Chapter 142 An Encounter

The first rays of dawn were faintly visible on the horizon, and Zheng Fan and his group could see the shadows of the blockhouse cluster ahead. The next step was to cross that stretch of blockhouses and return to the territory of Yan.

However, after a day and night of running, even with a horse for each person, they were exhausted. At Liang Cheng's suggestion, as a precaution, they stopped to rest by a stream, letting both men and horses catch their breath. Scouts were also sent out to investigate.

By the stream, Zheng Fan pointed to the wound on Liang Cheng's abdomen and said,

"Do you want me to take the spearhead out for you?"

Liang Cheng shook his head and said, "Let's wait until we get back. Taking it out now might affect me."

"Okay."

Zheng Fan knew that Liang Cheng was still extremely vigilant.

Their greatest reliance, the darkness of night, had left them, and light would once again rule the land.

Although the Qian border troops, at least those they had seen along the way, were quite useless, it was better to be safe than sorry. They were just a step away from going home, so they had to be careful.

The group rested by the river for over an hour. After the scouts returned one by one, reporting that there was nothing unusual ahead, Liang Cheng ordered everyone to put on their armor and mount their horses again.

In Zheng Fan's opinion, they should now charge straight through the blockhouse area and back to Cui Liu Fort in Yan.

But just as everyone was ready, Liang Cheng raised his hand and shouted in barbarian language:

"East!"

Zheng Fan was taken aback. Not north?

The north was the direction of Yan. Going east was like parading along the Qian blockhouse line.

The barbarian soldiers were also surprised, but their excellent training allowed them to obey the order. The riders turned their horses and began to gallop east, maintaining their formation.

While riding, Zheng Fan glanced at Liang Cheng beside him but said nothing. Liang Cheng also remained silent. However, less than a quarter of an hour after they began riding east, a pursuing cavalry appeared behind them!

It was the Qian cavalry!

The number was unknown, but a quick glance suggested that they outnumbered their own forces by a large margin.

Judging by the distance, direction, and time, these cavalry had most likely been lying in ambush in the blockhouse cluster they had intended to charge through!

Perhaps they had discovered their eastward escape, foiling their ambush plan, and had to rush out of the blockhouses to pursue.

The two cavalry forces engaged in a chase across the plains.

This highlighted the importance of the earlier rest. The men were fine; Zheng Fan's barbarian soldiers came from penal servitude tribes and could run for three days and nights without closing their eyes. That was the barbarian talent.

But if the horses didn't get enough rest, they would give out.

Because they had rested, they could switch horses during the chase, allowing one horse to carry the rider while the other rested unloaded.

It was like an aerial refueling operation. The skilled horsemanship of Zheng Fan's barbarian soldiers allowed them to switch horses easily and nimbly while moving at high speed.

The Qian cavalry, however, lacked these resources and horsemanship, and gradually fell behind.

The chase lasted about two hours, for most of the morning. Zheng Fan and his group finally shook off the pursuing Qian cavalry.

"Rest!"

Liang Cheng issued the order to rest again. On the one hand, the energy of the men and horses was like gasoline for armored vehicles; they couldn't afford to drain it completely.

On the other hand, they were still in Qian territory, and blindly running could lead them anywhere.

When he dismounted, Zheng Fan felt a burning pain on the inside of his thighs. His horsemanship had improved greatly recently, but this was his first time enduring such a long-distance, high-intensity gallop. His body was fine, but the tender flesh on the inside of his thighs was still sensitive because it hadn't yet developed thick calluses.

A barbarian soldier voluntarily came forward to take Zheng Fan's horse to feed it grass and groom it. Zheng Fan nodded and smiled at the barbarian soldier, who was startled and quickly bowed to Zheng Fan several times with his hands clasped.

Zheng Fan took out two handfuls of fried flour from his pocket and began to stuff them into his mouth.

This fried flour wasn't the fried noodles of later generations, but pure fried "flour." The taste was just so-so. After eating anything several times in a row, you would find it ordinary.

"My lord." Liang Cheng saw Zheng Fan walking toward him while eating fried flour and immediately said, "Earlier, when I had the scouts investigate the blockhouses ahead, I was actually having them deliberately expose themselves to the blockhouses' view. Unless those blockhouses were all chicken coops like the first one we infiltrated, they would definitely alert the sentries inside."

Zheng Fan nodded, understanding, and said,

"Because there was no signal fire, right?"

"Yes, my lord. A signal fire or disturbing the grass to scare the snake wouldn't have mattered. We already have a general idea of the situation inside the blockhouses. There aren't enough soldiers, and their training is inadequate. Those blockhouses alone couldn't quickly muster enough strength to stop us.

"And even if the Qian troops in other nearby areas saw the signal fire and tried to mobilize to support them, it would be too late.

"So, we could have taken advantage of the signal fire and galloped back to Yan with style, but the complete absence of a signal fire led me to believe that there must be a problem ahead."

"I've learned something." Zheng Fan nodded.

Letting professionals do professional things could avoid embarrassing situations. Zheng Fan felt that if he had been leading the team, they might have already been surrounded by that Qian cavalry under the blockhouses.

The anti-prostitution operation of the Cui Liu Fort police station would have "died halfway"…

Then, Zheng Fan smiled and said, "It seems that not everyone on the Qian side is a waste of space."

"My lord, we did conquer a city after all. However, the fact that the enemy general could react so quickly and even predict our return route to set up an ambush in advance proves that he is indeed skilled."

"After all, this is a large country. It's unrealistic to expect everyone to be useless. So, what should we do next?"

Previously, Liang Cheng usually asked Zheng Fan this question.

But now it was Zheng Fan's turn, as the leader, to ask for advice from a professional. Reality wasn't a game; there was no chance to start over by inserting a coin.

"My lord, after resting for half an hour, we'll circle around from the south and then return through the same opening as before."

"Is that called catching them off guard?"

"We have few people, which is our disadvantage, but it's also our advantage. In fact, if we could abandon the bodies of the fallen barbarian soldiers and the wounded, we would be even faster."

Zheng Fan shook his head and said, "We haven't reached that point yet. We have enough horses, so we can carry the bodies and the wounded, which will also maintain morale."

"My lord is wise."

Liang Cheng was just making a suggestion; the decision to accept it or not was up to Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan whispered,

"Even if we have to abandon the wounded, we have to wait for them to take the initiative and willingly stay behind to hold off the enemy and cover our retreat so we don't delay everyone's speed.

"It would be best if they put a knife to their own necks, threatening to commit suicide if we don't leave.

"Then I'll shed some tears and look back every three steps before we leave."

"…………" Liang Cheng.

"Actually, I don't want that to happen."

"I don't want it either. Actually, I was a little prejudiced against them at first, but after fighting and charging together, I suddenly realized that my previous perception was a bit too one-sided."

At that moment, a barbarian soldier rode over, dismounted, bowed to Zheng Fan, and reported:

"Master, a group of riders has appeared five miles to the northeast."

"Riders? Is it a merchant caravan?"

The Qian border area didn't have a large population, probably because a hundred years ago, the first Zhenbei Marquis led his iron cavalry to trample three Qian border counties, leaving "ten houses with nine empty."

Later, Qian simply turned the northern region into a war front and stopped sending immigrants there, lest it ultimately benefit Yan.

So, in Qian's northern territory, most of the people were military households, similar to the Zhenbei Marquis's estate.

However, because of the Silk Road, caravans had become more frequent in recent years.

"Reporting to the master, it doesn't look like a caravan. The carriages in the group seem to be transporting dignitaries."

Hearing this, Zheng Fan looked at Liang Cheng and said,

"Shall we go take a look?"

Liang Cheng then looked at the scout and asked,

"How many people are with them?"

"No more than a hundred guards."

Liang Cheng nodded and said to Zheng Fan,

"My lord, you decide."

…………

"Mother, Father is really too much. He made us pack our things and return to our hometown early in the morning before dawn. I'm so sleepy."

Inside the carriage, a sixteen-year-old girl complained to her graceful mother, who was in her early thirties.

"You, you're not young anymore, and you're at the age where you should be getting married. Why are you still so insensible? Your father received an urgent report saying that something seems to have happened in Mianzhou City to the west. Your father is worried that war is about to break out, so he's sending us back first to ensure our safety."

"A war is about to break out? Is it with the Yan people?"

The woman frowned slightly and said,

"Hopefully not."

But in the north of Qian, who else could be their opponent besides the Yan people?

It was impossible for the barbarians to cross the entire territory of Yan to reach Qian and plunder, right?

"Mother, if we leave now, will we..." The girl was still scared when she heard that war was about to break out.

"Silly girl, Mianzhou City is far away from us. Even if something happened there, it won't affect us here for a while. You, on the other hand, need to pick up your needlework skills properly, so you won't be gossiped about after you marry into someone else's family. Your father and I would be laughed at by our in-laws for not teaching our children well."

"Mother, I don't want to get married. I met that fellow from the Situ family last year. He was sickly and coughing up blood in the middle of winter while wearing only a thin scholar's robe. Doesn't he have a problem with his head?"

The woman sighed and said helplessly,

"That's the fashion in Shangjing, I suppose."

The literati in Shangjing liked to wear white robes even in winter, blowing their noses while fanning themselves with a fan.

"Mother, I don't want to marry him. I might accidentally crush him to death."

"You... you're an unmarried girl, what nonsense are you talking about? Who told you these things, who!"

"Mother, I secretly watched you and Father at night..."

"…………" The woman.

The woman's face immediately flushed red.

"It's hard for me not to notice..."

"Stop talking!"

The woman couldn't take it anymore and reached out to lift the carriage curtain to let some cool air in to dispel the heat from her face.

There was nothing she could do; she couldn't order someone to strangle her own daughter!

"Mother, you can't just fill yourself up and not care about your daughter..."

"Mother begs you, please stop talking."

"Mother, I really don't want to marry that boy from the Situ family. I want to find a husband like you, like Father, a man of iron. I really don't like those literati."

Speaking of her criteria for choosing a spouse,

The girl shyly turned her gaze outside the carriage,

And said with some surprise:

"Look, Mother, I want to find a husband like that!"

Outside the window, in the distance,

Was Liang Cheng, galloping on horseback!

"What?"

The woman looked curiously out the carriage window,

But at that moment,

A cry of alarm suddenly erupted from the surrounding guards:

"Enemy attack!!!"

——————

Thanks to "想神马就有神马" for becoming the 55th Alliance Master of "The Descent of Magic."