The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 76 Disruption at the Camp
Xiao Yi was a skilled horseman, and Liu Tingrang and the other two were also top-notch archers in the army. The four of them quickly bypassed several tents and, taking advantage of the moment when Nie Wenjin's personal guards were stunned, they shook them off.

Ahead lies a wide passageway leading to the granary, where the tracks of passing carts and horses are still visible.

Turning his head, Xiao Yi suddenly reined in his horse.

To the west, separated by two rows of low palisades, there was a camp. Armored soldiers guarded the entrance, but inside there were only many large tents, with no sign of human habitation.

"Where is that?" Xiao Yi asked Hou Renbao.

"It looks like a supply tent, where weapons, armor, and miscellaneous items are stored."

"Let's go there."

"You...the four heroes, you can't be Guo..."

Hou Renbao asked a question in a low voice, then stopped abruptly.

Cui Yanjin had already pressed a dagger against his lower back and whispered, "Behave yourself."

"Okay, okay, I'll be the most honest one. My nickname is Ah Guai."

"Walk."

"Can you jump over it?"

"Underestimating me? Who isn't an elite?"

Xiao Yi kicked the horse, controlling the reins, and made the black horse trot at a light trot pace.

He lifted his hips and leaned forward to reduce the pressure on the horse's back, lightly pressing his legs against the horse's belly so that the horse could feel him, but without squeezing too tightly so as not to affect the horse's hind leg power.

Five steps, four steps... one step, jump.

With a push, Wuzhui leaped lightly over the low fence. Xiao Yi controlled the horse, calmed it down, and gently pressed the reins to keep it from running away. It continued forward and leaped over the next low fence.

Three riders followed behind.

They entered the western camp. Xiao Yi glanced back and saw that the snow had been swept away and the laborers who had erected the palisades had left messy footprints that the Imperial Guards could not track.

Before long, a patrol of soldiers passed by. They did not approach to question him, but stood solemnly before Hou Renbao and called out, "Greetings, Young General!"

Deep inside the camp, they chose a large tent, rode in, and hid there temporarily.

The tent was empty, except for the cold weapons.

Hou Renbao said softly, "If the heroes want to gather military intelligence, I will tell you everything I know. After you've finished asking, could you please release me? While they still don't know me..."

"Shut up."

"Oh."

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside.

The four men calmed the horses down to prevent them from making a sound.

Gradually, the sound of the pursuers' hooves faded into the distance. They never expected that the pursuers would enter a place guarded by armored soldiers and continued to chase after them.

"Wait a bit before you go out."

"it is good."

Xiao Yi looked around and saw a long spear hanging in the tent.

He couldn't find a suitable long weapon at the Huazhou Armed Forces, so he grabbed it.

The gun is 2.7 meters long, with a standard spearhead that is more than three inches long. It is covered with a thin layer of silver, which is white with a bluish tinge. The blade is as thin as paper, and when tapped with a finger, it produces a clear and pleasant sound.

The bright red tassels not only blocked the enemy's view but also sucked blood.

I weighed it in my hand; it was about eight pounds. The handle was made of mulberry wood, but it was quite heavy, which showed that the spearhead was made of refined steel, and the silver plating was to prevent it from rusting.

Generally, if a long spear is too heavy at the tip, it will be top-heavy and difficult to swing. However, this spear has a hard mulberry wood shaft and a silver band at the end to secure it, making it very easy to spin.

Xiao Yi casually turned the silver wheel around, and the gun hummed softly with a steady sound.

Liu Tingrang's eyes lit up, and he asked in surprise, "You also know marksmanship?"

"They'll pull some tricks, let's go."

Xiao Yi didn't stand on ceremony with the Southern Army, seized the spear, and rode away.

They headed back towards the gate.

However, as they passed through the camp, a whistle suddenly sounded, and squads of patrolling soldiers immediately surrounded them, shouting loudly.

"over there!"

"Take it!"

Liu Tingrang asked in surprise, "How were you discovered?"

Xiao Yi looked back and saw a tall tower standing on the top of Chigang Mountain. Above it, flag bearers waved two "alarm" flags in quick succession, the red flag pointing west and the black flag pointing east, sending out urgent flag signals. Then, the tips of the flags pointed in their direction.

The messenger immediately shouted in response, and the sound carried far away.

"The third ward of the left side of the western camp! Four enemy cavalrymen, dressed in imperial guard uniforms and armor, carrying a man in white, are fleeing north from the weapons tent!"

"when--"

Inside the camp, the directional bells rang loudly.

"Damn it." Cui Yanjin's expression changed. "The watchtower has spotted us and is mobilizing troops to encircle us."

"Old man Hou Yi, your camp is really damn cunning."

"Get out."

“No.” Xiao Yi pulled on Liu Tingrang’s reins and said, “We’ve gone too deep. The watchtowers are keeping a close watch on us. We can’t break out.”

"What should I do?"

"Counterattack."

Xiao Yi said decisively, "Liu Chengyou is in the camp. He pretended to assassinate the emperor, causing chaos among the imperial guards and preventing the sentry towers from having time to attack us."

"Alright, follow me... Giddy up!"

Liu Tingrang immediately turned his horse around. Cui Yanjin and Hai Jin, who were also fierce, were not afraid at all and instead laughed loudly.

The four riders galloped straight towards the central command tent.

At this moment, they were at least five hundred paces away from Liu Chengyou, separated by countless armored soldiers.

But when the four men took out their bows and shot at the patrolling soldiers running from a distance, they hit the target almost every time they were far away.

"Woo——"

A sharp whistle pierced the sky, accompanied by a series of commands.
"Escort!"

"Quickly, armored soldiers form a crescent formation! Crossbowmen in front, spearmen on the flanks, and infantry surrounding the golden carriage!"

"Order all troops that anyone who approaches the central command tent within a hundred paces shall be killed without exception!"

"..."

Hou Yi's reaction was very steady.

But the camp had just been set up, and the laborers had not yet been evacuated. In addition, the emperor himself came to inspect the troops, and all the generals gathered, so the camp's defenses finally developed loopholes.

Footsteps and hoofbeats immediately surged in the same direction.

Xiao Yi caught sight of a fire pit outside a tent not far away. He spurred his horse over, trampled the tent, and the tarpaulin immediately covered the charcoal fire, causing flames to leap up.

"set fire."

He let out a low growl, used his spear to lift the burning tarpaulin, and flung it toward the nearby tent.

Liu Ting and the other two immediately did as instructed.

Soon, many tents throughout the camp caught fire. Unfortunately, firebreaks had been dug in the camp, and the tents were far apart, preventing the fire from spreading and causing only partial chaos. Xiao Yi wasn't blinded by the chaos; he knew he had to create a time gap and rush out before the soldiers realized they were impersonating the Imperial Guards.

He spurred his horse forward for a while, and when patrolmen came running towards him, he shouted loudly.

"Fire! Put it out quickly!"

After walking a while longer, he saw people coming to put out the fire, and he scolded them again: "Fools! The enemy is using a feint attack! Why aren't you protecting the king?!"

"Escort!"

"..."

"Walk."

"Cui Yanjin, you're up ahead!"

"Okay!"

The four riders then charged back towards the gate.

Xiao Yi looked up and saw flags waving on the watchtower on the mountaintop, busy pointing at the firelight and the chaotic area that might pose a threat to Liu Chengyou, but not at them for the time being.

"quick!"

In the distance, Southern soldiers were pushing barricades, attempting to block the road, and the camp gates were slowly closing.

"Shoot them!"

"Whoosh."

Liu Tingrang and his two companions fired their arrows in succession, hitting the target every time.

Xiao Yi did not slow down, and charged across the barricade the instant it was moved.

Soldiers rushed forward, brandishing their swords, intending to cut off his horse's legs.

"puff."

With a thrust of the spear, blood gushed forth.

When galloping at full speed, it's easy to draw your spear, but extremely difficult to retract it.

Xiao Yi flipped his wrist, and his left hand quickly reached forward to grasp the middle of the spear shaft. With a flick of his wrist, the spear reversed its direction, and the tip of the spear pointed backward.

His horse moved with undiminished speed, and using the momentum of his charge, he pulled the spear shaft from the corpse.

"Om."

With a push of his right hand and a pull of his left, he spun the spear in the air, then lowered his shoulders and elbows to hold it in place. He gripped the reins with his left hand and lightly held the butt of the spear with his right, and the spear was back in place.

At the same time, the black horse galloped through the camp gate that was just about to be closed.

Xiao Yi thrust his spear again, knocking down the enemy soldier who was trying to rush at the camp gate.

The entire movement took only three breaths.

The spear spun back into place, and the bloodstains on the red tassel were blown away by the wind, leaving a red line.

"Sa!"

"Mom!"

"What a handsome kung fu!"

Liu Tingrang and the other two turned around and couldn't help but cheer.

Xiao Yi didn't take it seriously.

Of all the moves he's performed, this is the easiest.

The four riders charged down the Red Ridge like shooting stars.

However, this area was full of Southern army camps, and as they moved between Hou Yi and Yuan Yi's camps, they inevitably encountered Southern army scouts.

The whistle blew again.

Flags once again pointed at them from the watchtower on the mountaintop, directing the patrol to surround them.

"Stop them!"

Ahead, a group of Taining soldiers were observing from the top of the ridge. They immediately drew their bows and nocked arrows at them.

Xiao Yi chased after Liu Tingrang, hanging his spear on his saddle and taking out his bow and arrows.

The enemy's arrows have arrived.

He bent down, letting the arrows fall on his helmet with a clanging sound.

All that could be heard was Hou Renbao screaming.

"what!"

Once they were within eighty paces, Liu Tingrang and his two companions each fired an arrow, and the enemy soldiers in front of them fell to the ground.

At sixty paces, Xiao Yi blindly nocked an arrow, released it, and struck an enemy soldier in the face.

The black horse continued to charge forward, and after more than thirty paces, it nocked another arrow and casually shot it.

"Whoosh."

At that distance, an arrow from a 40-pound mulberry bow pierced straight through the opponent's leather armor.

Compared to his three comrades, his archery skills were only passable.

The Taining army was so terrified by the attack that they dared not engage in battle from more than ten paces away, turned their horses around, and scattered.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the four riders crossed the mountain ridge, swooped down, and headed straight for Liuzibei.

After that, they took the official road and headed straight for Chenqiao Post Station.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Having finally left the pursuers behind, Liu Tingrang reined in his horse, laughed, and asked, "Commander Xiao, how was it scouting with us?"

“You three, your horsemanship and archery are truly something else.”

Xiao Yi breathed slightly and gave a thumbs up.

Hou Renbao was still sitting on Cui Yanjin's horse, terrified, his face turned pale and his lips turned blue.

But this man was quick-witted and followed up with praise: "The four heroes are truly remarkable. Renbao admires them greatly and is full of respect... I have some wealth in the capital and would like to offer some gold and silk..."

"Shut up, you living intelligence, it'll be your turn to speak up."

"Walk."

The setting sun gradually slanted downwards.

It was almost dusk, and we were still two or three miles from Chenqiao Post Station.

Xiao Yi suddenly reined in his horse.

He felt the earth tremble slightly, and heard a commotion in the distance.

They rode up the small hill beside the official road and looked out. On the northern horizon, huge black shadows were slowly approaching, revealing neat square formations.

Banners fluttered and spears stood like a forest.

Guo Wei's army has arrived, and its troops are even more formidable than when they marched south from Yedu.

"Haha, we've brought back intelligence, which is perfect for reporting to the Commander-in-Chief."

"drive!"

The world was vast, and the four riders galloped away, merging into the densely packed army...

(End of this chapter)