Chapter 1684 – Capture of Nan Sheng, Assassination of An Huan (Ninety-two)
“Who does Heaven favor? The old man in the sky knows very well that An Huan’s unilateral declaration doesn’t hold water!”
Unfortunately, no one understood this rationale. The deputy general protecting An Huan bowed his fists in admiration, saying things that made An Huan elated, as if victory was within reach.
The atmosphere was just right, but of course, there was always someone clueless who would jump out to ruin it, earning an unhappy long face from An Huan.
“My Lord, this junior once heard Military Adviser Lü mention Liu Xi. The adviser said that Liu Xi acts with both caution and boldness, and one cannot judge her by common sense. Moreover, the granary is closely tied to the battlefield’s outcome, so the defenses here must be incredibly strict. Our army still needs to be cautious and shouldn’t be careless.”
An Huan’s expression darkened, his face lengthening to such an extent it made onlookers shiver.
The surrounding soldiers wished they could hammer that oblivious guy who didn’t understand the atmosphere!
At such a time, it was a mistake to speak words of misfortune; did he have a screw loose?
However, the deputy general didn’t think he was jinxing anything; he was just speaking the truth for his Lord’s own good.
Hard truths are often unpalatable; you have to hear them even if you don’t want to.
An Huan could only respond with an awkward yet polite smile, all while firmly remembering this pesky deputy general in his heart.
Not knowing if it was due to this jinx’s influence, An Huan’s mood shifted from sunny to cloudy, a creeping sense of dread looming over him, as if something was about to go awry. When he tried to analyze it, he couldn’t quite pin down why.
Thus, his displeasure towards this jinxed deputy general only grew.
Being the Lord, An Huan wasn’t on the front lines. He could only assess the battle situation through his own eyes and the real-time reports being relayed. When he heard the sounds of battle cries from the granary perimeter, he knew the two armies had finally clashed.
He clenched his fists nervously, his back teeth grinding, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
“How’s the battle situation?”
An Huan couldn’t help but ask repeatedly, and the result was pleasing.
Despite the granary’s fierce defenses, the troops guarding it were just of regular numbers, and the overall situation was not much different from Lü Zheng’s intelligence report.
Even if these guards were elite, they were still outnumbered, and after a bit of tugging, they would find themselves at a disadvantage.
Given the current situation, it was expected that the granary would fall.
To boost morale, a general laughed heartily, mocking, “Liu Xi’s troops are nothing special; I’ll just grab a few more heads!”
Hearing the battle cries nearby, An Huan’s racing heart slowly settled.
He recalled Lü Zheng’s clever plan, which included estimates of the granary’s food stocks based on various intelligence. He felt a rush of excitement. If they could empty this granary, not only would it deal a massive blow to enemy morale, but it would also prolong their own survival.
“Send troops for reinforcements! Let’s seize the granary quickly to avoid any future troubles!”
Though quite far from Jiang Pengji’s camp, he was still wary of prolonged delays causing unexpected issues.
An Huan was genuinely afraid of Jiang Pengji, feeling that this person had a knack for being unpredictable.
Every time they gained the upper hand, before they could revel in their advantage, the other side would always leap out from some shadowy corner to slap them in the face.
“I obey the order!”
Increasing the troops, aiming to capture the granary swiftly!
The granary’s defenses couldn’t hold out for too long.
As An Huan sent reinforcements, the already shaky defenses of the granary collapsed, and the guarding soldiers scattered in panic.
“It worked!”
But unexpectedly—
A change occurred shortly thereafter.
As An Huan’s main force focused on the granary, two groups of soldiers circled around from the left and right to attack from behind.
“They’ve had enough time to gloat; it’s time for their sweet dreams to end!”
Fu Wang revealed a sinister smile; his dark eyes glinted with an eerie light. Raised by wolves, the night was no hindrance for him—it was where he thrived. With a wave of his hand, soldiers immediately handed him a quiver of arrows.
Not considering Jiang Pengji, Fu Wang’s strength was among the top in the army.
He effortlessly drew back his heavy bow, loosing several arrows at once.
At the very moment the arrows departed, archers waiting nearby pulled their bows taut, sending small wooden whistles soaring into the sky with shrill cries. The whistling served as a signal, and the ambushed archers unleashed a torrential rain of arrows toward the enemies.
Fu Wang’s few arrows struck true.
The victims could only let out their final screams, startling the other soldiers.
“What’s happening?”
The night was dark, and without torches lighting the way, distant soldiers didn’t see the arrows embedded in their comrades.
The closer soldiers had seen it, but before they could shout “Enemy attack!”, the shrill cries from the whistles and the whistling of the arrows reached them. Taking the initiative, Fu Wang launched his surprise attack, and Xie Ze’s troops on another front also didn’t hold back, leading to widespread chaos. By the time An Huan realized something was amiss at the rear, it was already too late!
“Report—Our rear has two enemy forces!”
An Huan, who a moment ago was still immersed in the joy of victory, was suddenly jolted back to reality by the messenger’s panicked shout.
“What? Enemies?”
An Huan thought he was hearing things. Where would enemies come from?
The messenger had to repeat himself; this time An Huan heard clearly but was left stupefied.
How could there be enemies?
Jiang Pengji’s main camp was at least seven or eight hours away; even if she got news about the granary being attacked, she wouldn’t arrive in time! Unless… A chilling guess crept into An Huan’s mind… unless the enemies had long planned it, anticipating An Huan’s assault, laying ambushes in the shadows, waiting for him to walk right into the trap!
“Lord, don’t panic! I will drive them back immediately!”
Though the commotion behind them was substantial, it would take time to reach the front.
The vanguard troops breached the defenses, the grains were right in sight, and seeing the scattered remnants fleeing heightened their joy.
“Liu Xi is nothing special!”
The leading general laughed uproariously, charging into the granary, which was indeed filled to the brim with food.
He drew his dagger and cut open the nearest grain sack, expecting a flow of golden grains but instead was met with a pile of sand.
The general’s smile froze in mid-arc, his hand trembling around the dagger.
“We’ve fallen into a trap! Command the troops to retreat immediately!” he shouted hoarsely, but it was too late. By now, over two thousand soldiers had charged into the granary, and the rest had no idea what was happening inside—they just kept rushing in, with no time to escape!
“Kill—”
Suddenly, screams of “kill” surged like a tide from all directions, and the previously fleeing enemies charged back, now greater in number than before. An Huan’s army was left reeling at the term “trap,” their morale shattered, losing their formation.
In the distance, Jiang Pengji looked at the flames spreading from the granary, her lips curling into a cold smile.
“Get ready, it’s time to welcome our guests!”
