The mountain road was winding and rugged, the narrow path extending past the end of their line of sight.
Jiang Pengji rode on Little White’s back with ease. As the excellent offspring of the warhorses of the Shalan Kingdom and the northern border, Little White’s endurance and weight-bearing abilities were extremely powerful. Compared to them, others with less excellent horses cut a sorry figure.
“The mountain road leading to Jinmen County is so rugged, I don’t know how much more difficult the road to Fenghu County will be…”
Yang Si was also secretly whining about the hardship in his head. As a military counselor, he was able to enjoy special treatment.
Most of the other soldiers walked. He could ride a horse instead of walking, but the jolting pain from riding on horseback still made him suffer.
Jiang Pengji saw that his face was deathly pale and that he looked extremely tired. Then, she looked at the jujube-red horse that he straddled. It was panting even more heavily than its rider.
She proactively suggested, “Why don’t you ride Little White? Look at you, I think you’ll collapse before we even reach Jinmen County.”
Yang Si was a little touched, but he thought about how fine, intelligent horses always had a temper, and became a little timid.
“He won’t throw me off his back?”
Yang Si grasped the reins nervously. If he hadn’t been afraid of Little White getting uncomfortable, he would have grabbed onto the horse’s neck for a greater sense of safety.
Unexpectedly, not only did Little White not throw Yang Si off his back, he even continued to hasten on their journey without any complaint.
“Don’t make any trouble. Little White has a good temperament.” Jiang Pengji had exchanged horses with Yang Si. She controlled her horse using the reins. “Be glad that the opponent is the Red Lotus Group this time. I wouldn’t dare to go on this mountain road if we were facing someone smarter.”
She looked around the terrain on horseback, smiling as she bantered.
Taking the mountain road had indeed been a brilliant move. They could avoid the eyes and ears of their enemy without anyone being the wiser. Whether the purpose was for an ambush or something else, the effects were wonderful.
However, risks and benefits coexisted.
The mountain road was suitable for them to ambush the enemy, but the reverse was also true.
Little White walked very steadily, which was very different from the jolting of Yang Si’s horse. This made Yang Si feel a little more comfortable.
He said, “The situation is different. My lord marches at a rapid speed. Even if the enemy intended to lie in wait for us, they couldn’t catch up in time.”
According to Yang Si’s estimation, the leaders of the Red Lotus Group should receive the news that they had arrived in the small town just as they captured it.
It took time to pass down orders. By the time they reacted and prepared for an ambush, Jiang Pengji and her army would have already passed over the mountain road and captured Jinmen County.
Jiang Pengji fought at a fast pace, but how many people could do the same thing?
Most people could only focus on one area at a time. By the time they received the news, the best opportunity to fight would already be over.
Why were outstanding military counselors so sought after?
It was not only because they could plan a victory from a thousand miles away in a world where the transmission of information was so difficult, but more importantly, their way of thinking was more thorough and comprehensive than that of ordinary people. It was like playing chess. Ordinary people would take one step and then the next. Those who played mind games would take one step while thinking about the next ten.
As Yang Si said, although the mountain road leading to Jinmen County was long, the slope was relatively moderate and climbing it consumed less of one’s energy than expected.
Which of Jiang Pengji’s soldiers did not have weight-bearing training as his daily activity?
Ordinary troops would take six to eight hours to pass through the entire length of the mountain road. It only took two hours for Jiang Pengji’s troops.
At the same time, the forces at Jinmen County had been urgently transferred to Fenghu County for its defense.
The Red Lotus Group sent several scouting teams and, indeed, they found suspicious personnel. They determined that these were the enemy scouts who were there to get frontline information.
The scholar clenched his fists nervously. Inside the room, a coal fire was burning. It was so warm that his palms were sweating.
“As expected… Liu Xi, that thief, is targeting Fenghu County…” The scholar clasped his hands behind his back nervously and paced across the room. It was as if he wanted to wear a hole in the ground. He said, “Check on them again. Quickly report back once a situation arises! If you find Liu Xi’s main forces, don’t alert them to your presence.”
“Yes!”
It didn’t take long for voices to come from outside the room. The Red Lotus Group had found traces of scouting activity at the exit of the mountain road in Fenghu County.
Someone would return to make a report at regular intervals. This made the scholar extremely nervous.
Lui Xi had dispatched a huge amount of scouts… what did this mean?
This meant that he had brought a large number of soldiers along. It was likely that there were more than 10,000 soldiers!
“Reporting…”
“Reporting…”
“Reporting…”
The messengers kept going back and forth. Each time the scholar received a reply, his nervousness doubled.
Finally, he got so anxious that he was drenched in sweat. He went out and looked at the weather outside. Feeling exasperated, he spoke in an agitated tone. “Haven’t the reinforcements from Jinmen County arrived yet?”
The messenger bowed his head and replied timidly, “Half a day’s journey remains.”
Half a day?
So slow?
The scholar was angry and anxious. He’d never before felt that time could pass so slowly.
He was like a cat on hot bricks. To him, every second was excruciating.
Now, he could only hope that Liu Xi would move slowly. It would be best if Liu Xi’s army arrived after their reinforcements had entered the county.
Otherwise, he had no confidence that he would be able to fight Jiang Pengji with his current military forces.
“Where is Master An? Invite Master An here to discuss countermeasures.”
When he thought of An Cui, the scholar felt as if he had a pillar of support. He quickly asked the young servant who was attending him to invite in An Cui.
The servant ran fast to find him, but An Cui was no longer in Fenghu County.
“Do you know where Master An went?”
The scholar didn’t think that there was anything wrong. Although An Cui had left, the fellow brothers who shared a good relationship with An Cui were still here. The scholar was not suspicious.
The servant replied, “I’ve meticulously asked around, but Master An seems to have gone to Red Louts County overnight.”
The scholar pinched the spot between his eyebrows. He didn’t understand why An Cui would go to Red Lotus County at a time like this.
But he did not remain all twisted up on this issue for too long because another messenger arrived to report more traces of scouts.
What really terrified the scholar was that the locations where the scouts were being found were getting increasingly close to Fenghu County.
In other words, by the time these scouts investigated the situation, Liu Xi’s main forces would have already attacked.
Thinking about the reinforcements that would only arrive after half a day, the scholar fretted and wanted to claw his hair out.
The enemy scouts were very active in spying on them, but the scholar never thought that this was just a bait being dangled for him by Jiang Pengji.
Qiguan Rang oversaw the main forces of the army. He had arranged for multiple teams of scouts to be dispatched to frighten the Red Lotus Group.
As for the main forces?
At that moment, they had passed through the mountain road, over lands covered with snow, and were now galloping towards Jinmen County.
Chengde County was in the northern region. It always received heavy snow in winter.
Other than on the public roads, the snow in other areas was not cleared away. Generally, the people would wait for the weather to warm and let the snow melt on its own.
Jiang Pengji had long ago asked everyone in the Vanguard Battalion to prepare some plain burlap cloth that they would put over their bodies as protection. The weather today was excellent, and the light reflecting from the snow-covered ground was bright and shiny. The guards at the county gates would not stare at the snow outside the city for a long time because the glare hurt their eyes.
Nearly all of Jinmen County’s defense forces had been transferred away, leaving only 3,000 old and weak surplus soldiers who, on top of all that, were slacking off.
Now, the sun had come out in its full glory, and the reflection caused great discomfort for their eyes. It was also freezing cold outside. There were very few Red Lotus guards on the city walls taking their duties seriously.
Naturally, they did not notice that a Vanguard Battalion of more than 4,000 people was quietly approaching.
