First victory

Regarding Xian Zhen, if you say he was careless, his troops still marched twenty or thirty li a day, and while the camp was simple, it had basic defensive measures.

But if you say he wasn't careless, his logistics and supplies were ten li away from the main force, with only a few sentries in plain sight and absolutely no hidden sentries.

However, this was perfect, as it gave Gao Yuan and his men a chance to get close.

"My Lord, I have scouted the area repeatedly. Aside from these few sentries in plain sight, there is not a single other person."

"Are you confident you can take them out?"

"I have selected fifty skilled archers. With seven or eight men shooting at each target, I guarantee it will be foolproof."

"Good. Go."

Xia Luqi led fifty soldiers, bows and arrows strapped to their backs, as they crept across the trench, stopping less than twenty paces from the camp gate.

Xia Luqi was the first to raise his bow and arrow, then gave a low order:

"Ready! Fire!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Accompanied by the sound of arrows piercing the air, dozens of shafts whistled out. Immediately following, a chorus of screams rang out as the soldiers keeping watch from above were struck, falling from their perches like sacks filled with dirt.

"Thud, thud..."

The sound of bodies hitting the ground acted like a starter pistol. Gao Yuan led his men, crouching low, as they emerged from the darkness carrying bags of dirt to the trench.

"Move quickly! Fill in the trench!"

As bag after bag of dirt fell into the trench, a dirt path dozens of meters wide soon appeared.

By this time, Xia Luqi and his men had already moved the chevaux-de-frise and obstacles aside. Xian Zhen's logistics camp was now like a stripped beauty, completely exposed before Gao Yuan.

"Follow the previous plan: divide into squads of two hundred and act separately. Remember, do not get bogged down in fighting."

"Understood!"

The well-trained soldiers quickly split into five squads and began their operation, some rushing toward the granaries, others toward the stables.

One squad of soldiers had just finished their patrol and found a spot to put down their weapons, intending to sneak a bit of rest.

A young soldier yawned and stretched.

"These officers and veterans are truly excessive. They only know how to bully us recruits—we get the least and worst food, yet do the most work!"

His comrade, a middle-aged man who had enlisted a year earlier, had long since become numb to such things. He patted the young man on the shoulder.

"Who told you not to be from a prominent family or a veteran?"

"When I earn military merit and become an officer, I will make everyone equal!"

"Then I'll wait for the day you become an officer... Urgh..."

The middle-aged soldier's words were suddenly cut short, followed by a sound of struggling.

The young soldier turned his head and saw his comrades' mouths being covered, their throats slit open, and bright red blood spurting from the gashes.

The young soldier could never have imagined that such bloody slaughter would suddenly appear before his eyes. Fear caused him to emit low, guttural "Urgh... Urgh..." sounds from his throat, but his body was so tense from terror that he could neither call for help nor fight back.

By the time he finally reacted and prepared to scream, his mouth was covered. Then, he felt a chill on his neck, and all the strength in his body quickly drained away along with his blood.

Several bodies slumped like sacks into the arms of Xia Luqi and his men, and were then gently laid down without making a sound.

After dealing with these men, Xia Luqi led his team into the tents. With swift strikes of their blades, over a dozen soldiers met their end in their sleep.

The same operation was happening in many places simultaneously. Before the Menge soldiers could realize what was happening, over a hundred had already been killed.

However, if you walk the night road enough, you will eventually meet a ghost. A Menge soldier, woken by the urge to urinate, discovered Xia Luqi and his men's operation.

"Ah!"

After a scream, he let out a long string of unintelligible words. The entire Menge camp instantly descended into chaos, like a pot that had boiled over.

Since they had been discovered, they switched from a surprise attack to an all-out assault. At the command, the Qian Army soldiers began to form up and charge.

Although the Menge people were all awake, most were bewildered. They didn't even know where the enemy was, scrambling in confusion to put on their clothes and find their weapons.

Xia Luqi had long been eyeing the tents in the central area, knowing this was the core of Xian Zhen's five hundred combat troops.

"Brothers, follow me and kill!"

Letting out a roar, Xia Luqi brandished his spear and charged toward the central area like a hot knife through butter.

The Menge people had no idea what was happening, not even knowing how many enemies there were or from which direction they came. They quickly fell into chaos.

On the other side, Gao Yuan and his men had already secured the stables. Hundreds of pack horses and a dozen warhorses became his spoils—these were treasures!

He grabbed a centurion who had just raised his sword to charge.

"You take fifty men to hold this place. Everyone else, come with me to reinforce General Xia."

The centurion dared not defy Gao Yuan's wishes and could only stay behind, feeling disgruntled.

Once an army falls into chaos, it has no combat effectiveness to speak of. Those five hundred men had already lost over a hundred to the surprise attack; the remaining men hadn't even had time to put on their armor, and some hadn't even found their weapons.

Soon, under the siege, the Menge army completely collapsed. A large number of them abandoned all hope and knelt to beg for mercy; only a dozen or so managed to break through the encirclement to report the news.

Xia Luqi led a warhorse over and took men to pursue them. He still remembered Gao Yuan's order before the battle began: not a single one must escape.

By the time the sky was just beginning to brighten, the battle was over. Xian Zhen's rear army camp had been completely wiped out; over five hundred were killed, and over five thousand were taken prisoner.

Now, Gao Yuan was in a bit of a bind.

What to do with these spoils and prisoners?

Dawn was approaching. Logically, the logistics army needed to set off immediately to deliver food to the main force at the front.

This meant that although no one had escaped last night to report the news, unless something unexpected happened, Xian Zhen would likely discover it very soon.

Once Xian Zhen's main force arrived, his nine hundred men would find it hard to hold them off. Even if they gritted their teeth and won, the losses would be heavy.

Suddenly, Gao Yuan thought of the item in his system inventory and slapped his forehead.

"Quickly, Bang Jie, take men to select one thousand strong and sturdy ones. Also, arrange for people to load the military supplies and provisions onto the pack horses as quickly as possible; prepare to withdraw."

"Understood!"

While things were bustling here, on the other side, Xian Zhen, who had been waiting in vain for the rear army to deliver food, sensed something was wrong and immediately ordered his son beside him.

"Bifa, take one thousand men to the rear army and check on them."

"Understood!"

Gao Yuan's luck was average this time. The one thousand Martial Soul Cards only randomly yielded the Tang Dynasty Fubing martial soul. The increase in combat power was limited, but the only benefit was that it ensured the loyalty of these men.

However, it was enough. Over a thousand men, accompanied by several hundred pack horses, carried away most of the supplies.

By the time Xian Bifa and his men had traveled just a few li, he saw black smoke rising in the distance. He inwardly cursed, realizing something was wrong, and hurriedly urged his soldiers to speed up.

All he saw was a camp that had been largely destroyed, thousands of laborers stripped of their clothes, and a large pile of grain that had been soaked with water.

It turned out that before Gao Yuan left, he had set fire to the provisions he couldn't take. Once he was far away, the laborers began fetching water to extinguish the fire, ultimately saving quite a bit of grain.

However, this grain had been soaked in water; if it wasn't eaten quickly, it would mold.

Looking at the mess, Xian Bifa's face turned livid. He wanted to vent his frustration, but didn't know who to vent it on.

With no other choice, he could only direct his men to begin transporting the remaining grain while sending someone to report to Xian Zhen.

Elite troops killed, provisions destroyed, military supplies looted—hearing this terrible news, Xian Zhen felt the world go black before his eyes.

You must know that these military supplies and provisions were his family's foundation, prepared over several years. He hadn't expected them all to end up benefiting Gao Yuan.

However, he didn't have time to rage; he immediately sent people to rush back to Menge overnight to secure more grain.