Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 459 The Mysterious Woman Reappears (10,000 words)
As evening approached, the sky gradually darkened.

The setting sun painted the sky red, bathing the entire Beiling County in a warm, rosy glow.

The north wind was howling, bringing a slight chill.

Song Yan's expression was somewhat gloomy.

After all, a large number of Imperial Guards were withdrawn, and those remaining were simply insufficient to gather all the intelligence; the information they could obtain was extremely limited. According to the intelligence Song Yan originally possessed, Agsang was tyrannical and cut from the same cloth as Abal, and his massacres of cities had never ceased.

However, the information received in Beiling County was different. According to Zhang Han, that Agsang was obviously more difficult to deal with.

He understands human nature very well.

Whether it's defiling women or killing one's own people.

Those are unforgivable sins. Whether they were trying to save their own lives or for their wives and daughters, when these Han Chinese raised their knives or pounced on women, they had already severed themselves from their own people and could only survive by clinging to Agsang.

Song Yan pursed her lips, trying her best to remain calm: "Zhang Han, you are most familiar with the situation here. How do you suggest we fight this battle? Where should we fight it?"

"Should we garrison Beiling and fight a defensive battle, or should we fight our way out?"

Although Song Yan enjoyed fighting and considered himself to be somewhat capable in military operations, he was not the kind of person who acted arbitrarily.

Zhang Han thought about it carefully for a moment, then slowly said, "What I mean is to fight our way out."

"We can't wait for Agsang to come. Every time Agsang occupies a county, his troops will increase, which is extremely disadvantageous for us. By the time Agsang takes both counties, his army will probably exceed 100,000."

"Even though the so-called Han slave army is just able-bodied young people who have not received formal training and are not strong in combat, they are still a problem for us. Our brothers will not hesitate to kill the Xiongnu, the Japanese pirates, or the Jurchens, but they will be somewhat resistant to using their own people, and their morale will inevitably be affected."

"Therefore, we must take the initiative and, before the Han slave army has gained momentum, completely crush Agsang."

"As for the location, Huangshiguan can be chosen."

Song Yan glanced at the map: "Why choose this location?"

“We are still quite far from Shaping County. By the time we get there, Shaping County will probably have already been taken by Agsang.” Zhang Han pointed at the map and spoke eloquently: “After capturing a county, Agsang will most likely rest in that county for three days before continuing his journey.”

“In the past, we could only fight a siege battle.”

"We have too few troops; to be honest, it's not suitable for attacking a city."

Song Yan nodded. Generally speaking, in a siege, the attacking side's forces must be at least two to three times that of the defending side to have a chance of capturing the city. Of course, this is calculated in a normal way; situations such as having an inside agent or turning the enemy's generals against them are not taken into account.

On Zhang Han's side, even if Song Yan joins them, their total strength is less than half of the enemy's. With such a small force, the losses in a siege would be incalculable.

"What if we use a thunderbolt to blast open the city gates?" Song Yan thought for a moment and then said.

“That will certainly work. Once the city gates are breached, we can engage in street fighting within the city,” Zhang Han continued. “We are more adept at this.”

"The Xiongnu cavalry were skilled in open field battles, while the Han army had not undergone systematic training and was seriously lacking in combat effectiveness."

“Even in a head-on confrontation, taking them down shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” After a pause, Zhang Han continued, “However, as I said before, we are outnumbered. Even if we win in street fighting, we will be outgunned, and our men will inevitably suffer heavy losses. This is not a good thing for you, Lord Marquis.”

“But Huangshi Pass is different.” Zhang Han pointed to the location on the map: “Huangshi Pass is the only way from Anzhou to Beiling.”

"The so-called Huangshi Pass is a huge canyon. As long as we occupy the mountain peaks on both sides of the canyon in advance and block the exit, once Agsang's army enters Huangshi Pass, they will be trapped like turtles in a jar with no way to escape. At that time, the rain of arrows and rolling stones will kill these people, and our losses will be minimized."

"Can't we go around it?" Song Yan asked after thinking for a moment.

“Yes, but the journey is long and it will take many days.” Zhang Han picked up the water bottle and gulped down two mouthfuls to moisten his dry throat. “We can go around to the north, but that’s the northern snowfield, and the journey is even more difficult. It would take at least a month to get around.”

"To the south, there is a river, and you can bypass Huangshi Pass by following the river."

"This place will take a little less time, but it will still take about fifteen days."

"The Xiongnu have always been swift in their fighting style. On the one hand, they don't have much food and mainly rely on plunder to maintain their military supplies. On the other hand, the Xiongnu cavalry need to maintain high mobility and are not suitable for staying in one place for too long. Therefore, I am certain that Agsang will choose to go through Huangshi Pass."

Zhang Han shared his analysis.

It must be said that Zhang Han has a very good grasp of the battlefield situation.

However, he forgot to take the head coach's personality into account, which is a very serious oversight.

“If we ambush our men in the woods beside the river, Agsang will probably choose to take the river,” Song Yan said after thinking for a moment.

Zhang Han raised his head, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

“You also said that the Xiongnu’s fighting style has always been to come and go like the wind, but this is obviously not suitable for Agsang. Agsang is exceptionally calm in battle. He does not pursue the acquisition of a large amount of territory in a short period of time, but rather... takes one step at a time, and wants to completely turn every place he conquers into his own rear.”

"A place like Huangshi Pass is obviously very suitable for an ambush. Given Agsang's personality, he will most likely choose to avoid it. Even if he doesn't avoid it, he will conduct a thorough reconnaissance in advance. If there is even the slightest abnormality, Agsang will definitely turn back."

"Moreover, Agsang has completely taken control of these counties, so he should not be short of food now, and therefore he will not be concerned about efficiency."

"Of course, we also need to have people keep an eye on Huangshi Pass and prepare thunderbolts. If Agsang really wants to pass through Huangshi Pass, we can just detonate the thunderbolts. Even if we can't blow up all the mountains on both sides, shaking down some rocks will be more than enough to block Huangshi Pass."

Zhang Han nodded, seemingly agreeing with Song Yan's opinion.

"Where is this place?" Song Yan traced the river with his finger, stopping a little upstream where there was a trapezoidal mark on the map.

"This river is the Laolin River...and this place is the Laolin Dam."

"It is a dam on the upper reaches of the Laolin River, mainly used for water storage and irrigation."

Song Yan nodded slightly, his finger sliding down the old Lin River again: "Are there any people living on both sides of this riverbank?"

"Originally, there was such a thing, but the Laolin River floods almost every year, and villages are often submerged by floods. Especially in the spring, the snow and ice accumulated throughout the winter melt, and some snowmelt from the northern desert flows into the Laolin River, causing the river's flow to surge, and then there is flooding."

"Therefore, the people who originally lived on both sides of the Laolin River moved a little further away, and the land on both sides of the river was used as farmland. After all, the farmland after the flood was really fertile, and it always yielded a good harvest."

Song Yan nodded, emphasizing the map twice with his finger: "In that case, let's move on to Laolinba..."

"Exploded!"

Gudong.

The expressions of Zhang Zhen and his son Zhang Han, as well as Lei Yi, Wang Chao, and Ma Han, all changed.

For people of this era, blowing up dikes and causing floods is an absolutely despicable act, and they still uphold certain moral beliefs. Even if they win a war using such methods, it would be an unfair victory, and they are fundamentally averse to it.

But it's perfectly normal for such a thing to happen to Song Yan, after all, this man had just burned Dehua a few days ago, killing 60,000 Xiongnu soldiers in the process.

“Remember, we are facing the Xiongnu.” Song Yan understood their thoughts and said slowly, “Think about what Anzhou Prefecture looks like now, think about how many cities in Anzhou Prefecture have been slaughtered. They cannot be considered human beings; they are just a group of ferocious beasts.”

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed again.

The slight moral condemnation I felt deep inside vanished instantly. Yes.

The Xiongnu were beasts.

Since they are beasts, it's not too much to deal with them by any means, right?

"Once the old forest dam is bombed, the flood will sweep down and probably take some people away. Those who survive will probably run desperately up the mountain."

“Arrange for a group of flexible people to hide on the other side of the mountain. When these people escape to the mountain, set the mountain on fire.”

"At that time, there will be both floods and fires."

"We should let these Xiongnu wolf cubs taste what it means to be..."

"A world of fire and water!"

Song Yan chuckled. After a whole winter, the mountain was full of fallen leaves, withered grass, and tree branches. Plus, the past few days had been sunny, so starting a fire was all too easy.

Unfortunately, it's water and fire, not ice and fire.

Otherwise it would be even more exciting.

Zhang Zhen and Zhang Han were both stunned. They looked at Song Yan, then silently looked at the map in front of them. Their fingers felt numb, and beads of sweat appeared on their palms.

This tactic truly leaves Agsang with absolutely no chance of survival.

That's incredibly ruthless.

However, considering the crimes committed by the Xiongnu, they do deserve to be opponents like the Marquis.

"Alright." Song Yan clapped his hands, bringing everyone back to their senses: "Next, we need to discuss how to avoid the problem of leading the army out of bounds... I'm sure I won't be punished, but I'm afraid of trouble."

"Is there any excuse that can shut up those civil officials in the court?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Han and Lei Yi exchanged a glance, both able to see the strangeness in each other's eyes. Clearly, they had already considered this issue beforehand. However, a strange smile suddenly appeared on Zhang Han's face: "Lord Marquis, why bother blocking it?"

"The Xiongnu army attacked, and Anzhou fell."

"The Marquis could not bear the suffering of the people, so he led his army to fight against the Xiongnu and subjugated Anzhou Prefecture."

"Because the prefect, governor, and many county magistrates of Anzhou Prefecture have all died in battle, there is no one to govern Anzhou Prefecture. Therefore, the Marquis has no choice but to reluctantly merge Anzhou Prefecture into Pingyang Prefecture and temporarily manage it."

"Your Excellency's actions are aimed at restoring the people's livelihood and preventing the Xiongnu from invading again, which is truly a great act of kindness."

"Even if you argue until the heavens break, who can say anything wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yan was stunned.

Good heavens, merging Anzhou into Pingyang, this kid really dares to dream.

In this way, the entire northern part of Ningguo became Song Yan's territory. It would be unreasonable not to bestow upon him the title of Marquis of Zhenbei or King of Zhenbei.

In essence, it was equivalent to a warlord regime that controlled a region.

Their territory, influence, and military strength are all far beyond what they used to be.

Zhang Zhen's mouth dropped open. He instinctively wanted to scold Zhang Han. This idea was too outrageous. What was the difference between this behavior and rebellion? But he swallowed the words back. He knew his son's thoughts. He used to think it was outrageous, but perhaps because he had heard it so many times, he didn't seem to be as resistant as before.

Wang Chao, Ma Han, and the others remained calm, clearly having known about Zhang Han and Lei Yi's plans for some time.

“My lord, there’s really no need to worry. The court will definitely agree.” Zhang Han said with a smile, “On the one hand, even if the court is unwilling, there’s simply no way to deal with it.”

"The Marquis can take the initiative to write a memorial to the court, requesting that a new prefect be appointed to take over Anzhou Prefecture, but probably no civil official would be willing to come and die."

"On the other hand, the Marquis has occupied the northern part of Ningguo, which can be considered as completely blocking Ningguo from the Xiongnu and Jurchen. From now on, apart from the Japanese pirates along the coast, Ningguo will no longer have to worry about foreign invasions."

"The Marquis has expanded his territory, but he has also taken on corresponding dangers."

"The imperial court, unless they're idiots, will never refuse."

"The Marquis's title may be promoted again."

The military conference concluded in this friendly atmosphere.

Zhang Han went to arrange the soldiers brought by Song Yan.

Song Yan then stayed temporarily at the county government office, so that he could discuss any urgent military matters with Zhang Han and the others at any time.

After several days of continuous work, even Song Yan felt a little tired. However, before that, Song Yan made sure to settle the eldest prince, Abalu, the former governor of Anzhou, Ma Zhifeng, and the talkative steward.

For Song Yan, Abal was still somewhat useful.

When Song Yan told Abal that he wanted to take revenge, he wasn't just talking. Some of the information Abal had revealed was extremely valuable to Song Yan. In order to get Abal to talk, Song Yan even arranged for someone to ride a fast horse back to Pingyang to bring back Granny Liang, who was at the Grandmaster level.

Moreover, he had previously promised Ma Zhifeng that he would deliver half an inch a day, and he couldn't go back on his word.

Before that, he was first thrown into the dungeon of Beiling County and guarded by a large number of people.

After doing all this, Song Yan went back to her room to rest.

The room was simple.

A bed, a table, a chair—that's all. The conditions here are indeed rather poor.

The oil lamp lit up with a flame the size of a soybean, which swayed as someone walked by.

Inside the room was a large wooden tub filled with water. Song Yan removed his armor and inner lining and crawled inside.

Warm water flowed down my body, washing away dirt and fatigue.

Song Yan leaned against the bathtub, feeling completely relaxed.

Just as Song Yan was enjoying herself, she heard a whoosh and a gust of wind swept in from outside, causing the temperature in the room to drop slightly in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, the flame of the oil lamp flickered and then went out abruptly.

This unexpected turn of events caused Song Yan's expression to become extremely stiff.

This scene... why does it feel so familiar?

I think I've encountered this before!
(End of this chapter)