Chapter 1264 – Cutting Down Huang Song, East Qing United (Part Six)
Who would have thought the troops that were supposed to support Cangzhou would head straight for Chenzhou instead?
It’s not that Cheng Jing and the others didn’t see it coming; it’s just that Jiang Pengji had thrown too many smoke bombs, willing to sacrifice an entire county of Cangzhou to deceive the enemy’s eyes and confuse their judgment. A ruthless strategy that harms oneself while attacking a thousand enemies—what sane person could even conceive of that?
She’s simply a living lunatic!
Huang Song wasn’t Jiang Pengji; the latter was from a wealthy family and could afford to give up an entire county, while the former couldn’t disregard Chenzhou.
He had two choices: either send troops to support Chenzhou or let the closest Yuan Xin lead the troops to cut off Jiang Pengji’s escape route.
Faced with these two scenarios, even a blind man would know what to choose.
Cheng Jing said, “Distant water can’t quench a close fire. If our lord leads the troops back now, it might be too late.”
Huang Song sighed, “I know that too, so I can only let the lieutenant Yuan Xin lead the troops to encircle them—”
Thankfully, he had Nie Xun along, otherwise Yuan Xin alone would probably suffer a huge loss at Jiang Pengji’s hands.
Yuan Xin received the news even earlier than Huang Song, and he was so furious he could practically breathe fire, wishing he could rush in front of Jiang Pengji and tear her to shreds—of course, right now Jiang Pengji was still a “patient,” and they didn’t know that the general leading the troops was her—
But that didn’t lessen Yuan Xin’s intense urge to peel her skin off!
“I’m so mad!”
In his anger, Yuan Xin smashed the table into two pieces; even the recent victory couldn’t lift his spirits.
His own home was being ravaged by the enemy as if it were no man’s land, which was an immense disgrace.
After breaking the table, Yuan Xin angrily grabbed his weapon, but after taking just two steps, he was halted by Nie Xun.
“General, where are you going?”
Nie Xun couldn’t let Yuan Xin act recklessly; what if he stumbled into the enemy’s trap?
Yuan Xin narrowed his eyes; his glinting tiger-like gaze was getting more and more dangerous, making Nie Xun feel like he was being targeted by a wild beast.
“What do you think I’m doing, military strategist? Naturally, I’m gathering the troops to fight back! Should we just let that thief continue to wreak havoc in Chenzhou?”
Huang Song, just like in Haozhou and Chenzhou, couldn’t compare to Jiang Pengji’s massive family; losing even one place was unacceptable.
They had let their guard down, allowing Jiang Pengji to exploit their opening, causing their rear lines to collapse, but fortunately, it was not too late to mend the fold.
Nie Xun’s heart sank, and his face turned pale as he urged, “General, you absolutely cannot do this—”
Yuan Xin was taken aback by Nie Xun’s words, instantly furious to the point of nearly exploding. He shoved Nie Xun aside, who stumbled back with a crash, freezing the atmosphere immediately. Yuan Xin’s hand lingered in the air, a flicker of regret passing through his eyes—no matter how reckless he was, he knew that a scholar wasn’t as tough as a soldier; scholars had fragile tempers, and that action could be seen as an enormous humiliation!
“Um… General Nie, I didn’t mean it, it was unintentional. Please forgive me, a big man like you shouldn’t hold grudges against a little guy!”
Yuan Xin’s anger was momentarily suppressed as he quickly reached out to help Nie Xun up.
Nie Xun, however, was furious now; he shook Yuan Xin’s hand off coldly, veins popping in his eyes, making the red on his forehead seem even more prominent.
Yuan Xin felt quite awkward; he hadn’t intended to push Nie Xun.
After all, he was a big man. How could Nie Xun not even stand firm? How did a mere push send him flying like that?
Nie Xun’s tone was icy. “May I ask, General, if you bring the troops back to support Chenzhou now, will you have to cross the gorge river?”
“Of course, we need to cross the river,” Yuan Xin replied with assurance.
Nie Xun asked again, “How much time does it take to cross the river? What if we reach the middle and the enemy attacks us from both sides?”
Yuan Xin felt Nie Xun’s words were alarmist. “Military strategist, you’re overthinking this! The enemy in Cangzhou is no threat, and those in Chenzhou won’t have time to bother us. If the enemy was smart, they wouldn’t even have time to escape, let alone wait at the riverbank!”
He absolutely despised how Nie Xun’s words puffed up others while belittling his strengths, as if others were so great while he was weak.
Nie Xun’s already grim face turned even more unfriendly.
He had thought Yuan Xin’s earlier apology was sincere, but now it seemed impossible to change a dog’s habit of eating feces!
Nie Xun cursed internally; no matter how much a teammate might mess up, as a strategist, he had to fulfill his duties.
He had to pinch his nose and force himself to engage with this thick-headed Yuan Xin.
In addition to worrying about getting trapped in the gorge and crushed, Nie Xun had to make sure Yuan Xin understood what “military orders” meant—until Lord Huang Song gave specific orders, there should be no rash movements. So what if Chenzhou was in danger? Yuan Xin’s task was to tie up Cangzhou’s forces and draw Jiang Pengji’s main forces in.
If he acted recklessly and casually moved troops, destroying the entire strategic plan, could he alone bear the responsibility?
A general must not only obey the lord but also be responsible for the soldiers.
If Yuan Xin was impulsive, motivated by loyalty, he would have no idea how he might meet his demise any day!
Suppressing his anger, Nie Xun had to break down all the reasoning and force-feed it to Yuan Xin. If this reckless and unruly warrior still wouldn’t listen, he really had no way to deal with him. Since Nie Xun had brought up Huang Song, Yuan Xin had nowhere to vent his pent-up frustration.
He could only listen obediently, finally agreeing to Nie Xun’s arrangement, albeit reluctantly.
The fragile balance of their relationship immediately tightened again; it seemed benign, but in reality, tensions surged and crested like an unstoppable tidal wave!
Nie Xun instructed Yuan Xin to count the troops, fighting while retreating, slowly releasing the previously conquered Cangzhou counties while also dispatching troops to observe the gorge situation, avoiding the worst-case scenario of being struck from both sides. As it turned out, Nie Xun’s caution was not unfounded; Jiang Pengji had also put her dumpling plan in motion, sending people to keep a close watch on the gorge early on—all it took was a word: if Yuan Xin dared to come, she dared to strike back, ensuring he and his soldiers had no way to return.
Feng Jin felt quite regretful about this too.
“Yuan Xin possesses mere brute force but no brains; his stubborn and arrogant personality means he’s easily misled. That Nie Xun is somewhat tricky. Our lord has been too merciful. Years ago, had we made an example of Nie Xun and severed his ties with Huang Song completely…”
Nie Xun and Meng Heng were brothers—everyone in Wanzhou knew that.
They also knew Meng Heng had tried to play tricks on his brother upon Jiang Pengji’s instructions, but their efforts yielded little reward.
According to their plan, once Yuan Xin became aware of the enemy’s turmoil in Chenzhou, he’d surely charge back in anger.
At that moment, their lord would block the gorge’s riverbank, cutting off Yuan Xin’s advance, and he would block off Yuan Xin’s retreat—a perfect dumpling strategy. However, the Nie Xun from Yuan Xin’s side wasn’t easily fooled; he saw through Feng Jin and Jiang Pengji’s scheme almost immediately.
Meng Hunyun, a seasoned veteran under Jiang Pengji, had previously worked under the Meng Clan and was clear about the inner grudges. He sighed, “In any case, Nie Xun is Sir Jiu’s little brother and the lord’s cousin. If we go too far, it won’t be easy to explain to the old lady.”
Feng Jin smirked, “Yuan Xin has been arrogant for too long; it’s about time he learned the might of our army.”
