Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 32 Getting Started
When news of the mountain trolls' misfortunes reached the tribe, it sparked a wave of laughter, like the mockery of Kong Yiji in a tavern. After all, in the stereotypes of the various tribes of southern Xinjiang, mountain trolls were simply big, simple-minded fools. And when a mountain troll decided to use its own brain to find a solution, it was bound to provide a source of amusement. As for whether anyone should be wary of the mistakes the mountain trolls made? Why should I be wary of the silly mistakes made by these big, simple-minded fools? If I were, wouldn't that make me look like a fool?

So, fourteen hours later, the troops that had just finished repairing the mountain monster ambushed another group of horned people.

If we exclude the horns on their heads, the Horned People are generally no more than two-thirds the height of the Yao People, making them truly short people. According to relevant records of the customs and traditions of southern Xinjiang, the Horned People are widely distributed and, in terms of numbers, are the largest ethnic group in southern Xinjiang. The phrase "with horns" in the description of the various ethnic groups in southern Xinjiang as "covered in scales and horns" refers to them.

They are not physically strong and do not have any smelting technology, but they have a special skill: they are good at identifying minerals by taste. By consuming minerals, they can extract corresponding patterns on their horns. The more minerals they consume, the more metallic and hard their horns become. The harder the horns are, the higher their status in their tribe.

The reason they were able to ambush the horned man was because of the clawed man who had been led around by the mountain trolls. Before the mountain trolls brought him over, he had been severely beaten by the horned men in their camp.

In the army of the Great Yao, he was rescued by his fellow Clawmen and given food. The Clawmen prisoner then decided to switch sides and become an "accomplice" to the Yaomen army.

This newly joined clawed man was named Yikete by the military captain, based on his own self-introduction. It is said to mean "craftsman's skill."

After receiving spare straw sandals and equipment from the Wu family army, Yikete volunteered to take on a task: to act as bait to lure some scoundrels from the southern tribes over.

Many soldiers in the Wu family army had some doubts, but after thinking about it, they still let him do it, on the condition that the one he lured over could not be a "claw person" - luring over other races was somewhat believable, but if it was a claw person, then it would be very suspicious.

After Yikete left, the Wu family army used "flying bird communication" to report the matter. Since it was only a hundred miles away from Yongji Pass, the flying bird talisman sent a reply within two quarters of an hour. Wu Fei said: "It is permissible to take such a risk, but scouts must be sent out. If anything is found to be wrong, the whole team must withdraw immediately."

……

Yikete, after running away with his clansmen, sneaked to the vicinity of the camp. After lying in wait for a full hour, he spotted a group of horned people and immediately began his operation.

As the horned people reached a riverbed and chewed on sand to replenish their minerals, Yikete, from a hilltop, shouted, attracting their attention. He then launched into a tirade of curses. Having escaped from their camp, his curses struck at the heart of the horned people's sore spots: "Many traitors within, they're killing each other," and so on.

This roughly stems from traitors like Wu Haha leading the southern horned people to borrow grain from the local area, which quickly escalated into outright robbery. As the robbery continued, other tribes also began robbing the horned people. This was because the horned people were numerous, and Da Yao had recently gone on a buying spree when he left the border. Coincidentally, many horned tribes had gold mines, which they exchanged for valuable commodities like salt and cloth. These local horned tribes then resold these goods to other ethnic groups, thus imbuing these tribes with an "original sin" after the arrival of the Black Tide.

As a result, these horned people in the Jiangbei region became "public toilets," with everyone stepping on them. Often, after the horned people in the alliance had finished looting, other races would follow suit and rob them as well. No money? Then eating meat wouldn't be a bad idea.

The Horned People themselves began to harm their own race, never expecting that other races would mock them while joining in. In fact, many ambitious members of the Horned People felt extremely distressed during this northward migration. This time, their own race mobilized the largest number of people for the northward migration, yet their racial status actually declined.

Yikete's mockery hit the nail on the head. Having been tricked, the stream horns swarmed after Yikete.

After sending his companions back to report, Yikete then began to lure monsters.

…the taut dividing line…

When four or five hundred men charged into the encirclement with great momentum, the military officer in charge, Wu, had bloodshot eyes and his hand holding the command flag trembled with excitement. These were all great lives!

The captain pointed at Yikete, who had been seduced earlier, and asked, "What did you, 'Claw,' do to make those dwarfs feel like they've lost their mother?"

Even though the Horned Man band was panting heavily, they all stared intently at the fleeing Yiket, vowing to capture the slave and bring him back to the camp, where they would skin him alive in front of the Clawed Man leader.

Before this ambush, the Wu family soldiers, who were lying in wait in the woods on both sides, were hidden from the "horned people".

As the Horned People deepened into the ambush zone, their leader sensed a metallic stench in the wind to his left. Ah, that was the smell of the arrows pulled from the mountain monster after their battle. The Horned People leader turned to look at the surrounding bushes, and just as he did so, the Wu family army, who were lying in ambush, were discovered by the Horned People.

At this moment, when the ambush circle was only fifty paces away from the horned people on both sides, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from both sides. Almost visible waves of evil energy converged towards the center and then turned into a noisy wave of evil energy that pressed down on the horned people. The evil energy not only shocked their minds, but also made the leather armor on their bodies curl strangely due to the wrinkles.

The horned people who entered the ambush area panicked and instinctively huddled together. However, they were met with a volley of crossbow bolts. As they began to fire, the outermost horned people fell dead, separated from the group as if their skin had been sliced ​​off by a knife.

After being shot once, the horned people were terrified, unsure of where the enemy was. Within three breaths, another volley of crossbow bolts swept in, slicing through the horned people like skinning leaves, and another circle of them fell. However, influenced by the malevolent energy, the horned people still dared not charge, continuing to huddle together until the ninth volley of bolts was fired. Finally, the horned people realized that being used as targets like this meant they were doomed to die sooner or later.

So the silver-horned man who was leading the charge charged forward, but he didn't know which way to charge or how to get the other horned men to charge with him immediately.

As the leader led the horned people in a charge to the left, a few dozen horned people followed suit, charging in a scattered and disorganized manner. Meanwhile, on the left, the large horned people excitedly began to aim, and at a command, this volley of fire was remarkably effective.

The horned people who were just preparing to charge were hit by a hail of arrows from the flanks and rear, killing or wounding more than half of them. The remaining horned people could only look with lingering fear at the large army soldiers who were densely packed in the grass and trees to their flanks and rear. So, which way should they charge? In this moment of hesitation, and without warning, a thunderous arrow struck from the right flank, and another large number of horned people who were unprepared to defend themselves fell dead in a flash.

As for the leader of the horned people, he was simultaneously impaled on the ground by three crossbow bolts, and the horned people completely collapsed, scattering in all directions. They discarded their weapons, simply wanting to run faster.

At this moment, armored soldiers from both sides charged forward, wielding entrenching tools. The remaining three hundred "horned people" were already panting heavily from the earlier pursuit. Faced with the charging armored soldiers and struck by the iron shovels, the horned people rolled on the ground. When the fallen horned people realized that the shovels were being swung at other members of their tribe, they immediately scrambled to their feet and ran. Thus, the race to see who could run the fastest turned into a striking contest among the Wu family army's crossbowmen.

Afterwards, the soldiers who came to transport the supplies counted the number of heads and confirmed that the number of heads taken was 365.

…After the ambush, everyone's face was filled with the joy of victory; even their sweat seemed sweet—well, this sweat mixed with blood…

After all the heads were chopped off, they were piled into a mound of heads, and then an incense stick was placed on top. Immediately afterwards, a paper figure hopped onto the heads and counted them one by one in a rather cute way. When it finished hopping on the last head, it transformed into a paper crane and flew towards Yongji Pass.

Of course, the officers in this team also recorded the number of heads to prevent the origami cranes from being lost en route. Upon returning to the checkpoint, each team would report the number of heads they had captured. They were unaware of any actual losses of the origami cranes: if the head count was underreported by more than one-tenth, the team leader's "merit" would be halved. Surprisingly, after the origami cranes flew away, Yongji Pass responded quickly, half an hour later. The merits, which were originally settled upon returning to the checkpoint, were now being settled on the spot, primarily distributed to Yikete and the claw-wielder who had led the team. Yikete received ten heads, while the team leader, who had joined earlier, received fifteen heads.

The captain of the Wu family army quickly understood Wu Fei's intention, so he called over the soldiers to report the merits, and then had all fifteen alien guides in the team summoned.

…A retrospective look at the North. …

Yongji Pass, where Daqingshan Mountain and Jinji Ridge meet, resembles a giant dragon lying prone in a mountain stream, awaiting the challenge of foolish "dragon-slaying warriors."

Inside the military headquarters at Yongji Pass, as the talismanic tokens flew from afar, they transformed into bamboo slips neatly hung on the wall, while a messenger loudly announced their contents.

At a table half a room away from this wall, Wu Fei was sketching markings on an unfolded silk map with a brush. As the brush tip moved, military symbols jumped in response. After the ambush, the horned human troops symbol that was originally on the map immediately faded on the silk after the message was conveyed, and its pigment blended into the grass and wood patterns.

Wu Fei stood up and let out a long sigh. At the same time, he waved his hand, and his personal guards carried the sweet stalks into the hall. They used the kitchen knife in the hall to peel the sweet stalks and then distributed one to each person in the Military Affairs Office. The staff member in charge of calling out the contents of the bamboo tally had long since lost his voice and couldn't wait to grab his own and start eating.

"Crunch, crunch," the crisp sound of chewing sugarcane echoed in the hall. Wu Fei picked up a stalk and started eating from the less sweet end, relaxing his mind and enjoying the refreshing taste of the sugarcane juice.

For Wu Fei himself, this battle is the first time he has independently commanded a legion-level operation.

For this battle, Wu Fei mobilized more than five thousand men, including local militia and semi-armed personnel such as mercenary caravans. Such a force would be considered a large army even in the Central Plains region.

Although the current battle involves mostly uninhabited areas in the southern borderlands, Wu Fei can absolutely boast that the area of ​​activity of his military forces is comparable to that of the so-called tens of thousands of troops fighting for control of the prefecture.

Of course, Yongji Pass firmly protected the rear, ensuring Wu Fei's invincibility. This was something that couldn't be compared to other battles.

Commanding such a large-scale operation for the first time, it's impossible for Wu Fei not to feel anxious and nervous. In the initial stages, Wu Fei worried that his orders might be flawed, leading him to make the mistake of being an "incompetent general" and hindering the frontline troops. He was so anxious that he couldn't sleep well, thanks in large part to the system's nightly "mental cleansing."

After a while, Wu Fei is now getting into the swing of things! The ends of the sugarcane have become scraps on the plate. He's now perfectly munched on the middle of the sugarcane – he's reached his peak!
Wu Fei chewed on a sweet stalk while gazing at the map, assessing the situation and occasionally adjusting his orders. Meanwhile, the Wu family army had also accomplished commendable defensive operations in other areas over the past few days.

On the large map of the southern region of Yongji Pass, there are a total of sixteen rivers. Most of these rivers are either turbulent rapids or appear calm but are actually very deep in the middle, and only locals know where to cross them. Last year, when Wu Fei led eight hundred people to explore the area, he focused on exploring along the rivers, searching for nearby tribes, and determined that there were fewer than a hundred shallow riverbeds suitable for swimming across. All of these are listed on this map, and Wu Fei can now recite them from memory.

These southern tribes were clearly unfamiliar with the north. The rivers were insurmountable barriers for them, and they often got stuck on either side of the river for a while before their scattered "branch" troops stumbled upon a place where they could cross the river.

When these branch troops attempted to cross the river, Wu Fei would often anticipate their approach and thus send his attacking forces ahead of time.

The battalion commanders on the scene were very experienced. They first set up a thin layer of troops to block the river at the narrow pass. When the Kuroshio small force was halfway across the river, the crossbowmen hiding on both sides of the river crossing appeared. When the Kuroshio group saw the suddenly widened firing array on the opposite bank, they subconsciously tried to detour, but forgot that the area of ​​the shallows below the river was limited. As a result, they pushed and shoved and fell into the deep water next to the shallows.

…Resounding victories and epic triumphs followed one after another…

Wu Fei was initially worried that after his assault reached the mountain range where Yongji Pass was located, there might be a situation where the enemy could "sneak across Yinping," so he dispatched elite troops to advance southward to monitor the enemy's movements. At the same time, he prepared enough peasant soldiers (the batch recruited by the escort agency) at Yongji Pass to guard against them at any time.

Now it seems the other side simply doesn't have that capability, given their unfamiliarity with the terrain! Do they really have the ability to sneak across Yinping?

At this moment, south of Yongji Pass, the closer the Black Tide gets, the clearer his grasp of the battle lines becomes.

Wu Fei finally confirmed: "According to the comprehensive intelligence from the Military Intelligence Bureau, it has been determined that it will take between ten and twenty days for this tribal army to launch a surprise attack on the entrance to Yongji Pass!"

Even if this tribal coalition pulls some tricks during the assault, the window of opportunity for attacking the city is only ten or twenty days!

Deng Ai's daring crossing of Yinping was only successful because of the tight timing; otherwise, he would have run out of supplies halfway through the crossing and his troops would have scattered.

Wu Fei knew that the intelligence indicated the Black Tide was causing constant trouble, which made all the tribes in the north avoid it.

Even if the Kuroshio were indiscriminate in their eating habits, capable of consuming mushrooms, fish, and shrimp, and even considering the possibility of them cannibalizing each other, assuming a 10% reduction in their numbers due to cannibalism leading to collapse, they still wouldn't last more than twenty days.

"Next, we just have to wait patiently, but of course, we should be prepared for anything." Wu Fei raised his hand and placed it on the map, using his finger to measure the detours along the nearby mountain roads. Whenever his finger stopped at a dangerous mountain pass that seemed like a potential passage, it indicated that the area was likely to be manipulated by feng shui to move the earth's veins.

However, even if the Black Tide Commander wanted to sneak through the ley lines, it would be difficult to bypass Yongji Pass.

There are many military tunnels on the hillsides on both sides of Yongji Pass that are directly connected to the earth's veins. The guards of the pass can enter the mountain to hide in the tunnels and follow the rhythm of the earth's veins downwards to carry out interception battles.

……

Just as Wu Fei was beginning to doubt everything that could lead to failure, his third aunt walked in. Seeing Wu Fei's focused expression, she stepped forward and said, "General, victory is already in your hands. You don't need to think so much."

Single update this Saturday and Sunday.
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(End of this chapter)