The Lianfa Sect general named Zuo Sijing looked rather wary and said, "Huo Kuang's command of battle isn't anything special, but every time he appears, our army suffers a defeat."
Meng Yuan paused, then chuckled and said, "So, this person is exceptionally lucky?"
Zuo Sijing scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. In the fierce battle that lasted less than a month, many of the civil and military generals under Cheng Tian of the Lianfa Sect had been killed in action. He was also a young man promoted by Gan Ping from among the lower-ranking officers. It would indeed be difficult for him to explain the enemy's tactics.
"Hmm." Meng Yuan pondered for a moment. He naturally didn't really believe that Huo Kuang could be promoted by Liu Guang just because of good luck. On the battlefield, one cannot survive long by luck alone. As a military talent, he knew the principle that "a good warrior has no illustrious name." Although Huo Kuang had neither fame nor special characteristics, he was more likely to be a hidden military talent.
“Huo Kuang has made no unusual moves these past few days, it seems he’s been stumped by the Gui River,” Fang Fengyi said. After the great battle between the Peace Army and the Su troops, all the boats of all sizes that could be used to cross the Gui River on both banks have fallen into the hands of the Peace Army, making it virtually impossible for the 100,000 Chen troops on the other side to cross the river.
"How many of our spies are on the other side of the river?" Meng Yuan pondered for a moment before suddenly asking this question.
There are sixteen people.
"Sixteen people..." Meng Yuan felt slightly relieved; this should prevent them from missing Huo Kuang's whereabouts. But why was Huo Kuang standing still on the opposite bank of the river?
"Could it be that Huo Kuang's original intention was to keep us tied down here?" Lü Wubing asked.
"Exactly!" Meng Yuan suddenly realized, "Huo Kuang's original intention was probably to tie our army down here so that Liu Guang could attack and plunder Yuzhou. If our army shows any weakness, he will not hesitate to act decisively!"
"Then shall our army stand here and confront them?" Zuo Sijing naturally used the term "our army." Since meeting Fang Fengyi, he had discovered that Fang Fengyi was not such a difficult person to get along with.
"If he doesn't attack, I'll attack!" Meng Yuan uttered these words, then waved his hand forcefully, saying, "Brother Fang, prepare the boats; I'm crossing the river tonight!"
"General Meng, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Fang Fengyi hesitated slightly. Li Jun's order was that they should be able to defend Fenglin Ferry and provide Qinggui with a safe rear, but launching an attack seemed to be outside the scope of Li Jun's authorization.
Meng Yuan said firmly, "It's alright. I'll cross the river first and be the vanguard. After we break into the enemy lines, you'll provide backup. If I'm not doing well, come to my rescue. If we successfully break through the enemy lines, you can then launch a surprise attack!"
"Please let me lead the vanguard!" Lu Wubing saw the unyielding look on Meng Yuan's face, so he could only suggest tactfully, "General, you bear the high expectations of Commander Li, and the entire army follows your lead. You must not take unnecessary risks."
Hearing this, Meng Yuan laughed heartily: "Wu Bing, when have you ever seen me hiding in the back? This time I'm going to be stubborn, so don't worry, I'll naturally act cautiously!"
Unable to dissuade Meng Yuan, Wu Bing and Fang Fengyi had no choice but to be on tenterhooks and prepare for Meng Yuan's surprise attack that very night.
That night, dark clouds obscured the moon, and the wind on the River Gui was as sharp as a knife. Meng Yuan ordered his men to apply powder to the stern of the boats to guide the ships behind them. Five thousand elite soldiers braved the wind and waves, silently approaching the opposite bank.
The riverbank was eerily quiet, devoid of human voices. The sound of the water lapping against the bank drowned out the noise of the boats. Meng Yuan stared intently at the shore, and the trees in the darkness seemed like a group of monstrous beasts, menacingly poised to dance.
"Wait a minute." Meng Yuan stopped the soldiers beside him as they were about to go ashore. He listened intently and could faintly hear the sound of drums from the army behind the woods. Everything seemed normal, and it appeared that Huo Kuang had not noticed the approaching Peace Army.
"Too quiet, too normal," Meng Yuan thought to himself. His reason for forcing a night raid wasn't greed for merit, but rather a deep understanding of how much help he could provide to Yuzhou, which was under immense pressure from Liu Guang, if he could break through Huo Kuang's defenses, enter Chen, and appear behind Liu Guang. However, if he were to fail here, not only would he be of no help to Li Jun, but he might also lose the newly captured Qinggui of Su. If that happened, even suicide wouldn't undo the damage.
"Impossible. Zuo Sijing said that although Huo Kuang's command of battles wasn't full of ingenious schemes, he was still able to seize opportunities. How could he be so careless?"
Meng Yuan hesitated as he asked himself a question. If he returned to the army now, he would be ridiculed by Wu Bing and Fang Fengyi. Retreating without a fight would also be detrimental to the morale of the troops. If he went ashore and fell into an ambush, his five thousand elite soldiers would probably be reduced to ashes.
"General, when will we land?" The soldiers, who were already getting impatient, were eager to go ashore. The lieutenant saw their eyes still shining in the darkness and asked impatiently.
"Let's wait a little longer." Meng Yuan gripped the hilt of the broadsword tightly. The cold hilt conveyed the chill of the night. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down from his hesitation and unease. What he needed most at this moment was to make a calm judgment.
The distant sound of the watchman's drum echoed louder in the deep night, even the rushing water couldn't drown it out. Meng Yuan suddenly flicked his hand. Although the boat moved silently, unnoticed by humans, the crows returning to their nests in the woods on the shore should have sensed the arrival of the Peace Army. The fact that these crows returned silently proved only one thing.
"Send word to the stern ship: return immediately!"
He said resolutely. The deputy general beside him looked at him in surprise, but Meng Yuan let out a long breath after making the decision, as if he had just faced a powerful opponent in his mind.
The order was transmitted back through the shimmering light, and the Peace Army's ships set sail one after another. Just then, the sound of thunderous war drums came from the shore!
"kill!"
In an instant, torches were raised, illuminating the entire riverbank in daylight. Beneath the leaping flames, the gleaming blades of the Chen soldiers' weapons gleamed coldly. Meng Yuan merely gasped for breath before a barrage of rockets rained down from the sky.
"Shields!" Meng Yuan shouted. Amidst the shouts of battle, his order could not reach the other ships, but the Peacekeepers on the other ships naturally raised their shields. Although no one was hit by the arrows, the ships could hardly dodge them. The oil-soaked rockets landed on the wooden ships, and in a moment, flames ignited at the bow as well.
"Put out the fire!" Apart from the soldiers who used shields to deflect enemy rockets, most of the others began to fight the fire. Just then, the Chen soldiers on the shore let out a deafening cheer!
"General Huo! General Huo!"
Looking up from the bow of the boat, Meng Yuan saw a large sedan chair carried by eight men standing out like a crane among chickens amidst the torchlight. There were no curtains around the chair, so the person inside could not be clearly seen, but it was clear that he was not wearing armor, but rather a long robe. This must be Huo Kuang.
Huo Kuang waved his hand from inside the sedan chair, and the entire Chen army fell silent instantly.
"Enemy general, listen up!" A slightly hoarse voice came from inside the sedan chair. Although clear, it lacked strength. Meng Yuan's heart skipped a beat, realizing that Huo Kuang was indeed a civil official and not skilled in combat.
"Why don't you take a look upstream!" Huo Kuang's voice carried a hint of arrogance.
Meng Yuan looked upstream as instructed, and his expression changed drastically!
Chapter Eight: Mystery
Section 01
As the garrison commander of Xizhou, Luo Yi was arguably the most relaxed among the generals of the Peace Army. Meng Yuan and others were confronting Huo Kuang at Fenglin Ferry, Dong Cheng was facing the pressure of the 200,000-strong army of the Su Kingdom, and Li Jun was rushing to Huichang. But for some reason, Luo Yi still felt uneasy, sensing that things wouldn't be peaceful on his side for long.
Seeing that he had his brows furrowed and seemed to have something on his mind, Xiaoyu, the maid who was quite used to his relaxed and carefree attitude, cautiously raised her eyes to glance at him, her cherry lips slightly moving as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Luo Yi keenly noticed this and smiled, saying, "Miss Xiaoyu, what do you have to say?"
Xiaoyu lowered her eyes deeply, not daring to look him in the eye, and said softly, "It's nothing."
Luo Yi feigned anger and said, "I clearly saw you wanted to say something, but you wouldn't. Do you look down on me?"
"This servant wouldn't dare!" Xiaoyu knelt down straight, her pretty eyes no longer daring to lift. Luo Yi was stunned for a moment, not expecting that Xiaoyu, who had recently become less avoiding him, would react this way just because of a joke he had made. Realizing what had happened, he quickly reached out to help Xiaoyu up, saying, "Get up, get up quickly, I was just joking, Miss Xiaoyu, why are you like this?"
Xiaoyu lowered her head and remained silent. Luo Yi had no choice but to help her up, but as soon as he let go, she knelt down again. Luo Yi sighed deeply, knowing that all his efforts over the past few days had been wasted because of his casual remark.
"Report!"
The guard rushed in, relieving Luo Yi of his embarrassment. Seeing the guard panting, Luo Yi had a sudden idea and said, "Miss Xiaoyu, bring this brother a cup of water."