Chapter 42: Night Raid

  In the empty space between the two armies, Ma Cheng accompanied Gong Sunzhi to drink wine, looking at his talented subordinates, and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. He thought that since childhood, he had grown up with Gong Sunzhi together, in their small circle, they would compete with each other for everything. Unexpectedly, in this great change of the world, his good friend had already taken the lead early on, and had left him far behind.

  Because of this, he felt heavy in his heart, and coupled with the encounter with Gong Sun Ce's heartfelt, indescribable joy. He let him drink cup after cup in entanglement, drinking and chatting until around 6 pm, and the remaining dishes were scattered all over the floor. Although everyone was lying on the blanket, they all understood that it was time to make a final decision.

  Ma Cheng got up, swaying from side to side. Gong Sun Ce, who was lying on An Meng's thigh, looked at him with a pair of dim and confused eyes. He stretched out his hand and asked Ma Cheng: "How about following me? We join forces, conquer a vast territory! I'll be the king, you'll be the prime minister!"

  Ma Cheng was moved by the suggestion, and it was also a good choice. But he was not reconciled to it, he had ambition, he had dreams, and he also had the desire to be king. Faced with Gongsun Ce's inquiry, or rather request, Ma Cheng was also in pain, he didn't like this feeling of being tormented by suffering.

  He picked up the half-bottle of Tsingtao beer from the ground, tilted his head and drank it all in one gulp. The fiery feeling drove away the dark clouds in his mind. Ma Cheng threw the corroded small knife in his arms to the ground, sighed, and did not hide his own ambition: "You can be king, why can I only be a minister? Even the strongest minister is just a subject!"

  "Your son is still a king, but whether my son can continue as a minister is still a question!"

  "What a great change in the world! A rare opportunity in a thousand years!"

  "We are fortunate enough to participate in this game, we should strive for excellence and overcome all obstacles!"

  "We will always be good friends! Good brothers! If you lose, let your son bring this small knife to find me, and I'll make him a Duke of Anle, ensuring his wealth and nobility for the time being, I still have confidence in that!"

  Ma Cheng walked unsteadily and returned to the small town with the cool army, burying pots and cooking rice.

  Gongsun Ce lay on the felt blanket, resting his head on An Meng's extremely elastic thighs, staring at the increasingly dark sky, lost in thought.

  "Little sister, why doesn't he hang out with me? Doesn't he know I've always been giving in to him? He can't beat me, can't beat me!" Gong Sun Ce's eyes were moist, his high-pitched tone revealing his anger and resentment.

  "If today's form reverses, Ma Ge will surround you and make you mix with him. Big Brother didn't want to come either. The fact that Ma Ge can become good friends with Big Brother shows that you are the same kind of people. Capable, ambitious, and won't give up on what they insist on."

  "The world was originally like a pyramid. From top to bottom, the structure is simple and solid, unshakeable. That's why you and Ma Ge are disappointed, living a life that seems carefree but is actually absurd and painful."

  "Now everything starts from scratch, and the cards in your hands are all good ones. Not fighting at all is surrendering, which is something that can never be persuaded."

  "So, Ma Ge's approach is understandable and justified." An Meng's soft voice, like a lullaby, soothed the unnamed fire on Gong Sun Ce's head, dispersing the stagnant air in his chest. Suddenly, Gong Sun Ce found that this world had become quiet once again.

  "The sky remains the same, no matter how the clouds change, it can't change the vastness of the sky." As he spoke, he looked at An Meng's face, and An Meng's face gradually turned red. She saw a hint of unprecedented tenderness in Gong Sun Ce's eyes.

  "Thank you..." Gong Sun Ce said, and fell asleep. The white clouds in the sky gradually turned black, and a strong wind started to blow.

  Chu Mengmeng, who rarely drank, got up and wiped away the drunken look on her face. One by one, the guys who were pretending to be drunk also stood up, looking at each other in silence.

  "It's going to rain tonight, everyone should return to camp and get a good rest. The general will have military duties at midnight!" Chu Mengmeng gazed up at the sky, he had predicted that it would rain tonight since this morning, and now with this rain, they could turn the tide of battle!

  Chongxin County, the Liao army launched a fierce attack within one day, causing Chongxin County to be in disarray. However, the county's defender, General A Zhuo, was extremely resilient and refused to retreat. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, and before nightfall, they hastily retreated to tend to their wounds. The soldiers on both sides were preparing for a decisive battle the next day.

  In the late afternoon, the sky darkened and thick clouds rolled in. A strong gust of wind howled, and inside Song's military camp, the banners flapped loudly, stretching out their forms in the wind.

  "Crack!" A faint sound, Song Pei turned around to look, and saw that the commander's flag standing at the gate of the camp had broken in half and fallen to the ground. All the generals present changed color, as a broken commander's flag was not a good omen. Even Song Pei furrowed his brow in contemplation.

  "Beat the drum and gather all generals in the big tent for discussion!"

  Inside the big account, Song Pei pointed to the sand table on the table and said: "The garrison of Pingliang County has been held back by my Huating army, and there is no force to reinforce Chongxin County for the time being. Today, all the generals fought bravely and heavily damaged the Chongxin defenders. Breaking through Chongxin is just around the corner, so we must not be careless tonight."

  "The Commander said that Xia's army will sneak into the camp?" asked a robust and muscular general.

  "You are the guardian general, what will you do? Defense is death. Tonight, sneak into our army's camp and there is still a glimmer of hope. As long as the city's defense can weigh the pros and cons, they will definitely come to sneak into the camp tonight!"

  "If General Zhou knew our army had made preparations beforehand?" Another general stood up and asked.

  "He has no choice but to come! Coming means there's still a glimmer of hope, if he doesn't come, the city will be dead tomorrow!" Song Pei was very confident.

  At two o'clock in the midnight, the defending army inside Chongxin County got up to cook and prepare meals. The Liao army outside the city set out to ambush in the light rain.

  Gongsun Ce had also woken up at this time, wearing a golden mountain-patterned armor, with a tiger-headed belt around his waist and a crimson-purple embroidered cloak hanging outside. He sat high in the commander's chair, pressing the Wushan sword with his hand, and his eyes scanned the various generals. Seeing that everyone was in high spirits and looked very good, he was very satisfied.

  "I suppose everyone has guessed the purpose of gathering you all here, right? It's a night raid!" Gong Sun Ce snapped his fingers crisply, and An Meng pulled out the map.

  "But who among you can guess where Benjiang's target is?" The wooden stick in his hand kept moving back and forth between Chongxin County Town and the small town guarded by Ma Cheng.

  "Big brother values loyalty, of course we're heading to Chongxin County!" Guo Liang stood up in response.

  The other generals nodded in agreement with Guo Liang's point of view.

  "Haha, what else is there to say! I suppose you've all packed your bags? Abandon them all, tonight we'll advance lightly and swiftly! Each of you bring half a day's worth of dry rations, that will be enough!" Gong Sun Ce threw the wooden staff onto the table, and the various generals stood up awaiting orders.

  "Li Jin has probably already inquired about the situation along the way, Ah Meng said."

  "As Master said, Li Jin has already investigated the situation along the way. After bypassing this small town, there are no defending troops in the villages and towns along the way, it is estimated that all the defending troops are waiting here." Chu Mengmeng folded her fan and pointed to the map, which was exactly the small town in front of them.

  "It's just as I expected, otherwise how could Yang Yang, a mere Sima, command two thousand cavalry?" Gong Sun Ce stood up and gave orders. The generals who received the military order turned around and strode out of the big tent to tidy up their troops.

  "Li Ziqi is guarding the big camp, and that friend of mine will definitely come to ask for a share of the spoils. At most, I'll give him half of all our baggage!" Gong Sun Ce knew Marrying Cheng's character inside out, and Marrying Cheng also knew Gong Sun Ce so well. Unfortunately, he had already completely awakened his soul and spirit, and the enormous change in his nature made even himself feel unbelievable, let alone Marrying Cheng?

  So Gong Sun Ce was able to make a decisive statement, thinking that Ma Cheng couldn't beat him. He knew Ma Cheng, and no matter how much he changed, his nature wouldn't change. But the Gong Sun Ce that Ma Cheng knew was still the old Gong Sun Ce, not the current one.

  In the end, only An Meng and Gong Sun Ce were left in the tent. An Meng frowned and said: "Brother Ma is not the kind of person you described, is he? Would he come to rob us of our supplies?"

  "In his view, it was a loan, a loan that would be repaid. Shan Weng had another set of plans, and when he arrived, you would hand everything over to him. Just stay in the big camp and wait, by tomorrow noon this dark cloud will have dispersed. The clouds will disperse and the sun will come out, and everything will become clear." Gong Sun Ce's tone was extremely confident.

  The mountain-patterned armor in Gong Sun Zan's mouth is a real historical treasure. The mountain-patterned armor was a very famous armor in ancient times. The earliest records were from the Sui and Tang dynasties, and it was popular during the Song and Ming dynasties. The body of the armor is composed of nearly a thousand "Y"-shaped armor pieces.

  The appearance of the mountain text armor is beautiful and has good protective properties. Since it is composed of overlapping plates, it has a relatively small impact on the wearer's mobility. It is a type of armor that combines practicality and ritualism. Moreover, due to its uneven surface, it has an extraordinary resistance to bows and arrows.

  Gongsun Zan led his troops away for less than an hour, and the small town of Houmu creaked with wooden sounds. Ma Cheng was also generous, ordering his subordinates to hold a torch in each hand, fearing that Gongsun Zan's large camp would not be able to discover them.

  He had made up his mind that as soon as Gong Sun Zan appeared, he would turn around and leave with his troops. If not, he would take advantage of the situation and then leave.

  "Is that Big Brother Ma?" An Meng stood at the camp gate, holding an umbrella and wrapped in a cotton-padded jacket. Behind him, the camp gate was open, with three horse-drawn carriages loaded with large trunks, except for the occasional snort of the horses, there was no other sound.

  "Was it me, that soul went away?" Ma Cheng turned over and got off the horse, still rubbing his head. Headache after getting drunk is inevitable.

  "He's gone. Before he left, he said Big Brother Ma would come and asked me to prepare some things for him. Here is the list." An Meng handed a note to Ma Cheng.

  Ma Cheng hastily dodged and shook his hand, saying: "Doesn't Mengmeng know about your brother Ma's little problem? Don't look at the bill, split it in half when we meet, he won't cheat me."

  Ma Cheng's appearance made An Meng hehe laugh, she thought Ma Cheng was a very interesting person.

  "Big brother also told me to give you a treasure, guess what it is."

  Ma Cheng furrowed his brow, secretly resentful. He estimated that Gong Sun Ce had told An Meng about the guessing game he hated, and indeed, when facing An Meng, he was at a loss for what to do, so he gritted his teeth and started playing the guessing game with An Meng.

  In the county town of Chongxin, inside the city gate, General Azhuo stood on a high platform, waving his arms and shouting: "Tomorrow's battle will surely break the city, we have no chance of survival. Why not fight him once tonight, having died once, what's to fear about dying again?"

  "Tonight, there is only one goal, and that's Song Zhui Zi's head! Originally, tonight would have had only two outcomes: either a heroic death in battle or exhaustion leading to being killed. Are you willing to die with me, Ah Zhuo?"

  "It's a blessing for a defeated general like me to be able to die with the general!" A lieutenant stepped forward, his tone lofty.

  "I'd rather die with the general!" The Xia army's morale surged, their voices shaking the sky. Commander A Zhuo waved his arm and the city gate creaked open, he held a spear and shield, leading the charge out of the city, the soldiers followed close behind, their battle cries wave after wave.

  Inside the main tent of the Cool Army, Song Pei was deeply absorbed in reading a traditional Chinese version of Journey to the West. However, his deep thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout that spread throughout the city like a landslide or tsunami. Looking towards the direction of Chongxin County City, he let out a sigh: "What a pity for a loyal and brave general! Even if one knows it's certain death, they still have to try!"

  "Beat the drums and order the whole army to kill! For a general like this, he should be sent off with the most magnificent ceremony."

  In the midst of the resonant drumbeats, Song Pei picked up Journey to the West again and read it with great relish.