Chapter 947 – Seizing Three Cities (Part Five)
“I know what you’re worried about. Are you afraid that Liu Xi might suddenly appear? Such a coward—” The Second Prince laughed heartily, his demeanor wild, with a hint of disdain gleaming in his eyes. He arrogantly declared, “Even if she does show up, so what? Just in time, I need a warm bedwarming maid. If she comes, I might as well reluctantly take her in. After I’m done playing, you can have a taste of it and build up some courage!”
The Advisor didn’t retort, knowing the Second Prince was in high spirits and that no one should provoke him.
He was already used to the Prince’s arrogance and could only shake his head wearily—
“Truly beyond saving!”
For now, he could only hope everything went smoothly without any hiccups.
However, some just couldn’t withstand the murmuring, such as Jiang Pengji, whom the Advisor worried about.
The Second Prince chuckled, “You’re overly anxious; I—”
Before he could finish, the ground beneath them began to tremble, as if something was galloping from afar.
At first, the sound was faint, almost imperceptible.
But as time passed, the rumbling grew louder, causing small pebbles on the ground to vibrate.
Is the ground shaking?
That was the Advisor’s first reaction. The second reaction—a chilling thought struck him.
“Quick! Throw down all the supplies—there’s an enemy attack—”
The Advisor shouted hoarsely, just as the Second Prince was about to mount his horse. Startled by the shout, he nearly slipped from the saddle.
“Why are you shouting—where’s the enemy attack coming from?”
The Second Prince’s response was a beat late. The shaking beneath his feet intensified, making him realize something was off.
“Is this an earthquake?”
The Second Prince didn’t even consider an enemy attack, thinking they were facing a natural disaster.
“No—it’s not an earthquake; it’s clearly an enemy attack—Your Highness, please give the order to abandon the supplies and engage the enemy.”
The Advisor’s breath quickened, panic setting in as the dark of night surrounded him, as if countless beasts lurked in the shadows.
A suffocating feeling rose in his throat. Losing his composure, he shouted at the Second Prince, hoping to drown out the chaos around them.
The Second Prince, furious, was about to speak when a Scout galloped toward them.
“Whoa—” The Scout dismounted and reported to the Second Prince, “The left flank has spotted enemy traces—we can’t determine their exact numbers.”
The Second Prince’s eyes widened in shock. How could there be enemies?
Could it be that the Grain Warehouse Guard who had just fled called for reinforcements?
No, that’s not right. The Chao Wu Granary is two days’ journey from Liu Xi’s camp; how could they have summoned reinforcements in such a short time?
Seeing the Second Prince still bewildered, the Advisor was so furious he wanted to jump up and curse.
Did this foolish question even require thought?
It was clearly premeditated!
At that moment, a Scout came galloping from the right flank, “Report—a number of enemies have been detected on our right!”
The Second Prince, leading troops to clear out a small tribe, had absolutely no valuable combat experience; when faced with a larger battle, he was thrown into confusion.
“Quick, abandon the supplies—prepare to form ranks for battle!”
The Advisor was flushed with anger. He couldn’t depend on this useless teammate, the Second Prince, and had to usurp the order himself.
The Northern Frontier Cavalry’s advantage lay in their mobility; loaded with two heavy bags of supplies, how could they fight?
If they engaged the enemy, their horses couldn’t run; they would only be able to coordinate attacks or trample. The speed advantage would vanish into thin air.
At that moment, burdened with the heavy supplies, perhaps the soldiers wouldn’t be worn out, but the horses would surely tire out.
The Second Prince, eyes blazing red, glared at the Advisor, teeth gritted tight.
“Listen up! Abandon the supplies and form ranks for battle!”
They had brought far too many supply wagons, crippling their formation, and the advantage of charging into the enemy’s ranks was utterly lost.
Everything was happening too suddenly. The Second Prince, the Leader, was still clueless, leaving his men to flounder about like headless flies.
Fortunately, their upbringing as Northern Frontier soldiers remained intact; upon spotting enemy traces, their first instinct was to form ranks.
However, hindered by the supply wagons, this process was sluggish and inefficient.
While they were in disarray, the enemy forces had already flanked them from both sides, encircling them.
Jiang Pengji led the cavalry vanguard, charging ahead, deftly drawing her longbow from her horse’s back, igniting the arrowhead.
As she galloped, she loosened the reins, easily pulling the bowstring back to a full moon.
“Release—”
With less than a hundred paces to the Northern Frontier army, Jiang Pengji let loose the bowstring.
With a buzzing sound, the flaming arrow streaked through the sky, plunging into enemy territory.
After firing, she skillfully controlled the reins and turned her steed sharply to the side.
The soldiers in the cavalry couldn’t shoot from afar like her, but they still performed admirably.
“Han Mei really is in sync; coming neither too early nor too late!”
As the saying goes, timing beats being early; Li Yun’s ambush collaboration worked out perfectly.
A joyous smile graced Jiang Pengji’s face as she galloped, loosing several waves of fire arrows, all aimed at the Northern Frontier cavalry.
【Treasure Seeing Glasses】: Broadcaster, the supplies are all piled there; won’t your fire arrows burn them all up?
They knew Jiang Pengji’s temperament; she was generous to others but stingy about her own living and meals, always insisting on eating every last grain of rice. It was truly heart-wrenching to let such a frugal person burn the grain that had been painstakingly cultivated by the common people.
【Pity and Lament】: You can’t catch wolves without letting go of the kids; using this batch of supplies to exchange for over ten thousand Northern Frontier troops is undoubtedly a profitable deal. If these Northern Frontier cavalry make it to the battlefield, not only will you lose supplies, but you’ll also lose many elite troops you’ve painstakingly trained. Moreover, haven’t you noticed how the fire escalated quickly after the arrows were shot?
After this reminder from a viewer in the livestream, many keyed back into focus—
Right, the flames were spreading unusually fast!
While it was the dry, flammable season, it shouldn’t catch fire that easily, right?
At this moment, a big shot in the stream pointed out the key point.
【Night Dance Flame Spirit】: The supplies are problematic!
The viewers strained their eyes and, sure enough, saw the flaming arrows hit the supplies, and the fire soon began to spread.
【Female Outfit Harmer】: The broadcaster is indeed crafty; apart from the outermost supplies which are real, aren’t the ones inside all fake? Even if the enemy is cautious, they can’t possibly check every bag of supplies.
Just as the viewers guessed, Jiang Pengji only placed several thousand stones of real grain in the Chao Wu Granary, while the rest was all fake.
【Shen Jia】: But I have a question; if the supplies are fake, wouldn’t the grain sacks feel different to the touch?
How could Jiang Pengji not have considered this?
She had someone coat the inner sides of the sacks with a sticky substance, then rolled them around in the real grain, giving them a layer of grain appearance.
After being coated, the sacks felt like they were filled with grain, while the insides contained other easily flammable substitutes.
