“Tianfeng has always been arrogant, relying on their elephant army. Our besieging without attacking is also a way to deceive Tianfeng!” Shen Kunyang said.
After hearing Bai Qingyu and Shen Kunyang’s words, Yang Wuce and Bai Jinzhi suddenly understood.
Bai Qingyan smiled and said: “So, if Tianfeng wants to send envoys to meet with me, you may let them through without obstruction! How to negotiate… stabilizing them while finding a suitable excuse to attack the city tomorrow and catch them off guard will depend on Liu Rushi.”
“Bai Jinzhi receives the command!” Bai Jinzhi clenched her jaw. Though the battle hadn’t yet begun, she was already extremely excited.
“Yang Wuce receives the command!”
Bai Qingyan’s gaze fell on Bai Jinzhi: “Bai Jinzhi, you’ll lead the Shouyang Army elite trained by Ji Tingyu to attack the city. Tomorrow’s siege must reach the city walls within one hour! At this time, Tianfeng should not yet have reacted, and will certainly think it’s because of yesterday’s sudden attack by Tianfeng that Great Zhou is retaliating. They’ll still harbor hopes of leasing cities from the Great Zhou and Yan, won’t resist stubbornly, but will flee! Forcing them out of the city… is your primary task. Can you do it?”
Bai Qingyan wanted to strike first while Tianfeng hadn’t yet reacted!
“Elder Sister, rest assured!” Bai Jinzhi looked at Bai Qingyan with burning eyes. “If I can’t do it, Bai Jinzhi will present her head!”
Bai Qingyan nodded, her gaze falling on Bai Qingyu and Xie Yuchang: “Bai Qingyu, Xie Yuchang! You two will each lead five thousand soldiers with fire oil, departing tonight… heading straight to the north entrance of Hanwen Mountain to set an ambush. Remember, the siege begins at the hour of Mao tomorrow. Within one hour, as soon as the north gate is breached… even before the north gate is breached, Tianfeng, surrounded, will retreat toward Xiliang. Grasp the timing well and ensure the ambush is ready before the hour of chen!”
“Bai Qingyu receives the command!”
“Xie Yuchang receives the command!”
“General Shen Kunyang…” Bai Qingyan paced to stand before Shen Kunyang. “I command you to lead fifteen thousand soldiers and depart immediately, setting an ambush at the south exit of Hanwen Mountain, north of the Dan River, to intercept Tianfeng remnants escaping from General Xie and A’Yu!”
Shen Kunyang was stunned. Why has he led so many troops? But he didn’t question it.
“Shen Kunyang receives the command!” Shen Kunyang clasped his fists in response.
“A’Yu and Uncle Shen stay behind. Xiao Si… General Xie, General Yang, you go prepare first!” After Bai Qingyan finished speaking, she said to Wei Zhong, “Go to the front hall and invite Eunuch Feng in.”
“Yes!” Wei Zhong responded and left.
When only Bai Qingyan, Bai Qingyu, and Shen Kunyang remained in the room, Shen Kunyang hurriedly said to Bai Qingyan: “With all of us gone, only Your Majesty remains in Pingyang City. If there truly is an emergency, this might be improper. Your Majesty is now with child—perhaps you should withdraw first?”
“Uncle Shen… does Uncle Shen think that if there truly is an emergency, I can’t even defend Pingyang City?” Bai Qingyan knew Shen Kunyang was concerned for her and said gently, “Uncle Shen, rest assured. I know my limits!”
Standing with hands behind her back, Bai Qingyu knew the inside story and said to Shen Kunyang, “Uncle Shen, you must trust Elder Sister!”
Seeing Bai Qingyan’s insistence, Shen Kunyang pressed his lips together, thought for a moment, then looked up: “This general is only leading troops to the south entrance of Hanwen Mountain and north of the Dan River to intercept remnant forces. There’s no need for fifteen thousand men—five thousand would be sufficient!”
“Having Uncle Shen lead fifteen thousand men naturally serves my purpose. Uncle Shen might have an unexpected harvest here—better safe than sorry!” Bai Qingyan’s lips curved slightly.
The fifteen thousand men General Shen Kunyang would lead here… were not merely for intercepting Tianfeng and Xiliang’s fleeing forces.
“Unexpected harvest?” Shen Kunyang glanced at Bai Qingyu, completely puzzled.
Bai Qingyan’s clear gaze looked toward Shen Kunyang: “Uncle Shen, the reason I’m having you lead fifteen thousand men is to make Xiliang think Great Zhou is putting all its effort into dealing with Tianfeng, leaving Pingyang City without troops.”
“Xiliang?” Shen Kunyang was stunned.
Hearing this, Bai Qingyu’s gaze turned to the map, scanning around before finally settling on Saddle Mountain’s direction: “Elder Sister?”
She nodded and spoke unhurriedly: “Where did Xiliang’s Huoyun Army go? Where did Li Tianjiao and Yun Poxing go? I’ve been thinking about this lately. Xiliang Empress Li Tianjiao never concealed state affairs from Li Tianfu. Now that Li Tianfu has been supported to power by Tianfeng, why hasn’t Tianfeng found Li Tianjiao even now? Later, I thought of Yun Poxing… I felt that given Yun Poxing’s nature, he should have been prepared after learning of Tianfeng’s elephant army.”
“Now both Tianfeng and Li Tianfu are eager to capture Li Tianjiao and this rebellious force from Xiliang, but despite nationwide searches, they’ve found nothing. On the way back from the Four Nations Alliance, I thought of Saddle Mountain, which lies at the border between Great Zhou and Xiliang but is unguarded! Yun Poxing has fought us for many years, previously always either attacking Pingyang City or Feng County, so he’s quite familiar with the terrain of these two places.”
Bai Qingyan took out the map Xiao Ruohai had drawn and spread it on the small table. Bai Qingyu and Shen Kunyang gathered around to examine it. Both knew the Xiao Ruohai and Xiao Ruojiang brothers well and could tell at a glance this map was from Xiao Ruohai’s hand.
“So I had my sworn brother investigate, and unexpectedly… Yun Poxing has hidden the Huoyun Army and soldiers from the eight great Xiliang families unwilling to submit to Tianfeng in this very Saddle Mountain.” She tapped the map with her finger.
“Young Marshal Bai means to have me falsely claim to lead fifteen thousand men to intercept Tianfeng remnants between Hanwen Mountain and the Dan River, but wants me to go to Saddle Mountain to eliminate the Huoyun Army?” Shen Kunyang asked.
Bai Qingyan shook her head: “Uncle Shen will lead fifteen thousand Bai family troops toward Hanwen Mountain and the Dan River direction. In a moment, I’ll release Li Zhijie to let him tell Li Tianjiao and Yun Poxing that if they sincerely want to cooperate, have the Huoyun Army enter Hanwen Mountain’s mountain pass and wait here for Tianfeng, to kill the Tianfeng remnants that A’Yu and General Xie’s side haven’t eliminated. If they go… Uncle Shen will watch a show with our soldiers here, but… the Huoyun Army must lose more than half their strength to ensure they won’t become a threat to Great Zhou! If the Huoyun Army doesn’t go, Uncle Shen will have to eliminate these Tianfeng remnants…”
“If the Huoyun Army doesn’t go to Hanwen Mountain’s mountain pass, they’ll probably come to Pingyang City!” Bai Qingyu had never trusted Xiliang, much less Li Zhijie.
Li Zhijie claimed to come to cooperate with the Great Zhou, promising future submission after driving away Tianfeng, but secretly led Tianfeng to Pingyang City. His heart deserved death!
She nodded slightly.
“That won’t do!” Shen Kunyang’s expression changed. “The Huoyun Army was trained by General Guan according to the Huying Battalion’s methods. If they come to Pingyang City, Pingyang City will be in danger! Young Marshal Bai is still in Pingyang City! This absolutely cannot happen!”