20demayo Chapter 335: Ma Dang Xian
Chapter 335: Ma Dang Xian
After Shen Li rested for a while, Chen Su came over.
"My lord, these men are subordinates of the Right Wise King of Rongdi. They were ordered to launch a surprise attack on Dazhao from Mokou Pass, looting and massacring the people," Chen Su reported.
Shen Li narrowed her eyes: "Even after annihilating our main force, there's still such a large-scale operation?"
"That's right. According to them, they were just the vanguard responsible for opening the breach, while the reinforcements were responsible for slaughtering and transporting food."
"How many people?" Shen Li asked.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, there are five thousand men. We have ascertained the route of the reinforcements and their arrival time." Chen Su handed a piece of cloth with the written instructions to Shen Li.
Shen Li nodded: "Well done."
"Thank you, my lord."
"Rest in place for three hours, and then meet this army."
"Yes," Chen Su replied with a fist and palm salute, and immediately went to relay the order.
Because there was no time to change locations, Shen Li slept next to the corpses of the Rongdi army that night. Many of the bodies were still wet with blood. Shen Li did not set up a tent but slept on the hillside.
She was surrounded by corpses, something she had never experienced in either of her two lifetimes. But she didn't have time to adjust; the exhaustion from the journey made her sleep soundly.
Three hours later, it was already dawn. After the army had eaten their rations, they set off with the captured horses and provisions. When they came, each man had a horse, but now, with a thousand men, they had eight hundred horses on hand. They changed horses frequently along the way, making their journey even faster.
Even with the looted hay, the horses still didn't have enough rations for three days.
Shen Li firmly believed that if they won, they would not lack food. They continued marching until the afternoon of the second day when they came to a hillside and ambushed the enemy. Finally, at dusk, they heard the heavy sound of horses' hooves.
"Release!" Shen Li gave the order after the men entered the encirclement, and at the same time threw three long spears downwards towards the flagpole.
"Crack!" The spear was faster than a musket, striking the flagpole in an instant.
Shen Li was very satisfied with her accuracy; indeed, practice makes perfect.
The moment the flagpole fell, the central army was thrown into chaos. Firearms and arrows attacked from both sides, and the Rong and Di people, unable to find the enemy for a time, ran back the way they came.
This run made them easy targets for muskets and arrows, and many more fell from their horses.
Upon seeing the people running away, Shen Li immediately mounted her horse, grabbed her spear, and led dozens of men down the valley to meet the fleeing group.
Thus, a situation arose where thousands of Rong and Di people were intercepted by only a few dozen. The Rong and Di generals were dumbfounded. Did this person in front of them have no regard for his life?
Shen Li had been holding back her anger for a long time. Upon seeing the people, she immediately spurred her horse forward and swung her spear swiftly, sweeping it across the general on horseback.
This isn't a proper gun technique, but that's just how she likes to use it.
The opposing general parried the spear with his saber, but was immediately sent flying by the immense force, landing on the ground coughing up blood.
The other Rong and Di soldiers were momentarily stunned.
Shen Li immediately rushed in, followed by dozens of men who charged into the thousand-man squad in a sharp, knife-like formation. In the blink of an eye, Shen Li, like a sharp blade, cut down dozens of men from their horses. The dozens of elite soldiers, displaying their momentum, were invincible.
The Rongdi people were already stunned by the ambush, and now they felt that Shen Li was a god descended from heaven. They didn't know who led the way, but they actually took the initiative to run back into the encirclement.
A group of a thousand people is no small number. Before the people at the back could even see what was happening, those in front turned and ran, and they followed suit, quickly receiving another round of firepower.
Shen Li's order was to massacre them. Even when they could capture them alive, the firepower never stopped, giving the Rongdi people no chance to surrender.
Because the goal was to annihilate the enemy, the forces were dispersed to surround them from all sides, which made the battle take a little longer; the five thousand men fought for a full half hour.
Half an hour later, the yellow earth was once again littered with corpses, and the wind and sand swept over each of the bodies, creating a rather desolate scene from afar.
Shen Li had been surrounded countless times, and her silver armor was now stained with blood.
In this battle, more than 100 people surrendered, and 3,000 warhorses, a certain amount of hay, dry rations and wine were captured.
Because it was an ambush, all the soldiers who charged were elite troops, and the number of Zhao soldiers who died was no more than eight and the number of wounded was no more than a few dozen.
This battle completely boosted the morale of the Zhao soldiers.
"Sir, we probably can't take these horses with us. Should we send someone to deliver them to Mokou Pass?" Ma Zheng asked.
“It would take at least several hundred people to transport those three thousand horses back, and we don’t have that many people to do that kind of thing,” Shen Li shook her head.
Chen Su thought for a moment: "Then let's tie the horse up where it is and send someone to deliver a message to the garrison?"
“This is a good idea. These are all good horses. I think some of them would make excellent stallions.” Ma Zheng strongly agreed with this approach.
“The garrison will not leave the pass without orders, and the horses left here are likely to be taken away by the Rongdi people.” Shen Li narrowed her eyes and ordered, “Kill them, and take some of the meat as rations.”
“Kill…killed?” Ma Zheng felt a pang of heartache and hurriedly said, “My lord, those were top-quality warhorses.”
“Those we can’t take with us are just a burden. It’s not worth scattering our forces for them. Only by killing them can we march quickly.” Shen Li explained, “I can’t leave so many horses for the Rongdi people. Kill them.”
Chen Su had only been with Shen Li for a short time, and upon hearing this, he silently swallowed, thinking to himself that this young lady was decisive despite her young age.
With so many horses, who wouldn't love them? Yet she could so readily utter the word "kill," which shows remarkable decisiveness.
Although he felt a little regretful, he became even more determined to follow Lord Shen in the future. Such decisiveness and unwavering resolve showed he was a man capable of great things.