Shi Lei fled with his remnant forces, but soon encountered another retreating army.

This was a force of twenty thousand men who had been separated due to insufficient provisions, retreating via another route while also tasked with requisitioning grain.

After Shi Lei’s eight thousand-plus remnant troops met up with them, the combined force numbered just over twenty-eight thousand, though the group also included more than three thousand two-legged sheep.

Shi Lei had also been injured by Zhao Erlang. He sat in his tent having a physician bandage his wounds. He clenched and unclenched his fist to test his strength, but feeling only unbearable pain, his expression darkened. “That Zhao Erlang is so young, yet possesses such strength.”

Wang Yang squatted beside him and remarked upon hearing this, “He’s an idiot. I’ve heard that besides great strength, he has no other talents.”

Shi Lei thought of Zhao Hanzhang and frowned slightly. “His sister Zhao Hanzhang’s martial skills are not weak either. I only knew that Zhao Changyu was a civil official. I didn’t know these siblings had both learned such martial arts and both possess such strength.”

If Shi Lei had asked someone else, Wang Yang might not have been able to answer, but Zhao Hanzhang was one of Shi Lei’s primary opponents. Having lost to Zhao Hanzhang several times when they clashed, he had specifically studied her. “Zhao Changyu’s maternal clan is the Xiahou family. Whether Xiahou Shang, Xiahou Yuan, or Xiahou Ba, all were famous generals. Perhaps it’s due to their bloodline.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Lei sighed with regret. “If only Congzi were here, why would I fear the Zhao siblings?”

Wang Yang fell silent.

Shi Lei felt sorrowful in his heart and asked, “Is there any news of Huzi?”

Wang Yang shook his head. “We sent three teams to search, but none could find the old lady and Huzi.”

Shi Lei grew even more mournful.

He was a Jie barbarian. His ancestors had actually been Jie nobility, with both his grandfather and father serving as chieftains of small tribes, but one chieftain’s life was vastly different from another’s.

Someone like Liu Yuan could not only read and write but lived luxuriously, even able to go to Luoyang as a hostage.

Indeed, Shi Lei envied Liu Yuan for being able to serve as a hostage. Did people really think just any prince could become a hostage?

Like himself—though also once called a little prince, he had never even learned to read. Every day he toiled hard for food, leaving early and returning late, until he was finally sold into slavery.

During the Bingzhou famine, he had fled his homeland with his tribesmen and accidentally became separated from his family. When he returned to search for them, he was captured halfway by Sima Teng’s soldiers, sold for cash to pay military wages.

In the blink of an eye, by the time he finally clawed his way out of that quagmire, several years had passed. He sent people back to find his family, only to discover that not a single tribesman remained there.

He heard that only his mother and nephew were still alive, having fled with refugees to who knows where.

When Shi Lei was sold into slavery, Shi Hu was still small. Though young, his strength was already evident. By age three, he already had long arms and legs, growing better than children of similar age.

Moreover, his crying was loud and resonant—clearly showing robust vigor.

Shi Lei himself possessed great strength. Seeing his nephew like this, he knew the boy was like himself and would also grow to have tremendous strength.

Now, injured by the Zhao siblings, he missed Shi Hu even more. If only he were by his side—uncle and nephew against sister and brother—though he might fall short in military strategy, he would definitely not be inferior in other aspects.

Shi Lei said, “We must continue searching. I don’t have many relatives left.”

Wang Yang hastily agreed.

Having just suffered defeat with such great losses, morale was somewhat low.

Shi Lei thought for a moment, then simply had Wang Yang select some two-legged sheep from the prisoner camp and slaughter them on the spot to boost the soldiers’ spirits.

If words and goals could no longer inspire the soldiers’ morale, then use blood to stimulate them.

Sometimes the most twisted methods were the most effective at exciting people.

The Shi army camp was in revelry. During the celebration, morale slowly rose. Zhao Hanzhang, pursuing nearby, heard the sounds. She sensed the Shi army’s surging battle intent and halted the army’s advance. Taking people to higher ground, she found a good position and used her telescope to look in that direction.

She had to turn it several times before barely managing to see through the forest covering to glimpse the Shi army camp’s situation. Seeing the dozen or so human forms hung high and drained of blood, Zhao Hanzhang’s face instantly turned pale.

Even she, who had survived countless life-and-death situations, couldn’t help feeling somewhat nauseous.

But she held it in.

Closing her eyes, she drove the hellish scene from her mind. When she opened them again, her eyes held only cold indifference.

Zhao Hanzhang said, “The entire army will rest. In one hour, we attack the Shi camp at night.”

The sky was already somewhat dark. Zhao Hanzhang could see the Shi army camp’s situation with her far-seeing eye only because they had lit several huge bonfires.

Fu Tinghan stood beside her. Seeing her poor complexion, he reached out to take the telescope. “What did you see?”

Zhao Hanzhang turned away to avoid his hand, tucked the telescope into her robes, and said with a calm expression, “Nothing. Let’s eat and rest.”

Fu Tinghan didn’t insist on looking. Seeing her struggle to swallow the meat pancake, he took it from her hand, found a personal guard, and exchanged it for the dry, coarse grain cake in his hand.

Fu Tinghan didn’t ask again what she had seen, but could still imagine it.

This meat pancake was a personal gift from Zhao Ming. After all, she was his own niece, and having lost so much weight in such a short time, he still felt sorry for her.

So before the army departed, he had the household cooks make two bundles of meat pancakes—one bundle for Zhao Hanzhang, one for Fu Tinghan.

Zhao Hanzhang gnawed on the rough dry cake, and the nauseous feeling in her chest weakened considerably. She turned to Ting He and said, “The meat pancakes Uncle Ming gave—distribute them all to you and Zeng Yue and the others.”

Ting He was somewhat unwilling, but still agreed.

However, she decided to comply outwardly while defying inwardly. She would save them and give them to the young lady when she craved them later.

Zhao Hanzhang held the cake in her mouth and looked down at the terrain map Fu Tinghan had brought out. She marked two routes on the map and said, “Scouts discovered Shi army traces in these two places. They should be forces ordered to forcibly requisition grain while retreating.”

“At this distance, if they receive Shi Lei’s call for aid, they could arrive in two days.” Zhao Hanzhang sighed. “Shi Lei has done well. This not only shares the army’s logistical pressure, but the separate Shi forces can also serve as mutual reinforcements. No wonder he remained calm and unhurried after escaping the mountain pass.”

Fu Tinghan’s heart stirred, and he asked, “If he’s calm and unhurried, might he have already set an ambush in the camp waiting for your night attack?”

Zhao Hanzhang lowered her eyes in thought. After a moment she said, “That’s actually quite possible. Come, come, let’s discuss this—if he’s set an ambush beforehand, how should we fight this battle?”

Shi Lei waited quietly until the soldiers’ emotions were fully recharged, then gave the order to set the ambush, quietly withdrawing a detachment to set up positions on two sides of the camp.

As long as Zhao Hanzhang or Zhao Erlang dared to come, he would make sure they never returned!

After discussing back and forth, Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan both felt that with ambush troops present, either they wouldn’t attack, or they could only enter with light cavalry, quickly penetrating the Shi army camp…

They would also need support outside to prepare for any contingency.

Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t avoid this battle. She needed to maintain her troops’ morale and strike at the Shi army’s morale. Shi Lei wanted to reinvigorate his soldiers’ spirits—she would not permit it!