After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 875 - 861: Tug of War

Shi Le led his remaining soldiers to escape, but soon encountered another retreating army.

This was a force of twenty thousand that had been dispatched separately due to a lack of provisions, retreating from another route, and tasked with foraging.

When Shi Le met up with them, he brought over eight thousand soldiers, making it twenty-eight thousand in total, though there were also more than three thousand captives in the group.

Shi Le was also injured by Zhao Erlang; at this moment, he was sitting in the tent letting a doctor bandage him. He clenched his fist to feel the strength, only to find the pain unbearable, and his face turned somewhat grim, "How young is that Zhao Erlang, yet he has such strength."

Wang Yang squatted beside him, and upon hearing this, said, "He’s a fool. I heard that apart from his great strength, he has no other skills."

Shi Le then thought of Zhao Hanzhang, slightly frowning, "His sister Zhao Hanzhang’s martial skills aren’t weak either. I know Zhao Changyu is a civil servant, but I wonder how they both learned martial arts, and both of them are quite strong."

If Shi Le asked others, Wang Yang may not have the answer, but Zhao Hanzhang was one of Shi Le’s main rivals. Previously, whenever they encountered Zhao Hanzhang, they lost, so he specifically learned about her. "Zhao Changyu’s maternal family is Xiahou. Whether it’s Xiahou Shang, Xiahou Yuan, or Xiahou Ba, they are all famous generals. Maybe it’s because of their bloodline."

Shi Le, upon hearing this, sighed in regret, "If only Ziruo were here, why would I fear the Zhao siblings?"

Wang Yang remained silent.

Shi Le felt saddened and asked, "Is there any news of Hu Zi?"

Wang Yang shook his head, "We sent three teams back to look, but couldn’t find the old madam and Hu Zi."

Shi Le became even more sorrowful.

He was of Jiehu descent, and his ancestors were from Jie Clan nobility. His grandfather and father were small tribal leaders, but not all leaders have the same fate.

Like Liu Yuan, who could not only read and write but also lived a life of luxury, even able to go to Luoyang as a hostage.

Indeed, Shi Le envied Liu Yuan for being able to be a hostage. Do you really think just any prince can become a hostage?

Like him, he was once called a little prince too, but he hadn’t even read a book, toiling every day for food, working from dawn till dusk, and was eventually sold into slavery.

Due to a famine in Bingzhou, he and his clan escaped their homeland, accidentally losing contact with his family, and on his way back to find them, he was captured by Sima Teng’s soldiers and sold for military funds.

Years passed by the time he finally broke free from the mire. He sent people back to find his family, only to discover that none of his tribe were there anymore.

He heard that only his mother and nephew survived, but they fled as refugees, and it’s unknown where they ended up.

When Shi Le was sold into slavery, Shi Hu was still young, but despite his age, he showed great strength, even at the age of three, he was already long-limbed, taller than other children his age.

Moreover, his cries were loud and resonant, showing an abundant vitality.

Shi Le himself was very strong, and upon seeing his nephew like this, he knew that he would grow just as strong in the future.

Being injured by Zhao Hanzhang and her brother at this moment made him miss Shi Hu even more. If he were by his side, the uncle and nephew against the siblings would stand on equal footing, except perhaps in military tactics.

Shi Le said, "We must continue searching, I have few relatives left."

Wang Yang quickly agreed.

Having just suffered a defeat with such significant losses, the soldiers’ morale was low.

Shi Le thought for a moment and then ordered Wang Yang to choose some of the captives from the POW camp and have them killed on the spot to entertain the soldiers.

If words and goals could no longer inspire the soldiers’ morale, then blood should.

Sometimes, the more perverse the method, the more it can excite people.

The Shi Army Camp was in celebration, and the morale gradually rose amidst the revelry. Zhao Hanzhang arrived near and heard the sound. Sensing the Shi Army’s rising battle spirit, she stopped the army’s advance, climbed a high ground with her entourage, and used binoculars to observe the other side.

After scanning around, she barely saw the situation in the Shi Army Camp through the gaps in the trees, seeing over a dozen human figures hanging high and bleeding. Zhao Hanzhang’s face turned pale.

Even as someone who had experienced life and death, she couldn’t help but feel the urge to vomit.

But she held it back.

Closing her eyes to dispel the hellish scene from her mind, she opened them again with a gaze of cold indifference.

Zhao Hanzhang said, "Have the whole army rest, and attack the Shi Camp at night in one hour."

At this time, it was getting dark. Zhao Hanzhang could still see the Shi Army Camp clearly using her Thousand-mile Eye because they had lit several huge bonfires.

Fu Tinghan stood by her side. Noticing her pale complexion, he reached for the binoculars, "What did you see?"

Zhao Hanzhang turned away to avoid his hand, tucking the binoculars into her pocket, and said calmly, "Nothing much, let’s eat and rest."

Fu Tinghan did not insist on looking but could still imagine.

This meat pie was a gift from Zhao Ming, after all, given to his own niece. Seeing her lose so much weight in such a short period, he felt sorry.

So before the army set out, he had his family chef make two packs of meat pies, one for Zhao Hanzhang and one for Fu Tinghan.

Chewing on the rough dry pie reduced the nausea in Zhao Hanzhang’s chest significantly. She turned to Ting He and said, "Distribute the meat pies Uncle Ming gave us among Zeng Yue and the others."

Ting He was somewhat unwilling but agreed anyway.

However, she decided to pretend to comply outwardly while secretly keeping some, in case her lady craved them later.

Zhao Hanzhang held the pie in her mouth, looking down at the map Fu Tinghan had spread out. She marked two routes on the map, saying, "Scouts have previously spotted Shi Army tracks in these two places. They were likely sent out to forage for grains during the retreat."

"Given the distance, if they receive Shi Le’s request for reinforcements, they could arrive in two days." Zhao Hanzhang sighed, "Shi Le did well; this not only alleviates the army’s food pressure but also allows several Shi troops to act as mutual reinforcements. No wonder he hasn’t been in a hurry since escaping the mountain pass."

Fu Tinghan’s mind stirred, and he asked, "If he’s not in a hurry, could it mean he’s already set up an ambush waiting for your night attack?"

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes to think, and after a moment, said, "It’s quite possible. Let’s discuss the strategy. If he indeed set up an ambush, how should we fight this battle?"

Shi Le quietly waited until his soldiers’ spirits were fully lifted, and then he ordered an ambush, quietly deploying a unit at both flanks of the camp.

If Zhao Hanzhang or Zhao Erlang dared to come, he would ensure they never returned!

After much discussion, Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan concluded that if there were an ambush, they would either not engage or only send light cavalry in for a fast penetration of the Shi Army Camp...

Outside the camp, someone would still need to coordinate, just in case.

Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t avoid this battle, as she needed to maintain her troops’ morale and dealt a blow to the Shi Army’s spirit. She wouldn’t allow Shi Le to rally his forces!