Chapter 304 The Battle of Yangshan Pass (Part 2)

In reality, these pampered young masters lacked experience. As the saying goes, a son of a thousand gold pieces should not sit under a collapsing roof. If it were Gao Yuan, he would definitely choose to station in Qingjiang County and send out feigning troops to patrol the border.

But now, these pampered young masters were completely immersed in the beautiful scenery of Shizhou Prefecture, turning this expedition into a sightseeing trip. They traveled and played all the way to a place less than fifty li from the border.

This gave Ma Song an opportunity for a surprise attack. He led his men, traveling by night and resting by day, for seven or eight days through the mountains, until the Scouts finally discovered the traces of the pampered young masters.

"Reporting to the Governor, enemy tracks have been discovered thirty li ahead!"

Ma Song breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid that after traveling hundreds of li through the mountains day and night, he would find nothing. He nodded with satisfaction and asked,

"How many enemy troops are there, and how are their defenses?"

"There are many banners in the enemy camp, so it's impossible to determine the exact number of troops. However, their defenses are very lax. People come out every day for sightseeing, and some even bring female family members."

"Hahaha! This Great Qian Imperial Court is truly becoming more and more disgraceful. To actually bring female family members to the army, they deserve this!"

After Ma Song had his fill of laughter, he beckoned his deputy general and ordered,

"Pass down the order, tell the soldiers to conceal their movements as much as possible. Tomorrow night, I will give them a big surprise!"

"Understood!"

The pampered young masters were still enjoying their sightseeing, completely unaware that danger was approaching. Some of them even suggested going a little further to see the Yangtze River.

However, this suggestion was firmly opposed by the two Zhonglang Generals. Although they had chosen to 'lie flat,' they didn't dare to completely let down their guard.

They dared not risk the safety of these precious darlings, so they immediately suggested returning tomorrow.

"My lords, we have been here for several days. We have admired the scenery that needed to be admired. Your subordinate suggests that we break camp and return to Qingjiang tomorrow."

The other Zhonglang General also let go of the young woman in his arms and suggested,

"As the saying goes, a son of a thousand gold pieces should not sit under a collapsing roof. This place is less than fifty li from the border, which is too dangerous.

If you, my lords, have not had enough fun, after returning to Qingjiang, we two can accompany you to play nearby, how about that?"

These pampered young masters had also played enough, so after a brief discussion, they agreed to the proposal to withdraw their troops and return to Qingjiang County tomorrow, which made the two Zhonglang Generals breathe a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, this night was destined not to be peaceful.

Just after the third watch, a group of Xuanjia Army soldiers armed with powerful crossbows appeared outside the camp. They discussed, divided their targets, and then began to act separately.

"Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh..."

Several piercing sounds of arrows cutting through the air broke the night. Five soldiers on the arrow tower responsible for lookout were shot through the throat before they could even react.

They desperately clutched their throats, wanting to shout for help and warning, and even more wanting to stop the gushing blood, but everything was in vain. They could only despairingly feel their vitality draining away, only able to emit painful groans.

According to the rules, there should have been two teams of soldiers stationed below the arrow tower, but at this moment, these soldiers were in their tents, drinking wine and enjoying the graceful dance of the dancing girls.

With the sentries eliminated, several Xuanjia Army soldiers quickly scaled the camp wall by forming a human ladder, opened the tightly shut camp gate, and then the Xuanjia Army soldiers streamed in.

In less than half an hour, thousands of Xuanjia Army soldiers completed the encirclement and division of each tent, followed by a flurry of chaos.

The soldiers, who were having a great time, never expected the enemy to arrive so silently. A few tried to resist and were immediately cut down with a single slash to the neck.

Crimson blood splattered, terrifying the dancing girls into screams, each one turning pale with fright.

Inside the commanders tent, a dozen pampered young masters were kneeling on the ground, each looking crestfallen like a defeated rooster. The two corpses on the ground had already told them that the people before them were truly ruthless killers.

Ma Song walked into the commanders tent with a smile, looked at the kneeling pampered young masters, and said loudly with a slight smile,

"Oh dear, how can you be so rude? Quickly, quickly, help all these noble guests up."

When these pampered young masters heard Ma Song, they thought they had met someone who was wary of their family background, and a hint of joy surged in their hearts, but then Ma Song's voice came again,

"By order of my lord, since these noble guests have traveled thousands of li to come here, how can we not entertain them with all our hearts? Come, men, escort these noble guests back!"

The pampered young masters immediately realized that they were about to become hostages, and they began to struggle.

"Let go of me, quickly let go of me! I am from the Boling Cui Clan, how dare you be so rude... Waaaaah..."

A piece of dirty cloth with a sour smell was stuffed into the mouth of this noble from the Boling Cui Clan. It looked like it was probably someone's cloth sock, and one that had just been taken off and not washed.

Seeing the miserable state of their companion, the others immediately became like quails, lowering their heads and following the soldiers away.

The news that those nobles and five thousand soldiers were all abducted overnight reached Qinghe County, scaring the Shizhou provincial inspector out of his wits. He knew that this time he was in big trouble.

He immediately sent people to search and at the same time wrote a letter to report the matter to Military Governor Cui Qi of Jiangnan West Circuit.

Cui Qi was also extremely anxious. Those who were captured were all young talents from various Powerful Families, all key cultivation targets, and now they were missing in his territory, their lives unknown.

Once this matter blew up, even if he was from the Qinghe Cui Clan, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand the wrath of all the Powerful Families.

There was nothing he could do. He could only suppress the news while sending troops to Shizhou Prefecture to search.

He still held a glimmer of hope, hoping that these pampered young masters had just gotten carried away and entered the deep mountains, rather than having met with misfortune.

However, bad news soon arrived: a burned-down camp and over a hundred corpses were found fifty li from the border.

"It's over, it's over, the sky is falling!"

Hearing this news, Cui Qi and the other officials felt their strength drain away, and they all slumped to the ground in disarray.

However, there is always a way out. Just as Cui Qi was preparing to face death and report this bad news to the Great Qian Imperial Court, the Prefectural Office received a letter late at night:

Since these noble guests traveled thousands of li to this frontier region, my lord, Prince of Nanyue Zhao Xiyao, naturally wishes to fulfill his duties as a host. Therefore, he sent people to invite these noble guests to Panyu as guests;

However, these noble guests are delicate and require significant expenses for food, clothing, and daily necessities. We ask the Great Qian Imperial Court to take pity on the Nanyue Kingdom, which is located in a remote frontier region and is dirt poor. Please reimburse the expenses of these noble guests.

Cui Qi wanted to curse. Damn it, if it's a kidnapping, then it's a kidnapping. If it's a ransom, then it's a ransom. What 'invited as guests' and 'reimburse expenses'? As if no one knew that the Nanyue Kingdom was now rolling in money.

But there was no other way. Now that they had the hostages, Cui Qi could only grit his teeth and send out a Red Plume Messenger to inform the Great Qian Imperial Court of this matter.

Anyway, his Shizhou Prefecture, which was so poor he had to pawn his pants, could not afford the exorbitant ransom demanded by Gao Yuan.

At this time, outside Yangshan Pass, Zhu Song did not yet know that a major incident had occurred in Shizhou Prefecture and was fully preparing for the siege.

After suffering over two hundred casualties, the siege equipment was finally completed.

Although they weren't as luxurious as the linchong siege tower and scaling ladders built by the Nanyue Army, they still had wooden ladders, battering rams, and trebuchets, not lacking anything.

The brutal siege battle was about to begin, but the Nanyue Army soldiers defending the city showed no fear, and many even had expressions of excitement and exhilaration!