Chapter Thirty: Enemy Raid

  Marching is no longer a dull thing, at least for Qian Buli it's not. One Lang has feelings, one Ji has intentions, one is willing to fight and the other is willing to endure. In a short period of time, the emotions between Qian Buli and Ji Shengqing are rising in a straight line.

  If it's said that they're inseparable, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the two people hiding in the carriage all day is true. However, Ji Sheng has some shyness, and to prevent rumors from spreading too far, she resolutely kept Ke Lan and Ke Li behind as chaperones, pretending not to understand Qian Bu Li's hints.

  On the fifth day of the march, the scouts in front discovered a group of unidentified scouts. Although they were wearing the military uniforms of the Zhou Kingdom of Ji, every time they met, they would always avoid them from afar. After receiving the news, Wang Rui ordered the scouts to try and capture some alive, but the other side was very vigilant, and after half a day, not one was caught.

  Wang Rui returned to the central army and consulted with Qian Buding for a while. They temporarily gave up reconnaissance on both wings, concentrated most of the scouts on the front road, divided them into several points, and formed a goose formation that echoed each other from afar. A large group ambushed and caught six scouts in total.

  After being interrogated by Wang Rui and Qian Budili, they admitted that they were scouts under the command of Lian Cheng SAI, who had been ordered by the city master He Kuang to investigate news on both sides of Lu Ri Xia Gorge. It was said that City Master He Kuang had discovered that the enemy of the Flying Eagle tribe had invaded. When asked further, they couldn't say anything specific and even talked nonsense when pressed.

  Money did not leave one side of the army to slow down, while calling for Du Bing's troops to be cut off and preparing for emergency changes. It is better to start analyzing plans from the worst case scenario, and currently the worst situation is that He Hong does not mind taking the blame, and colluding with the Flying Eagle tribe to harm the princess.

  Money doesn't leave, repeatedly thinking, Zhamuhe's central army will not exceed 3,000 people before entering the Sunset Canyon, after Du Bing's blocking and killing, and the non-combat attrition caused by passing through the entire canyon. Even if Zhamuhe is not dead, his troops will not exceed 1,000 people. Moreover, they cannot be reorganized, borrowing He Hong's name with eight guts, he also dares not put Zhamuhe's near-guard cavalry into the Liancheng Fortress! At most, some military equipment can be sent, and Zhamuhe's men can recover a certain amount of combat effectiveness, but the recovery is extremely limited.

  As for He Jiong's name, it is unlikely that he will send troops to join forces with Zha Muhe to launch a joint attack. Without saying anything else, as long as the Golden Dragon Flag is erected at the front of the formation, which soldier from the Ji Zhou Kingdom would dare to attack? The Tianwei Army dared to cut off the Golden Dragon Flag only because there was no one under the flag, and it was also defined by Qian Buliang as a hypothetical enemy. If the princess stood under the flag, the Tianwei Army would not dare to attack either.

  However, even if there were only a thousand Imperial Guards, they could not be underestimated. Qian ordered the troops to retreat and reassemble at dawn, rest after noon, and try their best to conserve the soldiers' strength.

  Three days later, the scouts finally brought back a message that a cavalry unit of nearly 1,000 people was rapidly approaching. The other side had no banner, and their clothes were not neat, it was likely the elite cavalry under Jamukha's command.

  "Du Bing, if you command a cavalry unit and engage in battle with them, can you defeat them?" Qian Buli looked at Du Bing.

  Du Bing smiled bitterly and shook his head: "No way, our archery is no match for theirs, we can't win."

  "Can we hold on?"

  "It's tough, if it were close combat, I'm not afraid of them with my cavalry, but if we engage in a shooting match, our losses will be great."

  "Even holding on together won't work?" Qian Buli muttered to himself, falling into deep thought.

  "Sir, my brothers are no cowards! They were all raised on horseback, and even a child can achieve unity with their horse. Let alone the elite Imperial Light Cavalry!"

  "How much worse is your archery compared to theirs? What about range?"

  "Although they were slightly inferior in archery, it wasn't by much. The range was the same for both sides. However, they would always quickly charge into range and concentrate their fire, and when we counterattacked, they would run out of range at an angle. No matter how we fought, we were at a disadvantage. If we stood still, our losses would be far greater than theirs; if we charged out to engage them in a cavalry battle, our losses would be even greater."

  Money can't leave, I understand. The tactics of the grassland nation are almost the same as their own world. Headache! Although there are nearly three thousand soldiers now, with an advantage in numbers, Money can't leave is certain that the opponent will absolutely not hard fight with himself! Hmm? They won't hard fight... There should be some room for maneuver here.

  "Sir, do you have any special moves?" Du Bing looked at Qian Buli with full of hope.

  "Don't always think about clever tricks!" Qian Buli gave Du Bing a stern look: "When paths converge, the brave win! Pass on my words and let our brothers remember!"

  "Yes, sir!" Du Bing responded, hesitating for a moment before asking reluctantly, "Sir, can't we do anything but force our way through?"

  "I'd like to fight hard, but Zhamuhe won't give me the chance." Qian Budiao shook his head: "Do you have any weapons with a longer range than bows and arrows?"

  "There are, foot-operated crossbows, crossbow carts and stone-throwing catapults all have a longer range than bows and arrows."

  "How much do we have?" The eyes of Money lit up.

  "The Foot Tread Catapult is a special weapon for the Imperial Guard, we don't have any, the Ballista is only equipped by Legions, we also don't have one... it seems like there's only one Stone Thrower..."

  "Damn it, all nonsense! Talking is the same as not talking!" Qian Bu interrupted Du Bing's words impatiently: "Just one catapult? Well, having one is better than none. Where is the catapult? Take me to see it."

  The catapult was the only one in General Ren's infantry, and it was prepared for attacking cities. However, since Snowy City is located in front of the Open Sky Glacier, the catapult was useless and merely a decoration. As a result, according to the number of soldiers, General Ren should have had four catapults, but he only kept one.

  Qian didn't leave and circled around the catapult for a lap, maintaining it fairly well: "Let me try shooting first to take a look."

  "Yes, sir." The catapult was operated by eight soldiers, with a clear division of labor. The catapult was quickly fixed to the ground, two soldiers carried over a stone, and the rest of the soldiers pulled open the torsion springs, which were actually more like several wide leather straps.

  With a loud crash, the boulder was catapulted into the air, tracing an arc before smashing heavily onto the ground, sending up a sheet of snow.

  Money didn't leave his eyes as he measured it, not bad, not bad, able to shoot over 500 paces, much stronger than a bow and arrow: "Try shooting again." He needed to grasp the time it took for each shot of the catapult.

  "We don't have any stones left," a soldier said timidly.

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