Chapter 243 Safe Return

Facing the pressure from the Nanyue Army at the border, the Western Kang side also had to make some defensive preparations. Consequently, the militarily strongest Tuoba Tribe stayed behind, while the other tribes continued to search for Gao Yuan's whereabouts.

After searching like this for half a month, they finally received a report from the Xifeng Tribe: Gao Yuan was in the north.

Gao Yuan hadn't brought any supplies, adopting a strategy of sustaining war through war. He robbed his way along, becoming nothing short of a scourge of the plateau.

However, it was precisely because of Gao Yuan's fighting style that his group sometimes had to stop, and the distance between them and the Xifeng Tribe grew closer and closer.

Just as Gao Yuan was starting to worry, he suddenly discovered that the Xifeng Tribe didn't seem to be in a hurry to catch up; they kept following at a distance of about a hundred li.

"My Lord, This humble general estimates that the Xifeng Tribe likely wants to preserve their strength and doesn't want to face us in a direct confrontation."

Gao Yuan nodded, agreeing with his judgment.

"Even if they won't fight us, having them follow like this isn't a solution."

"Indeed. If this continues, Western Kang will eventually assemble troops to surround us once again."

"Shuzhi, bring the map."

"Understood!"

Gao Yuan spread out the map and studied it carefully for a while. Finally finding what he wanted, a smile appeared on his face.

"Pass down the order: the entire army is to change course and head south."

"South? My Lord, the enemy's main force is currently in the south..."

Gao Yuan gave a confident smile.

"I intend to take them by surprise."

Seeing Gao Yuan's confident look, Chen Dao's doubts vanished, and he immediately went to arrange for their gear to be packed.

Having plundered all along the way, this group had more and more warhorses. From the initial one horse per person, they now had nearly three horses per person.

Being able to switch horses made their marching speed much faster. Soon, the group entered Zhamtang territory and passed through a mountain pass.

Just after passing the mountain pass, Gao Yuan ordered them to halt. Chen Dao was about to ask why when Gao Yuan's voice came.

"This really is a great place for an ambush. Pass down the order: have everyone hide the extra horses and supplies. We'll cut off our tail right here."

Chen Dao's powerful frame shuddered with excitement. Being chased by the Xifeng Tribe all these days had been incredibly frustrating; now he could finally vent his frustration.

To deceive the enemy, Gao Yuan ordered a hundred Xuanjia Army soldiers to take three horses each, tie branches and dried grass to the horses' tails, and continue heading south.

In the eyes of the Xifeng Tribe scouts, the massive clouds of dust raised were proof that Gao Yuan was heading south, and they immediately sent the news back.

The people of the Xifeng Tribe didn't think twice. They sent someone to report while leading two thousand troops in pursuit toward the south.

By dusk the next day, the Xifeng Tribe's troops reached the mountain pass.

This mountain pass was only a few zhang wide, allowing only about a dozen riders to pass through at once. After passing through, there were slopes on both sides, and a few li further ahead was flat open ground.

Watching the Xifeng Tribe Cavalry continuously emerge from the pass, Chen Dao, who was lying beside Gao Yuan on the slope, was already itching for action.

Gao Yuan noticed his impatience and reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Shuzhi, don't be in a hurry. Wait for more of the enemy to cross. It's still too early to strike."

Gao Yuan's goal was to deal a painful blow to the enemy. Currently, fewer than five hundred enemies had crossed, so it was too early to act.

After waiting for another fifteen minutes or so, seeing that nearly half of the enemy had crossed, Gao Yuan felt it was about time. He patted Chen Dao's shoulder, and the two rose and ran swiftly down the hill.

"Whiz!"

A signal arrow pierced the silent sky. Dozens of soldiers quickly appeared from behind large rocks on the slopes of both sides. They rapidly removed the stones propping up the boulders and then used wooden poles to lever them.

Rumble, rumble!

Huge boulders rolled slowly down the slopes, gaining speed as they went, heading straight for the Western Kang Cavalry below.

It wasn't until the boulders were halfway down that the Xifeng Tribe Cavalry finally realized something was wrong. Someone immediately shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Ah! Rocks! Rocks are rolling down!"

"This is bad, run!"

The once orderly ranks instantly fell into chaos. Some tried to run forward, others tried to run back, and the result was that no one escaped.

The slopes weren't very steep, so the boulders' kinetic energy was limited. They barely rolled to the middle of the road before stopping, hardly hitting anyone, but the path leading out of the mountain pass was mostly blocked.

While the Xifeng Tribe Cavalry were still reeling from the shock, another sight appeared on the slopes that made their hearts turn cold—Cavalry!

On the left slope, the Baier Soldiers, whose horsemanship had become increasingly refined after all the running these days, transformed into iron Cavalry and followed Gao Yuan in a charge. They crashed into the panicked Xifeng Tribe ranks without a word.

Even though the Xifeng Tribe people knew they had been lured into a trap, the road was mostly blocked, and they couldn't get across for the time being; they were simply beyond reach to help.

The eight hundred-plus Xifeng Tribe Cavalry who had already passed through the mountain pass were now like meat on a chopping block. In just a single charge, more than a third of these eight hundred people were lost.

By the time Gao Yuan and the others turned their horses around to charge again, these cavalrymen had scattered. They didn't even care which direction they were running, only hoping to get away from these god-of-death-like Cavalry as quickly as possible.

As a people with significant exchange with the Han, the Dangxiang people also had armor, but the quantity was limited. It was naturally prioritized for the Tuoba Tribe and the chieftains and generals of the other tribes.

Cavalrymen like those from the Xifeng Tribe were, to put it bluntly, just herdsmen with knives, wearing only a single leather coat.

Facing the Baier Soldiers, who were armed to the teeth, they couldn't even break through their defense. The battle naturally became a pure slaughter.

In less than half an hour, these eight hundred-plus cavalrymen were completely wiped out. Gao Yuan didn't bother chasing the remaining escapees; he turned his gaze toward the rear.

During those thirty minutes, the Xifeng Tribe people had been trying to get past the barricade of boulders. By now, about two hundred people had made it through.

"Heh heh, these Western Kang people probably don't know the story of the Calabash Brothers!"

After saying that, he slapped his horse's rump and led the Cavalry in another charge.

After another hundred or so people were taken out, the Xifeng Tribe chieftain finally panicked. Now they didn't even have the advantage of numbers; what was the point of fighting?

He was now grateful that those barricades could also block Gao Yuan's pursuit, which allowed him to lead his clansmen in a clean retreat.

"My Lord, are we not pursuing?"

Chen Dao clearly hadn't had enough, but Gao Yuan was already satisfied. He shook his head.

"No more chasing. Take the spoils and the prisoners, and continue heading south."

"Still heading south? My Lord, any further and we'll be in Toungoo."

"I know. Execute the order."

"Understood!"

The Baier Soldiers had lost a dozen or so men in this battle. Gao Yuan immediately selected several prisoners, possessed them with martial souls, and added them to the ranks.

What had just flashed through Gao Yuan's mind was that miracle in the history of warfare commanded by the Great Teacher—the Crossing of the Chishui River Four Times.

Except in that space-time, it exploited the mindset of various local warlords who both wanted to preserve their strength and didn't want Chiang Kai-shek's direct subordinates entering their territory.

This time, what Gao Yuan wanted to exploit was the mindset of Western Kang and Toungoo, neither of whom dared to cross the border lightly.

Sure enough, the Western Kang people chased them to a point about twenty li from the border and didn't dare proceed further.

They were terrified that getting too close to the border would trigger the sensitive nerves of the toungoo people.

Gao Yuan, on the other hand, quickly withdrew eastward after entering Toungoo territory.

By the time the toungoo people realized an army had crossed the border and sent their own troops, Gao Yuan had already headed north again and re-entered Western Kang territory.

However, by this time, he had already put a distance of over eighty li between himself and the main Western Kang army.

In this way, after jumping back and forth a few times, Gao Yuan's group finally leaped out of the Western Kang encirclement and returned to Lijiang territory.