The mountain path was winding and rugged, and the narrow road stretched as far as the eye could see.
Jiang Pengji rode on Little White's back with relative ease. As an excellent descendant of Shalan and the warhorses of the Northern Borderline, Little White's endurance and weight-bearing ability were extremely strong. Every step was steady and easy. In contrast, the others looked a little embarrassed.
"The mountain path to Jinmen County is already so rugged. I wonder how difficult the road to Fenghu County will be …"
Yang Si was also secretly complaining. As a counselor, he enjoyed special treatment.
Most of the other soldiers walked. He could still ride a horse and did not need to walk on his legs, but the bumpy ride still made him suffer.
Jiang Pengji saw that his face was deathly pale with exhaustion that could not be dispelled. She then looked at the purplish-red horse under him, which was panting.
She took the initiative to suggest, "Why don't you ride Little White? Look at you. I think you'll be exhausted before we reach Jinmen County."
Yang Si was a little tempted, but when he thought that intelligent horses had a temper, he suddenly became a little timid.
"Won't it throw me off the horse?"
Yang Si nervously grabbed the reins. If he was not afraid that Little White would be uncomfortable, he would have hugged the horse's neck for safety.
Unexpectedly, not only did Little White not throw Yang Si off the horse's back, but it continued to hurry on without complaint.
"Don't deliberately cause trouble. Little White's temperament is still good." Jiang Pengji changed to Yang Si's previous horse and controlled the horse with the reins. "Fortunately, our opponent this time is the Red Lotus Group. If it were a smarter enemy, I wouldn't dare to take this mountain path."
She looked around at the terrain on the horse's back and teased him with a smile.
Taking the mountain path was indeed a strange move. They could avoid the enemy's eyes and ears without being noticed. Whether it was a sneak attack or something else, it had a miraculous effect.
However, risks and benefits coexisted.
The mountain path was not only suitable for them to sneak attack the enemy, but it was also suitable for the enemy to ambush them.
Little White walked very steadily, which was a world of difference from the previous bumpy ride. This made Yang Si feel a little better.
He said, "The situation is different. My lord marches at lightning speed. Even if the enemy has the intention to ambush us, they won't be able to make it in time."
According to Yang Si's estimation, when they had just captured the small town, the higher-ups of the Red Lotus Group had just received news of their arrival.
It would take time to transmit the order. By the time they reacted and prepared for an ambush, we would have already passed through the mountain road and taken down Jinmen County.
Jiang Pengji fought at a fast pace, but how many people could do that?
Most people could only pay attention to one place. By the time they received the news, the best opportunity had already passed.
Why were excellent strategists so sought after?
It wasn't just because they were able to win a battle from a thousand miles away in a world where information transmission was lagging behind. More importantly, they were more comprehensive and thoughtful than ordinary people. It was like playing chess. Ordinary people would take one step at a time, but schemers like them would take ten steps at a time.
Just as Yang Si had said, although the mountain road leading to Jinmen County was long, the slope was relatively gentle, and it consumed less energy than expected.
Which of Jiang Pengji's soldiers did not train with weights as a daily routine?
For an ordinary army, it would take six to eight hours to pass through this mountain path, but for them, it would only take a little more than two hours.
At the same time, the troops of Jinmen County had also been urgently transferred to Fenghu County to defend.
The Red Lotus Group arranged several scout teams, and sure enough, they found suspicious people. They judged that these were enemy scouts who had attacked the outposts.
The scholar clenched his fists nervously. The room was burning with a blazing charcoal fire, and it was so hot that his palms were sweating.
"Sure enough, Liu Xi's target is Fenghu County …" The scholar nervously put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in the hall, as if he wanted to rub a hole in the ground. He said, "Go and investigate again. Report back quickly if there's anything! If you find Liu Xi's main force, don't act rashly and alert him. "
"Yes!"
Not long after, a voice came from outside the hall again. The Red Lotus Group had found traces of scout activity at the exit of the mountain road in Fenghu County.
Every once in a while, someone would come to report back, which made the scholar extremely nervous.
Liu Xi had sent a large number of scouts. What did this mean?
It meant that the number of troops he had brought was large, and it was very likely that it was more than 10,000!
"Report …"
"Report …"
"Report …"
The messenger kept going back and forth. Every time he received a reply, the scholar's nervousness increased.
In the end, he was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He went out and looked at the sky outside. Flustered and exasperated, he said, "Haven't the reinforcements from Jinmen County arrived yet?"
The messenger hung his head and answered timidly, "They're still half a day away."
Half a day?
So slow?
The scholar was angry and anxious. He had never felt that time would pass so slowly.
He was like an ant on a hot pan. For him, every minute and every second was torture.
Now, he only hoped that Liu Xi would move slowly. It would be best if he could wait for their reinforcements to enter the city before coming.
Otherwise, he really did not have the confidence to fight against Jiang Pengji with his current troops.
"Where is Mr. An? Quickly invite Mr. An over to discuss countermeasures. "
Thinking of An Cui, the scholar had a backbone. He hurriedly asked the servant beside him to invite An Cui.
The manservant ran as fast as he could, but An Cui was no longer in Jinmen County.
"Do you know where Mr. An went?"
The scholar did not feel that anything was wrong. Although An Cui had left, his brothers who were close to him were still there. The scholar did not suspect anything.
The servant replied, "I've asked carefully. Mr. An seems to have gone to Honglian County overnight."
The scholar frowned. He did not understand why An Cui had gone to Honglian County at this time.
However, he did not dwell on this issue for too long, because another messenger had found traces of scouts.
What made the scholar even more terrified was that the scouts were getting closer and closer to Jinmen County.
In other words, when these scouts had finished investigating the situation, Liu Xi's main force would attack.
Thinking of the reinforcements that would arrive in half a day, the scholar wanted to grab his hair in frustration.
Because the scouts were moving around frequently and spying on their situation, the scholar had never thought that this was just bait set up by Jiang Pengji.
Qiguan Rang was in charge of the central army. Under his arrangements, scouts were sent out to scare (and tease) the Red Lotus Group.
As for the main force?
At this moment, they had already passed through the mountain road and crossed a vast expanse of white snow, galloping toward Jinmen County.
Chengde County belonged to the northern region. The snow was heavy in winter.
Except for the official road, no one cleared the snow in other places. Usually, they waited for the weather to warm up and let it melt on its own.
Jiang Pengji had already asked the people of the Vanguard Battalion to prepare plain-colored linen and draped it over their bodies as cover. The weather was good that day. The snow reflected the light. In order not to hurt their eyes, the guards at the city gate would not stare at the snow outside the city for a long time.
The garrison of Jinmen County was almost completely transferred away. Only 3,000 old, weak, and disabled soldiers were left behind.
The sun was shining brightly, and the reflection made their eyes very uncomfortable. Outside, it was freezing cold. There were only a few Red Lotus Group on the city wall who were seriously guarding.
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