Chapter 1595: Assault on the City, Toying with the Enemy
Chapter 1595: Chapter 1595: Assault on the City, Toying with the Enemy
"Quick, quick, save me~" County Captain Liu called out weakly, his whole body in intense pain, feeling as if he was about to die.
Company Commander Liu, upon hearing this, remembered that County Captain Liu had been hit by a crossbow arrow. He quickly ran over and said: "Uncle, are you alright?"
County Captain Liu: "..."
You son of a bitch, stop asking nonsense! Hurry and get Doctor Ye over to check my wound!
County Captain Liu, too weak to curse, could only raise his hand to point at Ye Dakou who was treating Company Commander Cao’s injury: "Doctor Ye~"
Company Commander Liu then understood his meaning and hurriedly said: "I understand, Uncle, please bear with it. Doctor Ye will come to treat your wound after he finishes with Company Commander Cao. Company Commander Cao is a hero who repelled the Rong people; we should let Doctor Ye save him first."
These words were extremely righteous, but County Captain Liu felt murderous!
What sins had he committed to have such a nephew who would turn his back on him?
His wife feared their sons would die in battle and didn’t let the three sons learn martial arts, only allowing them to study, hoping they would acquire official positions and move the family away from this undesirable Northwest place.
But things didn’t go as wished; none of his sons gained official positions, instead acquiring the corrupt mannerisms of the scholars, often making him want to kill them!
No choice; he could only foster his nephews, placing them in the government office and Military Office. Now the nephews had achieved success, so he couldn’t just scold them all the time.
"Doctor Ruan~" County Captain Liu held his anger and reminded Company Commander Liu to bring in the county’s renowned doctor, Doctor Ruan.
"Oh right, we also need Doctor Ruan." Company Commander Liu promptly sent soldiers to find Doctor Ruan.
The small Section Leader from the Military Office personally went to bring Doctor Ruan, who was treating injured soldiers beneath the city wall, up to the city wall.
"Slow down, slow down, this old man can’t run any longer." Doctor Ruan was nearly pulled to the ground, upon seeing where County Captain Liu was hit, he said, "No worries, you’re not going to die."
The crossbow arrow hadn’t hit any vital spots, just struck one of County Captain Liu’s thighs, at worst only causing disability.
Company Commander Liu felt relieved upon hearing this, invited Doctor Ruan over to attend to County Captain Liu’s wound, then said to Squad Leader Liu, "Fourth Brother, keep an eye on our uncle while I check on other soldiers."
He then ran off, leaving County Captain Liu furious over nurturing an ungrateful nephew.
Company Commander Liu was concerned about the situation in Sangui Town, ran to ask Chief Commander Yao: "Uncle Yao, the Rong people seem very angry, can Company Commander Qin withstand them?"
Chief Commander Yao was exhausted and hungry, sipping sorghum meat porridge with closed eyes, replied, "Don’t know."
"Don’t know?" Company Commander Liu grew anxious, "I think Company Commander Qin is in great danger, we must quickly bring troops over to help him."
Chief Commander Yao also wanted to save Company Commander Qin, opened his eyes and said, "Only the cavalry can make it, the infantry can’t keep up; we need to avoid the main enemy army, taking small paths there."
Chief Commander Yao wished Company Commander Qin wouldn’t perish under the Rong’s furious march, quickly finishing his sorghum meat porridge before seeking out Company Commander Hu and others to discuss the rescue efforts: "The Rong people are furious, Company Commander Qin is in danger. Company Commander Hu, Company Commander Guo, Company Commander Cao, we need to rally the cavalry and bring them to help."
Ye Dakou added, "Remember to bring poison."
Chief Commander Yao nodded, "I too think the cavalry should carry poison, using toxic tactics to assist Company Commander Qin in curbing the Rong people!"
Guo Daming, grateful for Qin San Lang’s kindness, was the first to agree: "Chief Commander Yao is right, we must bring cavalry to help Company Commander Qin. We can’t survive and just watch him die; he’s not even twenty years old!"
After such words, could Company Commander Hu and Company Commander Cao disagree?
"Alright, gather our cavalry, the three of us will lead them to support Company Commander Qin." Company Commander Hu finished speaking and led several to find County Magistrate Luo, discussing leaving from the West City Gate to Sangui Town for support.
County Magistrate Luo was dizzy from happiness earlier, now just waking, nearly fainting again upon hearing they wanted to open the city gate, said, "No, no, we need to wait longer. Wait till the Rong people are far away before opening the gate, lest they return suddenly and storm into the city, killing us all!"
He continued, "You three can’t all go for support, one Company Commander must remain to guard the city. Otherwise, should something happen, without a Company Commander defending, Ancang County’s county will be in great risk!"
As for Company Commander Liu, County Magistrate Luo never considered him a capable leader.
A person who became Company Commander solely due to County Captain Liu’s connections, even if decent morally, hadn’t fought battles, how could he be relied upon?
Chief Commander Yao said, "Company Commander Hu, you should stay, there are still many soldiers needing your leadership to guard."
Guo Daming, indebted to Company Commander Qin, would go to great lengths to save him.
Company Commander Hu agreed.
Company Commander Liu volunteered, "The Military Office has a squad of cavalry; I will lead them to rescue Company Commander Qin and fight the Rong people!"
Unfortunately, Company Commander Liu never managed to leave.
County Captain Liu, upon hearing, immediately sent people to have him taken away... It was hard enough to nurture a Company Commander, yet he wants to go off to die, incredibly ignoring the Liu family’s future!
Ye Dakou had prepared quite a bit of poison, extracted the barbed crossbow arrow from Company Commander Cao, then carried the poison, joining Chief Commander Yao and others in supporting Qin San Lang.
And Chief Commander Yao estimated correctly; the Rong people, upon being ambushed, became furious and initially intended to quickly leave Ancang County, but upon encountering Qin San Lang’s ambush in Sangui Town, went completely berserk.
With over ten thousand troops pressing forward like that, even if Qin San Lang was adept in warfare, he couldn’t withstand such a strong assault.
Qin San Lang and his soldiers struggled to hold for three quarters of an hour, then immediately used toxic tactics to disrupt the Rong people’s crushing advance, withdrawing with his soldiers.
Hu Helu was nearly maddened, ordered the Rong people to pursue, Qin San Lang and his troops dared not return to the county for fear of the furious Rong people razing it, and rode into the mountains.
Upon seeing Chief Commander Yao and the others arrive, he immediately said, "Release poison arrows, draw them into the mountains!"
Chief Commander Yao and his team reacted swiftly, launching poison arrow attacks.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Poison arrows launched, their bags exploding open, spreading poison, and a batch of Rong people was poisoned unconscious.
But the Rong people were too numerous, with that poisoned batch hardly making a difference; more Rong troops pressed on, determined to crush Qin San Lang and his men to pieces.
And precisely because of this, they were outmaneuvered by Qin San Lang again.
When Qin San Lang came to study in the Northwest, he took many small paths across various prefectures, becoming extremely familiar with them and the mountain environments. Leading his soldiers into the mountains, he eluded the Rong pursuers for half a day, delaying their marching speed more than any ambush could.
The Great Witch Doctor, enraged, found Hu Helu and furiously called him an idiot, finally taking out the Great Wizard’s order to threaten him: "Leave Ancang County at once, head to Xing’an Prefecture, otherwise you won’t remain a general, and your tribe will be disgraced!"
Hu Helu, upon seeing the Great Wizard’s order, was compelled to halt the pursuit, while the Rong army took two hours to emerge from the deep mountains.
When the Rong people officially departed, the sky had already turned completely dark.
Company Commander Liu nearly laughed himself to death upon hearing it, holding Qin San Lang in awe.
When Qin San Lang and his squad returned from the mountains, Company Commander Liu personally went to welcome them at the city gate, upon seeing Qin San Lang, said: "Company Commander Qin, you are truly remarkable. With today’s battles, you delayed the Rong people at Ancang County for an entire day, wasting a day of their journey."
He added, "The county government has prepared a banquet. Company Commander Qin, come with me to the county government for the feast, have a good night’s sleep, and leave in a couple of days."
Qin San Lang shook his head: "No need, we must continue on our way to carry out blocking ambushes."
He couldn’t rest, needed to hurry on, meet Xiao Yu sooner. Only by personally protecting her would he truly feel at ease.