Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chapter 556 Guerrilla General

In mid-December, amidst the icy and snowy northern weather, Wang Erniu led a team of nearly two hundred men, relentlessly tracking the Liao people's small group ahead. He recognized the leader as Wang Shizhong, the strategist of the Liao Left Prince.

This traitor was known not only to Wang Erniu, but to every soldier under him. He was responsible for the fall of Youzhou last time. He betrayed intelligence and secretly opened the city gates. It was the former city commander Ren Fei who fought desperately to the death, sacrificing 30,000 Song people and dying together with the Liao people. And just then, the Liao had a Left Prince seizing power, which is why Youzhou fell back into the hands of the Song people.

With such a large piece of meat, who wouldn't want to kill him? How could they let him go?

“General, something’s not right. Most of the Liao people live on the grasslands and use felt tents. When did they start having such exquisite houses?” Wang Feng lay down next to Wang Erniu, looking at the grand and beautiful house with carved beams and painted rafters in front of them, and whispered in doubt.

“It must be Wang Shizhong’s private residence. With his methods, he must be colluding with certain people in the court. Otherwise, how could such an exquisitely crafted eaves and soaring roof be made in such a poor country like Liao?” Wang Erniu lowered his voice, deep in thought. After a long while, he excitedly pointed to a soldier and said, “After we finish this business, go back to the city and tell Mr. Lin about this. We have enough food; maybe we can catch a big fish!”

"Yes!"

In the dense forest, the thick snow weighed down the branches, causing them to droop low to the ground.

Wang Erniu hid in the woods, wearing waterproof boots lined with rabbit fur and a waterproof jacket and trousers with rabbit fur lining. Not a wisp of wind could get in, so he wouldn't have to worry about getting cold even if he waited for several hours or several days.

These personal guards were all dressed like this, thanks to the success of the rabbit breeding program in Wangjiazhuang. These rabbits were incredibly prolific, giving birth to a litter every one to two months, year-round. Aunt Liu was extremely worried, but Chen Wenfang saw it as an excellent business opportunity. So she wrote a letter asking them to send dried rabbits and rabbit fur to Youzhou City, as many as they could get.

This relieved the siege of Wangjiazhuang, because Chen's workshop was the industry benchmark. Raising rabbits was a low-cost business, as they could survive on vegetables and wild grass. So, when one household started raising rabbits at the beginning of the year, every household followed suit, and then the whole town and neighboring towns spread the word. Once the rabbits were raised and slaughtered, they were sent to Chen's workshop, where they would buy the pelts and dried rabbit meat, so there was no worry about sales.

In just one month, nearly 30,000 hides were transported to the city, along with countless dried rabbit meats cured with sea salt. Chen Wenfang, who was used to running workshops, took everything to the quartermaster. With coal, everything was easy to do. The rabbit meat was steamed and then dried, making excellent marching rations. Rabbit meat alone was not enough; it was also accompanied by sachima sent from the south. They also made peanut brittle with the highest calories, cut it into small pieces, and put it in their bags. One piece was so rich that it could keep them full for half a day. They even specially prepared salted egg yolk mooncakes with high sugar and oil content, wrapped in oil paper, so that they would not spoil easily for several months.

No leather was wasted. The outer layer was made of tarpaulin, with thick cotton padding in the middle. The inner layer was made of rabbit fur, sewn into Hanfu-style tops and pants. An outer layer of waterproof cotton robe was added. It should be able to withstand temperatures as low as minus thirty degrees Celsius in Northeast China. Some scraps were made into hats and gloves. Every aspect was taken care of.

It must be said that Chen Wenfang's thinking was extremely comprehensive. At this moment, the soldiers lying in ambush in the forest felt the benefits of this raincoat for the first time. They sincerely thanked Madam Chen for designing this garment. When the weather was not cold, they did not know, and they had never worn it properly. They all complained that this thing was too heavy. But now, in this weather, according to the clothing of the old Song Dynasty soldiers in previous years, they could not even leave the city. They would either freeze off their hands or freeze their feet.

About half an hour later, the sentry at the edge of the woods blew a low, clandestine whistle.

"General! He's gone!" Wang Feng stood up.

"Tell the Qi Battalion to be careful, let's go!" Wang Erniu, who had been half-squatting, stood up and led his men towards the garden.

The two running ahead were both highly skilled warriors in the army. In a flash, they approached the two Liao sentries hidden at the door and silently shot them with two short crossbows.

They then climbed over the wall and jumped inside. The group of nearly a hundred people invaded the garden and quickly brought everyone under control.

"Who are you?" Wang Erniu looked at the boy who was clearly a Liao person but dressed in Han Chinese clothes.

"Kill me if you want!" The boy flicked his black braid, turned his head away, and ignored him.

"Anyone want to speak? It'll be too late if you don't speak now!" Wang Feng walked into the crowd with a grin and held a knife to the neck of a maid-like woman who was very close to him.

The boy glanced back, a barely perceptible hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes.

Wang Erniu had been staring at him, and seeing this, he smiled slightly, "If you really won't talk, then I'll kill her!"

"Whatever!" The boy turned his face away cruelly.

"Pfft..." With a muffled groan, Wang Feng slit her throat.

"Ah..." The boy turned around at the sound and was startled, falling to the ground with a terrified expression. He pointed at them with a trembling finger and said, "You, you are bad people, how could you kill her?"

"How are we bad people? Didn't you say you'd let me do whatever I wanted?" Wang Feng smiled faintly, then placed the knife against the neck of an old servant standing nearby with a wicked grin.

The boy's eyes twitched.

Wang Feng made a move to strike again. The boy immediately raised his hand and shouted, "Stop! I'll talk."

"Master, you mustn't!" The old servant cried out, tears welling in his eyes, trying to stop him.

"Speak up! Otherwise I'll kill him!" Wang Feng pressed the knife in his hand even deeper into his neck, and blood quickly seeped from the sharp blade.

The boy's eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at him with venom. "I am Xiao Yuansheng, the second brother of Empress Dowager Xiao. Please spare him."

"Excellent! Take him with you! Let's go!" Wang Erniu nodded in satisfaction. Wang Feng was exactly what he wanted; he would cooperate with him with just a glance. It was a bit of a waste for him to be a personal guard. When they returned to camp this time, he would make him a captain and lead a troop of men.

"I'm not leaving!" The boy clung to the pillar, unwilling to go. He had given his name, and these people would definitely use it against him.

"Don't bother!" Wang Feng knocked him unconscious with a chop to the neck.

"Hurry up and catch up after you're done!" Wang Erniu added before quickly leaving the courtyard.

Wang Feng also carried the boy and followed. The brothers from the Qi Battalion were following Wang Shizhong ahead, so they didn't have much time to linger.

The orders were obeyed without question. Swiftly, the soldiers in the courtyard killed everyone with deadly precision, one by one, their faces expressionless. Nearly fifty people in the courtyard perished. The old servant, his eyes wide with resentment, fell into a pool of blood.

After they had ridden for about three miles, the soldiers who had finished dealing with the situation followed.