xymnovel Chapter 67: The Expedition Begins!
Chapter 67: The Expedition Begins!
The army that set out for Qizhou included many of the former subordinates of Chang Ke, the governor of Cangzhou.
Therefore, appointing Lian'er, who is kind-hearted, and Nian Deli, as deputy generals would greatly help Li Jing in managing this large army.
As for Qin Qiong, he was just a regular deputy general.
With his basic command ability of 98, he is more than qualified to serve as Li Jing's deputy general.
"This subordinate obeys!"
Lian'er, who was sitting below, and Nian Deli looked up in surprise, exchanged a glance, and then quickly stepped forward and bowed.
They never expected that these two newly surrendered soldiers would be part of this expedition.
I never expected that they would appoint the two of them as deputy commanders of this army?
"Yao Guangxiao will serve as the military advisor! Baihu, Zhuque, Xuanwu, Wang Xiangyang, Sun Wukong, Wu Wenhua, Jiao Mo, Pan Shanyu, Yuchi Gong, Meng Juehai, and others will accompany the army on the expedition!"
Nodding to Qin Qiong and the other two, Su Ye glanced at the monk Daoyan beside him, as well as the various imposing generals at the front of the army, and gave the order.
"Qin Qiong and Sun Wukong, heed my command!"
"I hereby order you two to lead 10,000 elite troops as the vanguard to Qizhou, clearing roads through mountains and building bridges over rivers."
"Clear the way for my Cangzhou army."
Seeing Qin Qiong step forward, Su Ye glanced at Sun Wukong.
"Wukong, Uncle Bao will be in charge of all matters concerning the vanguard army this time."
After giving Sun Wukong some instructions, Su Ye was still a little worried.
"Yes, sir!"
"I'll remember that!"
Upon hearing that he was to be the vanguard, Sun Wukong disregarded Su Ye's conditions and nodded repeatedly.
As the order was given, an elite vanguard force of about 10,000 men, led by Qin Qiong, set off swiftly and disappeared into the night.
Their mission was to penetrate deep behind enemy lines, investigate the enemy's deployment and movements, and provide crucial information for the main force.
Soon after, the sky gradually turned a pale white.
As the sun rose, the army's formation gradually became clear.
Banners fluttered, war drums thundered, and soldiers marched in perfect unison, their steps firm and powerful.
"Sir Shanchang, with the army now on its expedition, Cangzhou will be left to you to guard."
"Now that the northern grasslands are about to fall into chaos, and with Mu Qinglin and his son Mu family guarding Taiping Pass, we should be able to keep it safe."
Watching the army slowly break camp, Su Ye gave instructions to Li Shanchang beside him.
"But just in case, Jin Yu also left 20,000 troops led by Chengdu at Dongning Pass. He himself is also a top-notch war god."
"And there are also Jin Wuzhu's several thousand Iron Pagoda heavy cavalry."
"If things really don't work out, this large army in Chengdu at Dongning Pass is the backup plan I'm leaving for you, sir."
After thinking it over, Su Ye decided to tell Li Shanchang about Yuwen Chengdu's backup plan, so as not to affect his decision-making ability when facing a crisis in the future.
"Rest assured, my lord!"
"With your humble servant here in Cangzhou, I will surely ensure that Cangzhou does not fall!"
Faced with Su Ye's earnest instructions, Li Shanchang cupped his hands and said resolutely.
Under Li Jing's command, the army marched majestically towards Qizhou.
Meanwhile, Qin Qiong was leading the vanguard army.
At the vanguard, Sun Wukong led a small squad ahead, with Qin Qiong leading the main army close behind.
They traversed dense forests and climbed steep mountains.
Whenever they encountered a rugged and difficult mountain road, Qin Qiong would order his men to stop and personally lead the way, guiding his soldiers to clear the path.
They brandished swords and tools, hacking through thorns and trees that blocked their path.
Even when crossing the river, Qin Qiong remained vigilant.
He ordered his men to build a temporary bridge to ensure the army could cross the river safely.
The soldiers sprang into action, using the tools at their disposal and the materials around them to build a sturdy bridge.
Through their combined efforts, they successfully crossed the turbulent river, leaving a stable path for the main force behind them.
"Hey Uncle Bao, are we just going to obediently clear the way like this?"
"This is so boring."
The vanguard army kept clearing the way, which worked fine at first, but after a while, Sun Wukong, with his monkey nature, couldn't stand it anymore.
Watching the vanguard army repeat the same thing every day becomes increasingly boring.
The thought of having to wait until the main force caught up made Sun Wukong feel terrible.
He came to lead the vanguard to fight, not to do hard labor!
"Oh?"
"What are your thoughts, Wukong?"
At this moment, Qin Qiong was holding the map of mountains and rivers that the Luo Net had detected, and he was thinking about how to open a road large enough to accommodate a large army.
Hearing Sun Wukong's complaints, I couldn't help but find it a little funny.
Sun Wukong has been in Cangling City for many days now. Not long after arriving, he has been searching everywhere for the White Tiger and the Black Tortoise to fight, and he can't stay idle for a moment.
Qin Qiong, who was also in Cangling City, naturally wouldn't miss it, since Sun Wukong's martial prowess was among the best in the world.
I also got a preliminary understanding of this Sun Wukong's personality; he really is just like a monkey.
Moreover, before setting off, his lord repeatedly reminded him to keep Sun Wukong in check on his temper.
Therefore, Qin Qiong had anticipated Sun Wukong's complaints.
Even the fact that Sun Wukong persisted for so many days before complaining to him was beyond Qin Qiong's expectations.
The vanguard army did not rush straight to the battlefield to fight the enemy as Sun Wukong imagined.
Even this situation is rare.
Generally, vanguard troops are used to clear the way and remove minor obstacles for the main force behind them.
It wasn't as exciting as Sun Wukong had imagined; in fact, it was quite boring.
Only a commander like Qin Qiong would enjoy serving as a vanguard general, as it is a way to hone their ability to command troops.
But for a warrior like Sun Wukong, it was torture.
"hey-hey!"
"Uncle Bao, look, I, Old Sun, am thinking that we're almost at Qizhou."
Seeing that Qin Qiong had replied, Sun Wukong smiled and moved closer to Qin Qiong, laughing.
"I, Old Sun, wish to lead an army to the front to find a good place for my lord."
Sun Wukong hoisted the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff) onto his shoulder and grinned at Qin Qiong.
"Oh? Really?"
Suppressing his laughter, Qin Qiong watched Sun Wukong's clumsy performance with his eyes closed, knowing perfectly well what kind of nonsense he was spouting.
"Does Wukong really think that way?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking!"
"I even think that Qingshan County, which is closest to Cangzhou within Qizhou, would be quite suitable!"
Suppressing his laughter, Qin Qiong put on a serious face and began to spout nonsense with a straight face.
Clearly, none of the vanguard generals wanted to honestly do manual labor.
During the days when Qin Qiong was clearing the way, he often held the Qizhou Landscape Map in his hand and secretly analyzed the upcoming situation.
Qingshan County was the first target Qin Qiong chose.
Now that the Cangzhou army has just moved out, even if Qizhou anticipated that the Cangzhou army would take advantage of the chaos, Qingshan County is just a county town.
Even if there were some precautions, the defensive forces wouldn't be too strong.
All it takes is for an elite force to disguise itself.
Taking them by surprise, there is still a great chance to seize the city gate in an instant.
Of course, capturing the city was easy, but holding the city gates amidst the counterattack of the entire county's army was another matter.
They held out until Qin Qiong's vanguard army arrived.
But it's not that easy.