Chapter 1523 – Striking Nie Liang, Attacking Yang Tao, Aiming for the World (62)
Yang Tao chuckled, “If that’s the case, the Zhao Clan members couldn’t even wiggle their way out of this one even if they filled their mouths with excuses… Sigh, what a pity.”
Even though he held a grudge against them for his father’s death, Yang Tao hadn’t really dealt with the Zhao Clan over the years—just kept them from rising too high.
The Zhao Clan’s standing in Zhangzhou had significantly diminished; at least their lives weren’t in danger, and they managed to scrape by.
Now, in their quest for further advancement, while the Liu and Yang clans clashed, the Zhao Clan betrayed one side and sided with the other, treating war as a ladder for their ascent—did they not fear falling flat on their faces if they slipped?
If they really saw Yang Tao as a threat, they should at least wait until he was defeated before throwing themselves at the enemy.
Simply put, it was greed getting the better of them.
Adding icing on the cake could never compare to sending coal in the snow!
Yan Lin looked down and smirked coldly, “Everyone has their own fate. If the Zhao Clan truly falls, it’s their own doing.”
In chaotic times, not taking sides is wrong, and picking the wrong side is also a mistake. If blame is to be assigned, let it be on the Zhao Clan for their shortsightedness and bad luck.
Whether it was Jiang Pengji or other lords, they all genuinely despised the fickle and treacherous.
Yan Lin used Jiang Pengji’s hand to take down the Zhao Clan; it was the end they deserved.
Yang Tao and the others coldly observed what fate awaited the Zhao Clan, but the Zhao Clan didn’t think the same.
“Once Yang Tao is defeated, we can finally lay down the blades at our necks.”
Ever since Yang Tao’s resurgence, the Zhao Clan had been living in fear, dreading the day he might decide to wipe them out.
Now that they had sided with Jiang Pengji and offered the crucial Kunyu Map for the battle, did they still need to worry about their future? Once the battle was over and they were rewarded, the Zhao Clan would rank among the top, and they would be powerful figures in Zhangzhou.
“Yang Tao’s background in Zhangzhou runs deep, and the troops under him are the elite naval forces left by Yang Jian. Clan Leader, what do you think about them…” The confidant advisor displayed a hint of worry as he spoke, “Though Liu Xi’s army is strong, land battles and naval battles are not the same.”
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
The Zhao Clan Leader had great confidence in Jiang Pengji.
Based on intelligence gathered from their infiltrated lines at the water fortress, Jiang Pengji’s naval forces appeared in excellent spirits, showing none of the cowardice of northern ducks facing vast rivers. If a naval battle were to occur, even if they were not as strong as Yang Tao, they could rely on their numbers to win.
With the Kunyu Map now in their possession, their chances of victory soared by at least thirty percent!
The Zhao Clan basked in sweet dreams, unaware that disaster was already upon them.
Days later, several pieces of bad news reached Feng Zhen and the others.
After discussions with Yang Si, Feng Zhen dispatched thirty thousand naval troops in three directions, descending downstream to launch surprise attacks on three key points in Zhangzhou, preparing to catch the enemy off guard. However, instead of good news, they received reports of their naval troops encountering an enemy surprise attack, casualties unknown.
“Enemy surprise attack?”
Feng Zhen’s hand trembled, the pen he held falling onto the table and staining a large area with ink.
He hurried to the sand table to examine the areas where their forces had been ambushed. No matter how he analyzed it, there should be no hidden soldiers in this spacious waterway with open visibility; where could the enemy have come from? Did they sprout wings and drop down from the sky one by one?
But his side’s battle reports couldn’t be wrong, so…
This meant their intelligence was flawed!
A possibility surged through his mind, veins popping on his forehead as his anger flared.
“Quickly, recount every detail!”
Feng Zhen clutched the corner of the sand table with such force that his fingers turned white.
The messenger, perceiving Feng Zhen’s genuine fury, dared not delay, speaking twice as fast.
Feng Zhen glared at the Kunyu Map offered by the Zhao Clan, flames igniting in his eyes as if he wanted to burn holes through it.
“Send troops to reinforce! If we can catch up, order the advance guard to retreat!”
This was the downside of outdated communication; if real-time communication had been available, the advance guard could have reported back when they noticed something was off, allowing Feng Zhen to adjust commands and reduce unnecessary casualties. Commanding reinforcements and withdrawals was now too late.
“Report—”
Just as the first messenger exited, another soldier rushed in with urgent news from the front lines.
Feng Zhen had anticipated this moment, ordering that the Zhao Clan members be detained while instructing the messenger to read the urgent report.
The waters of Zhangzhou were treacherous, with seemingly calm surfaces masking turbulent undercurrents and hidden reefs.
If the helmsman of the naval troops wasn’t careful, it was easy for their ships to run aground and sink; once in the water, they would be left with no combat capability.
This contingent of naval forces was relatively alert, noticing something was off beneath the water and immediately sending someone back to report, but they hesitated to delay their military orders, choosing a middle ground. They had their main force halt for half a day and sent several soldiers in small boats ahead to ascertain the water conditions.
After half an hour of investigation, they were horrified to discover that the waters were incredibly perilous.
The small boats fared well, but the deep-draft warships carrying hundreds of men would most likely run aground and sink. The commander of this naval force realized that the intelligence received was erroneous, suspecting foul play, and hurriedly prepared to return.
Unfortunately, another naval force had much worse luck, directly encountering the enemy force lying in wait; the fighting was exceptionally fierce.
This clash not only made Feng Zhen furious, but Yan Lin and the others wore grim expressions as well.
The camp was eerily silent, with everyone too afraid to even breathe heavily, their eyes darting towards the “culprit.”
Yan Lin sat at Yang Tao’s right, his bamboo strip battle report being crushed in his hand, so much so that he didn’t even feel the pricks from the sharp splinter.
Having grown up side by side, Yang Tao knew well what it looked like when Yan Lin was angry, and he felt a shudder wash over him.
“Shaoyang, there might still be some gains from this battle…”
Yang Tao intended to plead for his subordinate, but the pressure from his friend’s aura was too much; the more he spoke, the weaker he sounded, only daring to mumble softly.
According to Yan Lin’s plan, this battle was supposed to swallow the thirty thousand naval forces under Jiang Pengji, leaving them as lonely souls on the river.
In reality, however, the outcome was far from what they anticipated.
Not only were the enemy’s maneuvers beyond their expectations, but their own commanders’ abilities were also disappointing.
As previously mentioned, Feng Zhen planned to use the advantages of upstream forces, dispatching three elite units downstream to launch rapid surprise attacks.
The three elite forces engaged, yet only two clashed; the third would-be combatants, realizing something was off, opted to retreat. What caused Yan Lin distress was that their ambushed forces had remained completely still, failing to intercept the retreating enemies. Were they pigs?
Who had been leading that contingent of ambushers?
Yan Lin glanced at the name, and not only did his heart ache, but his head pounded as well.
This commander was an older figure who had once traversed the waters under the previous lord, Yang Jian.
