My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 119 Not easy to mess with

Zhao Puti's training ground was exceptionally chaotic at this moment.

The militiamen sat in twos and threes, their weapons and shields lying around haphazardly. Some even urinated in the distance. The ground was filthy, with hardly any place to step. The stench emanating from there was enough to drive even the birds in the sky down.

The weather was already hot, and the soldiers couldn't help but complain.

Having to gather and train in this awful weather is truly a torment. In the past, training was also done in the fall, when we were always hungry and had to train under the scorching sun. Isn't this going to kill us?
The soldiers' reactions were rather negative until the sun gradually set and the drill ground was no longer so hot, at which point the complaints subsided considerably.

But at that very moment, the leaders of the various units suddenly received orders to go to the tent immediately to pay their respects to the captain.

When they rushed into the main tent, Zhao Puti had already ordered his men to prepare armor and weapons, and to dress them in military uniforms. Several officers who were friendly with Zhao Puti were also ready and stood beside him.

Everyone was shocked.

Zhao Puti looked at them and said solemnly, "Assemble the troops immediately! Prepare to depart!"

"We will divide our forces into five routes. I will lead the first route, stationed at Jijiaokou. Vice Commander Liu will lead the second route towards Shenyingkou, and Vice Commander Sun will lead the third route towards Hongshijian."

The officers around Zhao Puti received their orders one by one. They had learned of the news earlier than the others and were already prepared.

They immediately came down to begin assigning tasks, and they had already discussed the issue of who would belong to whom.

The leaders of the various groups then realized that what Commandant Zhao had said earlier was all a lie; he was planning a surprise attack! Although the commander clearly didn't trust them, they didn't care about such things as long as they could earn merit.

However, the assignment of soldiers was decided without any discussion among the group, which made them somewhat dissatisfied. They wanted to object, but they were afraid of being punished by Commandant Zhao. Considering their military merits, they could only grit their teeth and accept it.

This was exactly the effect Zhao Puti wanted. After giving the order, he quickly had everyone prepare to set off.

Just as everyone in the training ground was about to rest, their officers gathered them together, ordered them to pick up their weapons and prepare to depart. The militiamen looked bewildered, and the entire training ground was in complete chaos. Zhao Puti was the first to lead his team away.

The militia filed out and quickly advanced toward Wild Buffalo Mountain.

As they walked along the road, the villagers in the surrounding villages were so frightened that they hid, fearing that they would be harmed by these people.

There were more than 3,000 local militiamen from about five counties in Xingyang. They were traveling together at the moment. The militiamen from the remote counties had not yet arrived and were still gathering in Guancheng. But in Zhao Duwei’s opinion, these 3,000 men were enough.

How many bandits could there be? At most, no more than three hundred. Zhao Puti was very familiar with this type of bandit. Their management ability was limited, and they couldn't gather too many people.

Zhao Puti was quite confident, but not long after he stepped out, his confidence was destroyed by his men.

When Li Yuan led his men there earlier, he only used the troops of one city, and arranged his retainers and followers in the army, making them officers, and uniting the entire local militia under unified command.

Zhao Puti clearly couldn't find enough capable people to help him control the army. He could only let the various leaders control their own troops and then send someone with a large number of soldiers to lead them, gathering people from the same region together. This was a way to barely keep everyone under control, but the effect was far from satisfactory.

The army almost broke apart before they even started marching.

As the vanguard marched, their formation became chaotic, and they began to scatter. Some went north, some went south, and some stopped moving forward. The entire column almost turned into a flock of sheep. Zhao Puti was furious. He rode his horse and led his warriors to patrol back and forth, reprimanding those who had given poor command and whipping those who had stopped moving forward, which prevented them from collapsing completely.

If even the troops he commanded were like this, one can only imagine how the other troops performed.

Zhao Puti knew the nature of the local militia, and before nightfall, he finally managed to lead the troops to the foot of the mountain.

As darkness fell, Zhao Puti dared not follow Li Yuan's example and march. If he was already in such a sorry state by daytime, he feared he would be left with no troops if he had to travel at night.

They could only rest at the foot of the mountain, preparing to march at dawn the next day and seize the key passes first.

Large numbers of militia gathered at the foot of the mountain, and cries of agony filled the air. The officers set up camp there and sent men to keep an eye on the soldiers, fearing that they would run off in the middle of the night to rob nearby villages. They were not afraid that the villagers would be killed, but that the soldiers would never return.

However, given the commotion they had made earlier, the surrounding villagers must have already fled, and there was no way they would have stayed to let them cause trouble. Some soldiers lit campfires and sat together in twos and threes, while the leaders hid in their tents, drinking and happily discussing how to divide the spoils.

Zhao Puti wanted to prepare for tomorrow's battle, so he went to bed early.

The chaotic temporary camp gradually calmed down. The camp was actually quite well-organized, with barricades and fences set up on three sides. Soldiers from different battalions lived separately for easy management. Zhao Puti was not an incompetent fool; he had some military knowledge.

As night fell, the flames flickered in the wind.

At the distant mountain pass, Zhai Rang gripped his steel knife tightly, staring intently at the camp in the distance.

The soldiers, armed with weapons, also crouched behind him.

These young men looked somewhat nervous, breathing heavily. Most of them had never experienced real combat. Only the small group of strong men that Zhai Rang had brought were able to remain calm at this moment, as they had killed people and seen blood.

Zhai Rang's proposal was approved by everyone, as he was the only one among them with military experience. He was temporarily appointed as the Commander-in-Chief for the Suppression of Bandits, leading 400 troops to suppress the government troops.
Zhai Rang led his men to the mountain pass ahead of others, where they secretly trained while keeping watch on the enemy.

Unexpectedly, the government troops arrived today. They were quite fast; if Zhai Rang had arrived a few days later, he would have been trapped in the mountains.

Looking at the silent camp in the distance, a smile gradually appeared on Zhai Rang's face as he formed a plan in his mind.

Last time I launched a night raid, I almost had my bones shattered by that golden mace. This time, I'm sure I can succeed, right?

His brave men had also gained experience in night raids.

He lowered his voice and said to his trusted confidants, "In this battle, we still don't need to kill the enemy. Just like before, bring more torches, drums, gongs, and other such items. After getting close to the enemy, shout loudly, throw the torches at them, and then beat the drums and gongs to terrify them. Then we can retreat."

"Brother, why don't we just charge in and fight?"

"Charge? You guys??"

Zhai Rang glanced at them and said, "If you guys really charged in, you probably wouldn't even be able to find your way out. How could you possibly come out alive? Just do as I say!"

Zhai Rang felt that his men were overestimating themselves. If they could accomplish the feat of a night raid, would he still need to hide in the mountains? The Eagle Banner troops might be able to do it, but these guys were hopeless.

Everyone quickly lowered their heads, "Yes!"

Zhai Rang deliberately waited a while longer, until the camp was completely quiet, before lighting torches and leading the group to slowly approach.

Zhao Puti did indeed leave people to keep watch at night.

However, the few people he left behind were already fast asleep.

The local militia are not good at keeping watch at night. They've lived so long and have never been attacked. Would any thief dare to attack them? Keep watch my ass!
"Thump!! Thump!! Thump!!"

Suddenly, drums sounded outside, and the soldiers roared as torches were thrown into the camp.

Chaos erupted suddenly in the camp. The sleeping militiamen had never seen anything like it before. They were so frightened that they immediately jumped up and saw everyone getting up and joining in the chaos. When Zhao Puti woke up from his sleep and rushed out of the tent, the outside was already in complete chaos.

Soldiers ran in all directions, shouts of battle could be heard everywhere, flames rose everywhere, and drums beat continuously.

Zhao Puti hurriedly shouted, "Keep your men calm!! Keep them calm!!"

But he couldn't find the officers anywhere. Shouts were coming from all directions. Zhao Puti's face was flushed. At that moment, he also noticed the towering flames to the north, and the shouts of battle were coming from that direction.

And over there is the entrance to Buffalo Mountain.

Did the thieves intentionally attack the soldiers?
(End of this chapter)