BLHO Chapter 72

The border garrison office was brightly lit with campfires all night. On the table were two white steamed buns and a bowl of stir-fried vegetables with cured meat, provisions specifically left for He Yuncheng, but he hadn’t touched a bite.

Chu Meng, his wound hastily bandaged, stood beside him and said, “A few days ago, we received your message saying that Han Mao was leading the grain transport ahead. I immediately sent men to meet him, but we haven’t found any trace of him along the way. It’s unlikely he defected. We’ve been watching the movements of the Yan Zhao army, and 20,000 men is no small number; it’s impossible for them to cross Bei Sheng without a sound. It seems most likely they ran into trouble on the road. If they’re trapped by the wind and snow, it’ll mean total annihilation.”

He Yuncheng lowered his dark eyes, not uttering a word.

In terms of military strength, the He family army was superior to Yan Zhao’s. The reason they dared to launch an offensive this time was because they were certain the Bei Sheng court didn’t value the border troops. So before they sent troops, they first burned the granaries, cutting off the He family army’s supplies, and then frequently launched attacks, but without fully committing, continuously depleting Bei Sheng’s combat capabilities. In this way, without losing too many soldiers, they could weaken Bei Sheng’s fighting strength.

Analyzing it this way, Han Mao’s disappearance wasn’t necessarily because of an accident on the road. The Yan Zhao people must have been lying in wait, just waiting for an opportunity to cut off their rear.

Regardless of the situation, the fact that the grain supply was cut off was undeniable.

“How much grain is left at the border?” Guo Yao asked.

Chu Meng glanced at He Yuncheng. As the head soldier defending the border, he was naturally ashamed, but in this critical moment of survival, he had to report the truth.

“None,” he said. “After Yan Zhao burned the granaries, I borrowed some grain from the surrounding areas, but the general knows the situation in the north. At this time of year, it’s freezing cold, and many places are experiencing famine. The grain reserves in various places aren’t even enough for the people to fill their stomachs, let alone have surplus grain for the army.”

Guo Yao said, “Yan Zhao chose to send troops at this time precisely for this reason. Now, without grain, even having our soldiers gnaw on wild grass is a luxury.”

“That’s right.” Chu Meng sighed wearily, then perked up again, “However, we can overcome all difficulties. Now that the general has arrived, the morale of the brothers has greatly increased. If they hadn’t retreated just now, we could have taken advantage of the momentum and driven these barbarians back to their lairs!”

After saying that, he looked at He Yuncheng, waiting for him to issue orders, whether to switch from defense to offense tomorrow and take the initiative.

He Yuncheng silently rose to his feet. He walked to the doorway, pushed open the door, and the howling wind swept into the room, causing the candlelight to flicker.

“At this hour, everyone should be full and satisfied, right?” he said faintly, looking at the sky.

Guo Yao and Chu Meng exchanged glances, immediately understanding his meaning.

Chu Meng walked up to him, “General, are you planning to send troops tonight?”

–

In the military camp, the soldiers who had been eating salt water-boiled grass roots for several meals finally had a full meal.

This meal replenished their previously depleted willpower. Everyone gathered together, talking animatedly about the day’s battle.

The general arrived in time today, and they should have beaten the barbarians to a pulp, but who knew they would actually run away? The more they thought about it, the more unwilling they were.

If they fought again, they would definitely chop off their heads one by one to commemorate the sacrificed brothers.

Everyone was discussing when they suddenly heard the sound of military drums outside the camp.

It was the order to assemble.

Everyone immediately put down what they were doing and quickly prepared for battle.

Lin Shuangxu also heard the sound in his room and went out to observe the situation.

It was already very late. He had just guessed whether He Yuncheng would take advantage of the victory and pursue tonight. After all, the situation was constantly changing, and opportunities were fleeting. When the soldiers had the highest morale, they needed to strike in one go.

Also, tonight was a satisfying meal, but it was the only one that could be provided to the soldiers.

The grain reserves were completely empty.

He Yuncheng was sending troops tonight, and winning was secondary. The purpose was to seize Yan Zhao’s grain.

Other than that, there was no other way now.

Lin Shuangxu stood in the night sky against the wind, watching the backs of the soldiers as they walked away, and suddenly felt dazed.

The border battlefield and the extravagant capital were as distinct as two completely different worlds.

The soldiers shed blood to defend every inch of territory, while the officials in the court were scheming against each other and eliminating dissidents.

In the game of the world, everyone thought they were the ones playing the game, but everyone was a pawn in someone else’s hand.

–

The He family army was like a black tide, sweeping and spreading across the wilderness at night, approaching the Yan Zhao camp.

He Yuncheng galloped on his horse and said to Deputy General Qin beside him, “Pass down the order, everyone, don’t get bogged down in battle, concentrate your forces on attacking Yan Zhao’s granaries.”

“Yes!”

Their actions were quick, but after seeing He Yuncheng today, Yan Zhao had entered a state of full alert.

There wasn’t a single spark of fire around the camp, and it was eerily quiet, with an eerie atmosphere of emptiness.

He Yuncheng dismounted and led a team forward to investigate.

The overgrown withered grass was almost as tall as a person, and it was still dense despite being dry.

He Yuncheng walked in the front, reminding the people behind him, “Be careful of ambushes.”

Without stars or moon, it was really difficult to see. Deputy General Qin perked up and said in a deep voice, “General, something’s not right. Did you smell a bloody scent?”

He Yuncheng had already smelled it, and the closer he got, the stronger the scent became.

He raised his hand to order everyone to stop, and ordered, “Torches.”

Dozens of torches behind him suddenly lit up, illuminating the dark night.

After the field of vision became clear, everyone saw the scene in front of them and felt their hairs stand on end.

The reason why the grass in front looked dense wasn’t because the grass hadn’t withered.

Instead, there were sharp wooden stakes scattered and lined up between the weeds, and each stake was inserted with a corpse.

Nearly a thousand corpses formed a continuous jungle of corpses, blocking the distance between the He family army and the Yan Zhao military camp.

He Yuncheng’s eyes hardened, and he remained silent.

The subordinates behind him were also shocked by the cruel scene.

Deputy General Qin saw the clothes of the corpses clearly and said to He Yuncheng in shock, “General, it’s the Han family army.”

“Yeah.” He Yuncheng said gloomily, “Notify the main force, travel at full speed, and attack the enemy camp.”

“Yes!”

With an order, the soldiers’ shouts of “Charge!” shook the world.

Yan Zhao had set up defenses. The dark camp lit up with fire. When the He family army rushed through the corpse forest and approached, they were already neatly arrayed.

However, standing at the front wasn’t Yan Zhao’s soldiers, but the Han family army lined up in a row.

Han Mao stood in the middle, his body bound by ropes, and the Yan Zhao people behind him held scimitars against his neck.

Counting the captured Han family army, nearly a thousand people had been slaughtered just now, and there were still hundreds alive in front of them. He didn’t know if there were any still being held.

“He Yuncheng, if you dare to take another step forward, I will let your compatriots die one by one in front of you!”

The Yan Zhao general was nearly nine feet tall, covered in animal skins, and had wolf teeth hanging around his neck, looking fierce.

Although his attitude was barbaric at the moment, his fear of He Yuncheng couldn’t be concealed.

The two armies were not far apart, and a bloody battle was about to break out.

The corners of Han Mao’s mouth were bleeding, obviously he had been tortured. At this moment, his eyes reflected the firelight and were scarlet red. He roared at the Yan Zhao general, “Kill if you want! My Han family army is definitely not afraid of death!”

After speaking, he turned to He Yuncheng again and continued to shout, “He Yuncheng, I order you in the capacity of the army supervisor to attack with all your strength and strangle the enemy!”

He Yuncheng listened to his heroic words expressionlessly, and instructed Deputy General Qin, “Try to preserve the lives of the Han family soldiers as much as possible.”

“Understood.”

Deputy General Qin turned around and gave the order.

He Yuncheng drew his saber and raised it high, the first to rush out of the position, “Attack!”

Seeing the Bei Sheng army rushing over, the Yan Zhao general was a little surprised.

He knew that He Yuncheng’s style of doing things was different from his father’s, but he didn’t expect him to be so resolute. Facing the lives of so many compatriots, he didn’t even blink an eye.

If his father He Chong were here today, he would definitely take into account the safety of his compatriots.

The fire blazed into the sky, swords flashed, and He Yuncheng, leading his men, fought against the Yan Zhao soldiers while rescuing the captured Han family army.

Since the hostages couldn’t play a role, the Yan Zhao people didn’t try to snatch them, but stared at Han Mao, not letting He Yuncheng get close.

He Yuncheng had a clear goal, one slash and one blood column, and in the blink of an eye, countless corpses lay on the ground.

The general was brave and invincible, so the soldiers were even more fearless. Everyone killed with red eyes, forcing the Yan Zhao people to retreat step by step.

Seeing that the battle situation was falling behind, the Yan Zhao general gave an order, tightly holding on to Han Mao, and ordered his subordinates to retreat and transfer.

The He family army chased out of the Yan Zhao camp all the way, trying to rescue Han Mao, but in order to prevent the enemy from deliberately luring them into an ambush, they chose to give up after a few miles.

“The enemy has fled! We won!”

Deputy General Qin raised the Bei Sheng military flag high, reporting the results of the battle to the soldiers.

Although the enemy had only temporarily retreated, the victory in this battle was crucial to them.

The soldiers raised their swords and cheered, celebrating their victory.

He Yuncheng finally relaxed his expression and ordered, “Search the granaries.”

“Yes, General!”

Deputy General Qin and the others followed He Yuncheng to find Yan Zhao’s granaries, holding up torches, cutting off the iron chains, and kicking open the warehouse doors.

The fire shone in, and the contents of the granary were clearly presented in front of them.

But when Deputy General Qin saw the situation inside, the smile on his face froze.

His originally ruddy face turned pale in an instant. After reacting, he looked back at He Yuncheng in a daze, and found that the general’s brow was also furrowed.

He said to He Yuncheng in disbelief, “Their rations… are these?”