Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 411 Great Victory (Part 1)

"General Qin, something terrible has happened! Mao Hongling led her troops out and used a spear to lift General Peng into the air before throwing him to the ground."

"General Peng was thrown to the ground and vomited blood on the spot. He was then stabbed to death by Mao Hongling!"

"The cavalry at the front has been completely routed and is fleeing in all directions!"

"Mao Hongling is probably going to attack! Should we fight her now, or should we retreat for the time being?"

The continuous stream of bad news horrified General Qin, leaving his head buzzing.

How did we lose?
How could General Peng, who was full of ambition just an hour ago, suddenly die?
Why did the cavalry all flee?

The so-called four thousand "old and weak" are actually so powerful! The unknown Mao Hongling is actually so formidable! They didn't come here to reap the rewards, they ran into a caltrop!

We can't fight! We must retreat immediately!
In a short moment, a series of thoughts flashed through General Qin's mind, and he quickly made a decision: "Sound the retreat immediately!"

The guards who came to deliver the news all breathed a sigh of relief.

They followed their general, living a life of luxury and swaggering in the military camp. They came to attack Pei Family Village to plunder money, grain, and women, not to throw their lives away. These seven-foot-tall men had bright futures to offer; they couldn't let them squander them here. Of the thirty-six stratagems, retreat was the best!

One of the quick-witted guards even went so far as to say a few words in defense of his general: "Let them off this time; we'll deal with them another day!"

Some, not so bright, bluntly asked, "Should we collect General Peng's body?"

General Qin glared at him: "The battlefield is so chaotic, how are we supposed to collect the bodies? Or should I send you?"

The dim-witted guards awkwardly shut up.

General Qin gave a stern order to sound the retreat. The resounding gongs of the retreat were extremely penetrating, clanging loudly into the ears of the soldiers. The already routing soldiers ran even faster.

"They've retreated! Let's pursue!" Mao Hongling shouted coldly, spurring her horse and leading five hundred elite soldiers in pursuit of the fleeing troops. She also ordered her men to wave the military flag to send a message back to Pei Family Village.

Upon seeing the flag, the soldiers in the village rushed out of Peijia Village and charged forward.

General Qin, who was calm and composed just half a day ago, is now hurriedly scrambling and leading a large group of soldiers in a desperate escape.

General Qin ran fast, but some soldiers behind him who couldn't escape in time were bitten by Mao Hongling, and the sounds of fighting continued.

General Qin ran thirty li in one breath, and only after confirming that the Pei family army was no longer pursuing him did he feel a little relieved. He ordered the Runan army's flag to be raised, and also planted the flag of the Daifang army, and gathered the fleeing soldiers. Once everyone was gathered together, he hurriedly took a count.

Eight thousand elite soldiers were sent out, but in this battle, countless were killed and many more fled, leaving only six thousand men.

The good news is that General Peng is dead, and the remaining troops of the Fang army have also come under General Qin's control. From this perspective, General Qin has still come out ahead.

What should they do next? Going back like this would certainly be unacceptable. But seeing how powerful the Pei family army was, where did General Qin find the confidence to fight again?
Caught in a dilemma, some soldiers suddenly started making a commotion.

General Qin's face darkened, and he ordered someone to step forward and inquire. It turned out that the soldiers of the Fang Army were making a fuss after hearing the news of General Peng's death, and they wanted to avenge him.

They couldn't leave now. Otherwise, the soldiers leading Fang Jun would definitely be unhappy. Since General Qin wanted to swallow all these soldiers whole, he had to put on a show of avenging General Peng. General Qin made up his mind to issue another military order, instructing everyone to set up camp and prepare to fight again the next day.

The soldiers roused themselves and agreed, quickly setting up camp.

This was still Yan County's territory. Villagers from a nearby village saw them setting up camp from afar and secretly ran to Pei Family Village to deliver a message.

After repeated questioning, Mao Hongling confirmed the location where the Runan army and the Fang army had set up camp. That night, Mao Hongling led three thousand elite soldiers out of Peijia Village, stealthily making their way to the camp at the fourth watch of the night.

At this point, there was no time to worry about cherishing the warhorses. Mao Hongling found fifty horses, placed a large amount of dry straw on their backs, and set the straw on fire. The panicked warhorses were driven forward.

The patrolling soldiers watched in horror as dozens of burning warhorses charged towards them. The camp erupted in chaos; some rushed to grab their swords, others frantically dressed for weapons, and many more screamed in terror.

The flaming warhorses charged into the camp, into the tents, and quickly ignited the flames. Some soldiers suffered horribly; they were trampled in their sleep, their intestines bursting open, yet they didn't die immediately. Their screams were utterly horrifying.

"They've rioted!" Mao Hongling's eyes gleamed as she looked at the distant flames and chaos. "Everyone, follow me and charge in! Kill as many as you can! Don't let them escape and harm the civilians!"

This military order reached the ears of the commander of the 30th Battalion, who then passed it on to each captain.

No longer needing to conceal themselves, the group drew their long swords and charged into the military camp with Mao Hongling, hacking and slashing indiscriminately.

This is no longer a war, but a one-sided massacre.

Under the cover of his personal guards, General Qin rushed out of the camp, with only one thought in his mind: Run! He would never come back to this godforsaken place again!

With General Qin fleeing, the soldiers in the camp lost all morale and surrendered en masse, throwing down their weapons. This drew some discontent from the Pei family's army.

They wanted to cut off more heads and gain more military merit. What a useless army, the Runan Army and the Fang Army!

Pei's army had strict military regulations, forbidding the killing of surrendered soldiers! The soldiers of Runan's army, including Fang's army, could live if they threw down their weapons and knelt on the ground. Mao Hongling was cautious and ordered her men to tie the surrendered soldiers' hands together, stringing them together in groups of ten, like candied hawthorns.

“If even one escapes, all ten of you will die,” Mao Hongling said coldly, her gentle and beautiful eyes flashing with murderous intent in the firelight: “You will monitor each other and live and die together.”

This was a brilliant move. Most of the surrendered soldiers only wanted to survive, and even if one tried to escape, the other nine would never allow it. Without many people watching over them, the surrendered soldiers could control themselves.

"We couldn't find General Qin. He must have escaped!" Young Pei Wan brandished her long sword, her tone filled with regret.

Pei Yu immediately chimed in, "It's the dead of night, and we're in an unfamiliar place. He can't have gone far. This is our territory. As long as there's any news of his movements, the people will surely come to deliver messages to us."

Mao Hongling glanced approvingly at the clever Pei Yu: "Little Yu'er is right. Let's deal with everyone in the camp first, and then chase after the deserters at dawn!"

Just as dawn broke, a villager came running with a message, saying that he had seen the whereabouts of a group of more than a hundred defeated soldiers.

At a time like this, the only one who could still gather over a hundred elite soldiers around him was General Qin.

(End of this chapter)