The Pursuers Gather
In the camp of the Marsh Tribe, the morning mist had not yet dissipated. The sun slowly peeked out from behind the mountains in the east, and the golden sunlight shone on the empty thatched huts, giving this land, which had just experienced the ravages of war, a warm glow. Yan stood at the entrance of the camp, looking into the distance.
Behind him, Yingmu and Shinian were directing the soldiers to count the supplies. The grain and supplies seized from the Wolf Tribe were piled up into small Little Mountain. The prisoners squatted in a corner of the camp, dejected, and no one dared to look up.
"Boss," Yingmu walked over, holding a wooden plaque, "All the grain and supplies we captured yesterday have been inventoried."
Yan took the wooden plaque, glanced at it, and nodded.
"That should last us a while."
Yingmu grinned. "Of course! The Wolf Tribe worked so hard to plunder for so long, and it all came to us."
Yan smiled but didn't reply. His gaze then turned to the path leading to High Pointed Mountain in the distance. Xueya had run away, leading fifty cavalrymen towards High Pointed Mountain.
Although they didn't catch him, the pursuit was quite fruitful. The remaining forces of the Wolf Tribe had been decimated, and the prisoners, the food, and the warhorses were enough to elevate the Fire Tribe's strength to a new level.
But Yan knew that this was just the beginning; the real battle was yet to come. After High Pointed Mountain Xueya fled back, he would definitely defend his lair to the death. To completely wipe out the Wolf Tribe, they had to wait for the main force to arrive before taking action together.
"Young Master Yan," Shinian walked over, "Breakfast is ready, have something to eat first."
Yan nodded and followed them to the center of the camp. Around the campfire, the soldiers were sitting and eating breakfast. There were rice balls, steaming hot meat soup, and leftover grilled fish from last night. Although it was simple, it was a rare delicacy in this place.
Yan took a bowl of meat soup and sipped it slowly. His mind was still on the next move. Dali should be arriving soon, right? And what about Dazhuang? He wondered how the preparations were going.
Just then, a rapid sound of hooves came from afar. Yan jumped up and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a black line rapidly approaching on the distant horizon. It was a cavalry unit, at least seven hundred riders, raising a cloud of dust. Yingmu also stood up and gripped his spear tightly.
"Don't be nervous." Yan raised his hand to indicate, "They're one of us."
Sure enough, the cavalry drew closer and closer, and the figure of the leader became clearer and clearer. He was a burly man riding a tall chestnut horse; it was none other than Dali.
"Yan!" Dali shouted from afar, waving his hand.
Yan went to meet them, Dali his horse to the camp gate, dismounted, and followed behind him. The seven hundred cavalrymen also dismounted, led their warhorses, and began to find a place to rest.
"Uncle Dali!" Yan stepped forward, "You've come!"
Dali grabbed his arm and looked him up and down.
"Are you alright?" he asked. "You weren't injured when you were chasing Xueya, were you?"
Yan smiled and shook his head, "It's alright, Xueya escaped, but the others didn't."
Dali breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly.
"Fine, fine! Let him go. He can't cause any more trouble anyway."
He glanced at the prisoners and supplies in the camp, and his eyes lit up.
"These were all captured?"
Yan nodded. "Yes, there's a considerable amount of food and supplies left behind by the Wolf Tribe, as well as what we snatched back from them."
I gasped Dali.
"So much?"
He circled the supplies, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Wow! We've hit the jackpot this time!"
Yan smiled and said, "Uncle Dali, you've come at the right time. Let's discuss what our next step should be."
He nodded Dali and followed him to the center of the camp. The two sat down by the fire, and Yingmu brought them meat soup and bread.
Dali took the food, ate it heartily, and asked as he ate, "Tell me in detail about the pursuit on your side."
Yan recounted what happened yesterday, from discovering that the Wolf Tribe had split up, to leading his men in pursuit, to killing Duyan and seizing supplies, and finally Xueya and his men escaping. After listening, Dali put down the pancake in his hand.
"So, how many people did Xueya take with him?"
Yan thought for a moment, "Xueya led about fifty cavalrymen back, and adding those he left behind at High Pointed Mountain, he can probably gather a hundred or two."
He frowned Dali.
"A hundred or two hundred men, though not many, are a formidable force, but High Pointed Mountain is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we launch a direct assault, we could easily suffer some losses."
Yan nodded. "Yes, so I think we should wait for Uncle Dazhuang's infantry to arrive before we move in together. The infantry will carry siege equipment, and the cavalry will block the perimeter to prevent them from escaping."
Dali's eyes lit up.
"Great idea! We outnumber them, we can surround them and kill them."
As the two were talking, another commotion came from outside the camp. Yan turned his head and saw another cavalry force heading this way, about two hundred riders, carrying different flags—some from the Hundred Crafts Tribe, and some from the Pottery Salt Tribe.
Yan recognized both of the leaders. One was the leader of the Kaishan Hundred Crafts Tribe, a burly man with broad shoulders and a powerful build, riding a tall black horse. Last year, during the battle at the Yellow Leaf Camp, he joined the Fire Tribe in besieging the Wolf Tribe and personally killed several enemies.
On the Taoyan tribe's side was the escort leader. He was Jia Li's most capable leader. He looked lean and capable, with shrewd eyes. Over the years, he had been in charge of the military equipment of the Taoyan tribe and hated the Wolf tribe. The two rode their horses to the entrance of the camp, dismounted, and strode over.
"Young Master Yan!" Kaishan shouted from afar, "We've come to your aid!"
Yan went up to him and took his hand.
"Kaishan Leader! Biaotou Leader! You've arrived! That's wonderful!"
Kaishan laughed heartily and patted Yan's shoulder forcefully.
"I heard you crippled the Wolf Tribe? Great! That's fantastic! I've been waiting for this day!"
The Biaotou /escort) nodded repeatedly, his face full of excitement.
"Young Chief Yan, our Pottery Salt Tribe is deeply grateful to the Fire Tribe! We've come here specifically to personally kill a few wolf cubs and avenge our fallen brothers!"
Looking at them, Yan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. These were his brothers who fought side by side, his comrades who bled together.
"Alright!" he shouted, "Let's work together to wipe out the Wolf Tribe!"
The group entered the camp and sat down by the fire. Yan asked about their situation, Kaishan said that the Hundred Crafts Tribe had sent one hundred cavalry and one hundred infantrymen. The infantrymen, led by the Shifu Axe chieftain, were still behind and would arrive a few days later.
The escort leader said that the Taoyan tribe also came with a hundred cavalry and a hundred infantry. The infantry was led by another leader. They were also behind. Both of them brought half a month's worth of food and grass, which was enough to sustain the battle for a period of time. After hearing this, Yan felt reassured.
With the addition of Dali's seven hundred cavalry, he now has over twelve hundred cavalry at his disposal. Leaving behind one hundred cavalry to guard the supplies, Yan can still mobilize over one thousand one hundred cavalry. One thousand one hundred cavalry is enough to blockade High Pointed Mountain.
"Alright!" He stood up. "Let's rest today and set off for High Pointed Mountain first thing tomorrow morning!"
Everyone responded in unison.
Dali stood up and said, "I'll take some men to arrange for guards and scouts."
Yan nodded. "Thank you for your hard work Dali, Uncle Dali."
Dali turned and left, and Kaishan and Biaotou also went to arrange their own men. The camp quickly became busy, with soldiers feeding the horses, starting fires, and repairing equipment. It was a scene of bustling activity.
Yan stood at the camp gate, watching all this, silently calculating in his mind. It would take eight days to walk from the Marsh Tribe to the foot of High Pointed Mountain, but only four days on horseback. In a few days, the Fire Tribe's cavalry would arrive at High Pointed Mountain, and by then, Dazhuang's infantry should be on their way as well.
With over a thousand cavalry, over a thousand infantry, plus the Hundred Crafts and Pottery and Salt merchants, more than two thousand men were more than enough to deal with the one or two hundred remaining soldiers of Xueya. He took a deep breath, turned around, and walked back to the camp.
As the sun rose higher, its warm rays shone down, and this land, which had just experienced the ravages of war, was slowly recovering its vitality. Two days later, another group arrived at the Marsh Tribe's camp. Dazhuang led 1,200 Fire Tribe infantrymen, 100 Fish Tribe infantrymen, and 100 each of the Hundred Crafts and Pottery and Salt, a total of 1,500 people to the Marsh Tribe. Adding the 100 cavalrymen left behind, there were now about 1,600 people in the camp. As soon as Dazhuang entered the camp, he searched everywhere for Yan.
"Where's Yan?" he asked a soldier.
The soldier pointed into the distance. "Young Master Yan led the cavalry to High Pointed Mountain yesterday."
Dazhuang paused for a moment, then nodded.
"That's right. The cavalry is fast, so they should go ahead and block the enemy first. Our infantry, carrying supplies, can catch up slowly."
He turned around and began making arrangements.
"Leave two hundred Fire Tribe infantrymen to guard the supplies and escort the prisoners. Transport these grains and supplies back to the Pottery Salt Tribe first, and distribute them after the battle is over."
"The rest of you, follow me! Take enough food and weapons, and head to High Pointed Mountain!"
The soldiers responded in unison and began to get busy. Da Dazhuang walked to the center of the camp, looked at the mountains of supplies, and thought to himself, "This battle was fought brilliantly. The Wolf Tribe is completely finished."