At five o 'clock in the afternoon, the sun was about to set. Under the afterglow, the farmers in the fields began to return home with their farming tools and cattle. The commoners who left the city also returned to the city. There were very few people on the streets. The streets were deserted, and the shops began to close. The merchants in the horse market also began to return home.
At the end of the day, Zhou Qingfeng led the Imperial Guard out. All of them rode horses or took carriages out of Fu Shun. The elite troop of more than two hundred people passed through the city gate and quickly disappeared. No one knew what they were going to do? No one knew where they were going?
A few old soldiers guarding the city gate looked at the dust raised by the troop as they left. At most, they envied the troop's strength, but they were too lazy to ask what was going on. When the team disappeared without a trace, no one cared about them anymore. After all, Baihu Zhou often led troops out of the city for training. Even at night, he forced the guards to open the gate and go out of the city for training.
After the Imperial Guard left the city, they first crossed the Hun River to the south, passed through Fu Shun Pass, and then headed east to Sa Er Hu. When night fell, the troop slowed down. A few soldiers lit torches to provide weak illumination, ensuring that the troop did not deviate from the road.
Zhou Qingfeng rode a giant wolf in the middle of the troop, ensuring that his military chain covered as much area as possible. Li Shuwei brought the kitchen, medical, and other auxiliary troops in a carriage and followed behind. Xu Bing brought the Black Warriors in front anyway. The four wolf cubs and the Human-faced Demon formed the vanguard, ensuring that no enemies approached the troop.
Because the caravans often passed through, the road to Sa Er Hu was relatively smooth. Nurhachi had not yet built a city in Jie Fan Mountain in Sa Er Hu, so there were no guards along the way. The sound of horse hooves and wheels traveled very far in the night, but there was no worry of being discovered.
When they were close to Sa Er Hu, Zhou Qingfeng looked at the mechanical watch on his wrist. The luminous surface showed that it was 8: 30 at night. He was quite satisfied with the speed of traveling 60 li on horseback in three hours. The soldiers' stamina was still good, but the horses were a little tired.
"Stop advancing, dismount, extinguish the torches, and keep quiet. Arrange sentries, count the people, and feed the horses. All the soldiers ate a fasting pill to recover their strength. We'll rest for half an hour, "Zhou Qingfeng ordered from within the formation. The troops quickly stopped and rested by the roadside. The officers began to do a headcount and report the situation of their respective squads. Occasionally, a soldier would speak, but he would be scolded by the squad leader and other core members in a low voice. Everyone hid in the darkness.
There were only specks of starlight in the sky, and the dense forest road was pitch-black. The soldiers all carried bags of beans with them, which could be used to feed the horses. The bags could be opened to feed the horses. Water was given after feeding. All the soldiers were trained to be grooms. In the current war situation, horses were still very useful. Maintaining the horses' stamina was very important.
Since it was too dark, they could only use the match in the hands of the class monitor and vice class monitor for illumination. Zhou Qingfeng patrolled back and forth among the team, ensuring that everything was under control. He walked to the back of the team and whispered to Li Shuwei, "How do you feel?"
Li Shuwei shrugged. "He's in good spirits, but I don't know how he'll be later. If I can't join the battle today, I'll just work as a logistics officer in the future. I won't give you any trouble. "
Zhou Qingfeng chuckled and turned back to the front of the team. When Xu Bing heard his footsteps, she turned her head from the roadside and asked, "This is also my first time participating in a war. What do you think is waiting for us ahead?"
"I've had Guo Jiao conduct aerial reconnaissance every day for the past few days. I can basically confirm that nothing special has happened in Gulk Mountains. There are about three hundred Niu Lu soldiers stationed there, and I've specially arranged two squads of 100 soldiers to guard the place. There might be a few troublesome people there, but I'm confident that I can deal with them. "
Without the support of Guo Buyi's spiritual energy, Zhou Qingfeng wouldn't be able to use the 'Highway Robber' for a long time. His number of Supplicants had recovered quite well. Although the Sea of Qi in his dantian could only supply energy for about ten seconds, it wasn't as if he didn't have other ways to replenish it. "Guo Jiao gave me a few high-level talismans. If necessary, I can still fight."
Xu Bing nodded and didn't say anything else. After resting for half an hour, the team set off again. But now that they had entered enemy territory, and there might be Jurchen sentries in front of them, the team didn't light torches anymore. Instead, they found a few ropes to tie them in front and back, and their marching speed decreased again.
This time, it was Zhou Qingfeng who led the way. The human-faced demons floated around in the dark and could be considered the best scouts. The four wolf cubs also stopped running around. Instead, they quietly advanced in the forest a hundred meters in front of the team, occasionally sending back some information.
In this world, the Great Kitchen Reservoir in Fushun hadn't been built yet. The Suzi River turned into the Hun River near Saer Hu City. The mountains here were steep, the roads narrow, and the vegetation was extremely dense. It was the only way to get from Fushun to Hetuala. There were a few ferry crossings on the road, but the guards on duty were easily taken down in the sneak attack. Saer Hu City, on the other hand, was a problem.
Although it was called a city, it was actually just a small village. Currently, there weren't many people stationed in the village, but it would be troublesome to take it down. Not to mention that it was time-consuming, there wouldn't be any benefits, and it would also affect the attack on Gullah Mountain.
To avoid trouble, Zhou Qingfeng continuously released many silencing talismans to temporarily erase the noise caused by the team's advance. Moreover, he didn't light a torch. In the dark night, no one would know that such a medium-sized team was passing through the village.
After passing Saer Hu, Gullah Mountain was just fifteen kilometers ahead. Zhou Qingfeng looked at the time. He should be able to arrive at eleven o 'clock at night, so he was even more careful. Because silencing talismans couldn't be used for a long time, he could only let the wheels roll forward. At the same time, he kept his Third Eye on high alert to identify the possible dangers in the mountains at night.
When the troops followed the path along the Suzi River and arrived near an open stretch of land, the target of tonight's attack was exposed to the vanguard of the Imperial Guards. Zhou Qingfeng rode the giant wolf up a low slope by the river. Hundreds of meters away, torches were still lit in the village. Rafts floated down from upstream, continuously transporting food — the Jin Kingdom's war preparations were in full swing.
The camp of Gullah Mountain was right by the river bank. On the crudely built dock, hundreds of slaves were still working through the night under the lashing of whips. Zhou Qingfeng held up the bronze binoculars. After a moment, his heart couldn't help but race. The entire village was opened to receive the food. Apart from a few supervisors, there weren't many enemy soldiers on the walls. The enemy wasn't on guard at all. They definitely underestimated the enemy.
God is helping me!
"Everyone dismount. Soldiers, line up. Auxiliary soldiers, help the soldiers put on armor." Zhou Qingfeng turned around and ordered through the military chain. The two hundred people behind the low slope immediately moved. The reason why he brought the auxiliary soldiers like the cooks was not to cook, but to help the soldiers.
The carriages opened up, and sets of armor strengthened by spells were carried out. These armors weren't light, and wearing them all the time would consume too much energy. They were only worn before the battle. With the light from a dozen matches, the soldiers of the three platoons began to line up. Every two auxiliary soldiers carried the armor and helped one soldier put it on. Everyone moved quickly.
Zhou Qingfeng was very careful. The moment before the battle broke out was the most difficult. Every minute and second made him anxious. This kind of sneak attack was too much of a test of the commander's patience and insight. To Zhou Qingfeng, all of this was combat experience that couldn't be obtained from books.
In a few minutes, Zhou Qingfeng looked at his watch no less than ten times. He kept observing the battlefield, and even called the three platoon leaders up for the final confirmation of the environment and battle instructions. Just when the battle was about to be completed, the human-faced demons wandering around the periphery suddenly issued a warning that an enemy patrol was approaching.
"There's a patrol? Looks like the Jurchen commander stationed here isn't too stupid. "Zhou Qingfeng didn't order the troops to hide, because once the troops spread out, they wouldn't be able to hide at all. He only ordered the four wolf pups to confirm the number and position of the enemy patrol, while he called Xu Bing and the Black Samurai up, preparing to eliminate them together. The battle was about to start, and there was no need to keep it strictly secret anymore.
There were only five people in the Jurchen patrol, and they walked along the river bank with torches. Zhou Qingfeng called a few female soldiers who were good with bows and arrows up, and pointed at the slowly approaching enemies. The female soldiers immediately nocked their arrows, and the bowstrings were pulled back amidst the clanging sounds.
When the enemies were within twenty meters, they seemed to hear the sound of bowstrings being pulled in the wind. The leader stopped and raised his torch to look around in the darkness, which made him an obvious target.
"Shoot him." Zhou Qingfeng shouted.
Several arrows were released from the bowstrings, and the twenty meters were covered in an instant. The leader holding the torch was pierced by a heavy arrow, and fell to the ground on the spot. Two of the four people behind him were also hit.
But the Jurchen patrol who was hit by the arrows screamed, and the Black Samurai who was lying in ambush raised his sword and rushed out, and with a swing of his sword, he cut off one of their heads. The other person was hit by Xu Bing's crossbow, and the arrows pierced through his chest, and he couldn't make a sound anymore.
The last two people were quick to react, and turned to run when they saw that something was wrong. But the four wolf pups ran even faster, and pounced on them, biting their throats, and in a few bites, they fell to the ground and twitched.
The fallen torch was still burning, and Zhou Qingfeng didn't even have the chance to kill them with his giant wolf, so he could only casually kick the torch to Su Zihe. But just when the river bank fell into darkness and silence again, there was a clamor of shouting from the distant hillside. Not long after, they heard the sound of a cannon.
The rumbling sound was like thunder ….
Li Shuwei was shocked when he heard the sound of the cannon from behind, and hurriedly came up to ask what was going on.
Zhou Qingfeng, who came back on the wolf, only replied coldly, "Nothing, we were discovered by the enemy's hidden sentries. Bring the auxiliary troops to hold the line, and be ready to launch the second wave of attack at any time, or help us retreat. "
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