Chapter 93

"Two days later... really?"

That night, Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu received Zhao Hongrun's reply and passed it around to the generals in his tent.

When they heard about this, the generals in Chu's vanguard tent were all very surprised.

"That Prince Su... actually agreed?" Chu General Wu Gan looked at Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu in disbelief and said, "My Lord, how... how did you persuade him to agree?"

Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu smiled and said, "I wrote in the letter that if he could win, our offensive would stop here. In other words, our offensive on the Ying River battlefield would stop at the Yan River."

"He... believed it?" Chu General Shen Kang stroked his chin and asked in surprise.

"It's not that he believed it, but rather that he chose to believe it," Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu smiled slightly and said coldly, "In the face of our powerful Chu offensive, how could the State of Wei resist? Instead of hoping to repel our army, the people of Wei are more likely to focus on how to stop our offensive and prevent more cities from falling. ... At this moment, I threw out a bait, and that young Prince Su would surely not resist. If I were in his place, I would also seize this rare opportunity, striving to win the bet and force our Chu army to stop at the Yan River..."

"What about the cities that have already been lost?" Chu General Wu Gan frowned and asked.

Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu laughed heartily, "The people of Wei naturally want to recapture the cities that have been taken, but the question is, do they have the ability? Under our full-scale attack, it would be a great achievement for them to hold on and prevent the fall of their country. Counterattack? Hahaha! ... Ultimately, the gap in the number of troops between the two countries is too large, like a vast chasm, which the State of Wei cannot reverse."

The generals in the tent nodded and smiled in agreement. After a while, Shen Kang frowned and asked, "However, this bet of a thousand soldiers is not very advantageous to our army... My Lord, although the State of Wei's troops are far fewer than ours, their iron smelting technology is superior to ours. The weapons and armor used by their soldiers are one or two levels higher than ours. Without the advantage of numbers, a thousand soldiers against a thousand soldiers, we may not win..."

Hearing this, Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu's face showed a strange smile, "Do you really believe it? It was just an excuse to deceive that young and ignorant Prince Su to allow us to build a pontoon bridge... Once the pontoon bridge is successfully built, who will care about that bet? The area around the Yan River cannot satisfy Lord Xiong Tuo of Yangcheng!"

Indeed!

The generals in the tent smiled in relief.

"But this will damage your credibility, My Lord..." Chu General Wu Gan frowned and said, "In my opinion, why make things so complicated? There's no need for you to deceive with a bet. With only five or six thousand troops in Yanling, even if our army forces a crossing of the Yan River, the Wei army may not be able to resist..."

"No, that's not a safe plan," Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu shook his head and said seriously, "You only see that Yanling has only five or six thousand troops now, but in fact, Chen Shi, who is upstream of the Yan River, could return to Yanling at any time. ... Although Prince Su Ji Run has marginalized Chen Shi, if the situation in Yanling becomes critical, he will naturally recall Chen Shi. In that case, the number of troops in Yanling will increase to over ten thousand, greatly hindering our forced crossing of the Yan River. ... Therefore, if we fight, we must do it decisively and capture the north bank of the Yan River, preventing Chen Shi from coming to the rescue!"

"I see," Wu Gan nodded in understanding, "My Lord plans to launch a sudden attack on Prince Su Ji Run during the bet two days later, and then capture the north bank of the Yan River in one go!"

"Exactly!" Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu nodded and smiled, "Everyone, go back and prepare. Two days later, our vanguard will be the first to step onto the north bank of the Yan River and directly attack the Wei capital, Daliang! ... Oh, by the way, don't forget to pay attention to Prince Su Ji Run. If we can capture him alive, it will be a good card."

"Understood, My Lord."

The generals in the tent responded in unison, bowing.

Two days passed in a flash. On the 23rd of October, Zhao Hongrun finally mentioned to the few civil and military officials in Yanling about the bet he had made with Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu two days ago on the bank of the Yan River, and ordered Wu Wei Wang Shu and Ma Zhang to lead the army and set out with him.

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Zhun, Xu Youzhi, Wang Shu, and Ma Zhang all changed their expressions, while the County Magistrate of Yanling, Pei Zhan, looked at Zhao Hongrun with a strange expression, seemingly deep in thought.

"Ridiculous! Ridiculous!" Wu Wei Wang Shu was the first to jump up and loudly protested, "Your Highness, you must not be deceived by the Chu bandits! ... The State of Chu has long coveted our Wei's Ying River region. Now that they have a good opportunity, how could they sincerely make a bet with Your Highness? Without a doubt, Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu is just trying to deceive Your Highness to allow him to build a pontoon bridge! ... Once the Chu army builds the pontoon bridge, Yanling will be in danger!"

"Yes, Your Highness," Wu Wei Ma Zhang also bowed and said urgently, "This bet is not credible! ... With equal numbers, our soldiers have an advantage in weapons and armor. The Chu army cannot defeat us without the advantage of numbers! Yet, Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu still proposed this bet, which is highly advantageous to our Wei. This shows that he does not take the bet seriously, but is just trying to deceive Your Highness to allow him to build a pontoon bridge! ... Your Highness must not fall for it!"

Ah, the local officials of our Wei are quite reliable, hmm, if not, they could not have held back the Chu vanguard of sixty thousand with just ten thousand troops...

Zhao Hongrun secretly praised Wu Shu and Ma Zhang in his heart, but his face showed no expression. He said bluntly, "I have made up my mind. You do not need to argue. Just follow my orders!"

"Your Highness!" Wang Shu and Ma Zhang cried out in desperation, but Zhao Hongrun remained unmoved.

Helpless, they turned to the County Magistrate of Yanling, Pei Zhan, for help with their eyes.

But to their surprise, Pei Zhan, who usually stood with them to persuade Zhao Hongrun, remained silent today, only looking at Zhao Hongrun with a complex expression.

This is really... hahaha, Wang Shu and Ma Zhang, you underestimate this Prince Su... No, it should be said that we all underestimated this Prince Su. His heart... is very big, bigger than what you, bigger than what we can even imagine...

Recalling the two days ago when Prince Su Zhao Hongrun secretly called him to his room and revealed his entire plan, Pei Zhan realized that the ignorant one was not Prince Su, but them, who judged by appearance.

No wonder the Emperor granted such power to Prince Su... I have truly lived in vain for so many years...

Pei Zhan laughed bitterly in his heart, but his face showed no expression. After all, Zhao Hongrun had warned him that there were likely Chu spies in Yanling, so he must not let any wind of the true purpose of Prince Su reach the Chu army.

Thinking of this, Pei Zhan deliberately pretended to be helpless and shook his head.

"This... how can this be..."

Wang Shu and Ma Zhang looked at each other and clenched their fists in frustration.

Half an hour later, the entire army of Yanling set out. Zhao Hongrun took almost all the troops in the city, leaving Yanling almost empty.

Seeing this, Wang Shu and Ma Zhang felt even more uncertain about the future.

"Can we win...?" Civil official Zhao Zhun asked doubtfully.

Pei Zhan, the County Magistrate of Yanling, flashed a strange, relaxed smile in his eyes and then sighed, "At this point, we can only pray. ... If the front line is unfavorable, we will have to relocate the people in the city to Anling..."

"That's the only way," Civil official Xu Youzhi sighed and then shook his head, "This Prince Su... is too stubborn and self-willed!"

"..." Pei Zhan looked at him and said nothing.

Because it was not yet time to reveal the truth.

Soon, the mobilization order was spread throughout Yanling. If the front line was unfavorable, the people in the city would be relocated to Anling.

Upon hearing this news, all the people and refugees in the city packed their valuables, ready to evacuate at any time. Some wealthy families, who were still hesitant, quickly loaded their valuables onto carts and gathered at the city gate, arguing to be the first to head to Anling.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hongrun ordered Wu Wei Wang Shu and Ma Zhang to lead the more than five thousand soldiers to the north bank of the Yan River and set up their formation.

To avoid arousing Zhao Hongrun's suspicion, Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu did not have the Chu army build the pontoon bridge in advance. Instead, he waited until the Wei army arrived and then ordered the Chu army to build the pontoon bridge in front of the Wei army.

"Your Highness, we should launch an attack now..."

Seeing the Chu army start to build the bridge, Wu Wei Wang Shu could not help but suggest to Prince Su Zhao Hongrun again, "While they are busy building the bridge, we should send archers to attack. We can surely kill over a thousand enemies!"

Kill over a thousand enemies? ... There are sixteen thousand Chu soldiers here. What use is it to kill a thousand Chu soldiers? If we fight, we must annihilate the sixty thousand Chu vanguard!

Zhao Hongrun glanced at Wang Shu and said calmly, "Since I have made an agreement with Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu, how can I break it? Pass the order: do not attack until a thousand Chu soldiers have crossed the river!"

"Your Highness..."

"This is an order!"

Wang Shu and Ma Zhang looked at each other and sighed helplessly.

Seeing that the Wei army did not take the opportunity to attack, Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu smiled coldly from a distance, "That Prince Su Ji Run is truly laughably naive... Pass the order: command the thousand soldiers who cross the river first to attack the Wei army and cover the subsequent forces to cross the Yan River!"

"Yes!"

The pontoon bridge was successfully built, and a thousand Chu soldiers crossed the Yan River without any hindrance, under the puzzled gazes of the Wei soldiers.

According to the agreement, they should have set up their formation first and then fought a thousand Wei soldiers to decide whether the Chu army would stop at the Yan River. However, it was clear that Chu Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu did not intend to keep the agreement and ordered the thousand soldiers to attack the Wei army immediately after crossing the Yan River.

"I knew it! I knew it!"

Seeing the Chu army break their word, Wu Wei Wang Shu glared at Zhao Hongrun, angry at his lack of action, "Counterattack! Destroy the pontoon bridge!"

But anyone could see that the Chu army, having successfully built the pontoon bridge on the Yan River, would not let the Wei army destroy it easily. The Chu soldiers who crossed first held the pontoon bridge tightly, forcing the Wei soldiers to retreat with suicidal attacks, despite heavy casualties.

It's over...

Seeing more and more Chu soldiers crossing the pontoon bridge and surging to the north bank like a flood, Ma Zhang clenched his fists in frustration.

"Quickly..." He grabbed a close aide and said urgently, "Report to Yanling immediately, the Yan River cannot be held!"

...

Zhao Hongrun clearly saw this scene but said nothing. His expression remained calm.

Suddenly, he slowly took off his brocade robe, revealing the armor of a royal guard underneath.

"Mu Qing... it's about time. Withdraw in my name!"

"Yes!"

Mu Qing, the royal guard, put on a luxurious brocade robe, took a few royal guards and the Prince Su's banner, and slowly retreated.

As if fleeing in a panic.

---

Zhao Hongrun clearly saw this scene but said nothing. His expression remained calm.

Suddenly, he slowly took off his brocade robe, revealing the armor of a royal guard underneath.

"Mu Qing... it's about time. Withdraw in my name!"

"Yes!"

Mu Qing, the royal guard, put on a luxurious brocade robe, took a few royal guards and the Prince Su's banner, and slowly retreated.

As if fleeing in a panic.