Chapter 42: Claiming One's Territory

The remaining Tibetan raiders scurried about in every direction like headless flies.

Meanwhile, Zhao Mang’s troops fell upon them like famished wolves that had not tasted meat in ages, plunging into a frenzied scramble to slaughter the invaders.

Yet, anomalies always occurred. Among the nearly one hundred Tibetan raiders, there were bound to be one or two who abandoned the main force and fled early on.

Zhao Mang and his men did not bother chasing after those solitary stragglers. The principle of not pursuing a desperate enemy had long since been made clear to them by Zhao Mang, so they simply let them depart freely.

From its outbreak to its conclusion, the entire battle had lasted less than a single hour.

As Zhao Mang struck down the final Tibetan raider, he let out a resounding battle cry!

"Oorah~"

The veteran soldiers who had fought alongside Zhao Mang through numerous skirmishes immediately joined in the shouting.

Caught up in the shared joy of victory, the rookie soldiers who had never fought alongside them before were soon infected by the atmosphere and raised their voices as well.

Afterward, the various leaders returned to the encampment.

Once they had washed the blood from their bodies, they gathered before Zhao Mang, awaiting his orders.

"Wang Mazi, go assess the casualties! Include the refugees as well!"

"Zhu Qiqi, take some men to slaughter a sheep; we’ll all share a feast of victory!"

"Wang Wu, take the brothers to inspect the damage to the camp walls! Also, clean up the battlefield!"

Following a flurry of arrangements by Zhao Mang, the men dispersed to handle the aftermath.

At that moment, Zhu Wuneng arrived tardily, wearing a proud expression and swaggering before Zhao Mang with six severed heads in tow.

He boasted smugly, "Old Zhu hacked down six of them! Team Leader, am I awesome or what?!"

Seeing this, Zhao Mang laughed and scolded, "Stop wandering around with those heads! Bring them over and pool them with the rest; your merits will be recorded properly!"

"You won't be shortchanged on your rewards, rest assured."

Hearing this, Zhu Wuneng walked away somewhat disgruntled.

Yet, just as he stepped past the doorway, he heard Zhao Mang praising him behind his back.

"Old Zhu! Remaining at the border garrison is truly letting your talents go to waste!"

The very instant he heard Zhao Mang’s approval, Zhu Wuneng leaped into the air with excitement!

A moment later...

Wang Mazi walked in holding a ledger, his face devoid of excessive emotion. "Reporting to Team Leader Zhao! Our side suffered zero deaths and twenty injuries. Among the refugees, there were three hundred and twenty-seven in total, with eighty dead and one hundred injured."

Hearing Wang Mazi’s report, Zhao Mang fell into deep contemplation.

The sudden assault by the Tibetan raiders this time had indeed left him somewhat helpless.

No sooner had he established his base and taken in some population than he was hit by a raid from a band of Tibetan raiders.

This was something he could not have anticipated.

As things stood, he was completely in the dark regarding movements on the battlefield, knowing absolutely nothing.

To call him blind would be no exaggeration whatsoever.

Consequently, the notion of establishing an intelligence unit stirred within Zhao Mang once more. Setting aside intelligence within the city for the moment, he needed at least a basic grasp of the military movements of the Tibetan raiders.

In ancient warfare, as well as in modern conflicts, various outcomes often arose due to delays in battlefield information.

Yet, planting one's own intelligence personnel across such a vast theater of war was exceedingly difficult and terribly costly in terms of resources.

For now, the only thing he could do was strengthen the construction of his scout units.

At a later stage, he could even train birds to serve as his reconnaissance troops.

At this thought, he immediately summoned Xiao Han.

Looking at Wang Mazi, who had finished reporting the numbers, Zhao Mang continued, "Wang Mazi, how much longer can our grain stores last? Also, go summon the artisan Yu Zhiyuan!"

Having received his orders, Wang Mazi immediately turned and headed back to the granary to conduct an inventory.

Originally, the grain supplies were meant only to feed the brothers within the camp, but following the arrival of the refugees, the consumption rate of his camp's provisions had skyrocketed.

How much remained now was something he did not know precisely.

Grain had now become a massive headache.

Before long, Xiao Han arrived before Zhao Mang and asked calmly, "What does Team Leader Zhao need of me?"

"In the wake of this battle against the Tibetan raiders, I urgently need to build a reconnaissance unit. I require your assistance!"

Hearing this, Xiao Han dropped his usual nonchalant demeanor and replied earnestly, "For the Team Leader to speak of it this way is to draw lines between us; this subordinate is your soldier now too!"

Zhao Mang laughed heartily. "Look at you getting all serious. Coincidentally, there are many able-bodied youths among the refugees. Have Wei Xian take you to pick out some of the sharper and more agile lads, and teach them the arts of reconnaissance and tracking!"

"Is there any problem?"

Xiao Han wore a solemn expression. "No problem! But I want the fastest horses, plus those portable mini crossbows you developed earlier!"

Zhao Mang was slightly startled at first, but reacted immediately. "No problem at all. Furthermore, I’ve thought of something else; once it's developed, I'll hand it over for you lot to use!"

Zhao Mang's words instantly piqued Xiao Han's intense curiosity. Having spent a long time by Zhao Mang's side, he had long since grown accustomed to Zhao Mang's constant stream of novel ideas.

Mainly because every single item Zhao Mang designed proved exceptionally practical and possessed powerful functions.

The moment he heard it would be useful for his scouts, curiosity flared up within him.

"Oh? What item is it?"

Seeing how curious Xiao Han was, Zhao Mang deliberately played coy. "I'll tell you once I've built it! Go ahead and focus on building your reconnaissance unit for now! This concerns the safety of our camp!"

Xiao Han immediately straightened his expression. "Understood!"

With that, he turned on his heel to go find Wei Xian.

Zhao Mang hurriedly called out, "Send Wei Xian over first, I have something to tell him."

Without even looking back, Xiao Han acknowledged the order and vanished through the doorway.

Shortly after, Wang Mazi returned to the room, his expression somewhat grave. "Reporting to the Team Leader, our grain will only last for three days of consumption!"

Hearing this, anxiety gripped Zhao Mang once more. The grain was being consumed far too quickly.

Fortunately, however, the autumn harvest was approaching, and he could acquire food through other means. The greenhouse fields were a matter of extreme urgency!

However, correspondingly, the autumn harvest season was also the period when the Tibetan raiders were most active.

Now that the greenhouse cultivation technology had matured, in order to safeguard the security of the greenhouse cultivation area, Zhao Mang had to delineate a specific zone and arrange defensive forces accordingly.

If the Tibetan raiders were to charge into Dunzi Peak like this again, the fields he had cultivated would likely be destroyed.

At this thought, Zhao Mang immediately retrieved the topographical map of Dunzi Peak that Xiao Han had previously drawn for him.

Studying the terrain map of Dunzi Peak:

Ten li to the north lay the western district of Shacheng, while ten li to the south was a strategic pass.

To the west were small hills and an expanse of surrounding woods.

To the east lay a small plain, which was also the direction of the border garrison camp.

The Tibetan raiders generally approached either from the southern pass or from the eastern direction.

As such, he merely needed to establish a series of consecutive watchtowers on the eastern side and dispatch a squad of scouts to patrol the southern side.

With this realization, Zhao Mang immediately picked up his brush and began to draw. First, he replicated the outline of Dunzi Peak, then marked several vital high points on the map.

These would serve as locations for building watchtowers, mostly sites with wide fields of vision or slightly elevated terrain.

Just as he finished drawing, Yu Zhiyuan and Wei Xian walked into the room together.