Chapter 32: Difficult Decision

  The pitch-black night seems so long, after being busy for more than half of the night, there is still no sign of whitening in the sky.

  Chen Kefu stood in the camp without waiting for the Goguryeo people, but instead a team of cavalry with arrows still inserted on their bodies arrived. When they rushed to the front of the big camp, several people were already exhausted and fell to the ground as soon as they stopped, and the horses also foamed at the mouth.

  When Chen Kefu arrived, the soldiers had already come to their senses with the help of the military doctor. As soon as they saw Chen Kefu, they rushed forward and shouted loudly, "General, Yuwen and General Gao are trapped in a mountain valley twenty miles ahead, please rescue them quickly!"

  Chen Kefu was also stunned upon hearing this, "Lord Yuwen? Which Lord Yuwen? Could it be the Duke of Xu State, Yuwen Shu?"

  "It's not the Left Guard General Yuwen Shu, but rather the Vice Minister of the Imperial Stables Yuwen Huaji and the Eagle-Shooting General Gao Yuan." The soldier hastily replied.

  "Isn't Yuwen Huaji and the others in our camp? How can they be trapped twenty miles away in a mountain valley? Are you joking?" Chen Kefu asked with some surprise.

  "General, Lord Yuwen and General Gao have been aware that there are 3,000 Koguryo cavalry hiding in the mountain valley 20 miles away. Two hours ago, they secretly led us out of the camp, and we launched a surprise attack on the Koguryo camp in the valley. We had just annihilated those 3,000 enemy cavalry when suddenly the main force of the Koguryo army arrived. When I was ordered by Lord Yuwen to break through the encirclement, Lord Yuwen and General Gao had already retreated into the valley. Now, according to what I saw, there are at least 800,000 Koguryo cavalrymen, all of them mounted. Sir, please send reinforcements quickly, or it will be too late!"

  Chen Kefu suddenly understood everything. This damned Yu Wenhua not only ran away secretly, but also had the guts to lead a thousand men to raid an enemy camp of three thousand when the situation was unclear. Now he's in trouble, having led his own troops into a trap. A thousand against eighty thousand is too dangerous.

  After a moment of contemplation, Chen Kefu said to the people on the ground, "You've also been injured while breaking through, go down and rest first. As for what's next, I'll go rescue Master Yuwen and General Gao."

  Several soldiers were taken away, Luo Lin walked over and said, "Sir, Wu Hua and Gao Liang led their thousand or so men and horses out of the camp two hours ago. They left from the east gate, which is guarded by Gao Liang's soldiers. When they left, they handed it over to the civilians to guard and didn't let them inform us. Sir, this is my dereliction of duty, I patrolled the camp several times but didn't discover this."

  Chen Kefu glared at Luo Lin, over a thousand people had left the camp for two hours, and they still didn't know. What if the Goguryeo people came to attack just now? The eastern camps without elite soldiers guarding them might have been breached by the enemy. That damned Yuwen Huaji, why wasn't he shot through the heart by the Goguryeo people's arrows? Now that he was trapped there, it would be better if he didn't know. Since he already knew, he wouldn't be able to escape no matter what.

  "Sir, do you really want to go and rescue them? We only have these three thousand soldiers now. If we defend the city to the death, there won't be any problem. But if we go out of the camp, those Goguryeo people have ten thousand cavalrymen. No matter what, we can't win a good fight. One careless move and our three thousand broken army will collapse. Sir, think thrice! Even if His Majesty finds out later, he won't blame us for not rescuing them."

  Lu Shi deeply spat on the ground and said, "I take one look at that little white face and I'm not comfortable. What kind of thing is this? Not enough to accomplish anything, but enough to ruin everything. General, it's not worth mourning for someone like him to die. Why must we risk our lives for someone like him? In my opinion, why don't we just defend this camp and not go out? At that time, the little white face will definitely be killed by the Goguryeo people with his thousand men. At that time, it can be said that they didn't follow the adults' orders, secretly went out of the camp, and were surrounded by the Goguryeo people. This matter won't fall on our heads either. If the adults are still worried about those few messengers, this matter will be handed over to me, Old Lu. I'll take care of it cleanly."

  Inside the tent, only the generals of the army were left. The cow oil candles in the tent illuminated the entire canopy with an unparalleled brightness, and the firelight clearly reflected Chen Kefu's hesitation at this time. According to everyone's previous discussion, holding out without going out was the best strategy at this moment. If they went out of the city to rescue Yu Wenhua, even if they really rescued him in time, the cost of breaking through the military camp would be too great.

  The Goguryeo people have 80,000 troops, while he only has 3,000, and must also leave some to guard the camp. The number is already small, so he can bring out at most 1,000 cavalrymen. One thousand against 80,000, even if he were Sun Bin reborn, it's not necessarily a winning strategy.

  But can't just ignore it? If you say that Yuwen Huaji and others are to blame for their own misfortune, then Chen Kefu might not have gone to rescue them. But if the person trapped was an ordinary person, Chen Kefu might have given up on rescuing him. However, that person is Yuwen Huaji. Not to mention that he is now relying on the Yuwen family in the eyes of outsiders, just thinking about Yuwen Huaji's father, Yuwen Shu, would make Chen Kefu think twice.

  Yuwen Shu was a man with great power in the imperial court, and to understand how powerful he was, it can be summarized in just a few sentences. Chen Kefu, based on his previous understanding of this history, added to what he had learned after coming to this dynasty, now has a good understanding of Sui Dynasty politics. Since the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, the most powerful people in the imperial court can be divided into four stages. The first stage was the pre-three-pronged era at the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, which consisted of Gao Jiong, Li Delin, and Su Wei, who were the three most powerful men in the imperial court along with Yang Jian. Later, there was the post-three-pronged era consisting of Gao Jiong, Su Wei, and Yang Su, who were also the most powerful people. Finally, there was the dual-giant era consisting of Yang Su and Gao Jiong. In Yang Jian's era, these few individuals were the most powerful figures in the Sui Dynasty except for the emperor.

  After Yang Guang came to power, it was a matter of one day being the emperor and another day being an official. He replaced many people with new ones. Yuwen Shu was such a person who helped Yang Guang seize the throne and could be said to have made great contributions. Along with three other men, Pei Yun, Pei Ju, and Yu Shenji, they were known as the "Four Men Gang". Among them, Pei Yun was the Imperial Censor, equivalent to being in charge of national political and legal affairs. Pei Ju and Yu Shenji were imperial advisors, while Yuwen Shu was the Grand General of the Imperial Guard, controlling the military power of the capital. It can be said that among the "Four Men Gang", Yuwen Shu was the most powerful. Chen Kefu was now at odds with Pei Yun, relying on Yuwen Shu. If he didn't go to rescue Yuwen Huaji this time and let Yuwen Shu's beloved eldest son die here, Chen Kefu couldn't even imagine that among the four favored officials of the Sui Dynasty, he would offend three of them. Where would he stand in the Sui Dynasty then?

  He could even think that as soon as he returned to the city of Liaodong, Yuwen Shu would let his troops participate in the attack on Liaodong City. Facing the strong city of Liaodong that tens of millions of people couldn't conquer, these three thousand men were not enough for the meat grinder to consume in one day. Chen Kefu didn't want this journey through time and space to end like this. As for what Lu Shide said, it was completely meaningless. In this big camp, so many people saw those messengers ride into the camp, could he kill them all? This was a camp of over ten million people.

  With a painful expression, Chen Kefu gritted his teeth and said, "There's no need to say anything more. General Yuwen is in danger, and as colleagues, we must go and rescue him. Although the messenger said that Goguryeo has 800,000 soldiers, they were probably inaccurate due to their panic. Even if there are that many people, it doesn't mean we will definitely lose. As long as we don't directly attack Goguryeo head-on, but instead use our cavalry to constantly harass them from the sides and disrupt their attacks on the mountain valley, then as long as we hold out for one night, reinforcements from Xincheng and Dongcheng will arrive."

  Hu Hai is also a veteran of the battlefield, how can he not know the helplessness of Chen Kefu's decision? "Sir, let me go, I'll take two battalions with me, and I'll try my best to deal with the Goguryeo people. If General Yuwen Huaji cannot wait for the arrival of reinforcements, then we will have done our best."

  Only about 400 people in two troops, what can they do with so few people? I estimate that Hu Hai just wants to take his men to the outskirts of the battlefield to wander around, and at that time, it will also be a good excuse for the imperial court. However, Chen Kefu estimates that if Hu Hai really goes, this old slippery fellow will probably hide with his men near the battlefield and won't even show up.

  "Everyone, there's no need to say anything more. I've already made up my mind about this matter. This time, I'll personally lead a thousand soldiers to go and provide reinforcements. Mao Yi, Lu Shideep, Hu Hai, Chen Fu, Chen Gui, Luo Lin, you few come with me. The main camp will be left to Li Benlei to defend, Zhang He, Chen Qing, you two are in charge of coordinating the defense. Everyone must remember, no matter what happens, you cannot divide the troops and leave the camp again, this is an order."

  The old man shook his head, "Sir, let me go instead. I'm already an old man, and it's better to die on the battlefield than in bed. If I die at the hands of the Goguryeo people this time, I'll be wrapped in horsehide and returned home, and my life as a warrior won't have been in vain. I have an irreconcilable feud with those Goguryeo dogs, so killing one is enough to break even, and killing two would be a profit for me. My only request is that you lead the soldiers of the broken army to kill more of the Goguryeo barbarians in the future, and avenge the children of the Central Plains."

  Since the battle can no longer be avoided, everyone is also unwilling to let Chen Kefu lead the troops in person. Especially the nine Chen family housekeepers who followed Chen Kefu out at the beginning, how could they let him go into such danger?

  "Master, you are the master of this army, how can you personally go to the battlefield? Moreover, now that Master Chen has only one son left, do you want to be an unfaithful, unrighteous and unfilial person? Let me, old Lu, lead the troops instead. I don't need any other generals to go with me, I'll just take a thousand militiamen. After all, although I'm not very capable, my wife has given birth to several sons for me. As a slave of the Chen family, it's only natural that I should be the one to go. I have nothing to worry about, if I were to die, Master would surely take care of my wife and children at home. When they grow up, Master, please tell them that their father was also a heroic man, and when they are older, let them come to Liaodong to avenge their father."