Chapter 35: The Ambushers Emerge

  Yang Ling heard the call and turned his head to see Han Youniang and Ma Linger each holding an umbrella, walking towards him with light steps across the courtyard. Ma Linger was still wearing a white fox fur coat, looking as lovely as a person in a painting.

  Han Youniang's figure was slightly shorter than Ma Lian'er, wearing a blue plaid skirt and light pink blouse. Although she didn't have the same stunning appearance as Ma Lian'er at first glance, her delicate face, gentle smile, and lovely demeanor made her seem like a charming and endearing little sister next door.

  She carried a basket covered with blue cloth, the umbrella tilted towards the basket on one side, and her body was covered with snowflakes on the other. Yang Ling hurried down the steps, first nodding to Ma Lian'er, then walking up to take the basket from You Niang's hand, pulling her towards the corridor, while brushing off the snowflakes from her forehead and shoulders, asking: "It's such a big snow, what are you doing out so early?"

  Han Youniang put away the umbrella, blew on her slightly red fingers due to the cold, and smiled sweetly with a wrinkled nose like ripples in spring water: "I'm sending lunch to my husband, I even cooked two eggs! My husband is busy with official business, he can't go hungry."

  Yang Ling said with a scowl, "You, I'm still afraid of starving to death in the post house?" He pulled Nong Nang and turned back to Ma Lian'er saying, "Miss Ma, hurry up and go inside, it's windy under the corridor, be careful not to catch a cold."

  Ma Ang was supposed to go to the county government office to register, but seeing the heavy snow today, he wanted to put it off until another day. However, when he saw Yu Niang going out, he followed her and first turned into the post station.

  At this time, seeing the affectionate and loving appearance of the young couple, Ma Lian'er felt a slight sense of loss in her heart. She took off her hooded cloak, pushed back her hair, which was even more lustrous than black satin, and quietly followed them into the house after shaking off the snow on her boots.

  Yang Ling hastily finished his meal and had just put down his chopsticks when the gatekeeper hobbled in, saw that both the new Magistrate's wife and the former Magistrate's daughter were present, and didn't dare to linger. He quickly took out the letter he received yesterday and handed it over, smiling obsequiously: "Sir, this is a letter delivered last night, the messenger specifically asked me to hand it over to you."

  Yang Ling didn't know who would write a letter to him, and he hastily tore open the seal. Only then did he notice that next to the fire-red seal on the back was a strange fish pattern. Yang Ling's heart skipped a beat - a secret letter from the Imperial Guards? He had seen those opened ones yesterday, but he wasn't afraid of anything. But he himself wasn't an Imperial Guard, and now he was recklessly opening their secret letters - hopefully, he wouldn't stir up any trouble.

  The letter had already been opened, and at this point he couldn't be bothered to consider those things. He pulled out the letter paper, hoping that it was just some trivial matter inside, so even if someone found out, it wouldn't be a big deal.

  Yang Ling carefully read the contents of the letter, and suddenly felt at ease. The letter didn't contain any confidential matters, but rather a joyful event that could be made public. He hastily put away the letter and excitedly said: "It turns out that Minister Min beheaded the Tartar prince last night, this time Minister Min has achieved great merit!"

  He excitedly clapped his hands and said: "I'll go inform the master right now, Young Lady, you and Miss Ma wait here for a while, and head back home when the snow gets smaller."

  Han Youniang nodded obediently, and Yang Ling hurried out. Ma Lian'er suddenly remembered something and said: "Brother Yang, I'll go with you. My brother left in a hurry yesterday, and I'll go to change the household registration for him."

  Yang Ling immediately agreed, and at the moment he called for a horse from the post station, another horse was led over. The two of them rushed straight to the county government office. County Magistrate Min was lying on the kang letting Dr. Lang change his dressing. After hearing the news Yang Ling brought, his mouth first opened wide enough to hold an egg, and he stared blankly for a while. Then he asked for the letter again and read it over twice. Afterwards, he laughed like an old hen laying eggs, "Giggle, giggle, giggle".

  He was originally afraid that his loud laughter would rupture the wound, so he laughed like this, but unexpectedly, this suppressed low laugh made his body tremble even more violently.

  Yang Ling saw him laugh painfully, and he himself also found it funny. It turned out that being reckless had its own advantages. Who knew that this reckless man would accidentally take down the greatest achievement with just one knife?

  Governor Mo smiled and smiled, but that smile suddenly solidified on his face. He thought for a moment and changed color, saying: "It's not good, Bohai's eldest son is a disabled person. I heard that he has always been very concerned about this Second Prince Xue Liebao Qi. Now his son was killed by me, but the Tartar army retreated easily, which is really suspicious."

  Just now the military reported that our army set out to find the enemy's trail at dawn today. If Bohai is coming with a large army to avenge his son, it would be very bad. This message needs to be told to General He immediately. Yang Shifu, hurry up and catch up with General He, tell him this news.

  Yang Ling also knew that the matter was urgent, so he hastily agreed and rushed out. Ma Lian'er had already cancelled his household registration and was waiting for him in the front hall door room. Seeing Yang Ling's face with a look of urgency, he quickly got on horseback and followed him, asking: "Brother Yang, what's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"

  Yang Ling said loudly: "This morning, the army set out to pursue and attack the Tatars. Since the county magistrate of Min County beheaded a Tatar prince two days ago, I'm afraid the Tatars may not have really retreated. If they are harboring revenge in their hearts, they might be using retreat as an advance, secretly setting up an ambush. I'll go catch up with General He and tell him this news." With that, Yang Ling turned his horse's head and rushed straight to the South City.

  Ma Lian'er turned over and mounted her horse, circling twice on the spot. She thought that her brother was also in the army, if there were really Tatars ambushing, wouldn't it be unbearable in the chaos of war? In the end, she couldn't put her mind at ease, so with a crack of the whip, she galloped towards the southern city.

  The large camp outside the city only had some weak and wounded soldiers left to guard it. Yang Ling asked and found out that the main army had departed for an hour, his heart was burning with anxiety, he immediately chased after them along the muddy road that was trampled by the army's horses and carriages. However, the roads outside the city were not as flat and smooth as those inside the city, Yang Ling who was new to horse riding, held the reins tightly and panted heavily, almost more exhausted than the horse itself.

  He ran out for more than a mile, hearing the sound of horseshoes behind him, and turned his head to see Ma Lian'er also rushing towards him. She didn't know when she had taken off her fur coat, revealing a emerald green skirt and jacket, with a fox-fur vest on top, her figure was indescribably moving, and the movement of galloping on horseback was extremely beautiful.

  As they approached, Yang Ling hastily said: "Miss Lian'er, how did you get here? It's good that your horsemanship is excellent, hurry and go tell the army to stop advancing in case of unexpected events."

  Ma Lian'er's delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed as she said, "Will the army's advance or retreat be decided by what I, a mere woman, have to say? Has that secret letter been brought?"

  Yang Ling slapped his forehead and said: "Oh no, I forgot it at Minister Min's place".

  Ma Lian'er let out a cold hum, suddenly stretched out her hand and pressed the horse's back, straightened her waist, and actually jumped onto the horse's back. The horse was still galloping non-stop, this riding skill was indeed impressive. Ma Lian'er said to Yang Ling: "Release the reins, I'll ride the horse."

  Yang Ling let go of the reins, but didn't know how to control them. She only saw the two horses side by side, Ma Lian'er jumped up and landed lightly in front of Yang Ling. With a kick of her heel, she commanded: "Give me the stirrup."

  Yang Ling's feet left the stirrups, and he felt his body unstable. He hastily grabbed onto Ma Lian'er's slender waist. Ma Lian'er suddenly had her waist grasped by a man, although she was prepared, her back still stiffened, and her abdomen tightened up.

  She took a deep breath, pretending to be nonchalant, picked up the reins and said: "Hold on tight, I'll take you, Lord Courier, to meet General He!"

  Ma Lian'er grew up outside the pass, with excellent horsemanship skills. These two people are also very light and agile, adding up to not even being as heavy as a heavily armored soldier. The two of them rode one horse, straddling it together, not only did they not affect the speed of the horse, but under her superb horse-controlling skills, they ran even faster and more smoothly.

  At this time, He Canjun's army had entered Wohu Mountain. The scouts sent out last night brought back intelligence this morning: the Tartars had swept away all the vehicles, cattle and sheep at Erli Ban and Wu Li Pu, and had them transported back to beyond the pass. However, the enemy troops had not retreated, after being repelled from Jiming Yi, they retreated to defend Yu Mu Tun, and small detachments were raiding nearby villages.

  He Zong was overjoyed to receive accurate intelligence, and since there was only one road leading to Jiming Post in the front, he didn't worry about being ambushed from behind. So he led his five armies to advance rapidly through the snow, planning to launch a surprise attack on the Tartars.

  To quote Yue Fei's words, the heavy snow is falling thick and fast, and the enemy will not expect our army to arrive suddenly. In the past, Li Heng entered Cai Prefecture on a snowy night and achieved an eternal merit. This time, we launched a surprise attack, annihilating the enemy army, and can also leave a name in history, rivaling that of the ancients.

  The army left the city six miles away and entered the gourd valley. The two sides of this mountain valley are continuous high mountains, and in the middle is a gourd-shaped valley. He Can, although eager to make achievements, was not a new recruit or young general after all, and had not been blinded by interests. At this time, he ordered the army to temporarily suspend its advance and send scouts to explore ahead.

  "Sir, the mountains on both sides of the valley ahead are not steep, and they stretch for hundreds of feet from the top. There is no cover or concealment on the mountain, so it's impossible to hide troops there. If the enemy sets up an ambush at the summit, the distance is too great, and bows, arrows, knives, and guns will have no effect on our army. With this slope of hundreds of feet, even rolling logs and stones would be difficult to use effectively, don't worry."

  Liu Gonggong stuck his head out of the sedan and looked around, saying: "Hmmm, although our family doesn't know anything about military affairs, looking at this mountain with no cover or concealment, it's indeed impossible to hide people. With mountains surrounding us on both sides, even if the enemy wants to attack from the front and back, it's absolutely impossible. Moreover, the enemy has fewer men than us, how can they surround us with fewer men? We can proceed with peace of mind."

  He Xian smiled and said: "Hehe, the two supervisors are right. I'm just worried that this valley is narrow, our army can only form a long snake shape, and the front and back cannot respond to each other. If the enemy sets an ambush in the front, the follow-up troops will not be able to rush to support, and the advantage of the troops cannot be brought into play, which will inevitably cause greater casualties. It's better to wait for the scouts to clarify the enemy situation before advancing."

  After a short while, the four scouts returned one after another to report that there were no enemy troops ahead and no signs of horse or carriage tracks in the snowy valley. Although the snowfall was heavy at present, if there were large numbers of people moving, it would be impossible to conceal all their footprints. He You heard this and put his mind at ease, immediately issuing an order for the vanguard and rearguard to speed up and quickly cross the valley, heading straight for Yu Mu Village.

  The 5,000-strong army heard the order and continued to march forward, with a majestic and powerful formation, like a long dragon in the snowy mountains. He Shi Jie, the commander of the vanguard, led his troops through the middle and rear sections of the valley, and was about to exit the mountain valley when suddenly, at the front of the valley entrance, war drums thundered, countless flags were raised, and at the same time, a burst of gunfire echoed from the slopes on both sides. In an instant, numerous figures emerged from the snowy slopes, arrows flew in all directions, and feathers filled the sky, even more densely than the flying snow.