Chapter 298: Quiet Battle
Editor: Atlas Studios
It was not difficult to determine Feng Yu’s whereabouts. Qi Haoran ordered 2,000 troops and asked Mu Shi to lead 5,000 people to surround Jiangyou. That was Jiang Zhong’s main camp and his main force was there. Assistant Commander Lu of the 4th Division would lead the remaining 13,000 people to guard Tongchuan Prefecture and be in charge of logistics and brakes.
Assistant Commander Lu felt that Qi Haoran should be commanding the troops instead of rushing to the frontlines.
Assistant Commander Lu was not good at attacking and fighting. Mu Shi also had to defend against Jiang Zhong, so he naturally had to take on Feng Yu himself. Moreover, he was still young. Although he had the experience of attacking Hanzhong Prefecture prior to this, other than the 5th Division, it was still difficult for him to convince the soldiers of the other four divisions. Assistant Commander Lu would be able to convince the masses better if he stayed behind. After he got rid of Feng Yu, he would slowly boost the morale of the army.
After Qi Haoran finished setting up the defenses, he immediately got someone to set up a pot and cook in the field. They planned to set off before dawn tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Feng Yu had just heard that the Imperial Court was sending an army to suppress them. At this moment, they had just occupied a town and robbed the rich families and commoners in the town. It was enough for them to live a carefree life for a period of time. Therefore, Feng Yu did not want to move, so he asked someone to inquire when the Imperial Court’s army would arrive.
Feng Yu did not expect the army to move so quickly. He’d felt that it would be four to five days before they arrived at Tongchuan Prefecture. Then, they would need three or four days to seek their whereabouts. By the time they actually sent troops to eliminate them, it would at least be ten days later.
He’d reckoned ten days of rest would be sufficient. When he had snatched enough things, he would bring his brothers up the mountain. Tongchuan Prefecture had many forests. As long as they entered the mountain, even General Yuan would not be able to do anything to them, let alone an army. It was extremely difficult to find someone in the vast mountain range. Furthermore, it was filled with dangerous terrain that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. According to Feng Yu’s guess, this battle would most likely be left unsettled.
Therefore, he very leisurely asked someone to go out and find out when the Imperial Court’s army would arrive.
Because of Feng Yu’s evil deeds, all the families in Tongchuan Prefecture who could have left had already fled outside. Therefore, before the people he sent out heard the news, Qi Haoran had already rushed straight to the town they were stationed in.
Qi Haoran was a regular soldier and Qi Xiuyuan had always been very strict with him. His homework was assigned by three teachers. One of them was a teacher like Fan Zijin. He only asked that Qi Haoran roughly read the four books and five scriptures. Qi Xiuyuan did not expect him to be proficient.
However, he had to memorize the military manuals like ‘Wu Zi’, ‘Sun Bin’s Art of War’, and ‘Duke Huangshi’s Three Strategies’. These military strategies were all explained to him by Qi Xiuyuan and Rong Xuan. Coupled with the fact that he’d had opportunities for practical practice, he was way more expert than Feng Yu, who was illiterate and had never fought with a regular army.
Hence, the scouts that Feng Yu sent out to gather information were captured by Qi Haoran’s scouts after merely being out for half a day. They were escorted back to Qi Haoran. Deducing according to the itinerary, Qi Haoran said, “Inform the soldiers to speed up. We’ll take down the rebels in one fell swoop today before entering the town to recuperate.”
“Little General, the soldiers have been marching for a day. I’m afraid they’re not strong enough,” someone advised.
Qi Haoran glanced at him coldly, and the person who suggested it immediately lowered his head. Qi Haoran ordered, “Order the soldiers to speed up. We must reach the town before the sun sets.”
This time, no one dared to have any objections. They all quickened their pace.
2,000 people were stationed in the forest outside the town, but Feng Yu’s men did not notice them.
Qi Haoran went to see the two people who had been caught and asked about their situation again. After confirming that he had not overlooked anything, he let the soldiers rest. They were not allowed to start a fire and could only eat the dry rations they brought.
After eating, he only let the two teams patrol and guard the high ground. The rest of the soldiers immediately took the time to rest.
Fei Bai stayed by Qi Haoran’s side and was a little nervous. “Master, are we really going to make a move tonight? Wouldn’t it be better to leave it until tomorrow when the soldiers will be more energetic?”
Qi Haoran glared at him and reprimanded in a low voice, “You’ve attended so many lessons with me in vain. There’s no better opportunity than tonight. By tomorrow morning, our people might be afraid, and the risk of being discovered will increase. This is the best opportunity. Just follow me later and don’t get your head chopped off.
Qi Haoran hugged his sword and closed his eyes as he leaned against the tree to sleep. Some time later, all of a sudden, he opened his eyes and glanced at the moon in the sky. He patted Fei Bai awake and asked him to wake the soldiers up.
Qi Haoran’s troops split into three groups. 500 people guarded this exit of the town, while the other 500 went around the town to guard the southern entrance. He brought 1,000 men into the town.
Qi Haoran said, “Don’t let anyone escape. Fire more arrows. If there are a lot of people, use a diversionary tactic and wait for our reinforcement.”
“Little General, they have more than 2,000 people, but you only brought 1,000…”
Qi Haoran snorted and said, “Our soldiers are all trained. Feng Yu has only fought with a few bailiffs and has long developed an arrogant personality. Moreover, the spies we caught reported that they are not stationed together.”
Another reason why Qi Haoran looked down on Feng Yu was that this person never set up defenses. At most, he would get someone to patrol their residence. He didn’t believe that after two years of training, his soldiers who could rival the Hu people would lose to these ragtag soldiers who had only held swords for less than a month.
Hence, Qi Haoran boldly brought 1,000 men and quietly approached the town. The people Feng Yu sent to patrol were all killed by Qi Haoran’s men.
Having robbed the home of two ministers in town, Feng Yu now stayed in one of their houses. Because there were many people and few rooms, there were people sleeping in the courtyard with mats and blankets. They were caught off guard.
Qi Haoran walked into the door that had been pried open. When he saw the people sleeping on the ground, the corners of his mouth twitched. He waved his hand and called the captain of the scout team over. He said in a low voice, “Go and find Feng Yu immediately. Capture him and gag him. Notify us after you succeed.”
Then, he got a section commander to bring his men to guard the various exits. This way, the two manors were surrounded. There were even sounds of laughter, crying, and cursing coming from some rooms. After listening for a while, Qi Haoran’s heart burned with anger. He said to Fei Bai with a cold expression, “Bring two section commanders to those rooms that are still making a din. Tie those people up. If you can’t tie them up, kill them and save the hostages.”
Fei Bai knew that the Little General hated this kind of thing the most. He immediately agreed in a low voice and brought his men over.
The people in the courtyard were obviously well-adapted to such a noisy environment because even Qi Haoran could not stand the screams coming from the room. Yet, the people on the ground could still sleep soundly. It was only occasionally that someone would curse with their eyes closed.
To think none of them noticed Qi Haoran and his men walking around.
Qi Haoran estimated that it was about time. Seeing that the commotion had gradually disappeared, he waved his hand and got the soldiers behind him to quietly start tying people up from the corner.
They spared no mercy. One soldier would cover a man’s mouth, while another soldier would restrain his limbs. A third soldier would tie up the man’s hands and feet with a sweat towel. Then, he took off the other party’s smelly socks and stuffed them into his mouth.