He was unaware that Zhu Wenhai was also saying to his advisors, "That old scoundrel Tong Chang won't let anyone into the city easily. Let him go and cause trouble for the Allied Forces."
With both sides holding back, Peng Yuancheng successfully led his army into Leiming City. Just like the Tong and Zhu families, he first occupied the western part of the city, and then sent letters to Tong Chang and Zhu Wenhai.
"Marshal Tong bows again before you: I have heard that your side has a minor dispute with Governor Zhu. As a native of Yuzhou, I cannot bear to see my fellow townsmen fighting each other. Therefore, I have come with City Lords Luo Qiang, Zhang Bin, Sun Qing, and Jiang Runqun to mediate and hope that both sides will cease hostilities."
Upon seeing the letter, Tong Chang wished he could immediately execute the messenger. These five minor powers had always barely survived by oscillating between the three major powers, but now, with the three major powers either destroyed or weakened, even the five minor powers dared to unite and oppose them. The letter was polite in its words, but in reality, it was just another way to claim a share of Thunder City's benefits!
However, at this time, Tong Chang and Zhu Wenhai each had only about 20,000 troops at their disposal, and they had to take the strength of the allied forces seriously. Therefore, just as Li Jun had predicted, the two sides remained deadlocked in Leiming City without fighting or making peace. Finally, Peng Hailin once again proposed that the three parties hold peace talks the following morning, and Zhu Wenhai and Tong Chang both agreed.
That night, while Tong Chang was sound asleep, he suddenly heard a commotion in the city. He immediately dressed and went out to see what was happening. A spy had already come to report: "A fire has broken out at the Zhu Family Camp, and people have stormed into the camp and are killing people!"
"Their vigilance is too poor," Tong Chang said with a sneer. "Serves them right. This must have been done by Peng Yuancheng. Order all troops to leave the camp immediately. Let's go and see if we can take advantage of the chaos!"
The Tong family soldiers, carrying torches, marched toward the Zhu family camp. On the way, they suddenly saw a group of people rushing toward them. As soon as the two armies met, Zhu Wenhai, on horseback, roared, "Kill! That damned old thief Tong dared to launch a night attack on me! If I hadn't been prepared, I would have suffered a great loss!"
Tong Chang was taken aback. He had thought he could take advantage of Peng Yuancheng's sneak attack on the Zhu family to plunder, but Peng Hailin's sneak attack was short-lived. As a result, he ended up being blamed. He felt it was unnecessary to fight this incomprehensible battle, so he hurriedly stopped his subordinates and said, "Stop, stop! It was not our army that attacked you, but Peng Yuancheng."
"Hmph, you've caught them red-handed, and you still want to deny it? I knew you old thief wouldn't negotiate honestly. There's nothing more to say, kill you!"
It was impossible to explain in the darkness, and it was unclear which side fired the first arrow. The two sides then engaged in a fierce battle, fighting for a good hour before each side led their troops back to their camps.
The next morning, Tong Chang and Zhu Wenhai's armies were still facing off in the city. As they continued to hurl insults at each other, Peng Yuancheng angrily rode his horse to the front of the two armies and said, "I came here with good intentions to persuade you two to cease hostilities, and it's fine if you don't listen, but why did you launch a sneak attack on my army last night?"
Zhu Wenhai was also furious, saying, "You were attacked last night? Last night our army was attacked by the scoundrels of the Tong family, and that old thief Tong even said that you were the one who attacked our army. Now why don't you confront each other and tell us who really did it?"
Tong Chang was also indignant. Peng Yuancheng had clearly attacked the Zhu family himself, yet he was framing someone else. Now he was pretending to be innocent and challenging them. He shouted, "It was clearly Peng Yuancheng who attacked those pigs. Why don't you dare admit it?"
Before the negotiations among the three parties even began, they were already embroiled in a war of words. At this point, they were unaware that Li Jun had ordered Su Xiang to lead a small team to set fire to the place at night, strike and leave in a flash, and sow discord among the three parties, making it impossible for them to reach any peace agreement in the short term.
The negotiations ended in failure, and Tong Chang returned to camp dejectedly, knowing that a chaotic battle was inevitable. However, at this point, the three sides had almost equal strength, and whichever two sides started fighting first, the other would inevitably reap the benefits. Therefore, the delicate situation of neither fighting nor making peace would continue. As long as Leiming City remained divided among several forces, it meant that the city's defenses were essentially non-existent.
“The situation has never been so complicated,” an aide complained. “It seems someone deliberately made a mess of everything, making it impossible to clean up.”
His words instantly reminded Tong Chang that in this chaos, who would benefit the most?
"That brat!" Tong Chang said through gritted teeth, "I understand now. It was all Li Jun's doing. He made us and the Zhu family's idiots stand at a stalemate. He wasn't satisfied with that, so he tricked Peng Yuancheng into coming here. To prevent us from reaching a reconciliation, last night's sneak attack must have been orchestrated by him!"
The aide was taken aback for a moment, then exclaimed with delight, "As expected of the Commander-in-Chief! Only the Commander-in-Chief could see through that kid's scheme. As long as we explain this to Zhu and Peng Yuancheng, Li Jun's plot will not succeed!"
“It’s easier said than done,” Tong Chang said, his teeth grinding together, but a bitter smile squeezed out from between them. “In the current situation, no matter how I explain, without real evidence, do you think those Zhu kids and Peng Yuancheng will believe me?”
The advisor thought about it and agreed. Last night, to prove he hadn't attacked the Zhu family, Tong Chang had already said it was Peng Yuancheng who did it. Now, to say it was Li Jun without any evidence would only increase Zhu Wenhai and Peng Yuancheng's suspicions. So he said, "This Li Jun is truly terrifying. If it weren't for the Commander-in-Chief, I'm afraid no one in the entire Yu Prefecture would have seen through his treacherous scheme. Since the Commander-in-Chief has seen through this kid, he must have a plan to deal with him."
"Hmm." Tong Chang snorted, not in the mood to enjoy the flattery from his advisor. His attention was now focused on Li Jun. Was the kid's scheme to keep the three parties locked in a stalemate in Thunder City really just this? Judging from his performance so far, it seemed that the kid had another trick up his sleeve. If he couldn't counter this trick, the consequences would be dire.
The more Tong Chang thought about it, the more annoyed he became. He should have led his army to raze Tonghai City to the ground long ago, instead of sitting idly by and watching Li Jun grow stronger. Now, Li Jun had set up this situation, which not only canceled out the power advantage of the Tong family and the Zhu family, but also dragged down those five smaller forces...
But why would he involve these five minor powers? If it weren't for Peng Yuancheng, the Tong and Zhu families would surely fight to the death in Thunder City, which would be more advantageous for Li Jun. Yes, he must be afraid that one of the Tong or Zhu families would win and gain an overwhelming advantage, so he wanted Peng Yuancheng to intervene before one of them won.
Thinking of this, Tong Chang's frustration turned into fear. Li Jun was far away in Kuanglan City, yet the situation in Leiming City was changing as if it were under his control. Such a person's existence in Yuzhou was extremely detrimental to the Tong family and had to be eliminated as soon as possible. Although he could see through Li Jun's schemes, he only deduced them after they had taken effect. In terms of mental reaction, he was still far inferior to Li Jun. If he couldn't eliminate Li Jun while there was still a gap in strength between them, and allowed him to continue developing, the Tong family would only have one path left: to submit to him.
"Someone, quickly deliver this letter to Silver Tiger City."
A moment later, Tong Chang wrote a secret letter and had it delivered to his elder brother, Tong Sheng. In the letter, he laid out all his speculations and concerns, repeatedly reminding Tong Sheng to be wary of Li Jun and the Peace Army in Kuanglan City.
Tong Sheng received the letter five days later. After receiving it, he showed it to his friends and laughed, "A-Chang seems to be in a difficult situation, otherwise he wouldn't have repeatedly asked me to be more vigilant."
“I think he’s become more and more timid after losing so many battles,” Tong Sheng’s cousin, Tong Rong, said coldly. He had long wanted to replace Tong Chang as commander-in-chief, but Tong Sheng had never allowed it. Now that he had the opportunity to belittle Tong Chang, he naturally wouldn’t let it go.
“It’s not that simple.” An aide named Ge Shun stroked his beard and said, “Commander Chang has been fighting for many years and is a powerful figure in Yuzhou. His judgment is generally correct. Moreover, the analysis in the letter is very detailed. Just to be on the safe side, it’s best to be cautious.”
"It's just a case of being slow to realize. If his judgment wasn't wrong, why did my brother die outside Tonghai City?" The speaker was Tong Yan, the younger brother of Tong Yu, the bravest general of the Tong family. He had always been resentful about his brother being killed by a hail of arrows from the Peace Army. So after criticizing Tong Chang, he said, "However, it's true that you're right to deal with that brat Li Jun. Why don't I lead 10,000 troops to attack Tonghai? I'll definitely dig out his heart and liver to appease my brother!"
"Ayan!" Tong Sheng glared angrily at the younger man who was just as brave as his brother. "Although your brother's death was related to Achang's command, the main reason was that he acted recklessly and recklessly, without knowing when to advance or retreat. If he had retreated immediately upon discovering the ambush, not only could he have survived, but even those thousand light cavalry could have survived! I have said many times that you must not have any complaints about your Uncle Chang because of this matter!"
Tong Yan realized he had spoken out of turn and fell silent. Tong Shengyuan stared wide-eyed and said, "Achang's letter telling us to be careful is certainly true. Besides, better safe than sorry, what's wrong with us being a little cautious?"
Just then, a military officer rushed into the main hall and knelt down with a thud: "No...no good, there are enemy soldiers of unknown identity outside the city!"
Tong Sheng stood up abruptly, his face ashen. He glanced at the general and saw that he was covered in wounds and his armor was askew. He figured the general had just come from a great battle, and his expression softened slightly: "No need to make a fuss. We still have more than ten thousand soldiers in the city. What's wrong with that? Where did the enemy come from, and how many are there?"
The general, panting, said, "The enemy attacked from the east, and they have already wiped out all my outposts along the way. Their methods are extremely skillful and ruthless. I fought my way out of the encirclement and have come to report to the governor!"
"I understand. You may go and rest." Tong Sheng sat back down in his chair, let out a long sigh, and looked around at his civil and military subordinates in the hall, saying, "A-Chang is right. This Li Jun is indeed full of cunning schemes!"
"How do you know it's Li Jun? As far as I know, Li Jun has less than 10,000 troops. Why would he risk attacking our Silver Tiger City?"
"Coming from the East, and the East is the sea. Unless it's the Peace Army with a seaport, who else could come from the East? I reckon Li Jun must have had his men lowered by ropes and climbed ashore from the sea cliffs. He actually knows there's a path from there to Silver Tiger City. We've already lost this geographical advantage." Tong Sheng sighed inwardly. His civil and military subordinates were usually all showy and brave, but they didn't even have this much strategic planning ability. How could he not be disappointed? Thinking of this, he remembered Tong Chang, who was still in Thunder City. If he were here, how could he have kept this from him?
Tong Yan exclaimed, "You've come at the perfect time! We can avenge the arrow that struck Tonghai Port. I request that the governor allocate me a force, and I am willing to go and capture Li Jun alive to present to the governor!"
"The enemy's strength and weakness are unclear, so it is not advisable to act rashly." Ge Shun said with a dim light in his eyes, "Defending the city will give us a better chance of success. If we rashly send troops to meet them, we may suffer a setback and shake the morale of our army."
"You look down on me!" Tong Yan showed little courtesy to this outsider, drawing his sword as he stood up. But Ge Shun remained unfazed, turning his gaze to Tong Sheng.
"Stop! Mr. Ge is absolutely right. Even A-Chang praised Li Jun's elusive military tactics. How much more so for you? Holding your ground is the best course of action."
"No, Achang is currently commanding troops outside. If Li Jun were to besiege the city, the news would surely cause panic and shake morale within our territory. I estimate that the entire Peace Army has less than ten thousand men, and he still needs to leave a portion to defend Kuanglan City. At most, he will only have half his troops here. With superior numbers, our army will surely win," Tong Rong suggested, trying to show that he was more astute than Tong Chang.
"Didn't you see in Commander Chang's letter how Li Jun used only a few thousand men to break through Leiming City, which our Tong and Zhu families' allied forces of 100,000 had not yet conquered? He is too cunning in his military tactics. If we launch a hasty attack, we will surely be defeated!" Ge Shun objected.
“It is precisely because even Thunder City was captured by Li Jun with only a few thousand men that Silver Tiger City could not possibly be defeated. In terms of the strength of the city walls, how can Silver Tiger City compare to Thunder City? In terms of the strength of the garrison, Li Jun had more than 20,000 garrison troops when he attacked Thunder City, while Silver Tiger City now has only 10,000 troops. How can they defend the city?” Tong Rong’s rebuttal left Ge Shun speechless for a moment. Tong Sheng knew that his cousin was extremely eager for military power, and now it seemed that he had no choice but to let him take charge.
"My mind is made up, there's no need for you to argue anymore." He said slowly, "Silver Tiger City is the lifeblood of my Tong family. Tong Rong, you will be in charge of the city's defenses. You must not engage in battle lightly. No matter how the enemy provokes you, you must endure it. Ge Shun, you will take a secret route to Thunder City and order Achang to quickly send troops to reinforce it. Then we will attack Li Jun from both sides, and we will surely defeat him!"
Chapter Five: A Plan Within a Plan
Section 1