Chapter 61: Shi Jin Risks Danger to Save a Life (Part 2)

  Deputy General Feng Ping waved his long spear and shouted, ordering the soldiers under him to speed up their horses and chase in the direction of the large flag. He was determined to intercept Shi Jin and others before they could cut down the large flag. However, at this moment, the troops from Shao Huashan were getting faster and faster, while the government army, which had just been ambushed by its own defenders, was half a beat slower.

  For this, Feng Ping was extremely angry with the officers and soldiers guarding the camp. Although they were not from the same battalion, they were all under the jurisdiction of the governor. Not only did they fail to guard the camp, but they also caused such a mess. Blocking Feng Ping's achievements made him unhappy: You've fooled me, now I won't care about you anymore.

  Feng Ping's troops directly ignored the defending army, leading the galloping soldiers and horses to rush through the camp, without regard for the lives of the officers and men along the way. In Feng Ping's eyes, there were only the bandits on Mount Shaohua, only one large flag of the Northwest Camp. As long as they surrounded and annihilated the bandits and protected the flag, when they returned, they could say whatever they wanted in front of the supervising officials. Trampling some defending soldiers to death was nothing, and instead, that general would have to pay the price for mistakenly injuring the cavalry.

  Feng Ping's mind moved to this point, and he couldn't help but reveal his complacent expression. With a crack of the whip, he became even more ferocious. Leading the cavalry behind him, he swung open his long spear and tightly pursued the rear of the crowd at Shao Hua Mountain. Wherever Shi Jin and his group turned, Feng Ping led his troops to pursue and kill them there.

  But what made Shi Jin happy was that as long as he and his brothers charged forward, the thousands of government cavalry would follow wherever they went. Shi Jin didn't need to exert any effort, leading the government army by the nose, using their iron hooves to trample their own defending troops. Although Shi Jin didn't have time to look back, from behind him came the anguished cries that made his heart skip a beat. But after all, this was his own doing, and he couldn't help but reveal a sly smile at the corner of his mouth.

  Shi Jin led his troops in a swift cavalry charge, passing by the defending army and circling around the large flag before making a beeline for the flank. He took his troops out of the camp from the north side. When Shi Jin turned back to look, those government soldiers led by Feng Ping were all stunned under the large flag, seemingly still unable to understand what kind of trick he was playing. Shi Jin treated this camp like a city gate, coming and going as he pleased, with complete freedom and without any courtesy. Not only did he mess up the defense inside the camp, but he also trampled the defending army, leaving them in a pitiful state. Shi Jin's fluid and effortless performance may have destroyed the foundation of the northwest camp, but it also slapped the imperial court in the face without any regard for sentiment.

  Shi Jin took his brothers and ran wildly, leaving the mess for the officials to clean up. Shi Jin went far away, although he couldn't see Vice General Feng Ping's face which was as red as a pig's liver, but when he saw the chaos of the northwest camp, he couldn't help but let out a loud whistle. The whole army was excited, and even the war horses ran more wildly in the wilderness.

  That made Feng Ping's whole body tremble with anger, and when he heard Shi Jin's loud whistle, he was even more infuriated. Especially seeing him lead his men to the northwest direction of the Da Camp, Feng Ping's heart grew even more hateful. Without caring about what would happen to the Northwest Camp, he directly whipped his horse and ordered a full-speed pursuit and slaughter of Shi Jin and his men. As a result, the cavalry under Feng Ping's command paused for a moment under the large flag before continuing to whip their horses forward, with a ferocious and evil appearance as they chased after Shi Jin's troops.

  Shi Jin took a glance and saw that they were catching up again, so he openly sneered and smiled to himself: "Chase on, chase on! If you don't catch up with me, how can I conveniently dismantle your camp?" He then tightly grasped the reins in his hand, controlling the horse's momentum as he galloped straight towards the North Camp.

  The Beidaying camp was set up in an open area outside the north city gate. Not only is it close to the Yinma River, which controls the water source of the entire city, but it is also a transportation hub connecting Huayin County and Shaohua Mountain. To the north of Beidaying, there is a gentle slope formed by the intersection of four mountains in Huayin County, known as Lianshan Pass. The traffic between Huayin County and the north passes through Lianshan Pass, which is a strategic location. When Meng Zongguo arrived here, he first set up camp at Beidaying, not at Xizhai Dazheng, but at this crucial location. Because Beidaying is the foundation and key point of the entire eight-camp siege, Meng Zongguo personally appointed his most powerful general to guard it. With the original troops stationed here, plus Feng Ping's pursuit from behind, Meng Zongguo also sent Li Shouyi to assist in the battle, making this deployment even more critical. This shows how important this location is and that it is the lifeline of the entire government army, with no room for error.

  Now Shi Jin and his men, with one mind, directly rushed towards the Western Camp. This made Feng Ping secretly wipe away sweat. He anxiously and hastily rode after them, not knowing that Meng Guan had already arranged a surprise attack, led by his superior Li Shouyi, who had taken a detour to the Western Camp while they were still causing chaos in the Northwestern Camp, and was now waiting for the final battle to snatch away their achievements.

  But Shi Jin didn't know at first, and he ran wildly while secretly thinking in his heart about how to stir up trouble in the Beiyuan camp. After all, the Beiyuan camp was much more important than the Xibei camp, so setting up camp would definitely be more solid and grander than other camps. Whether the soldiers could charge in was indeed a problem. But this problem hadn't been thought out by Shi Jin's clever mind, and it was completely abandoned and not worth thinking about again.

  Because they rushed to a place not far from Beiyuan, Shi Jin saw clearly that the government soldiers were lined up in an array. A piece of silver helmet and armor, war horses scraping iron hooves, government soldiers holding high long halberds, with a solid and majestic posture, proudly standing there.

  Shi Jin gazed into the distance, riding on horseback with a sense of foreboding, exchanging a glance with Chen Da. Their eyes were filled with helplessness. Not to mention the solidity of the Northern Camp, which made Shi Jin feel like a tiger trying to eat a hedgehog without knowing where to start. The situation was also extremely unoptimistic, with troops blocking ahead and pursuing behind. Although they had managed to pull off a clever trick earlier, crossing through the northwest camp, everything in this world comes at a cost. Of the original 4,000 government soldiers who broke out of the city, only half were left after running all the way here. Adding to that, the officers and men were exhausted, the war horses were tired, if they forced their way into the camp, it wasn't impossible, but whether they could achieve the same formation as before, showing off the desired effect, was a very slim hope.

  Shi Jin was a clever man, he knew when to play tricks and when to give up. Especially for unnecessary sacrifices, Shi Jin was extremely unwilling in his heart. He would rather find another way than look for trouble himself.

  So, after Chai Da's memorial to the throne was temporarily withdrawn, Shi Jin nodded deeply and ordered the rear team to follow closely behind the front team. They appeared briefly in front of the Northern Camp, then drew a magnificent arc straight towards Huayin City.