Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 394: Probing
"Hehe... My decision to hold back is not only due to these concerns, but more importantly, it's to lull the enemy into a false sense of security so that I can win with minimal losses." Chen Qingzhi, however, wasn't as pessimistic as he seemed, and said calmly:
"The military genius Han Xin believed that the more soldiers the better. I don't have Han Xin's talent, so I can only believe that quality is more important than quantity. I have used this time to train two thousand elite soldiers, which is enough to defeat the enemy. As for the rest, they love to watch the show, so let them watch us win."

His so-called two thousand elite soldiers were basically composed of officers and soldiers from the Gouchen Division and those who came from the Gouchen Division; he couldn't muster any more than that.

That's the reality of the military. Without your own ironclad defense, even a dragon has to coil up, and a tiger has to lie low.

"Great! Their expressions will definitely be interesting then," Ren Yuan laughed. "When do we make our move?"

“It will be soon,” Chen Qingzhi replied. “Yuan Jian won the battle in one fell swoop, and seeing that we are slow to come out, he will surely think that we are afraid of fighting. He will become arrogant and careless, and will be less vigilant. As long as we find a good opportunity to launch a surprise attack, we will definitely be able to defeat the Wei army!”

"But this is just my guess. As the commander-in-chief, I can't make decisions based on mere conjecture." He then changed the subject, looking intently at Ren Yuan, and said, "Your responsibility is to verify my guess and help me find the best breakthrough!"

"Yes, sir!" Ren Yuan's expression brightened. He was completely out of his depth when it came to military campaigns, but when it came to espionage and infiltration, he was an absolute expert.

The day after receiving his orders, the newly appointed commander of the Imperial Guard, Yuan, led his elite cavalry in a full-scale attack, engaging in a thrilling chase with the Northern Dynasty's scouts, the Wolf Fang Scouts, on the river-crisscrossed plains of Xuzhou...

~~
Spring returns to the earth, and the Xuzhou Plain is bursting with life. White butterflies flutter among the scattered wildflowers, simple yet still beautiful...

Suddenly, a series of rapid hoofbeats shattered the wildflowers scattered on the ground, kicking up choking dust.

The few Northern Dynasty scouts, driven off the main road by the large number of Southern Dynasty cavalry, fled into the wilderness and then down to the riverbank.

"Scatter!" Yang Zhong led his men in close pursuit, their sword sheaths striking the saddles.

His twenty-four riders suddenly split into three groups: eight riders on each side flanked the river bend, while the remaining eight spurred their horses and charged down the riverbank.

It wasn't the rainy season yet, and the river was only up to the horses' knees. Wolf Fang scouts could have easily crossed the riverbank and escaped. However, their horses suddenly got stuck in the mud, and no matter how much Wolf Fang scouts urged them on, they neighed and couldn't pull their legs out.

"We've fallen for their magic!" The captain of the Wolf Fang scouts acted decisively upon seeing this. "Abandon the horse!"

Upon receiving the order, the six northern riders simultaneously crushed the bone talismans hanging around their necks, and a ten-foot-high earthen wall instantly erupted from the ground—they were actually trying to escape using the 'Earth Dragon Escape' technique!

"Want to leave? No way!" Yang Zhong sneered, pushed with both hands, and used the Xuanwu Divine Power to instantly turn the earthen wall into a stone wall!
Caught off guard, the Wolf Fang scouts were trapped inside the wall. Even their captain had his arm embedded in the wall.

Ren Yuan's order was to capture the entire team, or at least capture a portion and kill the rest; in short, no one should be left alive to escape and report back.

But the Northern Dynasty's Wolf Fang scouts were also the most loyal and brave elite. The captain was extremely fierce; he actually drew his sword and severed his own arm without hesitation.

The arm was severed cleanly, and blood mist gushed from both ends.

The body of the Wolf Fang scout captain also vanished into the blood mist.

Only one severed arm remains, still embedded in the stone wall...

"We can't let him get away!" Yang Zhong shouted anxiously. The scouts drew their bows to their fullest extent and charged forward. However, although all their magic arrows pierced through the blood mist, they missed the scout.

"Damn it, another failed attempt!" Yang Zhong was furious. The Blood Escape technique, which resembled a gecko shedding its tail, was the most powerful kind of escape technique, leaving everyone helpless.

However, at this moment, flames suddenly rose everywhere, the air was filled with fire, and there were loud explosions!
Immediately afterwards, a figure engulfed in flames fell from mid-air with a scream.

The scouts were overjoyed to see that the man was missing an arm. They rushed over, extinguished the flames on his body, and bound him tightly with demon-binding ropes. Then, when they turned him around, they saw that it was indeed the escaped scout captain.

Yang Zhong looked across the river at Chen Baxian, who was still in the same pose as the man holding a torch to the sky, his face clearly saying, "Come and praise me!" He could only mutter, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. It's only right for an older brother to help his younger brother," Chen Baxian said with a smug smile.

~~
After Yang Zhong brought the captured entire group of Northern Dynasty scouts back to the camp, Ren Yuan immediately ordered Zu An to interrogate them and find out the details of the enemy camp.

He went even further and used his great supernatural power—the River of Oblivion—to launch a mental attack on several scouts, making them believe that they were Liang army spies infiltrating the Wei army.

Without any torture, he simply spilled everything he knew...

After the interrogation, Ren Yuan and his companions disguised themselves as the Wolf Fang scouts and walked back to the Wei army camp, supporting each other.

As darkness fell and the camp gates were about to close, Ren Yuan shouted "Wait a minute!" while leading his men in a frantic run, managing to enter the camp just before the gates closed.

"What's going on with you guys?" The officer guarding the gate looked Ren Yuan and his group over. Although they were all covered in dust and dirt, they were indeed the wolf-tooth scouts from the 'Wang' squad.

"Don't even mention it. We ran into Liang's scouts, whose numbers outnumbered ours several times over. We had to use every ounce of our strength to shake them off," Ren Yuan, disguised as the leader of a scout squad, replied gruffly.

"In the end, he had no choice but to abandon his horse and crush the dominoes that saved his life, and only then did he escape using the Earth Dragon Escape technique."

The officer noticed that the dominoes around their necks were indeed broken.

"It's good that everyone is alright." He then completely stopped doubting the identities of these people and even offered them a few words of comfort.

"Thank you very much." Ren Yuan said his thanks and led his men into the Wei army camp.

Dinner is being served in the camp right now...

The Wei soldiers sat on the ground in twos and threes, using their helmets to hold thin, watery porridge and soaking unpalatable bran cakes, eating and cursing as they ate.

"This isn't horse feed, so why are people eating it every day?"

"I haven't been able to poop for days, my stomach is bloated like a ball, but I'm still so hungry that I'm dizzy."

"Damn it! Everyone says the emperor doesn't starve his soldiers, but he's making us fight on this stuff?!"

"War, what a load of crap..."

"Alright, that's enough." The officer scolded them, "The army came in a hurry and didn't bring much supplies. Even the prince is starving with you. What do you have to complain about?"

He paused, then softened his tone and said, "Once we take Pengcheng, you'll be living the high life, eating and drinking like royalty, and playing with women however you like!"

"What, you think you can be so presumptuous?" Upon hearing this, the soldiers' eyes gleamed in the darkness, resembling a pack of skinny, hungry wolves.

“Of course, the people of Pengcheng who joined the bandits are equally guilty,” the officer nodded.

"There's still some hope." Only then did the soldiers stop complaining and eat the unpalatable pig feed.

(End of this chapter)