The Xiongnu woke up in shock, saw the soldiers around him, and was suddenly so excited he didn't know what he was saying, even wanting to snatch the Ming Army's weapons.

Luo Feng didn't indulge the other party, punching him in the stomach and making him curl up into a ball like a shrimp.

"Is there anyone who can speak Xiongnu?"

An old soldier took the initiative to stand out: "Captain, we veterans all know a little; we've been dealing with the Xiongnu for too long!"

"Good! Ask him for me, where is the Xiongnu Royal Court!" Luo Feng hadn't forgotten the purpose of his trip.

The old soldier took a small knife from his bosom and stepped forward, holding it to the Xiongnu's neck.

"Where is your Xiongnu Royal Court?"

The Xiongnu shouted: "The Chanyu will not let you two-legged sheep go!"

The old soldier gave a bloodthirsty smile, the small knife slid across the Xiongnu's arm, and a piece of meat fell off just like that, "You'd better answer my question, otherwise I can scrape ten thousand pieces of meat off your body!"

The Xiongnu felt the pain but still gritted his teeth: "Damned two-legged sheep, do you dream of making the warriors of the grasslands submit to you?"

Without too much threat, the old soldier stepped on the Xiongnu's arm and went up to scrape ten cuts first.

"Speak, or not?"

"I am a wolf of the grasslands..."

This time the old soldier didn't even bother to listen to the end, and started scraping meat slices.

Luo Feng was puzzled and asked the people around him: "What are they saying? Someone come and interpret!"

"Captain, this Xiongnu says he is a wolf of the grasslands, and he will never betray the Chanyu!"

"What an arrogant Xiongnu, scrape him hard!"

A moment later, the Xiongnu was in a state of having more breath going out than coming in, and gasped as he opened his mouth: "Royal... Royal Court is under the Qilian Mountains!"

"Where are the Qilian Mountains?" The old soldier wiped the blood off the small knife and continued to ask nonchalantly.

"Qilian... Qilian Mountains, are... north of the... river..."

Informing Luo Feng of the news he had obtained, Luo Feng pondered for a long time before saying: "Bury this Xiongnu on the spot, and after clearing the traces, we will continue forward!"

"Captain, think twice; this might be a Xiongnu trick."

"If the Royal Court is really at these Qilian Mountains, we don't know how many more days it will take; I'm afraid the dry rations won't last until then!"

Luo Feng's gaze was firm: "It's fine, continue forward for one day; if there is a Xiongnu tribe, we can replenish our supplies! If there is no Xiongnu tribe, then it won't be too late for us to turn back to Lin City!"

Everyone looked at each other; then they might as well walk for another day!

Luo Feng knew in his heart, however, that there was a high probability of there being a Xiongnu tribe.

This Xiongnu didn't look like a soldier on the battlefield, but just an ordinary Xiongnu; if he could be in this vicinity, it meant there must be a tribe he belonged to nearby!

Now Adunla was recuperating and looking for opportunities on the front line, while the Royal Court and tribes in the rear had received grain replenishment, which was exactly the time they were lax.

Speed is the essence of war, and opportunities are fleeting. Attacking at this time was exactly the best opportunity!

Even if they couldn't find the Royal Court, being able to hit a few of their tribes and throwing their rear into chaos would also be a help to the front line.

The way of a general should be brave and decisive, but not to show off the courage of a brute.

Luo Feng firmly believed that his decision was not the courage of a brute, but a well-thought-out strategy for victory.

And on the second day, Luo Feng's idea was confirmed; a tribe was surviving along the river, and through binoculars, Luo Feng could even see quite a few Xiongnu women grazing.

Luo Feng slowly retracted his head, for fear of alerting the enemy, and asked the scout beside him: "Did you see how many people were there when you came?"

"Captain! I don't know the number for now, but there are very few men, most of them are women and children!"

Luo Feng wasn't surprised by this; after all, the Xiongnu were all fighting on the front line! It was very normal for the rear forces to be weak!

"What do you say, Captain? Should we fight or not?" The scout lowered his voice.

"We'll talk about it when we go back!"

Luo Feng turned around and left with the scout; now the eight hundred cavalry were all hiding!

If they really launched an attack, this small tribe could be completely wiped out in less than a quarter of an hour!

As for whether to fight or not?

Their grain for the winter was all the people of Beijiang who had died in battle; it is said that those who are not as tall as a wheel should not be killed, so perhaps the people of Beijiang should put the wheels sideways!