Chapter 474
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Chapter 474: Meet Up
The grain transport team, having casually wiped out a band of horse bandits, was now nearing Wild Horse City.
The smoke rising from the burning corpses undoubtedly attracted the attention of the patrol units around Wild Horse City.
The approaching sounds of hoofbeats once again put Luo Cheng and his men, who were warming themselves by the fire, on alert.
One by one, they gripped their hand crossbows tightly.
When the figures finally appeared in their sight, Luo Cheng’s face, as he peered through his binoculars, immediately lit up with joy.
“It’s General Liu Kai!”
The confirmation of their identity brought a collective sigh of relief.
Luo Cheng even waved enthusiastically at the approaching allied troops on horseback, greeting them loudly.
Upon recognizing Luo Cheng and his men, Liu Kai, who was leading the team to investigate the situation, also relaxed.
He slightly raised his hand, waving in acknowledgment to Luo Cheng, and signaling his cavalrymen behind him to lower their arms.
After the two groups quickly converged, Liu Kai dismounted swiftly and clasped his hands in greeting to Luo Cheng.
“General Luo Cheng, you’ve worked hard bringing these rations here this time.”
“It’s my duty, General Liu Kai, no need to be so polite.”
As the two exchanged greetings, Liu Kai’s cavalrymen suddenly let out exclamations of surprise.
This prompted Luo Cheng to instinctively turn and look, and then a hint of understanding flashed across his face.
Their grain transport team was quite large.
The advance cavalry unit alone comprised 500 men.
So, it was understandable how long the entire convoy stretched.
Given this, Hill’s mammoths and Harold’s ice bears were not close to the position of their vanguard.
Now that the vanguard had stopped, the troops following behind would naturally slowly catch up.
The cavalry units on the grasslands had not experienced the previous battle with the barbarian army.
Therefore, they weren’t very familiar with matters in the central plains.
The subsequent appearance of the mammoths and ice bear warriors clearly startled many of them.
“General Luo Cheng, what are these?”
As Bai Ze’s deputy, Liu Kai remained calm enough, not reacting with the same alarm as his soldiers.
“Oh, it’s like this…”
Luo Cheng quickly explained the identities of the mammoth and ice bear warriors, as well as the full story of the incident.
After listening, Liu Kai’s face also showed a hint of wistfulness.
“I can’t believe so much has happened during my absence from the central plains.”
After a brief moment of shared reflection, the two teams quickly merged into one and headed toward Wild Horse City.
With Liu Kai, who was familiar with the terrain, leading the way, the journey was naturally very smooth.
Before sunset, the grain transport team safely arrived at Wild Horse City.
“Your subordinate, Luo Cheng, greets the General!”
Inside Wild Horse City’s military camp, Luo Cheng bowed respectfully to Bai Ze.
Bai Ze raised a hand to help Luo Cheng up.
“General Luo Cheng, no need for formalities. It was truly strenuous for you all to transport the grain through the wind and snow.”
After a simple exchange of pleasantries, Luo Cheng naturally reported the incident of being attacked by horse bandits on the way.
Bai Ze’s brows furrowed upon hearing it.
“These horse bandits are truly becoming more and more brazen!”
After speaking, Bai Ze, as if recalling something else, asked again.
“General Luo Cheng, do you remember the number of that band of horse bandits?”
“Not many, about a hundred or so.”
“A hundred or so…”
Bai Ze pondered for a moment, then a look of understanding appeared on his face.
“I know which group it was.”
“Which one?”
Luo Cheng raised an eyebrow at that.
“Just how many horse bandits are there on the grasslands?”
Facing this question, both Bai Ze and Liu Kai showed wry smiles.
“Many.”
Liu Kai’s wry smile deepened after speaking one word.
“On the grasslands, there are countless tribes, big and small. Many of them make a living by raiding, which is the source of these horse bandits.”
“After winter set in, food became scarce. Forced by livelihood, these horse bandits began to brazenly harass our three grassland cities.”
“They come and go like the wind, never engaging us directly. They mostly run when they see us, so there’s often little we can do about them.”
“Helpless, we could only intensify patrols around the three cities.”
“However, once we were prepared here, they set their sights on the grain transport teams.”
“During this period, many horse bandits are likely struggling to survive, so they watch the supply routes for any opportunity to hijack the grain being delivered by the transport teams.”
“I see.” Luo Cheng nodded thoughtfully after hearing Liu Kai’s explanation.
“No wonder the horse bandits appeared as soon as we entered the grassland region. So, they were lying in wait, hoping to catch us off guard?”
As he spoke, Luo Cheng’s brow furrowed slightly in contemplation.
“With heavy snow blocking the roads now, grain transport is already difficult. If we temporarily change the supply route, efficiency would probably be even lower. For now, it seems we can only strengthen the escorts.”
“Indeed.”
Liu Kai nodded in agreement.
But Bai Ze, seated in the main position, seemed to recall something and asked.
“Oh, General Luo Cheng, you mentioned a ranged weapon called a hand crossbow in your earlier report. May I take a look?”
“General, you’re too polite. Of course, that’s no problem.”
Luo Cheng casually motioned to one of his soldiers to fetch a hand crossbow.
Receiving the hand crossbow from the soldier, Bai Ze quickly examined it.
Luo Cheng, sitting nearby, provided appropriate explanations.
“This hand crossbow is quite useful against horse bandits. The only regret is that it’s too difficult to reload it while on horseback.”
As he spoke, Luo Cheng even specifically demonstrated it to Bai Ze.
The entire process of loading the crossbow was clear to Bai Ze at a glance.
This hand crossbow was indeed a formidable weapon.
However, for cavalrymen fighting on horseback, it essentially offered only one shot.
It felt somewhat like overkill for such limited use.
If infantry units were equipped with them, they could probably yield greater value.
Luo Cheng also provided an explanation regarding this, telling Bai Ze that it was originally an archer unit weapon and was only borrowed for their use because of the critical importance of this grain escort mission.
After a brief conversation, everyone quickly turned to more pressing matters.
“Currently, all three cities on the grasslands are facing food shortages. Relying solely on us to transport it bag by bag is simply too inefficient. But unfortunately, the wagons can’t pass.”
“Therefore, your subordinate wishes to request that the General deploy a cavalry unit to assist with grain transport, thereby increasing efficiency.”
Luo Cheng’s words were exceptionally sincere, and Bai Ze naturally had no reason to refuse.
“General Luo Cheng, rest assured. The soldiers have worked hard on this journey, so rest well in Wild Horse City tonight.”
“Tomorrow morning, I will have Liu Kai lead 500 cavalrymen to assist the grain transport team.”
