Nan Jiyun and Zhuo Ying decisively led the White Robed Soldiers in a retreat.
The Savage Iron Cavalry in the rear pursued relentlessly but could never catch up to the White Robed Soldiers. They even had over a dozen men shot dead by the White Robed Soldiers when they turned back. All they could do was watch the enemy escape, their hearts filled with rage.
"How can their horses be faster than our Savage horses!"
"General, that unit is the White Robed Soldiers, they use the finest warhorses..." the surviving Savage scouts explained with tearful faces.
The Savage general was surprised, "The White Robed Soldiers can act as scouts?"
Nan Jiyun and Zhuo Ying returned to the Northern Border army camp to report. Liang Xiao, Lü Changhe, and Mu Hong had been waiting there for a long time.
Upon learning of the battle results, Liang Xiao was both surprised and delighted, "We killed nearly a thousand enemy scouts, this is a great start!"
Not every soldier could immediately serve as a scout. Scouts needed keen eyesight and hearing, and sharp minds.
The White Robed Soldiers had good eyesight and hearing, and were equipped with the finest warhorses.
The Savages had lost so many scouts; they would also suffer in the subsequent intelligence warfare.
"What are the casualties?" Liang Xiao asked urgently.
Nan Jiyun and Zhuo Ying fell silent simultaneously.
"Many?" Liang Xiao couldn't help but frown.
Nan Jiyun smiled, "You might not believe it when I say it, but there were no fatalities. Only five were seriously injured, and over forty had minor injuries."
Everyone was taken aback.
Liang Xiao then laughed, "The Savage scouts are generally poorly equipped, relying only on speed. You have such excellent helmets, padded armor, and horse armor. Even your weapons are steel. Furthermore, the enemy never expected a group of scouts like you to be White Robed Soldiers, and they fell into a trap, underestimating you."
The padded armor of the White Robed Soldiers was the same as that equipped by the Qingtian Guard and the Great Qian Iron Guards. It was better than ordinary padded armor because the vital areas were reinforced with fine iron, allowing for a quicker reaction.
On the battlefield, if one side's casualties exceeded thirty percent, and they failed to inflict significant losses on the enemy, a rout could occur.
If in one engagement, twenty percent of your forces were killed while the enemy suffered no casualties, the blow to morale would be devastating. It wouldn't be strange for the enemy to flee.
"The Savages should continue their advance, establishing outposts closer to Yanzhou. Our army's task is to eliminate all Savage scouts near Yanzhou, at the very least, and absolutely prevent them from getting close to Yanzhou City to steal intelligence."
As Liang Xiao spoke, he whispered something into Zhuo Ying's ear.
Zhuo Ying's eyes lit up, "Your command will be followed!"
Liang Xiao, in a pleasant mood, returned to the nearby Liang Residence and embraced his beloved wife to sleep.
The Zuo Xian King, having regained his usual calm and authority, had a ferocious expression and smashed a wine cup with his hand.
"A bunch of idiots! After being scouts for so long, why couldn't you even tell they were White Robed Soldiers?!"
A general quickly explained, "Marshal, the enemy has changed their war armor and horse armor, even their helmets and the Yang family's white robes are different. They didn't know..."
"All changed?" The Zuo Xian King narrowed his eyes.
"All changed! They are still wearing white robes, but the soldiers say they are very different from the White Robed Soldiers of the past. The only similarity is that their warhorses wear armor. But their armor and horse armor are also more special than before! They say some cotton can be seen..."
After listening to the explanation, the Zuo Xian King lost his temper, "It seems they've changed to cold-weather armor. The problem is, how did they ambush our scouts?"
"They used the low terrain. By the time our scout troops could see them, they charged out, and then..." the Savage general couldn't continue.
The Zuo Xian King's face turned from green to white.
"So, they didn't have time to turn their horses around and retreat, and they didn't even know the enemy were White Robed Soldiers, meaning they were ambushed using the low terrain?"
He had originally thought that by occupying the high ground, they could block the enemy's line of sight and facilitate their subsequent actions.
But in the end, the enemy used this to kill over a thousand of his scouts first?
At this point, the Zuo Xian King felt he had lost all face. In his embarrassment and anger, he roared, "Continue the advance for another ten li, establish outposts at the end of the high ground, observe at all times, do not slack off!"
Yanzhou was as peaceful as ever, and the common people were no longer affected by the southward advance of the Savages.
The constables and guards patrolling the city provided the populace with a strong sense of security.
"Miss, he is truly a peerless genius, even his military command is so rigorous!"
In a civilian residence, Yun Tianwei 'Qing' exclaimed involuntarily.
Zuo Jing took a deep breath, her voice sharp, "I told you, don't call me Miss..."
Qing nodded repeatedly, "Understood, Leader! Would you like to reconcile with him and return to his side, Miss?"
"Aren't you afraid my father will find out and kill your whole family..." Zuo Jing shook her head helplessly.
Everyone's hearts tightened, and they dared not mention it again.
But they had all keenly caught the key point: she hadn't said she would *never* reconcile?
Now they possessed crucial intelligence that could impress Liang Xiao and earn Zuo Jing a place.
However, from Zuo Wuji's perspective, letting Liang Xiao know this intelligence was not a good thing.
"Why is this guy so cautious? I don't even have a chance to visit my cousin!" Zuo Jing said resentfully, and took out her small notebook, drawing a horizontal line.
She had already marked four '正' characters, totaling twenty times.
The next day, the Yanzhou garrison and the Savage Iron Cavalry spent a day of peace and quiet.
The White Robed Soldiers were human too, and they needed rest.
But the number of White Robed Soldiers was far more than two thousand...
The next dawn, the Zuo Xian King was having a pleasant dream, embracing a concubine he had been with all night, when he was again awakened by noise outside.
"Marshal, the White Robed Soldiers are disguised as scouts again! This time, our scouts refuse to engage!"
The Zuo Xian King jumped out of bed and roared, "Are you all idiots? Do I need to be informed of such trivial, repetitive matters? Drive them away, tell the scouts to be careful, do you understand or not!!"
"Yes..." 138 Reading Network
The White Robed Soldiers brought by Zhuo Ying had no gains this time. Instead, they made frantic probes near Yanzhou but did not venture deep.
The Savage scout teams had already experienced the might of the White Robed Soldiers. Facing the White Robed Soldiers and the patrolling cavalry units emerging from Yanzhou City, they had no choice but to retreat to their main force.
In the military tent, the Zuo Xian King's face grew increasingly grim.
"Marshal, the White Robed Soldiers' cavalry speed is no less than that of our fastest Savage cavalry, completely uncatchable! They also have city walls. With just a few thousand men, harassment is useless. There are mostly flatlands outside Yanzhou, making it difficult for us to ambush..." a Savage strategist explained with a wry smile.
The Zuo Xian King grabbed a wine cup and took a large gulp. After calming down, he said solemnly, "The enemy seems unwilling to let our scouts approach Yanzhou. It seems we can no longer stay put and train our troops. Immediately dispatch fifty thousand cavalry, divided into two routes, to harass the Yanzhou border daily and deter the enemy!"
"However, mobilizing so many cavalry to constantly move back and forth will consume a considerable amount of our warhorses' fodder. After Yanzhou's scorched-earth policy, there is no fodder left in that area..." the strategist reminded him.
A general then suggested, "Marshal, when winter arrives, the Tian River will freeze. Should we move to support Yunzhou as soon as possible?"
The Zuo Xian King pondered.
If the Tian River froze over in Yunzhou, it would be easy for the Savage Iron Cavalry to cross and threaten Great Qian.
Just then, a messenger officer reported from outside, "Marshal! An informant has a secret report!"
"Where is this informant from?" The Zuo Xian King looked confused.
The messenger officer winked at the Zuo Xian King. The Zuo Xian King understood and only kept twelve trusted subordinates.
The messenger officer then whispered, "It's a ninja from Izumo Country, named Ito Masamune. He has proven his identity and we have exchanged the secret code."