303: Wang Da Naotou takes action

Everyone looked at the cavalry under the night sky before them, gripping their weapons tightly, ready for battle.

Strangely, the opposing cavalry did not adopt a charging formation. Instead, like them, their speed gradually slowed, eventually stopping two hundred paces in front of them.

Any further would be within the firing range of both sides, so a buffer space was left in the center.

Lin Yue waved his hand. Yang Yanping, understanding his intent, spurred his horse forward, stopping in the center between the two armies and shouting, "Halt!"

Seeing this, a single rider emerged from the opposing Army, came to the front of the two armies, and shouted, "Is this General Lin Yue's unit?"

Yang Yanping, upon closer inspection, saw that it was the Qin Army and breathed a sigh of relief. Still, he asked, "It is our General! Who are you?"

"I am General Wang Han's personal guard!" the opposing rider replied.

"Wang Han?" Yang Yanping asked, puzzled. He racked his brain for a long time but couldn't recall any General named Wang Han!

Lin Yue, hearing the name, also looked bewildered. Suddenly, realizing something, he spurred his horse forward to meet him.

"General Wang, I trust you've been well!" Lin Yue said with a smile, cupping his hands in the center between the two armies.

This Wang Han was none other than Wang Da Tou, the leader of the Five Tigers under General Wang Li!

It was no wonder Yang Yanping didn't know; even Lin Yue himself only belatedly connected the two names after hearing them. After all, Wang Da Tou's reputation was known throughout the Army, while his real name, Wang Han, was rarely heard.

"Hahaha!" Wang Da Tou stepped forward and burst into hearty laughter. In the silent night, a slight echo even resounded, like a night owl.

"I had a hunch this time I'd be acting with Brother Lin. I didn't expect my guess to be right!" Wang Da Tou laughed as he rode closer, looking as if he had everything under control.

"Oh? How do you figure?" Lin Yue asked, intrigued.

"Heh heh, our night raid this time is primarily cavalry, and among the cavalry, you are foremost. So I predicted early on that this second battle would be fought with you, Brother Lin!" Wang Da Tou analyzed.

Lin Yue nodded silently, then grasped the key point and asked, "Is General Wang also on the second battle?"

"Heh heh." Wang Da Tou chuckled, "Of course. I just finished and rushed over. Luckily, I wasn't late."

"Then, General Wang, how was the Encampment you raided earlier?" Lin Yue asked curiously.

"There were far fewer people. What, did you also encounter this situation?" Wang Da Tou suddenly became animated and asked.

"Precisely. When I raided that Encampment, there was only one-fifth of the usual number of men. The main Army had already left the Encampment an hour earlier." Lin Yue said gravely.

"It was the same at our place." Wang Da Tou said in a deep voice.

Both sides then fell silent. If only one Encampment was like this, it might be a coincidence, but if both Encampments were, it was highly likely a pre-planned military operation!

"Then it really might be heading towards our Encampment." Wang Da Tou said, stroking his chin in thought.

"That's what I thought!" Lin Yue's eyes lit up. "So we're not going back?"

"No!" Wang Da Tou shook his big head, refuting, "Why go back? While the Xiongnu people's rear is empty, we should strike while the iron is hot and utterly defeat them!

You know, such an opportunity is rare!"

"The Xiongnu people's rear is empty now, but aren't ours as well?" Lin Yue asked.

"Different, different, vastly different!" Wang Da Tou chuckled, saying mysteriously, "Do you know how many men the Deputy Commander dispatched for this night raid on the Xiongnu people?"

"Eight hundred thousand?" Lin Yue ventured.

As the Deputy Commander of the Great Wall Legion, Wang Li commanded the largest force, seven armies in total. Each of the Five Tigers commanded an Army, and he and She Jian also each commanded an Army, totaling approximately 2.4 million men. Among these, cavalry accounted for over 800,000, already a significant number among the various legions.

That's why Lin Yue guessed 800,000 cavalry. After all, the momentum tonight was huge, with attacks launched simultaneously on several fronts. Wang Li should have deployed all his cavalry; otherwise, small skirmishes were not Wang Li's style!

Wang Da Tou shook his head and said, "Incorrect."

Then he whispered mysteriously, "For this night raid, the Deputy Commander only deployed 400,000 cavalry!"

"Four hundred thousand cavalry?" Lin Yue found it hard to believe. "How is it only 400,000 cavalry?"

"Oh, my Brother Lin! Four hundred thousand is already a lot!" Wang Da Tou sighed, "Before this, that is, before you exchanged five million warhorses with the Xiongnu people elder, how many cavalry did we have?

At that time, 400,000 warhorses were something our Deputy Commander couldn't even scrape together by begging and pleading!"

"That's still not right. I have 200,000 cavalry here, you have 100,000, meaning besides us, there's only one other route of 100,000 cavalry?

So we only divided into three routes?" Lin Yue asked in surprise. This was far too different from his envisioned full-scale, massive assault!

This was all thunder and no rain!

"So do you know how abundant the forces in the rear are?" Wang Da Tou chuckled. "The Xiongnu people can only retreat in defeat this time, and when that happens, seeing their dilapidated Encampment with dusty faces, what will they feel?"

Wang Da Tou had a mischievous grin.

"So we depart now?" Lin Yue asked. Since Wang Da Tou and She Jian weren't worried and were still following military orders, he had nothing to worry about either.

Just as Wang Da Tou said, such an opportunity was rare and not to be missed!

"Mm!" Wang Da Tou glanced at the moon, estimating that the time was about right. He then rode alongside Lin Yue, heading together toward their next target.

Halfway there, Wang Da Tou suddenly said in a deep voice, "Our next opponent is the King of Xihu, under the Right Wise King. This time, the King of Xihu has brought 600,000 cavalry to assist him. Our main target is him!"

"Mm." Lin Yue nodded. He already knew this information.

Although the King of Xihu and the Right Wise King were both 'kings,' their statuses were vastly different.

The Right Wise King was one of the six Xiongnu people kings and generals, wielding immense power across the steppes.

The King of Xihu, however, was more akin to King Baiyang and others, all kings who ruled over their own territories, but their strengths varied greatly and could not be compared.

This King of Xihu was a king of mid-tier strength. His specific power was unclear, but they were certain that the King of Xihu was even weaker than King Baiyang.

As long as they could decisively defeat the King of Xihu, while it wouldn't cripple King Baiyang, it would significantly weaken the Right Wise King's power!

And this King of Xihu, according to intelligence, possessed the strength of a peak Second-Rate Military General. As long as he was in the Encampment, with Zi Long present, he would be easily captured!

Just then, Wang Da Tou suddenly slowed down and said faintly, "We're still missing one person."

"Who are we still missing?" Lin Yue asked.

"She Jian!"