Capítulo 1474: Chapter 1474: Triumphant Return
“Quick, that’s the leader of the Qin Army. If we capture him, we can escape.” A team of rebels spotted Ye Shikai on horseback and tried desperately to capture him. Before Ye Shikai could react, Man Cang had already charged forward, wielding a heavy shield in one hand and a sword in the other. He charged directly at them like a bull, knocking them away with his shield, all while remaining unscathed, and wielding his sword forced a team of rebels to retreat single-handedly.
“Who else dares to co?” Man Cang roared like a fierce tiger. These “scared birds” were completely stunned. Looking at the fallen bodies of their companions, they instinctively loosened their grip on weapons that fell to the ground, their legs gave way, and they sat directly on the ground, not daring to move.
“Take them all down,” ca Ye Shikai’s command, and the guards behind him imdiately stepped forward to bind the surrendering rebels.
“Kneel down, all of you,” shouted Man Cang.
“Where is your General?” Ye Shikai dismounted and walked up to one of the rebels to ask. Capturing the leader first had always been his strategy, but he still couldn’t find the rebel leader within the camp.
“This…”
“Stop wasting ti, speak quickly, or I’ll kill you,” Man Cang pressed his longsword against the rebel soldier’s neck, scaring him into repeated pleas for rcy.
“The General…the General escaped through a small path.”
“What?” Ye Shikai was stunned upon hearing this, not expecting there was a path leading outside. This caught him off guard as the rebel leader would undoubtedly slip away through this path, and once they escaped into the maze-like mountain trails, chasing would be impossible.
“Take to see it,” Ye Shikai ordered.
“Yes, yes, General, please follow .” Guided by a few surrendering rebels, the group found a narrow path leading into the forest at the back of the warehouse, barely wide enough for two people to pass side by side, yet hidden enough that outsiders couldn’t discover it. Many rebels likely didn’t know this existed, otherwise, when the Qin Army entered the camp, they would have scrambled madly to this route.
“Sir, should we pursue?” Man Cang asked anxiously, clearly wanting to chase. Ye Shikai stepped forward to inspect closely, discovering many chaotic footprints on the ground. Judging by the dryness, they had already left so ti ago.
“Forget it, there are too many paths in the mountains. Our soldiers are unfamiliar with the terrain, and it’s dark now, a rash pursuit would only cause our own losses.” Ye Shikai rejected Man Cang’s suggestion and led the guards back.
“Old Ye, you’re here,” ca Shangguan Jian’s voice from afar, turning to see him already leading people on horseback towards them, joining the two forces successfully in the camp.
“What’s the situation?” Ye Shikai asked.
“They surrendered, apart from a few who fought to the death, most gave up. We won. Soldiers are now clearing the battlefield and counting the spoils.” Shangguan Jian said with a smile.
“Sir, you planned strategically, launching a surprise attack on the camp, I am impressed.”
“Alright, now that the battle is over, have the soldiers prepared, escort the prisoners, take the spoils, we’ll set off back to Pu Yang overnight. Also, have the cavalry imdiately send the wounded back to the county for treatnt without delay,” Ye Shikai said, still feeling a bit unfortunate that although they won, the rebel leader escaped.
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“Okay, I’ll arrange it right away.”
Two hours later.
“Sir, over two hundred wounded brothers have been sent away by the cavalry. Additionally, the rebels’ stockpiled two thousand stones of grain has been inventoried.”
Though he was ntally prepared, the amount of grain still exceeded Ye Shikai’s expectations. It seed they indeed plundered quite a few Qin Army transport teams.
“Very good, take it all back.” Ye Shikai mounted his horse and ordered the army to leave the deep mountains.
………………
Pu Yang City.
“Haha, Ye, you have returned triumphantly, it’s wonderful, see, the people are so welcoming!” Just entering the county town, Ye Shikai and his group were greeted by Ma Yao and other generals. Soone must have notified them, as Ma Yao knew of their victory imdiately and was waiting at the city gate to “ambush” them.
“Thank you, Commander, for the welco. We achieved great victory this ti, thanks to the Commander’s support,” Ye Shikai, not fond of confrontation, simply gave Ma Yao face. Sure enough, upon hearing this, Ma Yao imdiately displayed a proud smile.
“Not at all, ensuring logistics is my duty.” Ma Yao grabbed Ye Shikai’s hand “Co, co, I’ve prepared a victory celebration at the best restaurant in the county for my dear brother, please.”
“I appreciate the Commander’s kindness, but after the battle, my soldiers are very tired, and there are many matters awaiting my attention. The victory feast should wait until everything is settled.” Ye Shikai smiled slightly and politely declined. Although the battle resulted in minimal casualties, many matters remained post-war, chiefly the handling of nearly a thousand prisoners, improper handling could lead to great unrest.
“Well…probably for the best, my dear brother prioritizes national affairs, you are a role model among generals,” Ma Yao chuckled, though slightly resentful of the rejected goodwill, he played off the refusal with praise for Ye Shikai.
In the military camp.
“Sir, these are rewards sent from the Commander Mansion, look, gold, silver, fine wine, and a pile of peculiar treasures.” Man Cang and the guards brought several large boxes before Ye Shikai.
“I didn’t expect Commander Ma to be so generous, look at these rewards, enough for two months of pay for the entire army,” Man Cang said excitedly.
“Indeed, due to the presence of this rebel group, Commander Ma hasn’t had a good night’s sleep for a while. I helped him eliminate such a major worry, he will of course offer generous rewards. Moreover, after this battle, going forward, other rebel forces in the county might also need us to quell them,” Ye Shikai put down the bamboo scroll, speaking calmly.
“What? That’s risking our brothers’ lives to keep Ma Yao’s position,” Man Cang perceived the implication and felt quite displeased. Without Ye Shikai’s adept command, who knows how many brothers would have perished, as Ma Yao “profits without risks,” benefiting from Ye Shikai’s efforts.
“You could say it differently, since we are now the garrison of East County, exterminating rebels is our responsibility.”
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