bestfiction Chapter 126: Sky Lanterns, Fire in the Camps
Chapter 126: Sky Lanterns, Fire in the Camps
"The range of bows and arrows is limited. If we want to set the enemy camp on fire, we must start a fire inside." Zong Yanli stood in the tent, pointed at the location of the enemy camp in front of him, paused for a moment and said, "Is there any way to get in touch with the people in Changfeng County?"
"General, how do you want the people to help you?" Pei Liang and others in the tent all looked at her.
"Light the sky lanterns." Zong Yanli narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly, saying, "The sky lanterns rising from Changfeng County were carried by the wind to the sky above the enemy camp."
The sky lanterns that Zong Yanli mentioned are also called Kongming lanterns, which are mostly released to express thoughts or hopes.
Zong Yanli thought of all this simply because October 8th was her birthday. When she first flew a sky lantern as a child, it was her second uncle who taught her step by step. Now her second uncle was seriously injured and unconscious, and she suddenly thought of this.
"If we want this to be foolproof, I'm afraid we'll have to wait and see, Mr. Gongsun." Zong Yanli turned to look at Gongsun Pu and said so, making sure that the lantern flies right over the enemy's territory.
"Pu will do his best." Gongsun Pu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
But how can we get all the people in Changfeng County to come out and light lanterns?
If he wanted to do this without leaving any trace, he had to go deep into Changfeng County. Zong Yanli thought a lot and the least likely way to arouse suspicion was to disguise himself as a merchant. But if he entered Changfeng County in this way, how could he set up a trap under the enemy's nose?
If the enemy notices something unusual, it will be useless to turn off the lights first.
"I have a plan, but I don't know if the general is willing to use it." After discussing for a few days, Pei Liang hesitated for a long time and took the initiative to find Zong Yanli.
"You say." Zong Yanli sat up straight, pursed his lips and looked at Pei Liang.
"General Mingwei has been stationed at Yuanshi Pass for many years, and the people of Changfeng County have long been under his protection and have a deep friendship with him." Pei Liang said: "Now that Yuanshi Pass has fallen, the soldiers under General Mingwei's command were annihilated and died in battle to protect the people."
"Liang thought that if word got out at this time that General Mingwei was ambushed and killed by the enemy, the people of Changfeng County would be heartbroken."
"Send people into the county to spread rumors, firstly to criticize the evil of the Qing army, and secondly to incite the people to feel grateful. It would be reasonable to light sky lanterns as a pretext to "pay tribute" to General Mingwei."
Pei Liang bowed his head and said, "The Qing army will definitely not dare to obstruct it. Otherwise, it will arouse public anger that will be difficult to quell. It will also cause the world's benevolent and righteous people to denounce it. How can the Qing country be established?"
Pei Liang had this idea only thanks to the lesson Wu Jian'an taught them when they fought against the State of Jin.
After all, Wu Jian'an is a veteran who fought in many battles to help Jin establish its state. Zong Yanli's two lifetimes combined are not as old as Wu Jian'an, not to mention Pei Liang and others. Although they have strategies, they are not as experienced as veterans like Wu Jian'an. They should also understand that there are always people better than you.
"If we implement this plan, General Mingwei may have to be wronged." Pei Liang felt a little guilty. He could see that Zong Yanli valued his relatives, so he hesitated for a few days before bringing it up.
"..." Zong Yanli's eyes looked a little dull, and it seemed like a long time had passed before he said, "In an emergency, there is no time to worry about so many things."
"The second uncle is a lucky person, and he will be safe."
Zong Yanli took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said, "I'll follow your plan and do it immediately."
What Pei Liang said was indeed true. Zong Yanhongtu was a hero in the hearts of the people of Changfeng County. Not to mention that he had been guarding the pass for many years, even when an epidemic broke out in the city last time, Zong Yanhongtu, as the general guarding the pass, not only did not abandon them, he even personally sent troops to garrison there to prevent the spread of the epidemic and preserve Changfeng County.
The Qing Kingdom attacked the city several times, but Zong Yanhongtu never retreated. Now that Yuanshi Pass had fallen, the defending army was completely wiped out, and even General Mingwei died here...
Upon hearing the news, the people in Changfeng County were all heartbroken and saddened.
Even this was not enough. Pei Liang secretly had people try their best to incite the people, and even had storytellers tell about General Mingwei's achievements in order to mobilize the emotions of the people in the city. When the time was right, he would have people lead the people to light sky lanterns and hold a memorial service for General Mingwei.
As luck would have it, Gongsun Pu calculated the wind and rain by observing the stars at night. On the eighth day of October, the night wind blew from the southwest, right in the direction of the enemy camp outside the city of Changfeng County.
Zong Yanli was also busy. He ordered Jie Hu to select the archers in his army, about a hundred of them, and they climbed up a high mountain on the right side of the enemy army in the cover of night and waited for orders.
At this time, in the Qing army camp, Emperor Qing Zhuo Kangshun was furious about this matter.
"The people of Changfeng County really don't know what's good for them!" Zhuo Kangshun angrily shouted, "What's the point of offering sacrifices to a mere general guarding the pass? Have you heard what the people in the city are saying about us?"
"..." Yuan Heng stood below with his head down and said nothing.
"Your Majesty, the death of General Mingwei can still cause grief among the people, which shows that he has great prestige in the Wu army." Wu Liren, who was standing next to him, stepped forward and said, "The Wu army has lost such a great general, and the morale of the soldiers in the army has also been shaken, which makes it easier for our army to advance."
"Why should the emperor be so angry about this?" Wu Liren advised: "The more the people take it seriously, the more it will hurt the Wu army."
"In my humble opinion, Your Majesty should take this opportunity to attack Dongji directly. We will surely be able to break into the city in one fell swoop." Wu Liren bowed and said confidently.
"Really?!" After hearing what Wu Liren said, the angry Emperor Qing's eyes suddenly lit up and he said with joy: "Then I..."
"Your Majesty, this cannot happen!" Yuan Heng hurriedly stepped out and shouted, "Our army has been attacking the city one after another. I am worried that the enemy has guessed our movements and has made defensive arrangements. Our army is exhausted from fighting one after another. We should rest for a while."
"Now the people in Changfeng County are filled with grief and indignation because of the death of the general of Wu Army. If our army attacks the city at this time, it may arouse the anger of the people in the rear." Yuan Heng bowed to Zhuo Kangshun with great respect and said, "If trouble arises in Changfeng County, the enemy army will take advantage of the chaos to sneak into the city and retake Changfeng County by cooperating with the enemy from inside and outside, which will be terrible!"
Yuan Heng bowed deeply and said, "I think it would be better to wait a little longer."
Wu Liren stood with his hands in his pockets and his head bowed, his eyebrows slightly mocking as he said, "It's not unreasonable for General Yuan to be so worried. After all, the old general has been defeated many times against Zong Yanli, and he is afraid of losing again."
Wu Liren sighed, as if he had convinced himself, and leaned over to Zhuo Kangshun and said, "I am only a counselor. The strategy has been proposed, and whether to march or not is entirely up to the emperor and General Yuan."
After Wu Liren said this, he shut up and stopped talking. Zhuo Kangshun's expression changed slightly. He frowned and looked at Yuan Heng and then at Wu Liren. It was a taboo for civil officials and military generals to be at odds in this war situation. At this time, it depends on whether Emperor Qing can balance the two.
Zhuo Kangshun sighed, and after letting Wu Liren go down first, he stepped down from the throne and looked at Yuan Heng and said, "General Yuan, what is your dissatisfaction with Wu Qing? Why do you repeatedly reject his strategies to deal with the enemy?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I am not targeting Wu Keqing. I am speaking about the current situation of our army. I do not think Wu Keqing's strategy is the best one." Yuan Heng also had a tough temper and spoke frankly.
"General, do you think your strategy is better?" Zhuo Kangshun said coldly, "If so, why are you stopped outside Yuanshi Pass and unable to move forward?"
Yuan Heng opened his mouth and choked. Zhuo Kangshun reached out and patted Yuan Heng on the shoulder and said, "I have absolutely no disdain for your ability to lead the army, but I cannot stick to my own opinion. Now that all the capable ministers in the world have emerged, why don't you listen to what the general has to say?"
Zhuo Kangshun's advice was so kind and gentle, but to Yuan Heng it sounded so harsh.
Yuan Heng knelt on one knee, sighed deeply, lowered his head and said to Zhuo Kangshun: "This old minister is incompetent..."
"General, please don't do this. I believe that as long as you and Lord Wu combine their civil and military strengths, our army will be able to defeat the Wu army and capture Zong Yanli alive!" Zhuo Kangshun said with great certainty.
"Your Majesty!" At this moment, a shout suddenly came from outside. The imperial guard said with a slightly nervous look on his face: "There are so many lights in the sky, all floating over here."
"What?" Zhuo Kangshun was slightly displeased at being disturbed.
Yuan Heng was shocked and quickly followed Zhuo Kangshun out of the tent. He saw a sky full of sky lanterns floating in the sky above his head. At first glance, it was such a beautiful scene.
Although Zhuo Kangshun knew that the people in Changfeng County would light lanterns to commemorate General Mingwei, he did not expect that there would be so many sky lanterns. The soldiers in the military tents all looked up to watch the lanterns with eyes full of admiration.
"A mere general guarding the pass can make the people of the county hold memorial services for him..." Yuan Heng narrowed his eyes and looked at the lights in the sky and frowned. As he was looking, he suddenly saw a lamp falling vertically as if it was hit by something.
One lamp after another...
Yuan Heng's face suddenly changed, his breathing stagnated, and he turned his head to see the sky lantern falling down. The sparks ignited the lampshade and it fell into the military tent.
"Attack the camp, the enemy is attacking the camp--!" Torches suddenly lit up around the camp and horns of charge sounded, catching the Qing army off guard. For a moment, they didn't know whether to put out the fire or to meet the enemy first.
"Fire is falling from the sky!"
"Great General, this is bad! The granary fell into Mars and half of it was burned down..."
"Zong Yanli is coming in!"
"..."
This night is destined to be restless.
On the top of the mountain, Xie Hu's eyes were sore and tears were flowing. He pulled the bow countless times and led more than a hundred archers to change positions constantly, just to shoot the sky lantern within the shortest distance.
In front of the camp, Zong Yanli and Long Feiguan joined hands to charge the camp. Under the fierce firelight, the Wu army rushed into the enemy camp with such a ferocious and murderous attitude.
Yuan Heng looked at the fire that could not be put out and his heart sank.
How could he not know that this was a conspiracy of the enemy? He immediately rescued the grain camp without caring about anything else, and took all the military supplies that could be rescued from the fire, and ordered a retreat to Changfeng County.
Unexpectedly, when Zhuo Kangshun saw that Yuan Heng did not even go to meet the enemy but directly retreated, he was furious and concluded that Yuan Heng was cowardly before the battle. How could such a general lead the army!
"Your Majesty!" Yuan Heng felt so wronged that he knelt down in front of Zhuo Kangshun with tears in his eyes and a face covered with ashes, choking and saying, "Our army is short of food and supplies. If we ignore the rear camp and go forward to meet the enemy, we will truly fall into the enemy's trap!"