readytorunbook Chapter 373: Even surpassed
Chapter 373: Even surpassed
After thinking for a while, Xin Wu frowned and looked at He Wu.
"Are you sure it was thunder from the sky?"
He Wu shook his head in confusion: "Sir, I just came here too. This is what the soldier said."
"As for whether it was a thunderbolt from heaven, I think it's unlikely. After all, if it was going to strike us, it would have struck us long ago. If God really didn't want us to start a rebellion, he would have struck us when we asked for permission. Why would we have waited until now?"
"Yeah, that makes sense." Xin Wu's expression softened a little, and he nodded. Then he asked, "What about the casualties?"
He Wu looked around helplessly and said, "General, the casualties are not estimated to be very large, but the key is that this is where our food and fodder pass."
Xin Wu's expression, which had just relaxed, suddenly sank again, and was visibly covered with a layer of gloom.
"What is the situation with the loss of food and fodder?"
He Wu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "General, over 90% of the food and fodder has been lost. Most of it was caused by the horses running wildly out of fear. They are likely to have fallen below the cliff. There is very little food and fodder left above."
Upon hearing this, Xin Wu fell silent. Originally, according to Prince Zhao's intention, he was supposed to bring a year's worth of food and fodder for this expedition, but in the end, because of his own arrogance, he only brought half a year's worth of food and fodder.
Although nearly half of the soldiers in Taiping County were killed or wounded, and many mouths were left to feed, it was still equivalent to a year's worth of food.
"Can you hold on for another ten days?" Xin Wu looked at He Wu, fearing that he would shake his head.
He Wu didn't shake his head this time, but said bluntly: "Sir, five days at most."
Hearing this, Xin Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, five days, although short, was enough.
Although the mountain road is difficult to walk on, it should take at least ten days to reach Luoyun City. If everyone eats less and saves a little during these five days, it will be enough.
"Fortunately, it's not a big problem."
"Also, notify everyone that what just happened is not allowed to be spread out to avoid causing panic. Also, keep a close watch on those soldiers who witnessed the whole incident, and use some measures when necessary." After Xin Wu finished speaking, he turned around and left with his entourage.
He Wu sighed. These methods were obviously intended to silence him. It could only be said that this matter was too important. If it got out and was used by the enemy, the consequences would be disastrous.
A moment later, when the casualty statistics were presented to He Wu, He Wu couldn't help but sigh.
This is really a case of "misfortunes never come singly". The hemp rope breaks at the thinnest part. Hundreds of people were killed or injured, and many horses were lost. The most important thing is the food and grass.
"Forget it, just consider it bad luck."
He Wu shook his head helplessly and began to give orders. After a moment, He Wu waved his hand to let the vanguard continue to lead the way, while he came to Xin Wu.
"Sir, according to the map, we are now here." He Wu said, pointing at a road on the map.
The road is relatively wide, but it has a steep cliff on one side and a cliff on the other.
"Well, this road is not easy to travel. Send more scouts to explore the way. We must pass it as soon as possible." Xin Wu said in a low voice, but he felt a little nervous in his heart.
If we were to be attacked from both sides on this kind of road, I'm afraid there would be countless casualties.
He Wu grinned disapprovingly and said, "You're worrying too much, sir. Although we were defeated, there were no pursuers from behind when we retreated from Taiping County."
"Even if they organize their men to charge right after we leave, it will take at least an hour or two to prepare."
"Although the map we have only records the main roads and some of the smaller roads are unclear, the smaller roads can't possibly accommodate too many soldiers. Even if that bastard officer really leads his men to take a shortcut and catch up with us, their number is definitely not large and they won't pose any threat to us."
"Of course I know this, but I always have a feeling that something is wrong." Xin Wu's tone was full of sadness.
"I'm not afraid of that bastard official sending his men after us. Although we lost nearly half of our men, the ones who are still alive are our most elite. Even if a fight breaks out, we may not lose."
"But what worries me most is that he didn't pursue her."
He Wu was stunned for a moment, then he understood that pursuing a victory was something every general knew. Although Jiang Yuan was not a human being, to be honest, he was definitely not an idiot and it was impossible for him not to understand this principle.
Even if he has never read military books and has only read books of sages, wouldn't he not know how to kick a drowning dog?
"Yes, sir, I understand."
After He Wu finished speaking, he jumped on his horse and rushed to the front to continue clearing the way.
Before I knew it, it had darkened.
Fortunately, the moonlight tonight is very bright, eliminating the possibility of exposing our whereabouts by lighting a torch.
Just as He Wu was leading the vanguard troops to speed up, several spies who were exploring the way ahead hurried back.
"General!"
He Wu's heart sank, but he remained remarkably calm on the surface: "What's the road condition ahead?"
"General, there's a road problem three miles ahead. The road has sunken over ten meters, and the other end of the sunken area is blocked by a huge rock five meters high. I'm afraid it's difficult to pass."
"What? How could such a thing happen out of the blue?" He Wu frowned.
"Have you found out what caused it?"
The scout shook his head and said, "I'm not sure. I guess it's due to years of neglect and the heavy snow a while ago, which caused some problems with the mountain."
"Why did something go wrong at this time?" He Wu said impatiently, "Go report the situation to the general, and the rest of you come with me to take a look!"
He Wu randomly pointed at a few people and ran forward quickly.
A distance of three miles was a piece of cake for a master like He Wu. The few people he picked out were also masters of the second level. It didn't take long for the group to arrive at the place where the scout reported.
The situation was consistent with the scout's report. There was a problem more than ten meters away on the road.
"A landslide wouldn't cause such a problem, right?" He Wu looked at the road conditions in front of him with a gloomy expression, then stuck his head out to look down. The road surface had sunken two or three meters, which was not a big problem.
The key point is that at the exit at the far end above, a huge rock that is five meters high is blocking the exit, which directly extends the height of the exit to eight meters.
Can a natural collapse or landslide cause such a situation? Even a dog wouldn't believe it!
After just two glances, He Wu waved his hand and took a few people back. There was no need to think about it, it was probably done by that bastard Jiang Yuan.
Originally, he thought that he hadn't caught up with her yet, and even if he tried to catch up tonight, he wouldn't be able to catch up. Now it seems that He Wutian was naive.
Jiang Yuan not only caught up with them, but also surpassed them by a large margin, rushing to the front and blocking the mountain road!