Chapter 28: The Enemy's Trail Appears

  The quiet night at the foot of the mountain was suddenly broken, and the large camp composed of over 100,000 people quickly became turbulent under Chen Kefu's command. Except for sending out several teams to scout and report, half of the soldiers in the Broken Army Camp were resting while the other half were fully armed and ready to respond at any moment outside the camp.

  More than 10,000 civilians also began to line up under the arrangement of Sima and Cang Cao to receive weapons. Everyone was uneasy but also excited, knowing that the soldiers who returned would be promoted one rank, and even the small soldiers would have dozens of hectares of good land as a reward.

  These civilians were all farmers who were currently being conscripted by the imperial court to perform corvée labor and were very familiar with the inside story of the broken military camp. Everyone was extremely envious in their hearts, for a farmer, the most precious thing is not gold, silver, or silk, but that fertile land. Although the Great Sui Dynasty had implemented the system of equal land distribution since its founding, everyone was granted land, but now with a population of over 40 million, how much land could each person get except for those occupied by the nobles and local tyrants?

  Among the civilians, some of the younger and bolder ones were secretly looking forward to the possible appearance of the Goguryeo army. As the saying goes, "treasures are sought in danger", wasn't it easy for them to establish a great merit by breaking through the military camp this time? Maybe this time they could also gain some credit from breaking through the military camp and get a reward, even if it's just ten mu of good land. Ten mu of land is enough to make a family of several people eat their fill.

  Under the urging of the soldiers in the broken army camp, no one had a dissatisfied and negative mood. Everyone was exerting their strength to strengthen the defense of the big camp, digging trenches, planting sharp stakes, and digging small pits on the open ground outside the camp to prevent cavalry from approaching. Everyone worked enthusiastically, and many sturdy men even took off their outer clothes, bared their arms, and worked hard under the light of torches.

  Compared to the implicit concerns of the civilians, Chen Kefu and other generals who broke through the military camp were not too worried. Although this place is Goguryeo, for the Sui army, they are not afraid to fight against those Goguryeo barbarians in the wild, what they fear is that the opponent will not come out of their stronghold. As long as the opponent dares to come out and fight, these seasoned soldiers who have traversed the Central Plains and the Turkic steppes will be fearless.

  Especially for Chen Kefu and his men, whether it was from Xincheng or Liaodongcheng, the cavalry could arrive in less than a day. Even if the great god of Goguryeo, Yeon Gaesomun, came, he would still be fearless. As long as he defended the camp and didn't come out, relying on the tens of thousands of civilians in the camp and the abundant equipment, he believed he could hold on. Who knows, by then they might even be able to launch a counter-encirclement against the Goguryeo army with the armies from Liaocheng and Xincheng on both sides. If that were the case, it would be a merit sent from heaven, and Chen Kefu wouldn't have to worry about having too many merits. He was still just a small general now, and he could still achieve several more great merits without worrying about being unrewarded.

  In Li Benlei's old camp, Chen Kefu and others sat there waiting for the scout's news while looking at the map, and they were also secretly expecting in their hearts that this cavalry with discovered tracks was the main force of Goguryeo.

  A group of people were chatting casually when the camp was suddenly lifted up, and a man in full armor led several big men with helmets and armor to rush in.

  "Brother Pojun, I just heard someone say that the great army of Goguryeo is catching up, is it true?"

  Chen Kefu furrowed his brow, this was a gathering of military officers from the Broken Army Camp discussing military affairs, and someone had actually burst in like this, which made him very displeased. He was just about to see who was so blind and prepare to take them out for a good scolding, emphasizing military discipline, when he raised his eyes to find that the person who came was none other than Yuwen Huaji, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Stables Temple, with whom he had just sworn brotherhood earlier in the day.

  "That's just a rumor from outsiders, our scouts found some cavalry tracks not far away, it looks like a small group of Goguryeo scouts. We've already sent someone to check it out. Brother Yuwen, don't be alarmed, you can go back to sleep, with the Broken Army Camp here, whether or not there really are Goguryeo troops coming, it's none of our concern. If anyone wants to mess with us, they'll have to have a good set of teeth first." Chen Kefu didn't want to blame Yuwen Huaji too much, after all, he was still considered part of the Yuwen family, so he just told him the truth.

  Yu Wen and the two young women he brought were in the midst of a lively game, when they heard the commotion coming from the camp. Earlier, when he arrived, he thought it was just a rumor spreading through the camp, and had planned to come over and confirm before returning to continue enjoying this rare moment of revelry in the wilderness. But at that moment, upon hearing from Chen Kefu's mouth that the Goguryeo people had appeared nearby, he suddenly felt stunned.

  In the big camp, although there were over a million people, but only 3,000 soldiers and horses from the broken army, he himself this time came to borrow 1,000 cavalry from his old father, the rest except for more than 10,000 civilian workers, all are high句丽 civilians, even nearly 20,000 high句麗 prisoners of war. What if the real high句麗 army comes? This is a desolate and wild place, there is no strong city to defend, nor a large army to rely on. He, the young master from a military aristocratic family in Chang'an, with a bright future and wealth waiting for him, how could he be willing to be trapped under this small mountain by others?

  In the midst of chaos, Yu Wen's face turned pale, "Brother Pojun, apart from your 3,000 Broken Army cavalry, we only have my 1,000 Left Wing Guard cavalry left. We definitely can't win against the Goguryeo people. What's more, there are so many civilians and Goguryeo prisoners of war. What if they take advantage of the chaos and seize our camp? I think it's better to kill all the Goguryeo prisoners and have the tens of thousands of civilian workers guard the Goguryeo civilians here. Brother Pojun, didn't you already distribute weapons to those civilian workers? Let them defend the camp firmly, while we quickly return to Liaodong City to gather reinforcements. When the time comes, we'll bring a large army and people from the big camp to launch a pincer attack from inside and outside, and we'll definitely be able to kill the Goguryeo people until they're defeated. Brother Pojun, my plan isn't bad, is it? We mustn't delay, let's hurry!"

  Chen Kefu listened to Yu Wenhua's plan, which started out stuttering but became increasingly fluent towards the end. He didn't believe this was a genuine strategy, but rather that Yu was afraid of death and wanted to escape, yet feared he wouldn't be able to return to Liao Dong City with his thousand men. So, he thought of using Chen as a human shield to escort him back to Liao Dong City. Later, he worried that Yang Guang would blame him for abandoning the camp and escaping, so he came up with the plan to have Min Fu guard the camp, disguising it as a move to "mobilize reinforcements".

  In his heart, he secretly despised this shallow young master, but Chen Kefu also had some admiration for the guy's cleverness. At such a moment, he could still think of an escape plan so quickly, it seemed that the education of the nobles was not in vain.

  He exchanged a subtle glance with the other generals in the camp, signaling them to remain silent. With a faint smile, he walked up to Yuwen Huaji and said, "Brother Yuwen, your plan is indeed not bad, but those militiamen are just ordinary farmers who have barely dried their feet after washing them. If we were present, they might still be able to hold their ground, but if we leave, I'm afraid that as soon as our backs are turned, they will scatter in all directions. By then, neither of us will be able to escape the Emperor's punishment."

  Yu Wen and He Ken accompanied him here to wait for death. In his opinion, the farther away he was from this place at this time, the safer he would be. Hearing Chen Ke's concern about losing his job and being punished, he quickly lowered his head and whispered beside him, "It's too dangerous to stay here. As long as we return to the city of Liaodong, there's no need to worry. You are now a member of our Yuwen family, and this little thing won't be blamed on us by His Majesty. Besides, with my old man around and the prestige and power of our Yuwen family, I can guarantee that you will come to no harm. Let's hurry up and leave, or if we delay any further, we might not be able to escape if they chase after us."

  "Yuwen brother, the situation is not clear at this time. If we rush out like this and it's just a few Goguryeo deserters, what will we do? Won't that become everyone's laughing stock? What if it's really as you expected, Yuwen brother, and it's the elite army of Goguryeo? With so few people, without understanding the situation, we blindly rush out, isn't that even more dangerous? We might accidentally fall into their trap. So, Yuwen brother, don't panic. I've already sent two teams to request reinforcements from General Pei Renji in Xincheng and His Majesty in Liaodong City. As long as we hold the camp for a day, our reinforcements will arrive. With so many military supplies and civilians in the camp, staying here is the safest option. Yuwen brother, please be at ease, I'm confident that I can defend the camp for a day."

  Chen Kefu briefly explained the danger of leaving the camp without permission. Of course, this was just his way of intimidating Yu Wenhua; if he really had to lead three thousand cavalrymen in a retreat from the big camp, even if the enemy was very strong, as long as they only tried to escape, he still had a good chance of getting away.

  However, Chen Kefu would not run away. No matter what, he understood the importance of capturing the heavy cavalry of the enemy's camp. Two things that were obviously not dangerous, why make it so complicated? An opportunity to establish merit, he would not give up and become a fleeing general instead.

  Yu Wen heard Chen Kefu say this, and he couldn't run away first. For a moment, he was really frightened to the point of being pale as paper. He grasped Chen Kefu's hand and said, "Brother Pojun, can we really hold out for a day with just these few men? What if it's Abaoji who comes? Last time, my old man's 300,000-strong army was completely defeated by that barbarian's hands. Not even one in a hundred of those who fled back survived. Can we hold out against that barbarian until the arrival of reinforcements?"