CHAPTER 343: CHAPTER 22: KILL WITH A BORROWED KNIFE_1

"So, you call it exaggeration, huh?" A Ming said, too lazy to argue. He had simply thought earlier that Zheng Fan falling off his horse so neatly was a bit too convenient.

Fortunately, it was nighttime, and this troop of Qian State cavalry was pressed for time, so they didn’t bother to specifically check if the man was thoroughly dead or to deliver a finishing blow. In the eyes of that Qian State cavalry troop, the two of them looked more like lazy drunks heading home late after a night of drinking.

Another fortunate point was that, because they were delivering severed heads today, both Zheng Fan and A Ming were riding horses from the convoy.

Horses actually come in many types, and warhorses are undoubtedly the most expensive consumable. To put it coldly, a warhorse’s life is far, far more valuable than that of an ordinary commoner. So, the horses usually used for transporting goods could pull carts and carry people, which was fine. But to think of using them to charge into battle was simply wishful thinking.

Zheng Fan’s luck today was indeed good; he had dodged two waves of murderous intent. Even the old cart horse he was riding home on helped corroborate his identity. If he had ridden out on a majestic warhorse from Green Willow Fortress today, he definitely wouldn’t have escaped the sharp eyes of these Qian State cavalrymen.

"They’re heading for Apricot Blossom Fort," A Ming said. "That was an ingenious way to shift the trouble onto others."

"I wonder if they’ll actually start a fight," Zheng Fan teased as he remounted his horse. "Regardless, let’s hurry back."

The Qian people suddenly seemed to have grown some courage. This Qian State cavalry troop might only appear to be two or three hundred riders on the surface, but since they dared to ask for the location of Green Willow Fortress, Zheng Fan felt they must have at least a thousand riders, or even more, hidden nearby.

For now, of course, the priority was to return to the fortress and prepare its defenses.Of course, if this Qian State cavalry troop could help him destroy Apricot Blossom Fort, Zheng Fan would be more than happy to see it happen.Fellow soldiers were fellow soldiers, and all Yan Army troops were indeed Yan Army troops, but Zheng Fan didn’t have much concern for the bigger picture in his heart.

"My lord, shall we return to the fortress and summon more troops?" A Ming asked.

"Summon what troops? Just let this Qian army stir up trouble. We’re not far from our Green Willow Fortress here. If they can help us take out a few forts, I don’t mind playing scavenger tomorrow morning, gathering up the routed soldiers. Even a mosquito’s leg is still meat, right?"

A Ming laughed. Zheng Fan also laughed, but he immediately whipped his horse’s rump. The old horse beneath him instantly burst forth with the passion of its life, kicking up its hooves and starting to gallop for dear life.

"Let’s get back quickly! Damn it, I don’t want to be stopped for directions again!"

「 」

Apricot Blossom Fort was in a good location, situated in what was originally countryside fields, with a river behind the fort. Logically, building a military fort in such a place was quite irrational. From a defensive standpoint, it was practically trapping oneself. But the pride of the Yan people made them rather unconcerned about this. Furthermore, since the war began, the Qian people’s tendency to withdraw into defensive postures had only fueled this arrogance among the Yan people.

Actually, the most important point was that the Qian State’s three frontier armies had been lax for a long time. Similarly, even before the war started, the Yan State’s defensive line along the Yinlang County border had long existed in name only. When Zheng Fan first led his troops to take up his post, the first thing he had to do, surprisingly, was dig pits and pitch tents.

As a result, when the numerous commanders and their troops, transferred from other counties, later built their military forts, it was as if they were just cramming them in—one here, another there—uneven and without much order. Those in the know saw a forest of military forts, numerous army leaders, and a formidable display of power. Those who didn’t know might have thought bandit chiefs from all over had gathered here for a martial arts convention.

Zhong Tianlang was Zhong Wenhao’s youngest son. The old marshal had this son late in life and naturally doted on him, which inevitably led to Zhong Tianlang developing a touch of arrogance. However, when it came to an actual battle, Zhong Tianlang would not be the least bit remiss or careless.

He, along with two personal guards, stealthily approached the vicinity of Apricot Blossom Fort.

This military fort...

Zhong Tianlang had already inherited a great deal of the Zhong Family’s military strategy and teachings. Otherwise, no matter how much his father, Zhong Wenhao, doted on this youngest son, he would never have allowed him to take the elite West Army Division cavalry and act recklessly. It had to be known that the West Army Division and the Qian army shared a common problem: a shortage of warhorses, and consequently, a shortage of cavalry. Every single cavalryman was precious.

The defenses of Apricot Blossom Fort before him could only be described as... crude.In the eyes of the West Army Division, this was simply unbelievable.

The West Army Division was initially established to counter incursions from the North Qiang in the northwest of the Qian State. Later, it also took on the task of suppressing rebellions by tribal chieftains in the Southwest. Both these types of opponents shared a characteristic: on their own turf, they moved like the wind and were extremely adept at hit-and-run attacks. Consequently, the construction of the West Army Division’s encampments followed its own distinct traditions.

Currently, before Mianzhou, the 150,000-strong West Army Division had erected a four-sided encampment. It was fortified with caltrops, barricades of war chariots, moats, arrow towers, and more, all meticulously arranged. With the distances between the various camps and troop deployments carefully coordinated, Zhong Wenhao, positioned at the center, dared to claim that this encampment could withstand the onslaught of 200,000 Yan State iron cavalry.

But in Zhong Tianlang’s view, these Yan people’s encampments truly seemed like child’s play, terribly haphazard.Although the enemy’s laxity was advantageous for his side, Zhong Tianlang didn’t feel much joy. Wasn’t the enemy so lax precisely because the pressure exerted by his own side had been far too little?