My Cultivation Starting from Archery

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"Princely Heir,"

Chen Sansi pointed his long spear behind him, "Our top priority should be to reorganize our troops and deal with the pursuing forces behind us."

"Hss, Brother Chen, did you not understand my meaning?"

Cao Fan raised an eyebrow, "Didn't I just say that behind us lies Huanwen County, and if we take the official road from the far north, we won't encounter any barbarian bandits. We can head straight for An Ding Prefecture, which is much faster than the path they are taking.

"Once we get to An Ding Prefecture ahead of time and find a terrain that is easy to defend but hard to attack, if they dare to come to the rescue, they'll be on a path to certain death."

"This is encirclement and relief targeting."

"If they do not come to the rescue, that would be even better. The siege on An Ding Prefecture can be broken with just a snap of a finger, and those people can only retreat to An Ding Prefecture and wait for death."

"Princely Heir, there's no need to waste words on him."

Yin Hanwen said disdainfully, "He comes from a small county town, how could he possibly understand 'the bigger picture'."

"I know what you are talking about,"

Chen Sansi made one final effort: "But if we don't first repel the pursuing forces from behind, what will become of the tens of thousands of civilians who have fled from Po Yang County all the way here? Wouldn't it mean leaving them to be slaughtered?"

"Civilians?"

Cao Fan was extremely surprised, "What civilians?"

"Princely Heir, he is most likely referring to these lowly people."

Yin Hanwen said with a disgusted face, "Shouldn't they have stayed in their locality, defending their own cities to the death, instead of running out? If they go to other places, wouldn't that just waste the local food supplies? They should be killed, all of them!"

"Oh, you mean these people."

Cao Fan, realizing who Chen Sansi was referring to, saw the dirt-covered poor people nearby and had an epiphany, "Yes, yes, they are also civilians. Hurry and send someone to tell Huanwen County to send more ferries. As for how many of them can cross the river, the overall situation is what matters—we really can't manage them!"

"One more word could result in a missed opportunity in battle."

"Miss Sun, Brother Bu Qi, and this... Brother Chen, right? We need to hurry and report to General Jing and then set off. If you're not coming with us, you better ride fast and cross the river while there's time."

"Farewell!"

After dropping a few words, he led a few people beside him and hurried towards the Central Army.

"Princely Heir!"

Sun Li couldn't stop them even if she wanted to.

The fifty-thousand-strong army quickly mobilized.

Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands, they completely ignored them, taking the official road to the far north, and within two hours, they had all disappeared from sight, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.

When the dust settled, it was as if they had never been there.

The civilians looked ashen!

"Mr. Chen, what... what should we do!"

Xu Wencai, who had witnessed the whole process, stomped his feet anxiously, "How could they not leave a single soldier behind! What should we do now?"

Chen Sansi silently watched the direction in which the army had vanished, hearing the fearful and uneasy voices of the civilians.

He was expressionless, "How much longer until we can cross the river?"

Xu Wencai blurted out, "One day."

"Then we will delay for one more day."

"We can't hold them off."

Xu Wencai stated firmly, "This is a plain, and once the cavalry bursts out of the hills, we will have no tricks left, only to face them head-on. We'll be crushed in an instant, and we can't even hold out for two hours."

"Who said I'm waiting for them to chase us out?"

Chen Sansi lifted his long spear and enunciated every word, "Convey my orders! The whole army, counterattack!"

...

On the East Bank of Hongze River, there were a few small rural villages.

Having heard that barbarian bandits had entered the land, they had fled early on, seeking refuge across the river in Huanwen County.

Under an old willow tree, a stone chessboard left by the villagers remained.

In the empty and desolate village, surprisingly, two men were playing a game of chess.

One appeared to be around fifty years old, with a pale, beardless face, wearing a blue scholar's robe, exuding an air of refined elegance.

Only, his legs were crippled, and he sat in a wooden wheelchair.

Across from him,

sat an old man in a coarse linen garment, with silver hair mixed with black and a goatee, holding a black piece in hand but hesitating to make a move, causing the middle-aged scholar's impatience to show.

"Master, please make your move,"

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"What's the rush!"

The old man spoke angrily, "Are you going to move or not?"

The middle-aged scholar immediately closed his mouth.

After a long while, he cautiously asked, "Master, are you really not going to do anything about Po Yang County? Our junior brothers and sisters are all there."

"Where are the extra troops to send over?"

The old man furrowed his brows, unnoticeably moved a white piece on the board, countered with a black one, and finally said with satisfaction, "Alright, it's your turn."

Without much thought, the middle-aged scholar made a move and continued to speak, "What I mean, Master, is that you alone could go and bring the junior brothers and sisters back, that should still be fine."

"Me go? Great, will you battle the Wushen Sect Leader then?"

The old man fell into worry again, hesitating over his move: "As for that worthless Bu Qi and the girl, if some accident really happens, it'll just be time to settle the accounts accumulated over these years, no need to keep living so wretchedly."

"Master."

A flicker of sympathy passed through the middle-aged scholar's eyes: "After all, our junior brothers and sisters..."

"Children will have their own luck."

The old man put down a piece and interrupted, "Don't worry, if they really have the luck to come back alive, I will still prepare a future for them as I said before. Let it be humble, so be it."

"Master, over the years... you've become somewhat crazed."

"How are you speaking to your master?"

"Master..."

"Hmm?"

"You lost."

The middle-aged scholar decisively placed a piece, securing victory for the white side.

"Don't you know to go easy on me?"

The old man stood up in a huff, "I think you're trying to make me die of anger!"

"Master, it's not me, it's His Majesty who won..."

The middle-aged scholar closed his eyes and let out a long breath: "We've all been deceived. The Northwest Three States was a ruse; their real target is Yunzhou, and now even if we dispatch the troops from You State to relieve them, it will still take at least seven days."

"Taking into account ten days' time, that's enough for them to complete the Blood Sacrifice."

"Hehe~"

The old man suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly, the ancient voice filled with sorrow: "It seems I won't outlast him."

"Almost a million people in the whole Yunzhou!"

The middle-aged scholar's eyes reddened, he banged on the chessboard, his voice trembling: "In his eyes, what are his subjects? What are we!"

"And for the last batch of Reserve Generals from Selected Point, either they're for personal glory or for the Immortal Law in your hand, Master. How many of them are joining the Eight Camps for the sake of the world's common folk, for the people?"

"Is there any hope left for the Great Sheng Dynasty? Oh, the misery of the Yunzhou people!!!"

"Fourth brother."

The old man stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance: "If within three days, we drive them off from the Northwest Main Battlefield and I hurry over, how many people can I save?"

The middle-aged scholar shook his head and sighed: "Apart from the Three Prefectures, there will surely not be a single survivor..."

"Reporting to the Supervisor—"

A figure appeared before the two, kneeling on one knee.

"Han Cheng."

The middle-aged scholar quickly asked, "How are the junior brother and sister?"
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"They are safe and sound!"

Han Cheng fist in palm said, "Under the protection of Mr. Chen from Po Yang County, they nearly reached the banks of the Hongze River!"

"Good."

A trace of relief washed over the middle-aged scholar's face: "Quickly, send people to bring them all back. This Brother Chen has performed a great service by saving our junior brothers and sisters."

"Mr. Chen, I'm afraid, can't make it back..."

Han Cheng hung his head: "There's something you don't know yet, Commander. When Mr. Chen left, he didn't just bring the young masters and ladies, he... he took more than thirty thousand civilians with him!"

"In order to ensure the civilians could safely cross the river."

"Just now, he led over a thousand people into an attack against an army of over twenty thousand barbarians!"

"What?!"