The Demon Lords-Chapter 681 - 132 Praise for General Zheng_3

Jin Shuke reached out and patted the Eldest Prince's shoulder, saying with a laugh, "Your Highness, you're not seriously injured, are you?"

The Eldest Prince nodded. "Nothing major."

After the battle for the gate, the Eldest Prince had been wounded. His injury wasn't fully healed and might affect his combat capability, but it didn't significantly hinder his movement.

His warrior's physique made him tough, after all.

Jin Shuke raised his saber and shouted to his men, "Hurry up! Once the rations are cooked, we'll scout further north."

"We're heading north?"

The Eldest Prince had always dutifully performed his role as a captain. General Zheng, stingy as he was, genuinely treated him as just a captain, resolutely denying him any opportunity to enter the command tent and meddle with his military authority.

Therefore, the Eldest Prince was unaware of the Shengle Army's overall strategy.

Jin Shuke replied, "I'm not sure either, but I reckon so. The General ordered us to scout more to the north. We'll have to be extra careful on the road ahead."

They indeed had to be careful, for heading north meant entering territory controlled by the wild people.

In the days that followed, the Eldest Prince witnessed the caution of this barbarian commander, Jin Shuke. Although Jin Shuke always verbally disparaged the wild people, cursing them as "sons of serving wenches," every decision he made on the battlefield revealed an extremely meticulous caution.

The deployment of scouts, concealment during marches, arrangements for nighttime rests—everything was planned in minute detail.

These skills all stemmed from Jin Shuke's experiences surviving in the desert.

It was just that back then, his opponents were other barbarian tribes or the northern frontier army; now, his adversaries were the wild people.

While maintaining contact with the main army following them and continuing to scout ahead, three days later, a relaxed expression appeared on Jin Shuke's face as they chewed on dry rations by a stream.

He said, "Those wild people pups must be delirious with joy after breaking through the pass. From what we've seen on this journey, I reckon they've forgotten the very skills that keep them alive."

To some extent, the wild people of the snowfields were similar to the barbarians in certain aspects due to their harsh living conditions.

However, based on what they had seen and heard over the past three days, including the results of two tentative ambushes on small groups of wild people forces, it could truly be said that, at least in this rear area, the wild people had become reckless and exceedingly careless.

The Eldest Prince silently ate his fried noodles, listening to Jin Shuke's analysis. In the past, even when he had been sent to the army for training, he had always been a step removed from the true grassroots level. Moreover, the northern frontier army had always held a dominant position over the barbarians in the desert. When one hasn't experienced the circumstances and mentality of being the weaker party, there are some things one truly cannot comprehend or appreciate.

"Your Highness, a bit further north, there's a city."

"Ming'an City," the Eldest Prince said.

As the former commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, geographical landmarks were naturally seared into his mind.

"Oh, so that's its name, heh. It should be a monopoly market, right?"

The people, wealth, and other goods plundered by the wild people forces at the front would all pass through here when being transported back to the Snowfield. Here, based on the initial division of spoils, various tribes would send their minor chieftains in charge of escorts to trade.

Some tribes lacked population, others ironware, and still others various other goods; the spoils of war were thus redistributed here.

Then, people from the various tribes would transport them back in batches, passing through the Snow Sea Pass and into the Snowfield.

Plunder at the front, divide at the rear—this was a very primitive mode of warfare, as plunder is one of the primary characteristics of war.

Jin Shuke was very familiar with this method because the desert tribes always operated this way whenever they allied to attack a place. In Mr. Bei's words, it was simply the behavior of uncivilized bandits.

Jin Shuke felt a deep sense of shame at this. To think my former self was so contemptible!

Fortunately, Mr. Bei had taught them what they should fight for: following General Zheng's banner, they would fight for their homes, their future, and for their conviction and faith. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

What were conviction and faith? Jin Shuke didn't understand. Mr. Bei had explained it; it seemed to mean things like one's children, one's wife—for instance, a life in Shengle City free from worries about food and clothing, and a good life.

Jin Shuke sometimes felt puzzled. Back when they were fighting and plundering amongst the desert tribes, wasn't that also for their wives and children to live better lives? What was the difference between the two?

However, Jin Shuke didn't believe Mr. Bei was wrong. He thought he must have failed to grasp the true essence of Mr. Bei's words. Yes, that must be it!

"Are we going to attack this place?" the Eldest Prince asked. "This city, counting both inside and outside its walls, is garrisoned by no fewer than two Ten Thousand Households Chiefs."

The military organization of the wild people was easy to observe; each Ten Thousand Households Chief had his own unique banner or tribal totem.

Ming'an City, as the wild people's last defensive barrier before the Snow Sea Pass and also the center of the monopoly market, was naturally heavily garrisoned. Moreover, if the situation on the front lines turned unfavorable, this place could also cover the retreat of the wild people's main army back to the Snowfield.

The Shengle Army, numbering 10,000 cavalry at most, would face immense difficulty attacking a city garrisoned by 20,000 wild people. This was because the wild people's morale and fighting spirit were far higher than those of Situ Yi's fledgling imperial court in Fengxin City.

At the Battle of Wang River Station, the wild people's main army had forcefully assaulted the Left Army's main camp, ultimately driving the Left Army into the river. As the commander-in-chief at that time, the Eldest Prince remembered it vividly.

Furthermore, not far to the west of here, merely a few dozen li away, lay another wild people's military encampment. Should Ming'an City face any trouble, reinforcements could be dispatched from there at any moment.