Chapter 96: The Beacons Blaze Again
Time gradually passed, and the military training on the other side of Zhou Lan had come to an end. Yang Mingzhi and the others had all returned to Yinghe Fortress.
Yang Zhengshan knew that Zhou Lan’s military training was only a temporary conclusion, and she would definitely continue to train in the future. After all, she had over eight thousand soldiers under her command, and it would take a long time and a lot of resources to turn them all into elite troops.
However, once Zhou Lan resumed her training, she wouldn’t need Yang Mingzhi’s help anymore. During this period, Yang Mingzhi and the others had already helped Zhou Lan train hundreds of elite troops.
With these hundreds of elite troops, Yang Mingzhi’s goal of building Jing’an Guard wasn’t that significant anymore.
Yang Mingzhi and the others returned, and Yang Zhengshan’s deployment plan was finally complete.
One deputy thousand-man commander, one pacification commander, ten hundred-man officials, and all the positions were filled.
The 1,120-strong military contingent was now fully assembled.
The defensive battalion, led by Old Li, Lu Wen-Chun, and Lu Wen-Hua, had also taken shape.
By now, Yang Zhengshan could be considered a real thousand-man commander, even if he wasn’t a powerful martial artist, he could still put up a fight against the enemy.
Yang Zhengshan was very satisfied with the results, but he was still filled with anxiety.
It was already February.
Would the Hu Riders come this year?
According to last year’s situation outside the border, the Hu Riders should have a high probability of invading and plundering.
If not, they would have a difficult time this year.
On that day, the surroundings of Yinghe Fortress were still bustling with activity. The soldiers from other fortresses, beacon towers, and garrison fortresses had returned to their posts after completing their basic training.
However, the 300 cavalry soldiers were still left behind by Yang Zhengshan for further training.
The other soldiers needed to be responsible for defending their fortresses and beacon towers, but these 300 cavalry soldiers didn’t have such responsibilities, so Yang Zhengshan decided to keep them behind and had them live in Yinghe Fortress.
However, this would require expanding Yinghe Fortress, which would take a short period of time and couldn’t be done during the winter season.
The thick tents were burning charcoal for warmth, and aside from the high consumption of charcoal, it wasn’t too cold.
That noon, Yang Zhengshan was inspecting the cavalry training outside the fortress when a sudden, urgent drumbeat came from inside the fortress.
The clanging sound made the originally peaceful fortress become tense in an instant.
The training cavalry halted, looking towards the fortress with confusion.
As they looked, everyone’s face changed.
Two straight beacons of smoke were rising from the west mountain, piercing the sky!
The beacon tower on the mountain was under the jurisdiction of the Lin Guan Fortress, and there was a small flag-holding soldier responsible for guarding it, less than five miles away from Yinghe Fortress.
“Sir, there are two beacons of smoke, and over 500 Hu Riders!” Yang Mingwu, who was training the cavalry, rushed over and reported in a deep voice.
“Abandon the tents and enter the fortress immediately!” Yang Zhengshan ordered, his eyes narrowing.
The Hu Riders had indeed come, and this time was different from last time. Last time, they had a large army pressing the border, whereas this time they appeared directly near the border.
If there were Hu Riders at the Zhongshan Pass, as the defense commander, Yang Zhengshan would have received news.
With Yang Zhengshan’s order, the 300 cavalry soldiers quickly followed him into the fortress.
At the same time, two beacons of smoke rose from the tower behind the fortress.
Yang Zhengshan led the officials to the tower, asking the small flag-holding soldier, “Where is the enemy?”
“That way, sir!” The soldier pointed towards the northwest direction.
Yang Zhengshan looked in that direction and saw hundreds of Hu Riders galloping towards them.
The Hu Riders had invaded, and the people’s hearts were filled with fear. At this moment, Yang Zhengshan was the backbone of Yinghe Fortress, not just Yinghe Fortress, but all the other fortresses as well!
Yang Zhengshan’s concern wasn’t the Hu Riders’ invasion, as he had already anticipated it.
He was worried about whether Yang Chengze, Yang Cheng-Ao, and Yang Cheng-Chi could withstand the pressure.
The three of them were fortress officials, but they were still young, not even twenty years old.
In this situation, the most important thing was to stabilize the morale of the people inside the fortress and defend the fortress.
“Sir, they want to invade from our side!” Yang Mingwu looked at the approaching Hu Riders, his face becoming increasingly serious.
Yinghe Fortress was located in the midst of the Thousand Mountains, and the surrounding terrain was relatively flat, with high mountains to the west and undulating hills to the east.
However, to invade from the surrounding areas, they would need to cross the Yinghe River first.
At this moment, the river surface was frozen, and they could ride horses on the ice.
Yang Zhengshan gazed at the approaching Hu Riders, his eyes shining with a sharp light.
“How many Hu Riders?”
“About 600! It should be two battalions!” Yang Mingwu replied.
Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, his estimate being roughly the same.
“Six hundred Hu Riders! We have 200 infantrymen and 300 cavalrymen inside the fortress!”
“We have the power to fight back!” he said lightly.
“Sir, are you planning to engage in a battle outside the fortress?” Yang Mingwu asked worriedly.
The Hu Riders were all elite cavalry, whereas they had only trained for a short period!
“We need to stop them from crossing the river!” Yang Zhengshan said.
“And I’m worried about Chengze and the others! If we don’t defeat this group of Hu Riders, we can’t exit the fortress, and if we can’t exit the fortress, we won’t know the situation outside!”
“Ah!”
Normally, with Yinghe Fortress’s military strength, they wouldn’t be a match for the 600 Hu Riders. However, since they had the advantage of being able to attack the enemy while they were crossing the river, they could make it difficult for the enemy to cross.
Yang Zhengshan gave a swift order, assembling all the soldiers inside the fortress.
Soon, the signal for assembly sounded within the fortress, and the soldiers who were originally guarding the city walls gathered at the training ground in front of the officials’ quarters.
“Father!” Yang Mingcheng saw Yang Zhengshan walking towards him, surrounded by people, and quickly stepped forward.
Yang Zhengshan said to him, “Take care of the family and prepare for battle at any time!”
He didn’t say much, only leaving behind a sentence, then led the soldiers out of the fortress amidst the worried gazes of the people.
At this moment, many soldiers in the fortress were silently sending them off, including the Liu family.
Liu Yuanfu was leaning against a pillar, holding a tobacco pipe, taking slow puffs.
“Father, let’s go back!” Liu Zhe suggested softly.
They were all scholars, and they couldn’t help with the battle.
“You go ask if there are any spare weapons, and prepare a few swords and spears for the family!” Liu Yuanfu said.
Liu Zhe hesitated for a moment before understanding his father’s intentions.
A short while later, he returned with six or seven old swords.
Liu Yuanfu held a sword, weighing it in his hand, “It’s been over a decade since I last held a sword. My hand has lost its strength!”
He was a literati, and although he had once held a position as a prefect, he wasn’t familiar with war.
“Each of you, take one, and if you can’t kill the enemy, you can at least kill yourself!” Liu Yuanfu said seriously.
“We understand, father!” Liu Zhe knew his father’s intentions.
Yang Zhengshan led the soldiers out of the fortress, and when they reached the riverbank, the Hu Riders on the opposite side had also arrived.
The two armies faced each other from across the river.
Yang Zhengshan’s gaze locked onto a man in iron armor on the opposite side, who seemed to be the leader of the Hu Riders.
He was probably in his forties, exuding a wild and barbaric aura of the Eastern Sea Hu Tribe.
Yang Zhengshan couldn’t tell if he was a cow-herd or a cavalry commander.
The Eastern Sea Hu Tribe had about three hundred soldiers in a cow-herd battalion, and five battalions formed a cavalry commander. However, there were only two battalions’ worth of soldiers here.
Yang Zhengshan could see the opponent, and the opponent could naturally see him.
The man who seemed to be the cavalry commander suddenly raised his bow and aimed at Yang Zhengshan.
“Sir!” Yang Mingwu and Song Dashan quickly stepped forward to block Yang Zhengshan’s path.
“Let go!” Yang Zhengshan said calmly.
The arrow!
He was a Later Heaven martial artist, so what if he was shot by a three-stone bow?
The quality of the bow would limit the power of the arrow.
This was also why Yang Zhengshan hadn’t practiced archery, as in a martial artist’s fight, the power of the bow would be greatly reduced.
The opponent knew this, but they still wanted to use the bow to shoot him, not to kill him, but to humiliate him.
The arrow flew towards him, and Yang Zhengshan’s eyes narrowed, focusing on the arrow.
The next moment, he slightly shifted his body and raised his hand to grab the arrow.
It wasn’t even a three-stone bow, and at most, it was a twenty-stone bow.
Yang Zhengshan’s Golden Ridge God Armor could easily block such an arrow.
The opponent might not know, but Yang Zhengshan did.
Yang Zhengshan slowly drew out a short gun, a sneer spreading across his face.
The power of the bow was nothing compared to his short gun!
Iron armor might be able to block the arrow, but could it block his short gun?
He was riding a horse, and Yang Zhengshan merely raised his hand, his gaze locking onto the cavalry commander.
The cavalry commander was shocked, and someone was advising him to retreat.
“Shut up! Am I afraid of him? He’s just a weak and timid dog!”
The angry rebuke echoed across the river, and Yang Zhengshan could hear it.
The next moment, a sharp, ear-piercing sound erupted, and the short gun’s bullet flew towards the cavalry commander.
Yang Zhengshan’s strength had reached a terrifying level.
With a mighty roar, the short gun’s bullet shattered the cavalry commander’s horse, and the horse crashed to the ground.
Yang Zhengshan was watching, his eyes flashing with cunning.
Who said I wanted to shoot you?
I wanted to shoot your horse!
In a situation where he wasn’t sure of the opponent’s martial arts skills, Yang Zhengshan wouldn’t guarantee that he could hit the opponent.
So, he shot the horse instead.
As long as he shot the horse, he would gain an advantage, and his soldiers would gain more morale.
(End of Chapter)
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