Chapter 1559 – Attacking Nie Liang and Yang Tao, Sword Pointing to the World (Ninety-Seven)
Yang Tao maintained his composure, Feng Zhen also held his ground, but Qiu Meng could hardly contain himself, pacing back and forth like a hot panicked ant all night long.
He waited from dark till dawn, and once again asked the servant for news, only to learn that Yang Tao didn’t send troops to intercept the food supplies.
Old Master Qiu was not surprised at all; instead, he scolded his youngest son.
“Yang Tao is one of the current lords; just look at those top-tier lords, which one is heartless?” Old Master Qiu earnestly advised his son, finding immense satisfaction as he saw the boy’s humble inquiry, and continued to ramble on, “Regardless, even though we have some connection with Yan Lin, it won’t be enough to fully gain Yang Tao’s trust. He will surely wait and watch for a while.”
Qiu Meng retorted, “Son understands this reasoning too, but Yang Tao has no idea how much risk I take to send him messages.”
The greater the actions, the easier they are to detect; once discovered, the Zhao Family had already set a precedent.
He risked his life to pass on intelligence to Yang Tao, and each opportunity was incredibly precious, yet who would have thought Yang Tao would still be dawdling?
Old Master Qiu shook his head, “This is why he’s a lord and you’re still struggling to stand out.”
Too little vigilance and you won’t survive past three episodes, understand?
Qiu Meng felt frustrated but dared not retort; he still needed this old man’s support.
After some time, Qiu Meng sent two more pieces of news to Yang Tao, and both were true.
After all, Qiu Meng was just a little registrar, responsible for the initial logistics statistics for food supplies; at best, he knew where the food transport ships would pass, but he didn’t know which granary the supplies would finally go to. To learn more information, he had to engage in private inquiries. To avoid arousing suspicion above him, Qiu Meng put in considerable effort. Unbeknownst to him, everything was happening right under Feng Zhen’s watchful eyes.
Fu Wang was a bit puzzled, “Is Yang Tao just unwilling to take the bait? Or has he grown suspicious?”
Feng Zhen replied, “Doubt seems unlikely, but his appetite is too big; he plans to take it all in one go, that’s for sure.”
“Yang Tao has really endured for so long,” Yang Si remarked, “Shall we send more people to transport several tens of thousands of stones of grain next time?”
Feng Zhen chuckled, toying with the object in his hand, his eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief.
“Wait a bit, it’s not the right time yet,” Feng Zhen said, “Also, send more people to guard the Jingyang Granary.”
Fu Wang asked, “Why? Could their target be the Jingyang Granary? Qiu Meng can’t get that information.”
Feng Zhen replied, “How could he not get it? Yang Tao and the others are natives of Zhangzhou; our army’s transport routes are different each time, but the enemy can easily deduce locations nearby that are more suitable for storing grains based on these routes. Yang Tao’s calmness indicates that the ten thousand stones of grain aren’t enough to entice him; he’s also trying to uncover our granaries so he can strike or burn them all at once.”
Upon hearing this, Fu Wang couldn’t help but draw a cold breath.
“Who would have thought, Yang Tao actually has such cunning.”
Feng Zhen said, “Nobody can be underestimated; no matter how honest and naive Yang Tao seems, he’s been influenced by Yan Lin for over twenty years.”
As the saying goes, “Stay close to vermilion to turn red, stay close to ink to turn black”; even the pure little white rabbit can get stained by ink!
Yang Si chuckled, “Perhaps you’re just overthinking it.”
Feng Zhen responded, “Being well-prepared and acting prudently is always correct.”
Yang Si chuckled inwardly; once bitten by a snake, he was ten years afraid of the rope. The wasteful son has become wise today!
On the surface, it seemed calm, but in reality, currents of tension surged beneath.
Both Feng Zhen’s side and Yang Tao’s were secretly testing each other’s limits, waiting for the best opportunity to strike.
As a pawn in this game between two powerful factions, Qiu Meng felt he was skillfully manipulating the powers of two lords.
That day, he delivered a weighty piece of news to Yang Tao.
With a sense of relief, he said, “If Yang Tao can’t grasp this message, then he shouldn’t bother competing for the world; he’d be better off admitting defeat.”
Why say that?
Because the food supply this time was as much as one hundred thousand stones, and due to its size, to prevent any accidents, the military adviser Yang Si personally led the troops to escort it.
This was the highest level of secrecy; Qiu Meng had pried this information from a drunken “colleague” with silver.
If Yang Tao were to take the risk and ambush the grain convoy, not only would he capture one hundred thousand stones of grain, but he could also seize one of Yan Lin’s right-hand men, Yang Si. Yang Si had quite a reputation in the southern territories; capturing him and using him as a trophy would surely deal a heavy blow to the enemy’s morale.
“Why should I go too?”
Yang Si shook his gold-plated fan, looking impatient; he was not like Feng Zhen, who was so eager to court death.
Feng Zhen replied, “If you don’t go as bait, I fear Yang Tao might ignore the grain and charge straight for the Jingyang Granary.”
Yang Si spat, “If you’re looking for a fool to die, you go yourself; why drag me into this?”
Feng Zhen smiled, “We share fortune and hardships; if there are great achievements to be made, your share will be included as well.”
Yang Si: “…”
He had seen thick-skinned folks, but never someone who treats colleagues as bait and still speaks with such confidence—truly shameless!
“And you?” Yang Si asked him.
Feng Zhen smiled, “Naturally, I’ll guard the Jingyang Granary. If Yang Tao behaves like the Lord and seeks to lead by example, then we’ll hit the jackpot.”
Yang Si rolled his eyes.
If Yang Tao were as reckless as the Lord, he didn’t believe Yan Lin would let him off easily.
“Why exactly choose that night to act?” Yang Si asked another question, genuinely digging deeper, “I’ve noticed you’ve been observing the starry skies for the past few days. Did you learn some tricks from Wei Zixiao, capable of divining and calculating the timing and direction?”
“I’m a native of Zhangzhou; does it really require mystical arts to read the weather? Wei Zixiao is a charlatan; I am not,” Feng Zhen suddenly showed a playful smile, “Why that night? Because there will be thick fog on the river, perfect for our army to launch a surprise attack!”
Using the Jingyang Granary and the transport convoy to draw Yang Tao’s attention, then taking advantage of the fog to ambush their troops, it was a clever multi-pronged approach.
Yang Si: “…”
He began to suspect whether Yan Lin had truly tricked Feng Zhen once or perhaps even desecrated his ancestors’ graves!
This operation seemed too ruthless; did they intend to wipe out Yang Tao’s stronghold in one fell swoop?
Truly a beast!
He thought Feng Zhen pushing his colleague out as bait was already crossing the line; unexpectedly, even the Jingyang Granary was a bait he tossed out.
On the other hand, just as Feng Zhen calculated, Yang Tao accurately deduced the true location of the granary based on several pieces of intelligence.
At this moment, Yan Lin, who had been training by the riverbank, returned.
“Shaoyang, you came back just in time.”
Yan Lin said, “I heard people say the Lord plans to lead the troops himself?”
His voice wasn’t heavy, but Yang Tao couldn’t help but flinch.
“It’s not about worrying for the commanders…”
Before he could finish, Yan Lin interrupted, “Military generals have their responsibilities; if they can’t charge into battle for the Lord, what use are they?”
Had the generals under him become so useless that they required the Lord to fight personally?
Yang Tao’s words got stuck in his throat as he muttered, “In that case, should I stay back with the main forces?”
Yan Lin answered his unspoken question with a look.
What do you think?
Yang Tao: “…”
qaq
