Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

Zhou Huaian raised his head and looked at Yang Ling and asked, "Are you really going to take two thousand Flying Bear Guards with you?"

Although the Flying Bear Guard was formed not long ago, they were trained by Yang Ling himself. In Yang Ling's eyes, they are more important than any other troops and can even be called treasures.

Yang Ling replied in a deep voice: "This battle concerns the fate of the country. I must participate in person to show my determination and sincerity. I believe I can do it well!"

Zhou Huaian knew that his persuasion would only backfire, so he had to tell him: "Boy, since you insist on going, I won't stop you, but you must remember that you must never give up easily unless it is absolutely necessary! You are still young, you still have a long way to go, and your future is limitless. Don't forget to say so!"

Zhou Huaian knew that his students were always the kind of people who would repay a favor. Because Yang Ling had once saved him, he did not hesitate to take the risk of going to Xixia in person to assassinate the king of Xixia. This was enough to show Yang Ling's urgent desire for revenge.

However, revenge requires courage. Zhou Huaian knows that his student is an ambitious and passionate young man, so he hopes that Yang Ling will not be carried away.

Yang Ling replied solemnly: "Teacher, I will remember your teachings. No matter what, revenge is imperative this time!"

"Well, this is like my good disciple! All right, hurry up and arrange the troops. I estimate that the Jin army may launch a large-scale attack tonight!"

After Yang Ling left, Zhou Huaian looked at the papers on the table and sighed, muttering in his heart: "Boy, you are the second student I have accepted, and the most outstanding student I have ever seen. I believe that in time, you will become a tiger and wolf general who is feared by the world. However, I don't want you to die in the hands of foreigners, I hope you can return safely!"

In the evening, the 100,000-strong army led by Li Yuanji, Prince of Dongping, finally arrived. They stopped marching five kilometers away from Jinshanzhai and began to build positions.

There is a dense jungle to the north of Jinshan Village, and the entrance to Jinshan Valley in the south leads to Yulin County.

In Jinshan Valley, thousands of refugees were busy moving supplies according to procedures.

Among these refugees were not only the old, the young, the sick and the disabled, but also children. Their parents and wives were burned to death in the war, and now the refugees who followed Yang Ling to escape included almost all men, including women and children.

The refugees' clothes were tattered and their faces were dirty. Many of them could not even get enough food to eat and could only barely fill their stomachs by picking up firewood.

Under such conditions, the refugees ran through the woods carrying sacks despite the cold, delivering fuel and hay to the logistics supply vehicles.

Most of the houses in Jinshan Village were burned down, so Yang Ling asked the refugees to transport the wood to Yulin County and temporarily live there.

Yulin County is located in the eastern part of Xiping County, about ten kilometers away from Yulin County, and is located on the south bank of the Yellow River.

Although the city wall of Yulin is dilapidated, it still stands. On the official road outside the city, there are many mules and horses pulling caravans to transport materials and livestock.

Yulin County Magistrate Guo Wentao was a thin and short man in his fifties. He used to be the county magistrate of Jiangning County, but he was transferred after only a few years and then became the governor of Yulin County and the governor of Jiangxi Province.

Due to the special geographical environment of Yulin City and because it is an important town on the south bank of the Yellow River, it has strict defenses and is home to a large number of Western Xia cavalry. Therefore, Yulin Prefecture Governor Li Xijue knew very well that in order to resolve the surge in refugees in Yulin Prefecture, Yulin Village outside Yulin City would become a key hub.

Yulin Village is located in a valley, surrounded by water on all sides, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. Such a geographical location is easy to attack but difficult to defend, so the Yulin County Government had long ago sent people to build a fort near Yulin Village to defend against sudden attacks by the Western Xia cavalry.

Yulin County Magistrate Guo Wentao stood on the city wall of Yulin County, looking at the small Yulin Village in the valley in the distance. He raised his lips slightly with disdain and muttered to himself, "Yulin Village? Yulin Village in Yulin Valley? Haha, Yulin Village is a ghost village. Unless my name, Guo Wentao, is changed, there will never be a remote place like Yulin Village!"

Under the city of Yulin, the soldiers of the Yulin Camp lined up neatly at the camp gate. They were wrapped in cotton jackets, holding simple weapons in their hands, and quietly waiting for orders.

The commander of the Yulin Battalion was Gao Rentai. He was also dressed neatly and stood upright at the front of the team, waiting for orders.

“Woo-woo-woo-woo-” Suddenly, a sharp horn sounded from Yulin Village, waking up everyone who was sleeping.

"Boom, boom, boom" Immediately afterwards, the sound of rapid war drums rang out in the camp of Yulin Camp.

The soldiers of Yulin Camp jumped out of bed, gathered in groups of two or three at the camp gate, and looked through the fence in the direction of Yulin Village.

A large number of refugees poured out of the gate of Yulin Village. They rushed towards the camp gate with their children and cried and wailed. Some even tried to break open the heavy iron gate, but were stopped by the soldiers of Yulin Camp.

"Mom, please open the door, my child is starving to death."

"Dad, save me, I don't want to die!"

"Dad, please be kind!"

Last night, Yang Ling heard the faint sound of a horn coming from Yulin Village in his dream. He immediately became worried, and hurriedly put on his clothes, washed up, and walked quickly to the training ground in the center of the camp.

"Teams, assemble!"

Yang Ling stood on the steps and shouted to summon officials at all levels.

Yang Ling's position in the Yulin Camp was the chief clerk, in charge of clerical work and military discipline. He was considered a high-ranking cadre in the Yulin Camp, so it was easy for him to find the chief officers at all levels and gather them in front of him.

Yang Ling looked around at everyone and said, "Everyone, the Xixia people came to attack our lair and are now camping five kilometers north of Yulin Village. According to the news sent back by the scouts, the Xixia people's strength does not exceed 5,000, so everyone does not need to worry too much. We should first transport food and ammunition to Yulin Village!"

Yang Ling's proposal was supported by all the officers, and soon the chief officers of the Yulin Camp began to organize the soldiers to transport supplies and ammunition.

Since Yang Ling's plan was to repel the enemy first and then take the opportunity to occupy Yulin City, the reserves of food and ammunition were sufficient, but they were still loaded onto two hundred large ox carts.

"Everyone gather together and follow me into Yulin Village!" Yang Ling shouted and ordered.

The main force of Yulin Camp was withdrawn from Yulin County to Yulin Camp last night. The remaining soldiers and prisoners were no more than eight or nine hundred people. Yang Ling brought his personal guards, a total of more than three hundred people, plus the original two hundred people in Yulin Camp, the total number reached six hundred.

Yang Ling led his large army along the winding and rugged mountain road towards Yulin Village. Just when they were halfway there, they encountered scouts galloping back from the valley on the east side.

"Reporting to the commander, a large number of enemy troops appeared in the northwest direction, less than thirty miles away from us." The scout dismounted and reported.

"What!" Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Yang Ling looked up at the valley in the northwest direction, and after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Continue to scout and confirm the enemy situation!"

"Yes!" the scout agreed and galloped away on his horse.

Yang Ling turned to his deputy Li Mingzhong and ordered, "Brother Mingzhong, send a message to the Yulin camp immediately and have them assemble quickly and prepare for battle!"

Li Mingzhong agreed solemnly: "I obey your command!"

"Everyone else follow me back to Yulin Village!"

After saying this, Yang Ling took the lead and rode his horse towards Yulin Village, and everyone hurriedly followed him.

Yulin Village is about thirty miles away from Yulin Camp, but it took Yang Ling and others nearly half an hour to reach Yulin Village.

As soon as Yang Ling and his companions dismounted from their horses, they heard shouts and screams from the village wall, followed by the flashes of countless flames.

The generals of Yulin Camp were overjoyed upon seeing this. They rode their horses to the wall of the village, and then saw that Yulin Village was already ablaze with fire. The enemy's archers were shooting arrows at Yulin Village. The refugees in Yulin Village were running for their lives, and the scene was in chaos and seemed extremely confused.

"Shoot!" Yang Ling gave a loud order. Hundreds of sharp arrows flew out and suppressed the archers on the city wall. The archers on the city wall did not dare to act rashly.

"Shoot!" Yang Ling gave another order, and hundreds of feather arrows flew out whistling.

There were screams of agony in Yulin Village. Soldiers who failed to dodge were pierced through the body or head by arrows as dense as raindrops and died on the spot.

Seeing the fierce firepower of Yang Ling's men, the archers on the city wall did not dare to take the risk of fighting and quickly retreated into the city tower. The chaos in Yulin Village was immediately reduced and the city became stable.

Yang Ling observed the situation on the top of the city coldly, thinking to himself: "It seems that the enemy wants to use their superior forces to attack Yulin Village. In this case, let's play with him."

Thinking of this, Yang Ling ran towards the military settlement in Yulin Village. He planned to train the young and strong men in Yulin Camp into peasant soldiers to guard Yulin Village. At the same time, he would also strengthen the defense to prevent the enemy from sneaking into the camp. After all, there were only 800 people in Yulin Camp and they must not be surrounded.

Yang Ling soon arrived at the square of the Yulin Military Settlement Area, where a wall was being built. However, the prototype of the wall had not yet been completed, only the trench had been dug.

Yang Ling saw that the project was progressing very slowly, so he frowned and asked, "Why is the project progressing so slowly?"

"Reporting to the commander, the Yulin camp suffered heavy losses during the siege of Yulin Village, with more than seventy casualties, so we need to recruit new men. In addition, the wall of Yulin Village is too long and the construction period is relatively long, so the progress of the project is slower than expected." Zhou Guodong, a doctor in the Ministry of Works, bowed and explained.

Yang Ling nodded slightly and said, "Let's build the wall as soon as possible, but be careful to protect the crops, especially to ensure that the crops are not affected. Don't lose the big picture for the small."

Although Yang Ling had never farmed before, he knew that the growing period of crops was relatively short, especially when sowing in winter when the soil was cold and moist, making it easy for crops to germinate. If a large area of ​​crops were frozen due to lack of defense measures, it would cause great damage to Yulinzhai's harvest this year. This was no joke.

"I will remember the Marshal's instructions." Zhou Guodong replied respectfully with a bow.

Yang Ling turned to Li Mingzhong and said solemnly: "Brother Mingzhong, our first mission when we enter Yulin Camp this time is to defend Yulin Village. We must not let the enemy seize Yulin Village. Now I will hand over all the remaining 500 soldiers in the camp to you. I hope you can help Hu Zongxian defend Yulin Village."

"Please rest assured, Marshal. I will do my best to assist Hu Sicheng in defending Yulin Village." Li Mingzhong answered loudly.

"Okay, you go back to the camp immediately to gather your men and prepare to meet the enemy!" Yang Ling said loudly.

After Li Mingzhong and Yang Ling separated, they returned to Yulin Camp with several officers. In Yulin Camp, apart from the two hundred veterans who stayed behind, there were still more than four hundred soldiers left.

Under the command of Li Mingzhong, the Yulin Camp responded quickly. More than 400 soldiers quickly gathered together, then picked up shields and bows and arrows and formed a battle array.

Li Mingzhong climbed to the top of Yulin Village and looked down at the enemy outside Yulin Village. Then he said to the guards beside him: "Pass my order. All troops should prepare bows, crossbows and artillery, and be ready to throw incendiary bombs at any time."

The personal guard agreed and hurried down to convey the order.

When the more than 400 soldiers in Yulin Camp heard this order, they all looked surprised and suspicious. They knew that their opponents were the elite troops of Xixia, but they did not expect to be taken so seriously.

These soldiers usually use ordinary swords, axes, bows and arrows during training. Bows and arrows are fine, but at most they have slightly lower lethality and limited deterrence. However, crossbows and crossbows are weapons with huge lethality. The effect of these weapons of mass destruction on the battlefield is very terrifying. Each crossbow can fire at least 20 crossbow arrows, and each crossbow arrow can kill five or six people.

The soldiers of the Yulin Camp all knew how powerful the Xixia people were, so when they heard that they were going to face an enemy force that was several times larger than their own, they immediately became nervous.

Li Mingzhong looked at these uneasy soldiers and couldn't help but get angry. He cursed: "Damn it, I was blind when I selected you to be soldiers. You are afraid of nothing. No wonder these bastards bully us!"

Although the soldiers of Yulin Camp were afraid of the enemy's strength, they became more motivated after hearing Li Mingzhong's scolding. After all, the commander of Yulin Camp was not afraid of the stage, so why would they retreat? Besides, even if they were really defeated, at most they would be demoted, which was better than living in cowardice.

At this time, Chen Jisheng, the lieutenant general of Yulin Camp, came to Li Mingzhong and said in a deep voice: "General, the enemy's numbers far outnumber ours. I'm afraid we can't hold out for too long. It's better for us to retreat to the mountain stronghold and hold it there for the time being, and then fight the enemy after reinforcements arrive."

"Hmph, do you think the enemy is stupid? Let's withdraw now and come back after the enemy captures Yulin Village. The cucumbers will be cold!" Li Mingzhong said disdainfully.

Chen Jisheng shook his head helplessly and sighed: "Alas, there is nothing we can do. The enemy is too powerful and we can't compete with them at all!"

Li Mingzhong sneered, "Haha, the enemy is indeed powerful, but our Yulin Camp is not made of mud. Although our Yulin Camp is not an iron plate, it is not tofu dregs. If you want to swallow Yulin Camp, you will have to pay a price."

"Marshal, the enemy is approaching the entrance of the village. What should we do?" Deputy General Han Yong reminded.

Li Mingzhong gnashed his teeth and said: "Yumudun is an excellent blocking position. There is a mountain stream on the left side of Yumudun and a cliff on the right side. If the enemy wants to go around from the left side to attack the village gate, they must climb over the cliff.

This mountain is not very high, only about two feet high. With the tactical skills of our Yulin Camp and the cover of the elmwood pier, we can completely use the fortifications in the village to stop the enemy." (End of this chapter)