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Cavalry cannot gallop wildly while marching like they do during a charge; otherwise, they would be exhausted by the time they reached their destination.

Typically, Cavalry marches about 150 *li* a day, and 200 *li* is manageable if they push themselves.

For the Xiaoguo Army, a distance of just over 50 *li* was less than half a day's journey.

By the time Zhao Meng and Xia Luqi arrived with the Xiaoguo Army, it was just around the *weishi* (1 PM to 3 PM).

There were still two *shichen* (four hours) until sunset, which was plenty of time for battle.

A Scout returned quickly on horseback, reporting the enemy situation.

"Reporting, Generals. The enemy is resting two *li* south of our position."

Having located the enemy, Zhao Meng and Xia Luqi were excited and immediately ordered the entire army to don armor and switch horses.

The soldiers began helping each other put on their armor, switched to their warhorses, and charged out with towering murderous intent.

This Southern Yue Army contingent, aside from a few City Defense Forces from Guangzhou and other areas, mostly consisted of retainers and servants raised by the Xian Family and the Shi Family.

Forget military discipline; many of these men had only just learned how to swing a knife.

Feng Pu sent them to the front lines primarily to use them as cannon fodder for sieges.

However, he never would have expected to encounter an ambush by Gao Yuan's army.

Moreover, they were directly facing one of Gao Yuan's most elite forces.

Fighting unarmored troops while armored was already a dimensionality reduction strike, let alone facing iron Cavalry at this moment.

When the murderous Cavalry appeared at the end of the road, many Southern Yue soldiers were stunned.

Feng Si, the old Eunuch who had led the troops and advised Feng Pu, was also dumbfounded.

Only when the Xiaoguo Army began to accelerate did he snap out of his daze, immediately screaming desperately at the top of his lungs.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Form ranks! Those who don't want to die, form ranks! Spearmen, advance!"

This disorganized rabble only then began to prepare in a panic. For a time, commanders couldn't find soldiers, and soldiers couldn't find commanders—it was utter chaos.

Some had left their weapons on the supply wagons, let alone their armor.

Feng Si looked at the chaos behind him, then at the Cavalry who had already raised their repeating crossbows, and despair filled his heart.

However, this despair did not last long, as the first volley of repeating crossbow bolts pierced his body.

"Ugh..."

Feng Si only managed a muffled groan before falling from his horse, lying on the ground with his eyes open, looking peacefully asleep.

Several rounds of repeating crossbow fire claimed over two hundred lives, but that was enough.

This disorganized rabble was utterly terrified and had no thought of resisting, scattering immediately.

"Encircle them on both flanks! Don't let a single one escape!"

Zhao Meng shouted the order, and the Cavalry beside him immediately displayed the signals.

The torrent split into two, heading toward the flanks and cutting off the Southern Yue Army's escape routes.

The battle here was already nearing its end, while the vanguard of the Beiwei Army had just dismounted from their carriages on the other side.

In this era, this was Gao Yuan's innovation: using carriages to transport infantry.

Carriages became tools for transporting soldiers; two horses could increase the infantry's marching speed by more than double.

Otherwise, even the physically superior Beiwei Army would take at least a day to cover 50 *li*.

By riding in carriages, 50 *li* only took a little over one *shichen* (two hours), and riding also conserved the soldiers' physical strength.

However, they were still a step too late. By the time these two thousand infantry arrived, the battle had long concluded.

Sighing, the soldiers joined the task of rounding up prisoners.

The battle was officially over only when the sun set and night fell.

Of the over 10,000 Southern Yue Army soldiers, only a few escaped into the mountains, less than a thousand were killed, and the rest were captured.

The smoothness of the campaign exceeded Xue Linfeng's imagination.

His initial plan was for the Cavalry to block the enemy's path and wait for the infantry to arrive before completely annihilating the enemy.

Who would have thought the Southern Yue Army was so weak? They collapsed after a single charge from the Cavalry, making him feel like he was bullying children.

In short, by the time the main force arrived, Zhao Meng and the others had already cleaned up the battlefield.

Looking at the disappointed officers and soldiers behind him, Xue Linfeng decided to immediately begin the next phase of the plan: expanding the results.

"Xia Luqi, you take the Second Division and half the Cavalry and immediately march toward Fengkai County. I will personally lead the main force to attack Deqing;

Zhao Meng, you take two hundred men to guard the prisoners and captured supplies. Send someone to notify Manager Mu to immediately break camp, receive the prisoners, and march towards Deqing."

"Understood!"

Fengkai and Deqing are the two westernmost counties in Duan Prefecture, serving as the retreat route for Feng Chengqian and Feng Chengdao.

Logically, these two places should have been heavily guarded, but the Southern Yue Army was the attacking force this time!

At this time, less than a thousand men were defending these two locations, and they were extremely lax.

On the morning of the third day after the Southern Yue reinforcements were annihilated, Fengkai County gates had just opened. Before the common people could even enter, Xia Luqi arrived.

The Cavalry rushed into the county seat with lightning speed, scattering the defenders who tried to close the gates.

On the other side, Xue Linfeng used Feng Si's official seal to trick the guards into opening the city gate, easily occupying Deqing County.

Afterward, before the news could spread, he used the same trick, ordering Zhao Meng to use Feng Si's official seal to capture Huaijiao County.

With this, most of Duan Prefecture fell under Xue Linfeng's control, completely severing the retreat path of the Feng Family brothers.

Only now did Feng Pu learn of this, but he could only smash things in the royal palace to vent his anger.

Currently, even counting all the garrisons across the entire Southern Yue Kingdom, there were only twenty to thirty thousand troops.

Not only were these troops scattered across various garrisons, but gathering them would take at least half a month.

Even if they could assemble within two or three days, Feng Pu had no confidence in retaking Duan Prefecture.

After venting, Feng Pu sat on his throne, breathing heavily.

"Feng Si... Feng Si..."

After calling out a few times with no response, he suddenly remembered that Feng Si was dead.

Feeling a touch of sorrow, Feng Pu pointed at the trembling young Eunuch beside him.

"You, yes, you! Draft an order for me, commanding the Heir Apparent and Third Highness to immediately merge their forces and retreat through Shao Prefecture back to Guangzhou. Hurry!"

"Understood! Understood!"

The young Eunuch spread out the paper, his hand holding the brush trembling constantly, unable to write a single word.

At this, Feng Pu completely lost it. He walked over, kicked the young Eunuch down, and roared toward the door.

"Guards! Guards! Drag this castrated wretch out and give him twenty heavy strokes—no, fifty!"

The young Eunuch scrambled up from the ground, rushed to Feng Pu, and kowtowed repeatedly like pounding garlic.

"Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"

However, the enraged Feng Pu ignored him, simply watching as the guards entered and dragged the young Eunuch away.

Feng Pu looked at the puddle on the floor and smelled the strange odor in the air, his mouth twitching.

He immediately cast a fierce gaze toward the palace maids nearby.

"Are you blind? Can't you see? Clean up the floor for me immediately."

The palace maids hurriedly stepped forward and began working. Only then did Feng Pu return to his desk to personally draft the order.

Outside, the unlucky fellow's cries for mercy and screams could still be heard intermittently.

After a moment, a guard walked in.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, that castrated wretch died after only eighteen strokes."

Feng Pu did not lift his head, saying coldly,

"Throw him out to feed the dogs!"

After a while, he finished writing the order and handed it to the Guard Commander, instructing that it be urgently sent to Leizhou Prefecture and Gui Prefecture.

On the other side, because their retreat route was cut off, the Southern Yue Army's grain and supply line was naturally severed.

Feng Chengqian immediately noticed the anomaly. He ordered the siege stopped while simultaneously sending men to Duan Prefecture to rush the grain supplies.

Meanwhile, Feng Chengdao, eager to gain merit, no longer cared that his mission was merely a feint to pin down the enemy.

He had ordered consecutive attacks on the city for several days, and his combat losses had now exceeded 30 percent.

Due to the prolonged failure to capture the city, morale among the Southern Yue Army under Feng Chengdao was extremely low.