The aide, accompanied by his entourage, left Weizhou City that day, heading for the Iron Forest Army.
Meanwhile, the Dangxiang camp was buzzing with activity.
A group of generals gathered in the main tent, drinking and discussing the afternoon’s battle.
“Damn it, we were so close to capturing Qing Huai alive!”
“My men slashed Qing Huai and hit him hard, but his guards still saved him. What a pity.”
“Such a shame. Qing Huai usually hides at the back like a turtle. He rarely goes to the front, and we still didn’t catch him.”
“It’s all because of those wires. They tangle the horses’ legs, impossible to break free. Absolutely infuriating.”
“Qing Huai is already a tough opponent. Now with a way to counter our horses, it’s going to be trouble.”
“No need to worry. My men captured a few Iron Forest soldiers. I had them interrogated. Qing Huai’s barbed wire is all used up. If we hadn’t retreated today and charged straight through, we could’ve wiped out the Iron Forest Army and captured Qing Huai alive!”
“Is the information reliable? Qing Huai’s trickier than a demon. We can’t fall for another trap.”
“It’s not a trick. My men dragged one prisoner behind a horse until he died. By the time we got back to camp, the rest were so terrified they spilled everything.”
“If it’s a trap, we’ll find out tomorrow. Let’s go to the commander and request to fight. If there’s still wire on the ground, we’ll figure something out. If not, we charge, crush the Iron Forest Army, and capture Qing Huai alive!”
“Crush the Iron Forest Army, capture Qing Huai!”
The remaining Dangxiang generals raised their wine bowls, shouting loudly.
After drinking, the group staggered to the commander’s tent to request battle.
The Dangxiang commander for this southern invasion was Li Jikui, a royal clansman, brave in combat but lacking in strategy. Last year, Qing Huai led him on a wild chase through the mountains for over ten days, making him a laughingstock among the Dangxiang elite, and the one who hated Qing Huai the most.
At noon, when scouts reported Qing Huai’s general flag raised in Clearwater Valley, Li Jikui immediately ordered his cavalry to attack.
Qing Huai was unlucky. He usually stayed back to command, rarely going to the front. But with He Mingqin leaving the Iron Forest Army in chaos and the need to set up barbed wire, he went to the riverbank, only to be caught in the Dangxiang cavalry’s assault.
At the time, Qing Huai had only a dozen guards and a hundred-man team. Fortunately, the barbed wire was set up on the riverbank, and the Dangxiang, bold but simple-minded, refused to retreat despite seeing the wire, suffering heavy losses.
Otherwise, Qing Huai’s fate would’ve been worse than a coma.
The unknown is often the most frightening. Barbed wire appeared on this world’s battlefield for the first time. When Li Jikui saw sturdy warhorses entangled, bleeding uncontrollably, unable to break free, he ordered a retreat to figure out what the wire was before attacking again.
Learning from prisoners that the wire was scarce, he regretted retreating.
If night hadn’t been approaching, when cavalry struggled to fight, he would’ve attacked the Iron Forest Army again immediately.
So, when his generals came to request battle, Li Jikui instantly agreed to attack Clearwater Valley again tomorrow.
Outside Clearwater Valley, Jin Feng had circled the hill several times, occasionally having guards mark spots on the ground.
“Xu Xiao, assign two hundred soldiers to come here with axes to chop trees.”
Jin Feng turned and said, “Also, send five hundred soldiers to that bamboo grove over there. Cut one thousand bamboos and bring them back to camp before dark!”
The hill had a large pine forest, perfect for building catapults.
A bit further was a vast bamboo grove, with stalks as thick as bowls, grown for who knows how long, also part of Jin Feng Nin Feng’s chopping plan.
“Yes, sir!”
Though deputy Xu Xiao didn’t understand Jin Feng’s intentions, he bowed and accepted the order.
As it was Jin Feng’s first command, Xu Xiao went down the hill himself to arrange it, showing its importance.
Zhong Wu, assigned by Qing Huai as Jin Feng’s personal guard, continued his duty despite Qing Huai’s coma.
While Xu Xiao was present, Zhong Wu held back questions. Once Xu Xiao left, he approached and asked, “Sir, are you having them chop trees to build that catapult you mentioned?”
“Yes,” Jin Feng didn’t hide it, nodding in confirmation.
“Is this thing reliable?”
“Of course,” Jin Feng said confidently. “If we set up catapults at the spots I marked, no matter how many Dangxiang come, they won’t break through.”
“That powerful?” Zhong Wu’s spirits lifted.
Having known Jin Feng for a while, he knew Jin Feng spoke conservatively.
If he was this confident, he was certain of success.
“My only worry now is we might not have enough time.”
Jin Feng sighed helplessly.
Catapults were simpler than heavy crossbows and didn’t need arrows. Stones, enemy corpses, oil jars, anything could be hurled at the enemy, with greater range and destructive power than crossbows.
Though slower to fire, they were highly cost-effective weapons.
The only issue was that building catapults took time.
With another month, or even a week, he’d feel much more prepared.
But the Dangxiang wouldn’t give him that time.
“Sir, don’t worry. If the Dangxiang attack, even if we have to pile up bodies, I’ll lead the brothers to buy you enough time.”
Zhong Wu pounded his chest and shouted.
“To counter Dangxiang cavalry, we can’t just rely on numbers. We need to use our heads.”
Jin Feng tapped his temple. “By the way, Brother Zhong, before becoming the Marquis’s guard, did you ever lead troops?”
“Of course. Old Zheng, Liu Qiong, and I were all centurions before the Marquis picked us as guards.”
“Then I have a task for you.”
“Sir, tell me.”
“Here’s what you do…”
Jin Feng picked up a stick from the ground, crouched, and explained his plan to Zhong Wu.
“Alright… That works… You can actually counter cavalry like that…”
As Jin Feng spoke, Zhong Wu’s eyes grew brighter, so excited he wanted to test Jin Feng’s method on the Dangxiang cavalry right away.
“When Xu Xiao returns, I’ll have him assign you five hundred soldiers. Start tonight, don’t delay.”
A single mistake on the battlefield could mean death, and Qing Huai had warned before falling unconscious that the Dangxiang could attack anytime. So Jin Feng took no chances, treating everything as urgent.
Xu Xiao worked quickly. Just as Jin Feng finished explaining the plan to Zhong Wu, he arrived with two hundred soldiers.
But he brought bad news.
“General, the Marquis’s condition has worsened…”
