Chapter 30

When Li Jinglong learned that the supply convoy and Zhang De had been captured, he did not panic. He immediately sent out ten fast horses in various directions to urge for new supplies.

However, hunger could be endured for a few meals, but thirst was unbearable. The servants, with their throats parched, began to grumble, and the situation was becoming difficult to control. Li Jinglong quickly ordered the entire army to gather bamboo and make bamboo tubes, and sent the remaining seventy men of the vanguard to a small river half a mile away to fetch water.

Xu Hao, sipping plum juice, smiled lightly and said, "The time for the beauty trap has come!"

At that moment, Xu Jingqin, leading his brothers, walked over angrily and said, "You are being reckless, and I will never agree."

Xu Hao, still lowering his head to savor the sweet and sour taste, said softly after a long pause, without raising his head, "Tie him up."

Four guards of the Yan王府 immediately stepped forward and pressed Xu Jingqin to the ground. Xu Jingqin struggled and shouted, "You are rebelling, Xu Hao, don't forget your own status!"

"Drag him away and give him fifty lashes," Xu Hao said calmly, then raised his head and looked at the shocked brothers around him, his tone turning cold as ice, "Whoever pleads for mercy will be dragged away and severely punished. From now on, anyone who disobeys orders, retreats in battle, or kneels to surrender will have their entire family reduced to slaves and sent to the Yan王府 in Beiping for ten years of labor. Those who obey orders and fight bravely will be rewarded with one tael of silver for each enemy they defeat, ten taels for five enemies, and one hundred taels for ten enemies. The current heir of the Yan王府 will be the witness, and five hundred taels of gold will be the guarantee. I, Xu Hao, swear to the heavens that I will not go back on my word."

As the guards brought up a chest and opened it, people's eyes immediately lit up at the dazzling golden color. On the other side, the sound of continuous slaps was the sound of the young master Xu Jingqin being beaten.

By the turbulent river, more than thirty young village girls were squatting by the river to wash clothes, and six or seven women were washing their long hair in the water. A group of children were swimming freely. In the hot weather, the women rolled up their skirts and sleeves, exposing their white legs and arms.

Laughter and joy filled the air, and occasionally, mischievous children started water fights. The women, enjoying the coolness of the water, let their thin clothes get wet and cling to their skin.

This scene delighted the men who came to fetch water. They filled their buckets while winking and making suggestive remarks to the women on the other side, and some laughed and joked.

Faced with the men's teasing, one woman might be afraid, and a few might be shy, but when it was a group of women, especially rural women, they were completely unbothered. Soon, the bolder ones started to retort, which made the men laugh even harder and their spirits soar.

As they exchanged lewd remarks, the scene became increasingly intimate and chaotic. Suddenly, from the dense forest on the other side of the river, Zhu Gaohu led sixty guards of the Yan王府, galloping and charging over.

"Watch out, there's an enemy attack."

Faced with the fierce cavalry, Li Jinglong's vanguard immediately fell into chaos, dropping their things and turning to run. Zhu Gaohu led the charge, quickly crossing the river, and with a diagonal slash of his wooden sword, knocked out a man who was running at the back.

The sixty cavalrymen fiercely pursued the seventy infantrymen, and after eliminating about twenty of them, the remaining men scrambled into a mountain pass.

"Watch out, it's a trap," Xu Hao, who was watching the battle, turned pale and immediately ordered, "Everyone, move out immediately to support the prince."

Xu Jingqin, with a sullen face after being beaten, led two hundred energetic servants on horseback toward the river. As he left, Xu Hao said to Hongye in a hurry, "Remember my words."

Just as the Xu family was rushing over, Li Jinglong, hearing the praise from his brothers, ordered the gates to be opened and the entire army to move out.

A hundred cavalrymen and two hundred infantrymen, already prepared, immediately descended the mountain. Despite being hungry and thirsty, they were invigorated by the sudden victory.

In the mountain pass, Zhu Gaohu, looking disheveled and covered in mud and grass, was still a bit dazed, barely remembering that his horse had been tripped by a rope and he had been thrown off.

All around him were people wielding weapons and shouting, and horses lay scattered on the ground, struggling and neighing. The guards, equally dazed, staggered to their feet, some being knocked down again by the advancing enemies, others raising their swords to fight back.

"Your Highness, get on the horse quickly."

A few close guards shouted in Zhu Gaohu's ear, one leading an uninjured horse, while the others lifted Zhu Gaohu onto the horse and charged out along the way they came.

Fortunately, Zhu Gaohu was not seriously injured. Regaining his senses, he roared in anger and led the remaining guards to break through, finally cutting a bloody path.

About thirty people managed to escape, and it was largely due to the game. Otherwise, with over two hundred enemy troops surrounding them, even if Zhu Gaohu were invincible and the guards loyal, at most three or five could have escaped with divine protection.

Fortunately, the Xu family's troops had already arrived at the river, and Li Jinglong, seeing the situation, smiled and did not order the interception of Zhu Gaohu. Instead, he ordered some of the ambush troops to escort the captives back to the camp, while the rest joined up and slowly formed an array opposite the Xu family.

With high morale and more than twice the number of troops, Li Jinglong smiled and said, "The cavalry I was most worried about has been completely defeated, and the rest are no longer a concern. Ha, Xu Jingqin must be out of his mind, setting up an array with his back to the river. Is he trying to emulate the strategy of breaking the boats and sinking them to fight to the death?"

Wang Tong laughed and said, "The river is not deep; they will probably cross it and flee immediately."

Li Jinglong sneered, "I am not a righteous but foolish Song Xianggong. Why wait? Order the center to attack the enemy commander and capture Xu Jingqin alive."

The war drums thundered, and Wang Tong led a hundred light cavalrymen charging out, shouting to capture Xu Jingqin alive. Li Jinglong's left and right flanks began to move to encircle, while his personal guards and rear army pressed forward behind the cavalry.

On the opposite side, Xu Jingqin turned and fled, retreating into the rear of the formation, and the servants panicked, hastily throwing down the various hunting flags.

On the green mountain, Zhu Di watched in disbelief as his forces were surrounded, and the previous advantages were all lost. He sighed, "Even if most people can cross the river and escape, it will be of no use. Next, Li Jinglong can either lead his troops to pursue or attack the castle. The situation is hopeless."

The old man observed silently, puzzled by why his grandsons, who had been using clever tactics and had the advantage, suddenly dug their own graves.

Zhu Gaohu, young and overconfident, had fallen into a trap and had to be rescued due to his status, but it was not necessary for everyone to rush to save him. Anyone with a bit of sense could calculate that the enemy outnumbered them, and going to help would be futile. Sending a few fast runners to do their best would have been enough, and the most important thing at the time was to stabilize the situation.

"Those young men are too impulsive and rash. And Xu Hao, as the commander, cannot command respect, leading to chaos. It's a pity that the previous favorable situation is lost," Zhu Di said, clearly disappointed. "Young people are not afraid of losing, but this loss is too severe."

The old man frowned, seeing the cavalry charge out, and it was not hard to imagine the one-sided and tragic scene that would follow, especially with the approaching infantry on all sides. Even in such a dire situation, the most he could do would be to order a final desperate fight.

Faced with such a disadvantage, the differences in the actions of Prince Zhu Di and the old man became apparent. For Zhu Di, the first thought was to escape to regroup and rise again. The resilient Zhu Di, as a prince, did not care about reputation or casualties; as long as he could ultimately win, any sacrifice or defeat was tolerable.

For Xu Da, who had once dominated the world, every battle required the resolve to fight to the death, even if the enemy outnumbered them five or ten to one. He would never give up until the very end.

Suddenly, the old man's aged eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said, "No, Xu Hao must have a plan."