novel bin Chapter 157 Infiltration
Chapter 157 Infiltration
Upon hearing that he was to cause trouble for the Song army, Ouyang Ke lightly waved his folding fan and smiled slightly: "Since the commander-in-chief has given the order, I will obey."
Master Lingzhi also agreed to go.
With Peng Lianhu missing and Hou Tonghai's martial arts skills being weak, the addition of Ouyang Ke and Lingzhi Shangren already constitutes an extremely strong lineup.
In Wanyan Kuang's view, with the abilities of a few men, harassing several thousand Song soldiers was more than enough.
"Excellent!" Wanyan Kuang was overjoyed. "With your help, the matter is settled. Men, bring one hundred taels of gold and ten bolts of brocade to these esteemed gentlemen. There will be even greater rewards after the matter is accomplished."
"Thank you, Commander." Ouyang Ke and the others accepted the reward.
That afternoon, Ouyang Ke, along with Lingzhi Shangren and Hou Tonghai, bid farewell to Wanyan Kuang and headed towards Zaoyang.
The three moved with incredible speed, disappearing at the end of the official road in the blink of an eye.
Inside the main tent, Wanyan Kuang stared at the location of Zaoyang on the map, a cold smile playing on his lips.
The young emperor of the Song Dynasty was ultimately too inexperienced.
Does taking Zaoyang mean you've won?
He wanted to see how many days a mere few thousand Song soldiers could hold out without reinforcements or supplies.
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Inside the government office in Zaoyang City, Xia Zhen walked in hurriedly, his face darker than yesterday.
He held the account book in his hands, his voice tinged with anxiety: "Your Majesty, I have just taken stock of the grain and fodder in the city, and the situation is not good."
Zhao Yu was looking at the city defense map, not even looking up: "Speak."
"The city's original grain reserves were not much to begin with. Last night's reward for the troops, the consumption of the prisoners' rations, and the daily expenses of the soldiers defending the city, all in all, are only enough to last about a month."
Xia Zhen paused, his tone becoming even more somber: "This is under the premise of no large-scale siege. If the Jin army launches a fierce attack for days on end, the casualties and losses in transport will intensify, and I'm afraid we won't even be able to hold out for twenty days."
After he finished speaking, he looked up at Zhao Yu, waiting for the emperor's reaction.
To venture deep into enemy territory alone, capture a key town, and then lack food is a cardinal sin in warfare.
If it were any other coach, they would probably have panicked by now.
Zhao Yu simply said calmly, "What's the panic? I've already made arrangements for the supplies. Just focus on training the army and strengthening the city's defenses. As long as we can hold the city, the supplies won't be a problem."
Xia Zhen was taken aback, still somewhat skeptical.
But then I thought about it again. Since he ascended the throne, this emperor has created miracles time and again. From seizing power in a coup to launching a surprise attack on key Jin military locations, it seems there is nothing he cannot do.
He had no choice but to believe it.
"Your subordinate obeys the order." Xia Zhen bowed and accepted the command, suppressing his doubts, and turned to arrange the city's defenses.
After everyone left, Zhao Yu got up and went to the inner room, instructing his personal guards to stand guard outside the door and not to disturb them.
The moment he closed the door, a thought flashed through his mind, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed.
A hazy, chaotic space appeared before them, with mountains of grain sacks neatly stacked on the open ground, stretching as far as the eye could see.
This was the last batch of grain he transported from the Ming Dynasty. He hadn't sent all of it to the Song Dynasty's official granary; instead, he had left most of it in storage space so that he could flexibly use it in case of emergencies.
Zhao Yu stepped forward, grabbed a handful of rice, and smelled it. The rice grains were dry and fragrant, without any mold.
He nodded slightly. It seemed that this chaotic space could not only store things, but also keep them fresh. Food would not spoil if it was put inside, which saved a lot of trouble.
But when he turned around, his brows furrowed slightly.
There is a noticeable missing piece on the edge of the grain pile on the left side.
The neatly stacked grain sacks looked as if a dozen or so had been moved away, leaving a small but incongruous area that stood out from the orderly piles around them.
Zhao Yu looked around. The chaotic space was silent, with nothing but piles of grain and nothing else.
His heart skipped a beat as he remembered that several thousand bushels of grain were missing from the accounts when the granary was being inventoried earlier.
At the time, he thought it was the officials from the Ming Dynasty who were escorting the goods and embezzling funds, but now it seems that's probably not the case.
"Could it be... yet another one of me?" Zhao Yu murmured to himself.
But now, he has merged with himself from three different worlds, and his mental strength and martial arts skills are far superior to before.
Based on past experience, he would vaguely sense whenever another version of himself from another world crossed over into his world.
But this time, he didn't notice anything at all.
After merging with three versions of himself, his senses should have become more acute, so how could he have acted without any warning?
"Could it be... that I'm skilled in concealment?" Zhao Yu stroked his chin, pondering to himself.
But why did the other party come in so quietly and take away more than a dozen bags of grain? It couldn't be because they were short of food.
After thinking for a while, I still had no clue.
Zhao Yu didn't dwell on the details. He simply went back to get paper and pen and wrote down a line of numbers that only he could understand. It was his ID number from before he transmigrated.
This string of numbers is unique and sufficient to prove identity.
He added a few more sentences, clarifying the matter of time travel, so that the other Zhao Yu would not have to worry.
After writing it, he placed the note on the most conspicuous grain bag.
After doing all this, Zhao Yu had a thought and returned to his room in reality.
With the supply of provisions secured, all that remained was to defend the city.
Zhao Yu walked into the courtyard, looked at the Song Dynasty flags fluttering on the city wall, and smiled slightly.
Several days later, on a night when the moon was hidden and the stars were few, the moon was obscured.
Three dark figures crept up to the foot of the Zaoyang city wall under the cover of night. They were Ouyang Ke, Lingzhi Shangren, and Hou Tonghai.
"The Song army has just captured the city, and they're probably busy reorganizing their defenses, so their vigilance is at its lowest." Ouyang Ke gently shook his folding fan and lowered his voice. "You two go and set fire to the granary to create chaos, and I'll poison the well and the kitchen. Before dawn, we must make sure this city is in chaos."
"No problem." Master Lingzhi chuckled, flicked his robe, and silently pressed himself against her.
Hou Tonghai, carrying a three-pronged fork, also headed into the city.
Relying on their superior lightness skills and considering the Song soldiers in the city to be nothing more than ordinary soldiers, the three acted arrogantly and brazenly.
But as soon as they climbed over the city wall and went not far, the night patrol soldiers on the city wall noticed something was wrong.
The warning gong rang out instantly, shaking the entire city.
"Your Majesty! A Jianghu (martial arts world) figure has infiltrated the city. Judging from the direction, he went towards the granary and the kitchen. He is an assassin from the Jurchens." The personal guard rushed to the county government office to report.
After receiving the message, Zhao Yu sneered. Instead of going to find Ouyang Ke, he had delivered himself to his doorstep.
He knew full well that by killing Ouyang Feng, he would be irreconcilably at odds with Ouyang Ke.
We must nip this in the bud; we can't let him get away this time.
Gathering his men, Zhao Yu headed towards the granary.
Hou Tonghai had just reached the entrance of the granary and was about to set it on fire when he suddenly felt a strong gust of wind coming from behind him.
He was about to turn around to defend himself when a palm strike landed on his back.
"puff!"
Hou Tonghai didn't even have time to scream before he was sent flying forward, crashing heavily into the granary door frame. His head lolled to one side, and he died instantly.
Zhao Yu withdrew his hand and stood up, not even sparing the corpse a glance.
"Excellent palm technique!"
Master Lingzhi leaped down from the roof ridge, staring intently at Zhao Yu.
He was also there to set a fire. He had just reached the location when he heard the commotion. When he rushed over, he saw Hou Tonghai being killed with a single blow. His heart skipped a beat.