bayedsolid Chapter 2284 The Chase
Chapter 2284 The Chase
Xue Huaide summoned a composed deputy general and ordered in a deep voice: "Deploy a squad of elite armored soldiers and prepare a sturdy prison cart."
"Keep the traitor Chu Xuan under strict guard and set off immediately to escort him back to Jianghuai City."
He paused, then added, "Send out scouts along the way to guard against any remaining enemy attacks. Once you reach the city, hand them over directly to the Imperial Guard and inform them that they are a wanted criminal captured by His Majesty's order, and await His Majesty's judgment."
"Your subordinate obeys!" The lieutenant accepted the order and immediately went to make arrangements.
Before long, a specially made ironwood prison cart was pushed to the front of the formation. The cart was large and had only ventilation holes.
Chu Xuan was led inside, and the iron locks fell with a heavy "crack," as if tolling the final death knell for his ambitions.
Fifty fully armed, stern-faced elite soldiers stood guard around the prison van, their halberds gleaming in the air.
Xue Huaide watched as the prison cart, escorted by heavy guards, slowly drove onto the official road leading to Jianghuai City, disappearing into the lingering night and the rising morning mist.
He slowly exhaled a breath of pent-up frustration from his chest.
With Chu Xuan captured and Su Tingmei secured, the biggest internal threat at Changtingpo has been eliminated.
Next, we'll see how His Majesty decides, and what the outcome of Zhao Yu's pursuit of Helian Hui in the north will be.
Xue Huaide withdrew his gaze and turned to the arduous task of clearing the battlefield and reorganizing the surrendered soldiers. His aged figure remained as upright as a pine tree in the pre-dawn light.
Just as Xue Huaide was strategizing in front of Luoyan Gorge, using psychological warfare to disintegrate Chu Xuan's remaining forces and finally successfully capture him.
On the northern wilderness, another pursuit battle concerning the overall strategic situation is falling into a agonizing predicament.
Zhao Yu led his ten thousand most elite White Horse cavalry, like silver arrows, galloping northward.
The darkness of night once provided them with cover, but it also obscured the enemy's tracks.
Following the chaotic hoofprints and discarded debris left behind by Helian Hui's fleeing troops, and relying on constant reports from scouts, they relentlessly pursued the Scorpion Clan cavalry.
However, as the eastern sky gradually turned a pale white, the night receded like the tide.
As the vast and somewhat desolate northern plains revealed their true, more favorable outline to the fugitives in the morning light, Zhao Yu's heart sank little by little.
As dawn broke and visibility improved, this did not make the pursuit easier; instead, it laid bare a cruel reality.
The dust cloud rising ahead was not shortening the distance between them; on the contrary, it was slowly but steadily widening!
Helian Hui's Scorpion Clan cavalry seemed to have completely blended into this increasingly open land with its continuous meadows.
Their horsemanship was breathtaking; the rider and horse were almost one, nimbly changing direction among the undulating hills and valleys without losing any speed.
What made Zhao Yu's pupils shrink even more was the stamina of the enemy's warhorse!
After a night of fierce fighting, breaking through, and fleeing for their lives, those grassland warhorses were still able to maintain a high speed.
The white breath exhaled from his mouth and nose stretched into long lines in the cool morning breeze; his steps were heavy, but he was far from being exhausted.
Looking at his own white horse cavalry... Zhao Yu didn't need to turn around to feel the violent heaving of his mount's chest and hear the even heavier breathing of the warhorses behind him.
While the White Horse Cavalry was undoubtedly one of the strongest armies in the land, with unparalleled striking power and discipline, their warhorses were primarily known for their explosive power and load-bearing capacity, making them suitable for frontal charges and complex tactical maneuvers on the Central Plains battlefield.
Such a long-distance pursuit, which emphasizes pure speed and endurance, especially after a fierce battle at Changtingpo overnight, where the men and horses have not had sufficient rest before being thrown into such a high-intensity chase,
The warhorse's lack of stamina was now fully exposed.
"Hahaha! You pretty boys of the Chu army! You can't catch up, can you?!"
Ahead, the faint sound of Helian Hui's rough, unrestrained laughter, tinged with a heavy grassland accent, drifted over on the wind.
As dawn broke, although they were not close enough to see each other clearly, their provocative words could be heard clearly.
Clearly, Helian Hui had also noticed the fatigue of the pursuing troops behind him.
"Your pampered horses from the Central Plains dare to compare their speed with our magnificent steeds that drink the wind and dew and chase wolves and eagles on the grasslands? It's a joke!"
"They're exhausted! Like a flock of lame lambs, they'll be eating dirt behind the wolves! Hahaha!"
Helian Hui's maniacal laughter and sarcasm were like red-hot needles, piercing the hearts of every White Horse Cavalryman, and Zhao Yu's face instantly turned ashen.
As one of Chu Ning's youngest, most ambitious, and highly regarded generals, Zhao Yu was proud and arrogant, and had never suffered such humiliation before.
Moreover, His Majesty entrusted him with the important task of pursuing Helian Hui, which is both a sign of trust and an expectation.
If the Scorpion Khan, who has brought the wolf into the house, were to escape back to the grasslands right under his nose, how could he possibly face His Majesty?
How can we face our fallen comrades?
"Speed up! Speed up the entire army!"
Zhao Yu suddenly swung his silver spear, his voice hoarse with urgency, and roared at the messenger beside him.
"Order all teams to discard all unnecessary weights!"
"Dump all the water pouches, spare quiver, and spare weapons—except for the bow and arrows and the sword—anything that might slow you down! Chase after them at all costs!"
The order was quickly relayed.
Despite their exhaustion, the well-trained white horse cavalrymen carried out their duties rigorously.
For a time, discarded debris kept falling along the way.
The warhorse seemed to sense its master's resolute will. With the whip and its neighing, it squeezed out its last bit of strength, and its speed did indeed increase, with the sound of its hooves becoming more frequent, like a torrential downpour.
However, this temporary acceleration achieved by overdrawing horsepower and reducing the load did not truly turn the tide.
The smoke and dust ahead stubbornly maintained that hopeless distance.
Even... when the sun had fully risen above the horizon, its golden-red rays spreading across the fields, Zhao Yu was horrified to discover that the distance seemed to have increased even further!
Helian Hui's troops had clearly noticed the relentless acceleration of the pursuers behind them. Instead of panicking, they let out even more arrogant whistles and jeers.
These steppe cavalrymen seemed to have mastered some kind of riding technique that conserved horsepower, and the group sometimes gathered together and sometimes dispersed slightly.
Using the terrain to their advantage, they charged downhill and then skillfully adjusted their pace uphill, always maintaining a speed that the White Horse Cavalry could not reach, no matter how hard they tried.
They seemed to have a natural familiarity with this terrain, which was close to the edge of the grassland.
"General! This can't go on!"
A captain, his face covered in soot and his lips cracked, rode up to Zhao Yu, panting heavily as he shouted.
"General, our horses are nearing their limit! If we continue this reckless pursuit, we'll collapse before we even catch up with the enemy!"
"Many warhorses have started to stagger and foam at the mouth!"