Chapter 155: Success or failure, it will be a matter of ice and fire
"Da da……"
As Li Dingguo and others were eagerly waiting, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came from far away.
A team of fifteen cavalrymen, dressed in black clothes and armor, came galloping from outside the valley.
These were the three scout teams sent out by Liang Hetang. They had already gathered together and were returning at full speed.
They quickly arrived in front of Li Dingguo and the others, stopped their spirit beast war horses, dismounted, saluted Li Dingguo, and the leader reported, "Report to the commander-in-chief!"
"We found a large group of Tatar cavalry about 150 miles to the north of here!"
"They have about 5,000 people, of which about 2,000 are warriors, and the rest are probably logistical personnel."
"After careful and secret observation, we have confirmed that the other side has a chief general at the early stage of the fourth level of martial arts, and more than a hundred generals at the third level of martial arts. They are very powerful!"
"Those soldiers were riding at least middle-grade dragon-scale horses. Among them, the fourth-level martial arts commander was riding a top-grade dragon-scale horse."
"There are also more than a dozen Tatar generals at the third level of martial arts, riding middle and lower-grade dragon-scale horses."
"In addition to each of them being equipped with two spiritual beast war horses, they also brought about 1,500 idle spiritual beast war horses with them. I guess they were used to trade with the Fan family, a large Jin merchant."
The scout captain named Pan Jinghua is a talented warrior in the Qilin Camp who is extremely meticulous. His reconnaissance ability is estimated to rank among the top three in the Renaissance Army.
Wei Jinfan tried several times to transfer him to the Military Intelligence Department, but Liang Hetang refused to agree.
What a joke, your Military Intelligence Department needs capable men, so my increasingly large Qilin Camp doesn't need a future scout camp commander?
He rejected Wei Jinfan's attempt on the grounds that Pan Jinghua had already reached the second peak of martial arts and was his right-hand man.
The military intelligence that Pan Jinghua has personally investigated is undoubtedly very accurate.
There is no other reason. This guy has already practiced the art of concealing his breath and the art of hiding his body to perfection. He is the second genius in the army besides Li Dingguo who has practiced these two unconventional techniques to perfection.
Not to mention the strongest person of the enemy, who only has the initial cultivation of the fourth level of martial arts, even a great master of the fifth level of martial arts would find it difficult to see through Pan Jinghua's deliberate disguise.
It can be said that as long as he personally puts his heart into spying on military intelligence, there is basically no intelligence he cannot obtain.
"Five thousand cavalry?"
"About two thousand warriors?"
"Not only do each person have two spirit beast war horses, but there are also more than a dozen dragon scale horses!"
"Even the leading general is not only a martial arts master at the early fourth level, but also rides a top-grade dragon-scale horse!"
"They also brought about 1,500 spirit beast war horses for trading with the Fan family!"
"If we can defeat them, the rewards will be huge!"...
As Pan Jinghua finished speaking, a burst of exclamations was heard at the scene!
After confirming this intelligence, these young warriors of the Restoration Army were not afraid at all, but talked about it excitedly.
This is a real piece of fat meat!
It depends on whether we can eat it.
It's not that they are arrogant, but everyone knows that it is possible to do it if they plan it intentionally or not.
"Commander-in-chief, why don't we set a trap here and plot against them?"
At this time, Tang Huai, deputy commander of the Qilin Camp, who had previously gone to report to Li Dingguo and had just returned here not long ago, gave a suggestion.
When Li Dingguo heard the news, he immediately rode over on a top-grade dragon-scale horse. Tang Huai, of course, could not catch up with him, so he returned more than a quarter of an hour late.
"Plot against them?"
Hearing this, Li Dingguo shook his head and said, "If we want to set up a trap here to ambush the enemy, we young warriors will have too many loopholes to succeed."
"Besides, the other party knows Vanderford, so it's hard for us to disguise ourselves."
"Moreover, considering the other party's cultivation level, if he senses something is wrong and attacks recklessly, we will face too much danger. It is not advisable!"
There was one more thing he didn't say: In front of a fourth-level martial arts master, this kind of trick is simply child's play.
It is basically impossible to hide the truth from the other side, and it will instead put one's own soldiers in a life-and-death crisis.
"It's no use setting up a trap here to plot against the other party. Our best approach is to be prepared for both scenarios."
Li Dingguo made his decision, "Send someone to inform Hongmei to lead our main force and keep it still, so as not to attract the Tatar scouts and notice the location of the main force."
"Our four battalions of soldiers will immediately go to meet the Tartar army and prepare for an ambush at a certain location."
"I will personally lead a commando team composed of elite warriors of the second and third levels of martial arts to try to see if we can launch a surprise attack on those Tartar generals, especially the chief general who has reached the early fourth level of martial arts cultivation."
"Theoretically speaking, a divine archer with a third-level martial arts cultivation, using a high-grade spiritual bow and arrow, can sneak attack any fourth-level martial arts master. As long as the opponent is careless, there is a certain chance that he can severely injure or even kill them."
"If we are lucky enough to successfully shoot and kill the Tatar leader in the Qi Refining Realm, eliminating the biggest threat, we can take advantage of the chaos in the enemy army to launch an active attack and defeat the Tatars who have come from afar in one fell swoop!" "If our sneak attack fails, we will immediately lead the soldiers to retreat deep into the northern prairie, circle around the Tatars, and then find a way to get rid of them to ensure the safety of our large army."
"In order to protect the safety of our hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, we must face this battle head-on. There is no way to avoid it!"
"The worst result is that after the sneak attack fails, we have to find ways to lead the Tartars deeper into the prairie!"
"We have very limited time left, so we must make full use of every bit of it."
After giving the order, Li Dingguo turned his gaze to the scout captain in front of him, "Pan Jinghua, you immediately take a team of the most elite scouts to the place where the Tartars must pass, and find a place suitable for our four battalions of soldiers to hide and launch a surprise attack!"
"Once you find a suitable ambush location, come back and inform us immediately. The soldiers from the fourth battalion here will set out in a quarter of an hour. They will meet up with you as soon as possible and then set up the ambush position!"
"Your action this time is largely related to the success or failure of our operation. You must consider it carefully and not act carelessly."
This sneak attack is too important. Whether it succeeds or not, the future fate of this Renaissance Army will be completely different.
The enemy's main general is a master of the fourth level of martial arts, and with the help of a group of 2,000 elite Tartar soldiers, if they face off head-on, our side will not be their match at all.
But if the sneak attack is successful, the result will be completely different.
"Yes! Commander-in-Chief!"
Pan Jinghua took the order seriously, and immediately rode away on his spirit beast warhorse with several of the army's most elite scouts.
The battle that is about to begin is of vital importance to Li Dingguo and the soldiers of the Fuxing Army.
This sudden incident will either interrupt the company's current rapid development momentum or provide an opportunity for rapid development. It can be said to be like heaven and hell.
Once the sneak attack is successful, the development speed of this new force can maintain rapid growth for a long period of time.
But if they fail, it will be a big problem whether the soldiers of the Fusion Army can even spend the winter safely on this prairie this year, not to mention rapid development.
After Pan Jinghua and others left, Li Dingguo immediately began to express his opinions with Liang Hetang, Tang Huai and others, and tried his best to improve the battle plan.
The main discussion was about the retreat route if the sneak attack plan failed.
Once their sneak attack failed, the other side would identify the culprit who had ruined their big deal and would undoubtedly launch a relentless hunt for Li Dingguo's new army.
In such a terrible situation, the Fuxing Army's soldiers would have to live in hiding for a long time.
If the plan is not done well, the results can be disastrous.
In less than a quarter of an hour, while the two-handed preparation plan discussed by Li Dingguo and others was fully perfected, the soldiers of the remaining three combat battalions of the Fuxing Army had all arrived here at full speed after receiving the emergency notice.
Li Dingguo summoned the chief and deputy commanders of each camp, announced his decision, and explained the general plan to everyone.
Then he left a team of 100 men here to guard the supplies and immediately ordered the soldiers to set off.
It was impossible for them to wait for Pan Jinghua to come back before heading north.
That would waste a lot of time, resulting in the possibility that the Tatar army would have already passed by before their own troops arrived at the designated ambush site.
"Da da……"
Because of the great battle last night, they had obtained enough spirit beast horses to equip each soldier in each camp with one. The soldiers of the four major camps had all been transformed into cavalry.
So this brand new team moved at a very fast speed.
After walking for about thirty miles, several cavalrymen appeared in front of the team and galloped towards them at a rapid speed.
"Commander-in-chief, we have found the ambush site where the Tartars must pass."
Pan Jinghua reported breathlessly, "Thirty miles ahead, there is a small lake covered with weeds and bushes. There are also several mounds nearby that can block the view of anyone looking from the direction of the lake."
"I estimated that the Tartars have been traveling day and night. Even if they are elite troops, with the burden of 3,000 logistics soldiers, they will definitely rest and recover by the side of this small lake before meeting the Fan family caravan."
"Only in this way can they meet the head of the Fan Family Company, who we have killed, in full strength."
"When all the Tartar soldiers dismount and rest, they should be relaxed and most careless, which is the best time for us to launch a sneak attack!"
Pan Jinghua's speculation is very reasonable. If Li Dingguo were in his shoes, he would probably make the same choice.
"All right!"
Li Dingguo was inspired upon hearing this, and immediately gave an order, "Pass the order down, speed up, rush to the vicinity of the small lake as soon as possible, have the soldiers hide well, and prepare to launch a surprise attack on the enemy!"
Following his order, this cavalry team of a thousand men began to gallop quickly, and soon disappeared into the depths of the grassland...
(End of this chapter)
