Chapter 17: Yang Liuqing's Waiting

  They had been lying in ambush in the forest for a day and a half, and the scouts had gone out as far as ten miles, but there was still no news of Jian Nu's returning troops.

  Zhou Yuji was getting anxious, the weather was too cold, but he was also worried about exposure. The soldiers were extremely careful when lighting fires or cooking, especially at night, this season was too cold and difficult to bear. Fortunately, the invasion of Jian Nu made the surrounding area deserted and quiet, so there was no one to spread the news, and the possibility of the army being exposed was very small.

  The Great Ming is now reeking of decay and cowardice everywhere, the military situation is hopeless. This country needs someone to stand up! But Zhou Yuji can't do much about it, all he can do is let those people know before he leaves that there is still a brave Zhou Yuji in the Great Ming, and a brave army. Zhou Yuji wants to give Jian Nu some color, he wants to let Jian Nu know that the Great Ming has a brave army, and there are brave generals.

  Zhou Yuji, this Shanxi general, did not come easily. In order to gain the emperor's trust and also to repay Zhang Guowei's kindness in recognizing him, Zhou Yuji is now willing to go all out for his inauguration as Minister of War.

  The news of his son, Zhou Huchen's arrival added to Zhou Yuji's annoyance. In fact, apart from the troubles he had caused in the past, Zhou Yuji was now very satisfied with this eldest son. His son was so similar to him when he was young, strong and fearless. Moreover, this little tiger has changed a lot recently, becoming more intelligent, whether it's military theory or training, always being on top of things. Also, when leaving the capital, Zhou Huchen was able to get so much equipment from Zhang Guowei, the old minister of war, although later Zhou Yuji found out that his son had bribed the officials in the armory, but this son has indeed grown up, he knows how to use his resources to gain the greatest benefit.

  Perhaps this little tiger growing up will have even more commanding ability than himself in the future!

  "See Father!" At the same time as Zhou Yuji's sighs, Zhou Huchen arrived:

  The forest wasn't very big, and the withered branches and fallen leaves inside weren't too many either. It was clear that they had been borrowed by the nearby villagers to get through the winter. Zhou Huichen quickly made his way through the forest and arrived at its southernmost tip, also interrupting Zhou Yuji's train of thought.

  "Get up! Now that you're here, stay by my side!"

  Zhou Yuji was already accustomed to his son's reckless behavior, and his son's quick thinking was reassuring. Since he had come, he would definitely have to take charge on the battlefield in the future, so it was good for him to get some training. This operation looked like a dangerous move, but Zhou Yuji knew best that it was just a sneak attack, just to teach Jian Nu a lesson. The chance of achieving a great victory was slim. Therefore, he would act according to his abilities and if he really couldn't achieve any results, he would use the mobility of the cavalry to choose to leave the battlefield.

  "Yes, Father!" He stood up and this time Zhou Hu Chen was very cautious. He obediently came to his father's side.

  This is the only person Zhou Huchen fears, Zhou Yuji is too straightforward, and his straightforwardness is similar to pedantry. However, this is Zhou Yuji, the one and only Zhou Yuji in the world, the heroic Zhou Yuji who deserves people's admiration.

  Being the son of Zhou Yuji, Zhou Huchen is also Lin Jue. He is very proud that Zhou Yuji is his idolized war god, a hero who defends the country, and a true soldier with no fear. He wants to change Zhou Yuji's fate, and change the fate of everyone around him, because Zhou Huchen is no longer that reckless young man, and the soul he possesses has fully awakened.

  Zhou Huchen knew this place was Yangliuqing, and the final outcome of the Battle of Yangliuqing was already in his mind.

  This is a must-win battle, and it's also the last battle of Zhou Yuji and Jian Nu in their lifetime. Zhou Huchen, who has two memories, has been changing over the past year. He changed his surname and also changed the people around him. Zhou Yuji and other loyal subordinates have also been slowly changing, although they are not professional, but Zhou Huchen has always used his knowledge and skills to make this army stronger. Zhou Huchen believes that with his existence, this army will only be stronger than the one in history, he believes that this iron-blooded army will also have another ending.

  "In front of us, two miles away is the Yangliuqing River mouth, which is a must-pass route for Jian Nu's retreat. Xiao Hu, tell me, how can our army grasp the best timing for this ambush, and what tactics should we adopt afterwards?"

  Zhou Yuji was obviously testing his son's command and battlefield execution skills, as in the future this army would belong to his eldest son, he needed his own son to become a general, an outstanding commander.

  "Father, have you received any definite news about the Jinwu troops?" Zhou Huchen did not answer directly, but instead asked about the current war situation:

  "The news from the scouts may not be entirely accurate, but based on the intelligence gathered, Jian Nu's returning army is likely to number no less than 50,000 men."

  "Father, with such a large number of people, Cheng Shu is right, it must not be Jian Nu's main force, and we should take auxiliary troops as the main. Therefore, I think that we should first let go of Jian Nu's vanguard, then wait for the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Jian Nu's central route. Jian Nu's army is very large, and the defense of the central route must be the weakest place, and there must be a large number of people and goods plundered in the middle of Jian Nu's army. Therefore, we must do our best to attack the central route, then make a detour battle, constantly making a detour battle. We are cavalry, and we should use our mobility, like a dog skin plaster, stick tightly to Jian Nu's army, little by little weakening them, not giving them a chance to breathe. Finally, if Jian Nu's cavalry is too strong, we can only choose to retreat."

  "Hmm... not bad, there's improvement! That's right, a little bit of damage, biting tightly, non-stop attacks, however many we can take down is how many we'll get! The difference in strength is too great, it's impossible to win completely! What a pity... no reinforcements, if only we had reinforcements, we would have the chance to defeat them and achieve a great victory! What a pity about those civilians and supplies... our strength is still too weak!" Zhou Yuji was very satisfied with his son's answer, which perfectly matched his tactical intentions. However, at the same time, Zhou Yuji also felt a deep regret. This was their home turf, yet there were no reinforcements, no friendly troops came to help. What kind of desperation was this!

  Zhou Yuji looked up at the sky, then fell into thought again; his son was excellent and could be a comfort, in the future, perhaps he could develop well in Shanxi and establish an even stronger army.

  "In fact... Father, Xiaohu understands, we will be the winners, but also the losers!"

  Zhou Yu looked at Zhou Hu Chen with an inexplicable gaze, this remark was somewhat contradictory.

  Zhou Huchen looked at his father Zhou Yuji and continued: "Our attack will definitely make Jian Nu suffer losses, but it won't hurt the root. For this battle, our small victory is insignificant, so we are still losers!"

  Zhou Yuji pursed his lips tightly, his son's analysis was completely correct. How could he not understand, but he was unwilling to accept it, and yet had no choice but to use this one battle to prove himself. To prove that Zhou Yuji was loyal to this country, he was not a coward, and his army was not a weak army.

  "In fact... the outcome has already been decided, no matter what, our achievements will be suppressed, because... praising our achievements would make those people appear so incompetent! This is our victory, and it's also destined to be our defeat! Moreover... this is an inevitable outcome that we can't change!"

  Those people... those people, almost all of them! Zhou Hu's words deeply stimulated Zhou Yuji, he was silent, his facial muscles tightly clenched. This is the sorrow of being a military minister, but what can be done? One person's incompetence can't change anything, and most people are incompetent, who can change it? Maybe leaving the capital itself is a kind of liberation.

  The conversation between father and son came to an end, and Zhou Yuji suddenly realized that his son had changed completely recently. He was no longer so reckless, he knew the cruelty of politics, he knew how to respond flexibly to things, and he knew the difficulties of being a father. His son began to think with his brain, perhaps this is a sign of growth, he no longer easily provoked trouble, no longer indulged in play, and even knew how to read books, communicate with military leaders, practice martial arts, and rely on relationships to get what he wanted. His son read more books than himself, and was more clever and resourceful... perhaps his son was more suitable to be a commander than himself.

  Thinking of this, Zhou Yuji shook his head. His son was still too young after all. That honorary position as a touring inspector and deputy commander-in-chief was actually just an empty title. After all, Zhou Huachen had only just come of age at twenty.

  At noon, the soldiers' lunch began. The food in this ambush was as simple as it could be - two pieces of simply toasted flatbread and a few mouthfuls of hot water were all there was.

  The soldiers' food was very hard, but there was one thing that couldn't be neglected, and that was taking good care of their war horses. War horses were the lifeblood of cavalrymen, who relied on them to fight against enemies, and fighting required strong horsepower. In this cold season, war horses needed a lot of feed to maintain their physical strength. For everyone, war horses were expensive, and excellent war horses were even harder to come by. Cavalrymen treated their war horses like family members, taking great care of them with all their might.

  It was just past noon when a cavalry troop of thirty men appeared in the view of the western scout.

  The armor exposed their identities, and the scouts quickly came to meet them. These thirty men were the household guards of the Zhou Mansion. At that time, when Zhou Yuji received the news of Jian Nu's entry into the pass, he was just passing through Baoding Prefecture's Zijinguan and was about to enter Shanxi territory. Due to Zhou Yuji's temporary decision, all the family members and infantry had to wait at Zijinguan for these cavalrymen. And due to Zhou Huachen's private actions, Madame Liu had to send out household guards to chase after them, and these thirty guards followed in Zhou Huachen's footsteps to Yangliuqing.

  Thirty household troops joined in, and there was no more movement around Yangliuqing. The hidden cavalry squad began to wait anxiously again.