"Reinforcements! It's reinforcements!"
"Imperial troops' cavalry!"
"Sir, spare me, sir... *cough*~"
A refugee, seeing the situation turn south, immediately dropped his weapon and tried to beg for mercy on his knees. However, the soldier on horseback ignored him, ruthlessly impaling him with his spear. Without slowing down, he continued, piercing four or five more before pausing briefly.
On the open plain, a group of refugees with few weapons or armor, even with remnants of King Liu mixed in, could not withstand the cavalry's slaughter.
Countless people wailed, countless begged for mercy, but the cavalry paid no heed. Their orders were clear: enemy forces were attacking their vanguard. On the battlefield, there were no civilians. Anyone appearing on the battlefield, holding a weapon, or wearing even a piece of armor was a soldier, an enemy to be killed.
Any mercy was inapplicable on the battlefield.
Three thousand cavalry repeatedly charged the refugee ranks, scattering the more than ten thousand refugees into disarray.
With the pressure from the refugees gone, the vanguard finally caught their breath.
Lu Renjia glanced around, unsure how many soldiers he had left, but they had to seize this moment.
"Brothers! See how many men we can rally, and follow this general! Kill these dirt-diggers!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The surrounding soldiers echoed, feeling immense anger and frustration, their hearts filled with fear and unease, desperately needing to vent by killing.
Soon, Lu Renjia gathered the remaining soldiers, leading over five hundred to pursue and slaughter the scattered, fleeing refugees.
The battle continued for an hour before finally ceasing.
In the vanguard camp, Lu Renjia, with a smile on his face, said gratefully, "This humble subordinate is immensely grateful to you, General, for extending your hand. Otherwise, this vanguard army would have been utterly finished."
The guerrilla general waved his hand and said, "We both serve the court and should assist each other. You should first reorganize the vanguard army. The front lines are only half a day's march from here."
"Uh... this humble subordinate understands."
Lu Renjia took a deep breath, turned to his subordinates, and asked, "Have the casualties been tallied?"
"Reporting to the General, we only know that we have twelve hundred men remaining. As for the rest, whether they are wounded, dead, or missing, we cannot ascertain in this short time."
"Twelve hundred men!"
Lu Renjia's heart sank. He had set out with three thousand men, and in such a short time? Less than five or six days, and not even half remained. He feared his career was over.
He wished to earn some military merit to atone for his mistakes, but with only twelve hundred men left, he felt powerless.
Lu Renjia sighed and then discussed the distribution of spoils with the guerrilla general.
Regardless of anything else, over ten thousand refugees had dared to attack the imperial army. Therefore, they were no longer refugees but rebels. And killing rebels earned military merit.
After some negotiation, Lu Renjia's twelve hundred men were only allocated two thousand four hundred heads. The rest belonged to the cavalry.
Half a day later, An Xian, leading the front army of seven thousand infantry and the previous three thousand cavalry, arrived at the camp built by the vanguard.
"Lu Renjia, do you know your crime?"
In the command tent, An Xian sat imposingly in the chief seat and questioned sternly.
"This humble subordinate knows his crime!" Lu Renjia, knowing his guilt was undeniable, resignedly admitted his fault.
Fortunately, An Xian had received a hint from Chu Chen before arriving and did not make things difficult for Lu Renjia. He said, "Since that is the case, seize him and await the Prime Minister's arrival for judgment!"
"Yes!"
Lu Renjia was quickly apprehended and taken away.
An Xian glanced at the military map hanging nearby, surveyed the surroundings, and asked, "What is the current deployment of the rebel forces?"
"Reporting to the Vanguard General, the rebel forces are currently concentrated in the county seat of Qiancheng, Qiancheng Commandery. It is estimated they have over eighty thousand troops, claiming a hundred thousand, stationed in Qiancheng County."
An Xian smiled, "So many people crammed together. They intend to fight the imperial court directly!"
"If that is the case, then we shall establish camp thirty li outside their position, send scouts to monitor them at all times, and prepare for night raids!"
"Yes!"
In Qiancheng Commandery, Li Mengdie frowned as she listened to her subordinate's report, "Although we annihilated the imperial vanguard, this front army commander is quite cautious. He actually stopped advancing, rendering all our preparations futile!"
When Li Mengdie received the news of the imperial army's imminent arrival, she had immediately abandoned the three counties she had occupied, set them ablaze, and forced over fifty thousand civilians into Qiancheng County. She then conscripted these civilians to reinforce the city defenses and dig trenches.
She specifically recruited hunters to place numerous traps, similar to those used in the mountains and wilds, fifteen li outside Qiancheng County and in the direction of Shuangyue City, hoping to demoralize the imperial army. She never expected this plan to fail completely.
"Fan Ju!"
"Your servant is here!"
"What is the status of the offensive preparations in other directions?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, we have dispatched so many elite soldiers that the offensives in other areas lack sharpness. Facing county towns that were already prepared, and with the help of the farms, we are making little progress!"
Fan Ju replied with a troubled expression, "This servant believes this is not the opportune time for a multi-front war. The conscripted civilians cannot face the imperial army, which is adequately equipped. Pushing forward will only result in more deaths and injuries, wasting our efforts."
"However, this servant believes we can release the conscripted civilians, and then, hehehe~" Fan Ju chuckled sinisterly.
Li Mengdie also smiled, "This is a sound strategy. In that case, issue my order to release the elderly, weak, and children! I want to see where the surrounding commanderies will find so much grain and provisions to support them!"
"This servant obeys!"
Fan Ju happily went to carry out the order.
Several days later, Chu Chen led an army of eighty thousand and arrived within twenty li of Qiancheng County.
"An Xian, what is the situation?"
As soon as they set up camp, Chu Chen summoned An Xian and inquired.
"Prime Minister, that rebel King Liu is treacherous! He actually set up beast traps along the route!"
An Xian said with great anger.
On the second day of setting up camp, An Xian led his men a short distance forward, only to suffer heavy losses. The number of deaths was not high, only a few dozen, but the injuries were horrifying. No one knew if there were more traps around, or if they might step on one.
This forced An Xian to send men to meticulously search for traps, and they were almost ambushed by a small detachment from Qiancheng County.
"You have worked hard!" Chu Chen patted his shoulder.
He then said, "Prepare tonight, make many straw figures and set up targets. Order your men to rest early and be ready for night defense!"
"Prime Minister, you mean the rebels will launch a night attack? But I have been here for three days and have not been attacked at night once."
An Xian asked with some confusion.
"There is a nine-tenths chance they will come. After all, our importance is different. King Liu's army is numerous, and what is there to lose by taking a gamble?"
Chu Chen smiled and explained.