Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 483: Ambushed on the Retreat West

Gongsun Yan diligently tried to persuade her to retreat, mainly wanting her to take the remaining troops across Qin Pass, thereby strengthening the Prince’s forces.

To put it nicely, it was welcoming Yue Ruyan.

Frankly, it was annexation.

But Gongsun Yan’s methods were very humane.

Yue Ruyan, who had long supported the large Yuezhi Clan by herself, knew exactly what Gongsun Yan was scheming.

Yet, since her great-grandmother entrusted the Yuezhi Clan to her on her deathbed, how could she bear to see the Yuezhi Clan utterly perish?

Moreover, King Chong had greatly aided her in Longyou.

This was considered repaying King Chong.

Yue Ruyan sat down despondently and sighed, "I will heed General Gongsun’s advice."

Gongsun Yan felt delighted in his heart, but outwardly maintained his composure and said, "It’s good that General Yue understands."

...

Yue Ruyan and her forces had just retreated from Black Dragon Prefecture when Wanyan Xiaji’s army occupied it.

"Report, General, the Song Army has fled westward." A scout reported from below.

Wanyan Xiaji’s lips curled slightly, as if everything was within his expectations, "As expected, they are fleeing towards Qin Pass. Quickly send a message to Eunuch Wang, the fish is on the hook."

In Wanyan Xiaji’s Western Army, Jin Xia Khan had also dispatched a military supervisor.

...

The First Year of Yong’an, October 2nd.

Yue Ruyan led the army extensively retreating towards Qin Pass.

On the main road, there were numerous "Moon Army" soldiers everywhere, estimated to be no less than fifty thousand, along with a large number of carts, horses, supplies, and provisions, almost completely packed.

The reason why the Yuezhi Clan could become the local overlord in Longyou, commanding tens of thousands of troops, is because these troops and their families have been sustained by the Yuezhi Clan for generations.

The Yuezhi Clan held the lifeline of the troops below, so they could command them and ensure their loyalty.

Similarly, there were drawbacks; when retreating from Longyou, their families had to be taken along.

If not taken, the Yuezhi Clan would surely lose the people’s hearts.

The Yuezhi Clan must take them because they are also the Yuezhi Clan’s foundation.

If the foundation is not brought along when arriving at King Chong’s territory, wouldn’t they be easily manipulated?

Thus, knowing these people are burdens who will affect the marching speed, Yue Ruyan could not abandon them.

As a result, the retreat towards Qin Pass lasted less than two days.

A scout reported that the Jin Xia barbarians, numbering over ten thousand, were pursuing them urgently, fearing that Yue Ruyan and her forces would escape.

Yue Ruyan’s face darkened, she unconsciously stroked the broadsword’s hilt, remained silent for a while, and then went directly to Gongsun Yan.

"General Gongsun, the barbarians are aggressive. My army... has a lot of supplies, retreating is difficult. I will take my unit to block the pursuing barbarians, while I ask General Gongsun to protect these civilians during their evacuation," Yue Ruyan said, bowing and cupping her fists towards Gongsun Yan.

Gongsun Yan knew the importance of these civilians, pondered for a moment, then said, "Please rest assured, General Yue, I will definitely protect them thoroughly. I hope General Yue is cautious and avoids prolonged battle."

"Thank you." Yue Ruyan bowed again and saluted.

...

Yue Ruyan led less than five thousand troops from her own unit to block the pursuing ten thousand Jin Xia barbarians, covering the main force’s departure.

But Yue Ruyan quickly discovered that this group of pursuing barbarians had no intention of engaging in battle.

After Yue Ruyan’s troops arranged their formation, they immediately retreated several miles.

Once Yue Ruyan moved on, this group of Jin Xia barbarians chased after them again.

This situation made Yue Ruyan furrow her brows, sensing that something bad was going to happen.

But she couldn’t figure out where the bad thing was going to happen at the moment.

To buy time for Gongsun Yan and the others, Yue Ruyan’s unit remained stationary for more than two hours before pursuing the main force.

Meanwhile, at Gongsun Yan’s side.

While passing through a valley, Gongsun Yan felt something amiss, quickly raised his head, and saw feathered arrows suddenly attacking from all directions, shooting down people and horses as if cutting piggrass, the cries and neighs echoed hastily.

"Ambush, it’s an ambush!"

Among Gongsun Yan’s personal soldiers, some screamed frantically, their voices abruptly cut off.

The families of the Yue soldiers that Gongsun Yan was escorting did not have shields; some lifted their bundles to resist, some even raised their arms to block, and more simply ran around chaotically.

When Gongsun Yan shouted for them to crouch down.

A large number of cavalry appeared on the horizon in the distance.

They rode warhorses, vigorously swinging their whips, charging hard towards this side.

The ground splashed with dust, making this group of cavalry seem to be riding clouds and mist, their momentum soaring, giving a huge visual impact to Gongsun Yan’s troops and civilians.

"General, it’s the barbarian cavalry..."

Gongsun Yan’s cavalry trembled as they spoke.

"Form a formation, prepare to meet the enemy!"

Gongsun Yan was sweating profusely from his forehead, nervously ordering.

However, having already suffered the arrow rain, they were in chaos. The civilians were frightened and uncontrollably ran around, making it nearly impossible for Gongsun Yan’s army to form a formation.

The Jin Xia cavalry quickly charged in, several thousand riders divided into left and right wings, directly rushing Gongsun Yan’s forces.

After a flurry of strikes, Gongsun Yan’s Chong Army were slain continuously with screams.

In less than a quarter of an hour, large numbers of Chong Army soldiers had fallen into pools of blood.

Gongsun Yan stared intently, immediately furious to the point of smoke coming from all seven orifices, despite his personal strength, there was no way to reverse the situation.

Moreover, Jin Xia barbarians had set a powerful martial artist here.

Gongsun Yan gritted his teeth and said, "Cover the Yue Clan people, retreat."

With so many civilians, it was impossible for Gongsun Yan to protect them all, he could only cover the Yue Clan for escape.

This was the only viable option.

Even with just the Yue Clan, they numbered over a thousand.

The Chong Army followed orders to retreat.

Despite many civilians following the Chong Army as they retreated, their safety was not guaranteed by the Chong Army.

...

Yue Ruyan, the further westward she went, her right eyelid twitched more severely.

The sense of unease in her heart also grew stronger.

Just then, she saw several hundred riders retreating from the horizon, behind them was a large group of shadows.

"General, it’s General Gongsun’s troops." Yue Ruyan’s personal soldier said.

Upon seeing this scene, Yue Ruyan’s mind buzzed, she finally realized where the unease stemmed from.

"General Yue, it’s an ambush, quickly retreat, quickly retreat..."

Gongsun Yan saw Yue Ruyan’s forces and shouted loudly.

After the two armies converged, Yue Ruyan anxiously asked while riding, "General Gongsun, what on earth happened?"

"There was an ambush by the Jin Xia barbarians on the road to Qin Pass, we were completely unprepared, resulting in heavy casualties. Who would’ve thought the Jin Xia barbarians had already infiltrated this far." Gongsun Yan replied.

Yue Ruyan’s heart sank to the bottom, she asked tremblingly, "What about the civilians?"

"General Yue, given the circumstances at the time..."

"I’m asking you, what about the civilians?"

"They are... behind."

"You left them behind?"

"Given the situation, I... I had no choice but to do so, but I assure you not a single member of the Yuezhi Race was lost."

Upon hearing this, Yue Ruyan instantly felt her vision go dark and fainted.