Chapter 62 - Ambush

Chapter 62: Chapter 56 AmbushZhao Hanzhang pulled out all the robust men that could be seen and arranged them properly. She glanced at a curtain being lowered and walked forward to pull down Jia Erlang who was hiding inside, "You go to the front."

Jia Erlang’s face turned pale, "I’m not going. The number of people my family has sent out is no less than yours, so stop bluffing."

Zhao Hanzhang dragged him to the front, and Jia Erlang found himself unable to break free.

Zhao Hanzhang shoved him forward forcefully, casting the sword, which she treated like an accessory, onto him, "Stay in front of this carriage. Behind it are your mother and sister. If you don’t guard it, I’ll leave an opening here."

Jia Erlang: ...

The young men considering slinking away to avoid responsibilities: ...

Though indeed they were afraid of dying, behind them were their mothers, wives, daughters, or sisters.

They silently tightened their grip on their swords, and Zhao Hanzhang raised her chin slightly, "Proceed according to the positions I assigned to you."

The team adjusted, becoming more organized and speeding up. It seemed stronger than before, but Zhao Hanzhang knew it was mere pretense, untrained, with nearly zero coordination. If they encounter chaotic troops, this team will be easily defeated.

But... at least it increased their success rate, offering the group a glimmer of hope.

They were soon trailed by townsfolk who had just escaped through the city gates. Seeing their orderly movement and many robust men, they immediately followed, hoping to cover some distance.

Zhao Hanzhang and the others welcomed their company. In the open field, the more people, the higher the survival chance.

The group exerted all their strength to run forward; the horses and mules were panting heavily, but no one dared to stop because people trailing behind shouted, "Chaos troops are chasing us, the chaos troops are coming..."

Zhao Hanzhang turned back and saw from afar the chaos troops chasing a group of fleeing townsfolk towards them, with around ten mounted riders.

Perhaps afraid to venture further, once the mounted riders caught up, they attacked briefly then retreated, repeating the cycle after a while.

In such repeated fashion, Zhao Hanzhang ran forward while calculating their attack intervals and advancing speed, feeling deeply worried.

Running like this, within an hour, they would breach the fleeing crowd behind and reach them.

Unless they scatter like the people tailing them, as sparse numbers discourage pursuit by chaos troops.

But that’s impossible. Not to mention they have so much baggage with them, even discarding it, they still have so many people and carts.

They can’t escape separately.

Feeling determined, Zhao Hanzhang reined in her horse and turned to address Mr. Jia and others, "This won’t do; we must stop the pursuing troops."

Mr. Jia, no stranger to such situations, glanced back at the closing chaos troops, "They are desperate men, and we’ve scattered many of our people. How can we hold them back?"

Zhao Hanzhang replied, "The key focus should be on their horses. If we disable them, they won’t catch up within an hour."

Mr. Jia pondered for a moment before asking, "How does the Third Lady plan to act?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "Give me bows and arrows, along with twenty people."

Mr. Jia looked at Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji opened his mouth, intending to stop Zhao Hanzhang from messing around, when Mr. Chen, a neighbor fleeing with them, already said, "Fine, my household will provide five people at Third Lady’s disposal."

Mr. Jia then added, "Fine, I will provide ten bows and arrows and five people."

Zhao Hanzhang replied coldly, "Then, our Zhao Family will provide the remaining ten."

Zhao Hanzhang looked at Zhao Ji, "Uncle, I will select ten people to stay."

Zhao Ji nodded amidst everyone’s gaze.

Zhao Hanzhang then unceremoniously pointed out ten people.

The remaining bows and arrows were also provided by the Zhao Family.

With significant funds at his disposal, Zhao Changyu never skimped on maintaining his troops, their equipment being top-notch.

The bows and arrows were no exception.

Zhao Hanzhang took a bow from a guard, slowly pulled it open to test its tension, then let go, grabbing a quiver full of arrows.

She rode her horse to catch up with Mrs. Wang’s carriage at the front, spoke to Uncle Cheng sitting on the shaft, "Please take my mother and Second Son and catch up with the main force, I will cover the rear."

She turned to look at Second Son, leaning over to touch his hair, "Second Son, you must follow mother’s carriage closely and protect her. Understand?"

Zhao Erlang earnestly nodded, assuring, "Sister, don’t worry, I will definitely protect mother."

He paused and added, "Also sister."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled, nodding, responding, "Good."

Mrs. Wang heard this, lifted the curtain, looked at her, "Third Lady, how old are you really, how can a lady of your age cover the rear?"

She angrily said, "Is this your uncle trying to harm you?"

This time Zhao Ji was wronged, Zhao Hanzhang replied, "No, I volunteered to go, mother. If no one stops the chaos troops behind, they will catch up soon."

Mrs. Wang hesitated, "But there are many people behind. We are in the lead, perhaps we can catch up with the main force quickly."

"Underneath the toppling nest, no eggs remain intact. I dare not wager the situation ahead is favorable for us, hence we must stop the chaos troops behind, at least disable their horses."

Zhao Hanzhang reached out with a firm slap on her horse’s rear, urging the carriage to speed up while she gradually reined in her horse, watching them recede.

The selected guards also halted aside, standing by the roadside, watching them depart. They could barely set up traps as fleeing townsfolk continually ran past, densely packed.

Zhao Hanzhang tightened her grip on her bow, her gaze sweeping through the flanking woods, surveying the terrain carefully. She ordered them into groups of three, totaling four groups, each positioned defensively from either side.

"Our target is to shoot the horses, as once they’re injured, the infantry will struggle to catch up with our group."

"But what about us? If we miss, they can reach us in no time, then we..."

Infantry against cavalry rarely stands a chance, especially when facing the skilled Xiongnu in mounted archery.

"Therefore, we ambush in the forest, each with three arrows, fire them and immediately retreat into the woods. Here, dense trees limit horse speed, escaping depends on your luck."

The remaining eight looked at each other, whispered, "What about us?"

"You are responsible for setting the horse-tripping ropes."

"Their cavalry moves swiftly, followed closely by infantry, once the ropes are drawn, we..."

Zhao Hanzhang sighed inwardly, noting they weren’t soldiers. In an army, orders are obeyed without question, soldiers do not fear death, and even fear is never voiced as cowardice.

Zhao Hanzhang dismounted, slapped her horse’s rear for it to retreat and rest among the woods, calmly met their gaze, "I will be with you, you shoot, I will shoot, and I’ll cover your rear. Only when you all escape will I retreat, so if you die, I will die too."

"Those running ahead are my family and friends. If we cannot stop their horses, within at most an hour, our loved ones will be left on this road." Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes swept across their faces, asking solemnly, "Will you join me? Of course, it’s a matter of life and death. If you’re unwilling, you may leave now."

The twenty men exchanged glances, then, after brief silence, clasped their fists and bowed, "We’ll follow Miss Zhao’s orders."

Zhao Hanzhang quietly breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, "They’re almost here, prepare yourselves."