Chapter 13: Borrowing a Passage from the Tiger's Mountain

  Yuan Shu was excited for a moment, and then asked, "Who else knows this news?"

  "Except for the young general, no one else knows."

  Yuan Shu nodded and said, "That's good. This matter must not be leaked out. Otherwise, if other warlords find out that the Western Liang army has invaded the Central Plains, it may cause unrest among the troops. Hehe, let the Western Liang rebels go to Yuzhou and create a bloody mess!"

  "I will obey orders."

  The small school had no choice but to accept its fate and withdraw.

  Twenty miles north of Bo Wang, a column of two thousand infantrymen was marching rapidly along the official road.

  Yuan Yong rode a black high-headed horse, running in the front row, shouting loudly without stopping.

  "Faster, hurry up."

  Yuan Yong wielded his whip and lashed at the war horses while loudly urging the soldiers to hurry.

  Just ahead was Bowang Slope, and he didn't want to linger for a moment.

  The largest group of mountain bandits near Bowang Slope had over 5,000 people, but they were all a motley crew.

  Yuan Yong didn't take these mountain bandits seriously at all. The two thousand elite soldiers he brought with him were not comparable to the old, weak and sickly ones drawn from various counties. Dealing with a mere few thousand mountain bandits was just a matter of reaching out and capturing them.

  It's just like the Yellow Turban Bandits, tens of thousands of troops couldn't defeat several thousand imperial court troops.

  In Yuan Yue's eyes, the two thousand elite soldiers he brought were not inferior to the imperial court's crack troops at all. Those mountain bandits were far from being comparable to the Yellow Turban rebels, and they didn't even have the qualifications for comparison. As long as a collective charge was made, they could be defeated.

  Thinking of the credit he was about to get, Yuan Yong's spirit became even more spirited, and he was almost a little proud.

  In a dense forest in the middle section of Bó Wàng Pō, Luo Zheng led his two thousand cavalrymen to wait patiently.

  The forest was quiet, all war horses were wrapped with tattered cloth by the soldiers to cover their mouths, only faint breathing sounds could be heard.

  Under the shade of trees, a pair of bright eyes were ferocious and overbearing, as if two thousand wild wolves were lurking.

  The sound of footsteps came hastily, and a sentinel rushed in at a rapid pace.

  "General, he's here."

  Xia Hou's soldiers rushed forward and excitedly reported to Lu Xun: "The Nan Yang army has arrived, they are already at Bo Wang Slope."

  "Good!"

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "All departments prepare, listen to General's order to attack."

  Everyone was invigorated, but no one spoke up.

  The scout soldier responsible for probing the Nan Yang army's movements quietly responded and hastily retreated to the back.

  Soon, chaotic footsteps echoed on the official road, and they became clearer and clearer.

  Through the dense forest, Luo Zheng could vaguely see the dust rising on the official road and involuntarily tightened his grip on the horse knife.

  Until Yuan Yong led two thousand infantrymen past, he suddenly flipped onto his horseback, raised the ground horse knife and swung it down fiercely.

  On the official road, two thousand Nan Yang soldiers were rolling down.

  Because it was downhill, the soldiers ran exceptionally fast and didn't notice what was behind them.

  Yuan Yongzheng charged forward on his horse, and just then a loud shout like thunder erupted from behind him, "Kill!"

  Before I could come back to myself, the sound of war horses neighing and galloping echoed in my ears.

  Two thousand war horses had their mouths covered and were stifled for most of the day. When the tattered cloths on the horses' mouths were torn off, they immediately spread their hooves and rushed out, raising their heads and neighing loudly, almost throwing Yuan Yun off his horse in shock.

  "How could this be?"

  Yuan Yong suddenly turned his head and saw the Western Liang cavalry rushing out of the dense forest, and he was stunned.

  But soon reacted, immediately shocked and pale, "Not good, fell into the Xiliang rebel army's plan to borrow a tiger to leave the mountain."

  It's clear now, but it's already too late.

  Two thousand Western Liang cavalrymen charged like tigers descending a mountain, cutting in from the rear and immediately killing two thousand Nanyang infantrymen who were still unaware of what was happening, causing them to fall into chaos and unable to organize effective resistance.

  "Get out!"

  Luo Zheng took the lead, charging forward on his horse, and with one stroke of his sword, he killed two Nan Yang soldiers who were rushing to his side in a panic. Without stopping for a moment, he urged his warhorse forward, heading straight for Yuan Yun, who was still in a daze.

  "Yuan Yong, useless thing, come and take my life."

  Luo Zheng let out a loud roar, his voice shaking the earth and sky.

  "Not good, retreat, quick retreat."

  Yuan Yong finally reacted, seeing that the two thousand infantrymen had already become a mess, and immediately pulled out his throat to let out a long scream. He didn't dare to fight against Luo Zheng, and suddenly spurred his horse's belly, leading the hundreds of remaining soldiers who were charging down behind him, quickly fleeing down the slope of Bozhou Mountain.

  "Hey, this piece of junk can actually run pretty fast."

  Luo Zheng swung his horse sword fiercely and didn't chase after him. He just sneered coldly, "What a fool."

  Hu Zhen, Hu Mao and Niu Jin led six thousand troops waiting below, Yuan Yong was walking into a trap.

  Soon, the two thousand Nan Yang soldiers were killed and routed, with over 300 dead, more than 500 surrendered, another 500+ fled in all directions, dispersing into the mountains and fields, while hundreds followed Yuan Yi down the slope.

  Below Bao Wang Slope.

  Yuan Yong's soul was still unsettled, his face had lingering fear.

  If I hadn't seen through it just now and acted quickly, I'm afraid my life would have been lost here.

  But thinking of Zhong's trick of leaving after being deceived by the Xiliang rebels, he couldn't help but sigh and his intestines turned green with regret.

  Hundreds of Nan Yang's defeated soldiers were also shocked and heartbroken, unable to calm down.

  Yuan Yong's horse stopped in its tracks, and he looked around cautiously. Just as he was about to quickly take a detour back to Wan City, he heard a loud shout, and several thousand cavalrymen suddenly emerged from the dense forests on both sides, causing him to be shocked and fall off his horse.

  "It's all over; I'm done for."

  At the moment of falling off the horse, Yuan Yong let out a sigh and had the intention of dying.

  Hu Zhi, Hu Mao and Niu Jin led their troops to kill, without much effort, they cleaned up Yuan Yun, hundreds of Nan Yang remnants also surrendered neatly, became prisoners, no longer resisted.

  Yuan Yong was tied up by two Western Liang soldiers and brought before Hu Zhi's horse, forced to kneel on the ground.

  "Who are you?"

  Hu Zhen did not recognize Yuan Yong and sternly asked him.

  "In the lower reaches of the Yuan River."

  Yuan Yong's face turned pale and he replied with his head hung low in a mournful tone.

  "Ah, very good."

  Hu Zhen slapped his palm on the willow branch and shouted: "Come on, take this man down and carry out the plan."

  "Understood."

  Two bodyguards immediately rushed up and dragged Yuan Yong down.

  Hu Zhen looked at Hu Mao and Niu Jin, his tone somewhat uncertain, "Actually managed to lure out the soldiers from Nanyang, and even caught Yuan Yin, Luo Zheng this kid really has some clever ideas, didn't expect it!"

  Hu Mao and Niu Jin exchanged a glance, with a flash of jealousy in their eyes.

  Hu Zhen waved his hand and said loudly: "Don't mention this for now, let's go, we'll talk after we've broken through Wan City."

  "Understood."

  The generals hastened to respond in unison, and the army set off immediately, rushing straight to Wan City.

  Into the night.

  The city of Wan is brightly lit, with people's shadows faintly visible.

  Since the Western Liang army broke into Nanyang from Wuguan, the land of Nanyang has never been calm again.

  The soldiers patrolled the city at night, but they didn't dare to respond to any calls. They stared wide-eyed into the darkness in the distance, fearing that the Western Liang army would suddenly emerge and launch a surprise attack on the city, and they themselves would become the souls of the dead under the knife of the Western Liang army.

  However, by the second half of the night, the soldiers on duty, no matter how hard they tried, began to feel a bit drowsy.

  Under the corner tower of the North City Gate, a soldier was leaning against the city wall, yawning while trying to stay awake.

  In the distance, there were sparse footsteps echoing, and the soldiers thought it was an auditory hallucination, so they shook their heads vigorously.

  But soon, the chaotic footsteps were getting closer and clearer.

  "What sound?"

  The soldier finally came to his senses and hastily opened his eyes wide with wonder.

  In the distance, a group of disheveled and panicked soldiers rushed over in disorder from the darkness.

  "Who is it?"

  The soldier let out a loud shout, instantly startling all the soldiers on the city wall.

  In the midst of the shouting and yelling, Xiaojiao quickly arrived at the top of the city gate, leaning against the wall to look down.

  "Open the door, open it quickly."

  Rushing down to the foot of the city wall, the defeated soldiers shouted and cried out in panic, as if they were being chased by a tiger behind them.

  "Who are you?"

  The little school by the city gate didn't dare be careless and hastily let out a loud shout.

  "Sir, it seems like one of our own brothers?"

  "One of us?"

  The little school was stunned for a moment, and for a while, it couldn't come back to its senses.

  The soldier hastily said: "Sir, have you forgotten that General Yuan Yun led the army to attack the mountain bandits a few days ago?"

  "Huh?"

  Chengmen Xiao finally came back to his senses, just as he was about to ask for clarification, he saw someone rushing to the city gate.

  Under Luo Zhen's threat, Yuan Yin reluctantly came under the city gate.

  "Huh?"

  Luo Zheng's eyes darted sideways, and the dagger on Yuan Yong's lower back was pushed forward slightly, using his gaze to intimidate.

  Yuan Yin's face turned iron-green, and fine beads of sweat had already seeped out on his forehead. If he were to open the city gate, he would lose Wan City, and when his lord returned, he would be skinned alive. But if he didn't open the city gate, he would die right now.

  How to choose, nothing is simpler than nature.

  Yuan Yong didn't want to die and was also afraid of death. Naturally, he quickly made his choice and, steeling himself, shouted: "Open the city gate quickly."

  "It is General Yuan Yong."

  Someone on the city wall cried out in surprise, and the small school by the city gate was also startled.

  "Hurry up and open the city gate."

  The little school at the city gate didn't notice Luo Zheng standing behind Yuan Yong, only seeing Yuan Yong's iron face, and thought it was because he hadn't opened the city gate to welcome him that he was angry, and his heart trembled involuntarily, and he hastily shouted loudly.

  On the city wall, people were running and shouting. Soon, amidst the shrill sound of machinery and screeching noises, the northern gate's drawbridge was lowered.

  More than twenty soldiers exerted themselves to turn the windlass, and the thousand-jin gate slowly rose. The city gate opened wide, and the small schoolmaster personally led more than ten soldiers out to welcome them, his face still somewhat nervous and uneasy.

  "Kill."

  Luo Zheng's eyes flashed with determination, and he no longer hesitated.

  He casually inserted the sharp dagger into Yuan Yin's neck, ignoring Yuan Yin's heart-wrenching and lung-splitting screams, and swung his knife forward.

  The sound of killing like a landslide and tsunami suddenly shattered the night sky, stunning the Nan Yang soldiers on the city wall of Wan Cheng.

  "Accept death."

  Luo Zheng wielded his sword and charged forward, letting out a loud roar as he cut the city gate's small school in two before it could even react.

  The severed limbs and blood arrows confused the faces of the Nanyang soldiers, more than a dozen Nanyang soldiers were stunned, unable to come back to their senses, and were quickly killed by the Xiliang soldiers who rushed up. The Nanyang soldiers on the city wall did not come back to their senses until this moment, still unaware of what had happened.

  Luo Zheng led eight hundred Western Liang soldiers disguised as Nanyang soldiers to storm the city gate, killing anyone in their way. The Nanyang soldiers were caught off guard and were quickly defeated, losing control of the north gate.

  By the time the remaining three gates of Nan Yang's troops heard the killing shout and prepared to rush over, the Western Liang Iron Cavalry had already entered the city.