Chapter 529 – Battle on Three Fronts (13)
Qi Guanrang had been left behind in Qiangping County, and now everything was under her control.
With a single order, Big White galloped forward, sprinting ahead with incredible speed.
The Green Garment Army from Maolin County had lost all morale and was fleeing in disarray, completely rout. After a considerable distance, several leaders began to regroup their remaining forces, but naturally, their speed was sluggish. Just when they managed to gather a decent number of the wounded and defeated, they were about to face another looming disaster.
A minor leader spat with disdain, grumbling, “What do you mean Xiangyang city has a lack of troops? Dammit, does this look like a shortage of troops? It’s tougher than chewing on bones, not only difficult to chew but breaks our teeth… This is a major loss!”
His companion plopped onto the ground, wiping his face with both hands, and furiously declared, “I’ll remember this feud today! We must make those folks in Xiangyang pay the price! We’ve suffered such a huge loss; we absolutely can’t let this slide easily!”
Others stared off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.
In the distance, the Green Garment Army was gathering in small, scattered groups, each person hunched over with gray faces like defeated roosters, hardly exuding any mighty spirit, making one’s heart feel uneasy, silently cursing them as a bunch of spineless cowards.
Some minor leaders were quite displeased with these opportunistic soldiers; it was just a loss, why were they acting like this?
Weren’t they still alive?
As long as they survived, there would surely be a day to turn the tables, yet these useless wretches fled faster than anyone else at the first sign of trouble.
“Let’s regroup our forces and head back to Maolin County to plan our next move.”
Originally, they had aimed to take a big advantage, but who knew they would end up being ambushed instead? Such shameful defeat!
There was no way they could covet that tasty chunk of meat in Xiangyang County now; they needed to bring their men back first, lest they leave their rear vulnerable for too long to be taken advantage of.
At this moment, the leader of the Green Garment Army recalled their own lack of manpower in the backyard, but he wasn’t too worried. After all, Maolin County had already been stripped clean; there was nothing left to plunder. The nearby Green Garment Army wouldn’t even glance its way—what was there to covet?
However, they had forgotten that while other Green Garment armies may not covet, that certainly didn’t mean Jiang Pengji wouldn’t be tempted.
Now, all four counties of Fengyi Prefecture were in her grasp.
Currently, she was the nominal County Clerk of Xiangyang, but in reality, she was the Governor of Fengyi Prefecture.
Forget about Dongqing, even in other nations, was there a governor younger than her?
Jiang Pengji felt confident that by the end of the year, she could revitalize all of Fengyi Prefecture and restore its former prosperity.
Once Fengyi Prefecture was stable, the next step was all of Wanzhou!
The approaching Green Garment Army had no idea that danger was closing in on them. They sat scattered on the ground, their stomachs growling, having discarded their “weapons” in their flight. Exhausted and hungry, many simply found a spot to sleep.
Watching the disheveled Green Garment Army, several leaders blushed in anger, itching to whip these people back awake.
“Why aren’t the troops from Xiangyang chasing us…?” one minor leader exclaimed in surprise.
Another, who had a bit more insight, replied, “They didn’t pursue us out of the city, probably because they don’t have enough troops to spare to keep us in check.”
Had it not been for this reason, based on Xiangyang’s momentum, they could have completely wiped out the Green Garment Army.
The minor leader said, “If they can’t even handle us with insufficient troops, what would happen if they had enough? Don’t let their confidence get inflated! Maybe they just think there’s no need to chase… Even if their troops are insufficient, do you think we can attack?”
That question left his companion speechless; the two exchanged helpless glances.
Not being pursued was indeed good news for the Green Garment Army, allowing them more time to regroup.
Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, a lookout from the Green Garment Army rolled over and rushed back to report.
“Report to the General, enemies are coming from the distance!”
What? The enemy is pursuing us?
The leaders of the Green Garment Army were aghast, and one Black-Faced Man grabbed the messenger, questioning furiously, “Enemies? How many?”
The poor Green Garment soldier stammered, “The enemy moves incredibly fast; the number… the number is undetermined.”
“Useless, what good are your eyes?” the Black-Faced Man shouted angrily, grabbing the guy by the collar, lifting him, and throwing him to the ground. The soldier rolled twice in the mud, dazed, his head spinning as he gasped for air, “Let me go have a look.”
With a snort, the Black-Faced man marched off to scout the enemy’s approach.
Once he looked, he was stunned.
Just as that Green Garment soldier had said, this enemy was indeed moving with remarkable speed, only a few hundred meters away, a cloud of thick dust trailing behind, as if horse hooves were clattering. He couldn’t even determine the scale of the pursuing soldiers.
However, from the dust cloud alone, there were already several hundred of the enemy, and the pursuing force was at least three thousand!
These were three thousand victorious troops, strong and intimidating, while their side still had nearly four thousand men, yet were fatigued and demoralized from battle; if they clashed, their chances of victory were nearly non-existent, and they would feel the taste of a disastrous rout once again.
Right then, those minor leaders couldn’t help but feel an urge to retreat, thinking it best to escape quickly.
Better to keep the green hills than to worry about firewood!
As for the Green Garment soldiers on the ground, their lives and deaths had nothing to do with them!
Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji was leading five hundred men into the fray, while another three hundred emerged from the dust, creating the illusion of a large-scale army pursuing them. In reality… she had simply sent a few soldiers to chop down some trees and dragged the branches around, stirring up thick dust.
This tactic had its flaws but could easily fool the Green Garment Army for a while.
The audience in the live stream was astounded by her cunning, erupting into banter.
【Big Brother Selling Straw Sandals】: By the way, when you used this trick to fool them, did you ever think about Zhang Fei’s feelings, huh?
【Second Brother Wielding a Big Knife】: Ugh, poor Zhang Fei finally had a clever idea, but it got swiped by the streamer, feeling a bit heartbroken here.
Of course, the key issue was not this cunning plan, but the element of “deception.”
As long as they were fooled, given their defeated mindset, the chances of battling again were extremely low; even if they engaged, their fighting spirit would be negligible. Jiang Pengji was fully confident she could lead seven or eight hundred men to annihilate the three to four thousand Green Garment soldiers!
“The pursuers are here, everyone get up!”
“The chase is coming, hurry and run!”
Loud cries echoed as many Green Garment soldiers awoke from their dreams. Having heard the word “pursuers,” their bodies reacted even before their minds could catch up.
Run!
Run as far as you can!
The majority of the Green Garment soldiers fled blindly, making it obvious how little resistance Jiang Pengji would encounter.
Big White sped up in excitement, and the defeated Green Garment troops were no match for its speed.
Some Green Garment soldiers realized they couldn’t escape anymore and resolved to fight back, but little did they know they couldn’t even get close. Big White raised its front hooves high and gave them a solid kick in the chest, the sound of breaking bones echoed as they all collapsed, bleeding and gasping weakly.
Jiang Pengji wielded her sharp spear with simple yet deadly moves, claiming lives with each strike.
Wherever Big White charged, horse and rider were perfectly in sync.
Jiang Pengji killed on horseback, while Big White cleared a path, kicking two enemies aside as they forged a bloody trail forward.
