They were fleeing soldiers who had just suffered a defeat. So of them saw that Zhao Shi was not an ordinary person, and his guards all carried knives. Fear welled up in their hearts, so they bypassed them and ran straight past.
The braver ones gathered other brave ones, took up weapons if they had them, or broke off a branch from the roadside if they didn’t, and charged at Zhao Shi and his group, trying to break through their defenses to loot.
Zhao Shi, although he followed Zhao Hanzhang on the expedition, had always been in logistics. This was his first ti facing enemy troops directly, yet his gaze was resolute. Riding on horseback, he waited, prepared to respond. As soone approached, he lifted his spear and shouted, "Kill—"
He charged out first, and the Zhao Family Army behind him shouted "Kill" and followed suit—
Zhao Shi was the first to knock a man flying. The man crashed into the crowd, blood spurting out, creating a massive shock.
This batch of soldiers were already scattered escapees who beca greedy at the sight of riches. Seeing the enemy’s fierceness, their confidence waned, and so hesitated.
But this hesitation was all it took for the Zhao Family Army to co charging in, killing as if in an uninhabited land, and then charging out again.
The fleeing soldiers saw their coordinated movents and realized the formation was a military one. They imdiately shouted, "Run quickly, they are not ordinary travelers, but military troops—"
Before finishing his sentence, he was killed. Zhao Shi, afraid that they would spread news about the mission, loudly ordered, "Kill them all!"
"Yes!"
But the fleeing soldiers were not so easily killed off just because they were ordered to. Seeing how fierce they were, the fleeing soldiers smartly gave up on robbing and turned to flee.
Zhao Shi gritted his teeth, wanting to chase, but fearing the trailing troops would follow the mountain path to pursue the mission group, he held back his horse for a mont, feeling annoyed.
Just as he was annoyed, suddenly, even louder sounds of killing and fleeing echoed from afar.
Zhao Shi’s back went cold, his pupils shrank upon seeing a group of fleeing soldiers rushing towards the end of the road. He imdiately turned around with his n to enter the mountains, saying, "Erase traces of us going up the mountain. If pursuers co later, we’ll lead them away."
"Yes!"
As expected, not long after, a group of soldiers pursued the fleeing soldiers here. The pursuers, however, did not kill them; instead, they rode forward to encircle the escaping soldiers.
The rider on horseback loudly shouted, "Surrender your weapons and you won’t be killed!"
"Whoever you’re a soldier for, it’s still being a soldier. All of you, stay put!"
The surrounded fleeing soldiers no longer tried to run. They directly squatted down and surrendered; as long as they weren’t killed, they wouldn’t resist stubbornly.
Just as the rider said, in these tis, being a soldier for anyone is still being a soldier.
Zhao Shi lowered his horse and hid behind the bushes with his soldiers, quietly watching.
The newcor glanced at the chaos and the dozen or so corpses, frowned, and dismounted to investigate.
This was clearly after a small skirmish. With the fleeing soldiers there, everyone avoided them; who would want to clash with them?
The only possibility was traders.
But the other side’s actions were ruthless and decisive, not like ordinary traders.
He circled the group of surrounded fleeing soldiers, dragged one out, and asked, "Tell , where are the murderers?"
Without thinking, the fleeing soldier pointed up the mountain and said, "They went up the mountain, General. Those people aren’t ordinary traders, they are military!"
Hiding in the bushes, Zhao Shi secretly gritted his teeth, broke off a branch, and led his n to run.
If they were traders, Zuo Min wouldn’t pursue. But if they were military...
In these circumstances, if a unit of soldiers appeared here, how could Zuo Min ignore them?
Upon hearing the noise, Zuo Min imdiately turned his head to look, seeing shadows moving behind the bushes. He imdiately led his n to give chase.
Zhao Shi led them around the mountain half a circle, then randomly chose a path to flee, hoping people on the mountain could see and avoid them first.
The urgent task was to go to Zhongshan County to complete the mission.
The people on the mountain indeed saw.
Zhao Xin put down the thousand-mile eye and handed it to Wei Jie, saying, "They led the pursuers away; we must take another road."
Wei Jie twisted the leather-wrapped thousand-mile eye to check the view down the mountain. The people below appeared as lifelike as if standing right in front.
He saw Zhao Shi leading twenty n, guiding the pursuers eastward. The distance between them was less than two miles, and it seed Zhao Shi would soon be caught.
The thousand-mile eye made by Fu Tinghan was truly useful, but unfortunately, it only worked within the line of sight and couldn’t see through obstructions.
If only there were sothing that could see through trees or across mountains and rivers, they could have known of fleeing soldiers ahead and avoided them.
Wei Jie sighed, put down the thousand-mile eye, and asked, "What about Zhao Shi and his group?"
Zhao Xin gritted his teeth, painfully saying, "We proceed; getting to Zhongshan County is crucial. If he can escape, let him escape. If not, he will surrender to preserve his life."
Wei Jie froze, "Surrender? That could very likely be Xiongnu Khanate’s pursuers below."
If not the Xiongnu Khanate, then it’s Shi Le’s troops. How could Zhao Shi fare well in their hands?
Zhao Xin said, "Before departing, the governor ntioned, the world is chaotic now, getting captured outside isn’t shaful. Preserve life first, as long as the heart still supports Yu State and the Zhao Family Army, it’s okay. This is called having the heart in Han while in Cao Camp."
Wei Jie: "... Indeed, knowing the tis is wise."
Zhao Xin nodded, "Though Zhao Shi is young, he’s quite astute; he knows how to act appropriately."
Once the pursuers ran far, Zhao Xin led everyone down another path, taking a different road to leave.
Zhao Shi ran with his n. He had a horse, so he wasn’t slow. But with twenty soldiers trailing, he couldn’t leave them behind, so he kept a steady pace to lead, occasionally turning back to shoot an arrow to hold off the pursuers.
After running for half a day, a centurion felt exhausted and panted, "Assistant General, we can’t run anymore. You should escape, we’ll cover you."
Zhao Shi’s horse was exhausted too; it stopped with its head lowered, panting heavily with drool flowing.
Feeling sorry for the horse, Zhao Shi patted its neck and dismounted, "Escaping alone isn’t worth it; they also look tired. Let’s keep trying. Maybe they’ll stop chasing."
He said, "If we complete this task, it’ll be a great achievent when we return. You all could get promotions and pay raises. But if captured by the Xiongnu or Jiehu, you’d be Han slaves, and might not see your family again, even be used as cannon fodder, not even knowing how you died."
His words stirred the group again; they continued to run along with Zhao Shi, gradually distancing themselves from the pursuers.
Zhao Shi panted while holding his knees, glanced back, seeing no one behind, and jubilantly laughed, "Chase, go on and chase. Is this young master so easy to catch?"
"Assistant General..." A centurion pointed at the forest a short distance away, his voice trembled, "There’s, there’s an ambush..."
Zhao Shi looked up, seeing rows of arrows aid at them, the enemy silently watching.
Footsteps sounded from behind. He turned back to see the pursuers catching up in the distance.
Faced with overwhelming odds, Zhao Shi silently lowered his spear; knowing to yield to circumstances, he decided to surrender.
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