Wu Yong paced back and forth in the tent, wondering, "Does this Jin Wuzhu really want to fight us to the death?"
I said, "This kid is probably still a bit embarrassed and can't get over it. He just suffered a loss and he's already smiling and begging for forgiveness. How is he going to get along in the future?"
Wu Yong suddenly realized and said, "That's right! He's just putting on a show; we must prevent him from fleeing south!"
Just then, a Liangshan scout came running to report loudly: "Reporting to all the leaders, a large number of imperial troops, about 200,000, have suddenly appeared in the south. Please give us your orders on what to do?"
Lu Junyi asked, "Imperial army? 200,000? Are they here to fight the Jin or to suppress bandits?"
Lin Chong, utterly perplexed, asked, "Can the imperial court still muster 200,000 troops?"
I said, "200,000 shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
Lin Chong chuckled and said, "We did fight against Liangshan, but in just a few months, we were scattered by the Jin army."
I was also puzzled: "Then what is the imperial court...?" Then I suddenly slapped my forehead, "It's not the imperial court! It can only be the Song army—Zhao Kuangyin's troops have arrived!"
Chapter 160 A landscape of streams and mountains, eternally beautiful; three rivers converge, flowing for ten thousand years.
To verify their identities, I personally (I can now say I personally) led a reconnaissance team to the south. Ten miles away, a large banner fluttered high, bearing a huge "Song" character. 200,000 troops had already been initially stationed and were prepared to repel an enemy charge. To the west, the Tang army also dispatched a 10,000-strong contingent to constantly monitor the movements of this new army. After all, it was a multinational alliance; without knowing their background, we couldn't let our guard down against anyone's arrival.
Upon seeing the large number of unidentified troops appear, the Song army became even more vigilant. A short while later, a lieutenant, accompanied by several attendants, approached us. The lieutenant called out loudly, "Is the general ahead surnamed Xiao?"
I strolled a few steps forward and asked, "Whose unit are you?"
The lieutenant looked at me thoughtfully, then suddenly took out a scroll from his pocket, unfolded it, glanced at it a few times, and looked up at me, saying, "Smile."
I was taken aback, and then I smiled. The adjutant was shocked to see me smile, and he hurriedly dismounted, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands and said, "Reporting to Duke Anguo and Grand Marshal, His Majesty has ordered me to lead 600,000 elite troops to come day and night to help you defeat the Jin. This humble general, Liu Dongyang, is at your command at any time!"
The mention of Duke Anguo immediately brings to mind Zhao Kuangyin's men. However, the scroll he was holding intrigued me, so I reached out and said, "What's that in your hand? Let me see."
Liu Dongyang presented the scroll with both hands. I unfolded it and saw a roughly drawn human face, grinning slyly. Zhang Shun and the Ruan brothers leaned over to look and laughed, "It's so lifelike! Especially the smile, it's so expressive!" I said dejectedly, "Does it look like me?" Everyone said, "It doesn't look like me when it's not smiling, but once it smiles, it's a perfect likeness!"
I hid the painting behind my back and asked Liu Dongyang, "Who painted this?"
Liu Dongyang cupped his hands and said, "It was painted by His Majesty himself." It turned out that Zhao Kuangyin was afraid that someone would claim it for himself, so he personally (he was barely qualified to use the word "personally") painted a portrait of me, which was equivalent to a tiger tally. I didn't expect that Old Zhao had this trick up his sleeve.
I waved for Liu Dongyang to stand up, and then asked, "How many people did you bring?"
"Reporting to the Grand Marshal, 600,000."
I stood on my horse, craning my neck to look—actually, I couldn't tell how many people there were, but the scout said 200,000, so it was probably true. I said with a stern face, "How come I only see 200,000?" Did this kid take a kickback?
Liu Dongyang said admiringly, "Marshal, you are indeed insightful. Here's the thing: to conserve energy, I ordered 400,000 heavy infantry to follow slowly. They will arrive within one or two days at the latest."
I said with satisfaction, "Hmm, you did a good job. Now that the south is vulnerable, have our men advance 10 li to meet the eastern and western borders, and we'll surround the Jin troops."
Liu Dongyang readily replied, "Understood!" But then he immediately hesitated, "Marshal, how do we identify friendly forces' flags?"
I pointed to the east and west and said, "Those who act on behalf of Heaven and those from the Tang family are our own people, as are the ones dressed in rags at the far north. But you don't have much of a chance to see them."
By this time, the Tang army had also learned that their new ally had arrived and slowly returned to their camp. I wanted to leave Zhang Shun and the others to help me answer the phone and relay the orders. Liu Dongyang cautiously pulled me aside and whispered, "Marshal, His Majesty repeatedly instructed me before I left that military orders must be relayed verbally between the Marshal and myself, to prevent anyone from forging orders."
To carry out the operation mouth-to-mouth... If that little palace maid were leading the troops, it might be worth considering before rescuing Baozi, but this one...
I said unhappily, "What's wrong with you? Nobody here wants to take away his military power."
Liu Dongyang insisted, "This is the Emperor's will. Please, Marshal, do not make things difficult for me."
No matter how I tried to persuade him, it didn't work. In the end, I had to resort to a compromise: after each command was issued, I had to give a password that only he and I knew. He asked, "The earth shakes the high hills, and the streams and mountains are beautiful for a thousand years," and I replied, "The gate faces the sea, and the three rivers flow together for ten thousand years."
Liu Dongyang repeated it to himself several times before leading his men to set up camp at the front.
Thus, the allied forces finally completed a four-sided encirclement of the Jin army from three sides. However, after careful consideration, our outlook became less optimistic. The Jin army's main force of 800,000 men was largely unscathed, while our total strength was less than 1.5 million. Military strategy dictates that if ten times the enemy's strength, one should surround them; however, the allied forces were less than twice their size. Although they were all elite troops, if Jin Wuzhu were truly determined to break out from one side, it would be impossible to stop him. Naturally, if he broke out from any side, the other three sides would launch a combined attack, inevitably leading to a desperate fight to the death. This created a precarious situation where both sides were afraid to attack. I naturally had no intention of attacking, and Jin Wuzhu dared not easily break out…
Things shouldn't have gotten this bad. It was all over a small matter, but now both sides are in a bind. Especially Jin Wuzhu, he probably wouldn't believe we're only after two women. It's like neighbors having a minor squabble over borrowing vinegar or soy sauce, and one side ended up bringing an aircraft carrier. The other side certainly wouldn't be so foolish as to think the other side is after their vinegar and soy sauce.
In the late afternoon, a great dust storm arose from the rear of the Tang army, as approximately 200,000 unidentified troops charged forward menacingly. Qin Qiong urgently ordered Luo Cheng and Shan Xiongxin to each lead 50,000 troops to flank them from both sides. The two armies were now less than an arrow's length apart, locked in a stalemate. According to scouts, this new force was very strange. Their cavalrymen rode unsteadily on horses without stirrups, carrying crossbows more than half a man's length long. Furthermore, these men looked rustic, as if they had just been dug out of the ground, yet they were extremely fierce and could launch a deadly attack at any moment.
I got anxious as soon as I heard that, picked up a bronze chariot and horse ornament from a cart and asked the scout, "Is this what it looks like?"
The scout said, "Yes, yes, that's exactly it."
As I ran outside, I shouted, "Quickly tell Luo Cheng and the others that they're on our side, so don't act rashly!"
When I rushed to the scene, the Tang army, having received the news, was already in defensive formation. Over there, countless panting terracotta warriors, looking utterly righteous, stood with their long spears raised at sharp angles to the ground, aimed at the Tang army. Rows of Qin crossbows, which made my blood run cold, were already loaded, all aimed at Luo Cheng. Commanding the terracotta warriors was a square-faced general, a bronze sword in his hand, constantly urging his horse forward to rally the troops, shouting angrily, "Whoever you are, get out of my way and let me see Principal Xiao, or the mighty army of Qin will trample your corpses over you!"
Luo Cheng had been shot to death by random things in his previous life. Seeing himself become the target of so many people again, he felt extremely uncomfortable, shocked, angry, and at a loss for words. He said, "Tell me first what you want with him. I need to decide whether or not we should send our mighty Tang army across first!" Neither of these two knew how to be modest, and the more they talked, the more tense it became, and it looked like they were about to fight.
I quickly shouted, "Wang Ben, stop!"
The square-faced general was none other than Wang Ben, whom Meng Yi and I had surrounded. Upon seeing me, Wang Ben exclaimed with delight, "Principal Xiao!"
I timidly approached and said to Wang Ben, "Have the brothers put their weapons away first; it hurts to watch."
Wang Ben waved his hand, and the Qin army lowered their crossbows. Luo Cheng then wiped his sweat and said, "These must be Qin Shi Huang's men—more than a thousand years have passed, and they still have such a temper."
I looked at Wang Ben, patted him on the shoulder and said, "How come you came so quickly? I estimated it would take you six or seven days."
Wang Ben said, "I heard that Principal Xiao, you were surrounded, so I led my men to rush back and forth without stopping."
I was deeply moved. I had only ever done small favors for him before, but I never expected Wang Ben to remember them so well. People from Shaanxi are truly honest.
I said, "It's not me who's surrounded, it's Baozi and our Emperor's adopted sister." This is because the fat man didn't make himself clear. Otherwise, Wang Ben was a famous general, and he wouldn't have been so rash as to want to fight Luo Cheng without asking any questions. He thought I was surrounded.
Upon hearing that Baozi was surrounded, Wang Ben exclaimed in surprise, "The Grand Marshal has been captured?"