53: Change of plans

After a day and two nights of travel, the White Horse Righteous Cavalry finally arrived at the designated position with Colonel Gong Lin's unit.

At this moment, Xing Daorong was idly gnawing on a hard, dry biscuit, occasionally looking into the distance.

"Military Marquis, Lieutenant Colonel Gong Lin has summoned you for a discussion," Li Mu walked over and whispered.

"Understood," Lin Yue nodded and walked over.

Pan Feng patted Xing Daorong's shoulder, waking him from his reverie, and gestured for him to follow.

It was dark all the way, accompanied by soft snores, and Lin Yue cautiously followed the Soldier's guidance to the meeting place.

"Lieutenant, Military Marquis Lin Yue reports for duty," Lin Yue said softly as he reached the middle of the grass.

"Good, everyone is here, so I'll get straight to the point.

This place is twenty li from the Xiongnu people Encampment, and there is still half an hour until dawn.

All the Xiongnu people along the way have been dealt with by the scouts, and currently, they have not discovered us.

So, taking advantage of this time, I will select three thousand men to act as vanguards, approaching the enemy camp first. When the main Army attacks, these three thousand will also join in the raid!"

Colonel Gong Lin licked his lips and smiled.

"This humble general is willing to go!" Upon hearing this, the Generals all spoke up, requesting to fight!

Colonel Gong Lin pressed his palm down, signaling everyone to be silent, then said:

"Chen Erniu!"

"This humble general is here!" A strong man stepped forward and responded in a low voice, his eyes gleaming in the dark.

"You stay here and temporarily act as the commander-in-chief!"

"Ah? Boss, I want to be the vanguard!" Chen Erniu's expression changed, looking wronged, clearly dissatisfied with being left behind.

"Stop talking nonsense. This time, I'm taking my thousand personal guards, plus your five cavalry companies, each drawing four hundred men. We will form the vanguard!" Colonel Gong Lin said unequivocally.

"Understood!" The Generals were somewhat disappointed but had no choice but to obey the military order.

Lin Yue, however, was delighted and quickly went back to prepare his men.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the men and horses were assembled. Lin Yue brought Pan Feng, Xing Daorong, and two hundred elite Soldiers, leaving Li Mu to command the White Horse Righteous Cavalry.

"Let me say this beforehand, this operation carries risks. If we are exposed prematurely and disrupt the plan set by the Colonel, that will be an act of defying a military order.

Now, who agrees, who withdraws, make your stance clear."

Colonel Gong Lin swept his gaze around and said indifferently.

Half of the people around him were his personal troops, so Lin Yue knew this was meant for the five of them.

The five of them were the first to encounter the Xiongnu people, and compared to the Golden Fire Cavalry, they harbored an even deeper hatred!

Then, seeing that no one retreated, Colonel Gong Lin smiled: "No one is backing out? Good then, now we are all in this together.

I am the Lieutenant, you are the Military Marquises. If something really goes wrong, you won't lose out."

Everyone chuckled silently at this.

"Then I will tell you some honest words: why am I willing to violate a military order to form this vanguard?

It's because I'm afraid Li Rupo will hold us back!

If he delays the opportune moment and causes the Xiongnu people to escape, it won't be so easy to get revenge again."

Colonel Gong Lin looked at the five of them, clearly giving them a chance to wipe away their past shame!

"Everyone, do not be careless. The Juqu Tribe has no less than five hundred thousand archers. The Encampment ahead should have over two hundred thousand men. Once our unit retreats, it will be like sheep entering a pack of wolves, instantly annihilated.

Therefore, once the battle begins, all of you must fight to the death and not retreat!"

"Understood!" Everyone responded.

A night raid relies on surprise and momentum. Once the momentum is lost, the situation will completely reverse!

They all understood this principle.

"Alright, no more talk. Pay attention to concealment, act cautiously, and follow my command in everything." Colonel Gong Lin looked at the sky and said no more.

Then everyone nodded silently and prepared themselves.

With bits in their horses' mouths and hooves wrapped in cloth, the group began to march slowly, using the last of the night.

The warhorses advanced slowly, and everyone felt uneasy, fearing that they might be discovered by the Xiongnu people wandering outside if they weren't careful.

It was silent all the way, but the closer they got to the Encampment, the greater the possibility of being discovered!

"Silence! Conceal yourselves!"

Suddenly, everyone heard Colonel Gong Lin's soft shout and immediately hid nearby.

Soon, a line of cavalry appeared in the distance, numbering about a hundred. Most importantly, this cavalry unit all had queue hairstyles!

Jurchen!

That group of Jurchen stopped there, scanning left and right.

"Aluba, go check over there, I feel something is wrong," a Jurchen cavalryman pointed in Lin Yue's direction and said.

"Haha! Uda, are you still drunk? Why are you as timid as Military Advisor Zhao!" Aluba laughed loudly.

"Hmph, don't mention that outsider. On the day Huerhan proposed to the Juqu Tribe, he was still so timid, it's truly laughable!" Uda cursed loudly and indignantly, clearly extremely dissatisfied!

"Alas, who told the leader to favor him? You'd better keep your voice down," Aluba sighed.

Last night, when Huerhan proposed, they inevitably drank some wine. Who knew that near dawn, they were woken up by the Military Advisor, who told them to go on patrol to prevent a raid on the camp.

When they left the camp, they were even mocked by the Xiongnu people, who said that a Qin Army unit had been completely annihilated by him, and that no one else would dare to raid here.

Hearing this, they wished they could bury their heads in the dirt. They had never been so cautious within their own tribe. This time, they had disgraced themselves outside!

"Hmph, these damned cowards, one day, I will kill all the outsiders in the tribe!"

"Alright, Uda, stop talking, let's go back." Aluba sighed and turned his horse around.

Seeing the cavalry return, Lin Yue and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief. That was close!

But why were the Jurchen here?

"Why are these Jurchen here?" a deputy general asked softly.

"Who cares? Fighting one is fighting, fighting two is also fighting," Colonel Gong Lin said indifferently.

Suddenly, Colonel Gong Lin took out a token, from which light emanated.

He held the token close to his ear, and then his brows furrowed tightly.

This was a communication token, also called a voice transmission token!

Lin Yue had seen one on She Jian once; it could transmit voices within a hundred li radius, similar to the range of player area chat and friend chat, like a pager in the Great Xia Dynasty.

However, the number of voice transmission tokens in the game was not large, only provided to some high-ranking military officers.

"Damn it, it's not even dawn yet!"

Colonel Gong Lin cursed, and at the same time stood up and shouted: "Mount up! Follow me!"

The three thousand cavalrymen heard the Lieutenant's command and understood that something had gone wrong with the other two routes.

In an instant, fierce fighting intent erupted in their eyes. They stood up and mounted their horses in one swift motion, following Colonel Gong Lin to charge the Juqu Tribe's Encampment!

The three thousand cavalrymen, like a pack of wolves, silently rushed towards their target.

The closer they got to the Encampment, the more herders they encountered. Some herders looked around, and some directly mounted their horses and rushed towards the Encampment.

However, Colonel Gong Lin paid no attention to these herders. His goal, from beginning to end, was only one: the Juqu Tribe's Encampment!