Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 332 Ran away?

This is truly astonishing. Every steppe person, especially a soldier, considers their warhorse their life's work. Every steppe person values ​​their warhorse more than their own family. This isn't just because their warhorses are exceptionally well-bred, but also because the horses they take to battle are invariably those they've raised from foals with, sharing a deep bond with. Yet, under Murden's orders, they so readily and decisively abandoned their warhorses…

This method, while costly, is undeniably quite effective.

At the very least, it's impossible for the soldiers of Dajing to simply leap over these tens of thousands of warhorses to pursue them. Moreover, these horses have been carefully trained since they were young, and even knowing their fate, they remain loyal to their masters on the battlefield, constantly causing trouble for Dajing.

The generals on the Da Jing side felt both heartache and anger as they watched the warhorse, covered in wounds, running back and forth desperately.

Those annoying people are really willing to do such a thing. And these warhorses, such good seedlings, have been abandoned. If only they could tame them, but they know very well that the warhorses of the grassland people cannot be tamed. Even if they forcibly train them, it will cost a lot of time, energy, and even manpower.

Standing on her horse, Jiuque looked down at the frantically fleeing grassland soldiers. Hidden among them were the two princes, one big and one small. She narrowed her eyes and took the large bow from her personal guard. As those around her held their breath, she drew the bow, nocked an arrow, aimed in that direction, and released her finger.

"call out!"

The sound was so intense that it easily pierced the air, instantly shattering the two brothers. Multon, sitting in the back, heard the whooshing sound approaching from behind. He pressed his brother forward, and the arrow, more than three times thicker and longer than a normal arrow, flew mercilessly over their heads, striking the steppe cavalryman in front. The steppe soldier let out a piercing scream as he and his horse were pinned to the ground, then trampled into a bloody pulp by his surging comrades.

Murdon Namtso and the others' hearts pounded, but before they could react, a second, a third, and even a fourth longsword came flying in one after another. With each arrow, at least three or more steppe soldiers were caught in the crossfire.

A deafening roar of cheers erupted behind them. Multon and Namtso fled frantically, not daring to be distracted for even a moment. Even if that lucky woman possessed superhuman strength, she couldn't keep shooting like that forever, and as they ran further and further away, her accuracy would inevitably decline. As long as they kept running, as long as they kept running, they would be safe!
That was indeed what they thought, but reality would not be as they expected. Assessing his strength, Jiu Que aimed at his target and fired his final arrow.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the arrow pierced the air, flew over the heads of countless Jing soldiers, covered a distance where no one was around, caught up with the fleeing grassland soldiers, and, to their utter horror, shot fiercely towards the figures of the two princes.

"Your Highness, be careful!"

"Your Highnesses..." But under this earth-shattering arrow, no amount of warnings from them could be of any use. In the instant before the two could react, the arrow pierced through them both, its momentum undiminished, continuing forward to pierce through a horse before suddenly embedding itself in the ground, its tip still ringing.

Fortunately, their warhorses were exceptional, one in a million, and they dodged the arrow, carrying the two men on a frantic escape. They had already exceeded the arrow's range, and Jiu Que could only regretfully withdraw his hand, unaware of whose life the arrow had taken. If these two princes lived, the grasslands would undoubtedly return, posing a significant threat to the Great Jing. If only they could have been killed, but alas, Jiu Que hadn't seen where the arrow had struck them…

Withdrawing his hand, Jiu Que sat back on his horse and waved to the crowd who were looking at him with admiration.

"Gentlemen, half of you stay behind to clean up the battlefield and try to gather all these horses together. If you really can't control them, kill them all; it'll provide extra food for the whole army. Remember, don't let them gather in groups. The rest of you, come with me to pursue the remnants of the army!"

Although only a few dozen soldiers, totaling just over 20,000, led by the two princes managed to escape alive, Jiu Que's target wasn't those who had been terrified. If these 20,000 men were to join the remaining 60,000 soldiers under Sachi Khan who had previously fled, they would still constitute a considerable force. Since they had already defeated the enemy, why not utterly rout them, preventing them from regrouping? This would eliminate any worries about their rear.

Jiu Que indeed thought so, and she did so. After everything that had happened before, she was now completely at the beck and call of the troops. With just a shout, the selected soldiers would cheer with joy. Those who stayed behind were somewhat envious, but they also knew that every order on the battlefield was extremely important. Therefore, they simply stayed put, quickly cleaned up the battlefield, captured the wounded, and gathered the warhorses.

In any case, they have already won a battle, and when it comes time to reward their merits, they will surely receive a share. Now, they just hope that Lord Ying can wipe out the remaining remnants of the grassland army in one fell swoop, so that they can rest easy afterward.

The army led by Jiu Que was now riding high. They galloped across the plains, but the grassland soldiers were chasing them like ghosts, and their warhorses were much better than those of the Da Jing army, so they couldn't catch up for a while.

Seeing this, the Da Jing soldiers were somewhat worried. If they were allowed to escape to the grasslands, it would be like fish entering the sea. The grasslands were vast; 2 men scattered across them would quickly become lost. Furthermore, they knew far less about the grasslands than the grassland people did. If they couldn't intercept the enemy on the grasslands, all their previous efforts would likely be in vain.

Just as they were filled with worry, they were surprised to find that Lord Ying was leading them in a clear direction. They hadn't seen any traces of the nomadic people along the way, and everyone was filled with anxiety. Had they lost their way? Moreover, they hadn't seen the Northern Frontier Pass on their return journey either.

Getting lost on the grasslands is a dark moment that every person from the Central Plains experiences. Don't you remember General Li of the previous dynasty, who was repeatedly defeated because he always got lost and couldn't find the direction to attack?
Generals Wang and Li actually wanted to ask, but their performance in the previous battles had been quite poor. Moreover, although Lord Ying's various arrangements and plans didn't seem obvious at the time, they always made sense in hindsight; perhaps he had a well-thought-out plan?

(End of this chapter)