Chapter 102: Enemy Attack
The soldier didn’t quite understand the meaning of these words. In his understanding, since the Prince knew the Tartars were going to enter the pass in advance, she should have deployed troops at the pass to stop them.
How could it sound like she intended to let the Tartars enter the city, and then have them flee in disarray?
Did the Prince not know how brutal the Tartars were? A thousand Tartar cavalry could trample a prefecture city.
If this scout were from the Yan Prefecture Army, he would probably have asked directly, but he was from the Black Feather Camp.
The soldiers of the Black Feather Camp, having been trained by Jinsui, had developed a good habit: whatever the Prince said, they would obey without question!
He immediately replied, “Understood!”
He spurred his horse and left again, taking a small path where he wouldn’t encounter any Tartars.
Jinsui had dispatched Captain Huang of the scout team to a high mountain in the east with a wide field of vision to monitor the Tartars’ movements. As soon as all the Tartars had entered the pass, he was to immediately light a torch as a signal.
Captain Huang said with difficulty, “Your Highness, although my night vision is a bit better than the other brothers, it’s really hard to see clearly looking down from the mountain at night!”
Jinsui took out a ‘secret weapon’ from her space: a night-vision telescope.
After teaching him how to use it, Captain Huang joyfully exclaimed as if he had found a treasure, “With this, it’s like having divine assistance! Your Highness, could this be, could this be…”
Jinsui wanted to hear what name he would give the telescope, but he said, “Could it be the ‘thousand-mile eyes’ used by immortals?”
Jinsui almost fell off her horse and waved her hand weakly, saying:
“This is a treasure from the Imperial Palace, just like the Treasure Mirror I sold to Jin Zilin and the colored lanterns for Yan Shiyi.”
“There are no ‘thousand-mile eyes’ in this world! This thing is called a telescope, remember that!
It will be much more convenient for you scouts to have this. If you complete this mission well, I will give it to you.”
Captain Huang was extremely excited. There might not be immortal’s thousand-mile eyes in this world, but from now on, Old Huang would have the Prince’s thousand-mile eyes!
For fast Tartar cavalry, thirty li was almost the blink of an eye to reach your doorstep.
Less than half an hour after receiving the message and deploying the troops, a firelight appeared in Jinsui’s telescope.
That was the message from Captain Huang: the Tartars had entered the pass!
Jinsui quickly blew the first signal, and the soldiers immediately sprang into action. The heat from the kitchen ranges was increased, and the aroma of food wafted further.
The sound of gongs and drums grew louder, Qing Feng sang even louder, and women like Chen Yunniang not only had to dance but also laugh with the sound of silver bells.
In short, they wanted the Tartar scouts to discover that the camp was completely unguarded, holding a grand banquet with fine wine, delicious food, and beautiful women.
The Tartars were not stupid; they had been fighting the Han Chinese for so many years and knew that the Han Chinese were cunning.
When raiding, they would first send scouts to reconnoiter. It was just that they had been to Yanzhou City before; when they came a few years ago, this place seemed to be a dilapidated camp.
Seeing the troops of the Northern Frontier, the soldiers scattered like chicks seeing a hawk.
This camp seemed to have expanded considerably. Was there a wedding banquet being held?
The scouts’ main job was to ascertain the number of people. When they found that the number of people in the city was not large, and the soldiers were all drunk.
Smelling the aroma of food, they were all ravenous.
After galloping for so many days, eating only dry rations on horseback, the meat dishes made by the Han Chinese were truly fragrant!
Seeing the dancing beauties again, the Tartar scouts’ eyes lit up with greed. Every year during their raids, their favorite thing was to capture Han women.
Han women had fair and tender skin, and their bodies were soft, much more flavorful than Northern Frontier women.
They just couldn’t endure hardship or childbirth; often, they would die after giving birth to one child.
When they heard that they were celebrating the autumn harvest, and that there were piles of provisions nearby.
They immediately reported to their superiors that there were no abnormalities in the camp, and the garrison was not large.
Someone recalled, “This place seems to be the military farm camp of Yanzhou, and they are celebrating the autumn harvest!”
The general’s face lit up:
“Heaven helps us! This time, we don’t have to search for Han villages like hunting wild sheep. If we can capture this small city, our tribe will have enough provisions for the long winter!”
The Tartar soldiers rejoiced; this year’s autumn raid was going too smoothly!
They had to raid more than twenty towns last year to gather enough food and women.
This year, instead of going to those poor towns, they came directly to Yanzhou City, and they were indeed right to come.
When a thousand Tartars charged towards the North City Gate, the guards on the wall blew their horns and cried out in panic, “The Tartars are here! The Tartars are here!”
The screams of the Han Chinese greatly pleased the Tartar soldiers; this was the sound they loved to hear the most, especially the screams of the Han women, which were as captivating as those of lambs.
The first batch of Tartars to enter the city rushed towards the dancing women, but for some reason, although the women were screaming in panic.
Their escape routes were not chaotic, and they watched as they turned a few corners and disappeared into the night.
The Tartar soldiers were not angry; the small city was so small, how far could their bound feet carry them?
They would grab the provisions first, and then chase after the women.
Originally, half of the Tartars remained outside the city, but then they heard people inside shouting, “So much food, come in and get it!”
This was the truth. Jinsui knew that straw and chaff wouldn’t fool them, so she took out one-third of the provisions she had extorted from Yanzhou City and piled them up in several stacks.
To make it even more attractive, she even added a few bags of sea salt. If there hadn’t been too little sugar and tea, she would have added those as well.
These served as both escape route markers for her own people and as targets to lure the Tartars.
Indeed, when the Tartars who remained outside discovered that the Han soldiers in the city were still only running and fleeing as before, with no intention of fighting them.
Faced with stacks of provisions, the Tartars even ignored why the lights in the houses were on, yet no one had escaped.
It wasn’t until only a few dozen Tartars were left outside the city to receive them, and the rest had entered the city.
The signal from Captain Huang on the distant mountain changed again, with two torches lit, indicating that all the Tartars had entered the city.
As for the remaining dozens of people, they were within the Prince’s expectations. Anyone who had led troops knew that a small team must be left to provide support.
If these dozens of people were not killed, they would be left for Han Xing to kill.
It didn’t matter if they escaped; there had to be someone to report back! Someone had to let the Northern Frontier know who killed their people!
At this moment, the third torch was lit, indicating that their own people inside the city had escaped.
Wei Assistant Secretary and Chen Yunniang were safe!
Jinsui made a decisive move, put down her telescope, waved her hand, and gave an order:
“Prepare!”
With a rustle, soldiers suddenly appeared outside the city wall, which had been empty, drawing and nocking arrows, and they were all holding Flame Bows.
Because the city wall was incomplete, the Tartar soldiers inside the city soon discovered them, but they were not afraid at all, and even mocked them.
Han people are timid; how could they hit from such a distance? They didn’t dare to fight them with swords and spears, only hiding in the dark.
At this moment, the young general on horseback gave an order:
“Shoot!”
