Unlimited Resources: Raising a Minister with a Space Supermarket-Chapter 557 - 491: Retreat

Su Jingchen saw that Ting Mao had increased the manpower for the siege, so he immediately called the archers to the city wall. The arrowheads were wrapped in rags soaked in kerosene, which were ignited on the torches before being shot out.

Because most of the barbarians below the city were covered in boiling sewage, the fiery arrows quickly ignited them.

The barbarians caught on fire were in a frantic panic, rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames. In the midst of their rolling, a rain-like barrage of stones descended on them, and screams echoed beneath the city walls. The freshly paved cement road at the entrance to Yangcheng quickly turned red with blood.

Ting Mao saw this and was furious, driving his warhorse to the city gate.

"You filthy Su’s son, you’re used to these dirty tricks; step out and duel if you have the guts!"

Su Jingchen smiled slightly, "Why should I duel with you?"

Outside the city were all his men; it would be foolish to go out and duel him.

"If you duel with me and win, I’ll withdraw my troops and return three cities to your Great Liang." Ting Mao tried to offer an allure to tempt Su Jingchen into a confrontation outside the city.

"You have the mind to shout here with me. When your army still has no water to drink in the coming days, I wonder if you’ll still be so arrogant?"

Su Jingchen made a gesture behind his back, and Fu Qing instantly caught on. Thousands of arrows were unleashed, all aiming at a single target.

In his panic, Ting Mao managed to deflect some of the arrows with his knife, but he still got hit in the arm and leg by the arrows.

The horse underneath Ting Mao was also struck by arrows. The startled horse took off, carrying the wounded Ting Mao far away.

"Quick, retreat, retreat!" Ting Su, seeing Ting Mao injured, hastily called for the remaining soldiers to retreat.

When Ting Mao found an opportunity to dismount, he realized the horse had brought him to the riverbank.

Where is everyone? Where are the people he sent to dig wells?

Ting Mao frowned in confusion as he approached, and as he got closer, he saw his subordinates lying in disorder on the ground, no longer breathing, causing a pang in his heart.

Despite the small number of Liang soldiers, they hadn’t left all their troops to defend the city; they even sent a team outside the city.

There were over a thousand people sent to dig wells. How did the Liang army manage to kill his people without a sound?

Ting Mao tried to find a survivor among the scattered bodies.

As he inspected each corpse, he discovered they had no visible wounds.

Strange, very strange.

Could it be that these guys were too thirsty and drank the poisoned river water?

That shouldn’t be!

Hiss...

Ting Mao felt a burning pain at his wound, and his body became feverish.

"Bastard!" The arrows were poisoned!

Ting Mao didn’t linger to research how these people died. He quickly headed back to the camp.

On the way, he encountered Ting Su, who had come looking for him. Ting Mao felt relieved and immediately fainted.

Ting Mao was afflicted by an unknown poison and fell into a coma, and the military doctors were at a loss. After discussing with several other deputy generals, Ting Su decided to retreat to Linzhou City and wait for Ting Mao to wake up before making further plans.

After all, their water supply was limited; continuing like this would lead to the soldiers dying of thirst. At least Linzhou City’s water was drinkable.

"Why should we still defend Linzhou City? We should just retreat directly," one deputy general suggested.

Since Ting Mao was injured and unconscious, even if they retreated, Ting Mao couldn’t do anything, right?

They had nearly twenty thousand troops when they set out. Though some were sent back to transport spoils, over fifteen thousand remained. Now, some had died from poisoned water, others lost to traps, and those who went to dig wells and scout never returned.

The Liang army was obviously trying to spread them out and slowly wear them down.

Retreating in a united group might preserve most of their strength; if they scattered, they might end up as fertilizer for Liang Land’s farmlands.

Ting Su looked to his uncle, Ting Zheng, seeking his opinion.

Ting Zheng was the oldest participant in this battle and had some combat experience. If he opposed the siege of Yangcheng at the start, Ting Mao would have had to consider it.

But Ting Zheng and Ting Mao were both warlike. In short, they feared Li Guangpu but not that scholar of no renown.

The uncle and nephew duo wanted to seize Yangcheng before Li Guangpu could send reinforcements, to vent the grievance from years of bullying by Li Guangpu and show that the Hu soldiers were not made of clay!

"Retreat!" Ting Zheng sighed. "The commander is injured, and the troops’ morale is unstable. Retreat quickly!"

"To Linzhou, or...?" Ting Su asked.

"Let’s reorganize temporarily in Linzhou. Have the wounded soldiers bandage their injuries!" If Ting Mao wakes up, then they can make other plans. If not, they will have to take his corpse back.

Thus, after setting up camp for just one night, the Hu army broke camp overnight to retreat.

Su Jingchen originally planned to strike as the Hu army grew exhausted, to have internal and external forces take down the Hu army in one fell swoop. Yet he didn’t expect the Hu army to flee overnight.

This... is no joke, is it?

If you lack the skills, don’t pretend to sieze cities!

It’s evident; no wonder the Hu Kingdom is such a tiny country with a scanty population; they really have no talent!

No wonder Li Guangpu alone could easily subdue them, forcing them to rely on sneak attacks. This was likely their first attempted siege since time immemorial, right?

After all, when Li Guangpu was guarding the border, the Hu army couldn’t even approach the city gate.

Though one shouldn’t chase a desperate enemy, Su Jingchen wouldn’t let it go!

The Hu army’s plan was probably to retreat to Linzhou City; he had anticipated this step long ago.

Retreating from Yangcheng to Linzhou City, walking hastily or slowly, would require at least three days.

Su Jingchen kept Fu Qing to defend Yangcheng, while he and Qi Yunfan took the city’s elite troops to pursue them.

The Hu army, despite their casualties and injuries, still numbered over ten thousand.

Su Jingchen and Qi Yunfan dared to pursue them with only four thousand troops because they had other plans.

A frontal assault was definitely not viable.

Indeed, Su Jingchen had come up with a cunning plan.

Poisonous insects! 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Qi Yunfan told Su Jingchen that the Witch Clan’s home was within the Four Bright Mountains, between Linzhou and Yangcheng, and expressed their willingness to contribute to dealing with the Hu army.

Yes, the scouts and well-diggers the Hu army sent were all dealt with by the Witch Clan.

Qi Yunfan no longer intended to hide the identity of the Witch Clan’s Young Master. Since Jun Mobai had fallen, he didn’t plan to seek another scheming partner.

Once the Hu army was dealt with, he intended to seclude himself within the Four Bright Mountains.

The Hu army marched through the night, and by coincidence, they stopped to rest near the Four Bright Mountains. How fortuitous!

Ting Mao slowly awoke, only to hear the distant sound of a konghou.

The sound was faint and intermittent, melodious and lingering, captivating the mind. Just as everyone was entranced, the konghou music abruptly changed, emitting an eerie, sharp sound.