Chapter 347
Chapter 347
Chapter 347 – Hidden Ambush Party
Gongsun Du observed Lu Zhi's unmoving troops with a frustrated expression . His men ran out of arrows, and they could not charge into Lu Zhi's maze array .
Looking around, Gongsun Du could see that his soldiers were already tired from the repeated shooting .
"Ugh, that old fox . No matter how hard you wait for reinforcement, they won't arrive!"
Gongsun Du sent a signal . He gathered all of his horse archers into a triple-line formation, feinting a charge . His real purpose was not a cavalry charge, but he wanted to let his men recover from the fatigue . By feinting a cavalry charge, Lu Zhi's men would be put in a psychological pressure, and they had to maintain a phalanx formation against a horse charge .
Once they recovered, Gongsun Du planned to contact Qiuliju and planned his next move .
Betraying Gongsun Du's expectation, Lu Zhi's soldiers transited into a spear wall array . Furthermore, several daredevil men broke out of their formation to collect arrows on the ground .
From Gongsun Du's observation, none of the arrow collectors paid attention to them as if the horse formation meant nothing to them .
Gongsun Du was so mad that he almost ordered a direct charge . However, he attempted to taunt Lu Zhi, so he could make a mistake .
"Lu Zhi, you coward! Come here and fight like a man! Oh right, you're no longer a man . I doubt that your cod can even get up anymore!"
Listening to the taunt, Lu Zhi harrumphed and shouted back, "Barking dogs usually don't bite . But in your case, I think you don't even have fangs to bite . Heck, I don't think you're at the age of reproduction since your mouth stinks of your mother's milk . Go back and learn how to suck your mama's tits properly before you talk to me about dicks! Oh wait, I doubt you can suck your mama's tits anymore since she might be too busy giving a suckle to a random man on the street for a few coins!"
Gongsun Du's anger went through the roof . Calling his mother a prostitute was not something he could tolerate .
"That's it! All units, charge! Get me that geezer's head!"
Gongsun Du's aide cried in alarm, "M-My lord, but that's a spear wall formation …"
"I don't give a FOOk! Get me his head!"
"Y-Yes, my lord!"
*BWOOOO*
A charge signal echoed through the battlefield, and all horsemen switched their weapon to spears .
Lu Zhi smirked and waved his hand, gesturing his archers and javelin throwers .
All archers had collected enough ammo for their repeating crossbows, and the spearmen had saved their javelins for this moment .
Now that Gongsun Du finally made a mistake . It was time for punishment .
"Idiots . You're ten years too early to face me head-on! Archers! Javelins! Get ready!"
.
He Xing was in deep thought while Zhao Yun galloped his horse at full speed . They had taken a detour from the battlefield and escaped north .
On the way, they encountered Gongsun Du's stray troopers and deserters, but they posed no threat to Zhao Yun .
7 PM .
The sky darkened . Zhao Yun stopped his horse near a shallow river, so the horse can take a short rest while he harvested a wild hunt for the empress and the prince .
"Your majesty, please wait here . I'll procure our dinner . "
"I'm fine . As long as Xie'er gets some food, I'll be alright . "
Zhao Yun dashed into the darkness with his spear .
As He Xing was waiting and calming her son, she pondered about the current situation . As a former educated concubine, her thought was different than women in this era .
She was not the type who would follow men's lead all the time unless she was under a life-threatening situation, such as Friday's death threat of her jealousy . He Xing was the type who would not give up her life until she reached a dead-end .
At the moment, He Xing was hopeful, but she was not optimistic about this traveling .
Looking at her white cloth with laces, she frowned .
'This is not a commoner's cloth . If we encounter a disciplined army, they will immediately find out about my status . '
Without hesitation, she took off her white outer garment and untied her hair . Because of that, her naked smooth shoulders revealed to the public .
This year, He Xing was in her 30s, but her outward look was still in her early 20s . Because of the lifespans and the irregular system of this world, she stopped aging, and her appearance slowly reverted back to her prime .
As a result, her stunning beauty could be a demerit in this situation as it might also attract random bandits .
With such thought, He Xing smeared her face, her hair, and her stripped outer garment with mud .
Liu Xie stared at his mother in doubt . He walked to her and mimicked her action as he thought that his mom was playing .
He Xing sniggered .
"Take off your clothes and dipped them in the mud . Once it dries, put them back on . "
"Won't it be too dirty?"
"Yes, it is . But we will disguise ourselves as a commoner family, so you have to look dirty and poor . "
"What are you playing, mom? Are we playing peasants?"
"Yes, we are . Haha . "
"Okay!"
Twenty minutes later, Zhao Yun came back with two wild rabbits . When he lit a bonfire to cook his games, he was shocked .
The face of He Xing and Liu Xie covered in mud and dirt while their hair looked messy because of dirty water .
"Y-Your majesty?"
"Don't mind our looks . We have to disguise ourselves as commoners, right? We shouldn't look too clean, or it will be too easy to recognize . Besides, I think there will be more ambushing parties further ahead, so we shouldn't attract attention . "
"R-Right . "
He Xing's words were from the clan chat between the strategists . Lu Zhi and Jia Xu gave their advice to He Xing about their escape, and Sima Fang had already planned their escape route .
Moreover, Sima Fang's scouting teams reported that Gongsun Du traveled through their territories with 30,000 soldiers, but Lu Zhi informed that they were ambushed with 15,000 men .
15,000 Men were still missing! It was as clear as days that they hid their forces somewhere around here between Ye and Liyang .
"You should also take off your armor and change your cloth . You look more like a deserted soldier rather than my husband in disguise . "
He Xing grinned as she teased Zhao Yun .
On the other hand, Zhao Yun blushed in embarrassment when He Xing mentioned "Husband . " As a virgin young man, he was vulnerable to a female's seduction .
Fortunately, Zhao Yun reminded himself that He Xing was Tong's third wife, so he did not have any funny idea about her .
Still, Zhao Yun followed after He Xing's advice and discarded his armor . His outer clothing also covered in blood, so he walked to the river to wash it .
10 PM .
A group of ten visitors came because of their bonfire .
The visitors were no one else but a scout team from Gongsun Du's Army!
"Yo, you over there! What are you doing here in the middle of the forest?"
Zhao Yun, who was currently wearing dirty dried ragged clothes, glared at these men, but he withheld his killing intent .
"We're running away from a war, my lord . "
The scouts looked at each other and turned to Zhao Yun in suspicion .
"What war?"
"The war at Luoyang, my lord . There were too many wars, and it ruins our farms, so we decided to travel north since we heard about its prosperity . "
"Oh, okay . "
The scouts knew about what had happened in Luoyang recently, so they thought that Zhao Yun's words made sense .
"Are you here with your family?"
One of the guards glanced at the sleeping Liu Xie and He Xing . The light from the bonfire revealed their dirty hair, face, and clothes, which covered in dried dirt .
"Y-Yes, my lord . I'm here with my wife and my son . "
At this moment, three guards paused .
"How old are you?"
"Err …"
Zhao Yun realized his mistake . Liu Xie was six this year, and Zhao Yun was only 19 . Also, He Xing looked like she was in her 20s, so the age difference was odd .
"25, my lord . "
"Really? You look kinda younger than that . "
"Ahaha . Thank you for your compliment, my lord . "
"What about your wife?"
"She's … 27, my lord . "
"Huh? Is it?"
All scouts glanced back and forth between Zhao Yun and the sleeping He Xing . They had a cringed expression on their faces as they did not 100% believe in Zhao Yun .
Soon, another scout with good eyes found something reflected by the bonfire light . He walked toward the direction to inspect it .
And he found Zhao Yun's hidden armor!
That scout turned around and questioned, "Why do you have an imperial armor over here?"
All the soldiers were not stupid . They concluded in their mind that Zhao Yun might be an enemy's deserter, so they pointed their weapon at Zhao Yun .
Unperturbed, Zhao Yun raised his hands to the air, "My lord, those are something that I took from a dead body, and I have planned to sell it at a city . If I don't do this, I won't have enough coins to buy food for my wife and my child . Please spare me . "
The good eye soldier sneered as he pointed at a sleeping horse, "And a warhorse?"
Zhao Yun smiled back, "That is my best harvest . If you like it, I can give it to you . "
Having a warhorse was convenient in a journey, but they brought too much attention upon himself . Zhao Yun had planned to trade this with a regular workhorse, so he did not mind bribing these men .
An awkward silence continued for a minute before the scout captain stopped them .
"We'll take your armor and the warhorse . Take this . "
He tossed a handful of coins on the ground . They were the commoner's currency in this country, which had less value than a gold nugget .
Zhao Yun pretended to scour for the coins without shame, which caused the soldiers to laugh .
"Let's go . Leave the peasants alone!"
"Yes, sir!"
The team stole Zhao Yun's warhorse and his armor before they left . Fortunately, Zhao Yun hid his long spear and his sword under the ground below his feet .
None of them noticed that Zhao Yun's left foot sunk into the ground, which he was ready to kick his spear into the air and unleash his spearmanship .
After the soldiers had left, He Xing opened her eyes and looked at the soldiers .
"Is it alright, sir Zhao?"
Zhao Yun nodded, "It's better this way . If they are loitering around here, their main force should also be somewhere in this vicinity . Killing them here will attract their attention . ".
As He Xing listened to Zhao Yun's analysis, her fingers typed on the invisible keyboard .
He Xing: "We found a scout team from Gongsun Du Army . "
He Xing: "They stole Zhao Yun's armor and warhorse . We'll have to travel on foot from now on . "
Xun Yu: "That confirms our theory . There's another ambushing party . "
Sima Fang: "I'll track them ASAP!"
Sima Fang: "I've deployed 10,000 police and 10,000 reserves . They are scouting the areas ATM . "
Xun Yu: "Lord Sima, don't engage in a direct fight . Trap them there and wait for the legions . "
Sima Fang: "I don't like this strategy, but fine . "
Ju Shou: "Your majesty, did they harm you?"
He Xing: "No . I followed your advice, and they thought we are commoners . "
Ju Shou: "Good . Please proceed north like that . "
He Xing: "Alright . "
He Xing: "How is sir Lu?"
Lu Zhi: "We're alright, your majesty . "
Lu Zhi: "I've crippled Gongsun Du Army, and he fled north with his other battalion . Please be careful . "
He Xing: "I will . "