Chapter 76
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A Bing rubbed the spot where he had been kicked and felt quite dissatisfied. However, in front of everyone’s gaze, he didn’t dare to voice any objections. Wang Ye had said before that a soldier’s duty was to obey orders.
Since Great General Wei had given the order, it must not be disobeyed. A Bing gritted his teeth and complied, “Understood.”
He might not feel satisfied, but he decided to make the enemy equally dissatisfied. While Great General Wei’s command was to launch a feigned attack on the enemy’s rear to slow down their pursuit, A Bing had already made up his mind. If he didn’t strike hard, he couldn’t rid himself of the resentment in his heart.
In the meantime, Chacha Qi was also infuriated. He couldn’t believe that the Great Yan army, which was like a turtle hiding in its shell, had suddenly burst out while his forces were in pursuit.
Ignoring them would be one thing, but these people were reckless and fearless, charging around like madmen. Though they were fewer in number, their actions inflicted significant losses on his rear forces. If he turned back to confront them, the Great Yan’s Wang Ye and general might escape.
“General, what should we do?” someone asked.
Both Uncle Ping and Tuoba Jiu, who had been rescued, were now by Chacha Qi’s side.
“General, out primary goal is to capture the Great Yan’s Wang Ye. We should dispatch troops to intercept them quickly,” Uncle Ping, though injured, pressed on urgently.
Chacha Qi frowned, feeling unhappy. He refused to be manipulated like this. Did they think he was a puppet? Who were they to command him? A mere newcomer to their territory dared to give orders?
Chacha Qi was dissatisfied with the authority of Hunle Wang, and he had an intense dislike for the two Han men accompanying Wang Ye. One was a weak and seemingly powerless young man. How could such a delicate face receive Wang Ye’s attention? And they were entrusted with such a crucial task? Hmph! Now it appeared that they couldn’t even handle minor matters properly. What use could they possibly be?
Seeing that Chacha Qi was unmoved, Uncle Ping grew anxious. His master attached great importance to this mission. Everything seemed to have gone smoothly, except for this final step. They must not let him slip away.
“General, you must not let Duan Wang escape,” Uncle Ping urgently pressed.
A deputy general standing beside Chacha Qi noticed the tension and intervened with a mocking tone, “Who do you think you are to be giving orders and advice in front of General? General knows well how to handle things.”
“You!” Uncle Ping was blocked from speaking any further, leaving him with no words left to say. He had followed his master to Suixi Kingdom, enduring the disdain of others. At this moment, nobody was willing to listen to him.
Chacha Qi chuckled, raising his voice, “That’s right. These two are within the borders of Suixi Kingdom. They can’t escape. Just a small team of soldiers will be enough to capture them. Now that this group of ants dares to challenge us, I won’t let them leave as easily.”
He immediately ordered his troops to turn around, surround them from both sides, and cut off their escape routes. He was determined to keep this group that had come out of the pass. Whuile a small team was sent to chase after the two.
Although Uncle Ping was anxious, he didn’t dare say more at this point. He could only watch as the two disappeared from sight on horseback. Helplessly, he could only report everything truthfully.
Great General Wei’s clear command was to slow down the enemy’s movements. With the enemy retreating and their reinforcements arriving, their objective had been achieved.
“A Bing, we should retreat!” a member of the Red Robe Army urgently advised.
By now, A Bing’s rage had reached its peak. Seeing Wang Ye and the general in danger within enemy territory, he was driven almost to madness. His surroundings were littered with bodies, though his arms were almost too weak to lift, he fought on rigidly.
A comrade pulled him back and was almost struck by his wild swing, “Have you lost your mind?”
It was only then that A Bing came to his senses, his actions slowing. He questioned in confusion, “What are you doing? Let me go, let me kill the enemies.”
“Great General has sounded the retreat. It’s time to pull back!” the comrade said loudly, seeing that A Bing was still unresponsive. “A Bing, do you want to disobey orders? Do you want to disappoint them when they return?”
“But Wang Ye and general….”
“Wang Yeand the General will always come back. If you disobey orders now, do you want to disappoint them when they return?”
A Bing was startled. That’s right, Wang Yeand the general had left. If they returned to find him acting recklessly, they would surely be disappointed. Realizing this, he hesitated no longer and turned his horse to retreat.
Originally, Chacha Qi had intended to capture them all in one sweep, but he hadn’t anticipated that his forward troops had just initiated a maneuver to intercept and encircle, causing this group of people to unexpectedly retreat. Now the situation had taken a turn, attempting to chase after them would undoubtedly be much slower. Their mission this time seemed destined to be futile.
As for Uncle Ping, he sneered with disdain in his heart. It seemed that these barbarians were truly as he had thought – all of them were impulsive and lacked strategic thinking. They were nothing more than arrogant and proud individuals.
Chacha Qi was in a state of frustration and urgency. He wanted to forcefully breach the pass, but when they were merely two to three hundred steps away from the gate, a rain of arrows fell upon it. No one could approach even a fraction closer.
Seeing that continuing the relentless assault would only lead to greater losses, he couldn’t afford to make such a costly mistake. Chacha Qi couldn’t help but feel anxious. It was a golden opportunity, if he pursued further, there might be a chance to seize the pass.
But what to do now? He had always yearned to surpass Hunle Wang, to become the true hero of Suixi, the same glory that Hunle Wang had achieved when he attacked Liangcheng. It was the pinnacle of his life, a feat almost impossible to surpass. However, what followed the peak of glory was an unbearable fall.
The mighty eagle of the grasslands, representing the courage and strength of the Great Yan, had its wings clipped. Yet, the grasslands surely had more than just one such eagle.
If he could reach the pinnacle that Hunle Wang had once reached, he would soar even higher than Hunle Wang. Breaking through Liangcheng, launching an attack on the capital of the Great Yan…
But the current situation didn’t allow for such dreams. The people around him reminded him, “General, we can’t press on any further. If we suffer heavy losses, it won’t be easy to explain to Wang Ye.”
Awakened abruptly from his thoughts, Chacha Qi weighed the pros and cons. The mission given by Hunle Wang echoed in his mind, causing a sudden shock and cold sweat on his forehead. He knew that making decisions on his own could result in severe consequences.
Seeing the losses of his soldiers, who were his valuable assets, Chacha Qi knew that if they were all depleted, his position as a general might come to an end. He immediately ordered a retreat.
It took a great deal of effort, yet they hadn’t achieved anything and had even suffered significant casualties. It was truly frustrating.
He didn’t know if the team sent to capture the two had any good news. In theory, two people on a single horse wouldn’t be able to escape very far. Their troops were skilled riders, and even with their eyes closed, they could easily capture them. This way, he might still be able to gain some recognition in front of Wang Ye.
With this thought in mind, Chacha Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the situation wasn’t as bad as he feared.
Just waiting like this isn’t a solution either. Their main army was also moving towards the direction that Ming Yu and the general had fled. By converging earlier, they could bring the two that Wang Ye desired back more quickly and report back to him. right?
As the gate of Shi Chongguan closed, Great General Wei, watching the movements of the enemy through Thousand Miles Eye, finally breathed a sigh of relief as he saw them retreating. But the wrinkles on his forehead deepened as he thought about the missing Wang Ye and his companion. Each one of them was a constant source of worry, now he must be losing hair over these anxieties.
Reluctantly, A Bing returned to deliver the orders. Great General Wei shook his head and didn’t reproach him, promptly asking for a map of the western region of Suixi Kingdom.
The map displayed only the major mountains and lakes within Suixi’s borders, lacking detailed terrain information.
Great General Wei glanced at the full map and finally fixed his gaze on the north of Suixi Kingdom, where it bordered Uliang Country. Most of Wuliang Country shared its borders with Suixi, with only a small part adjacent to the Great Yan. They hardly had any interactions with the Great Yan.
However, observing the signal flags transmitted by Ming Yu earlier, he had an inkling of their intention. The idea of taking a detour might not be a bad one. However, he couldn’t help but worry about the imposing Xiqi Mountains separating Suixi and Wuliang. The reason Wuliang and Suixi didn’t engage in conflict was likely because of these impassable mountains.
Choosing to detour towards Wuliang showed too many uncertainties. It might be better to directly commit their forces and fight, even if it meant facing a tough battle, to ensure Wang Ye’s return.
Yet, Wang Ye had relayed the order to hold position. The situation left him feeling deeply concerned. Pursued relentlessly by Suici’s army, he wondered if they could easily shake off their pursuers.
He furrowed his brows and finally called for A Bing, assigning him a secret task.
Chacha Qi hoped to capture the Great Yan’s prince as soon as possible. However, when the leader of the pursuit team returned empty-handed, he erupted in fury, berating them as a useless bunch. Both of them had escaped, letting them slip through their fingers. What use were they?
After venting his frustration, one of his advisors suggested, “General, you should quickly inform Wang Ye of this situation. Perhaps there’s still a way to salvage the situation.”
Chacha Qi’s head throbbed. The task given to him by Hunle Wang was to bring back the Great Yan’s prince at all costs. Now that the mission had failed, how was he going to explain this?
His hands and feet turned cold as he surveyed his surroundings. Spotting Uncle Ping in the corner, he gave a wry smile. He issued orders to send back more troops and continue the search for the two, and left some troops behind to guard the area. He refused to believe that these two who had come to his Suixi Kingdom, could escape his grasp.
However, while it was impossible for Ming Yu and Xie Yixiu to escape to the heavens, they managed to take a detour and headed north. Xie Yixiu’s roan horse was a renowned steed brought back by Ming Yu’s trading caravan from the Western Regions. There were only two of them in total, people described the roan horse as extraordinarily beautiful with a graceful posture. It was swift as the wind and very hard to come by.
Because Ming Yu had asked Xie Yixiu to keep the promised horses with him for future development of a stable, he had promised quite a few things in return. This roan horse could be considered as part of the interest he owed.
The roan horse was indeed exceptional; even carrying two people, its speed was beyond that of an ordinary horse. Fortunately, Ming Yu signaled General Wei to delay the enemy troops, otherwise facing the encirclement and pursuit of the enemy’s army, it would not have been so easy to escape. Once they managed to shake off the pursuers, the two of them then identified their direction and headed north.
Ming Yu let out a long sigh of relief; he was utterly exhausted and lay weakly against Xie Yixiu. Due to the effects of the medicine, he had expended all his strength just to send the signal. This signaling method had been developed during their military drills when communication was not easy.
As a result, everyone found this method to be effective. With the Thousand Miles Eye, it became much easier to communicate over long distances using brightly colored flags to convey simple language commands. This method was far more convenient than relying on runners to deliver messages, which often involved exhausting journeys. As a result, they collaborated and worked together for a long time to develop a slightly more comprehensive set of flag signals.
Great General Wei, using the Thousand Miles Eye, saw Ming Yu’s signal and promptly coordinated, enabling them to escape smoothly. At the moment, this was the most perfect support they could have asked for.
“Are you alright?” Xie Yixiu sensed the lack of strength in the person in his arms and his tone carried a hint of concern.
Ming Yu shook his head. Only when Xie Yixiu appeared in front of him did he feel a sense of peace. In the face of fear, helplessness, loneliness, and anxiety, all of which he had never experienced before, how could he not be afraid or panic? Faced with an unknown fate, he was constantly on the verge of breaking down.
Upon hearing Xie Yixiu’s voice, Ming Yu’s unsettled heart finally found a moment of respite. Seeing Xie Yixiu before him, at that moment, he truly believed that there were deities in the world who could provide comfort and trust.
“I’m sorry!” Sorry for causing this result, all of it was due to his negligence and carelessness, his lack of crisis awareness, and his failure to truly integrate into this world during the many years he spent here. This was why he was still living in his own world. “It won’t happen again!”
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