novel bin Chapter 160 Planning
Chapter 160 Planning
"Hey, sit down and talk, sit down and talk."
Hong Qi quickly stood up to smooth things over, pressing Qiu Qianren back into his seat: "We're all on the same side, don't hold a grudge."
He turned to Wang Chongyang and said, "Master, I, Old Beggar, know you're not that kind of person. You and he must have some other plans, right? But you have to tell us the truth. The morale of the army has been wavering these days. If we keep this up, things could easily go wrong."
Wang Chongyang remained silent for a moment, then looked up at the night outside the courtyard and slowly uttered two words: "Seven days."
"Seven days?" Hong Qi and Qiu Qianren exchanged a glance, neither of them understanding.
"Hold out for another seven days," Wang Chongyang said calmly. "If Zaoyang can hold out for seven days, then we will mobilize all the troops in Xiangyang and launch a full-scale northern expedition."
Qiu Qianren's eyes widened in disbelief: "Are you kidding me? With that small force in Zaoyang, can they hold out for seven days? And even if they do, does that mean the Northern Expedition will succeed?"
Hong Qi frowned as well: "Brother Wang, this is no joke. If anything happens to the Emperor, everything will be over."
Wang Chongyang said no more, but simply raised his wine cup: "If you trust me, then wait seven days. If you don't trust me, you may leave or stay as you please. But there is one condition: anyone who dares to disrupt the morale of my army, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Having said that, Hong Qi and Qiu Qianren could no longer ask any more questions.
The two were filled with anxiety, but they also knew that Wang Chongyang was always calm and never fought a battle he was not confident of winning.
Since he said that, he must have his reasons.
"Alright, I'll trust you this once." Hong Qi sighed, picked up his wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
Qiu Qianren's expression shifted for a long time before he finally sat back down.
No matter how anxious he was, he dared not disobey orders to mobilize troops. He could only suppress his anxiety and wait for the outcome in seven days.
At this time, the battle on the walls of Zaoyang was at its fiercest.
Xia Zhen's armor was soaked in blood, and his face was covered in bloodstains, making him look far less dignified than before.
He rushed to Zhao Yu in a few strides, his voice slightly hoarse: "Your Majesty, the Jurchens have gone completely mad! Another ten thousand Jurchen soldiers have come from the north, and Wanyan Kuang is personally overseeing the battle, completely disregarding casualties! Brothers... brothers, we can't hold on much longer!"
Zhao Yu stood before the map, his eyes cold and stern.
"Even if we can't hold on, we must hold on to the death. Seven days. If we can hold on for seven days, we've already won this battle."
Xia Zhen opened his mouth, wanting to ask, "What makes you think you can win? With these three thousand exhausted soldiers in the city?"
But the words stuck in his throat.
He glanced at Zhao Yu's composed profile, but ultimately suppressed his question and asked another one.
"Your Majesty, when will the reinforcements arrive in Xiangyang? General Wang commands tens of thousands of troops; we can't just sit idly by and do nothing, can we?"
Zhao Yu said in a deep voice, "Reinforcements are on their way! Go and tell the brothers to hold on, and the reinforcements will arrive soon."
This allowed Xia Zhen to deceive the soldiers.
"This humble general obeys the order."
Helpless, Xia Zhen bowed and rushed back to the city wall.
His family was all in Lin'an, leaving him with no way to retreat but to fight to the death.
Watching Xia Zhen leave, Zhao Yu turned and called to the commander of his personal guards behind him, asking in a low voice, "How's the placement of the explosives throughout the city?"
"Your Majesty, the brothers are working day and night to finish the task." The commander of the personal guards looked somewhat fearful. "However, the war is intense right now, and there's a lot of activity on the city walls. We have to be extremely careful when burying the poison. If it goes off accidentally, it might blow us up first. We still... need some more time."
These gunpowder powders were all obtained by Zhao Yu from the Ming Dynasty; the quantity was sufficient and the power was great.
His plan was simple: when the Jin army's offensive was at its peak, he would deliberately let some of the Jin soldiers into the city, and then detonate the explosives that had been planted in various places, wiping out the Jin soldiers who had entered the city and the main Jin army near the city walls in one fell swoop.
The Jurchens would be completely unprepared for this move, as they had no intelligence to tell them that the Song army possessed explosives.
But all of this is predicated on the fact that Zaoyang must be able to hold out and the city must not be breached before the explosives are planted.
Zhao Yu instructed, "Speed up the process. Safety is the top priority, but we can't be too slow either; we must get everything in place as soon as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The guard accepted the order and left.
Zhao Yu's gaze returned to the map, his brows furrowing slightly.
He miscalculated a bit.
He hadn't anticipated that the emperor's identity would have such a significant impact on the battlefield.
While his presence in the city inspired his soldiers to fight to the death, it also drove the Jin soldiers to madness, causing them to launch a frenzied attack, all for his sake.
If this offensive continues, the city walls will likely be breached before the explosives are even planted.
We must find a way to slow down the Jin army's offensive.
Zhao Yu's eyes narrowed slightly as he made up his mind.
As dusk fell, the sky gradually darkened.
Zhao Yu changed into a set of night clothes and, taking advantage of the change of guard on the city wall, silently lowered himself down the wall and disappeared into the vast night.
He wanted to personally go to the Jin camp to assassinate the Jin army's middle and high-ranking generals.
Without a leader, the Jin army's offensive naturally slowed down.
Using his superb movement skills, Zhao Yu easily evaded the outer patrols and infiltrated the Jin camp.
He captured a lone Jin soldier junior officer, used his soul-capturing technique to find out the location of the central command tent, killed him casually, and then headed straight for the commander's tent.
He traveled as if he were in an empty place.
The Jin soldiers on night patrol only felt a gust of wind pass by, and they couldn't even see a shadow of a person.
The commander's tent was heavily guarded and brightly lit. Zhao Yu observed from the shadows for a moment, then his figure flickered and he slipped inside like a ghost.
Inside the tent, Wanyan Kuang was discussing military affairs with several generals while looking at a map when he suddenly felt a strong gust of wind and his expression changed drastically.
"There's an assassin!"
The guards on both sides immediately drew their swords and rushed forward, but they were no match for Zhao Yu.
Wherever the palm strike passed, the guards were sent flying backward, some dead and others injured.
Zhao Yu continued his attack without stopping, heading straight for Wanyan Kuang.
Just as his palm strike was about to reach him, a powerful palm strike came from the side at an angle.
"Bang!"
With their palms clasped together, the energy exploded, instantly extinguishing the candlelight inside the tent.
Zhao Yu took a half step back, slightly startled.
The opponent's palm strike was fierce and domineering, carrying a savage force, and actually withstood his palm strike.
In the darkness, a tall figure stood before Wanyan Kuang, wearing a red monk's robe and a monk's hat, his face deeply lined with wrinkles.
This man was a Tantric master invited by the Jin Dynasty from Tibet, known as Dharma King Dorje. He specialized in the Dragon Elephant Prajna Kung Fu and had reached the sixth level. He possessed immense strength and unparalleled palm power. He was a protector specially chosen by Wanyan Kuang to keep by his side.
"You barbarians from the Southern Dynasty, daring to storm the commander's tent, you're courting death!" King Duo'er roared, unleashing both palms as he pounced again.
Zhao Yu swayed, avoiding a direct confrontation, and used the Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand to deflect the force and counterattack.
The two clashed in the command tent, their palms and fingers intertwining, their energy surging outwards, sweeping away the tables and maps inside the tent into pieces.
The Dragon Elephant Skill of the Dharma King Duo'er is indeed remarkable, with each palm strike carrying immense power. However, if it were truly a matter of determining the victor, Zhao Yu would surely be able to defeat him after a dozen or so moves.
But at this moment, dense footsteps could be heard outside the tent, indicating that the Jin army had been alerted.
If we don't leave now, we'll be surrounded by the army.
A thought flashed through Zhao Yu's mind. He made a feint, forcing back the Dharma King Duo'er, and then dashed out of the command tent.