Chapter 1 Entering Enemy Territory

Seven days later, the Huoqi Army (Fire Unicorn Army) and Mengxue Army (Fierce Blood Army) were already facing off against the Xiling and Dongping armies. Before receiving any news from Danyang, they quietly entered the territory occupied by the Xiling army. After all, this was Dongping land, and they were very familiar with it. Although actually galloping across this land was completely different from doing simulations on a sand table, they had been working hard to maintain the simple and accurate style they had when working on maps.

This army of ten thousand had not been able to approach any town, nor had they been able to resupply in the past few days. They flew along, fearing that they would be intercepted by their own troops. Their worry about their own people far outweighed their concern for the enemy. It wasn't until today, when they entered the Pengxi valley and set up camp next to the village where only a hundred or so villagers lived, that they had a sufficient reason to rest.

Pengxi was more than a hundred *li* from Baishi City. Now, those distances were filled with at least 30,000 Xiling soldiers. The Huoqi and Mengxue armies, having quietly circled behind the enemy, were not prepared to turn around and deal with those 30,000 men. Once entangled with this superior force, their goal could not be achieved. This place was just brushing against the most densely populated area of ​​the Xiling army, it was too dangerous.

The villagers of Pengxi didn't know about the Xiling army's invasion until now. Living in the mountains, they really didn't have much contact with the outside world. However, since they were their own people's soldiers, they were warmly welcomed by the villagers. Several hunters led the guards on duty to climb several high points, watching everything around the small mountain that wasn't too deep or too high.

After resting for two hours, Chi Lei's scout cavalry set off. Three hundred scout cavalrymen were divided into fifty small teams and scattered into the depths of the enemy-occupied area. After all, this was Dongping territory. Although the Xiling army occupied a large area of land, their control over the area was still quite loose. It was absolutely impossible to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the controlled area. And the scouts had to understand the enemy's situation and distribution as much as possible in order to choose their first target.

They were stationed in Pengxi, not only because they needed to rest, but also because their first rear supply point was here. Just after midnight, a convoy appeared at the foot of the mountain. The convoy members were all wearing Xiling military uniforms, looking like a Xiling supply detachment. Only the oil lamp with flickering green light hanging on the front of the first carriage indicated their identity.

"I was still worried that you wouldn't be able to come," Ye Tao said amiably, looking at the leader of the convoy who had taken off his Xiling military uniform to reveal a FedEx uniform underneath.

"We almost couldn't make it," the middle-aged man, who looked to be in his thirties and looked extremely capable, said with a smile. "It's very difficult to transport things in. Most of the things in the future will be transported in small batches and then concentrated. Because time is tight, we haven't raised enough things. Old Zeng said that the first batch of supplies must be complete and sufficient, so we had to hijack a transport. The entire convoy, including the military uniforms and everything, is delivered to you."

Ye Tao was shocked: "You really hijacked the Xiling supply team? Were there any casualties?"

The middle-aged man waved his hand and said, "We did it while they were eating. Two brothers were lost, but it's nothing."

Ye Tao sighed: "Thank you for your hard work. Are the families of the lost brothers taken care of?"

The middle-aged man shrugged and said, "Those who run on the Western Front have no families, so don't worry about it."

At this moment, a scout returned. He reported a strange situation. Twenty-five *li* to the west, there was a strange cavalry team, only a little over a thousand people. This cavalry looked very much like the Dongping cavalry. It was suspected that it was the remnants of the unit that had disguised themselves to attack Xunshan Pass.

"This unit must be taken down," Ye Tao immediately decided.

"The Huoqi Army will not move. The Mengxue Army will prepare to attack within a quarter of an hour. Is that okay?" Dai Yun asked for instructions after asking for more details.

"Do it," Ye Tao decided.

The commander of this Xiling-style Dongping cavalry was Zhao Hanzhi. With the title of deputy general, he had repeatedly gone deep into Dongping to observe the Dongping cavalry. He had even pretended to be a Dongping civilian twice, joined the army, and received training before personally training five thousand special cavalry that were indistinguishable from the Dongping cavalry in every aspect. He knew from a long time ago that after this surprise attack on Xunshan Pass, his team would be useless. Staying in the Xiling army was too eye-catching, and Dongping wouldn't be so stupid as to let them play any role again. But what he didn't expect was that in the battle of Xunshan Pass, even though the cooperation of all parties proceeded completely according to the original plan, his five thousand cavalry still suffered heavy casualties, leaving only a little over a thousand people.

What was even more unbearable was the attitude of his colleagues in the army towards this unit. No one dared to deny their merits, but they were really too different in the Xiling army. The most excessive thing was that after the repairs, he took his remaining brothers out for a ride. When he returned to the camp, the deputy general of another camp jokingly beat the drums to "greet" them, surrounded them, and then came over to pat him on the shoulder and praised them for being "too similar." Commander Tong Bingwen found out about this and dragged them both to give them a scolding. God knows how innocent he was... The grain officer joked with them that there was no Dongping fodder and asked them to make do with it...

All kinds of jokes made these meritorious officials unbearable. This time, they came out not because they had any mission, but because they couldn't stand the atmosphere in Xunshan Pass. He requested to be transferred to the front. Although there was no room for them to play in the Ningshi City-Baishi City line, their cavalry unit of a little over a thousand men was too weak. But at least the two armies were facing each other on the front line, and there wouldn't be so many bored people.

And on this dark night, this cavalry army that had made remarkable achievements quietly became the first prey of the Mengxue Army.

"Haven't killed anyone before?" Behind a small hill less than five hundred meters away from Zhao Hanzhi's camp, Dai Yun whispered, "You have to get used to it quickly. This is just practice for everyone, don't let anyone escape. Attack."

After removing the scout troops that had been sent out, Dai Yun had less than five thousand Mengxue troops under her control. She brought out all her troops just to let as many people as possible see blood. Otherwise, even if she thought highly of the opponent, she wouldn't use three times the force to raid the camp.

Two thousand people would be responsible for the first wave of impact, one thousand people would be responsible for picking up the slack, and the remaining less than two thousand troops would spread out during these two waves of impact, surrounding the camp to ensure that no one escaped.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" The distance of several hundred steps disappeared in an instant. While the Xiling soldiers on duty dutifully began to shout, the first wave of arrows had already arrived.

The two wings of the Mengxue Army spread out at the fastest speed to complete the encirclement of the barracks. The first batch of cavalry had already rushed into the camp. Compared to broadswords and spears, the hand crossbows equipped by every Mengxue cavalryman played a more direct role. The arrows shot indiscriminately at the shadowy figures in front, behind, left, and right after rushing into the camp immediately brought down several hundred people. They used spears to pry open tents, knock over fire pits, and spread the fire and death from the center of the camp to the surrounding areas in an orderly manner. The second wave of cavalry took advantage of the chaos in the camp to knock down the wooden fences around the camp that had been hastily built. The cavalry unit of only a little over a thousand people really didn't have the ability to make the camp, where they only rested for one night, very strong.

This unit, which was able to withstand the siege of several times the number of Dongping soldiers at Xunshan Pass for a long time, was indeed very powerful, but they encountered the even more powerful Mengxue Army. The night made the killing less visually effective, minimizing the fear of those rookie officers. As the swords flashed, they saw falling figures, not patches of splashing blood. Whether they were soldiers or officers, they were just doing what they usually did in the Mengxue Army's camp raid training.

In just a quarter of an hour, the camp was completely removed. More than a thousand cavalrymen in Dongping cavalry uniforms but with Xiling flags were wiped out on the ground. The price paid by the Mengxue Army was only four dead and twenty-one wounded. While Dai Yun was counting the results and ordering the soldiers to collect the frightened horses and take them away, she looked with some concern at Ye Tao, who was holding onto the fence and vomiting.

First time killing someone... Dai Yun recalled the scene when she first killed someone. Crying and vomiting were common, but the most painful thing was being haunted by nightmares for almost a month, until she ended the second evil life in her still ignorant hands at the time.

Ye Tao shook his head vigorously, took out a small wine pot from his saddle with trembling hands, and took a sip. The psychological effect took effect faster than the alcohol. He calmed down almost immediately. "Pile up the corpses, put a cross in the middle, and nail that general or whatever to it," Ye Tao said to Dai Yun as he remounted his horse.

He was able to recover so quickly because he had already prepared himself psychologically when he went to the battlefield. More importantly, he couldn't collapse at this moment. The first time he killed someone was so simple. An enemy soldier pounced on him and grabbed his horse's head, and another enemy soldier stabbed him with a spear. And he, instinctively, swung his sword.

He still didn't know whether the sword in his hand could be ranked on the sharpness list in this era—presumably there wouldn't be a review of this kind in this era—but as the sword light flashed, the spear broke. He thrust out his sword and cut the throat of the enemy soldier holding the spear. He only saw dark liquid gurgling out in the dark night. The enemy fell, and his sword was still as bright as new... Another enemy soldier didn't even give him a chance to do anything. The warhorse under him suddenly stood up and kicked its front hooves, and the heroic enemy soldier flew out. He didn't even remember whether the enemy soldier was tall or short, but he remembered that the horse's self-awareness almost made him fall off the horse.

"Yes." Dai Yun looked at Ye Tao, who was rinsing his mouth with a kettle, in surprise, surprised at why he would issue such a cruel order to deal with the enemy's corpses, but she still complied.

"I don't know if we are strong enough, and the enemy doesn't know either. The best way to get the enemy to put us in an important position as quickly as possible is to appear arrogant enough," Ye Tao explained, spitting out the water in his mouth.

Dai Yun was stunned for a moment, then nodded.