Chapter 778 – Breakout, Beautiful Persuader (2)
“…If it’s just ten thousand soldiers, there’s no need to worry…” Feng Zhen frowned, showing no signs of easing, “But a night raid ambush must select strong troops with good eyesight; otherwise, what’s the difference with sending a bunch of blind folks to battle? The timing is in the dark, post-midnight, requiring even stricter eyesight from the soldiers… It’s hard to ensure there’s no reinforcement on their side…”
Don’t be fooled by Jiang Pengji’s frequent night raids with thousands of troops; such operations are quite rare and the success rate isn’t very high.
Of course, if successful, the rewards are absolutely bountiful.
In ancient times, common people lived in hardship and malnutrition, sometimes even unable to afford basic salt, leading to various diseases, let alone a balanced diet. In these circumstances, many common folks developed night blindness, walking at night like the blind.
In such a situation, very few generals would choose to conduct night raids.
However, upon reviewing historical records, there are indeed examples of night raids that were executed beautifully, ultimately being recorded in history and leaving a lasting legacy.
Yet, if one looks closely, the scale of these night raids is relatively small, ranging from hundreds to thousands.
As for Changshou Wang’s troops—
Yang Si lowered his gaze, with a hint of mocking, “Dispatching over ten thousand troops for a night ambush is truly remarkable. Let’s boldly speculate. Firstly, it’s possible that there are traitors among the Wolong County Governor’s subordinates, working in cahoots with the enemy. Otherwise, why wouldn’t such a massive force alarm the night watch? Secondly, the total enemy forces are likely far more than just ten thousand. Normally, selecting suitable soldiers for a night raid wouldn’t exceed ten percent; does Changshou Wang really have over a hundred thousand troops stationed at the Jiagmen Pass, idly waiting for us? That’s impossible. But if the entire army comprises elite troops, perhaps two out of every five selected would qualify. Worst-case scenario, all the enemy troops are elite…”
Feng Zhen gasped, “Do you mean, there are between twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand enemy troops lurking near Jiagmen Pass?”
“That’s just nonsense; it can’t be taken as fact.” Yang Si laughed and, turning to Jiang Pengji, said, “Whether to believe it or not, it still depends on how the Lord decides.”
If the remnants of the Wolong County Governor could provide more detailed data, Yang Si could at least have some grounding.
The problem is, those people had been completely bewildered by the attack and couldn’t provide accurate numbers, making Yang Si’s guesses diverge even further from reality. In short, the next target for the enemy’s ambush may very well be them, and they must be on guard.
If they reckoned the enemy had only ten thousand troops while they had thirty thousand, they might be blissfully careless and end up capsizing in the gutter.
Jiang Pengji said nothing, habitually pressing her fingers together, lost in thought.
After a while, she continued to inquire about the Wolong County Governor’s remnants.
“Can you recall the details of that night? From where did the enemy attack? Did their leader show up?”
The middle-aged man was digging deep into his memories, his mind filled with the blood and gore of that night, his face revealing pain.
Though soldiers grow accustomed to life and death, nobody can accept the sight of their former comrades falling at their feet, sacrificing their bodies and lives to carve a path for escape. After some reflection, this man struggled to recall the night’s details.
“That night, there indeed was a particularly fierce warrior; almost no one could stop him. It was this person… who chopped off the Governor’s head…” The man’s lips trembled, suppressing his emotions, “If I remember correctly, those bandits came from the right flank…”
After speaking, he recollected a few more details.
“Thanks to this gentleman’s reminder, now that I think of it, there might really be an insider…” His complexion paled further, like he had been coated with thick powder, “The enemy appearing suddenly is one thing, but our soldiers’ state that night was also quite off. Though it was the early hours of the night, they appeared fatigued. Usually, they wouldn’t fall behind in a one-on-one, yet that night, they collapsed into disarray.”
No matter how much of a surprise attack it is, the enemy can’t instantly wipe out over ten thousand troops.
From the ignition of the outer skirmishes to the eventual breach of the main battle line, there was a quarter of an hour in total, yet the soldiers’ response was extraordinarily slow.
Now reflecting on it, there must have been some trickery involved.
Could it be someone truly bribed the soldiers’ rations?
Thinking of this, he suddenly raised his hand to pull out a roll of dried lotus leaves from inside his armor, looking soft and mushy.
“This was the evening meal from that day. I planned to save it for breakfast, but I’d like the military doctor to check if there’s something wrong with it.”
In military campaigns, meals are often enough to last two or three days, and soldiers usually eat cold leftovers; just having dry rations is good enough.
Since that night raid, he had gone two days without food; he hadn’t eaten any of this, leaving it all for young master Cai Xiang.
Now that he thought back, Cai Xiang had mostly been asleep along the way, and even when he woke, he seemed rather listless.
At that time, they merely thought Cai Xiang was grieving for his father, now the thought made him shiver.
Jiang Pengji’s expression turned grave as she waved for the accompanying young doctor to take a look.
The young doctor’s medical skills weren’t exceptional; he could handle ordinary injuries but had considerable knowledge of herbs.
Even though the current weather was still cold, these foods had been sitting for two or three days and had slightly gone bad. The young doctor genuinely couldn’t discern it.
There was nothing for it; he had to pinch off a piece and taste it to distinguish any abnormalities apart from the rancid flavor.
After much effort, he looked grave.
“Reporting to the Lord, it’s mixed with sedative herbs, such as Sleep Grass, along with traces of the Nightshade flower.”
Nightshade?
Jiang Pengji frowned.
Her eyes caught sight of the audience in the live stream sharing their confusion about the substance.
【I really love this!】: I checked it out; Nightshade flower is a colloquial name for Mandrake. In modern times, this stuff could also be used medically. Mandrake-derived nightshade formulations are used for surgical anesthesia. As a side note, some speculate that the knockout drugs in martial arts novels are also made from Mandrake. If this thing was mixed into the food, it could indeed induce sleep—looks like there’s a traitor after all.
As for Sleep Grass, the live stream audience couldn’t find any information on it.
In fact, they couldn’t possibly find any.
Sleep Grass is a unique type of horse feed in this world, capable of promoting sleep and calming the spirit. Horse caretakers always carry some to soothe horses during the spring season when they’re restless and agitated.
However, Sleep Grass works quickly and lasts long, but its potency is mild, making it difficult to detect.
“So, you’re saying there was a traitor who drugged the guard troops’ food, and the enemy took advantage of the drug’s effect, causing the soldiers to be fatigued, thus leading to the success of the night raid?”
The big man heard this and couldn’t help but weep, mourning his fallen comrades.
Jiang Pengji, however, felt little sympathy.
War has never been a tidy affair, and military generals aren’t merely brutish warriors.
On the battlefield, they are all treacherous and cunning. In Jiang Pengji’s view, drugging the enemy’s food isn’t particularly shocking; if it weren’t for the instant effects of highly toxic substances being easy to detect, they might have even had the traitor dose them with deadly poisons.
However, the matter of Sleep Grass definitely piqued her interest.
