Chapter Forty-six Separately

  The battles that followed could no longer be called battles, but rather like a pair of passionate lovers, one wanting to leave and the other reluctant to part, occasionally entwining and then separating again, gazing at each other from afar, conveying their own "tender feelings" through their eyes.

  But there is no feast in the world that does not scatter, and the day of parting has come soon.

  When they were only one day's journey away from Liancheng Fortress, Qian Buli suddenly took pity on Jamukha and left him a cart of supplies, including tents, torches, fur coats, and some food.

  Zha Muhe heard the scout's report and felt extremely surprised, so he personally led his troops to investigate.

  After several days of fatigue, Zhāmùhé and his generals had all lost a lot of weight. However, on Zhāmùhé's face, there was an added air of stability. The anxiety to avenge that had been urgent before had been ground down by the harsh environment of ice and snow where survival was difficult, leaving only calmness.

  "A big sweat! There is a letter on the horse carriage!" A scout ran over.

  Zha Mu received the letter, weighed it first, then opened it. The letter only had a few lines: Brother sent off for a hundred miles, younger brother was grateful to the extreme, but even if sending off for a thousand miles, there would eventually be a farewell. Take care of yourself, brother!

  Zhamuhe smiled and handed the letter to Chahar, sighing: "The ancients said that there is a heaven beyond the sky and people outside of people. I, Zhamuhe, have learned from him... Is it called Qian Buli?"

  "Yes, with great effort." In order to find out who the leader of the Southern Army was, they captured more than a dozen scouts from the Southern camp and tortured them to get to the truth.

  "This name is interesting, haha..."

  "Great sweat, that guy is really too much!" Chahar had already finished reading the letter, and the tone of teasing in it was really making him angry. Chahar carefully observed Jamukha, seeing that his face was still very calm, before he could barely put his mind at ease.

  "This time I, Jamukha, have no soldiers to use, let him be arrogant for now." Jamukha smiled slightly, with a cold glint in his eyes: "However, I've also learned quite a bit about his habits. Let's talk again next time we meet, hehe... I have a feeling, we'll meet again!"

  "Great, you're talking about... Zhixian?"

  Zha Mu nodded slightly.

  On that day, after Zhamuhe's scouts were ambushed and killed by Qian Buli's troops at the southern camp, Qian Buli also set a trap for Zhamuhe, killing more than 40 of his scouts in one move. However, when Zhamuhe received the news, he was not angry but delighted. What he worried about most was that Qian Buli's military deployment was too tight, and no matter how hard he tried to probe, he couldn't find any weaknesses in the enemy's defense.

  However, from this matter, Jamukha finally grasped the weakness of Chonka, a young man who was extremely proud and could not bear to be calculated by others. He had just ambushed his scout, and he used the same method to retaliate against himself. Although the trick was perfect, it showed the youthfulness of his opponent from another aspect! Experienced Jamukha thought that a good opportunity could be found here.

  "Big sweat, there are words in it!" A soldier lifted up the canvas of the car top and shouted loudly.

  Zha Mu led the horse to pass by, and saw that on the felt tent was written in three large characters "Snow Plain City". Chahar's eyes lit up: "Great Khan, they have brought out all their men and horses. Isn't Snow Plain City empty? Why don't we take advantage of this opportunity to attack Snow Plain City?"

  Zha Mu Hei smiled and said: "Tuo Tuo Er, what do you think?"

  Tuo Tuo'er thought for a moment: "Ah, I see ghosts inside! They're not that kind-hearted!"

  "Qian's plan is indeed ruthless!" Zhamuhe's face turned solemn: "I ask you, regardless of whether there are ghosts inside or not, if you don't go back to take a look with your own eyes, can you bear it?"

  Chahar and Tuo Tuo exchanged a glance, shook their heads and said: "Unwilling!"

  "What's the point of thinking so much?" Zhā Mù Hé cracked his whip: "You guys carefully check, see if there's anything unusual in the cart." The other day they had found a batch of burnt-out supplies near their campsite in Nányíng, and from the ashes they had retrieved some urgently needed coarse salt. Since then, Zhā Mù Hé's elite cavalry had become scavengers, often lingering around the abandoned campsites of the Southern Army. They would never give up on this cartload of supplies, but still, it was better to be cautious!

  "Wow, inside there are tents, fur coats and... and... and flint!" Chahar rummaged around for a while, excitedly shouting out loud. There was no food, after the dry rations were finished they could only slaughter horses to fill their stomachs, eating bloody horse meat once or twice was okay, but eating too much would inevitably lead to nausea. However, Chahar's excitement came a bit too early, where could they find firewood in this icy and snowy land?

  Zha Muhe sank into thought for a while, and after thinking about it for half a day, he still couldn't figure out the other party's intention. He admitted that in terms of strategy, he was far from being a match for Qian Buli, but war wasn't just about winning with strategy alone!

  "Tutu'er, can you write a letter to Qian Buli for me? Just say thank you for his kindness." Zhāmùhé hesitated for a moment: "Tell him, I, Zhāmùhé, am waiting for him on the grassland!"

  "Yes sir!" Tuo Tuo'er responded and rode his horse away.

  "Great, just ahead is Liancheng Fortress, if we coordinate with the people inside..."

  "He, He Qiongming will not collaborate with us!" Zha Muhe shook his head: "He dares to secretly supply us, but he absolutely does not dare to openly cooperate with us. Even if he could really kill every single person under Qian Bu's command, would he dare guarantee that even the city guards would be willing to become traitors? We... and they are sworn enemies!"

  "I understand, great sweat." Chahar nodded.

  "This time I admit defeat, however... It's not easy to be an invincible general on this continent!" Jamukha gazed at the Southern Army's flag in the distance: "Qian Buli, I'm waiting for you!"

  In the Southern Army, Qian held a letter he had just received in his hand, looking at it in surprise for a while: "That guy didn't get angry? This is rare!" He had already made preparations, waiting for Zha Muhe to lose control of his emotions and lead the team to try and engage in a final battle, planning to give Zha Muhe a big headache. But now it seemed that all these preparations were in vain.

  "Sir, the enemy is retreating!" Du Bing ran up from behind: "What should we do? Should we chase?"

  "What are you chasing? Can't chase!" Qian Buli shook his head, and this time he set up two ambushes for Jamukha. Last time, after he killed Jamukha's scout, he set up an ambush in the big camp, waiting for Jamukha to come and avenge, but the whole army waited all night, and Jamukha didn't move. This time it was beyond Qian Buli's expectations. Logically speaking, this should be Jamukha's last chance, how could he give up? At this moment, Qian Buli overlooked that learning ability is not his own unique talent!