More than 40,000 soldiers and horses walked along the long official road, like a long dragon, extending to the end of heaven and earth.
The solitary mountain is approaching, and there is a long-abandoned village outside the mountain. Green grass grows wildly, and the whole village blends into the mountains and earth, and is lush and boundless.
Chen Xihua led his men to the mountains. The tent they set up was abandoned on the same spot, and smoke billowed from the six-foot-long stove, proving that the scouts were not lying.
But what about people?
"They can't run so fast!" Chen Xihua cursed.
The soldiers went to search the tents and came back: "General, there are only tents, there is nothing inside!"
"What do you mean there's nothing?" Qi Yong asked.
"It's just empty, nothing!"
Qi Yong frowned, turned around and walked towards the camp closest to him, which was also a hundred steps away.
Once the cloth was lifted, it was completely empty. The grass on the ground was fresh, vigorous and full of life, with no trace of being weighed down by the camp bed.
I went to a few nearby and they were all like this.
"General, there really is nothing!" Qi Yong came back and said to Chen Xihua.
"Why did she do this?" Chen Xihua was puzzled, "Why did she stage this empty city plan?"
Qi Yong looked at an officer: "Take ten people to Santang Ridge immediately and see if the camp in Santangling is the same!"
"Yes!" the officer responded.
He just rode out and a scout came quickly on horseback: "General, more than 800 cavalry appeared in the direction of Hengxiang Mansion!"
"What do you mean by showing up? Are you escaping or coming south?" Qi Yong asked loudly.
"Come back to the military division, you are coming towards us!"
"Coming towards us?" Chen Xihua frowned, "Only eight hundred? How dare you?!"
Qi Yong looked at Chen Xihua: "General, prepare for war first. If the cavalry does come, we will use roadblocks, spears, crossbows and long ropes to deal with it. Otherwise, with the flexibility of the cavalry, although we will not suffer big losses, it will be like being stuck with dog skin plaster."
It’s so disgusting!”
"Dingxin," Chen Xihua lowered his voice, "I feel deeply bad."
"General, nothing will happen. We will leave immediately and go all the way to Hengxiang Mansion!"
Chen Xihua nodded and looked towards the tents.
The materials of these tents are obviously of high quality, so it would be too extravagant to leave them here so casually just to create an empty city.
And, what exactly does the other party want to do?
Chen Xihua mounted his horse and led his troops to leave Gushan.
Before we left the mountainous area of Gushan, another scout came back: ‘Report!! General!”
"Speak quickly!" Chen Xihua shouted.
The scout did not dare to say anything, so he said anxiously when he got closer: "General, all the scouts from the Jiazi Camp have disappeared, or they have all been captured!"
Chen Xihua was stunned: "You scouts are all human beings, how could they all be captured!"
"I didn't see anyone! I waited for a long time by the agreed dividing water bank, but no one came back!"
"General, it's not advisable to delay!" Qi Yong said in a deep voice, "Let's all go to Hengxiang Mansion and try not to deal with them to see what other tricks they have!"
"Okay, let's go!" Chen Xihua was also angry.
The whole army sped up and moved quickly. After walking for less than half an hour, Chen Xihua suddenly discovered that no scouts came back to report the news.
He tightened the reins and looked around: "Where are the scouts? Where are our scouts?"
"Perhaps, they were all captured." Qi Yong said, trying to stay calm.
"This is the Xia Family Army!" Chen Xihua gritted his teeth and said, "I thought he was a famous general, but unexpectedly he was so sneaky that he didn't dare to face the enemy head-on, and he committed such sinister acts!"
"General, soldiers never tire of deceit." Qi Yong said.
"It's really hateful. I still want to respect them a little. Now it seems that I have to kill them all before I can express this anger!"
"Indeed, the more sinister and shameless they are, the more legitimate and reputable we become."
Chen Xihua raised his head and looked at the road ahead. He suddenly paused and stretched out his finger: "Dingxin, what is that?"
The world in front of him was so vast. Under the huge sky, there was an endless forest. Qi Yong followed Chen Xihua's finger and looked at it for a long time. He didn't know what Chen Xihua was pointing to.
Chen Xihua said: "Those trees in the forest have been cut down!"
Qi Yong thought it was something. Those were very tall locust trees. The locust trees shaded the woods inside. Looking closely, he saw that they had indeed been heavily cut down, and many places were bald.
Qi Yong looked back at Chen Xihua.
Chen Xihua said: "It is said that the demon girl is good at construction and has countless hidden weapons hidden in her body. If she uses these trees to make crossbows, wouldn't we..."
Qi Yong was also afraid of this.
He looked back at the woods.
The sun is high, the wind is roaring, the clouds are rolling, like the waves of the sea, and the forest sea under the blue clouds is also rolling and undulating.
They have the upper hand in terms of numbers, but if the other party really makes a weapon with excellent craftsmanship and extremely lethality...
"Dingxin," Chen Xihua said, "let's take a detour."
Qi Yong looked at him: "Detour?"
"If it's a powerful weapon, they won't be able to move it very far. What do you think if we go around to the southwest of Hengxiang?"
"That's okay," Qi Yong nodded, "it's up to the general!"
"But right now, we can't do it without scouts," Chen Xihua looked at Lieutenant General He Qing, "How many scouts are there in Enping camp?"
"Return to the general, there are only thirty."
"Send them all out, and then choose smart soldiers to follow. One scout will lead two soldiers! If there are not enough horses, go to other camps to ask for horses! Give them the best horses!"
"yes!"
After all the scouts were dispatched, Chen Xihua led his troops towards the northwest.
As a result, this group of scouts did not come back.
The army stopped to rest next to a small lake of less than two hectares. Chen Xihua sat in the makeshift camp, his heart pounding and uneasy.
After waiting and waiting, he got up and walked outside, calling the guards: "Didn't any of the scouts return?"
Konoe nodded and said bravely: "Not one."
"Where is the Master of Qi Army?"
"The military advisor has been waiting outside the company camp."
"Go and call him over."
"yes!"
Qi Yong took a fan and quickly came back from outside and entered the tent. Chen Xihua, who was anxious after the march, hurriedly stood up: "Dingxin, the scouts in the Enping camp may also encounter something unexpected!"
Qi Yong took a deep breath and said solemnly: "General, our position is in chaos, and even I am in chaos. As I said before, the opponent is just a person with poor skills. They frequently make strange moves, just to disrupt the morale of our army!"
"Then what do you think we should do?"
Qi Yong counted the time with his fingers and said: "General, let's take a rest and burn some incense before we set off and continue to Hengxiang Mansion!"
"As for the scouts, should we send them? If there are savage beasts ahead, then we..."
"Send!" Qi Yong said, "We have to send! If thirty people go out, even if one comes back, we will all consider it as profit!"
Chen Xihua was even happy: "Dingxin, this business is a loss at all."
"Information is worth ten thousand dollars, General." Qi Yong said seriously.
