Chapter 217 (1/2)

The wind never stopped in the Wilderness in winter. It might not be strong, but it pierced deep into your very bones, robbing you of any trace of warmth. Mo Shanshan though wore a thin white dress with a jade blue sash around her waist that was the color of a deep lake. It was a strong contrast to her usual slow gaze.

Her dark brows rose slightly as she asked Ning Que, ”You've killed their General. Are you not worried that his people might hate you and not do their best in the battle or even surrender to the Horse Gang?”

”The Military planted their trusted General here which was not in the interest of the soldiers. The dead General did not have a good relations.h.i.+p with these cavalries, especially the Yan Kingdom calvary. I am a citizen of Tang and I understand this well.”

Ning Que used his fingers to check if the three podaos were held firmly by the string. He lowered his head and answered, ”I killed the Yan General and stopped those officials. The two hundred men might be angry, but they are not sad. This anger comes more from fear and unrest.”

Mo Shanshan looked at the bamboo hat which covered most of his face. ”They fear you.. fear would make one want to stay far away from you. This might a reason for them to surrender to the Horse Gang.”

”Even the weakest soldier would find surrendering to the Horse Gang a tough decision to make. They would think about it over and over, but thinking requires a relaxed emotional state.”

Ning Que raised his head. He looked at the Horse Gang who have been prowling in the outskirts but have yet to attack. He continued, ”The situation right now is too tense. They might get shot by an arrow anytime.” The Yan soldiers had neither the time nor the conditions to think. They were like a herd of wild horses who had lost their leader. Where a single horse go, they will follow blindly. What I want, is for them to follow blindly.”

Mo Shanshan looked at his side profile. ”Were you in the army before?”

Ning Que nodded.

Mo Shanshan fiddled with her hair. After a moment of silence, she said, ”I have indeed learned a lot in the time we spent together.”

Ning Que looked at her and smiled. ”You're too kind. There is nothing good you can learn from me. If possible, I hope that you will never have the opportunity to learn these things.”

The two hundred Yan riders did not really grieve the loss of their high and mighty General who bossed them around and the officials who only knew how to pander to him. They were only slightly angry. However, just as Ning Que predicted, the loss of their leader led to anger and quickly turned into the feeling of loss and quiet compliance.

Every army who could fight had their own unique aura. However, the Yan army did not. If this was a Tang army, they would not be so docile and follow the lead of someone else after their General had been murdered.

Ning Que was very glad that the Yan Kingdom did not have any backbone.

He did not command them directly, but instead, pa.s.sed his orders through Mo Shanshan from the horse carriage. Zhuo Zhihua and four other disciples from Black Ink Garden took over the positions of officers temporarily. They took charge of the order in camp, sending of sentries as well as managed theft prevention. Their orders were quickly carried out and there were no complaints from the Yan riders or anyone else. The order and atmosphere were better than before.

The grain team continued their way up north, followed by more than six hundred members of the Horse Gang. According to the orders from the horse carriage, their speed was carefully monitored and changed constantly. They speeded up and then slowed down. This was no doubt a sort of torture to the riders and the civilians driving the carts. However, they managed to do it and hindered the progress of the Horse Gang.

The most dangerous part of the day was twilight. It was spent in silence as the team moved onwards. The team dragged on in a long line as they entered a rare low-lying land in the Wilderness. The skies darkened and light gradually faded.

This low-lying area had two meadows that rose upwards on both sides of it. In the darkness, one's eyes could not see the end of the path. It was similar to the valleys of the south, but just that the terrain was not as tough nor steep.

The ten Yan riders leading the way were surprised when they heard the whistle from behind as it signaled that they had decided to pitch their tents right there.

Anyone with military knowledge would not set up camp in such a low-lying area with high meadows on both sides of it. If the Horse Gang took the opportunity to race downwards at the grain team, who had stretched out in a long line, their weak defenses would be broken. It was highly dangerous.

Following that, a new order was pa.s.sed down from the horse carriage. The orders were that the grain carts were to be gathered together in formation. They were to remove the carriages and to use them as s.h.i.+elds. However, there were no orders for them to dig traps. Nor did they set up tripping lines for horses at the two ends of their formation. It gave the impression that the person in the carriage had long given up on defense and was waiting for the Horse Gang to attack.

Twilight came and the bright red of the sky rushed at them before dying, enveloping the team in darkness. One could barely make out the people rus.h.i.+ng to place their s.h.i.+elds and the rising smoke columns.

Suddenly, the smoke died out, as if they had been frozen still by the cold air. Everyone who had been busying around turned to look at the meadow on their left. Their bodies stiffened and all were silent.

Hundreds of Horse Gang members appeared on the meadows mere feet away from them. This was the closest they have got to them over the past few days. The Horse Gang stood still in the distance. In the light of the dying sun, they looked like a dense forest burning ferociously, giving one a strong sense of oppression.

Ning Que rose his bamboo hat up by a few inches. He looked at the Horse Gang standing on the meadow and scrunched up his eyebrows. He noticed that the Horse Gang were more orderly and quiet today. There wasn't a single one of them who had charged up silently in challenge or to scare them.

He noticed that the team fronting the Horse Gang riders had ten more riders than before.

He was sure that he had never seen the masked riders before. That meant that the ten additional riders arrived today. The startling change in the Horse Gang was also due to these riders.

”Even if they were not the representative of those backing the Horse Gang, these ten riders must be in charge.” Ning Que looked at the Horse Gang who pointed at their camp with their riding crops. He looked at their mask and said in a low voice, ”We have to get rid of those ten if we have the chance. We might be able to get out of this then.”