Chapter 1568: Assault on the Manor
Chapter 1568: Chapter 1568: Assault on the Manor
By the time they reached the middle of the camp, everyone was already there. The dependents were gathered in the center, the soldiers were arrayed not far away, weapons in hand, ready to set off the moment the order came.
Mrs. Kuang was a capable one. There were many dependents in the Niu Family Camp, and the women could be a handful. When they heard the news that the Rong people had already infiltrated Xing’an Prefecture and they had to flee for their lives overnight, the place was in chaos for a short while.
But Mrs. Kuang managed to subdue them, driving them all into the middle of the camp within 30 minutes.
Seeing Gu Jinli and the others come over, Mrs. Kuang hurried up to flatter her: "Xiao Yu, Aunt has long known your family is capable. Look at the people you’ve made friends with, all of them useful ones, able to let us go hide in a Manor."
Mrs. Kuang had seen the skills of the Lei Family’s Trading Team before; they were very capable in the Northwest. As long as they got into the Lei Family’s Manor, they would be safe.
Gu Jinli was very glad that Mrs. Kuang could keep the women in the Niu Family Camp under control, saving her a lot of trouble. She smiled and said, "Aunt Niu, you flatter me. There’s still four hours’ journey ahead. On the road, everyone has to look out for each other and keep the women of your own camps in line. Don’t let trivial matters trip you up and delay the march."
Mrs. Kuang said, "Of course. If those hussies dare disobey, I’ll slap them. If they still dare not listen, I’ll just throw them on the road and let the Rong people pick them up!"
Her voice was indeed a bit loud. After speaking, she even glared at Ji Zhenniang, her meaning self-evident.
Ji Zhenniang was frightened, afraid she would be thrown away. She no longer minded that Gu Jinli was ugly and clutched tightly at her arm.
But Gu Jinli shook off her hand and said angrily, "What are you grabbing for? You’re a Company Commanders’ Wife. At a time like this you should be looking after the dependents traveling with us. Hurry and see whether the dependents from your camp are all here. Once you’ve checked, come back and report the headcount. Once everyone’s here, we set off."
After scolding her, she left, taking the roster to count the dependents of her own camp.
Seeing this, Ji Zhenniang wanted to chase after her, but Mrs. Kuang grabbed her and said, "You still dare go after her? Looking for a beating? Hurry and finish your work so we can get on the road. If you dare delay everyone’s escape, I’ll have the women in camp spread your gossip and talk you to death!"
Ji Zhenniang valued her reputation very much. After thinking it over, she could only go crying to count the number of dependents in her own camp.
Manager Xie had already brought all the dependents over and handed the register to Nanny Xie. Ji Zhenniang just had to use the register to count the people once and that was that.
Things were even simpler on Gu Jinli’s side. This sort of small matter didn’t require her to do it herself. Nanny Tao, Aunt Xiong, and Erqing were there to handle it. She had spoken up only because she wanted to train Ji Zhenniang.
Another quarter of an hour later, they finally finished. Gu Jinli and the others had already gotten into the carriages when Qin San Lang came over and said, "Xiao Yu, take You Xi and You An with you. There are too many dependents; we need more capable hands to guard them."
Originally, they should have assigned a detachment of soldiers to escort the dependents to the Manor. But they were all in the army and everyone wanted to earn merit and rise in rank. Sending soldiers to escort the dependents would be unfair to them, so he used his own men. And since You Xi and the others were fairly skilled, he felt more at ease.
Gu Jinli agreed. "All right. Have You An lead some men at the front. He handles things steadily, and if anything unexpected happens he can react quickly. Have Feng Jin’s men guard the middle. You Xi’s men will bring up the rear. Daqing will guard me. You can rest easy."
Seeing she had arranged everything properly, Qin San Lang finally put down half his worries and smiled. "Mm, Xiao Yu’s arrangements are very good. Let’s depart."
"Mm. You take care of yourself." After saying this, Gu Jinli immediately said to Aunt Xiong, "Tell Xiong Da and the others to beat the gong and set off!"
"Okay." Aunt Xiong hurried off to inform Xiong Da.
Not long after, the clang-clang of a copper gong rang out, and You An’s voice came from the very front: "Set off!"
There were too many dependents and the column was too long. Worried that the people in the back wouldn’t hear, Feng Jin rode back and forth, shouting, "Dependents from each camp, sit properly in the carriages, we’re setting off!"
"We’re setting off, we’re setting off, everyone hurry up and get on!" The Company Commanders’ Wife and Chief Commander Wife of each camp shouted one after another. After another brief bout of confusion, this column of dependents finally began to move in earnest, heading toward the Lei Family’s Manor.
Qin San Lang rode alongside for a while before turning back. He called to the soldiers, "The Rong people took an oblique approach, bypassing our defensive line to attack Xing’an Prefecture. There’s a unit of Rong people hiding in Tang Family Manor. Soldiers, we split into four groups. One group of light cavalry with fast horses will follow me to Tang Family Manor and surround it. One group of infantry will follow Company Commander Xie as our support."
The remaining two groups were couriers. The one heading for Long’an Prefecture was under Zhang Yan’s command.
Because General Xu was garrisoned at Long’an Prefecture, discipline there was very strict. An ordinary Company Commander could never hope to see General Xu. Zhang Yan, as the grandson-in-law of the Guang Cheng Marquis Mansion, could easily meet General Xu in person and inform him directly of the danger facing Xing’an Prefecture and Long’an Prefecture.
The other courier detachment was led by Niu Dabao, heading to Xing’an Prefecture to deliver a message and have the garrison commander there prepare to meet the enemy.
Niu Dabao was rough by nature and quick-tempered. If anyone in Xing’an Prefecture dared block him from seeing the main general, he could rely on his own abilities to fight his way before the main general.
"Yes, sir!" Zhang Yan spoke first, leading half of the troops under her command and galloping off toward Long’an Prefecture.
Niu Dabao also left with the other half of his men, but he left the three older Jins with Qin San Lang so they could follow him and hone their skills.
"Move out!" At Qin San Lang’s order, all the soldiers sprang into action. The cavalry he led vanished into the night.
But the ones running at the very front were not Qin San Lang, but Liugou and its pack.
Liugou and the others had killed the two messenger wolves and returned. Now, following the scent on the messenger wolves’ bodies, they led the way toward Tang Family Manor.
Yao Wan was a bit stunned... His job had been snatched by wolves?
Yao Wan was badly injured, but he was familiar with Tang Family Manor. So he rode the same horse as Hong Dao and followed Qin San Lang and the others toward Tang Family Manor.
Tang Family Manor was half a day’s journey from where they had pitched camp. But Qin San Lang and the others spurred their horses mercilessly, riding as if their lives depended on it, and finally reached the small path outside Tang Family Manor at daybreak.
Fortunately they arrived in time. Just as they reached the path, Liugou spotted a group of messenger wolves and immediately howled, summoning the wolf pack and charging toward those messenger wolves.
The messenger wolves ran extremely fast, like flashes of lightning. There were five of them, dashing in five different directions, and Liugou and its pack could only split up to give chase.
"Keep up! Kill the messenger wolves!" Qin San Lang immediately led the cavalry to split up and pursue the messenger wolves.
The messenger wolves were so fast that Qin San Lang and the others had to chase them on horseback for 30 minutes before they finally came within bow range.
Qin San Lang didn’t dare waste time. He immediately drew his bow and nocked his arrows. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—he loosed three arrows in a row and finally hit one of the messenger wolf’s hind legs.
The wounded messenger wolf slowed its pace.
Howling, Liugou sprang forward, pounced, and clamped down on the messenger wolf’s neck. With two harsh rips, it tore two big holes in the messenger wolf’s neck.