noffsinger Chapter 2086 The Cunning Old Fox!
Chapter 2086 The Cunning Old Fox!
Looking at Ma Chao's extremely gloomy face, Qin Hong knew that the other party understood something.
He grinned, revealing teeth stained with blood, and let out a hoarse, mocking laugh:
"Hahahaha, cough cough... Ma Chao, you... you've been tricked!"
"Li Shuai...Li Shuai...he...he took another path a long time ago!"
"We've been waiting here... for you!"
"Ahem, if we can hold off General Ma for one night, our three thousand brothers are worth it! Worth it! Hahahaha..."
Before his laughter had even faded, he used the last of his strength to raise the iron mace he was holding, pointing it at Ma Chao, his eyes filled with contempt and the satisfaction of having accomplished his mission.
Immediately, his imposing body collapsed to the ground, and he died.
Ma Chao stood there, his face ashen, his hand gripping the spear trembling slightly with extreme anger.
The morning sun shone on him, but it could not dispel the gloom in his heart.
He spent the entire night expending his energy, losing a significant number of soldiers, and killing three thousand Tang soldiers and a fierce general.
In the end, all that was revealed was the cruel truth that Li Jing had already escaped, and Qin Hong's mocking laughter before his death.
Inside the canyon, only the heavy breathing of the Chu soldiers and the restless snorting of their warhorses could be heard.
Victory, at this moment, seems so empty and ironic.
Qin Hong's mocking and gleeful laughter, and the truth he revealed before his death, burned fiercely into Ma Chao's heart like a red-hot iron.
A surge of rage at being fooled and mocked instantly overwhelmed the fatigue from a night of hard work, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge.
The muscles in his arm, gripping the spear, were so bulging that he could almost crush the shaft!
"Li Jing! You old fox!"
Ma Chao let out a low roar from deep in his throat, his voice filled with gnashing hatred.
"How dare you play tricks on me like this! Using three thousand lives as bait to buy time!"
He kicked a blood-stained rock next to him with a sudden thud, sending shards of stone flying.
He thought he was the hunter, but he never expected that he would be manipulated by Li Jing from beginning to end!
Qin Hong's troops were not a support force at all, but a carefully laid pawn, a huge bait!
Their mission was to draw his attention and keep his most threatening mobile force tied down in this place, thus buying precious time for Li Jing to truly escape!
The thought that Li Jing might have already fled dozens of miles away made Ma Chao feel a surge of anger rising to the top of his head, almost setting him on fire.
"General, these are the corpses and weapons of the Tang soldiers..."
Seeing that the battle was over, a lieutenant in charge of logistics cautiously approached to ask for instructions.
They wanted to begin the usual battlefield cleanup work, inventorying the spoils and burying the corpses.
But before he could finish speaking, Ma Chao suddenly turned his head and glared at him fiercely with bloodshot eyes that still held a murderous intent!
His eyes were like those of a ferocious tiger ready to devour its prey, which made the general tremble all over, swallowing back all the words he was about to say.
"Clean up the battlefield? What the hell is going on?! You still have the mind to care about this junk and dead bones!"
Ma Chao's roar was like thunder, echoing in the valley that had just fallen silent:
"Our mission is to capture Li Jing! Capture Li Jing! Do you understand?"
"If Li Jing escapes, even if you strip all the Tang army's armor from the entire canyon, your merits will not outweigh your demerits; it will all be in vain!"
Ignoring the trembling lieutenant, he abruptly raised his spear and shouted at the cavalrymen around him who had just fought a bloody battle and hadn't even had time to catch their breath: "Listen up, all of you! Li Jing is a cunning old scoundrel who has used his magic to escape; he certainly hasn't gone far yet!"
"The entire army will immediately split into two groups! One group, led by Deputy General Zhao, will search northwest along the foothills!"
"I will personally lead the other route northeast to search all possible valleys and woodlands where they may be hiding!"
"Remember! Our target is Li Jing! If we encounter small groups of Tang soldiers, don't engage them; focus on searching! If we find any clues, immediately send out a signal arrow to warn others!"
"Let's go! Quickly!"
Under Ma Chao's repeated urging and pressure, the Chu cavalry had no time to rest, or even to drink water.
They quickly split into two streams, like a comb, heading in the two directions designated by Ma Chao, and began a new round of more detailed and more intense grid search.
Time flew by amidst the intense search. From Chen Shi (7-9 AM) to Si Shi (9-11 AM), the sunlight became somewhat dazzling, illuminating the earth, yet also seemingly evaporating any last trace that Li Jing might have left behind.
Ma Chao's anxiety intensified with time, and each report from the scouts that showed no abnormalities made his face grow darker.
Just when he was almost convinced that Li Jingzhen had vanished without a trace and was preparing to expand the search area—
"Report——!"
A scout sent to the northeast rode a warhorse foaming at the mouth and rushed to Ma Chao at top speed, his face showing excitement at having discovered a major clue.
"General! About fifteen miles to the northeast, near a dry riverbed, a large number of fresh and dense hoof prints have been discovered!"
"The footprints were very messy, but they were generally pointing due east and slightly north!"
"East by slightly north?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Chao immediately sketched out a map of the surrounding terrain in his mind.
That direction, further ahead... isn't that the direction of Guo Ziyi's main camp where his 100,000 troops are stationed?!
This judgment was like ice water poured over his head, instantly chilling him to the bone!
Li Jing's destination was indeed to join up with Guo Ziyi's main force!
He used Qin Hong's troops to delay him for a night, and now they are probably close to the control of the Tang army camp!
"hateful!"
Ma Chao slammed his fist into the saddle, his anger and resentment reaching a fever pitch.
How could he be willing to let the cooked duck fly into someone else's pot?
"General, should we continue the pursuit? If we go any further, we might encounter large groups of Tang scouts or even their outer perimeter troops!"
The adjutant beside him reminded him with concern.
Ma Chao's face was ashen. He glanced at the cavalry behind him, who had also been traveling all night and were exhausted, and then estimated the distance and time.
Even if they pursue with all their might, it would probably be difficult to intercept Li Jing before he entered the safe zone of the Tang army camp.
Instead, they might run into the reinforcements sent by Guo Ziyi to provide backup, thus falling into danger.
But he would never give up!
In a flash, Ma Chao thought of Han Xing, who was still confronting Guo Ziyi's main force!
Han Xing's camp was located on the flank of the only route Li Jing could take to escape to the main Tang army camp!
"Quickly! Bring the carrier pigeon!" Ma Chao ordered sternly.
A soldier in charge of communications immediately took a well-trained carrier pigeon from a specially made bamboo cage.
Sending someone back to deliver the message now would be too late; the fastest way is to use a carrier pigeon!