Chapter 980 – War in the Northern Border (Seventeen)
“Well, no wonder Sun Wen doesn’t know; Qi Kuang has been busy training the navy for years, anxious and unnoticed, low-key like a shadow.”
“Mm, that guy isn’t too bad.”
Jiang Nongqin said flatly.
Whether it’s her or Hui Jun, they both favor judging based on what benefits Jiang Pengji.
Qi Kuang isn’t exactly easy on the eyes—quite the eyesore, really—with a disability in his legs. But he has kept his head down and worked diligently over the years, causing no trouble for the lord. Unlike Feng Zhen, that wastrel, who always tries to lead their lord astray—ugh—so annoying!
Jiang Nongqin didn’t like Feng Zhen, but since their lord fancied that wastrel, she had no choice but to put up with it.
She didn’t give Feng Zhen a good face but wouldn’t embarrass him either.
Sun Wen stayed vigilant, keeping an eye on the situation at the Cong River.
He quietly muttered, “So Feng Zhen’s plots are malicious enough, but why does he enjoy toying with people—”
Comparing himself to Feng Zhen, he felt like a pure lotus blooming in the muddy waters—spotless and clear.
He enjoyed intertwining plots to methodically lead his enemies into traps.
And Feng Zhen?
He had to play around with his enemies before delivering the fatal blow, waiting until they were on the brink of a mental breakdown before slowly stabbing them with that lethal dagger.
Wu Libai was still nursing his injuries inside the tent when he heard the thundering drums outside. He struggled to pull himself up.
“Help me out to take a look—”
Despite being reprimanded multiple times, Wu Libai still held a degree of authority, and the soldiers didn’t dare to contradict him.
After carefully approaching the front lines and observing, Wu Libai came up with a horrifying possibility.
“Quick—send someone to report to the king! Don’t waste any more arrows; pay attention to the defense on the left and right flanks, as well as behind!”
After saying this, his wound cracked open, and Wu Libai’s complexion turned pale, his vision flickering.
If not for someone supporting him, he might have collapsed right there.
Wu Libai strained to shake off the soldiers’ support, stubbornly insisting, “I’m fine, quickly send someone to inform the king! If we’re too late, it might just be the end—there are too many cunning folks under Liu Xi, they’re not just trying to humiliate us—it’s highly likely—they might be secretly splitting their forces to land stealthily from both upstream and downstream to launch a surprise attack!”
While using such tactics could trick them into wasting arrows and dampen their morale, if the battle didn’t commence for long, the enemy’s momentum would also decline.
Playing this game just for fun?
Not quite!
To Wu Libai’s mind, the enemy intended to use this tactic to distract the Northern Border camp, leaving them scattered and unable to respond.
This was akin to Wu Libai’s deception last night with empty boats and straw men to fool Jiang Pengji.
The difference was, Jiang Pengji didn’t fall for it at all, while the Northern Border camp was being led around by the nose, completely invested.
Wu Libai rubbed his temples, hoping it wasn’t too late.
His words were sent directly to Dai Wang’s ears.
Dai Wang jumped in shock, cold sweat pouring down.
Wu Libai was making a lot of sense; they had nearly fallen into a trap!
Seeing him dazed, Halencha quickly shouted, “Dai Wang!”
“Quick—send someone to defend the flanks and the rear; we mustn’t let the Liu Thief exploit any openings!”
Dai Wang hastily ordered, and just as Halencha was about to follow through, a hesitant minister stammered a comment.
“If what General Wu Libai says is true, the number of attackers shouldn’t be too high, right?”
Dai Wang’s brows furrowed sharply, growling, “Why do you say that?”
The minister replied, “The enemy has around thirty thousand troops across the river, but Liu Xi’s vanguard only has a little over thirty thousand; how could they spare forces for a surprise attack?”
Wow, talk about a wake-up call!
Dai Wang’s expression stiffened—was that really the case?
He glanced at Halencha, whose expression mirrored his bewilderment.
Liu Xi’s thirty thousand vanguard troops were all right under their noses; how could they possibly have extra forces for a surprise attack?
The answer was—
Of course, they did!
Dai Wang felt like he’d been played by Wu Libai; thinking back to his previous frantic reaction, a wave of shame and anger washed over him.
“Tell that old coot to chill and focus on healing, and to stop with the panic talk here!”
The soldiers, helpless, could only relay Dai Wang’s words back to Wu Libai.
Wu Libai wasn’t heavily injured, but his spirit was completely drained.
Hearing Dai Wang call him “old coot” and label his warnings as nonsense made Wu Libai feel like his spirit had been sucked out, his shoulders sagging.
He slumped onto his sickbed, aged several years in an instant, mumbling, “Foolish child has doomed the Northern Border—”
As the sage of the Northern Border, his lifelong ambition was to have their iron cavalry trample over Han territory and avenge the disgrace of his ancestral Qiang tribe.
Just as he watched his ambitions about to be realized, a horse plague sent the once-promising Northern Border spiraling back into chaos.
After that, all sorts of problems emerged.
Dai Wang’s sons turned against each other, engaging in mutual killings and plots, plunging the Northern Border into internal strife.
On top of that, the newly ascended Ninth Prince was dull-witted and cowardly—was this how they were going to drag the Northern Border down to hell?
In a fit of sorrow, Wu Libai couldn’t piece together the critical strategy right away.
Just then, Jiang Pengji stirred up her own “trouble.”
Feng Zhen suggested sending someone to negotiate with the enemy across the river—
Jiang Pengji glanced over at Feng Zhen, “War isn’t child’s play; take it easy.”
Though a warning, her tone was oddly indulgent, revealing that she was not angry but rather in agreement.
Feng Zhen chuckled, “We’re just keeping an eye on time; it won’t delay the military’s important matters.”
Meanwhile, Dai Wang in the Northern Border couldn’t believe his ears—what the heck did the guy across the river say?
“Is Liu Xi actively seeking death?”
They’ve been toying with them for nearly two hours, and with lunchtime long gone, the soldiers were stomachs growling.
Just as Dai Wang prepared to sound the retreat and stop playing games with Jiang Pengji, the opposing side sent over a preposterous suggestion.
In essence: Since we’re just standing across the river, taunting each other isn’t yielding any benefits, and nobody’s had lunch yet—what a drag! Why not do this: You command your troops to take a step back, allowing my troops to land and set up their formation for a showdown?
Dai Wang was completely intrigued upon hearing this.
What a great idea!
“We’ll play along, agree to their terms. Once the Liu Thief’s army has landed halfway, we’ll send in our cavalry for the charge! The Liu Thief army will be trapped with no way to advance or retreat, and they will be doomed for sure!”
And about integrity?
In war, who talks about integrity and conscience?
Those with a conscience get themselves killed on the battlefield.
Halencha sensed something amiss but couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong no matter how he thought about it.
Just recently, he had told Dai Wang that if the two armies faced off, their side would definitely outnumber Liu Xi’s thirty thousand vanguard.
If they were to block the enemy from landing now, wouldn’t that be a slap in the face?
With that thought, Halencha fell silent.
Wu Libai, still healing in the rear, was completely livid and fainted.
