If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

"Which soldiers who broke out to request reinforcements successfully broke out?"

Crown Prince Li Junren can now place all his hopes on the soldiers who break through the siege and seek reinforcements.

"Your Majesty, quite a few soldiers have managed to break out, but it is unknown whether they have succeeded."

The adjutant's words shattered Li Junren's last hope. Now, 30,000 troops were trapped in the Mishui River. Li Junren had initially considered crossing the river to escape, but the Mishui River was several feet deep, and even lightly armed soldiers might not be able to escape, let alone with weapons, horses, and other supplies.

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Zhou Wu led the Qingyang Army for several days and is now thirty miles upstream from the trapped Dalong Army. His scouts have already spotted the trapped friendly forces.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, we have gathered intelligence from the front. According to our observations, our friendly forces number over 30,000, and they are currently trapped by 20,000 Khmer troops 30 miles downstream."

"What? Say that again? Thirty thousand people were surrounded and surrounded by twenty thousand people?"

Zhou Wu thought he had misheard. In terms of combat strength, even if the Khmer had 30,000 men, they could not hold back 20,000 Da Long soldiers, let alone the fact that the Da Long soldiers now outnumbered the Khmer.

"Yes, sir. That's right. I judged the number of troops based on the number of tents. Moreover, our army was mainly trapped at a gorge, which prevented us from engaging in full-scale battle."

"I see. That makes sense. In other words, as long as we find a way to contact our allies inside and arrange a time, we can break this deadlock by working together from the inside and outside."

Zhou Wu quickly devised a plan. Expecting his three hundred men to eliminate twenty thousand Khmer soldiers was clearly wishful thinking. Even with Zhou Wu's repeating crossbows, it would be futile. However, since it was just a sneak attack, it wouldn't be a big problem. Now, the priority was to figure out how to alert the friendly forces.

"Let's all discuss how to contact our allies."

"If only we had brought a kite, we could have made contact with them."

Zhou Wu knew what a paper kite was; it was a novel concept. The Great Dragon Empire did indeed use paper kites to transmit information, but this method of communication was very limited. However, it was just right for Zhou Wu's current situation. He could judge the wind direction in advance, then launch the paper kite into the sky and cut the kite's string so that the kite could land on friendly positions.

However, Zhou Wu was not a regular soldier before he came, and he did not expect this situation, so he did not bring a kite.

"By the way, we can cut down some tree trunks, hollow them out, wrap the information in oil paper, put it inside, and then throw the trunks into the Mishui River. The wood will surely float downstream, and our allies might be able to receive it."

"Yes, just to be on the safe side, we can put in a little more."

"Good, hurry up."

Niu Er immediately ordered his men to cut down trees and make dozens of logs. He then sent men to quietly approach the allied forces' section of the river and throw the logs into the river.

. . . . .

Crown Prince Li Junren was grieving by the river, pondering how to break out of this deadly situation. When they were first besieged, the Great Dragon Army tried to break through by force with their bravery, but the gorge greatly limited the number of Great Dragon soldiers, resulting in many casualties. This made Li Junren realize the reality and stop trying to break through.

"If a friendly force were to launch a surprise attack from the outside at this moment, we could definitely break the deadlock by coordinating from within and without."

The idea was appealing, but Li Junren also knew that the nearest allied forces were already within the territory of the Dada Kingdom, and there were no more troops to be mobilized in the southwest of the Great Dragon Empire.

"What is that, Your Majesty?"

Suddenly, the adjutant beside him pointed to a piece of driftwood that had appeared in the river.

Li Junren also saw it, but considering that it hadn't rained recently, it was impossible for naturally broken driftwood to appear in the Mishui River. Even if there were, it wouldn't be in such a large area.

"Retrieve it quickly."

In times of crisis, any unusual situation deserves attention.

"Your Highness, there's something fishy about this piece of wood."

Sure enough, the soldiers noticed something different about the wood, clearly identifying chisel marks.

"Open."

"Your Highness, please be careful!"

The adjutant stood guard over Li Junren, fearing there might be some traps or mechanisms involved.

"Your Highness, my lord, there is something in here."

The soldier took the object out of the tree trunk and presented it to the adjutant general. The adjutant general naturally opened it in front of Li Junren to show the object its true nature. However, it did not seem to contain any poisoned arrows or hidden weapons, but only a letter wrapped in oiled paper.

"Tomorrow morning, my troops will launch a surprise attack from the outside, coordinating with those inside. If you receive this letter, please light three bonfires tonight and sign it: Qingyang Army of the Great Dragon Empire."

"Your Highness, it's reinforcements! It's reinforcements!"

After the lieutenant general finished reading the letter, everyone around him learned of the arrival of reinforcements and cheered excitedly.

"Great! We've finally received reinforcements. I wonder which general it is, but he's exactly the same as I was thinking."

The crown prince finally breathed a sigh of relief; he could finally vent the anger he had endured for so many days.

"Wait, the Qingyang Army, Your Highness, forgive my ignorance, but does our Great Dragon have an army called the Qingyang Army?"

"The Qingyang Army? I've never heard of them either."

The adjutant realized that the crown prince had thought for a long time but couldn't recall when his Great Dragon Army had ever been called the Azure Dragon Army. He even checked some of the prefectural armies, but there was no one called the Azure Yang Army. So there was only one possibility: this was a ragtag army, an unknown and insignificant force.

The passion that had just been ignited among the crowd was instantly extinguished. However, three bonfires were still lit in the camp that night as a gesture of support.

On a distant hill, a scout from the Qingyang Army was anxiously waiting for the campfires at the Dalong Army camp. Only after seeing that three campfires had indeed been lit did he turn back to report.

"It's been ordered, it's been ordered, hurry back and tell the adults."

Zhou Wu received a report from his scouts that since the allied forces had received the letter, it was time to prepare for the attack the following morning.

"Pass down the order: everyone should get some rest early tonight and set off first thing tomorrow morning. Remember, this operation is only to use high mobility and repeating crossbows for long-range sneak attacks; close combat with the enemy is strictly prohibited."

"Yes."

At night, the Qingyang army rested in the dark in a mountain forest. The horses were covered with muzzles and their hooves were covered to avoid making any noise. Everyone went to bed early.

Before dawn the next day, Zhou Wu ordered everyone to get up. Without lighting a fire or stove, they ate the homemade fried rice and noodles from Niujia Village that they carried with them. The soldiers grabbed a handful, stuffed it into their mouths, and drank a big gulp of water, and their stomachs were full.

Zhou Wu specifically instructed that they bring more arrows on this trip, because in Zhou Wu's eyes, they should attack from a distance rather than engage in close combat, so as to preserve their own strength to the greatest extent. Moreover, no matter how powerful the Qingyang Army was, they were just a group of farmers who had only put down their hoes a few months ago. Even with the help of horses and equipment, it was impossible for them all to become the reincarnation of Lu Bu.