knife

Chapter 292 A single misstep leads to being bound hand and foot.

The room was filled with a chilly atmosphere, yet the faint smell of burning sulfur lingered. The alternating hot and cold sensations were unbearable for most people, but those inside seemed to have grown accustomed to it.

The space beneath the couch where Kou Zhong was sitting cross-legged had been hollowed out, and two square, black stones had been placed inside. These stones had been moved from the fifth basement level of the Black Ice Platform.

If it weren't for the Black Ice Stone helping Kou Zhong suppress the fire poison in his body, he wouldn't have been able to stay in Luoyang for so long.

The amount of black ice that could be brought out was ultimately limited. During this period, the fire poison in Kou Zhong's body clearly showed signs of resurgence, to the point that Kou Zhong's speech even had a sulfurous smell.

“Great Magistrate, ten days ago, the rebels appeared around Luoyang. Now, both the land and water routes have been completely cut off by them!” Zhang Quanyi said, “Rumors are spreading throughout Luoyang. This cannot continue.”

"Yes, Magistrate, grain prices in the city have been rising several times a day. Today, the price of grain is ten times higher than it was a month ago, and many families can no longer afford to buy grain!" Crown Prince Li Tai, sitting opposite Zhang Quanyi, also looked worried: "We dare not touch the Ever-Normal Granary, as it is necessary to ensure the needs of the army. I personally went to persuade those wealthy merchants to stabilize grain prices, but they all made excuses and promised to provide grain that would have no effect on the price of grain!"

"So?" Kou Zhong asked expressionlessly, looking at the two people in front of him.

"Grand Magistrate, we must take the initiative!" Zhang Quanyi stood up and said loudly, "Defense alone will not yield any results. Luoyang is so large, and the only troops with fighting power and willing to fight to the death for the court are my 50,000 men. It sounds like a lot, but if they are scattered throughout Luoyang, they are really not that many. As for the other troops in the city, to be honest, the Crown Prince and I not only dare not trust them, but we also have to keep a close eye on them."

Li Tai smiled bitterly and said, "That's right, Magistrate. If someone hadn't been condoning this, how could He Zudao, this traitor, have arrived so quickly? Starting from Wei County, he reached the outskirts of Luoyang in just three days. Were all the soldiers along the way dead?"

"Of course they're not dead, they just want to sit back and reap the benefits!" Kou Zhong said coldly, "How do you plan to fight?"

"Your Excellency, the bandit He's army is attacking in three parts. The first is five thousand men led by Feng Congwen, coming from the left flank. Although this army is small in number, its officers are mostly scions of prominent families from Hedong, and its soldiers are primarily private soldiers from these families, making them extremely powerful. The right flank is nearly twenty thousand men led by Yang Lixin, a bandit leader from Hedong. Although they appear numerous, their actual fighting strength is somewhat inferior to Feng Congwen's. These bandits are unruly in battle; they rush in when the wind is favorable and flee at the first sign of trouble when it's unfavorable. They are skilled at looting and causing chaos, but their actual fighting style is utterly disorganized!"

"So you're planning to target Yang Lixin first?"

“Yes, Your Excellency!” Zhang Quanyi said, “He Zudao of the central route now has 30,000 men under his command, based on his 5,000 garrison troops. His strength is even greater than that of Feng Congwen. Therefore, I want to leave the city and first do my best to eliminate Yang Lixin’s troops. In this way, we can boost the morale of our army, enhance the prestige of the court, and also make some unscrupulous people in Luoyang behave themselves.”

Kou Zhong nodded slightly.

"Under the current circumstances, taking the initiative could catch the enemy off guard! However, given He Zudao's temperament, once he discovers that you are at war with Yang Lixin, he will absolutely not care about Yang Lixin's life or death, but will instead lead his troops to attack the undefended Luoyang!"

"With the Grand Prefect in charge of Luoyang, what can He Zudao do even if he comes?" Yang Quanyi laughed. "I will lead 30,000 newly formed troops with the Crown Prince to wipe out Yang Lixin, and the other 20,000 to defend the city. After I defeat Yang Lixin's forces, I will immediately turn around and attack He Zudao. At that time, we will attack from both sides of the city and make He Zudao suffer a terrible defeat."

"Is the Crown Prince also preparing to leave the city to fight personally?" Kou Zhong asked.

"Your Excellency, my presence on this campaign will surely boost morale. Besides, I am a Xuan Yuan Eighth Grade cultivator, capable of killing enemies. Rest assured, Your Excellency, when the army marches out, I will not dare to overstep my bounds or interfere with General Zhang's command. I will simply act as a general charging into battle before General Zhang!"

Kou Zhong waved his hand: "Go, Your Highness, Zhang Quanyi. Now we can only win, not lose. If things don't go our way, we must make a decision immediately. You are right, holding out is not the solution. An attack might yield some results. He is just a knife, being used to test us. If we can break this knife, we can have some peace and quiet for a while."

"Great Magistrate, I'll go and make the arrangements!" Zhang Quanyi said excitedly. He was a general who believed in solving all problems through offense, and he scoffed at the idea that most people wanted to use Luoyang as a cover because they were afraid of He Zudao.

Being passively attacked is never a good approach.

Moreover, with people's hearts in turmoil, who knows how many people in the city might want to become He Zudao's inside man?

Although these people were not He Zudao's men, they all hoped that He Zudao would conquer Luoyang.

"Be careful, I hope we lose a lot! He Zudao is indeed an excellent general!" Kou Zhong instructed.

"Don't worry, Magistrate, I'll make everyone think I went out of the city to see He Zudao!" Zhang Quanyi laughed. "I'm quite good at deceiving people!"

No matter how good Zhang Quanyi was at deceiving people, his true purpose in sending troops was revealed to He Zudao's camp on the very first day after he led his army away from Luoyang, by a fast horseman.

Upon reading the secret letter, He Zudao burst into laughter. The other generals in the tent also joined in the laughter. "Zhang Quanyi has only been leading troops for a few days? How dare he show off his limited skills in front of the Great General! It's utterly laughable!" Chen Jianren laughed so hard he almost fell over. "Little did he know that when we were still in Wei County, the Great General had already guessed exactly what he was going to do."

He Zudao glanced at Yang Lixin on the far side: "Lixin, you see? In other people's eyes, you're a pushover, and they all want to take advantage of you!"

Yang Lixin's face turned red, but he had nothing to say. He knew his own situation; his troops were indeed much weaker than those of the central army and Feng Congwen's forces.

They were all gangsters before, so they hadn't received much formal training. Moreover, the strict control in the military was torture for them. Quite a few people had deserted along the way, and the force still numbers around 20,000, a significant portion of whom were young men captured to make up the numbers.

“Everything is going according to plan, so let’s proceed according to plan!” He Zudao laughed. “Lixin, have you made up your mind yet? Are you coming with me or not? If you still want to stay in the North, I won’t force you. I can let Feng Congwen go, so why not you? I consider you a brother! But from now on, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”

Yang Lixin said, "General, I've made up my mind. Although it's hard to leave one's homeland, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive here if you leave. I'm not very bright, I only have brute strength, so I might as well go south with you! I've heard that the rice in the south is quite delicious!"

Laughter echoed from inside the house again.

"General Yang, in the south, not only is the rice delicious, but there are also many other delicacies, and even more beautiful and charming young girls. Just one word from them can make your bones melt!" Ke Wuji, waving his pipe, acted disrespectfully of his age, causing Chen Wan, who was standing behind him, to blush.

He Zudao led troops for decades, and his experience is indeed unmatched by ordinary people.

At the outset of the campaign, he guessed that the Luoyang garrison would take the initiative to attack, and that their target would definitely be Yang Lixin's seemingly disorganized band of outlaws.

Therefore, a total of 5,000 men belonging to He Zudao's personal guard were secretly incorporated into this chaotic bandit army. He Zudao even decided to personally go to Yang Lixin's troops to take charge.

The easy target Zhang Quanyi wanted to bully turned out to be a thorn in his side when they actually met, and he was bound to get stabbed and bleed.

"Feng Kuan, you lead our main force and continue to advance towards Luoyang in a big way. Jianren, you also need to urge Feng Congwen to speed up. He has a pillar of strength there. He has been with me for a year or two. Since we want to part ways amicably, we have to take some concrete actions."

"He's going to his new master to curry favor and receive a reward, and capturing Luoyang would be the best gift for that!" Chen Jianren said. "General, it seems the Hong and Yang families have chosen Linghu Ye this time! If this is made public, Linghu Ye's value will skyrocket!"

"Then we'll show them what it means to be completely blind!" Ke Wuji tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe. "With our full support, General, once we've taken over the eight southern towns, we'll see how these wealthy families behave!"

Everyone smiled knowingly.

"Go on with your own business, and we'll meet again in Luoyang!" He Zudao said, standing up.

Stepping out of the tent, Ke Wuji's expression was somewhat complicated.

He Zudao's military talent was once again on full display. He had calculated his opponent perfectly and made arrangements in advance. Yang Lixin's seemingly chaotic army was a trap. Only when you fall in will you realize it, but by then, it will be too late.

If He Zudao's brilliance was overshadowed by his father He Qiku in the Eight Towns of the South, then from the Battle of Hedong onwards, everyone has finally realized that, on a tactical level, He Zudao is even more cunning and treacherous than his father.

This person was indeed an outstanding figure of his generation.

Just thinking about what that mysterious master had said that night made his heart heavy again.

Is He Zudao really the kind of person he described?
Is Li Dachui truly the posthumous child of the Holy Maiden Qingqiu?

What is the situation like outside the Great Wall?
He hoped that the people he sent out would quickly bring back the answers he wanted.

(End of this chapter)