Chapter 19: The Tatars Withdraw Their Troops (Seeking Bookmarks...)

  In a brief moment of time, all twenty-five Manchu warriors were killed, including one brave and skilled Pai Yeh Lo and two Iron Armor soldiers.

  When he heard this news, Kuluo Jinzhang's face was quickly covered with unprecedented shock.

  Just now, when the whole army of Niu Lu was advancing into the mountains, Niu Lu Jing didn't take Wei Zheng and the Hu Bao army under his command seriously.

  Although more than a dozen Manchu warriors stationed at Mógu Yú were killed by the Hu Bao Jun, Niu Lu Zhang Jing did not know how these people died.

  In Zhang Jing's eyes, even if the Hu Bao army could devour fifteen of its own brave warriors, it was through various plots and schemes that they achieved their goals step by step. As for his opponent, the Hu Bao army itself did not have too strong combat power.

  When the time comes, as long as the brave warriors I lead arrive, the Han bandits who sneak attacked Mógu Yù will collapse without a fight.

  However, this result in front of him was like a loud slap in the face, directly slapping him awake from his dream.

  The Han bandits who looked down on themselves seemed to be not as simple as they imagined, otherwise, this group of bandits would not have been able to annihilate twenty-five strong Manchu warriors in a short time.

  To know that on the battlefield, twenty-five Manchu cavalrymen could face ten times as many Ming army elites and not be annihilated in such a short period of time.

  The result before our eyes directly means that this opponent we are about to face has already surpassed the 250-strong Ming army elite in combat effectiveness.

  For a Manchu warrior who has captured an ox alone, such opponents are nothing.

  However, if the opponent has the courage to engage in a decisive battle with himself, even if he ultimately wins, the entire Gyoku will pay a great price for it.

  So, facing the twenty-five corpses of brave warriors who had been stripped clean, Kou Rokushou began to hesitate...

  Whether to continue advancing forward according to the original plan, regardless of everything. Or retreat immediately and wait for oneself to formulate a more detailed battle plan before re-launching an attack on the opponent.

  Just then, a peddler of false teeth hurried over.

  After handing over the letter to General Niu, he loudly reported: "General, this is a letter we found among the bodies of the warriors... According to some of the warriors' identification, this letter was left for you by our opponent, the 'Tiger and Leopard Army'..."

  "Hu Bao Army..... These Han bandits have actually changed their name to Hu Bao Army...." Niu Lu Zhang Jing asked, taking over the envelope.

  "Yes, General... According to the reports of some brave warriors who know Chinese characters: what is written on the envelope is indeed Wei Zheng, the commander-in-chief of the Tiger and Leopard Army, our opponent..." Pai Ya La nodded in response.

  Niu Lu Zhang Jing's eyebrows quickly furrowed, tore open the envelope, and after seeing the Chinese characters in Manchu script, he commanded the officer in front of him: "What are you still dawdling for? Immediately find a brave warrior who knows Chinese to come over. I really want to know what this Tiger and Leopard Army has to say to us after killing dozens of our warriors."

  Under the interpretation of his subordinate, Wei Zheng's words were clearly conveyed to Niu Jingxian's ears.

  Under Wei Zheng's sarcastic intimidation and threats, Niu Lu Zhang Jing's face was immediately covered with a complex expression of suffocation and anger. He snatched the letter and tore it to shreds without regard for his image.

  He then drew his sword and vented his anger on a nearby tree trunk as thick as a large leg.

  It wasn't until a large gap was cut out of the tree trunk that the standing Pai Ya La finally opened his mouth to comfort him, saying: "General, this Hu Bao army is simply too presumptuous. To avenge the brave warriors who died in battle and for the honor of the Manchu army, I suggest we send troops immediately, directly attack the Hu Bao army camp, and annihilate them..."

  "Shut up..."

  Hearing this absurd suggestion from his subordinate, Niu Lu Zhang Jing, who still had a hint of anger in his heart, unconsciously shouted loudly.

  Then, facing the toothy yapping voice, he asked: "Do you have a brain?"

  "Didn't you hear what the Tiger and Leopard Army said in their letter?... Now that we're attacking, not only can't we recover the 100,000 jin of grain, but we can't even eliminate this Tiger and Leopard Army that killed dozens of our brave warriors..."

  "General, are you suggesting that we abandon our attack on the Tiger and Leopard Brigade and leave the deaths of our brave warriors unavenged?"

  "Foolish..."

  Niú Lù Zhāng Jīng was filled with angry curses again from his mouth.

  As more and more eyes gathered on him, Niu Luocheng took a deep breath and spoke in as calm a tone as possible.

  "Warriors, you have all heard the contents of the letter. I can say with certainty that if we advance now, apart from showing off our bravery for a moment, we will not achieve any results."

  "Don't forget, this is not a plain but a vast mountain... If the Tiger and Leopard Troops abandon their camp and break through into the depths of the mountain, even if we are brave warriors who grew up on horseback, we will not be able to find them in the primeval forest and eliminate them..."

  "So, to avenge the brave warriors who died in battle, eliminate the Tiger and Leopard Troops, and take back our own food that rightfully belongs to us. We must make plans from above, so that the Tiger and Leopard Troops have nowhere to escape, and be surrounded and annihilated in their own barracks..."

  Faced with the 25 corpses and Wei Zheng's threat, Qinanuojuchang Jing had no choice but to temporarily suspend the attack, leading his troops to retreat to the Mushroom Valley military camp outside the mountain, where they would redraw their plan of encirclement and annihilation.

  Compared with the low morale of the Xiongnu army, the barracks of the Hu and Bao armies were bustling with activity.

  Seeing the twenty-five fine war horses brought back by comrades, seeing the iron and leather armor tied to the horseback, and seeing the weapons brought back by comrades, the whole military camp was boiling.

  Wei Zheng, who was walking at the front, knew that now was the best time to make his subordinates no longer afraid of the Tatars and boost the morale of the troops.

  Wearing a brand new suit of iron armor, Wei Zheng held a long spear in his hand and walked to the training ground's reviewing stand with a crisp clanking sound due to the movement of the armor.

  Taking a deep breath, with his voice sinking to his abdomen, he shouted in his loudest voice: "Brothers, comrades! Now I have some good news to tell everyone - the Manchu invaders who were attacking us have retreated!"

  For these new recruits who had just joined the Hu Bao Army, the retreat of the Tartars meant that they would not die immediately, and it also meant that they would temporarily no longer become prisoners of the Tartars and live a life worse than death as slaves.

  So, after Wei Zheng's voice fell, even though they hadn't seen the face of the executioner, more than a hundred people still showed a surprised and delighted expression on their faces, as if they had narrowly escaped death, and couldn't help but let out a cheer.

  Wearing armor, Wei Zheng held a spear in one hand and danced out a beautiful spear flower in front of him. With a smooth motion, he slanted the long spear in his hand, pointing the muzzle emitting a cold light directly at the ground.

  Over a hundred boiling subordinates instantly quieted down due to Wei Zheng's carefree action.

  When all eyes were focused on him, Wei Zheng shouted again: "Comrades, I have another piece of good news to share with you. In the battle that just ended less than two hours ago, we annihilated 25 Manchu troops and captured their war horses and armor."

  "What I want to tell everyone through this fact is: as long as everyone practices their martial arts well and masters the seemingly simple spear techniques in their hands, there's nothing to fear from the Tatars."

  "No matter how powerful the Tartars are, they will be pierced by our long spears and become riddled with holes in front of our long spear formation."

  "So from now on, everyone must train hard and strive to reach our goal as soon as possible, go onto the battlefield and kill the Tartars..."

  "Lastly, to celebrate our first victory since the establishment of the Tiger Leopard Division, all soldiers will receive an extra meal at noon today. All soldiers who participated in the battle will each receive half a pheasant..."

  "Long live... General long live... Swear to die for loyalty to the general... General long live..."

  Under the simultaneous guidance of Wang Feng and Zhao Yun, the deafening cheers quickly erupted in the training field.