216 Get on the Horse and Yousre a Thief IV (1/2)
Doing a simple mathematical analysis would provide one with an accurate conclusion. For example, a middle-aged man who has seventeen concubines was definitely a rich man. An official who had two or more calligraphy sections written by Ning Que hanging in his study was not only rich but of a certain status as well.
That was why it became evident that it was either the Palace or the Yan Kingdom that was behind the Horse Gang when the number of Horse Gang members escorting the grains silently grew to over six hundred men strong. Only Yan Kingdom and the Left-Tent Palace had the ability to feed so many men. However, Ning Que could not wrap his around the motives of the Horse Gang. Both the Yan Kingdom and the Left-Tent Palace should be open to and welcome the peace negotiations.
Ning Que grew silent as he grew tenser.
There were two hundred riders from the Yan Kingdom and over a hundred civilians in the team sending the grains. Along with them were over ten young women cultivators from the Black Ink Garden of the Great River Kingdom. In the beginning, the two seemed to be equally strong. He had thought that they would move like the Horse Gang usually would if he scared them a little. However, he realized that the Horse Gang were not simply here to rob them, but had other intentions as he saw their numbers grow.
There were now over six hundred riders from the Horse Gang. They held the upper hand for now. Even if he brought Mo Shanshan along and charged at them, he wouldn't even make a dent in their numbers.
There were no new riders joining in. The six hundred riders from the Horse Gang followed the team bringing grains silently towards the north. The Horse Gang did not begin any attack and seemed hesitant as if they were waiting for orders.
No matter whether they attacked or not, the Horse Gang brought about immense stress to the team escorting the grains as they surrounded them. It felt as if there was a dark cloud hanging over their heads that was threatening to rain down upon them. The pressure grew more and more intense and the atmosphere descended into fear and hopelessness. If they weren't in the frigid Wilderness, the pale Yan army might have abandoned camp right there and then.
The invisible thread that hung between the grain escort team and the Horse Gang grew tighter and tighter. While nothing was happening as of yet, Ning Que was certain that the Horse Gang would lose all opportunity to attack if they didn't soon. The distance to the Palace was getting smaller with each step and there would be a point in time when the invisible thread would snap.
It was not all snow and mud in the Wilderness. There were also abandoned sand cities and little hills. The grains team stopped for a rest in a patch of aspen forest. The Yan General looked at the surrounding Horse Gang and dispatched his sentinels. Even though there was no point to it, it soothed the worries of the people slightly.
”If there are no reinforcements, the grains team will not be able to travel safely. We are not far from the Palace right now. There is a possibility we might encounter Chanyu's best riders or the cavalry from the Divine Hall. The problem is, even if they don't see the fireworks, you must have a way to inform them since you are a skilled Talisman Master.”
Ning Que's gaze shifted from the map before him and asked Mo Shanshan in a grave tone. Mo Shanshan was calm and collected as usual as if she did not see the Horse Gang that was circling around.
After a moment of silence, she looked at Ning Que. Her long lashes fluttered slightly as she said, ”The Divine Hall wants to send some important figures to the Palace safely. There should be a team of Papal Cavalryman. They shouldn't be too far from us according to the map, which means they should have seen the fireworks last night.”
Ning Que stared into her deadened eyes and asked, ”If... they didn't see the fireworks, will they be able to find out that we're here?”
Mo Shanshan nodded slightly, her dark black hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall.
Ning Que calmed down slightly and drank some water. After a moment of silence, he said, ”I will get out of here first thing if the relief troop doesn't appear and our army can't resist the Horse Gang. Do you all want to come with me?”
He was, of course, referring to the students of the Black Ink Garden of Great River Kingdom. It did not include the cavalry or civilians of Yan Kingdom.
Cat Girl overheard what Ning Que said as she brought food over to them. Her face flushed slightly as she said, ”Senior Brother... how can you say that?”
Ning Que did not explain himself. He ruffled the girl's head indulgently before saying to Mo Shanshan, ”You should know that I am a cold-blooded person. I consider my survival first before anything else. If the relief troop does not turn up, the grains team cannot hold off any attack from the Horse Gang. If you want anyone to survive then, you'd be sending everyone to their deaths. That is why I hope that you will all make the right choice if it comes to that.”
The grains team were extremely careful every time they stopped for a rest due to the circling Horse Gang. Other than sending out sentinels, the grains team had also organized their carts closely in order to prevent the enemy from charging into camp. Even though it brought about many inconveniences, it was better than death. That was why nobody thought it was a nuisance.
A sudden commotion sounded beneath a dying aspen tree. Ning Que stood up and looked towards it. He shook his head, put on his mask and walked towards the commotion. Cat Girl followed behind him curiously.
The Yan army general stared at Zhuo Zhihua with a solemn face and said angrily, ”If it weren't for you Southerners, why would I be sent to do such a terrible task? You want me to wait for the relief troops even in such a situation? I only have two hundred people. They have at least seven or eight. How do I wait? How are we going to fight this war? My stand is clear. I will take my people and spring an attack on them. So what if we leave behind these grains for the Horse Gang? Being alive is the most important thing here. It's your problem if you want to die with these grains.”
Zhuo Zhihua suppressed the anger bubbling in her chest. She pointed at the frenzied civilians and said, ”What about them? They are people of the Yan Kingdom. Are you not going to care if they die as their General?”
”Who will care if I die?”
The General waved his hands around angrily, signing for his man to gather the cavalry in preparation to quickly escape from the circle the Horse Gang were trapping them in before they closed in on them.