After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Upon hearing this voice, Huang Zhongcai's pupils contracted, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Enter!"

But he still subconsciously told another messenger to come in.

"Your Majesty!"

Another messenger, whose face was much fairer, entered the tent and knelt down, saying:

"Urgent report from General Gong of the Green Standard Army guarding the west! Most of the rebels have broken through the encirclement by descending the mountain from the west..."

Huang Zhongcai waved his hand impatiently and said:

"Major departments? What other major departments are there?"

"Did they take down a few outposts and return to the mountains?"

Each time they came down to fight, the cavalry would pass and they would run back to the mountain, like a persistent leech, they'd do this countless times.

The messenger said:

"They attacked the mountain together in several hundred men, bypassed the outpost, headed west, and did not return to the mountain."

"Huh?" The people inside the tent turned their heads and looked at the messenger, their expressions blank.

"My troops were transferred away before the cavalry in the west. Now, the remaining thirty or so cavalry that were closest to us have caught up. General Gong has already sent men to pursue them."

"But it's getting late, the bandits have run too far, and the Green Standard Army has been scattered around the mountains for the past few days with insufficient rotations. Today, with the chaos, they are extremely exhausted. They are also wearing armor, and General Gong is afraid that the bandits might escape. Please, sir, send cavalry reinforcements immediately!"

Did they run away from the west?

Shouldn't these people be expendable pawns, meant to contain the pro-independence camp in the west? Why did they run off from the west?

Huang Zhongcai's heart pounded like a drum. After a few breaths, he calmed down and said:

"Order the Green Standard Army to continue the pursuit. They still have cavalry. Have the cavalry follow behind the bandits and drive them away, making sure they don't lose their bearings. Once they're exhausted, the Green Standard Army will follow and launch a surprise attack! At the same time, transfer another five hundred soldiers from the mountain garrison to help me catch up!"

"Yes, sir!" the messenger replied loudly.

He accepted the order and left.

Ortai glanced at Huang Zhongcai, a hint of approval in his eyes.

Although the thief was cunning, Huang Zhongcai, as expected of the commander of the Plain Yellow Banner Han Army, was initially somewhat flustered, but now he was dealing with the situation with composure.

Although the bandits on the east and west sides escaped the encirclement, as long as they had cavalry following them, they would not lose track of them. Once most of them caught up, it was an immediate one-sided massacre.

Among them, the bandits in the east were of paramount importance, so most of the cavalry were sent there.

The western bandits are on two legs anyway, so as long as the Green Standard Army follows behind them and doesn't lose track of them, they can always surround and kill them.

The overall situation is still in their hands.

The Grand Councilor and Minister of War remarked that Xiang Qi and Su Lang had certainly broadened his horizons tonight.

In the past, it was the people surrounding the mountain who would set it on fire to force the people being besieged out.

Today, however, the situation is reversed.

The bandits who were surrounded actually set fire to the mountain before they could? They're incredibly audacious.

Ortai sighed inwardly.

Fortunately, even a lion needs to exert its full strength to hunt a rabbit. In order to wipe out all the upper echelons of the Heavenly Principle Sect in one fell swoop, the Emperor sent a full 20,000 troops.

If the force were smaller, the bandits might have actually succeeded, or at least some of them might have escaped.

Now, however, the other side is destined to fail.

"Report!"

Another urgent report came through the door.

"Your Majesty!"

The messenger, sweating profusely, knelt down and said:

"The thieves, the thieves who fled to the east, have returned to Miaofeng Mountain!"

Huang Zhongcai's mind was in turmoil.

The messenger, both anxious and angry, said:

"The group of unshaved men on the east rode away, while a few hundred stayed behind to block my cavalry. As soon as the main force of my cavalry arrived, they fled in terror, once again darting eastward into Miaofeng Mountain!"

"Are you setting fires along the mountains to the east again?" Ortai said coldly.

"Reporting to you, sir!" The messenger shook his head. "This time they didn't set fire; they just went into the eastern mountains."

The garrison on the east side is already sparse, and it's impossible to send anyone else to put out the fire. If the bandits continue to set fire, then we'll really have to go all out and burn the mountain to the ground.

Huang Zhongcai stepped forward, gritting his teeth, and asked, "Where's Jige?!"

"Lord Jige has personally led his cavalry to pursue the forty escaped riders! More than twenty riders are trailing behind the group, constantly sending signals and blowing whistles. Lord Jige, with two hundred riders, is lagging behind them a little... The western cavalry that the lord just missed has also caught up, but they are still far behind..."

Ortai asked, "How far behind?! How far behind is Jige, and how far behind are those catching up? How long will it take them to catch up?!"

The messenger's eyes narrowed: "These past few days of continuous patrols have left the horses somewhat exhausted, their hooves worn down considerably. The night roads are difficult to traverse. I estimate that Lord Jige is still about two li behind, and those behind him are at least five or six li behind, having only recently caught up to the east. The bandits are waiting in ambush..."

Waiting in comfort for the enemy to tire themselves out?!

They've actually gained the advantage of being able to wait and reap the rewards?!

Huang Zhongcai laughed angrily, "There are still about a hundred horses in the main camp. Immediately order men to ride them over, two horses per person, no! Three horses per person! Ride them all over, we absolutely cannot let those horsemen escape..."

He waved his hand and said again:

"Once we catch up, we should first order half of Jige's men... no, at least sixty percent of them to dismount. The rest should pursue them with two or three horses each. If we can catch up with two or three hundred riders, that will be enough to ambush and kill them!"

"Yes!" The messenger immediately bowed and nodded.

At this moment...

"To be king of the mountain!"

"Kill the officials and rebel!"

"Tonight!"

A deafening shout erupted!

When the shouts came from afar, the people inside the tent were startled.

When the messenger brought news from the east that the bandits had once again fled into the eastern mountains, from above, a long line of dark figures, like a dragon, moved from east to west without stopping, traversing the forest and heading straight for the camp stationed at the foot of the southern side of the mountain!

The messenger arrived at the camp shortly afterward.

Then a deafening scream came from the mountains.

"To be king of the mountain!"

"Kill the officials and rebel!"

The roar that pierced the sky, and the glittering silver light on the weapons, drew ever closer to the central army camp!

At a certain moment.

An arrow was shot out under the moonlight!

Bang!

The central pillar of the main camp!

"You bastards!" someone shouted, their necks red.

……

violent.

fear.

confusion.

The brutal methods and the use of terrifying weapons plunged the central army camp, which was now guarded by only two thousand men, into chaos in an instant.

The commander shouted and cursed, ordering the soldiers who were on duty and sleeping in their tents to get up.

A furious roar erupted from inside the main tent:

"What a audacious thief!"

The voice was filled with anger and disbelief, as well as a barely perceptible, subtle tremor.

Several people lifted the curtain and came out.

A heavy shadow rushed in from afar, brandishing silver blades, overturning barricades, and shouting in unison, "We'll be kings of this mountain!" as they charged towards the camp. At the camp entrance, Huang Zhongcai and his personal guards protected Ortai and Prince Duan as they retreated...

"Clang!" The weapons clashed.

The sound of the knife striking the blade was loud and clear.

Blood blossoms bloomed under the moonlight.

Not long after.

The more than a thousand soldiers left behind in the central army camp gradually donned their armor and came forward. When the arrows shot from the powerful bows traveled more than thirty feet, they pierced the chest of a bandit.

The group of thieves, who made a lot of noise but accomplished little, retreated like a receding tide.

They flocked to Miaofeng Mountain again.

As they ran, the thieves laughed loudly.

"You Tartar dog! Get out of here!"

"Even if you don't take a bone, the stupid dog will still fall for it!"

The cleverer ones started making up rhymes, and the group started making a ruckus, laughing and cursing, before disappearing into the mountains.

"Tomorrow I'm going to set the mountain on fire again and burn a bunch of corrupt officials to death!"

"Mommy's egg!..."

"I'll be king of the mountain! I'll be king of the mountain! What can you do about it?!"

"Hahaha……!"

The laughter and shouts faded into the distance, and Ortai's face turned ashen.

Huang Zhongcai loudly issued orders, preparing to command the central army to give chase, when he heard the Minister of War, whose face was green with anger, say:

"Governor Huang..."

Ortai's eyes were slightly red as he gazed at the distant mountains hidden in the night. He gritted his teeth and said with mature composure:

"Don't act rashly; protecting Prince Duan is the most important thing."

Huang Zhongcai felt a chill run down his spine. Most of his cavalry had gone to pursue the fleeing envoys from the Southern Kingdom, while the Green Standard Army in the west had gone to pursue the bandits in the west.

Several thousand guards were still searching for the remaining bandits and putting out the fire on the mountain. They were exhausted due to insufficient rotation.

Even the outposts surrounding the mountain and the troops guarding the mountain have been mostly withdrawn.

The traitors attacked the camp in this way, and then retreated using the same old trick. Who knows if this wasn't another attempt to lure the enemy away from the main camp, drawing away the troops from the central camp before attacking again?

Huang Zhongcai suppressed his anger, waved his hand, and ordered the remaining two thousand men to stop chasing the bandits up the mountain and instead immediately fortify the delegation's camp.

About half an hour later.

Huang Zhongcai received an urgent report.

The thieves who fled to the west were indeed a ruse; they hadn't gone more than a few miles before they turned north and began to turn back.

Many tripwires were thrown along the way to delay the cavalry in the darkness of night.

Before the Green Standard Army could encircle them, they could only watch helplessly as the bandits disappeared back into the mountains and set fire to the west.

Huang Zhongcai immediately ordered the Green Forest soldiers to guard the west side, and the cavalry to quickly rest on the spot to recover their strength.

Apart from the thirty or forty riders who were rescued and escaped.

The other thieves all fled back into the mountains.

At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Huang Zhongcai stared at the mountain range before him with bloodshot eyes, feeling a slight sense of relief.

If Jige and his men caught up with those thirty or forty riders, they would take half the credit.

As for the remaining half of the credit, which is the complete annihilation of this gang of thieves, although it was somewhat troublesome and we suffered a great loss today, the situation has simply returned to square one.

"To become king of the mountain?"

Huang Zhongcai rubbed his wrist and sneered:

"Keep dreaming!"

……

……

At the same time.

Miaofeng Mountain.

north.

After taking a nap, Ning Nan rubbed his neck, yawned, and walked out of the cave.

Outside, a scout dressed in Northern Dynasty armor came to report.

"Master, Lu... Lu..."

The spy got stuck.

Ning Nan rubbed his eyes and smiled, "Master Lu."

The scout blinked and said, "Eh?"

"Master Lu, it's Master Lu. Master Lu and the others came to report that they swapped the armor you captured yesterday, but they couldn't fool the outpost east of Tianjia Village in the north. They were recognized, and Master Lu and the other three rode away on horseback."

"But we've already taken the outpost west of Tianjia Village after tricking them. Master Lu killed them all and occupied it. We can leave now."

Ning Nan nodded, exhaled, and said to the messengers beside him:

"Go, bring them all here within half an hour. Tie strips of cloth to their feet, stuff sticks in their mouths, and no one is allowed to make a sound. We have to go."

"Yes!" Under the moonlight, the men's eyes gleamed as they replied.

Yesterday during the day, the leader of the cult ordered each of them through the various altar masters and incense masters to bring two days' worth of rations, and to eat all the remaining food, whether it was meat or bread.

Eat until you're stuffed.

Then get a good night's sleep and recharge your energy.

At this point, the group naturally became even more energetic and went to carry out their orders.

At this time.

A long-lost Jiangnan accent came from the side.

"The Grand Prince Consort..."

A middle-aged man sitting in the grass sighed with mixed feelings.

"You...you...you really are..."