Chapter Nineteen: Advancing by Retreating

  Lu Ming returned in the middle of the night, walking on moonlight, bringing good news from Baishui Gorge.

  Bandits from the hunter's origin set up many traps along the way, and the Qin army suffered nearly a hundred casualties as a result. The speed of advancement was also greatly reduced, because every step forward meant that there might be a life sacrifice, and anyone would be careful, of course, on the premise that the speed is similar to that of a turtle.

  Adding the victory of Qing Shi Gou, everyone was extremely excited. The annihilation of the Qin army was about 600 people, and also crushed the Qin army's plan to divide and conquer, surround and annihilate. More importantly, it established confidence for everyone including Yin Xu himself, that a hundred or more people defeating five thousand is not impossible, the key lies in tactics and strategy.

  That night, everyone's mood was joyful, and they slept exceptionally sweetly. At dawn, he led the crowd to move from Qingshitou. The floodwaters had receded, and the trees, rocks, and tents that were scattered all over the place followed the muddy and treacherous mountain road downwards. Everywhere were the pale corpses of Qin soldiers, their open eyes still filled with terror and despair, everything telling the tragic story of last night's flood.

  Yin Xu led his men along the muddy mountain path, picking up the Qin army's weapons. This time, Yin Xu's subordinates finally ended their wooden era and entered the bronze age. Especially in the previous period, seeing others use long swords while they could only hold wooden sticks as thieves, that excitement was even more indescribable.

  At this moment, Yin Xu thought of a few lyrics: No guns, no cannons, the enemy gave me... I wanted to sing a song, but thinking about the content of the lyrics, forget it. Along the way, we collected more than 300 weapons, and the excess ones were hidden on the mountain slope, making a note, maybe they will be used later. As for the hundreds of Qin soldiers' bodies, they are helpless now, just waiting to see if anyone comes to collect and bury them after the main general receives the news. Otherwise, it's really sad to expose the corpses in the wilderness and feed the wild beasts.

  The Qingyi Creek has regained its former gurgling flow. As they were about to exit the valley, they saw several Qin soldiers with ash-covered faces running away in a hurry, among whom seemed to be a general. Upon seeing Yin Xu and others appear, they looked as if they had seen ghosts, rolling and crawling out in a panic.

  Zhou Da angrily said: "I'll take a few men and wipe them out."

  Yin Xu pulled Zhou Da back and shook his head, saying: "No need to, he's already so pitiful. As a human being, one should have sympathy. There's no need to beat a fallen person."

  "Hmm!" Zhou Da laughed and said: "But it seems that there is a general inside, should we let that dog thing go?"

  Yin Xu smiled and said, "Let him go, of course we will let him go. We are benevolent, but that doesn't mean his commander will be benevolent. If hundreds of people die, how can he explain it when he goes back? The harsh blame and humiliation he will receive will be even more unbearable than death, isn't that better?"

  It wasn't until halfway through the day that Zhou reacted and said, "Young master, I thought you pitied them, but it turns out you're even more ruthless than me."

  Yin Xu patted Zhou Da's shoulder and said with a smile: "Nonsense, I'm just kidding. The reason I let them go is that he can still see with his eyes and speak with his mouth."

  "Huh?" Zhou's eyes widened in confusion, looking bewildered.

  "High Easy smiled and said: 'So that's it, leaving those things at Congshan Ridge was for the south?'"

  Pu Jun smiled lightly on one side: "Young master's move is brilliant, it seems that the Qin army will have to follow us in circles again."

  "What are you talking about?" Zhou looked at the mysterious smile and the deliberately obscure words in confusion.

  Lu Ming patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about so much, just follow Master's orders. Look at your dirty hands, go wash them by the river."

  "Oh!"

  Everyone burst out laughing at Zhou Da's somewhat comical movements and expressions.

  For a whole day and night, Li Deputy General had not eaten a single grain of rice, he was exhausted, and the spiritual blow brought by the defeat made him even more miserable. The strong and powerful him walked crookedly, almost falling down.

  At night, the flood roared, he took a step ahead and ran up the mountain slope, crouching behind a small tree. In his ears, he heard the heart-wrenching cries of his subordinates, their wails, and his heart was terrified. But what could he do? He could only helplessly crouch behind the small tree for an entire night.

  The sky is bright, the sky has finally brightened up, this night was as long as ten years. Deputy General Li stood up shakily, his legs numb from squatting for too long. Down the mountain slope, on the riverbank, it's empty and desolate, with only the calm river water restored to peace.

  After a long time, Deputy General Li finally figured out the direction and returned by the original route. As he walked, the bodies of his subordinates kept appearing one after another, each with their eyes wide open in death. At this moment, he had to blame himself, as the main general, underestimating the enemy was his responsibility. The loss of hundreds of lives made him sober up instantly, the bandits were not a mob, on the contrary, they were very strategic and skilled, it was just that he was too arrogant and underestimated them before.

  However, it was too late to understand, and all his subordinates were dead. As for himself? He must be guilty of dereliction of duty. Before that, he had thought about making a meritorious achievement to atone for his crime, but now everything was over. Deputy General Li felt like crying, but he couldn't shed tears.

  As he walked, dozens of surviving subordinates saw him and flocked around, supporting each other to escape from the valley. But they didn't go far before the bandits caught up with them, their faces filled with joy and arrogance, weren't they just like that yesterday? The world had completely turned upside down overnight.

  His subordinates saw the thieves from afar and were terrified, including him, thinking they were done for. Unexpectedly, the thieves didn't chase after them at all, but instead had a disdainful expression of contempt. They didn't have the energy to care about these things, stumbling and crawling as they ran away. Their appearance was wretched to the extreme, none of this mattered, escaping with their lives was the most important thing.

  But what would be the scene when he returned to the camp? The previous two times, he had lost hundreds of men. Could An Tong bear it himself? He didn't know, but as a general with a family, he had no other choice.

  Li Deputy General walked along the way, sometimes hiding in the woods to observe the movements of the thieves, because he also didn't forget to avenge. He saw that all the way, picking up weapons, excitedly throwing away wooden sticks and bamboo poles, with long swords hanging from his waist. Earth bag! Li Deputy General secretly scolded in his heart, still looking down on these thieves from the bottom of his heart.

  The bandits who had picked up the weapons did not return to the mountains, but instead swaggered out of the valley. Deputy General Li's eyes widened in disbelief - wasn't this a suicidal move? This news must be reported to An Tong immediately, hoping to gain a chance at survival. At the same time, troops were hastily deployed to surround and annihilate the bandits, seeking revenge.

  Li Deputy Commander returned to the camp of An Tong with a sorrowful face. Only after entering the big account did he learn that there were others who had encountered this, and the troops on the White Water County Gorge also suffered an attack, but their losses were much smaller than his own.

  Li Deputy Commander knelt on the ground, recounting his experiences one by one. An Tong was furious upon hearing this, grabbed a ceramic bowl from the table and smashed it out, Li Deputy Commander's forehead instantly bleeding profusely.

  "Foolish incompetence!" An Tong furiously cursed and scolded, at the same time drawing his sword, wanting to kill someone.

  Li Deputy General thought to himself: Aren't you still underestimating me? However, his expression didn't dare to change in the slightest, and he could only sincerely plead: "It's this subordinate's incompetence, please spare my life, General! Please forgive me!"

  Fortunately, the generals on both sides had always been on good terms with Deputy General Li, and they hurried forward to persuade him. Deputy General Li took the opportunity to mention the matter of the bandits coming down from the mountain. Only then did An Tong's attention shift slightly.

  "Are the bandits out of the mountains?"

  "Yes, General!"

  "What is this singing about? Isn't going out of the mountain a path to seeking death?" A certain general was quite perplexed.

  "We're not familiar with the terrain in the mountains, so we'll be at a disadvantage. Logically speaking, the bandits should take advantage of it, how can they run out?"

  "Isn't it that they're afraid of our pincer movement? With this lesson, as long as our army is careful and cautious, we will eventually be able to surround and annihilate them. Perhaps the bandits thought of this point, which is why they made this move."

  An Tong thought for a moment and asked: "Send out scouts to investigate the location of the thieves, if it is confirmed that they are outside the mountain, then turn back all the troops and annihilate them in one fell swoop."

  Li said earnestly: "I request to follow the army on expedition and redeem myself through meritorious service."

  An Tong said in a bad temper: "You, just forget it! Xin Gang, punish him by making him do some chores first, and deal with him later."

  Out of the camp, Deputy General Li finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the blood from his forehead with his sleeve. He thought to himself: As long as we can successfully eliminate the bandits, everything will be fine. Wearing guilt to achieve merit is naturally fake, but advancing by retreating is not impossible.

  Advance as retreat! Yin Xu also agreed with this. When they were rushing north of Rongshu Ridge, the appearance of a person made him overjoyed!