Chapter 490 Youyan Cavalry!

Yijing, one hundred miles northwest.

A dusty cavalry unit of several thousand men slowly appeared here. Although it could be seen that every member of the cavalry was very tired, they still maintained a neat formation. Hundreds of scouts were on guard in all directions, ready for invading enemies that might appear at any time...
This cavalry unit is the world-famous Youyan Iron Cavalry, which represents the highest level of cavalry in the Great Zhou Dynasty. They are soldiers under the command of Zhao Yong, the general of Zhuo County. According to Zhao Yong's order, they took the road to Liucheng Township and rushed to Yijing day and night. They finally completed Zhao Yong's order and arrived in Yijing within five days.

"Sir, the next thirty miles is Sanlinpo! There is no trace of the Fengwu Army within a radius of thirty miles."

A scout rode his horse to the commander Zhao Shuhao, dismounted, knelt on one knee and reported:

After listening to his subordinates' report, Zhao Shuhao nodded and turned to instruct his subordinates:

"It seems that the Fengwu Army has not discovered us yet. Order the entire army to advance at full speed to Sanlinpo. We will rest there tonight!"

"Yes!"

Following Zhao Shuhao’s order, five thousand Youyan cavalrymen immediately started the assault mode, rushing wildly towards the direction of Sanlinpo in the distance. As they left, they turned into a group of small black dots. A few lean men on a small mound stood up silently...

These men were all wearing white cotton coats and hats. They were lying on the small mound and seemed to blend into the icy and snowy world. If you didn't get close and observe carefully, you would not be able to find any trace of them.

They are members of the newly formed Flying Tiger Battalion of the Fengwu Army, elite soldiers who have emerged after layers of selection. It is precisely because of their excellent skills and psychological qualities, as well as their camouflage uniforms, that they were able to deceive the scouts of the Youyan Iron Cavalry, making the enemy army completely unaware that the Fengwu Army had appeared in front of them!

After using the telescope to observe the enemy's movements in the distance, Zhang Chenghu, the head of the Flying Tiger Battalion, earnestly instructed his men:

"The Youyan cavalry has appeared and they seem to be heading for Sanlinpo. Wang Qiang, go back and get the army ready! The rest of the troops will follow me and follow them slowly!"

"Yes!"

Wang Qiang nodded, and then said:
"Captain, be careful!"

Zhang Chenghu smiled confidently, pointed at his clothes and said:

"Don't worry, with this set of clothes, those bastards of the Yan army will want to find us in the next life!"

·······················
·······················
Two hours later, at the Fengwu Army camp outside Yijing City.

Qi Dechao hurriedly walked into the tent and reported to Ye Mingsheng:

"Your Excellency, there's news from the Flying Tiger Camp that the Youyan Iron Cavalry Yi Jing has appeared around Yi Jing, and they should be at Sanlinpo now!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng's eyes sparkled. He walked to the sand table, quickly locked onto the coordinates of Sanlinpo on the sand table, and muttered:
"The Youyan cavalry arrived so quickly, a day faster than expected!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng shook his head and instructed Qi Dechao:

"After one stick of incense, all generals above the commander-in-chief level will gather for a meeting!"

"Yes!"

Under Ye Mingsheng's order, the senior generals in the camp quickly came to the central army camp. After Qi Dechao reported the military situation, Lin Huaiwu stood up without hesitation and reported to Ye Mingsheng in a deep voice:

"Sir, now that we know the enemy's position, why should we hesitate?"

“Mobilize the army to surround Sanlinpo and strangle these damn Youyan cavalry there! I want to see how powerful these people are. Can they stop the red cannon or the Po Lu gun…”

This statement immediately attracted the response of many generals in the camp. Seeing that Ma Zhongjun seemed to have a different opinion, he hesitated and seemed to stand up and speak. Seeing this, Yuan Song gave him a look, signaling Ma Zhongjun to be patient, and then he stood up and bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:
"General Lin is very brave, but Sanlinpo is about fifty miles away from our camp. It is getting dark now and it will be tomorrow morning when our army arrives. By then, our troops will be exhausted and the enemy will have rested all night!"

"In addition, the area around Sanlinpo is all plains. With the alertness of the Youyan Iron Cavalry, they will find us as soon as we arrive. By then, they may be able to escape before our encirclement is formed!"

Hearing Yuan Song's objection, Lin Huaiwu seemed a little dissatisfied and asked in a deep voice:

"General Yuan, are you so sure that the Youyan Iron Cavalry can be fooled by you?"

Facing Lin Huaiwu's questioning, Yuan Song nodded calmly and said:

“I’m sure they will come!”

Lin Huaiwu was about to raise another question, but Ye Mingsheng interrupted him with a wave of his hand:
“Huaiwu, it’s good that you’re eager to fight, but now that the plan has been made, we must act according to the plan! When the enemy falls into the trap, Huaiwu, your Third Division can be the first to meet the enemy…”

After receiving Ye Mingsheng's order, Lin Huaiwu's eyes suddenly lit up, and the unhappiness in his heart disappeared immediately. He bowed to Ye Mingsheng and said:

"Huai Wu will definitely live up to your expectations. As long as the enemy troops come to my humble Third Division, I will strangle them to death!"

As the general of the Second Division, one of the three main divisions of the Fengwu Army, Lin Huaiwu could not be compared with his other two colleagues Yuan Song and Guo Zhiping in terms of fame and achievements. Some people even questioned Lin Huaiwu's ability. They said that he was able to serve as the general of the Second Division because he was one of the first people to follow Ye Mingsheng. In terms of ability, he was not qualified to be the general of the Second Division, the main division of the Fengwu Army!
Anyone who hears such gossip will be very angry, and Lin Huaiwu is no exception. He knows very well that if he wants to completely shut up these secret voices in the army, there is only one way, and that is to use real combat exploits to prove that his ability is worthy of his position!

It was because of this idea and with such a breath in his heart that Lin Huaiwu regarded this battle to enter the Pass as a battle to prove himself. However, up to now, although he tried very hard and his Second Division fought hard under his leadership, compared with Yuan Song’s First Division and Guo Zhiping’s Third Division, they were still not outstanding enough...
That was why Lin Huaiwu was eager to fight and wanted to be the first to attack Yijing, to show the power of his Second Division and the power of Lin Huaiwu!
After pacifying Lin Huaiwu, Ye Mingsheng re-determined some details on the established plan based on the latest situation and emphasized the discipline again. After doing all this, Ye Mingsheng gave Yuan Song a look before announcing the meeting. After receiving Ye Mingsheng's look, Yuan Song also understood and did not leave the tent.

After everyone else had left, Ye Mingsheng asked Yuan Song:

"Yuan Song, how confident are you that you can wipe out the invading enemy?"

Although Ye Mingsheng has decided to take a gamble because Zhao Fuqu came to Youyan's aid earlier than expected, if these 5,000 Youyan cavalry are completely wiped out and there is no harassment from them, Ye Mingsheng can attack the city with confidence and can definitely capture Yijing before the enemy reinforcements arrive. In this way, Ye Mingsheng will not have to gamble...

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, Yuan Song felt a little pressure. He hesitated for a moment and said very cautiously:

"I am not absolutely sure, but I will lead the army to do my best!"

In response to Yuan Song's cunning answer, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat helpless and could only say:

"Then just do your best!"

"Yes, I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

·······················
·······················
While Ye Mingsheng and others were having a meeting, Zhao Shuhao in the Yan army camp in Sanlinpo was also concentrating on looking at the map, while the scout beside him reported:

"General, scouts have discovered that Songjiaji behind the enemy camp is the military supply hub of the Fengwu Army. More than half of the Fengwu Army's food, fodder and ammunition are stored in Songjiaji. Currently, the garrison of Songjiaji is a battalion of the enemy's first division with 3,000 people!"

Listening to the scout's introduction, Zhao Shuhao pointed at the Songjiaji stronghold on the map and said:

"How far is Songjiaji from the enemy's promise? Are the city defense facilities complete?"

In response to Zhao Shuhao's question, the scout thought for a moment and replied:

"Songjiaji is about fifty miles away from the enemy camp. The city defense facilities are just a section of earth wall. After the Fengwu Army entered, they built several watchtowers!"

Hearing what the scout said, Zhao Shuhao stared at the location of Songjiaji on the map and began to think.

The Youyan Iron Cavalry is the most elite fist force of the Yan Army and is Zhao Fuqu's treasure. In order to completely control this ace force in his hands, Zhao Fuqu also used the most common method and arranged his relatives and fellow villagers in some key positions of the Youyan Iron Cavalry.

Zhao Shuhao belongs to this category. He is the nephew of the eldest uncle's cousin and the second uncle's cousin of Zhao Fuqu’s third uncle. Although the relationship is a bit distant, he is actually a fellow villager of Zhao Fuqu. He even ate candy given by Zhao Fuqu when he was wearing open-crotch pants, and this became the most important capital for Zhao Shuhao to rise to the top in the Yan army...

Although relationships are the most important asset for Zhao Shuhao to rise to the top, this does not mean that Zhao Shuhao is an incompetent fool. In fact, he was able to lead 5,000 people in the Youyan Iron Cavalry. In addition to being trusted by Zhao Fuqu, Zhao Shuhao was also quite capable. He fought several head-on battles with the Luobi people. Although he did not gain any advantage from them, he did not suffer any major losses either.

In addition, Zhao Shuhao also wiped out several insignificant bandit gangs, and also wiped out a small unit of the Henan Army during a minor friction between the Yan Army and the Henan Army. In general, Zhao Shuhao's military career of more than ten years has been very rich in experience. Although there is nothing worth writing about, it has never been a disappointment.

This time when the Fengwu Army surrounded Yijing, Zhao Yong valued Zhao Shuhao's identity as a member of the Zhao family. He felt that one had to trust one's family members at the critical moment, and that Zhao Shuhao would definitely sacrifice his life to help. Zhao Shuhao also attached great importance to the mission Zhao Yong gave him.

After more than ten years of military career, Zhao Shuhao believed that his shining point was that he was very self-aware. Although he had the most elite troops of the Yan Army, he had never thought of becoming the savior of Yijing...

What he wanted to do was to delay the time for the Fengwu Army to break through Yijing as much as possible. Like a mosquito, when the Fengwu Army ignored him, he would buzz around to disgust them, and then suddenly suck a tube of blood. If the Fengwu Army was going to attack them, he would fly away quickly!

Although Songjiaji in front of him looked very tempting, Zhao Shuhao felt something was wrong for some reason!
Seeing Zhao Shuhao staring at the map without saying anything, the sentry Wang Lei standing beside him couldn't sit still and said to Zhao Shuhao:
"Commander-in-chief, why are we still hesitating?"

"Tomorrow night we will attack Songjiaji out of the blue. With our fighting power, half an hour is enough to resolve the battle. By the time the Fengwu Army reacts, we will have already escaped. With their two-legged infantry, they will never be able to catch up with us in their next life!"

As soon as Wang Lei said this, other generals on the side also echoed him. Seeing this, Wang Lei looked at Zhao Shuhao with a smug look on his face. Facing Wang Lei's provocation, Zhao Shuhao did not speak. He knew that Wang Lei was targeting him. Three months ago, the previous commander had a relapse of his old age and could not join the army to fight, so he had to retreat to the second line...

According to the rules, Wang Lei, the most experienced and most accomplished sentinel in the army, should have taken over the position of commander. However, no one expected that a Cheng Yaojin would appear halfway and take away the opportunity that Wang Lei had just secured. Zhao Shuhao, a member of the Zhao family, was parachuted in to take over as commander.

Although Wang Lei was extremely dissatisfied with the strict military law in the army, he did not dare to act rashly in public. He could only choose this time to challenge Zhao Shuhao's authority in the army.

Facing Wang Lei's provocation, if it was any other time, Zhao Shuhao would definitely not indulge him and would definitely give him a good beating. However, now that the war is imminent, it is the time to use people, so Zhao Shuhao can only record this account first and settle it slowly later, so he shook his head and said:
"Our army has just arrived, so we should observe the situation first!"

Seeing that Zhao Shuhao didn't say anything, Wang Lei thought he was scared and said unscrupulously:

"Sir, the opportunity for battle is fleeting. Why are you hesitating? The Fengwu Army might discover us at any time."

“Once they find our whereabouts, the defense of Songjiaji will certainly be strengthened. By that time, it will be difficult for us to deal with Songjiaji. There is nothing to think about, my lord commander. He has a scar as big as a bowl on his head, but he can be a brave man again after 18 years. What he brewed is over…”

(End of this chapter)