Chapter 170: Chapter 97: Reflecting Red_1
On the horizon, the dawn was faintly visible. Zheng Fan and the others could see the silhouette of the Beacon Fort cluster up ahead. After crossing that stretch of Beacon Forts, they would be back within the territory of Yan State.
Even with two horses per person, they were all exhausted after a day and night of hard riding. Following Liang Cheng’s advice, to be on the safe side, they stopped by a creek to rest and catch their breath, letting their warhorses rest as well. Meanwhile, cavalry scouts were dispatched to survey the situation.
At the creek, Zheng Fan pointed at the wound on Liang Cheng’s abdomen and asked, "Do you want me to remove that spear tip for you?"
Liang Cheng shook his head, saying, "Let’s wait until we get back. Removing it now might only adversely affect me."
"Mm."
Zheng Fan knew that at this moment, Liang Cheng maintained a high level of vigilance.
Their greatest advantage—the cover of darkness—had now departed. Hereafter, light would once again rule this land.
Although the Qian State border troops they had encountered so far seemed quite incompetent, one could never be too careful, especially since they were only a stone’s throw away from home; they still needed to be cautious.
Everyone rested by the riverbank for over an hour. Only when the scouts reported back that all was clear ahead did Liang Cheng order everyone to don their armor again and mount up.
In Zheng Fan’s view, the next step was to make a concerted effort, charge directly through the Beacon Fort area, and return to Yan State and Green Willow Fortress.
However, just as everyone was ready to move out, Liang Cheng raised his hand and shouted in the Barbarian language, "To the east!"
Zheng Fan was stunned. Not north? North was Yan State, while heading east meant paralleling the line of Qian State’s Beacon Forts, as if conducting a military review alongside them.
The Barbarian soldiers were also somewhat surprised, but their excellent training ensured they obeyed the command. The riders began to turn their horses and started galloping east, while maintaining formation.
As they rode, Zheng Fan glanced at Liang Cheng beside him but asked nothing, and Liang Cheng also said nothing. Barely a quarter of an hour into their eastward ride, a pursuing cavalry troop appeared from behind!
It was Qian State cavalry!
Their numbers were unknown, but a distant glance suggested they definitely outnumbered Zheng Fan’s group by a large margin.
Considering the distance, direction, and time, it was highly likely that these cavalry had been ambushed within the Beacon Fort cluster they had originally intended to charge through!
Perhaps because they discovered our group had slipped away to the east, the enemy’s plan to lie in wait had failed, so they were forced to rush out from the Beacon Forts in pursuit.
Thus, a chase unfolded on the plains between the two cavalry troops.
The importance of their prior rest became apparent at this moment. The men themselves were not much of an issue; the Barbarian soldiers under Zheng Fan hailed from convict tribes, and they could go on forced marches for three days and nights without sleep without much problem. This was an innate talent of the Barbarians.
However, if the warhorses did not get enough rest, they would stumble and fall.
Because they had rested, during the pursuit, they could still switch horses, letting the second horse carry the rider while the first ran unburdened to rest.
Akin to an aerial refueling process, the soldiers’ adept equestrian skills allowed them to switch seamlessly while moving at high speed.
The Qian State cavalry troop clearly lacked such resources and this advantage in horsemanship, and they were gradually left further behind by Zheng Fan’s group.
After enduring the chase for about two hours, nearly half the morning, Zheng Fan and his men ultimately managed to shake off the pursuing Qian State cavalry.
"Rest!"
Liang Cheng once again ordered a rest. On one hand, the stamina of the men and warhorses was like the fuel of an armored unit from a later era; it couldn’t be depleted all at once.
On the other hand, they were currently deep in Qian State territory; if they ran around blindly, who knew where they might end up.
The moment he dismounted, Zheng Fan felt a scorching pain in his inner thighs. His equestrian skills had greatly improved during this time, but this was his first time experiencing such a long-distance, high-intensity pursuit. His overall physical condition was holding up well, but the soft flesh of his inner thighs, not yet hardened with thick calluses, was protesting.
A Barbarian soldier volunteered to take Zheng Fan’s horse for feeding and grooming. Zheng Fan nodded and smiled at the soldier, who was startled and hurriedly clasped his hands, bowing several times to Zheng Fan.
Zheng Fan took out two handfuls of parched meal from his pocket and began munching.
This parched meal was not the stir-fried noodles of later times but simply roasted flour. The taste was just so-so. Anything becomes ordinary after eating it for several meals.
"My lord." Seeing Zheng Fan munching the meal and walking towards him, Liang Cheng immediately said, "Earlier, I had the scouts go to the Beacon Forts ahead to investigate, but in reality, it was to have them deliberately expose themselves to the sight of those in the Beacon Forts. Unless all the Beacon Forts in that cluster were as flimsy as the first ’chicken coop’ fort we scouted upon entry, it would definitely alert the garrison soldiers inside."
Hearing this, Zheng Fan nodded in understanding and said, "So it’s because there were no smoke signals?"
"Yes, my lord. If there had been smoke signals, even if it alerted the enemy, it wouldn’t have been a major concern. We already have a general understanding of the situation in the Beacon Forts: insufficient manpower and poorly trained soldiers. With just those Beacon Forts, it would be nearly impossible for them to quickly gather forces to stop us. Moreover, if other Qian army units nearby saw smoke signals and tried to move in for support, they would be too far away to help in time.
"Therefore, we could have confidently charged back into Yan State even with the smoke signals. But the complete absence of smoke signals made me conclude that there was likely a problem ahead."
"I’ve learned my lesson," Zheng Fan nodded.
Letting professionals handle professional matters is the way to avoid making a fool of oneself. Zheng Fan felt that if he had been leading the group, they might have already been encircled by that Qian State cavalry beneath the Beacon Forts by now.
The Green Willow Fortress’s ’anti-vice operation’ would also have ’perished midway’...
Then, Zheng Fan laughed and said, "It seems not everyone in Qian State is an incompetent fool."
"My lord, after all, we did conquer a city. However, for the enemy commander to react so quickly, even predicting our return route and setting up an ambush in advance, shows they are indeed competent."
"After all, it’s such a large country; it wouldn’t be realistic if everyone in it were a useless glutton. What should we do next?"
Previously, it was usually Liang Cheng asking Zheng Fan this question.
But now it was Zheng Fan, the leader, asking the professional for advice. Reality wasn’t a game; there were no coins to insert for another try.
"My lord, we rest for half an hour, then circle around from the south, and return through the same gap we used before."
"So we’re supposed to take them by surprise?"
"Our small numbers are a disadvantage, but they can also be an advantage. Actually, if we could leave behind the bodies of the fallen Barbarian soldiers and the injured ones, we could move faster."
Zheng Fan shook his head on hearing this. "We haven’t reached that stage yet. We actually have enough warhorses, and bringing the bodies and the wounded can also maintain morale."
"My lord is wise."
Actually, Liang Cheng was just offering a suggestion. Whether to adopt it or not was up to Zheng Fan.
Then Zheng Fan said softly, "Even if we have to leave the wounded behind, it has to be when they voluntarily choose to stay behind to cover our retreat, so as not to slow everyone down. It would be best if they held knives to their own throats, threatening to commit suicide if we didn’t leave. Then I would wipe away some tears, looking back every few steps, and only then would we depart."
Liang Cheng was rendered speechless.
"Actually, I hope that day never comes."
"I hope so too. To be honest, at first, I still had some misgivings about them. But after fighting and charging into the fray together, I suddenly realized my previous understanding was rather one-sided."
Just then, a Barbarian soldier rode up, dismounted, paid his respects to Zheng Fan, and reported, "My lord, a group of horsemen has appeared five miles to the northeast."
"A group of horsemen? A merchant caravan, perhaps?"
The population along the Qian State frontier was actually not large, probably because a hundred years ago, the first Earl of North Border led his iron cavalry to trample three commanderies on the Qian State border, creating a "nine out of ten houses emptied" situation.
Later, Qian State simply turned its northern lands into a war front and ceased migrating people there, lest it ultimately benefit Yan State.
So, in the northern part of Qian State, it was mostly military households, somewhat similar to those under the Earl of North Border’s domain.
However, due to the Silk Road, the frequency of merchant caravans had increased in recent years.
"Reporting to my lord, it doesn’t look like a merchant caravan. The carriages in the group seem to be transporting important people."
Hearing this, Zheng Fan looked at Liang Cheng and suggested, "Shall we go and take a look?"
Liang Cheng looked at the scout and asked, "How many people are there?"
"Fewer than a hundred guards."
Liang Cheng nodded and said to Zheng Fan, "My lord, you make the decision."
「 」
"Mom, Dad is really too much! Making us pack our things to go to our hometown so early in the morning before it’s even light outside. I’m so sleepy."
Inside the carriage, a sixteen-year-old girl complained to the elegantly dressed woman in her early thirties beside her.
"You, really! You’re not a child anymore, and it’s about time for you to be married. How can you still be so thoughtless? Your father received an urgent report saying something seems to have happened in Mianzhou city to the west. He’s worried that war is about to break out and sent us, mother and daughter, back first to ensure our safety."
"Is there going to be a war? Are we going to fight the Yan people?"
The woman frowned slightly and said, "Let’s hope not."
But in the north of Qian State, besides the Yan people, who else could be their opponent? Surely it couldn’t be Barbarians crossing the entirety of Yan State to plunder Qian State, could it?
"Mom, if we leave now, will we..." Hearing about the war, the girl was frightened.
"Silly girl, Mianzhou city is far from here. Even if something happens there, it won’t reach us here for some time. As for you, you need to get serious about your needlework, lest you be gossiped about after marrying into another family for being clumsy. Then your father and I will be laughed at by your in-laws for not knowing how to raise a child."
"Mom, I don’t want to marry him, that guy from the Situ Family! I saw him last year; he looks so sickly, coughing up blood in the dead of winter while wearing only a thin scholar’s robe. Isn’t there something wrong with his head?"
The woman sighed faintly and said with a touch of helplessness, "That’s the fashion in the imperial capital, I suppose."
Scholars in the imperial capital, even in winter, liked to wear flowing white robes, fanning themselves even as their noses ran.
"Mom, I really don’t want to marry him! I’d probably end up squashing him to death."
"You... you, an unmarried young lady, what nonsense are you spouting? Who told you these things? Who!"
"Mom, it was when I secretly watched you and Dad at night..."
The woman was speechless.
Her face instantly turned beet red.
"It’s hard for a daughter not to notice..."
"Stop talking!"
The woman couldn’t bear it anymore. She reached out and pushed open the carriage curtain, letting some cool air in to soothe her burning face.
There was nothing she could do; it was her own daughter, after all. She couldn’t just order someone to strangle her!
"Mom, you can’t just be content yourself and not care about your daughter’s happiness..."
"I’m begging you, please stop talking."
"Mom, I really don’t want to marry that boy from the Situ family. I want to be like you, Mom, and find a strong, steadfast man like Dad. I truly can’t bring myself to like those refined scholars."
Speaking of her criteria for choosing a husband, the girl shyly cast her gaze outside the carriage, then said with a surprised delight, "Look, Mom! I want a husband like that!"
In the distance, outside the window, was precisely Liang Cheng, galloping wildly on his horse!
"What?"
Somewhat curious, the woman also glanced out the carriage window.
But at that very moment, a sudden cry of alarm rang out from their surrounding guards: "Enemy attack!!!"