Chapter 224

Chapter 224

On the night of the twenty-eighth of August, Xiao Zhen and General Chen Wang's army set out.

They needed to cover a distance of about 260 miles. Infantry would take three or four days to travel that far, but the cavalry, moving at night and resting during the day, arrived ten miles south of Bald Mountain by the hour of Hai on the last night of the month. To avoid alerting the enemy, two scouts who had already reported back and another Xiao family soldier who had stayed behind to monitor the area had been waiting for some time.

The army stopped to rest, and General Chen Wang gathered his officers to discuss matters with Xiao Zhen and the others.

Xiao Zhen said, "From here, we must abandon our horses and proceed on foot. We'll depart at the hour of Yin and attack before dawn while the enemy is still asleep and unable to mount a defense."

Chen Zhi, General Chen Wang's eldest son, questioned, "If we abandon our horses and the enemy discovers us halfway, and they charge out on horseback, won't we just be sitting targets?"

Xiao Zhen replied, "You're right, sir. That's why I propose leaving ten thousand cavalry to guard the southeast and southwest sides of the mountain. If the enemy is spotted, these ten thousand cavalry will create a diversion by charging forward, making the enemy think we have an ambush set up."

Chen Zhi asked, "How should these ten thousand men be arranged?"

Xiao Yan suddenly threw a pebble to the ground and glared at him. "What do you mean? If you're afraid of dying, you can leave all the Liaozhou troops outside. Our Southern Camp's fifty thousand troops are more than enough! Oh, we’ll let you know when we’re almost done, so you don’t miss out on the glory."

Chen Zhi didn't get angry but merely stared at Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen looked at Chen Wang, smiled, and said, "Tonight, after half a year of planning, I only want to annihilate the main force of the Wu army inside. I have no intention of causing internal conflict with you, General. Trust me, and you can dispatch ten thousand cavalry to guard outside. The rest of the army will enter the mountain simultaneously, and the credit will still be split 60-40 in your favor. If you doubt my night attack plan, you can wait outside with your seventy thousand troops. If I succeed, I'll give you ten percent of the credit. If our Southern Camp brothers are outnumbered and the enemy escapes, you can lead your troops to capture them and claim the top credit with the Emperor."

Though he spoke politely, everyone could hear the sarcasm in his words.

Chen Wang wanted to gain something for nothing, but this battle would decide the success or failure of the campaign against Wu. If he let Xiao Zhen go alone, even if Xiao Zhen succeeded, the Southern Camp's fifty thousand troops would suffer heavy casualties. Xiao Zhen would lose too many soldiers and would only offer Chen Wang ten percent of the credit, not enough to earn his favor with the Emperor.

At this point, with such a high chance of success in the night attack, how could Chen Wang afford to offend Xiao Zhen?

It would be more beneficial for Chen Wang and his sons if Xiao Zhen returned victorious to the capital.

"Nephew, you joke. What kind of relationship do we have? How could I stand by and watch the Southern Camp brothers go into danger alone? Alright, as you suggested, I'll dispatch ten thousand cavalry to guard the southeast and southwest, and the remaining eleven thousand troops will proceed as planned."

Xiao Yan sneered, "Do you have the final say? Should we ask your eldest son's opinion?"

Chen Zhi glared angrily, and Xiao Zhen turned his head to rebuke, "Don't be rude to the general and his son."

Xiao Yan turned away, his face sullen.

The cavalry left to guard were arranged, and the officers lay down to rest on the spot.

At the hour of Yin, the commanders each led their troops to infiltrate Bald Mountain.

There were three mountain passes in total. The Xiao brothers chose the largest one, leading fifty thousand infantry into the mountain and leaving three thousand archers to guard the entrance. Another five thousand or so, the garrison under Qiao Changshun’s command, were ostensibly there to support Xiao Zhen but really to keep him from realizing that the Liaozhou army was letting the Xiao family bear the brunt of the fight.

On the Xiao family's side, including Qiao Changshun, ten commanders entered the mountain in two groups, with archers stationed at the passes.

Xiao Zhen and Chen Wang stayed outside the mountain with Chen Wang's five thousand cavalry, watching the battle unfold from a vantage point on the southeastern slope of Bald Mountain.

At that moment, only one personal guard was by Xiao Zhen's side.

Looking down at the infantry gradually swallowed by the night and then at Xiao Zhen, who sat with ease, Chen Wang shook his head with a smile. "My son is clever, but his excessive caution makes him hesitant and fearful—qualities that don’t serve a commander well in battle."

He sat cross-legged next to Xiao Zhen and chatted casually, "At your age, I was just a low-ranking officer, not like you, already a marquis."

Xiao Zhen replied, "Just luck. Without the Emperor's troops, our family might have been wiped out by various rebel kings long ago."

Chen Wang said, "That's not possible. If anything, you would have wiped out the rebels. With enough power, you could even carve out your own territory and declare yourself king."

Xiao Zhen responded, "General, you flatter us. When we occupied seven counties, General Zhao was watching nearby. If a real fight had broken out, our forty thousand rabble wouldn't have been a match for General Zhao's troops."

Chen Wang suddenly realized: "So, you're not declaring yourselves kings because you're wary of Zhao Liangchen?"

Xiao Zhen smiled faintly. "No, the Xiao Family has never had the ambition to declare ourselves kings. We just want to ensure our survival and secure our position."

Chen Wang thought Xiao Zhen's smile was like a sly fox, holding a rabbit in its jaws while pretending it didn't eat meat.

"It's good that you have ambition," he mused. "With ambition, you wouldn't be blindly loyal to Han Zongping. With ambition, you'd look to reap the benefits of others' conflict and stir the waters to your advantage."

The infantry would take about an hour to reach the mountain pass, which was ten miles away. Xiao Zhen lit a stick of incense, sat for a moment, and then lay back on the grass, hands behind his head.

As the elder, Chen Wang couldn't mimic the younger man's relaxed posture and remained seated upright.

When the incense had finished burning, Xiao Zhen lit another stick.

"With the wind tonight, the incense will burn faster," Chen Wang observed.

"After three sticks, they must have entered the mountain," Xiao Zhen replied.

Noticing Xiao Zhen gazing intently at the night sky, Chen Wang tried to strike up a conversation again. "What are you thinking about?"

"Wheat stalks," Xiao Zhen said.

"Wheat stalks?"

Xiao Zhen didn't offer any explanation.

Restless from sitting, Chen Wang stood up and paced for a while before sitting down beside Xiao Zhen again.

When the second incense was halfway burned, sudden shouts of killing erupted from Bald Mountain.

Just as Chen Wang was about to stand, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned around and saw Xiao Zhen using his strength to rise.

Chen Wang didn't think much of it, waiting for Xiao Zhen to let go. But instead of releasing him, Xiao Zhen wrapped his arm around Chen Wang's shoulder and pressed a dagger to his throat.

Chen Wang was stunned.

"Have your personal soldiers go and bring over the 5,000 troops from the southwest," Xiao Zhen ordered.

"You..."

Xiao Zhen applied pressure, causing Chen Wang to feel a sharp pain, followed by the sensation of blood trickling down his neck.

"Give the order," Xiao Zhen demanded.

Chen Wang swallowed, calmed himself for a moment, and then spoke to the soldiers who had realized something was wrong and were gathering around. "Go find Liu Wu and have him bring everyone over."

Xiao Zhen looked at the soldier and said, "If you plan to run into the mountain to warn them, I can guarantee that your general's head will hit the ground before you even get close."

The soldier had no choice but to obey.

Shortly after, Liu Wu led 5,000 cavalry troops to surround Xiao Zhen and Chen Wang.

"Everyone, rest assured," Xiao Zhen said. "I'm only concerned that the three young masters might ambush my 50,000 troops inside the mountain. By dawn, if they come out together, I will apologize to General Chen. However, if only the Liaozhou troops come out, don't blame me if I choose to go down with General Chen."

Chen Wang finally understood why Xiao Zhen had taken action and quickly said, "Nephew, don't worry. I have no intention of harming you..."

"I only trust results," Xiao Zhen interrupted. "If you truly want to reassure me, have these men dismount and quickly go support my two detachments."

As he spoke, the dagger pressed further into Chen Wang's neck.

Chen Wang was in real pain and had no mood to bargain, so he quickly waved his hand to send the ten thousand soldiers into the mountain.

Liu Wu questioned, "Wouldn't it be faster if we rode our horses instead?"

Xiao Zhen kept the dagger pressed firmly against Chen Wang's neck.

Chen Wang cursed, "When the Marquis tells you to dismount, you dismount. If you dare to utter another word, I'll kill you myself!"

Liu Wu had no choice but to turn the ten thousand cavalry into foot soldiers and run towards Bald Mountain.

Xiao Zhen's soldiers lit another incense stick and then drove the ten thousand warhorses to the side.

After about two hours, as the first light appeared on the horizon and Liu Wu's ten thousand men disappeared behind the mountain paths, a distinct sound of horse hooves approached from behind Xiao Zhen and Chen Wang.

Chen Wang wanted to turn his head, but Xiao Zhen pressed his neck, not allowing him to move.

The sound of hooves grew closer, and several riders headed towards them, while the remaining vast number of about forty to fifty thousand cavalry surrounded Bald Mountain completely.

Chen Wang finally saw the person standing opposite him.

Feng Ji bent over, hands on his knees, looked at Xiao Zhen and then Chen Wang, and asked Chen Wang with a smile, "How is it? Are you enjoying the benefits of following Lord Xiao into battle?"

Chen Wang's face turned ashen.

Feng Ji personally tied Chen Wang up securely, then patted Xiao Zhen's shoulder hard and said, "He was just pretending to follow you for credit, but this time I'm genuinely following you for credit. If you hadn't manipulated the Chen family into following you, our plan to lure the enemy into an ambush wouldn't have worked."

Xiao Zhen smiled and said, "Duke, your words are too kind. We planned this together. Without your seven thousand troops disguised as the main U army, Chen Wang's forces wouldn't have followed me into the mountain. If you hadn't arrived with reinforcements in time, my brothers inside the mountain and I wouldn't have been able to subdue those seventy thousand Liaozhou troops."

Feng Ji said, "I only provided the troops; the strategy was all yours. No wonder the Emperor praised 'Qi Yong Xiao Mou.' The Xiao elder was formidable, but you, Marquis Xiao, are even better."

Xiao Zhen said, "It's all thanks to the Duke's trust. Without it, I would have just been talking empty words."

Feng Ji said, "Enough, we're both serving the Emperor, so let's not divide it so clearly. Come on, let's go up the mountain and take a look."

The two of them, along with Chen Wang, who was tightly bound, went to Bald Mountain.

Inside Bald Mountain, Feng Ji's seven thousand troops disguised as the U army and the Xiao family's five thousand troops had already cornered the seventy thousand Liaozhou troops into a central lowland.

If it were cavalry against cavalry, the Liaozhou troops could still run, but now surrounded and outnumbered, how could seventy thousand hope to win against one hundred twenty thousand?

The two imperial forces only surrounded them without attacking, so the Chen family's three brothers didn't rush to break out.

Suddenly, Xiao Ye pointed to the mountain behind the three brothers and laughed loudly.

The three brothers turned back to see their father being held by Feng Ji, his neck covered in blood.

Feng Ji didn't look at the brothers but directly addressed the seventy thousand Liaozhou troops, "Brothers of Liaozhou, since the Emperor took the throne, poor farmers in the northern regions have been allocated land, and soldiers in various garrisons have been receiving their full military salaries. Just as we were all starting to enjoy better lives, the Chen family, with their wolfish ambitions, tried to drag you into resisting the imperial court. When the real fighting starts, they hide behind the army to enjoy themselves, while you, the soldiers, are the ones who charge forward and shed blood!"

The Liaozhou soldiers fell silent.

The Chen brothers were about to speak when Xiao Zhen stepped forward and looked down at them, saying, "Chen Zhi, Chen Xin, and Chen Ren, if I wanted your lives, I would only need to promise the Liaozhou soldiers high positions and wealth, and they would do the job for me. However, considering that you and your father haven't yet made an irreversible mistake, if you surrender, General Feng and I will plead for mercy on your behalf in front of the Emperor, at least sparing the lives of your entire Chen family."

Feng Ji added, "The Emperor values loyalty and righteousness. Considering your years of frontier defense and support, he will surely spare your family."

The three Chen brothers either gritted their teeth or clenched their fists in frustration.

Chen Wang, standing high up, looking at the seventy thousand Liaozhou troops surrounded by one hundred twenty thousand imperial forces, knew that even if they broke through the encirclement, there were still fifty thousand cavalry waiting outside. The situation was hopeless, and his family had no other choice.

"I surrender! I, Chen Wang, admit defeat!"