Chapter 8: To Take Fright at the Slightest Rumor

  Before the remnants outside the city were cleaned up, Lei Meng, who was watching from the city wall, said to Yang Tian: "Yang Tian, I have a suggestion that suits you."

  "What's going on?" Yang Tian was surprised by Lei Meng's words, he knew that Lei Meng's proposals for the past two years were not very good, but also couldn't be said to be bad.

  A clap of thunder boomed, and he stood there in a daze, staring northwest for a moment. It was there that Tong Wen had passed away back then. He wondered if his grave was still intact. He raised his right arm to point into the distance, saying: "Seize victory and pursue the enemy, take down Huan Yue!"

  Yang Tian stroked his smooth chin, nodded and said, "Yes, we need to collect some interest, otherwise next time Huang Tian will dare to come and harass us again!"

  That night, Yang Tian announced the order to pursue the Huan Tian army the next day. Overjoyed and excited, the soldiers also took the opportunity to rest. Because according to today's two victories, they basically didn't need to die, they could blow the enemy away, making them flee in disarray, like sheep waiting for slaughter, giving them military merit!

  The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, the excited soldiers got up early to pack their gear. They loaded the ammunition and artillery that had been prepared long ago onto carts, which were pulled by oxen, with special troops guarding them, and the mighty army set off.

  All the way over mountains and ridges, paving ditches and building bridges, the troops were exhausted, but before sunset, they finally arrived outside Huanyue City. The soldiers stationed at both ends of the bridge outside Huanyue City had long heard how formidable Leiming Jun was, and they escaped without a trace. Yang Tian secretly thanked them for not destroying the bridge.

  After crossing the bridge, not far away, I saw that there were still a small number of soldiers on the walls of Huáng Yuè City who were guarding in a lackadaisical manner. Yang Tian ordered the soldiers to eat some dry rations outside the city and then set up a cannon frame. Aim at the city gate.

  The night arrived on schedule, and the torches had just been lit for a short time. The bright moon rose from the east, casting a clear glow over the dark earth, leaving long shadows of trees and people on the ground. Insects, frogs, and nightingales saw the bright moon in the sky, and they all made a noise together, forming a beautiful symphony. What a peaceful and prosperous scene!

  Yang Tianli stood on horseback, shouting towards the distant Cold Clear Huan Yue City a hundred meters away: "Yang Tian is here! The guardian general of Huan Yue, come out and respond!" The sudden loud voice instantly broke the quiet night.

  The city of Huáng Yuè was in an uproar for a while, and then a high-ranking general rushed out, responding loudly on the city wall: "I am Wèi Wú Shān! Acting commander of Huáng Yuè City! What brings your army here?"

  His words carried a hint of fear. Yang Tian, Lin Chong, Zhang Shan and Sun Ming burst out laughing. Yang Tian stopped his laughter and said: "You know it's obvious! If you don't open the gate and surrender now, I'll send you to meet Feng Feifan!"

  The whole field was silent, even the insects stopped chirping in fright.

  Enraged to the extreme! If he really opens the city gates and surrenders, then he will be spat upon until death; if not, dying in battle can still leave a good name. Unafraid of strong enemies, Wei Wushan steeled himself and loudly shouted: "My life is here, if you have the ability, come take it!"

  After finishing speaking, he actually held a torch and stood on the city wall. He shouted loudly: "Soldiers of Haotian, we swear to live and die with Haoyue, those who are afraid of death are not Haotian people!"

  "Hey! Swear to protect Huáng Yuè!" The soldiers on the city wall were stirred up by that one sentence, opening their throats and shouting loudly.

  "Sniper, take out Wei Wushan first!" Yang Tian hated him to the core, this person actually dared to harden his face against him when he was completely at a disadvantage, sweeping his face, truly not knowing life or death.

  As soon as he finished speaking, the skilled sniper fired "bang bang bang" three times. Wei Wushan responded with a mournful cry of "ah~", then fell off the city wall and landed on the wall, never to react again.

  Deathly silence, the garrison of Huánguāng City was silent and still. At such a great distance, they were able to instantly strike down the acting commander-in-chief. What could these ordinary soldiers do to defend the city?

  Yang Tian waited for a long time and didn't see any reaction from Huanyue City. He became impatient and ordered another shot.

  Two loud "peng" sounds, and then two short, fierce, and miserable cries of death were heard again!

  The soldiers of Huángyuè City began to panic, the guards on the city wall started to waver, and the order within the city began to fall into chaos!

  "Hurry up and open the city gate! Do you want me to start a massacre!" Yang Tian's extremely loud shout shocked the soldiers of Huan Yue, making them slightly more alert. The soldiers near the city gate immediately rushed over to open it.

  The rest of the soldiers also threw down their weapons and surrendered...

  Thus, Yang Tian's army took down Huan Yue without shedding a single drop of blood. When they rounded up the prisoners of war, they found that only 10,000 old, weak, sick and disabled people were left to guard Huan Yue, those who could run had already escaped.

  Yang Tian was speechless for a moment, and with this group of soldiers, even if they didn't use guns and cannons, they could still launch a fierce attack in an instant, because these soldiers were all tempered by him countless times, refined through thousands of hardships, leaving him without any sense of accomplishment.

  That night, Yang Tian gathered Lin Chong, Zhang Shan and Sun Ming in the conference hall to discuss whether to continue advancing towards Tianyuan. Yang Tian sat on a reclining chair, leaning his body sideways, with his right foot tucked under him on the chair, saying: "The soldiers of Huanyue City fled at the wind, it can be seen that our military power is strong and powerful! Is anyone interested in going to Tianyuan City for a stroll?"

  "Haha, listen to General Yang's orders! General Yang is wise and brilliant. Wherever you point, we'll attack there, never hitting the wrong target!" Zhang Shan patted his chest loudly, shouting and slapping his horse's buttocks wildly.

  "Right, right, right! We'll follow your lead!" Sun Ming was truly admiring Yang Tian, seeing Zhang Shan agree, he also quickly expressed his stance.

  Yang Tian turned his head and looked at Lin Chong who was sitting at the right end with a pensive expression, and smiled: "My good junior fellow, what do you think?"

  Lin Chong raised his head and glanced at Zhang Shan and Sun Ming, frowning: "Master uncle, Lin Chong thinks this move is a bit rash."

  He's relatively more stable, Yang Tian thought to himself, a look of approval on his face, and asked: "Why?"

  "Battle lines are too long, supplies will be a problem. The road is too far, soldiers will be exhausted and unable to fight again. There are many masters in the enemy's camp, I'm afraid we can't prevent them from launching a surprise attack. If our guns are seized, it'll be big trouble."

  "Ah, that's right." Yang Tian, who was originally full of confidence and ready to conquer the Heavenly Abyss, couldn't help but calm down after hearing this.

  Zhang Shan felt extremely embarrassed, his face turned red as he glanced around, seeing that Sun Ming was not staring at him, he felt a little relieved. If the army really ran to Tianyuan and something unexpected happened, then he would never be able to make up for his mistake even if he died ten thousand times.

  Yang Tian then sent someone to report the victory to Lei Meng while also settling the people and prisoners of war in Huan Yue City.

  The people of Huángyuè City saw that Yang Tian's army did not make any disturbing moves. After hiding in fear for two days, they also came out to move around on the streets, and the dull Huángyuè City gradually had some vitality.

  Early in the morning, before the sun had fully dissipated the fog, Yang Tian and Zhang Shan abandoned their Tang knives and wore plain clothes as they darted through the streets of Huanyue City. The streets, paved with rough hemp stones, were sparsely populated with people hurrying to and fro, while the shops were all half-open, looking as if they were on the verge of collapse. How desolate!

  Yang Tian walked ahead with his hands behind his back. Turning around, he asked Zhang Shan in a low voice: "Zhang Shan, do you see that the people of Huáng Yuè are all going to die, what's the use of occupying it?"

  Zhang Shandai was sweating profusely. He took two steps forward and said, "Isn't this what you and General Lei often say? The area around Huanyue has many fertile fields and is rich in products that are good for people to live on. Once we get Huanyue, our food supply will no longer be tense."

  "Hmm, that makes sense. I almost forgot. Looking at these timid and backward people, my original intention has become muddled." Yang Tian nodded and continued walking forward, he wanted to see if there was anything particularly noteworthy about this Huanyue or its people.

  At the end of this street, there was a small teahouse. The six tables inside were all filled with people, each stretching their necks to listen to an old man's talk.

  "The wealth of Hexi City is really beyond the imagination of people like us who have never been out. He seemed to have said a lot, picked up his tea cup and took a sip, and continued, "The roads there are very wide and flat, even if you walk with your eyes closed, you don't have to worry about being tripped by the road and falling down. The city also doesn't have the smell of dung that can often be heard in Huangyue..."

  It turned out that our Hé Xī was so good, Yang Tian thought to himself. He nodded at Zhang Shan and walked into the teahouse.

  The shop owner was a grey-haired old man with a short beard. He stepped forward and said, "Sorry young fellow, we're fully booked today..."

  Yang Tian smiled slightly and interrupted: "It doesn't matter, I just came in to listen to the old man's views. Standing is fine."

  The shop owner hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said: "Alright, I'll pour you a cup of tea." After that, he turned around to pour the tea.

  The old man who was speaking turned his head to glance at the new listener, a knowing smile spreading across his face as he continued: "I see that the carts they're pushing over there seem bigger too, but they don't appear to be struggling like we are. I tried it out myself - those carts only need a light push to get moving. It's just that I'm not knowledgeable enough to know why..."

  "Haha, that's because there are wheels on the axle, it's naturally easier to push." Yang Tian somehow squeezed behind the old man and couldn't help but interrupt after hearing his words.

  Everyone's gaze suddenly focused on the handsome young man Yang Tian. The old man turned his head to look at Yang Tian, smiling and saying: "This little brother looks very familiar, doesn't seem to be a local?"

  Yang Tian elegantly bowed to the four directions, and said in a loud voice: "Hello everyone, my name is Yang Tian. I am indeed not a local." His humble address to the crowd won applause from the audience.

  The old man nodded and stroked his white beard with his right hand, saying, "Yes, it's rare for a young person to be so polite. Not bad, not bad."

  "It's too kind, too kind." Yang Tian smiled and said, "I'm from Hexi, don't worry about your future life being bad, because in a year or two, this place will also be built like Hexi, or even better!"

  "Is it true?" Soft whispers of doubt arose.

  A slightly bolder middle-aged man stood up and asked, "Does this young man have any basis for his words? If after a while, the Tianyuan City side sends another large army to come over, or General Feng Feifan returns to attack Huangyue City, let alone other things, our crops will suffer heavy losses, and we won't even be able to guarantee food. If we fight a few more rounds, we'll end up with broken families and lost lives."

  Yang Tian couldn't help but burst out laughing and said, "Haha, Feng Feifan was killed in battle two days ago. Last night, the garrison of Huanyue surrendered at the mere rumor of his approach. What courage do they have left to come again? Besides, when Feng Feifan led his army to attack Hexi City, it didn't suffer any losses!"

  "This is really true!" The middle-aged man who asked the question loudly questioned.

  The old man who had been speaking up until now said: "This is true, I can vouch for it. Because he is the second most important person on the west side of the river, Yang Tian!"

  "What?! ~" Everyone stood up and retreated, and the hall was filled with a loud noise.

  "Hold on, hold on! Listen to me for a moment!" The old man stood up and shouted loudly, "Look at his polite and courteous appearance, will he harm you?"

  "Old man! Are you a stooge they've invited? Speaking good words for them!" A doubting voice venomously sounded from outside the crowd.

  "How dare you!" The old man shouted loudly, and with a swift motion, he dragged out a figure from the crowd, grabbing the young man's chest and lifting him up. He was furious: "I, Luo Ming, have traveled the world for forty years, and no one has ever spoken ill of me! How dare you slander me!"

  A smell of urine spread, and it turned out that the young man was so scared that he urinated in his pants and was trembling with fear.

  "Haha! You're no match for me!" Luo Ming's right hand shook, and he threw the young man onto the street. Then, he leaped towards the rooftop and disappeared in an instant. A voice echoed from afar: "Yang Xiaozi, follow me!"

  "Zhang Shan, you go back by yourself. I'll take a look!" After finishing speaking, Yang Tian also jumped onto the rooftop and disappeared in an instant.

  Leaving a hall full of rustic and simple-minded listeners, would such an eloquent person bother to deceive these common people?