Chapter 639 - Release The Supreme Commander From His Post, I’ll Do It (XVI)
Chapter 639: Release The Supreme Commander From His Post, I’ll Do It (XVI)
Jiang Pengji held an advantage here, but to produce such results as an attacking player without any siege equipment was a feat.
She said, “Now that the weather is cold, the corpses will not rot easily. Get people to collect the soldiers’ bodies and send them back.”
Following the habits of war, the soldiers’ corpses were usually dealt with on the spot.
One, there were too many corpses, which made them difficult to carry and transport. Dealing with them also consumed manpower.
Two, the weather could be terrible, which made it difficult to preserve the corpses. Also, many accidents could happen during a march, so it was inconvenient to carry bodies with them.
But the weather was freezing cold now, and it was not that easy for the corpses to rot and collect maggots.
Jiang Pengji intended to have them sent back to their hometowns instead of having them buried in a foreign land.
Yang Si’s eyes widened slightly, it seemed that he was surprised by Jiang Pengji’s decision. After a while, he said in a low voice, “Yes.”
The situation in Jinmen County was much poorer than what Jiang Pengji had initially imagined. The houses were squat and dilapidated and the single doors of each household were tightly shut.
Occasionally, a commoner would look outside through the narrow seam of the door. If Jiang Pengji glanced over, they would immediately retract their heads.
Jiang Pengji had established a strict military order not to disturb civilians during a march or battle. If anyone violated the order, he would be dealt with according to military law.
“Let the soldiers rest and regroup for a while. They should eat something and restore their strength. Then, we’ll turn around, return, and act according to our plan.”
Jiang Pengji breathed out a long sigh and pondered the battle plan she’d formulated earlier.
Yang Si nodded and passed along the order on behalf of Jiang Pengji.
Out of all the entire army, the Vanguard Battalion was the portion with the best battle skills. However, they had just taken down Jinmen County and it was impossible to leave their men there for defense.
Therefore, Jiang Pengji had notified Qiguan Rang before leaving. She had asked him to dispatch more than 1,000 troops from the main army to temporarily take over Jinmen County.
According to her calculations, they had time to completely chew through the Red Lotus Group soldiers waiting for them and then make a U-turn to Jinmen County.
The news that the Red Lotus Group had received was outdated, and the relay time was long. By the time the Red Lotus Group would want to send soldiers to retake Jinmen County, not only would Xu Ke’s siege equipment have arrived, but Jiang Pengji would have also led the Vanguard Battalion to their destination. If the Red Lotus Group wanted to attack Jinmen County, which was at the peak of its strength, they would have to sacrifice much of their army!
After resting for about four hours, the soldiers dispatched by Qiguan Rang arrived.
Jiang Pengji took two bites of her rations and drank a bit of warm water. She turned and lifted herself onto Little White’s back. With a wave of her arm, she shouted, “Let’s set off!”
Behind her, Jinmen County sprawled across the land like a sleeping giant, fading below the horizon.
According to the battle plan, Jiang Pengji would take soldiers with her to hide on the mountain road leading to Jinmen County.
On the other side, the troops transferred from Jinmen County had finally arrived in Fenghu County after a series of twists and turns.
The “strategist” scholar of the Red Lotus Group was almost moved to tears.
With Qiguang Rang’s repeated provocations and threats, the scholar kept thinking that he would receive news of Jiang Pengji’s attack on Fenghu county at any second.
He had originally wanted to catch one of Jiang Pengji’s scouts and kill him as an example to others. This would also raise the spirits of his side and heighten their vigor. But how were these scouts disappearing like ghosts? They were slippery as an eel in one’s hands. His men could only find traces of the scouts, but could never catch one. This made the scholar so angry that he could not breathe properly. His fury surged.
But everything was okay now. Jinmen County’s troops had arrived in full. With the forces of two counties combined, surely he would be able to wear down Liu Xi.
The scholar felt a complete sense of security. All his worries were dispelled.
“That thief is too much of a bully. I must teach him his place so that he knows how formidable our sacred sect is.”
The scholar gritted his teeth quietly, the plan of outflanking the enemy that he had previously come up with took hold of his mind again. He was very impressed… The enemy had used scouts to frighten him and he had been scared witless by them for so long. Now that he had the upper hand, he could find a way to regain his dignity and make Liu Xi lose face at the same time.
Thinking of this, the scholar began to deploy his forces. He dispatched more than 3,000 men, preparing to mount a sneak attack on the small town and ambush Jiang Pengji.
The scholar had great authority in the Red Lotus Group. There was almost no one except the chief who could order him to revoke the plan.
But…
The Red Lotus leader who had led the reinforcement troops from Jinmen County was unhappy.
The leader said, “Military counselor, my army rushed from Jinmen to Fenghu County without even slowing down. The men are extremely tired, why not give them some time to rest and regroup?”
Hearing this, the scholar’s anger suddenly burst forth, as if his vexation with all other matters had been triggered as well.
He said indignantly, “Speed is a crucial asset in war, and opportunities in battle are fleeting. If we miss an opportunity because of you and end up giving Liu Xi a respite, who should bear the responsibility? You or me? Besides, you’ve taken the public roads from Jinmen to Fenghu County. The roads are even, so how much physical energy has actually been expended? And I have not yet pursued the criminal charge of the slow arrival of your reinforcements. This would nearly have given that thief a window of opportunity! ”
If he had not played the situation well, perhaps Liu Xi might have already known that Fenghu County had insufficient troops.
What if Liu Xi besieged the city before reinforcements arrived from Jinmen County?
The leader was quite lucky that the scholar did not pursue his responsibility. However, he still wanted to rest and regroup which would delay their battle opportunity.
When the leader heard this, his complexion went from pale to blue-green as his veins throbbed. His anger was burning him up from the inside.
If he didn’t fear the scholar’s position in the Red Lotus Group, he would have smacked him across the face.
The scholar was just a tender white chicken who only knew how to run his mouth. He knew nothing about war. Who’d given him the courage to slap his own face?
Like a dictator, the scholar imperiously said, “Take attendance of all soldiers and horses, suppress Liu Xi that thief, and invigorate the divine prestige of our sacred sect!”
They were dreaming the wonderful dream of annihilating Jiang Pengji and accomplishing their goals, but little did they know that several traps were already waiting for them.
After capturing Jinmen County, Jiang Pengji ordered a messenger to deliver this news to Qiguan Rang who was overseeing the main army.
“I know of this matter already. Tell the lord that we’ll be acting according to plan.”
Hearing that Jinmen County had been captured and that the Vanguard Battalion led by Jiang Pengji had set off on the road after taking a short time to rest and regroup, Qiguan Rang’s heart settled down.
At this time, the scouts ahead were rapidly sending back intelligence. The troops from Jinmen County had arrived in Fenghu County.
Hearing the news, Qiguan Rang raised his eyebrows and ordered the scouts to probe into the situation again.
“If there are any traces of troops being dispatched from Fenghu County, immediately report back and inform all scouts to return.”
It didn’t take long before Qiguan Rang received news delivered from the scouts — there was movement in Fenghu County.
He raised an eyebrow and sneered coldly.
The strategist in charge of guarding Fenghu County really was an idiot.
But it was all thanks to the other party’s stupidity. If they had any brains, they would have delayed for another day. Then they would surely receive the news that Jinmen County had already been lost. By then, they would know that everything was part of a plot and they would become more cautious. They might even reduce their losses.
It was a pity that they were only armchair strategists who thought that a war situation would always develop according to the circumstances they envisioned.
Little did they know that their daydreams were wonderful things indeed, but they could do nothing when Jiang Pengji was so efficient in war.
Before night fell, Qiguan Rang led his men to retreat from the small town and enter the mountain road leading to Fenghu County, using themselves as bait and acting as if they were about to attack.
The Red Lotus scouts who were keeping a close eye on the small town quickly relayed the news.
The scholar was ecstatic when he received the news.
“The Heavens are helping me too! This time, I will definitely make Liu Xi bleed. Whoever catches that thief, Liu Xi, alive, I’ll reward with a thousand taels and countless beautiful women!”
According to the scholar’s script, the Red Lotus Group would send massive military forces to block the exits from the mountain road, and dispatch 3,000 of their members to enter the mountain road. They would block Jiang Pengji’s escape from the rear in a pincer attack and surround her on the mountain road, finally catching her alive!
It was a perfect scenario.