The soldiers followed in an orderly fashion, and once all the cavalry had gone out into the darkness, Zhao Ju finally led his own troops out.
They would set an ambush along the way to support Zhao Hanzhang, with infantry in the majority.
The activity here naturally couldn’t be concealed from some people in the city. Xun Xiu sat up in bed clutching his blanket, and only woke up after a long time, "Daring indeed, to dare a night raid on Liu Cong. Is she truly capable or merely arrogant? Didn’t the inspector try to stop her?"
Xun Xiu frowned, "The inspector couldn’t be unaware, could he?"
"The lights were on in the Inspector’s Mansion."
Then he knew. Xun Xiu raised an eyebrow, "The inspector is actually so confident in her, seems she really has some skills." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N0velFire.ɴet
"Liu Jing died at her hands, and it’s heard she repelled Shi Le too."
Xun Xiu’s expression turned serious, "There’s evidence for the former, but isn’t the latter merely a rumor that the Zhao Family spread to boost her, hence attributing Zhao Ming’s achievement to her?"
The aide said nothing.
At the time, only Zhao Family members were present, so no one knows the actual situation. Thus, it’s left to individual interpretation.
Before this, he thought the same as Xun Xiu, suspecting that it might be the Zhao Family building up Zhao Hanzhang’s reputation.
Xun Xiu couldn’t sleep anymore. He uncovered the blanket and got up, "Where are Yu Sheng and General Gao?"
The aide glanced outside, "Before I came, Yu Sheng was supposed to be with the inspector, as for General Gao... I’ll immediately have someone check from a height if their courtyard lights are on."
The aide immediately went out, found a guard, and had him climb onto the roof to check how many courtyards had lights on.
Meanwhile, as the officials and generals at the Inspector Mansion started to pay serious attention to Zhao Hanzhang, she was already circling to approach the place they planned to raid.
Zhao Erlang was doing this for the first time, both excited and nervous. Zhao Hanzhang was also doing this for the first time, yet her heart was calm, as serene as getting a drink of water in the middle of the night. She led her men up a small slope, from where much of the enemy camp could be seen.
Zhao Hanzhang glanced around, memorizing what she saw. There were scattered lights there, but most remained hidden in darkness. Yet, the torch columns were organized naturally, so the encampment layout was also organized.
By observing the bright spots of torchlight, one could estimate the location of tents and... the main tent’s position and supply depot’s location.
Zhao Hanzhang stared intently at a large stretch of darkness. She beckoned Ji Ping and Li Tian, and whispered, "Each of you take a squad, Ji Ping, you circle to their northwest side. Do you see that dark stretch behind those three torch columns?"
Ji Ping squinted to look carefully for a moment, then nodded.
"That’s likely where the supplies are stored. Go reconnoiter it, and if confirmed, set fire to their supplies. Once successful, retreat immediately back to the city."
Zhao Hanzhang ordered Li Tian, "You circle from this side to the north, act according to the situation, support Ji Ping. As soon as he succeeds, draw their forces over. Just delay them for a quarter of an hour."
Zhao Hanzhang asked Ji Ping, "A quarter of an hour, can you get away by then?"
For cavalry, a quarter of an hour is sufficient.
Ji Ping nodded solemnly in agreement.
Zhao Hanzhang was satisfied, "Just confirm it’s the supply depot. If you can’t destroy it completely, signal Li Tian, and let him support with fire arrows to ensure their supplies are burned."
Zhao Hanzhang had the two lead their squads away. Estimating the time, she felt it was about right. She shook her lance, caught everyone’s attention, and shouted, "Let’s go, young men!"
With that, she kicked her horse’s belly and charged down. Zhao Erlang got excited but remembered his sister’s instructions to remain quiet, making no loud sounds except following her orders. So, he suppressed his excitement, kicked his horse’s belly, and galloped after his sister, followed by the eager eight hundred soldiers rushing down!
The loud sounds of galloping hooves alerted the soldiers in the tents to the vibrations transmitted through the ground. They jumped up, grabbed their weapons, and charged outside, "Wake up, wake up! Seems we’re under attack!"
The ones not with their ears to the ground turned over sleepily, grumbling, "Enemies in the middle of the night? The Jin people are too scared, how would they dare attack?"
No one answered him because the soldiers who rushed outside encountered Zhao Hanzhang charging down. She didn’t blink, sweeping her lance, and the soldier’s pupils contracted, his vision turned blood-red. He reacted belatedly, clutching his neck as blood spurted out, but collapsed on the ground before saying a word...
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t linger. After one kill, she rode past him swiftly. When she passed a torch column, she swept her lance, sending the torches flying onto the tents...
The camp instantly fell into chaos. Some screamed, some rushed out, only to face the Zhao Family Army’s blades and spears.
Zhao Hanzhang kept killing those running out of the tents while sweeping torches onto tents, and the soldiers behind followed suit, killing while spreading the fire.
Having cleared a section of the camp, Zhao Hanzhang’s sharp eyes fixed on the Xiongnu Army which had started to organize, and she loudly commanded, "Scatter!"
The leaders immediately followed Zhao Hanzhang’s prior instructions, leading their cavalry to charge in different directions, creating circling maneuvers. The Hu soldiers who had initially started organizing were disrupted again and fell into complete chaos.
Everywhere was filled with killing and flames. Many Hu soldiers caught fire and ran around wildly. Panic spread among the people, and even the Assistant General could hardly calm them down.
Zhao Hanzhang led a hundred men like entering an unguarded fortress, killing in and out.
This is the terror of cavalry; they are like tanks to infantry, especially to infantry startled from sleep, soldiers without full weapons, and it’s a one-sided slaughter.
Zhao Erlang fought fiercely, unknowingly moving far away from Zhao Hanzhang, and targeted directions with more people.
Meanwhile, Hu soldiers instinctively headed towards the main camp.
Liu Cong stepped out of the main camp with a broadsword, his face grim, observing the chaotic camp. He grabbed a person and ordered, "Sound the alarm, everyone gather towards the main camp. Where’s my cavalry? Where’s my cavalry? Get them on horses!"
Daring to raid his camp at night, daring to face off on cavalry, Liu Cong’s eyes were fierce, determined to make the Jin people suffer!
Zhao Hanzhang led her men through the chaos, then turned back to attack again, discovering the stables with bright eyes. She immediately led her men over, knocking down those trying to mount horses, looked around, chose a direction, and threw the torches from the column into the stables...
The horses’ tails caught fire, and they panicked immediately. Coupled with the blaze nearby, craning their hooves, they neighed and charged deeper into the camp.