Chapter 1 Absolutely Bold

Yin Bo was definitely bold and skillful, but even so, leading tens of thousands of troops through enemy territory was not a pleasant experience. He divided the army into teams of five thousand, each finding a hidden path to travel. If they encountered small enemy units, they would gather and annihilate them, leaving no one alive. If they ran into large enemy forces and felt they couldn't wipe them out completely, they would detour or lie in wait for the enemy to pass. As Ye Tao had predicted, the Daoming Sect was truly terrible at organizing and deploying its forces. The daily management of tens of thousands of troops was enough to exhaust those unprofessional high-ranking clerics. Very few understood the importance of sending scouts ahead and paying attention to the flanks, which made things much easier for Yin Bo.

After Ye Tao sent out the military intelligence, airship squadrons gathered in large numbers in Anqing, constantly conducting shuttle bombing runs. A bunch of airships shuttled between Xunshan Pass and Anqing, constantly delivering various supplies. This allowed the airships to be continuously replenished, making the bombing extremely sustainable, much to the dismay of the Daoming Sect's higher-ups. Even better news came eight days after Yin Bo's attack. Chang Hongquan led the Jinzhou army from Xunshan Pass into Xiling. At the same time, Tan Xiaopei forcibly squeezed out 10,000 Imperial Guards and 10,000 Blood Kirin Army reserve soldiers from the main battlefield. A total of 155,000 troops, high in morale and full of energy, were thrown into the battlefield, immediately throwing the Daoming Sect's flanks into chaos. In less than two days, the Daoming Sect had lost almost half a prefecture's worth of territory. On the fourth day of entering Xiling, the army advancing from the direction of Xunshan Pass was less than a hundred li away from Anqing. Opening up the ground passage was just around the corner.

At this time, Ye Tao gave Yin Bo another chance to choose. Due to the smooth advance from Xunshan Pass, the operation to raid the Daoming Sect's main altar was not necessarily essential. Although the ground advance might be slower, it was indeed safer. However, Yin Bo didn't give it much thought. Now was the time to make a name for himself. He was a member of the Yin family, and he understood very well what kind of treatment the Yin family would receive after Xiling merged into Dongping. For the entire family, being able to retire gracefully and become a respected family in a unified nation was a blessing. But for many people Yin Bo's age, did they have to start retiring before they even began to establish their own careers? That wasn't the life they wanted, and now that there was such an opportunity, to contribute a glorious achievement before the Yin family bowed out as rulers, he would definitely make that choice. If something unexpected happened, at least he wouldn't have sacrificed himself for some meaningless reason.

"The third team ran into some trouble. There are two enemy camps in front of them." An airship dropped a message tube from the air. The intelligence document inside was short and accurate. Yin Bo was becoming more and more accustomed to this simple and fast way of communicating. In fact, if it weren't for the airships shuttling back and forth, he wouldn't have known how to command the dispersed troops at all. Maybe he would really have to rely on the commanders of each unit to fend for themselves.

"What's the situation?" Yin Bo asked.

"Two battalions of the Fenglei Army (Wind and Thunder Army), not as easy to deal with as those scattered soldiers of the Daoming Sect," the staff officer said with a wry smile.

"We'll move closer. Have the airships send a message to the fourth team, telling them to outflank and intercept from the north. We're not far from their main altar. After we take care of these two battalions, it's about time to rendezvous." Yin Bo made a decision in an instant. "Map!"

The personal guard following him closely immediately took out a specially made waterproof map of Dongping from his map bag. Yin Bo also found this thing more and more indispensable. After experiencing Dongping's level of communication, and the level of war preparation, he wondered how they were able to fight wars before? Without accurate maps, they couldn't find their own troops after they were spread out. Their understanding of the enemy's position basically relied on scouts and guesses. What kind of art of command was that? Being able to control the troops like an extension of one's own arm, accurately deploying them, and precisely timing coordinated attacks within a quarter of an hour, was too attractive for every general.

"General, are we gathering now? There are still... more than eighty li to the main altar. Isn't it a bit early?" The staff officer offered his opinion.

"This risk must be taken. More than eighty li, if we march quickly, it will take four to five hours, but we may encounter enemy troops along the way. After all, this is the Daoming Sect's stronghold. As long as we march, we probably won't be able to avoid the enemy's eyes and ears. Then we can only gamble on speed. Whether we are faster or they are. We have to eliminate the enemies blocking us in motion in just a few hours. We can't stop, we can't slow down. We have to charge all the way, straight to the Lao Jun Temple. If we are fast enough, the Daoming Sect may not even be able to organize enough defense to resist us. But if we have any hesitation, any delay, then we should prepare to be surrounded by the enemy in front of the Lao Jun Temple." Yin Bo's tone was full of fighting spirit, without the slightest fear.

"General, what about after that? How do we retreat afterwards?" the staff officer asked, straightening his body.

"I haven't thought about it. And there's no need to think too much about it," Yin Bo said with a smile.

"Are you planning to hold out in the Lao Jun Temple until the enemy collapses?"

"Yes. Or, to put it another way, as long as we can take the Lao Jun Temple, it will be worth it even if our entire army is wiped out." Yin Bo had obviously considered the consequences, but he still chose to do so. When he set out, several elders of the Yin family, including the lord of the country himself, had talked to him. Ye Tao had given him a plan for withdrawal, and other troops were also moving towards the Lao Jun Temple to meet them. But this wasn't a sure thing. A general always had to be prepared for anything. Ye Tao had been in this mood when he initially decided to lead his troops, but that was also because Ye Tao had extreme confidence in himself and had cultivated an absolutely stable mentality through numerous battles. Although Yin Bo had a reputation as a genius general, his combat experience was not comparable to Ye Tao's. The Yin family elders were also worried that Yin Bo would panic in the face of battle, affecting the overall situation. They were wrong. Yin Bo knew that his blood was flowing with fighting spirit, the ambition of a man craving achievement and glory. At this time, he would never back down. And the troops selected from Xiling this time were all brave and daring soldiers, mostly locals from Anqing. Several highly respected elders of the Yin family personally went to the army to assure everyone that they would provide generous pensions to each family, prepare good education for their children, and their sacrifices would not be in vain. Their children would definitely receive better education and have better development than them, and each of their families would be able to escape poverty. For the sake of their families, for the sake of their children, these soldiers had long unified their thinking: dying in battle was a worthwhile deal. Yin Bo wouldn't encounter a situation where he couldn't command them when faced with this kind of dead end.

The military order was quickly passed down, and then three teams, totaling 15,000 people, ambushed and killed two battalions of regular troops who had followed the Daoming Sect in the dead of night. They had become very skilled at this kind of operation in the past few days, and even in the dead of night, they didn't let one get away. Afterwards, the six teams reunited and rested briefly.

Yin Bo then led a small team forward. Although he was prepared to fight all the way, he had other preparations as well. A family clan leader named Yang had surrendered to the Yin family through private channels, saying that he had no choice but to be coerced by the Daoming Sect. The Yang family had already protected its most core and important assets and people. He had 8,000 retainers and 200 disciples under his command, willing to die for the Yin family. And the Yang family made it very clear that if other collateral families of the Yang family suffered losses in the conflict, they hoped that the Yin family could compensate them with money and other properties after the war. The Yang family clan leader's ruthlessness and indifference towards his own family shocked the Yin family, but they also felt that this kind of "honest" guy might be worth trying to contact. After Yin Bo had a little contact with the Yang family clan leader, he didn't reveal that he already had 30,000 troops not far behind him, but only slightly revealed that he had come to the heart of the Daoming Sect to make some noise. The Yang family clan leader thought that he was only bringing a small number of elite troops to harass and assassinate. To be honest, this trick really worked. So many internal court guards, special operations battalions, and Demon Sect groups in Dongping had been doing this lately. Although it didn't seem to cause serious casualties, it was obviously causing panic among the Daoming Sect, especially among the higher-ups.

The Yang family had no objection to the plan proposed by Yin Bo. Wasn't it just about making a riot with the Daoming Sect's higher-ups over military pay? Make a big noise, but don't really turn it into a mutiny. It had to be said that the Daoming Sect had been in a mess in this regard recently. The food reserves were already extremely limited, and with the large-scale troop movements, the Daoming Sect, which wanted to control the army by controlling supplies, was completely caught off guard. If the Yang family hadn't privately stored a lot of grain and not handed it over for unified management, they would have run out of food long ago. Making a fuss wouldn't be a big deal. And although this kind of thing would be resented by those high-ranking clerics, it wouldn't generally cause them to attack him, so it was considered safe. The Yang family clan leader agreed to launch it as soon as he returned.

At this time, Yin Bo's combat plan had also reached Ye Tao's desk. Ye Tao asked, "Is there any problem with the airship squadron guaranteeing continuous and uninterrupted air support all day tomorrow?"

"No problem. Ammunition and fuel are sufficient, and the crew members are well-rested," Feng Zi replied. With limited personnel now, Feng Zi was originally multi-talented, and there was no problem with being a combat staff officer.

"Tomorrow morning, take four teams of people and board the airships to attack, first conduct a round of reconnaissance. Remove those problematic locations. Try to reduce the number of battles along Yin Bo's route." Ye Tao felt that although Yin Bo's plan was risky, it was not without a chance of success. The most important thing was really whether they were fast enough. If they could advance eighty li in three hours and rush straight to the Lao Jun Temple, plus some actions around the area, it could be said that they had a great chance of success. Yin Bo and those Imperial Guards had already put their lives on the line. Ye Tao had to create a little more opportunity and a little more chance of survival for this kid. And he wouldn't really watch Yin Bo go on a rampage and then head towards death. That wouldn't be in Dongping's interest.