BLHO Chapter 74

Chapter 74: Brother Shuangxu

After Lin Shuangxu fell into a deep sleep, He Yuncheng carefully pulled out his arm, tucked him in with the blanket, and got out of bed, leaving the tent.

The assembly calls of the military camp were urgent and orderly. The setting sun gradually sank, night was approaching, and a new round of offensives was about to begin.

He Yuncheng had no time to delay. The imperial court’s support was nowhere in sight. He couldn’t wait. He could only defeat the enemy before the soldiers’ physical strength and morale were completely exhausted.

Previous intelligence stated that Yan Zhao had purchased provisions from the Qi Dynasty, but it was unknown why the granary was now empty.

But regardless of the reason, time was of the essence, and now was the best opportunity to pursue.

He Yuncheng ordered Chu Meng to lead 30,000 troops to guard the camp, while the rest followed him in a rapid march north.

Forty *li* away, the outline of Yan Zhao’s border headquarters emerged under the moonlight. He Yuncheng raised his hand and ordered everyone to rein in their horses, observing the movements of Yan Zhao’s military camp from a distance.

Deputy General Qin said, “Isn’t it too quiet? That camp looks empty. Could it be that they didn’t retreat to the headquarters? Or did they directly cross the mountains and escape back to their hometown?”

The anxious Deputy General Han from the Han family glared at him in dissatisfaction, then looked at He Yuncheng, waiting for his decision.

He Yuncheng’s deep eyes gazed at the distant camp. He said, “Deputy General Qin, you lead the main force to stay here. I’ll take some men to scout ahead. Wait for my signal.”

Manpower was precious, and the possibility of losses had to be minimized.

He Yuncheng led three thousand elite troops on a detour, approaching Yan Zhao’s headquarters.

From afar, their camp seemed empty. Upon closer inspection, it was confirmed that, apart from a few sentry soldiers, the rest had indeed evacuated.

Campfires blazed fiercely. Yan Zhao’s sentries were easily killed. He Yuncheng led his men into the camp, searching all the way, finding only tents and weapons that had not been taken away, but not a single Yan Zhao soldier.

“Is this a sign of abandoning the city and surrendering?” the soldier next to He Yuncheng asked.

He Yuncheng didn’t answer.

Behind the camp was YanHui Mountain, which separated Yan Zhao from Bei Sheng. It was covered in snow all year round and had a precipitous terrain, serving as a natural barrier protecting Yan Zhao’s hinterland from external attacks, and also the dividing line between barrenness and abundance.

On the other side of the mountain, it was bitterly cold and barren, with scarce resources, which bred barbarians who would resort to any means to survive.

If they really withdrew their troops and abandoned the headquarters at the foot of the mountain, it meant that they had completely given up their covetousness towards Bei Sheng over the years.

He Yuncheng gazed at YanHui Mountain under the night sky, a huge shadow like a monster, one couldn’t look at it for too long, or one would feel the fear of being swallowed.

“Are they hiding in the mountains? General, should we go into the mountains to search?”

In the dark mountains, one couldn’t see where the road was. If Yan Zhao’s army was hiding inside, their rash entry would have uncertain chances of winning.

But if they couldn’t take advantage of the situation today and annihilate the barbarians, it would only become more and more difficult to attack them in the future.

As he was thinking, a desolate wolf howl echoed through the valley.

Long and clear, sending chills down one’s spine.

“General, look!” The soldier who spoke stared intently in the direction of YanHui Mountain, his gaze changing from calm to tense.

He Yuncheng saw it too, countless pairs of green eyes flashing with ghostly light, gradually becoming clearer in the darkness, approaching them in an encirclement.

From the foot of the mountain, walking in front of the camp, it was a wolf pack composed of thousands of snow wolves.

“Retreat.” He Yuncheng decisively ordered everyone to withdraw their troops.

Everyone turned their horses around and proceeded at full speed.

The pack of snow wolves relentlessly chased after them.

The alpha wolf pounced forward, tearing at the horse’s legs. The horse fell to the ground in response, and the soldiers on it fell down, attacked by the wolf pack, frantically drawing their knives to fight back.

Seeing that the beasts behind him were difficult to shake off, He Yuncheng had no choice but to lead the men in a melee. For a time, humans and beasts fought together. He Yuncheng’s long knife cut open the abdomen of a snow wolf, and bright red blood was dyed on the pure white fur, the scene was extremely bloody.

He Yuncheng had not expected that the Yan Zhao people had the ability to control wolf packs. This had never happened in previous battles.

The alpha wolf seemed to be conscious, not attacking other soldiers, but pouncing towards He Yuncheng.

The huge body made the horse unsteady on its feet. He Yuncheng tried his best to deal with it, but was still scratched on the chest by its sharp claws.

Two wounds appeared prominently on his chest, a stinging pain followed by a gurgling flow of blood. He Yuncheng could feel that the wound was not shallow.

“General!”

Seeing the signal flare, Deputy General Qin quickly arrived with reinforcements, providing timely support when He Yuncheng was prying open the alpha wolf’s bloody mouth.

With the strength of several people, the alpha wolf was stabbed with several knives, its flesh and blood blurred, and finally convulsed and fell to the ground.

And the other snow wolves instantly lost their fighting ability after the alpha wolf was killed, dodging the burning torches, and finally were willing to retreat.

The ground was covered with snow wolf corpses, which was shocking. Many of the soldiers who had fought with them were injured.

Deputy General Qin looked at the wound on He Yuncheng’s chest and asked nervously, “General, how are you!”

“I’m fine.”

He Yuncheng covered the wound with his hand, he could confirm that the Yan Zhao army was hiding in the mountains.

Perhaps there were other ambushes, and it would be dangerous to go rashly.

But he couldn’t retreat. The He family army couldn’t afford to waste time with them. Bei Sheng had no food, and if they dragged on without fighting, it wouldn’t take long for the soldiers’ physical strength to be unsustainable.

At that time, Yan Zhao would come in one fell swoop and win without a fight.

He looked at the sky, and it would be dawn in an hour.

He ordered: “Stand by, after dawn, go into the mountains to search for the barbarians!”

“Yes!”

–

On the other side, in the Bei Sheng military camp, Lin Shuangxu didn’t rest for too long, he still had to prepare breakfast rations for the wounded soldiers.

After cooking the porridge well, he led people to distribute it to the wounded soldiers one by one.

It was said to be porridge, but it was actually rice soup with almost no rice grains visible. One bowl down the stomach was no different from drinking water.

“I wonder how the general’s progress is.” Military Advisor Guo said earnestly to Lin Shuangxu, “If we can’t make a quick decision, let alone these wounded soldiers will not recover, the remaining soldiers will not be able to eat, and they will gradually lose their combat effectiveness. The situation will become more and more unfavorable to us.”

Lin Shuangxu lowered his face, walking side by side with Guo, and asked him, “Have the letters requesting to transfer grain been sent out?”

“They have already been sent to various prefectures. What can be transferred has already been transported here before. If we want more now, we can only collect it from the people, which cannot be delivered in a day or two, I’m afraid it’s too late.”

A gust of cold wind blew, Lin Shuangxu shivered and stopped.

At this hour, there was no news from He Yuncheng, which meant that things were not going smoothly in front.

He looked up at the snowy sky, gray and glaring, and then looked at the soldiers in the camp, sunken cheeks, scattered eyes, a few days of hunger had already taken their vitality.

In the vast snowy desert, not a blade of grass grows, how could food fall from the sky.

He Yuncheng had never lost, but he couldn’t figure out what other turning point there could be this time.

“Brother Shuangxu.”

Suddenly, he heard someone calling him from behind, using a title he was not familiar with.

He turned his head and saw someone who had come uninvited, entering the military camp without permission.

A cunning smiling face was no different from before, waving at him playfully, “Long time no see, how have you been?”

Lin Shuangxu was surprised and speechless for a moment.

“It’s you?”