Chapter 26: Preparing for Robbery

  The mountain bandits passed by, and there wasn't much of a stir in the Zhengsheng camp. After all, compared to the brutal and evil barbarian thieves, people like Guo Shanfeng could already be considered kind and gentle. Except for some curious babies who came to sneak a peek at the famous Guo Shanfeng outside the Fengguo camp for several days, everything was calm and peaceful.

  The people of Chong County have received great support from Lord Xu Yunfeng, and everything is going smoothly. Due to their trust in Lord Xu, after all, he is the official who led them out of danger, and also due to their reverence for Li Qing, who is the one who can keep them alive, and whom they will rely on to survive in the future. The people were divided into different camps according to plan. In Li Qing's plan, for now, it is still a supply system, but when they are able to become self-sufficient, these people will be dispersed, with families as units, young and strong men serving as laborers during peacetime, and being recruited as qualified soldiers during wartime, with all citizens becoming soldiers.

  The hunting has stopped, except for Jiang Kui's men who are still cutting down trees to build fortifications. The rest of the young and strong have begun military training. Among the remaining 50,000 people in Chong County, there are 5,000 young and strong men, which is a huge wealth that needs to be cherished. Without weapons, they use wooden sticks as guns, under the leadership of the old soldiers from Changsheng Camp, they start training every day. Unfortunately, food is not enough, so they cannot practice with large movements. Otherwise, using Li Qing's method of training soldiers, it would take only a few months to create a qualified soldier. But even so, these thousands of young and strong men have become organized in a short period of time. At least they can stand in line, know left from right, and Li Qing is confident that with weapons, they can go into battle immediately.

  "Do you really want to take action?" Shang Haibo looked at Li Qing with some worry.

  "We can only take action!" Li Qing waved his hand and said resolutely. "Our food is not enough, what to do? Mr. Lu doesn't know the news, no food, we can't get through this pass, only go to rob, who to rob, can only go to rob the barbarian tribe, I have sent Feng Guo with Guoshanfeng to investigate the barbarian tribe across Jīmíngzé."

  "But now we only have over a thousand soldiers, and our strength is insufficient! If we had enough weapons, we could arm more people. Is it possible to wait a bit longer? Perhaps the old road will arrive soon?" Shang Haibo was worried, this small force was Li Qing's foundation, if one move was not careful, it would be a disaster.

  "We can't wait any longer, what if something unexpected happens on the old road and we have nowhere to go. It's going to snow soon, we must stock up enough food before it does." Li Qing had already made up his mind.

  "Since the general has made up his mind, then let's do it!" Shang Haibo was not a cautious person either. He also knew that this winter would be a disaster for Li Qing. "In that case, we must make a good plan."

  "Sneak up on them and catch them off guard, that's our only chance." Li Qing waved his hand, saying: "Otherwise, a head-on confrontation would not make us their match."

  The thousand old soldiers of the Changsheng Camp were gathered together, with two meals a day and meat added to their food. The daily training was also unusually strict. When many soldiers did not understand what was going on and were discussing it among themselves, some veteran soldiers who had experienced many battles already knew that they were going to fight a battle, but they didn't know where the battle would be fought.

  Everything is ready at Changsheng Camp, waiting for Feng Guo and Guoshan Wind to return.

  Five days later, Feng Guo and Guoshanfeng returned from Jimingze. Ignoring the two men's fatigue, Li Qing immediately summoned everyone to his large tent.

  "Adults, the ones in front are the An Bone tribe I mentioned earlier, with a thousand tents and can gather two thousand cavalry. The entire tribe has more than 12,000 people." Guo Shanfeng said.

  "How can there be so many people in a thousand tents?" Li Qingqi said.

  "Slaves, a vast number of slaves! The An Bone tribe has participated in this invasion and made a huge fortune, capturing thousands of slaves!" Feng Guo gritted his teeth and said.

  "Damn it!" Wang Qinyan slammed his fist down, striking the desk in front of Li Qing and making it jump. Seeing Li Qing's angry gaze, he couldn't help but withdraw his hand with a hint of embarrassment.

  "There's also some good news." said Gu Shan Feng.

  "What news?"

  "Mulan Festival, the Mulan Festival of the barbarians." Gu Shanfeng laughed.

  "What's Mu Lan Festival?" Most people didn't know what this festival was.

  "The Mulan Festival is the largest festival of the barbarian tribe, um, it's similar to our Chinese New Year." Gu Shanfeng explained, "After we infiltrated the Angu Tribe, I heard that this time the barbarian tribe will have a grand celebration of the Mulan Festival, and all the chiefs of the tribes will go to the Dragon City of the barbarian tribe. The chief of the Angu Tribe will also go."

  Li Qing's eyes lit up: "This means this guy will take away quite a few soldiers?"

  "Right, General!" Mountain Wind said: "At least this chieftain will take away the most elite of the Great Khan's soldiers, so it'll be easier for us to do our job."

  Li Qing smiled and said: "It's really heaven helping me, I suppose the An Bone tribe also has to go through this Laborious what's-his-name Muerlan Festival, right? Ah yes, how many more days until Muerlan Festival?"

  Guo Shanfeng said: "In six days, I think that tribal leader will leave the tribe, it's just a matter of these few days."

  "Alright, on the day of the Mulan Festival, we will launch a surprise attack on the An Bone tribe at the appointed time. This battle, we not only want to win, but also win quickly and decisively, minimizing our losses. Everyone go prepare now." Li Qing said excitedly.

  The generals excitedly walked out of the account, "Mr. Xu, we took away all the old soldiers this time, and we also need to take away a part of the young and strong ones. The old camp here will trouble Mr. Xu to comfort them. Hopefully nothing goes wrong."

  Xu Yunfeng nodded and said, "Don't worry, sir. With me around, nothing will go wrong. But these young men were all farmers before, can they be of use on the battlefield?"

  Li Qing shook his head: "This time, however, they don't need to go onto the battlefield. I'll bring them along, for two reasons. Firstly, to let them see some blood and understand what a battlefield looks like. Secondly, to have them move things around. You see, this time the An Ke tribe has taken quite a few of our things, and if we want to take them back, we'll need many hands."

  Xu Yunfeng couldn't help but smile, "Alright then, I'll first wish General Ma a successful expedition and a triumphant return."

  Li Qing burst out laughing, "Thanks for the auspicious words! Tomorrow we'll set off. The army will arrive at the vanguard a day before the Mulan Festival. Feng Guo has already found a hidden place. Lord Xu, you can start preparing to move your things."

  "Mr. Shang?" Li Qing turned to Shang Haibo.

  "Sir, this time I'll go with you." Shang Haibo smiled and said, "The general once said that scholars are not bringing Wu hooks, this time I also want to experience the bloody rain and wind on the battlefield!"

  Li Qing smiled, "Well, with you by my side planning, our chances of success have greatly increased."

  At dawn, groups of soldiers began to set out and leave the old camp in Chong County. The old camp was quiet, with Li Qing and Xu Yunfeng giving everyone an excuse that they would be practicing military exercises in the nearby mountains for a period of ten days. Everyone watched calmly as the troops disappeared into the morning fog.

  The old camp began a day of hustle and bustle, only Xu Yunfeng couldn't help but feel some anxiety, worrying about gains and losses.

  Today's three chapters are here, and for every additional ten favorites, I will add one more chapter. I won't go back on my word.