Chapter 736: Chapter 572: Crossing Menghe Mountain
After the plan was finalized, all units of Chongshan Town immediately sprang into action.
Xie Yuan returned to Daning Guard, intensifying the alertness towards the west while mobilizing the Rescue Camp to guard the supply routes of Dinghu Guard.
Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze led two Camps of soldiers from Dinghu Guard as early as the next morning. They were to attack the Wula Tribe’s flag territory, which required taking a long detour.
The rest of the large army left Dinghu Guard without haste, proceeding slowly towards the location of Sari Lake and Menghe Mountain Pass.
Initially, Yang Zhenshan did not lead the Camp and the Six Relief Camps to split up; instead, they approached the Wula Clan’s territory slowly along the garrisons of Dinghu Guard.
With tens of thousands of troops on the move, their speed was extremely slow, taking three days to leave the jurisdiction of Dinghu Guard and enter the Wula Tribe’s territory.
Marching forty to fifty miles each day was considered normal, and Yang Zhenshan was in no hurry. He needed to ensure that the left and right Camps could annihilate the Wula Clan’s flag territory before dividing the troops.
If the Wula Clan’s flag territory was not destroyed, the Rescue Camp setting up camp outside Menghe Mountain Pass would be perilous, as even a slight mistake could result in being attacked from both front and rear.
While Yang Zhenshan was advancing at a slow pace, Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze had already led the left and right Camps around Sari Lake to the flag territory of the Wula Clan.
However, they did not find the people of Wula Clan, only an empty flag territory.
The extensively large flag territory contained numerous brick and stone buildings and felt tents, but there was not a single person here, nor any livestock. Clearly, the Wula Clan had long since fled, and they took all their supplies with them when they left.
Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze came to a house and looked at the disorderly items inside.
"They must have left seven or eight days ago!"
"The Wula Clan has a hundred thousand people, including all ages and both genders. Their travel speed must be slow; in seven or eight days, they could at most travel two hundred miles!" Yang Mingzhen analyzed.
Yang Chengze nodded, "They wouldn’t have gone east or south; they either entered the Menghe Mountains to the west or went north to the snowy plains!"
Yang Mingzhen thought for a moment, and said, "It’s unlikely they entered the Menghe Mountains since they have a large number of livestock which the vegetation in the Menghe Mountains simply can’t sustain. On the other hand, the outskirts of the snowy plains can support many livestock."
The Snowy Plains have no clear boundary; any cold place in the north can be called the Snowy Plains.
It was now May, the time when the verge of the Snowy Plains was most vibrant with vegetation. And for the next half a year, the Wula Clan could live on the edge of the Snowy Plains and even make it through a harsh winter there if they prepared well.
"Shall we pursue them?" Yang Chengze asked.
Yang Mingzhen hesitated, "The Marquis’ orders were to attack the Wula Clan, then cross Menghe Mountain immediately. Compared to the Wula Clan, crossing Menghe Mountain and penetrating deeply into the territory of Wuliang Hu Clan is more significant!"
"We don’t have an exact route for the Wula Clan’s escape; chasing them now will likely take a lot of time."
"Instead of wasting time on the Wula Clan, better to cross the Menghe Mountain as quickly as possible!"
Yang Chengze nodded, "That’s also feasible, but I’m afraid the provisions we carry will not sustain us through the crossing of Menghe Mountain!"
Yang Mingzhen said, "Then we’ll plunder. There are quite a few small settlements south of Sari Lake, sufficient for us to replenish some grain and meat."
Their original plan was that, after raiding the Wula Clan, they would replenish supplies locally. Now that the Wula Clan had fled, they would have to plunder the surrounding small settlements.
After agreeing, they sent a detachment of Cavalry back to relay a message to Yang Zhenshan, then took the large army and swept towards the south of Sari Lake.
On the march, Yang Zhenshan was somewhat surprised to receive the message from Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze.
"The Wula Clan actually fled?"
He was unaware of his notoriety among the Wula Clan, and naturally couldn’t foresee them taking the initiative to flee.
Actually, it’s not hard to understand the Wula Clan’s escape; after all, the Wula Clan was originally a group that defected from the East Sea Hu Clan to the Wuliang Hu Clan. Having betrayed the East Sea Hu Clan before, it is natural they could betray the Wuliang Hu Clan now.
Moreover, this time the Wuliang Royal Court bears the suspicion of using them as cannon fodder; Xian Ting had no psychological burden in betraying the Wuliang Royal Court.
Yang Zhenshan pondered for a moment and then told the messenger, "Go back and tell Mingzhen and Chengze to make their own decisions on what to do; they don’t need to keep asking for instructions!"
He had decided to let Yang Mingzhen and Yang Chengze act on their own; as the saying goes, "An officer on deployment is not bound by the orders from home." They can still communicate now, but once they separate to cross Menghe Mountain, there will be no way to contact each other, so everything must be determined by themselves.
As for the Wula Clan, since they had fled, there was no need to care about them. Even if the Wula Clan decided to feign retreat as an advance, Yang Zhenshan could no longer attend to that.
He certainly wouldn’t change his plans for the Wula Clan, though he still warned Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang to be wary of a possible sneak attack by the Wula Clan on their camp.
"We shall divide our forces and head north tomorrow. You continue to advance, no need to rush, just march at the normal pace!"
"Upon reaching the predetermined location, don’t hurry to attack; fortify the camp first and dispatch Scouts to completely sever Menghe Mountain Pass’s contact with the outside world!"
"It seems that the Wula Clan has likely fled, but be prepared for their possible counter-attack. In any case, be careful!"