Chapter 26: Sudden Raid
Acha has finally returned, first chapter of 3,000 words as a gift, there will be more later, not less, haha, collect and recommend to everyone.
Zhao Shi was originally an elite special forces soldier, perhaps not very familiar with the face-to-face killing on the cold weapon battlefield, but when it comes to small-scale raids, he can be said to be unmatched in his time. Under the circumstances of no advanced communication equipment and no night vision devices, this supplement is a way to minimize casualties on his side.
Those two generals looked at Zhao Shi in surprise in the dark, but they didn't know what kind of person Zhao Shi was. Although Li Jinhua's performance today wasn't great, he was a commander who could charge forward and lead his troops into unknown dangers, and his prestige had already been established without anyone realizing it. The two men saw that this young man followed the commander closely, interrupting him freely, but the commander didn't scold him, and what he said made sense, making them nod their heads in agreement.
That middle-aged man, however, chuckled quietly. In his youth, he was a notorious outlaw from the Qin and Xia border regions, with a violent and straightforward temperament. Zhao Shi's last sentence had struck a chord with him. "Alright, let each take care of their own fate, that's what a real man would say. Let's all go in together, even if we come out missing an arm or leg. Even if we die inside, as long as we can kill a few Western Xia dogs, it won't be a waste. When we meet our ancestors underground, we'll still be able to hold our heads high."
The atmosphere was originally somewhat heavy, everyone came with a determination to die, there was no thought of chatting and laughing, but after hearing this sentence, everyone laughed silently, and the mood relaxed a lot.
Afterwards, Li Jinhua made some arrangements. Among the people here, except for Zhao Shi, there were twenty people in one team, and the remaining four people each led a team. Except for the four people who fell behind on the road, only Li Jinhua's team had eight more people. Since they were the main guests, it was natural to take some advantage. In this era, it wasn't like Zhao Shi's previous life where egalitarian ideas were deeply ingrained in people's minds. As long as there was a slight imbalance, even if no one came forward to dispute it, many dissatisfaction would arise. Such an arrangement seemed reasonable in the eyes of the crowd, and no one raised any objections.
The crowd dispersed, and the next thing to do was to stare blankly at the Western Xia camp. In order to act quickly, everyone here wore single-layer clothing, not even a helmet or a rain cover could be found. Zhao Shi leaned against a tree, surrounded by silence, except for the sound of raindrops hitting the ground, occasionally accompanied by the sound of people's teeth chattering. His own body was also trembling, and as time passed, he felt a chill in his bones. He had to grit his teeth and endure it, saying that they were resting, but their physical strength was disappearing faster with each tremble. If this continued, he estimated that he would not be able to move even before the action began. After all, his body was still young at this time, and he couldn't compare to the strong men around him who were in their prime. He didn't dare drink too much of the wine he brought with him. Although wine could drive away the cold, drinking too much would only make his body temperature drop faster, which was a suicidal behavior at this time. Zhao Shi slowly closed his eyes, slowed down his breathing, and tried to make his thoughts vague and unfocused. After a while, his body completely relaxed, his breathing became longer, and after another while, the trembling of his body stopped. Even in his subconscious, his body felt warm and cozy. This was a method he had learned in the military in his previous life, which could effectively maintain body temperature. It was a skill based on research on animal hibernation and human potential, allowing him to slow down his metabolism through self-hypnosis, just like cold-blooded animals in winter, effectively reducing the drop in body temperature and loss of physical strength. However, this method couldn't be used frequently or for an extended period, as it would cause permanent damage to the brain nerves due to lack of nutrition, leading to severe consequences such as dementia or brain damage. But at this time, it was a good emergency measure.
In the darkness, a pair of eyes with a faint blue tint never left Zhao Shi's face. Li Jin Hua didn't know what she was thinking about at this time. Maybe it was because she had seen too much killing and bloodshed in her first battle that she felt overwhelmed. Maybe it was the mysterious feeling she got from the young man beside her, or maybe it was his strength and calmness that made her feel inferior. Maybe, after all, she was just a woman. Or maybe it was something else entirely... Anyway, at this moment, she didn't feel the tension of facing a fierce battle with life and death hanging in the balance. Instead, she felt an inexplicable sense of security being by the young man's side. As she thought about it, she remembered what her mother had once said: "Women are like wisteria vines, men are like big trees. Wisteria vines can only find stability by relying on big trees." What was it that she had said back then? Ah yes, something like "I don't want to be a wisteria vine, I want to build my own '巾帼府' and make those men kneel down and kowtow to me." Now that she thought about it, she realized how ignorant and naive she had been back then. She remembered the story of Lu Wenxiang, who had followed Emperor Taizu on his conquests, fighting in countless battles. When Emperor Taizu ascended to the throne, he wanted to reward her with a marriage to his younger brother, but Lu Wenxiang was furious, saying "I have led tens of thousands of soldiers for Your Majesty, my achievements are not inferior to others. Why should I be married off while others receive promotions and titles?" Emperor Taizu was ashamed and never brought up the matter again. Instead, he built a '巾帼府' for Lu Wenxiang, where she lived out her life without ever marrying. Li Jin Hua had always admired Lu Wenxiang's achievements and her heroic spirit, but now she thought about how lonely Lu Wenxiang must have been, living in that grand mansion with no one to share her feelings with. And what about Emperor Taizu? It was said that he had secretly loved Lu Wenxiang all his life, but if that were true, then Lu Wenxiang's love had been foolish and Emperor Taizu had been heartless. Looking at the young man's cold face, she hoped he wouldn't be a heartless person too. As she thought about this, her face grew hot, and she couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself. She spat out a mouthful of saliva, and even the chill in her body seemed to dissipate somewhat.
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Time slowly passed, the drizzle continued to fall, and the weather grew colder. Everyone was gritting their teeth in endurance. The distant lights flickered and gradually dimmed. Everyone knew that the moment of destiny was approaching. They stood up and slowly moved their numb hands and feet. Then they silently stared at Xia Jun's camp in the distance. On this cold wilderness, over a hundred men grasped horizontal knives, standing quietly, their bodies exhausted to the extreme, but their eyes gradually filled with murderous intent, making the dark night air seem to congeal.
"Go." Li Jinhua said in a low voice, her originally clear and crisp voice now somewhat hoarse.
Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and the group immediately split into several teams, rushing forward quickly. At first, they were still walking slowly, but gradually they had already turned into a sprint. Finally, they no longer needed to hide their tracks and recklessly charged towards the direction of the camp. Along the way, some people fell to the ground from time to time, but no one paid attention.
There was no battle cry, only the sound of chaotic footsteps and heavy breathing. The Western Xia patrol in this direction had only one person, who was exhausted from the cold weather in the second half of the night and dozed off wrapped in his sheepskin coat. When this sturdy Tangut man was awakened by the sound of footsteps, he saw a group of dark shadows in front of him. In a moment of confusion, the group of shadows had already approached. The Han Chinese patrolman, shocked to the extreme, just wanted to let out a loud cry, but in the darkness, a flash of knife light passed by, and a burst of scorching hot blood took away his cry, as well as his life.
The massacre began, and the Western Xia people were completely unguarded. Perhaps it was because their commander had fallen, which caused everyone's morale to drop to an all-time low, and their vigilance also decreased. Maybe years of peaceful life had taken away the ferocity of the Western Xia people. When they charged into the camp, the Western Xia camp was still quiet, and if not for the sound of snoring coming from the scattered tents, Zhao Shi almost thought it was a trap.
One by one, the tents were overturned, and the Western Xia soldiers were not even able to get up before being cut down to the ground. Most of them were killed while still asleep, which was somewhat different from the plan. According to the plan, when they charged into the camp, the Western Xia people should have woken up, and then it would be a fierce battle, killing their way out of the camp. But at this moment, it was a one-sided slaughter. The Western Xia people, who were still ferocious during the day, seemed to have been taken away by the god of darkness all their courage and strength. Some people had already woken up, but they just stared blankly as the steel knife came crashing down on their heads, without making any move, not even thinking of picking up the weapons beside them to resist until death. The entire camp was filled with the muffled sound of steel knives cutting into bones and the moans of people dying. The taste of blood wafted faintly through the camp, and the Qin soldiers, who had already killed their fill, stared with eyes full of bloodshot, searching for their next target, like a pack of wolves searching for prey.
Until they were close to the center of the camp, the cries suddenly became fierce. Zhao Shi knew that the real battle had only just begun. In the darkness, this team of people gathered tightly together. Everyone who approached this team was an enemy and was ruthlessly cut down. They wanted to move forward, again and again. Not far away, the sound of horses neighing came, and Li Jinhua's team immediately turned around, rushing straight towards the direction of the horse group. When they saw the shadows of the war horses, everyone took out the crossbows they were carrying and shot them at the horse group.
The wounded war horses were terrified, neighing and jumping wildly, finally some of the horses broke free from their reins, scattering in all directions, trampling down many tents along the way, and the Western Xia people inside the tents let out a chorus of mournful cries.
