Chapter 96

As the news of the fall of Yankawa Castle spread, the hidden turmoil in Chikagun Prefecture suddenly turned perilous, and the city became increasingly chaotic, though it was far from reaching its peak.

The messenger crane had already flown over countless mountains and passes, landing on a hill at the southern foot of Yulong Mountain, where it caught the scent of a familiar presence in the forest.

General Li Hu, Li Yulin, and other attendants, along with generals Chen Lie, Li Xianghai, Zhang Huaiyu, and Zhao Ruhui, reined their horses to a stop on a large rock at the edge of the forest, gazing in the direction of Yankawa Castle.

They were over a hundred miles away from Yankawa Castle, but they could already faintly see the vanguard of the Wuwei Army, like a black flood, pouring through the breached walls into Yankawa Castle.

The northern defense line of the Hexiong Army had been torn apart, but as the eastern wing troops, their duty was to remain stationary and protect the flanks of the main force, ready to respond to any changes. Thus, they were naturally excluded from the intense battle that offered a rare opportunity for glory.

Seeing the messenger crane land, Li Hu, who was on guard a bit ahead, was surprised.

"Is this the messenger crane that accompanied Chen Hai into enemy territory?" Li Xianghai called out.

Both of the messenger cranes in his camp were managed by Li Hu, who alone could discern the subtle differences between the various cranes in the army.

"But Yankawa Castle has just fallen. What opportunity could Chen Hai have discovered to warrant using the messenger crane to send a message?" Li Hu, recognizing the crane, was taken aback. When he unfolded the small scroll of the letter, he could hardly contain his excitement, leaping off his horse and bounding to the large rock where Chen Lie, Li Xianghai, and the other generals were, reporting, "Young Lord has set a trap in Chikagun Prefecture, waiting for a large group of fleeing soldiers to fall into it!"

Li Hu and other mid-to-low-ranking officers, eager for military achievements, were filled with indescribable excitement upon seeing the letter from Chen Hai. They never imagined that Chen Hai would dare to use such a risky and ingenious strategy, recognizing the unimaginable opportunities in Chikagun Prefecture, and wishing Chen Lie would immediately order the two thousand elite cavalry to fly to Chikagun Prefecture.

Chen Lie, Li Xianghai, Zhao Ruhui, and other high-ranking generals, who usually focused on the bigger picture, thought differently. They would not lightly use risky strategies unless absolutely necessary, preferring to crush and overwhelm the enemy with a powerful force, which was the orthodox way of warfare.

Reading the letter sent by Chen Hai through the messenger crane, Chen Lie's face remained expressionless, while Li Xianghai and Zhao Ruhui drew in a sharp breath. They never imagined that Chen Hai would attempt to control Chikagun Prefecture with just sixty to seventy men, and then try to trap the fleeing soldiers from the south in the prefecture, waiting for their side to send a light cavalry to raid and suppress them!

This plan was almost beyond everyone's imagination.

If successful, it would be a remarkable achievement that could even impress the Grand Protector General. However, if it failed, Chen Hai and the sixty to seventy men would face an inescapable and dire situation.

The fleeing soldiers, fleeing south in a panic, might not be eager to fight, but if they were all trapped in Chikagun Prefecture, the rage they would unleash would be terrifying, burning everything in their path to ashes.

Li Xianghai and Zhao Ruhui thought they had already taken Chen Hai seriously, but they never imagined that Chen Hai, like an unbridled dragon, would dare to use such a risky strategy!

Zhang Huaiyu was even more astonished, never imagining that such a figure had emerged under Chen Lie's command!

If the plan failed, it would be one thing, but if it succeeded, even the Grand Protector General would have to look at this young man with new eyes.

Regardless of what Zhang Huaiyu thought, the cavalry's raid on Chikagun Prefecture was already inevitable.

If the plan succeeded, it would be a remarkable achievement for the eastern wing troops. The initial purpose of organizing the two thousand elite cavalry was to share in the glory of the battle. If Zhang Huaiyu dared to obstruct or interfere, he would become the target of all the generals, and the eastern wing troops would fall under Chen Lie's sole control. If the plan failed, there would be no significant loss for the raiding troops!

"I will go with Xianghai!" Zhao Ruhui said decisively.

Clearly, even if Chen Hai and his men could not control the situation in Chikagun Prefecture, it would still cause a large number of fleeing soldiers to be trapped there. They should strengthen the raiding force as much as possible—Chen Lie, as the commander of the eastern wing, could not move lightly, so it would be Zhao Ruhui, Li Xianghai, and Zhang Huaiyu leading the troops!

Chen Lie looked up at the vast night sky, suppressing his worries, and immediately signed the military order, ordering Zhang Huaiyu, Zhao Ruhui, and Li Xianghai to lead the cavalry and the elite troops of the various camps, totaling three thousand riders, to raid Chikagun Prefecture.

Chen Qing only learned what had happened after the cavalry set out, and was shocked to the core. The hooves of the horses beat the ground like a deep drum, and the three thousand riders, like a black flood, surged over the snow-covered fields, heading towards Chikagun Prefecture, five hundred miles away...

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Yankawa Castle was captured in the early hours of the morning, but the northern line troops of the Hexiong Army were not all concentrated in Yankawa Castle.

Seeing that Yankawa Castle could not hold out for even one night, the Hexiong Army stationed in other cities naturally lost the will to fight. However, the dire situation did not allow them to hesitate. The fleeing soldiers from Yankawa Castle were still engaged in battle with the vanguard of the Wuwei Army, and the local military forces, thinking of their families in the city or nearby villages, even if they wanted to flee, had to first reunite with their families, leading to chaos. The Hexiong Army soldiers in the nearby dozen or so fortresses almost immediately abandoned their cities and fled south.

Tens of thousands of fleeing soldiers soon flooded the snow-covered fields, wishing they had two more legs.

The elite cavalry and solitary cultivators with cultivation, unimpeded by the rugged mountains, even had to avoid the congested roads, fleeing directly across the snow, bypassing Chikagun Prefecture, and not falling into this large trap.

Some of the cultivators, originally from the northern part of Hechuan Ridge, fled with their families and a large amount of wealth, and could only escape south via the main road.

The rugged mountains on both sides of Chikagun Prefecture, like a dam, channeled the fleeing clans, refugees, and ordinary soldiers into Chikagun Prefecture.

The day before, Chen Hai, under the pretext of clearing the main road, had the Chikagun Prefecture soldiers set up sentry posts and barriers in the northern part of the prefecture, blocking the main road. Ding Shuang pretended everything was normal and inspected the northern sentry post before dawn, but anyone with keen eyes could guess from the massive commotion that Yankawa Castle had fallen. The two hundred or so archers and swordsmen stationed in the northern part of the prefecture immediately became anxious.

Ding Shuang's arrival prevented the situation from immediately collapsing, but the situation was still far from good. Besides repeatedly emphasizing that reinforcements were on the way, Ding Shuang also repeatedly stressed that the archers and swordsmen had their families in Chikagun Prefecture and could not easily abandon the city and flee.

By dawn, the northern part of Chikagun Prefecture had already gathered tens of thousands of fleeing civilians, clans, and soldiers, and from a high vantage point, one could see large groups of fleeing soldiers approaching.

Ding Shuang knew that with just over two hundred anxious county soldiers, it was impossible to hold back the flood of people. If the county soldiers collapsed first, the situation would be even worse. He could only slowly retreat with the two hundred soldiers, maintaining a semblance of order and preventing a mutiny.

Chikagun Prefecture was nestled in a mountain pass, with narrow paths on both sides of the city walls, which were already blocked, leaving only the central main road connecting the north and south gates.

Ding Shuang retreated to Chikagun Prefecture, and according to the plan, the northern city guards were withdrawn, allowing the fleeing civilians and soldiers to enter the city. This was the most dangerous and potentially most glorious part of Chen Hai's plan, using the terrain to gather a large number of fleeing soldiers and clans in Chikagun Prefecture, and then annihilate them in one fell swoop.

The city had suffered multiple fires the day before, which had been extinguished, but left large areas of ruins and black smoke rising from several places.

The civilian militia and the Chikagun Prefecture soldiers who had been withdrawn in advance were concentrated inside the southern city gate.

The southern city gate was closed, and a large number of barriers were placed in front of it to prevent the fleeing soldiers from rushing in.

The civilian militia and the Chikagun Prefecture soldiers were concentrated on both sides of the southern city gate and the walls, while the city tower and the access paths to the walls were always under the control of the slave soldiers.

Chen Hai and his sixty to seventy men could only effectively control a small section of the wall, about forty to fifty meters long on both sides of the city tower, but he had already concentrated twelve crossbows on the southern city tower.

By noon, the refugees and fleeing soldiers who had entered Chikagun Prefecture had already filled the city's streets, but due to the large number of vehicles and the obstacles Chen Hai had created by digging up the streets and demolishing buildings, the number of fleeing soldiers who could gather at the southern city gate and cause chaos was not out of control.

The sources of the fleeing soldiers entering Chikagun Prefecture were complex, and if Chen Hai, Wu Meng, and Zhou Jun were to appear, their identities could easily be exposed. At this time, Ding Shuang, as the county magistrate, came forward, claiming that reinforcements from Hechuan Ridge were on their way and that they were ordered to defend Chikagun Prefecture to ensure the smooth passage of the main road south of the city.

They only blocked the southern city gate and did not prevent the refugees or fleeing soldiers from escaping through the rugged mountains on both sides. Initially, this was enough to keep the troublemakers at bay. Many refugees did not want to leave their homes and, hearing the hope, could stay in the city for a while.

As time passed, especially with the fleeing soldiers from Yankawa Castle entering Chikagun Prefecture, the emotions of the fleeing soldiers and refugees became even more panicked. Leaving through the northern gate and crossing the rugged mountains on both sides was too dangerous and slow. Encouraged by some clan members, large groups of fleeing soldiers began to push away the vehicles and obstacles blocking the road, raising their weapons and rushing to the southern city gate, trying to push away the barriers blocking the city gate!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Ding Shuang's repeated attempts to calm the situation were in vain, and the fleeing soldiers were met with a merciless rain of arrows.