"I'm going on official business, why are you tagging along?"
"Grandpa, let the little girl go with you. She knows some martial arts and can handle herself if anything happens."
"Yes, Grandpa, let the little girl go with you. We'll all feel at ease with her accompanying you."
"Alright then, go get ready. We'll depart shortly."
As preparations were underway for their departure, a thousand miles away in the Great Earth Kingdom.
Liu Rumei's living conditions had also greatly improved. She was now surrounded by over a hundred soldiers from the Great Cang Kingdom.
They chose a barren mountain as their base camp and conducted guerrilla warfare along the official roads, rescuing Great Cang soldiers whenever they encountered convoys escorting them.
Today was another sunny day. As noon approached, Liu Rumei led her group to hide in a gully at the foot of the mountain, about to eat. Someone reported that a troop of Great Earth Kingdom soldiers was approaching, escorting over a dozen people.
Upon hearing this, Liu Rumei became excited. She abandoned her meal and rallied her men to charge forward.
Observing from the dense woods, they saw seventy to eighty fully armed Great Earth Kingdom soldiers escorting over a dozen dejected, strong men. The soldiers were constantly looking around vigilantly.
It was clear that they had been ambushed several times recently and had learned their lesson.
Ten-odd prisoners required seventy to eighty escorts. Seeing this, Xiao Qing frowned.
"Miss, with so many enemy soldiers, I'm afraid we can't win."
"What are you afraid of? They're only seventy or eighty, and we have over a hundred. If we launch a surprise attack, we'll surely win."
Liu Rumei said this casually and then called Zheng Zhun over to give him instructions.
Zheng Zhun led his men stealthily through the woods.
After about fifteen minutes, the Great Earth Kingdom soldiers drew near.
At Zheng Zhun's command, over a hundred people rushed out and charged onto the official road.
Seeing this, the Great Earth Kingdom soldiers immediately drew their weapons and counterattacked. The two sides clashed fiercely.
After a while, Liu Rumei felt something was amiss. The Great Earth Kingdom soldiers were brave and fought with great discipline. Although her side had more men, they had made several charges without success. The prisoners in the center were held at swordpoint, unable to move.
Liu Rumei found herself in a difficult situation. She dared not linger but was unwilling to abandon her men.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves echoed in the distance. Looking up, they saw a vast cloud of dust filling the sky, with countless Great Earth Kingdom soldiers galloping towards them.
Upon seeing this, Liu Rumei suddenly realized she had been tricked.
The enemy had clearly lured her out. With this thought, she quickly shouted to Zheng Zhun and the others, "We've fallen into a trap! Retreat quickly!"
After speaking, Liu Rumei rallied her men and hurried into the nearby woods.
Retreating now was not easy, as the two sides were intertwined, especially with their numbers being roughly equal.
The approaching cavalry was less than five miles away and would arrive in moments.
Liu Rumei inwardly cursed her misfortune.
She swung her sword again, cutting down an enemy soldier, and shouted loudly to Zheng Zhun, "Quick, into the dense forest!"
Zheng Zhun and the others repelled their attackers and turned to flee.
They retreated into the dense forest where they had been hiding, but the Great Earth Kingdom soldiers were not willing to let them go and followed closely.
However, having been lurking in this forest for days, Liu Rumei's group was familiar with the surroundings and gained an advantage once inside.
At this point, the Great Earth Kingdom cavalry arrived. As they couldn't maneuver effectively in the dense woods, they had to dismount and proceed on foot, which inadvertently slowed their advance.
Seeing the growing number of enemies behind them, Zheng Zhun stepped forward and shouted loudly to Liu Rumei, "Miss, take your people and go quickly. I will cover your retreat."
Liu Rumei knew well that covering the retreat meant certain death, but if everyone stayed, it would mean complete annihilation.
"No, Zheng Zhun, you and Zheng Hai take your men and leave. I will stay!"
Zheng Hai shouted loudly, "Miss, go quickly! The Great Cang Kingdom can do without me, Zheng Hai, but it cannot do without you, Miss! With you alive, the brothers who remain here have hope!"
The other soldiers also shouted in unison, "Yes, Miss, please leave quickly!"
Seeing this, Xiao Qing gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and stepped forward to pull Liu Rumei, "Miss, go quickly, I will stay!" After speaking, Xiao Qing bravely charged forward to meet the enemy.
After killing two men in quick succession, Zheng Hai came forward to replace Xiao Qing and roared at her, "Fighting is a man's business. Take care of the Miss and protect her as she leaves!"
With that, he roughly pushed Xiao Qing backward.
Zheng Zhun, further ahead, also shouted loudly, "Xiao Qing, quickly protect the Miss and leave, don't let the brothers' blood be shed in vain."
Hearing this, Xiao Qing knew she had to leave or she wouldn't be able to. Gritting her teeth and stomping her foot, she stepped forward, pulled Liu Rumei, and turned to leave.
Zheng Zhun then shouted loudly, "My squad will stay behind. The rest will follow the Miss and retreat!"
Liu Rumei was already in tears, lamenting how many lives of her brothers would be sacrificed due to her rash decision.
After Zheng Zhun finished shouting, he turned to Zheng Hai and said, "You leave too!"
"Elder Brother, I want to be with you!"
Zheng Zhun shouted again, "Our elderly mother is waiting for us back home. You should at least go back and send word."
This remark brought tears to Zheng Hai's eyes. He swung his sword, cut down an enemy, and pulled away to leave.
Zheng Zhun led more than a dozen men to charge into the enemy ranks, while Liu Rumei, Xiao Qing, and Zheng Hai led the remaining people to retreat hastily towards the gully.
After entering the gully where they had hidden, another four or five miles ahead was a small mountain. They had stayed on this mountain for many days and were very familiar with it, so they could escape their pursuers once they entered the mountain.
Liu Rumei wiped away tears as she walked. No one spoke, their spirits deeply dejected.
After painstakingly gathering over a hundred people, they had lost more than twenty in this battle. Liu Rumei's heart ached!
Meanwhile, Zheng Zhun and his men fought bravely, but they were ultimately outnumbered and soon fell one by one in pools of blood.
The enemy finally surrounded Zheng Zhun. An officer said to him, "You are skilled in martial arts. If you surrender, I will not only spare your life but also give you an official post."
Zheng Zhun laughed heartily, "How can a citizen of my Great Cang Kingdom serve as your official?"
With that, Zheng Zhun raised his sword, placed it at his own throat, and shouted towards the south, "Parents, your son is unfilial. I will serve you again in the next life."