Chapter 1388 – Nan Sheng, The Autumn of Turmoil (Fourteen)
“You know, people can’t stand being talked about.”
As soon as Yang Si finished mentioning Lü Zheng, he suddenly let out a sneeze out of nowhere, far away in Nan Sheng.
Compared to the clear situation in Dongqing, Nan Sheng was in disarray, with several vassal alliances battling against the Southern Barbarians’ four factions.
The Barbarian Extermination Alliance was nothing like the Huangsui Conference back in the day; everyone had to set aside their grudges and work together to fight the Southern Barbarians. No one could afford to drag anyone down. Even if there were schemes and plots, they needed to be kept private to maintain unity.
After much effort, the Southern Barbarians’ bravado was finally curbed, leading both sides to a stalemate.
The Barbarian Extermination Alliance was fully aware that the Southern Barbarians had a small population; losing just one young warrior was a significant loss in combat power, while Nan Sheng could afford to outlast them.
If they could maintain the current stalemate, in at most a year, the Southern Barbarians might just retreat without a fight.
This was the last resort—a plan that would take time and effort with unpredictable outcomes.
The best scenario would be to break the deadlock somehow, severely dampening the Southern Barbarians’ spirit and exhausting them.
But alas, with the Southern Barbarians’ feared fighting strength, how easy would that be?
“In another month and a half… I fear there will be heavy rain… Sigh, time passes so quickly, summer is almost here…”
Lü Zheng waved a fan to cool himself; the weather in Nan Sheng was hot, and before summer fully set in, there were always a few unbearably muggy days that made one want to strip down for a breeze. If they could just get through these days, a month of continuous rain would follow. Once the rain ceased, the temperature would soar day by day. At its peak, spending half a day in the sun would lead to skin peeling; the sun was truly merciless.
As he sat on a simple stool, someone called out to him.
Without needing to turn around, Lü Zheng already knew who it was; he could smell a light hint of alcohol.
“Isn’t drinking forbidden in the military camp, Lord Zheng Ze? Is this considered breaking the law?”
“Lü Sir, please don’t tell Shaoyang. I fear his nagging. I’ve got a few wine bugs in me; if I don’t drink a jar every so often to calm them, they’ll start causing trouble, and I’ll be the one suffering!” Yang Tao chuckled, holding up two jars of wine. “Want some?”
Lü Zheng couldn’t help but laugh.
Yang Tao generously shared the secret stash of wine he had hidden, and Lü Zheng tossed the remaining stool to him to sit.
Their friendship was fortuitous.
Lü Zheng couldn’t sleep one night and ran into Yang Tao, who had been drinking late. After some chat, it felt like they had known each other for ages.
Yang Tao was always careful not to show his drunkenness before Yan Lin, needing to air out the smell of wine before returning.
Truth be told, Lü Zheng had never seen such a timid lord, yet Yang Tao was a fierce warrior on the battlefield.
“I wonder how long this war will drag on…”
Yang Tao took a few swigs of wine, the heat rising in him, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
Feeling hot, he casually opened his clothing, revealing a strong, firm chest, with well-defined abs that were eye-catching.
Lü Zheng caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, feeling a bit envious.
“This is hard to say; hopefully, it ends sooner rather than later. Too many warriors are dying.”
Yang Tao sighed in agreement, tilting his head back to gulp down an entire jar of wine.
“That’s refreshing!”
Some of the wine dribbled down from the corner of his mouth, trickling down his neck and soaking his shirt.
Lü Zheng said, “Drinking that much, you’ll probably still smell of wine by morning.”
Yang Tao laughed, “Not worried! I found a spring nearby. A quick wash will do, and Shaoyang won’t find out.”
Just as he finished speaking, he heard familiar footsteps, and his smile froze, replaced by a helpless expression.
“…Is this your excuse for drinking despite your injury?”
Yan Lin’s father’s gaze was dangerously sharp, and upon seeing two empty wine jars beside Yang Tao, the danger level skyrocketed.
Yang Tao immediately caved; if it weren’t for Lü Zheng being there, he would have rushed up to beg for mercy.
Seeing this, Yan Lin could only sigh.
“The sun is setting. For our lord’s injury, we should head back to the camp and rest early.”
As soon as he said this, Yang Tao looked as if he had been pardoned and stumbled back to the camp.
“I’d like to ask Lü Sir something. How much do you know about the local weather?”
With Yang Tao gone, Yan Lin didn’t leave but instead sat on the stool Yang Tao had vacated.
Lü Zheng replied, “Weather? Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?”
Yan Lin said, “I have a plan that might drive off the Southern Barbarians, but… it requires favorable weather.”
Lü Zheng’s expression grew serious.
“I’m all ears.”
The two discussed for about a quarter of an hour, and Lü Zheng’s eyes brightened.
Yan Lin’s plan was not too complicated—seize the moment when the water level was low to intercept all the upstream rivers. After several days of heavy rain, the rivers would overflow, and temporary dikes would collapse, flooding the Southern Barbarians’ territories. However, they needed to lure the Southern Barbarians’ troops to lower areas of the riverbanks. Although the Southern Barbarians were reckless, they were familiar with the terrain, making it difficult to trick them.
In addition, timing was also a crucial challenge.
If they weren’t careful, they could end up drowning their own people.
If this plan succeeded, the Southern Barbarians’ morale would undoubtedly be crushed!
The next day, Lü Zheng stood up for Yan Lin and soon gained the support of Hua Yuan and others.
Seeing this, the various lords all agreed to the plan.
After a month of careful planning and strategizing, the allied forces deceived the Southern Barbarians, who were eager for glory, into falling into their trap.
When the mountain torrents surged, tens of thousands of enemy troops were swallowed by the flood, resulting in incalculable losses.
The Barbarian Extermination Alliance seized the opportunity to push forward, expanding their victory, killing thirty thousand enemies and capturing fifty thousand prisoners.
Numerous rivers ran red with enemy corpses, creating blockages downstream.
How to deal with the fifty thousand prisoners became a pressing issue for everyone.
The alliance’s grain supply was already insufficient for their own forces; where would they find surplus grain to feed the prisoners?
“This is no problem at all; just kill them all.”
At that moment, Hua Yuan, standing next to An Huan, casually suggested the complete execution of the fifty thousand captives.
As he spoke, his eyes glinted with savagery, radiating a murderous aura on par with ordinary Military Generals.
The other lords had similar thoughts, but no one wanted to appear overly cold-blooded about so many lives.
Now that “Hua Yuan” had brought it up first, they easily agreed and ordered the massacre of those fifty thousand Southern Barbarians.
Lü Zheng, however, showed signs of disapproval.
The alliance was short on food, but An Huan was not; those fifty thousand prisoners still had value.
“Hua Yuan,” noticing Lü Zheng’s discontent, shot him a cold glare, his eyes filled with warnings.
Seeing the situation, Lü Zheng quickly realized that his colleague was up to no good again.
“Lü Sir…”
As Lü Zheng was about to return to the camp, he was stopped midway by “Hua Yuan.”
The latter still radiated bloodlust and had malice in his gaze.
“What is it?” Lü Zheng feigned calmness.
“Hua Yuan” grinned sinisterly, “Sir, your leniency toward the Southern Barbarian captives might cost you your life.”
If Wei Ci were here, he would recognize that the current “Hua Yuan” was actually the dangerous Ge Lin from his past life who had almost killed him.
Unaware of Ge Lin’s threats, Lü Zheng brushed it off lightly.
