“Sir, you will go yourself?”
Ninth Princess and Qing Mulan were both startled and cried out together, “No, you must not!”
“Why not?” Jin Feng asked.
“Sir, you told me yourself that professional matters should be left to professionals. Your greatest strength lies in commanding from the rear, not fighting on the front line!”
Ninth Princess spoke first.
“You said that yourself, and more than once,” Qing Mulan added. “Sir, don’t blame me for being blunt, but if you really went, you would only hold everyone back. The escorts would have to divert attention to protect you.”
“I…”
Jin Feng was rendered speechless by their combined assault.
He knew Ninth Princess and Qing Mulan were right.
With his personal fighting ability, he would indeed only cause trouble.
He understood the reasoning perfectly.
But he was not a saint. He had emotions too.
Sometimes emotions could sway him.
Fortunately, Jin Feng had one great virtue: he could listen to advice.
Even though being lectured by the two women made him lose a little face, he could still accept it humbly.
And he admitted his mistake very straightforwardly.
“I’m sorry. I was impulsive!”
“Sir is concerned for the common people. It is understandable.”
Ninth Princess kindly offered him a way out. “Then has Sir decided who should go?”
This time Jin Feng did not answer hastily. He thought for a while before saying, “Let Brother Liang take the escort team.”
The escort team wore plate armour and their combat strength had been proven many times. They offered the greatest chance of success.
Zhang Liang was skilled at command and enjoyed immense prestige among the escorts, so he was the most suitable leader.
Seeing Ninth Princess nod, Jin Feng called Zhang Liang over.
He explained the plan once, then asked, “Brother Liang, what do you think?”
“I think there is no problem!” Zhang Liang replied.
“Does Your Highness have anything to add?” Jin Feng turned to Ninth Princess. “If not, I will let Brother Liang set off.”
“Danzhu stationed two thousand men to guard the north gate. The escorts only number one thousand in total,” Ninth Princess said. “I will accompany you to the Iron Tiger Camp. They can support Sir. Take as many men as you need. Choose freely.”
Jin Feng said nothing but looked at Zhang Liang.
“No need,” Zhang Liang shook his head. “We have more escorts than we can use. There is no need to pick men from the Iron Tiger Camp.”
Hearing this, Qing Mulan frowned and asked, “Brother Liang, how many men are you planning to take?”
“Not many. Three hundred heavy-armoured troops and two hundred female archers will be enough,” Zhang Liang answered.
“That should do it,” Jin Feng nodded in agreement.
“Only five hundred men?” Qing Mulan looked at Jin Feng and Zhang Liang as if they were mad. “Never mind whether Danzhu will send troops out to block you. Just the two thousand sealing the north gate alone… Sir, are you sure five hundred will suffice?”
Ninth Princess also frowned slightly.
Five hundred against two thousand, and the enemy held the terrain advantage…
She did not understand why Jin Feng and Zhang Liang were making this decision.
“Sir once said that troops should be elite, not numerous,” Zhang Liang explained. “Three hundred heavy-armoured troops formed into a triangular formation leave exactly enough space inside for two hundred female archers. Any more would actually destabilise the formation.”
“Take plenty of flash-thunder bombs. They cannot stop me. Five hundred escorts are more than enough to break the blockade!”
Zhang Liang appeared extremely confident. “If we suddenly add outsiders, we might not be able to manoeuvre properly instead.”
Only then did Ninth Princess and Qing Mulan show understanding.
This formation had been tested in battle. The male troops in heavy armour formed the outer layer as shields and melee fighters, while the female troops inside fired crossbows. Its killing power was indeed formidable.
It also maximised the advantages of heavy armour and crossbows.
“Sir, I will be taking all the heavy armour. What if Danzhu attacks Big Python Slope?” Zhang Liang suddenly grew concerned for Jin Feng instead.
“Don’t worry about that!” Jin Feng said. “With Big Liu and the others here, no matter what happens, I can guarantee the safety of myself and Her Highness.”
Although Zhang Liang did not know where Jin Feng’s confidence came from, he knew Jin Feng never boasted about such things.
So he asked no more, nodded to the three of them, turned, and left.
“Sir, are you certain we should not have the Iron Tiger Camp escort them?” Ninth Princess was still a little worried.
“Certain,” Jin Feng replied. “Besides, I have other plans for the Iron Tiger Camp.”
“What plans?”
“Even if Brother Liang manages to take the north gate, it will probably be dawn by then. Clearing the battlefield and setting up defences will take another half day. The civilians are still waiting at Old Crow Gully. We do not have that much time.”
Jin Feng continued, “I intend to have the Iron Tiger Camp first escort a batch of army rations over. One, it will calm the civilians. Two, they can hold Old Crow Gully and prevent Danzhu from sending men to seize it.”
Ninth Princess was currently most concerned about the war horses. Hearing this, she nodded repeatedly. “Sir is right. The civilians have been starved for days in the prisoner camp. For a short while they may still think about silver and hold off killing the horses for food, but if hunger drags on, who knows what will happen.”
In truth, Jin Feng’s focus had already shifted from the horses to the civilians themselves.
Yet he did not argue the point with Ninth Princess and simply nodded in agreement.
Hunger is a terrifying force. When people reach the extreme of starvation, they lose their reason.
Back at Clearwater Valley, the Dangxiang army that Jin Feng had trapped had possessed even more war horses than Danzhu.
Yet in the end Qing Huai had obtained very few.
The main reason was that the starving Dangxiang soldiers had eaten almost all the horses.
To cavalry, their horses were companions.
If even cavalry would do that when hungry, what about ordinary civilians?
So Ninth Princess’s worry was not unfounded.
Under Ninth Princess’s direction, the entire camp sprang into rapid motion.
Soon, eight hundred soldiers carrying sacks marched out from Big Python Slope.
Thirty percent of the grain that Jin Feng and Ninth Princess had brought was on their backs.
Even if there were tens of thousands of civilians at Old Crow Gully, used sparingly it would last several days.
That was enough time for Jin Feng to gather more grain from elsewhere.
Behind the grain-carrying soldiers came the black-armoured battle team led by Zhang Liang.
As for the Iron Tiger Camp, they were already assembled on the open ground below the slope and needed no further preparation.
Once Meng Tianhai arranged for others to replace their positions, Chen Fengzhi simply led his men to join the grain carriers.
At Jin Feng’s command, the black-armoured team, the Iron Tiger Camp, and the grain-carrying soldiers all set off northward at the same time!
…
In the Tubo main camp, the scouts watching the enemy immediately reported the movement to Danzhu.
“General, the Great Kang troops have set off northward!”
“They dare leave Big Python Slope?”
Both Danzhu and Wizard Zhe showed astonishment.
As seasoned battlefield commanders, they knew perfectly well that Jin Feng had sent the Iron Tiger Camp down the slope only to intimidate them. He would never truly dare move far from his main base.
Yet once again they had miscalculated.
The two men exchanged a glance, rushed out of the tent one after another, and climbed the watchtower.
Below Big Python Slope, a long column of torches was moving north at speed.
“Sir, where do you think they are going?” Danzhu asked with a frown.
“Judging by the numbers, they might be reinforcing Bao’er Mountain, or they might be trying to seize the north gate!”
After a moment’s thought, Wizard Zhe said, “This old man believes the likelihood of seizing the north gate is greater!”
“Then shall we send troops to intercept?”
