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墨書 Inktalez
The way of marching does not linger in one place for too long; it is mobile. Along the way, there are bound to be rivers and lakes, so there is no need to carry water.
Lu Chen reviewed the five thousand soldiers and felt that their overall morale was quite good. Soon after, Lu Chen and Lian Dashuang led the five thousand troops on their way.
Lian Dashuang was originally responsible for the defense of other provinces, but due to the urgent military situation in Qinghe Province, Lu Chen found a way to transfer him over to stay by his side. After all this time, he had grown accustomed to it.
As for Old Mu, he had more important matters to attend to and would not be coming for the time being.
On a chilly autumn morning, with a slight coldness in the air and mist hanging in the sky, the large group of five thousand made a rhythmic "clank clank" sound as their armor rubbed together while marching.
Lu Chen and his group set out from the East Gate, marching westward for a distance before turning south. Along the way, there were official roads as well as muddy paths; where there were no roads, they made their own.
The areas traversed by scouts were generally passable. The scouts rode light cavalry and were responsible for scouting routes and gathering intelligence on local military movements; they belonged to a relatively secretive unit.
Soon, daylight broke. After several hours of continuous marching, everyone felt somewhat fatigued. When they reached a stream, Lu Chen ordered them to temporarily stop and rest, eat rations, drink water, and regain their strength.
About half an hour later, the group set off again, moving westward. These routes had been planned in advance; if all went well, they would encounter Luo Yi's Left Wing Legion head-on.
After that, they only took a brief rest around noon before immediately hitting the road again. Throughout this journey, no resting place exceeded half an hour; speed was crucial in military operations, and Lu Chen grasped this point very well.
By evening, they had marched over a hundred miles. Just as Lu Chen prepared to march a bit further before resting again, someone came to report that enemy scouts had been spotted.
This caught Lu Chen's attention. After some discussion, Lian Dashuang set out with a few men.
After dark, Lian Dashuang returned with several enemy heads; it seemed he had successfully eliminated Luo Yi's Left Wing Legion scouts—well done.
Lian Dashuang approached Lu Chen and said, "Master, we took out seven or eight scouts—all from Luo Yi's Left Wing Legion."
Lu Chen smiled mysteriously and nodded. "Good. Is there anything else to report?"
Having been gone for so long, Lian Dashuang surely accomplished more than just this task; his personal involvement indicated there were likely other gains as well.
"Yes, Master, nothing can escape your eyes. I went to scout Luo Yi's military camp and observed from a nearby mountain; I saw almost everything," Lian Dashuang said excitedly.
"Oh? How far is it from here? Do you think there's a need for a night raid?" Lu Chen wanted to test Lian Dashuang, to see if he had made any progress after following him for so long.
Lian Dashuang chuckled and replied, "It's no more than fifty miles, Master. To be honest, I saw everything clearly, and I think this is a great opportunity. We should strike immediately; we can definitely catch them off guard. First of all, it's cold now, and after they set up their tents, they will likely fall asleep inside. If we attack suddenly, they won't be able to react, and they certainly wouldn't expect us to take the initiative at this time."
After listening to Lian Dashuang, Lu Chen nodded in approval, feeling satisfied. Lian Dashuang was about what he had imagined, but he still lacked a bit in strategy.
"Alright, Big Shuang, I'm assigning you a task now. Take one thousand Cavalry to raid their camp; the main goal is to disrupt, not to engage," Lu Chen instructed Lian Dashuang.
"Master, is one thousand enough? Isn't that a bit too few?" Lian Dashuang asked with some uncertainty. After all, there were only one thousand of them against twenty thousand of the enemy—a difference of more than twenty times was no joke.
If the disparity were smaller—like ten times or five times—then Lian Dashuang might not have been as fearful.
Lu Chen waved his hand and said, "Big Shuang, remember that my focus is on disruption. You must not get caught up in battle; hit and run. Do I really need to explain this further?"
Lian Dashuang scratched his head, realizing his mistake. "Master, I understand now. I'll go handle it right away and await your orders."
"Good." Lu Chen issued the command, and soon the entire army set out towards Luo Yi's Left Wing Legion.
The route taken by the army was clear of scouts; there shouldn't be any issues in a short time. However, if they took too long, they would definitely be discovered. This was an opportunity that must be seized.
After advancing for over ten miles, the army began to split paths. The Cavalry, led by Lian Dashuang, continued along the main road.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen led the remaining troops into the nearby mountains and forests on foot. At this point, scouts from both sides had already engaged in battle.
Now, Lu Chen and his group were only about thirty miles away from Luo Yi's Left Wing Legion. If they marched quickly, two hours would be enough. They had to launch the first wave of attack before their scouts noticed them; they couldn't allow any preparations on the enemy's part; otherwise, all their efforts would be in vain.
The large group moved cautiously through the forest; many paths were blocked and needed to be cleared on the spot. They had to keep quiet and could not light torches; conditions were quite difficult.
However, with Lu Chen personally leading the charge and his Yin Spirit fully unleashed, he swiftly eliminated any enemy scouts that approached within range.
Two hours later, Lu Chen and over four thousand troops gathered on the hillside, and below the slope were one or two thousand tents.
This was the encampment of Luo Yi's Left Wing Legion. A light rain fell, and the chilly autumn weather felt particularly cold in the mountains, with an icy chill that was hard to ignore.
However, Lu Chen and his men had marched through the night and were now sweating profusely. The rugged terrain made the journey difficult, leading to significant exhaustion among the troops.
But Lu Chen knew that this was the moment of opportunity; he could not let it slip away. Speed was crucial in warfare, and any delay would mean losing the initiative.
Lu Chen looked up at the sky, feeling that the time was right. He immediately ordered someone to bring out the kerosene barrels, then wrapped cloth around the arrows and dipped them in oil to create fire arrows.
The range of these bows was average, about four hundred paces, but that was sufficient to reach the Left Wing Legion's camp.
With a command from Lu Chen, all the fire arrows were ignited at once, illuminating half of the sky and turning the entire forest a fiery red.
At this moment, Luo Yi's Left Wing Legion remained quiet; aside from a few patrolling soldiers, those inside the tents were still sound asleep.
With another command from Lu Chen, five hundred fire arrows were launched simultaneously, whistling through the air.
Soon after, there was a sound of kerosene being stirred in the barrels, signaling the second wave of fire arrows being fired.
Quickly, the launched fire arrows began to take effect, with oil splattering everywhere and igniting the enemy's tents.
At the same time, cavalry that had stealthily approached the enemy's tent entrances suddenly charged in with great fanfare.
In just a few breaths' time, the enemy's tents seemed to be engulfed in flames, resembling a sea of fire. Only then did the enemy react; everyone shouted loudly and scrambled out of their tents to escape.
At this moment, sounds of hooves, battle cries, screams of agony, and explosions from flames hitting water mixed together, creating utter chaos in the enemy camp.
Lian Dashuang's cavalry arrived and immediately began their slaughter. Long spears thrust left and right as many soldiers who had just fled from their barracks—some still not fully dressed—were killed.
During this time, Lu Chen led his archers without pause; each archer had shot around three hundred arrows at full strength.
Lu Chen looked up at the sky, feeling that the time was about right, but his expression remained grim, tinged with a hint of worry.
About a quarter of an hour later, Lian Dashuang and his Cavalry charged out from the enemy camp and began their retreat.
Seeing this situation, Lu Chen took a deep breath, finally feeling relieved. Lian Dashuang's mission was to create disturbances, not to fight to the death. Now that he was retreating, the objective had been achieved. Lu Chen had almost sent the infantry down; the reason he brought them was to support the Cavalry at any moment, just in case.
The reason Lian Dashuang and his men were retreating was that the enemy had already reacted and quickly gathered their forces to counterattack. However, since Lian Dashuang and his men had already retreated, pursuing them would be futile because the Cavalry was too fast, especially at night; they could not catch up.
Now that the Cavalry had safely retreated, it was time to focus on the Wan City mission. Roughly estimating, the enemy had suffered over a thousand casualties from being burned alive, shot dead, as well as scouts and those cut down by Lian Dashuang's Cavalry.
This outcome was already sufficient to serve as a warning. Now they just needed to wait for the enemy's reaction.
Lu Chen led his troops back to their base. Their base was located in a secluded area at the foot of a mountain, extremely hidden, and enemy scouts could not approach because anyone who got too close was killed.
As dawn broke, Lu Chen ordered all soldiers to rest, leaving only a portion on guard duty. He and Lian Dashuang then went out to survey the terrain. They were no longer in a hurry but were waiting for feedback from Equal Baron Luo Yi to see what actions he would take.
Lu Chen and Lian Dashuang wandered through the forest, trying to avoid enemy scouts. The area nearby was desolate with little human presence; however, there was a river and a large dam with considerable water storage capacity, which Lu Chen took special note of.
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