Chapter Thirteen Encounter

  Inside the military tent, a dozen or so people stood crowded together, filling the temporarily set up and not very spacious tent to the brim. The atmosphere was extremely oppressive, with several traveling generals, one central army commander, and the rest being logistics officers, all of whom had serious expressions on their faces as they stared at the only chair in the tent where the main general sat, but no one spoke a word. This wasn't because they didn't understand etiquette, it's just that their mission was to transport grain, fodder, and military equipment to Qingyang, which should have been an easy task, albeit a bit laborious. However, news had arrived from the front lines about a mutiny in Qingyang, and no one knew whether it was true or false. The scouts at the front had already encountered some scattered soldiers who claimed to be escapees from Qingyang, and they weren't far away. Although they hadn't seen them yet and couldn't get any details, this news had already shocked everyone's hearts. If the news was true, oh dear, a mutiny in Qingyang? Was the sky going to fall? The two strongholds of Western Qin were the Wu Pass and Yan'an line, and the other was Qingyang. Although the latter seemed more important, all the grain, fodder, and military equipment were stored in Qingyang, and several dozen military outposts along the border with Western Xia relied on supplies from here. If Qingyang fell, the situation would immediately become chaotic. What a huge disaster this would be! If Western Xia attacked at this time, once they passed Qingyang, their army's edge could point directly to the Qin Feng River. How could that be allowed?

  Another most difficult thing is that their task is to send grain and grass to Qingyang. With more than 3,000 people arriving in Qingyang, it's not like they're entering the tiger's den. If they retreat now, the military law of Xiqin has always been strict, without a military order, privately retreating from the army, there are only a few people who can survive in this account. Now they are in such a difficult situation, with several people already scolding, what kind of thing is this, we came to transport grain and grass, which was originally a hard job, but also encountered such a mess. Looking at the six gods without a master's appearance, it's not just making decisions, this woman hasn't even seen the rebel army, she's already urinated in her pants, how unlucky I am, it's really an unfavorable year.

  Li Jinhua was indeed confused at this time, she was only 22 years old, although women of her age had already married and given birth to children, but she couldn't. This branch of her family had been left with only her, a girl, after several generations in the military, although they had become similar to the Han people, some Uighur customs were also inherited. Even if there was only one girl left, from childhood, she had been taught to take office immediately and continue the family's martial arts.

  Fortunately, there was a precedent for women joining the army in Western Qin, but it was extremely difficult for a woman to take to the battlefield and fight alongside men. Although she had been skilled with bow and horse since childhood, opportunities for women to join battles were scarce. This time, being sent to escort grain to Qingyang was an opportunity given by her uncle, but as a young woman in her twenties who had not experienced battle, she naturally felt at a loss when faced with such a major event, her mind a blank, unsure whether to advance or retreat, and her expression flustered, greatly disappointing the soldiers under her command.

  The commander-in-chief was indecisive and irresponsible, and even the most mature and cautious ones only dared to mutter a few words in their hearts. But there were young and vigorous ones who didn't care about these things, and immediately one of them, who was normally straightforward but now spoke with a sarcastic tone, said: "Commander, you should say something! We ordinary soldiers are all counting on you to take charge. Whether we advance or retreat, we're all listening to your orders. You must have some plan, right?"

  Li Jinhua's body shook, and she finally came to her senses. She looked around blankly, and the faces that entered her eyes were all slightly disdainful. In the military, encountering such questioning, if it were another commander, they would immediately be dragged out for a beating. But at this time, Li Jinhua was disoriented, her dignity lost, and her mind was a mess. How could she care about what others said? The others didn't dare to speak either, and a suffocating atmosphere spread out, as if the officers were all waiting to see the joke of their commander.

  "We should wait and gather the scattered soldiers who have retreated, and ask them what happened. If it's true that there's a riot in Qingyang, we'll just be sending ourselves to death if we go there. It would be better to send this news back quickly, even if we retreat back to Pingliang, we shouldn't face too much blame. What I'm worried about is that these defeated soldiers will see the grain and provisions and go crazy. Everyone should hurry up and set up camp, if the grain and provisions are lost, our heads won't be able to be kept intact. Let's get ready for now, maybe things aren't as severe as we think..."

  Everyone listened and thought it made sense, and immediately rushed out of the camp in a hurry. It turned out that no one asked Li Jin Hua's opinion, leaving her, the commander, hanging there. Li Jin Hua's face turned from white to red, her body trembling with various emotions. Chen Qian bowed and said, "Sir, you can't afford to be confused at this time. If you are confused, the hearts of your subordinates will scatter. If you can remain calm, we, these rough men, have nothing to worry about. Keeping the grain safe may even bring us credit when we return. Think about it, isn't that right?"

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  The officer emerged from the large tent in a flurry, immediately directing his men to start setting up camp. However, the regular imperial guards did not lend a hand, some tidying up their weapons, others preparing their horses. Zhao Shi realized that things were indeed going badly.

  "Something's off about this stone." The merchant, Yan Zu, spoke up. Having previously been in the military, his experience was unmatched by others. He too had noticed something amiss.

  Zhao Shi's face was expressionless, and he said coldly: "Uncle, you quietly tell them...". He pointed to the several large carts not far away, "If there is something wrong, we will surround those carts. I've taken a look, they are all crossbows and arrows. If it doesn't work, we'll take them out..."

  "This won't do, will it? Privately selling off military equipment is a capital offense..."

  "Hmph, I'm already dead, whether or not I'll be beheaded is a matter for later..."

  The two were still whispering to each other, but outside the camp suddenly rose a chaotic sound of horseshoes. Several scouts rushed in, covered in blood, with some having arrows stuck in their bodies. They hastily dismounted and rushed into the military tent, ignoring the astonished gazes of others.

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  Ye Lizi rode his horse to the front, observing from a distance the bustling camp that seemed like boiling water. He let out a hearty laugh. Ye Lizi was not tall, but anyone who saw him could only describe this guy with two words: "powerful". This guy was indeed powerful enough to make people gasp in amazement. Under his large, square head was a body twice as wide and narrow as that of an ordinary person, making him look like a perfect cube. His arms were as thick as an ordinary person's thighs, with bulging muscles all over, and even his face had horizontal stripes of flesh. When he wasn't smiling, it was fine, but when he smiled, the whole person exuded a fierce and cruel aura. This was also why Ye Lizi, as a member of the Wild Wolf family, was sent here. Firstly, Ye Lizi was exceptionally brave in battle, and secondly, this guy was arrogant and extremely unpopular, so the task of raiding the Qin army's grain route fell on his head.

  At this time, Ye Lizi licked his lips, and the thick, dry lips were bright red as if they had been smeared with fresh blood. He indeed yearned to see fresh blood. The Western Xia and Western Qin had been peaceful for five years, but for someone like Ye Lizi who was obsessed with blood, five years seemed like an eternity. Unfortunately, there were no women here, and Ye Lizi felt a pang of regret in his heart, but a ferocious smile appeared on his face. He glanced at the young man beside him, who had a slender build but did not appear weak. The young man's face was shaped like a Chinese character, with two thick eyebrows that flew into his temples, and a pair of bright black eyes that shone with spirit. When he saw Ye Lizi's gaze fall upon him, his brow furrowed slightly. He was Ye Lizi's younger brother, but much younger than him. His name was Li Yuanhan, and he had just turned eighteen this year. The young face still had a hint of childishness, but the calmness and confidence that inadvertently flowed out gave him an extraordinary charm. He belonged to the Western Xia royal family and had been known for his cleverness and bravery since childhood. This time, he came south as an observer, and if not for being somewhat worried about his older cousin, he would not have come out with Ye Lizi.

  He was too familiar with this cousin, the bravery of his soldiers was unquestionable, but once the battle started, there was only one way to do it, and that was to charge forward recklessly. However, he was now a deputy general under Wild Li Qi, and it was impossible to persuade him otherwise. Besides, the Qin army seemed to have no defense, making it the perfect opportunity to launch a surprise attack. He nodded slightly towards Wild Li Qi.

  Ye Lizi, although much older than him, seemed to listen to this younger brother in everything. Seeing him nodding, his two eyes lit up and he immediately shouted loudly, "Brothers, kill them all, don't leave one behind! The grain, grass, military equipment will be transported back, the rest of the spoils are yours!"

  His subordinates yelled and drew out strange-shaped weapons, regardless of formation, and rushed out all over the mountains. They were all elite Iron Hawks of Western Xia, but at this time, the Iron Hawks were very different from when Yuanhao founded the country. Originally, there were only about 5,000 Iron Hawks in the entire Western Xia, who rode good horses, wore heavy armor, and wore iron chains. Although they died, they did not fall off their horses. Behind them followed 20,000 "burdens". When charging forward, they were invincible and claimed to be unstoppable. There was a glorious history of 300 Iron Hawks rushing forward and defeating 20,000 infantrymen head-on. However, history is just history. Western Xia lacked iron, and the cost of maintaining such an army was staggering. Later, during the Xizong period, the military system was reformed, and the Iron Hawks were expanded to 30,000 people, equipped with light armor and bows and arrows. In fact, it was a change from heavy cavalry to light cavalry. Although many more were added, the number of Iron Hawks remained roughly the same after removing the "burdens", but the cost of money and grain was reduced by half or more.

  This time, Ye Lizi brought a thousand soldiers to pretend to attack Qingyang, blocking the Qin army's reinforcements. However, after arriving at Qingyang, they found that the city's defenses were weak and disorganized, completely different from before. They suspected it was a ploy by the Qin army to lure them in. The Xia army camped outside Qingyang for seven days before realizing that the Qin army seemed genuinely unusual - their morale was low and they were extremely disorganized. If not for the fact that they didn't have enough strength to capture such a strong city, it's likely that just a few charges would be enough to take down this key western Qin stronghold.

  Xia Jun sent someone to inform the main force while dispatching guys like Ye Liqi to scout around Qingyang for any large Qin army troops.

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  This battle took place within a hundred miles of the city of Qingyang, and compared to the countless large and small battlefields on the western border of Xixia and Western Qin, this battle seemed insignificant. However, its cruelty and bloodiness were no less than those of the now blood-soaked Yan'an City. This battle was remembered by people because it was the first battle between two young men from different camps who would later shine on the battlefield. At that time, Zhao Shi was only eleven years old, while Li Yuanhao, a young man from another time and space, had fought against the invincible Mongolian army on the Heavenly Wolf Plain for ten days, beheading a thousand-man commander, six hundred-man commanders, and finally dying of exhaustion on the battlefield. His tens of thousands of soldiers fought to the last man without surrendering, earning the admiration of Tuo Lei, the fourth son of Genghis Khan, who praised him as an unparalleled great general that the Mongols had never encountered since their invasion of Western Xia. This year, Li Yuanhao was only eighteen years old.