readytorunbook Chapter 286 Racing Against Time with Xu Sheng
Chapter 286 Racing Against Time with Xu Sheng
Things are valued for their scarcity; if there's too much of them, they become worthless.
This applies to the engineering industry as well. With the same amount of money and the same construction period, naturally the smaller the project, the higher the quality.
Xu Sheng dug traps on both the east and west sides of the county town. The west side was ten li shorter than the east side, so the traps on the west side were particularly dense.
But he never dreamed that these traps, originally intended to block the Han army, would be used on him first, becoming the biggest obstacle on his retreat.
It took Xu Sheng two full hours to walk through the short ten-mile-long trap area. After passing through the last trap, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and cursed, "Damn it, I'm finally out. Let's find a place to rest before we continue."
The road, washed by the rain, was too difficult to walk on. His legs were now covered with at least ten pounds of mud, and every time he lifted his leg, it felt incredibly heavy.
Moreover, the army had been highly focused when passing through the trap area to avoid stepping into it, and now that they had finally made it through, they definitely needed to rest and recuperate.
Ding Feng shook his head and said, "No, Guan Xing must have already received news that General Han is surrounded. He might already be on his way. Besides, the Han army besieging the old general is still ahead of us. What if they receive the news and rush into the corridor to block our way, and Guan Xing comes from the rear..."
Lü Ju chimed in, "Yes, General. One effort is never enough. We've finally made it through the trap zone, so we should run straight to the Han army in the corridor to ensure our safety. We can rest once we're safe."
"As for being tired, the Han army is much more tired than us. Don't forget that Guan Xing came all the way from Da Mo, covering two hundred li more than us, and Guan Xing doesn't complain about being tired at all..."
Xu Sheng's confidence had been shaken by the successive defeats, and he was no longer as confident as before. Hearing this, he humbly accepted the advice and said, "Then let's continue on our way as you say, and try to cross the corridor before the Han army ahead receives the news and blocks it."
The road was difficult to travel, and the soldiers struggled forward in pairs, supporting each other. On the way, Ding Feng pondered, "Like father, like son. I feel that Guan Xing is even more difficult to deal with than his father, so we have to prepare for the worst. What if Guan Xing catches up and our path is blocked by the Han army?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Sheng immediately started grinding his teeth. He wanted to stop thinking about it but had to face reality. Looking at the mountains on both sides, he pondered, "If that's the case, we can only go into the mountains. But we can't go to Huaiyu Mountain in the north because there are Han troops there. So we can only go into Wuyi Mountain in the south. But it seems that Wuyi Mountain is not so easy to enter either."
The Wuyi Mountains are much more dangerous than the neighboring Huaiyu Mountains, and you have to find the entrance to the mountains first. Are there any entrances to the mountains in sight?
It's important to know that most mountains are arc-shaped or conical, rising continuously from the ground and then falling back down to the ground at their peak. This creates a wall between the starting and ending points of the mountain, making it difficult to climb.
Therefore, the best place to enter the mountain is at the junction of the two mountains, but the Wuyi Mountain next door is too big, with cliffs in sight, and there is no way to enter the mountain. So the method of escaping into the Wuyi Mountain seems to be impractical.
Upon hearing this, Lü Ju said fiercely, "Then let's not run away, let's fight directly. There are only about 10,000 Han soldiers in the mountains. After fighting a big battle with General Han, how many will be left? Even if none of the Han soldiers died, they are exhausted now. Our strength is not much different from that of the Han army. If we go all out, we still have a chance to break through."
Ding Feng echoed, "What Shi Yi said is right. When two armies meet on a narrow road, the brave will win. If we really encounter the Han army blocking our way, we will fight to the death. To be honest, I am also curious about how much fighting strength the Han army will have left after defeating General Han."
Xu Sheng agreed, "Then forget about running for our lives. If we really encounter the Han army, we'll fight to the death. I'm going all out."
The three men quickly reached a consensus and led their troops to continue their advance.
Meanwhile, Li Gousheng and two soldiers were also making a difficult advance, risking their lives to race against Xu Sheng for time.
The mountain path was difficult to traverse, and it was even more challenging after the rain. Li Gousheng lost his footing and slid down the slope for several meters. He managed to stop by grabbing onto a large tree, and with the help of two soldiers, he struggled to his feet, cursing, "Being a scout is a damn inhuman job. After this mission, I'll immediately apply for a transfer and never be a scout again."
Others fight with their lives, but he fights with his legs. In just a few days, he ran so many miles of mountain roads that his legs became thin and weak.
The soldier smiled and comforted him, "Squad leader, we've done a great job this time. I have a feeling that you'll definitely be promoted to battalion commander or even battalion commander after the war. A battalion commander is in charge of seven or eight hundred men. Don't forget me when you get rich and powerful, Battalion Commander Li."
The words "Battalion Commander Li" struck a nerve with Li Gousheng, filling his weary body with renewed energy. He excitedly said, "Don't worry, based on our friendship forged during that rainy mountain climb, I can't forget you two. Let's keep going and try to contact Generals Wu and Shen as soon as possible to defeat Xu Sheng and take the battalion commander's position."
The allure of power and money is the greatest driving force for men's struggle. Thinking of the bright future of promotion and salary increases, the three men felt their legs, which were filled with mud, regain their strength and moved much faster than before.
Moreover, Li Gousheng had already traveled this road several times, so he was familiar with the terrain and had a clear objective. In just two or three hours, he arrived near Wu Yue's initial blocking position and shouted from afar, "Has General Wu Yue returned? I am Li Gousheng, and I have important military intelligence to report on the orders of General Guan."
After calling out several times without receiving a response, Li Gousheng thought to himself, "They might have been delayed by the heavy rain and haven't made it back yet. Let's keep going."
The main force marched much slower than the messenger, so it was normal that Wu Yue did not make it back in time.
Li Gousheng continued forward, and after walking for only half an hour, he saw the Han army coming towards him. Their faded new uniforms could not lie.
Li Gousheng hurriedly stepped forward and called out, "General Wu Yue, is that you, General Wu Yue?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a familiar voice called out, "Here you are."
Li Gousheng followed the direction of the sound and quickly arrived at Wu Yue's side, complaining, "General, why did you take so long to arrive?"
Wu Yue said with a bitter smile, "I could have arrived two hours ago, but a sudden downpour started on the way, so I had to wait for the rain to pass in a cave by the roadside. This damn rain."
Encountering a sudden downpour during the march was indeed a major setback, but fortunately, it rains a lot in the Jiangnan region, and everyone was used to it.
Wu Yue asked curiously, "Why did you come back instead of resting in General Guan's camp?"
After the army has been running around for so long, Li Gousheng, as a scout, should be the one who has run the most and is the most tired. Why is he running around instead of resting after the mission is over?
Li Gousheng said, "General Guan suspects that Xu Sheng has received news of Han Dang's suicide and will choose to retreat, so he ordered me to inform you and General Shen Yi to hold on a little longer and rush into the corridor to block Xu Sheng."
"By the way, General Guan is on his way with his troops. As long as you hold off Xu Sheng, he will be able to arrive and annihilate him."
Wu Yue had a grudge against Xu Sheng, and when he heard that Xu Sheng was going to run away, he became anxious and said through gritted teeth, "Don't worry, I'll go and block Xu Sheng's way right away. There's only one way for Xu Sheng to escape, and that is to step over my dead body."
Li Gousheng nodded and said, "Then you can get ready. I still need to inform General Shen Yi. Farewell."
After saying that, he pulled his two companions away. On the way, one of his companions couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "We've already found General Wu Yue, why do we still need to find General Shen Yi? Can't we just have General Wu send scouts to inform General Shen?"
They were so tired and wanted to rest that they didn't want to walk another step.
Li Gousheng patted the back of his head and muttered, "Why should we share our credit with others? Besides, we've come this far, what's there to be afraid of at the last hurdle?"
"Besides, can we rest by staying with General Wu Yue? Don't forget that General Wu is also going to intercept Xu Sheng. If we stay, we will definitely have to go with him. So since we have to travel anyway, why not prioritize completing our own tasks? No matter what we do, we should finish what we start."
"Just hang in there a little longer. Once we see General Shen Yi, everything will be alright, and we can finally find a place to sleep peacefully."