Chapter 16

Chapter 650: Zhang Xi's Bitter Stratagem (2)

--------------

“Fire!”

It seemed as if fire dragons were teasing the river, as countless flaming arrows flew into Linjin Fort.

Thud, thud!

The flaming arrows rained down incessantly, embedding themselves into the ships.

However, for some reason, the fire did not spread and instead went out immediately. This was to be expected.

The temple had anticipated that Lü Bu's forces would ambush and set fire to the ships, so they had prepared by soaking the ships with river water beforehand.

If the fire attack had not been anticipated, Huang Baosong's ships would have been ablaze by now, with people desperately jumping into the river to save themselves.

Of course, since Lü Bu's strategy had been uncovered, that would not happen...

The temple revealed itself, accompanied by several bodyguards, in the midst of the rain of arrows.

Despite the arrows pouring down, not a single one could penetrate the area around the temple.

The bodyguards protected the temple with shields and swords.

Even the arrows not aimed directly at the temple were deflected by the bodyguards' considerable martial skills.

The temple calmly moved and stood on the bow of the ship.

“Hahaha! Listen, you insignificant soldiers of Bingzhou! We have already soaked our ships with river water, so what good are your flaming arrows?”

The temple laughed loudly, his face filled with satisfaction.

Having anticipated and prepared for Lü Bu's sudden fire attack, the temple found great pleasure in this as a military strategist.

Perhaps because of his words, no more flaming arrows were launched from Linjin Fort.

“It’s a pity I can’t see the enemy commander’s disappointed face.”

The temple chuckled, his face still filled with satisfaction.

“Hahaha!”

There was also a man laughing in Linjin Fort, none other than Xuhuang.

After Lü Bu captured Sanyin, Xuhuang, who had been guarding Hedong, led his troops into Guanxi territory.

He was not particularly interested in defending Sanyin. He had merely followed the military orders of strategist Guo Jia and come to Linjin to launch a fire attack.

However, Xuhuang's fire attack ended in failure.

One would think that Xuhuang would be in a bad mood, but why was he laughing? Because this failure was part of Guo Jia's plan.

‘Mr. Guo is quite something. While I am no slouch in military strategy, it is indeed the job of military strategists to draw such intricate plans.’

Xuhuang did not hold back his praise for Guo Jia’s strategy.

Guo Jia had sent a messenger to Xuhuang to prepare for the fire attack, and at the same time, informed him that the attack would fail.

The purpose of this strategy was to show Lü Bu's determination to continue fighting against Huang Baosong, which would encourage Huang Baosong to intensify his eastern campaign.

Lü Bu wanted to fight Huang Baosong, and Huang Baosong did not want to waste his main forces in this battle. To achieve the pacification of Guanxi, it was necessary to make it appear that Huang Baosong was hastily retreating.

Since this was what Guo Jia wanted, the failure of the fire attack was actually beneficial to Lü Bu's forces.

‘Row your boat all the way to Huayin.’

Xuhuang waved his hand toward Huang Baosong’s retreating ship.

* * *

At the Huayin ferry.

Huang Baosong's ship arrived at Huayin. Even before he disembarked, a few riders rushed off to the east.

They were heading toward Dongguan, likely to report to the camps of Hansui and Madeng, where their main forces were stationed.

It was obvious. They were probably tasked with delivering Huang Baosong’s letter inquiring about the progress of the Dongguan campaign.

At Dongguan.

Zhang Bei and Xun Yu were in the midst of a heated discussion.

“Master, how many lives do you think you have?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do you keep going to the enemy camp? No matter what, we are enemies. Eventually, we will have to fight a decisive battle, risking our lives. Talking is meaningless.”

Zhang Bei strongly tried to dissuade Xun Yu from going to the enemy camp again. However, Xun Yu did not waver.

“General Zhang, listen well. Even in the midst of war, dialogue with the enemy is never meaningless. If possible, it should continue.”

“What’s the point? We’re not going to surrender, and we’re not negotiating a truce...”

“Gathering intelligence is invaluable. This is the essence of diplomacy.”

For a moment, Xun Yu felt proud of his own words. Perhaps that was why he boasted about his boldness.

“Perhaps if circumstances allowed, I would have taken my three meals in the enemy camp.”

“Good grief! Visiting the enemy camp is not like going for a stroll.”

Xun Yu was not just going for a stroll.

He had risked his life multiple times to visit the enemy camp, all to gather intelligence. After all, the one who holds the information controls the war.

As long as Lü Bu and Huang Baosong did not send envoys to each other, Xun Yu was the only channel through which Lü Bu’s forces could obtain information about Guanxi’s forces.

“Why don’t you abandon Dongguan now and retreat? We’ve done enough, haven’t we? We’ve held out more than twice as long as the strategist wanted. Isn’t that already a great achievement? Why be greedy for more?”

“There’s still one more thing left.”

“What’s left? Greed will only shorten your life. This is enough.”

“The most important thing is left. We need to find out the enemy’s main forces. Once we do, there will be no reason to stay in Dongguan.”

In most cases, the final move in a bitter stratagem is one of two things: either to provoke the enemy commander into losing his composure and launching a reckless attack, or, as in Xun Yu’s case, to gather information about the enemy’s main forces or strategy.

Unfortunately, Xun Yu lacked the skills for stealth or martial arts, so stealing information was out of the question. His only option was to pretend to be a persuasive envoy.

“I will go. Prepare well.”

“Preparations to abandon Dongguan are already complete. The supplies and provisions have been moved to the mountains, and many soldiers have already been sent away. I’ve left the soldiers on the walls to avoid arousing suspicion.”

As Zhang Bei said, the forces in Dongguan had long been prepared to retreat.

Supplies and weapons had been gradually moved to the Taihua Mountains, and soldiers had been sent away with the supplies. As a result, there were not many soldiers left in Dongguan. More accurately, the soldiers on the walls were almost all that remained.

“Well done. If I arouse suspicion, I might never return. My life is in your hands, General Zhang.”

“Nothing will happen to you because of me. Go and come back safely.”

Xun Yu, bid farewell by Zhang Bei, set off for the enemy camp one last time.

* * *

“Welcome.”

When Xun Yu arrived at the Guanxi army camp, he was greeted by Fang De. Fang De had been beaten half to death in a battle against Yan Xing, and his face was still bruised.

After all, it was quite an achievement to survive such a beating.

“Ouch! Your swelling hasn’t gone down yet. Are you feeling better?”

Xun Yu deliberately showed concern. There was no harm in getting closer to Fang De, as it might help him gather more information.

“Fine, let’s drop that topic.”

Fang De kept bowing his head, trying to avoid showing his bruised face, which was clearly embarrassing.

Xun Yu mentioned Yan Xing to create a sense of shared adversity with Fang De.

“Bah! That scoundrel Yan Xing is a common enemy for both of us. General Zhang chased him away, but if he comes back, I will definitely cut off his head.”

Xun Yu said this and handed something to Fang De.

“What’s this?”

“This is a precious ointment called Jin Chang Shan. It’s very effective for bruises, cuts, and wounds of all kinds.”

Fang De’s eyes filled with suspicion, which Xun Yu noticed.

“Do you think I’m a quack, or that I’m trying to poison you? At this point, it’s just a matter of writing our names on the surrender document. I swear, once you use this, you’ll come back for more.”

As their brief greeting was coming to an end, Xun Yu noticed a group of riders leaving the camp and heading west.

“General Fang, what’s happening? The messengers seem to be in a hurry...”

Xun Yu asked, and Fang De turned to look in the direction he was pointing.

“Oh! Those are messengers sent by my lord.”

“Messengers have arrived? Has something happened in Zhongtian?”

Fang De raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk.

“You seem to be trying to get some information out of me... Well, it’s a good thing that the commander of Dongguan and you have decided to surrender. It’s a wise choice.”

“I agree. With the Ma family’s elite troops and General Hansui’s forces, it’s impossible for Dongguan’s few thousand soldiers to hold out.”

Xun Yu tried to make light of the situation.

“Indeed, even with just the Ma family’s elite troops and General Hansui’s forces, it would have been impossible. But that’s not all. My lord has sent his main forces here.”

Hearing something that could be useful, Xun Yu pretended to know nothing and asked for more details.

“The main forces of Guanxi are not just the Ma family’s troops and General Hansui’s forces. I’ve heard they number as many as two hundred thousand. How can there be another main force in Guanxi? The Ma family’s troops and General Hansui’s forces are among the strongest in Guanxi...”

“The Ma family’s troops are indeed strong. However, compared to my lord’s forces, they are nothing.”

Fang De hesitated for a moment, considering whether it was appropriate to share this information with an outsider.

But he soon spoke, knowing that the Dongguan forces were not deciding whether to surrender but to whom.

“If the commander of Dongguan and you promise to join our Ma family, I will tell you more.”

For a moment, Xun Yu did some complex calculations in his head.

‘Fang De is not a simple man. To deceive him, I need a plausible story. This is what it means to give flesh and take bone.’

Xun Yu knew that Fang De was not a fool. In fact, he was quite intelligent.

To avoid arousing Fang De’s suspicion, there was only one way: to reveal a weakness.

“That’s a bit...”

“Surely you haven’t decided to join Hansui? I didn’t think you were that kind of person... Loyalty formed in battle is not true loyalty.”

“Honestly, joining the Ma family would be the right choice, considering both you and General Madeng. However, since we’ve caused General Ma Chao to suffer as a hostage, how can I expect to live a normal life under General Madeng’s command?”

In short, he was saying that since they had mistreated Ma Chao, it would be awkward to join Madeng’s forces.

Fang De waved his hand dismissively.

“My lord is not a petty man. Besides, if General Ma Chao becomes one of us, he won’t hold past events against us.”

“Hmph! I’m not foolish enough to believe that easily.”

“The people of Guanxi are not as stubborn as those from Guandong. If they want to kill you, they will do it on the spot. If they let it go, they won’t hold a grudge. That’s how straightforward they are.”

“I hope General Ma Chao can be that straightforward too.”

Xun Yu sighed deeply, as if he were genuinely worried. Fang De, placing his arm around Xun Yu’s shoulder, tried to reassure him.

“General Ma Chao is impulsive, but he’s not that unreasonable. Don’t worry. I promise, if they do anything petty, I will be the first to stand against it. Is that enough?”

“If you say so, I will trust you and try to persuade General Zhang. But about the main forces of Guanxi. If they are so strong, I might consider joining them.”

“Your honesty is refreshing. If it weren’t for my loyalty to my lord, I might have done the same. Have you heard of Jisisha and Jiang Yidan?”

“Jisisha? Jiang Yidan?”

These were names Xun Yu had never heard before. After all, he had never been interested in Guanxi territory in the past.

“Not many people in Guanxi know about Jisisha. You are a lucky man. You are now in the presence of one of the few who do.”