Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 108 : Silver

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No wonder it was all so easy tonight! 

In that instant, Shen Zechuan came to an understanding about many matters. He abruptly looked back and was about to blurt it out when he held back and looked at Xiao Chiye. 

“Laohu.” Xiao Chiye said swiftly. “Separate out two thousand men to guard this place. Ding Tao, get on your horse and go around to the northeast of Cizhou. Tell the men lying in ambush to head south immediately and block the road on the southern side of Cizhou. The rest of you, follow me back to the city.” 

This strategy of luring the enemy away from his base had been planned for a long time already. Very likely, it was already in the works before Lei Changming left Mount Luo. Those reports that were sent back to Cizhou from Mount Luo were all vague statements, the most frequent of which was their sightings of the earthen stoves built by the bandits in Mount Luo. This turned the precise number of Lei Changming’s men into a matter of opinion. The mix of truth and falsehood, reality and pretenses, lured them into conveniently guessing that the 40,000 men were just a front. And so, they assumed that the other party would not dare to launch a surprise attack without careful consideration. No one would have expected the other party to harbor no intent to fight with Xiao Chiye head-on at all. 

“It’s impossible for Kong Ling not to recognize Lei Changming.” Shen Zechuan got on the horse using Xiao Chiye’s arms as support. “I suspect at this point that all the rumors about Lei Changming are false. ‘Lei Changming’ is just this person’s ‘shell’.” 

Xiao Chiye tossed the umbrella to Tantai Hu and covered Shen Zechuan up with his cloak. Then he put up his arms and turned his horse around. He said, “It’s useless even if he holds Kong Ling under duress. Most likely, he wants to rely on Kong Ling to open Cizhou’s gate. By doing this, he will be the one inside, and we will be the ones outside.” 

Xiao Chiye was able to fight against Lei Changming’s “40,000 men” all because he still had Cizhou’s granary behind him to back him up. This allowed him to act promptly and swiftly cut down this mixed batch of soldiers who were already weary from being on the go. To think the other side knew their own shortcomings and did not fight with Xiao Chiye head-on. Instead, they drew on their foes’ strength to make up for their own deficiencies and turned Xiao Chiye into a stray dog in the wilderness. They reversed everyone’s initial position, causing the Imperial Army to be stranded outside with access to the military provisions cut off. 

“He has always been in the shadows all this while.” Shen Zechuan said in the wind with his cloak around him. “He knows all our moves like the back of his hand.” 

“Cizhou is not our territory after all. He must have an informer in the city. Yet we know nothing about him.” Xiao Chiye suddenly laughed when he spoke to this point. He tightened his arms around him and said, “This man sure is something!” 

By now, the rain had subsided. Only the night breeze still carried with it a few threads of rain. Horses’ hooves trampled upon mud as they galloped noisily towards Cizhou. However, no matter how fast they were, they could not catch up with the speed of the other party. Kong Ling had already arrived in Cizhou.

Kong Ling had been a weak scholar ever since he came out of obscurity to take up an official post, and he was almost forty-five now. His bones almost fell apart on impact when he reined in his horse, and he could hardly catch his breath as he slid off the horse to the ground. He let the man hold him up in support, then cupped his hands at the man and said, “It’s, it’s all thanks to you this time. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.”