Springtime Farming: A Happy Wife At Home

Chapter 2294: Bad Start

Editor: Henyee Translations

Qin Wuyou, Yang Mu, and their forces had already arrived near Hangzhou City, waiting for Su Huai with an imposing presence.

A team of 1,000 soldiers even took the risk of setting off from Hangzhou Bay by boat, planning to detour by sea and land in Chongming. Their goal was to cut off Su Huai’s return path at the right moment, executing a pincer attack to completely trap him.

This war turned out to be much easier than Zheng Sangge and Qin Wuyou had anticipated. They never expected it to end in less than a month.

Su Huai was overly confident in himself. He never imagined that Zheng Sangge would take the initiative to attack. In his mind, Zheng Sangge was a coward who only knew how to plot and scheme. If not for his negligence, he believed he would have killed him long ago.

Thus, Su Huai came with a murderous aura, fully expecting Zheng Sangge to passively defend and be forced into a fight. Instead, he was ambushed by Zheng Sangge midway and suffered a severe beating.

Caught off guard, Su Huai had not taken any precautions. This unexpected ambush led to a tragic defeat. After cleaning up the battlefield and counting the casualties, he found he had lost over 10,000 of his 80,000 troops.

It was a disastrous start.

Many generals trembled in fear and wavered in their resolve to continue the battle. However, no one dared to voice their doubts upon seeing Su Huai’s vicious outbursts against the perceived evil spirits.

Su Huai was determined to take revenge and kill Zheng Sangge. Anyone who suggested retreat risked becoming Su Huai’s scapegoat and facing execution.

But how could an army with generals contemplating retreat hope to win?

Su Huai led his forces to camp in Huzhou, deploying another team between Huzhou and Tongxiang to form a triangular formation for mutual support.

Zheng Sangge targeted this team. Before they could properly set up camp, he launched a surprise night attack. The attackers carried large amounts of kerosene, using bows and arrows to disrupt the enemy’s formation before splashing oil and setting fires. Jiangning’s troops panicked, resulting in countless casualties.

Of the 20,000 troops sent to station there, 5,000 to 6,000 were lost in one night. The survivors were terrified. Sixty to seventy percent of their supplies were destroyed, and no one wanted to stay. They had to return to report to Su Huai.

Su Huai, known for slashing anyone he disliked, now found himself unable to strike at Zheng Sangge. Instead, Zheng Sangge repeatedly struck him. Enraged, Su Huai was nearly driven to vomit blood.

The defeated soldiers who had retreated faced Su Huai’s full wrath. The few generals leading the team were tied up and imprisoned. Attempts to persuade Su Huai were futile.

Having lost too many men, with less than 60,000 soldiers remaining, Su Huai could not afford to split his forces again. He consolidated everyone in Huzhou.

Consumed with hatred for Zheng Sangge, Su Huai angrily issued a challenge, accusing Zheng Sangge of cowardice and daring him to fight openly.

Zheng Sangge laughed when he saw the letter. Why wouldn’t he dare? Moreover, Su Huai, a rat who had always lurked in the shadows, had no right to speak of "open and aboveboard" actions. Su Huai had never been honorable.

Confident in his abilities, Zheng Sangge decided to fulfill Su Huai’s wish. He agreed to the battle. Three days later, they engaged in a massive confrontation in Qingxiang. Zheng Sangge personally led and commanded his soldiers in the charge.