Chapter 58: The Battle of Qingfeng Gorge (2)

  After the Taoist's abacus was well calculated, he ordered the army to speed up their journey. However, being cautious, he still asked Radar to continuously scout from the sky to prevent ambushes by bandits, although the possibility of them laying an ambush was extremely small!

  Two days later, we arrived at the entrance of Qingfeng Gorge. The terrain here is treacherous, with a steep and towering mountain blocking the way, and only a narrow crack in the middle can barely allow three horses to pass through side by side. This gorge is over ten miles long, with mountains on both sides that are tens or even hundreds of meters high, making it a truly formidable terrain where one man can hold off an army of thousands.

  The poor way is not dare to enter the big, although it has just arrived at noon, the poor way orders to find a place near the water source, easy to defend and difficult to attack, to set up camp. Moreover, the poor way requires them to cut down trees and make some simple defenses. Usually setting up camp is just pitching a tent, but now the situation is different and must be careful.

  I was born in a chaotic era, when the Mongols invaded our Central Plains during the Yuan Dynasty. Unfortunately, as a monk, I had no way to serve my country despite having martial arts skills. In my spare time, I studied military books, but never had the chance to put them into practice. Unexpectedly, in this strange world, at just eight years old, I have the opportunity to lead an army. I secretly made up my mind that this battle must be won with flying colors, so as not to betray what I've learned!

  Just as they were setting up camp, I called over a few generals. Apart from Shi and Mu, there were also three thousand-man commanders: Di Yun, Zhao Qing, and Li Gang. They were all members of the Dragon family's direct line and were among my father's most trusted subordinates. The enemy that our Qing Long army unit was facing didn't dare to make a move, and it had already been several years since there had been any battles, which is why Father was willing to send them to assist me. However, I knew that they were all arrogant generals who looked down on others. If I hadn't had a few victories in individual combat, they wouldn't have taken the slightest notice of me as the general's son. Even so, they still greatly doubted my ability to lead an army, after all, I was still too young! So I definitely had to thoroughly subdue these people in this battle; otherwise, it would be difficult for me to give orders in the future!

  "Gentlemen generals! There are over 10,000 ambushers above the mountain pass. What should we do?" asked the poor Taoist.

  Everyone was silent, thinking that the enemy had the geographical advantage, and their numbers were several times more than ours. How could we, a cavalry unit, possibly attack the mountain?

  "Let's just hold our ground for now! We have plenty of food, so once they run out, we'll be in a better position. Either they'll retreat or we'll engage them on flat terrain, and I'm not afraid of that at all!"

  The rest also echoed!

  "No way! How can the Iron Cavalry of Qing Long be afraid to fight? Are you all mice?" The poor Taoist knew that it's better to urge them on rather than invite them, so he didn't bother to say anything.

  The crowd was indeed furious, and Li Gang was even more violently tempered, directly scolding: "You're just a kid, what do you know about military strategy and battle? When I was fighting bloody battles, you were still drinking milk!"

  "Li Gang, don't be unreasonable!" Di Yun hastily advised him: "Don't talk nonsense, quickly apologize to the young master!"

  "Hmph! He's asking for a way out, but he won't give one. What nonsense about charging forward bravely? Now that they have such a huge advantage, he still dares to spout rubbish. Is he trying to get our 3000 iron cavalry to charge up the mountain and send us to our deaths?"

  "This is it!" The wooden guard also said: "Young master, General Li is the fastest for the time being, don't blame him, it's really not suitable to attack now!"

  "Is that all you can say?" The poor Taoist said with dissatisfaction

  "Not good!" Li Gang angrily said: "Late for a few days, it won't kill anyone, hard attack will only sacrifice the lives of soldiers in vain!"

  "You're the one who's being reckless!" The poor Taoist said disdainfully: "You're the one who's wasting the lives of our soldiers!"

  "Rubbish!" Li Gang said: "How can I carelessly drag the lives of our soldiers? You tell me clearly!"

  "If we stay here for a few more days, we're done for!"

  "What does it mean?" Li Gang asked

  "They have little food, and if they use it sparingly, it can last at least half a month, right?"

  "It's almost there!" Li Gang said with a lack of confidence.

  "The other family is surrounded and can be transported grain at any time!"

  "Hold on!" Li Gang said: "Are they thieves? How is it possible for them to collect grain in such a short time, and with grain, why would they still come to rob us?"

  Looking at his complacent appearance, I couldn't help but laugh and cry, "Fools, are there only thieves in this group?"

  "Oh!" Li Gang exclaimed, "You're talking about that mysterious person?"

  "You damn mysterious guy, you're absolutely a despicable bastard from the Ishihara family!" The poor Taoist cursed: "You think wearing a horse jacket would make me unrecognizable?"

  "Is the Ishihara family daring to do this?" Li Gang wondered: "They just suffered a big loss!"

  "So what? They can use this as an excuse to get rid of the suspicion, and will we be able to find any evidence? Is it even possible to find evidence? Without evidence, who are they afraid of?"

  "How did you determine it was them?"

  "Idiot!" The poor Taoist cursed, "Who else would go to such great lengths to take my life? Whoever can mobilize the power of these thieves must be one of the five major families. Who do you think it is if not them? The Long family?"

  "It seems like it's really them!" Li Gang softened up

  "Now that the Ishihara family has intervened, what's difficult about sending them some grain? It's just that the road is long and it will take at least ten days to arrive!"

  "Let's hurry back now, even taking a detour will be faster!" Li Gang said.

  "Hmph!" I'm really angry, "You're a seasoned general, but if we retreat now, the reputation of our Qinglong Iron Cavalry will be ruined in an instant! The Shi family will definitely seize the opportunity to slander us in the imperial capital, do you want to let the Long family lose face?"

  Li Gang was scolded by me and didn't dare to lift his head, but he knew he was in the wrong and couldn't retort, he just clenched his fists tightly and trembled with rage all over!

  "What should we do, young master?" Mu Huwei hastily intervened to mediate.

  "Hum! The Azure Dragon Iron Cavalry fears no one! He wants to fight, then let's go to war!" At this moment, I feel invigorated and spirited, thinking that a man should lead the great army to conquer the world, only then will he not regret this life.

  Perhaps moved by the momentum of the poor way, and knowing that there is no room for retreat at this time, the five people saluted me together and shouted, "I am willing to be the vanguard for the young master!"

  "Alright! Within three days, I'll make them surrender without killing a single one!" The poor Taoist said confidently.

  "Master! Isn't the cow getting too big?" Li Gang whispered

  "Does the general dare to make a wager with me?"

  "Bet then bet!" Li Gang said: "What if you lose?"

  The poor Taoist knew he was a fiery guy, most suitable for fire-type magic items. He took out a fire-type magic sword from the space ring, which was a treasure of the dragon clan and the spoils of this trip to Dragon Island. "This sword is the masterpiece of the dwarf master, and it was also the paired sword of the former Fire Sword Saint. It's a rare fine product. If I lose, I'm willing to give this sword to General!"

  "Ah!" The crowd gasped in shock. This sword was about four feet long, with a palm-wide hilt, and was a double-handed heavy sword. The black body of the sword faintly flashed with a red glow, it was unknown whether it was blood or fire elemental magic. On the hilt were carved two dragons, their heads split to the left and right forming a guard, exquisitely crafted. Its value was at least one million gold coins!

  "This is too expensive!" Li Gang said, although he stared at it without blinking, he finally refused to buy it!

  "No big deal, I knew you couldn't beat me!"

  "Ah!" Li Gang was furious, but he wasn't stupid either. He knew I had a lot of tricks up my sleeve and seeing how confident I was, he didn't dare to be too arrogant. Pretending to be angry, he said: "Fine, if I lose, I'll submit to your orders from now on, no questions asked!"

  Damn it! Really cunning! You're my subordinate, shouldn't you be at my beck and call?! However, I understand what he means, which is that from now on, he's willing to serve as my housekeeper. This outcome is even better than I imagined, so I won't expose him. Turning to Di Yun and Zhao Qing, he said: "What do the two generals plan to do?"

  The two men exchanged a bitter smile and said: "If Young Master can really defeat the enemy in three days, we will also willingly accept Young Master's command from now on, without any doubts!"

  "Haha!" The poor Taoist laughed with joy, then said: "I order you three to go back and select the best hundred men. You don't need to set up camp, just sleep and rest!"

  "Yes!" The three of them took their orders and left.

  "The two uncles are now urging the army to cut down more trees and build defenses, they must have a secure mountain stronghold before nightfall!" The poor Taoist said to the two uncles with great momentum: "See how I will greatly defeat the bandit group tomorrow!"