Chapter 8 Ambush (Part 1)

  Yang Yingqi asked Ouyang Yi: "How far is it from here? Did we discover that we didn't?"

  Ouyang Zidao said, "After discovering some clues, I personally sneaked over to take a look. The Khitan army's camp is very close by, but they probably still don't know we're hiding here."

  "How many men and horses?"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "It's not just a dozen or twenty people, there are more than 20 horses, it looks like they should be the vanguard."

  Cao Guangyi stood up and said: "This is already the territory of Song! The Khitan people actually appeared here! It won't do, I must go and inform the garrison of Xiongzhou."

  Yang Yingqi stopped him and said, "Brother Cao, why the hurry? Let's find out first." He then asked Ouyang Yi, "Is there a large army behind this group of people?"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "There isn't."

  Yang Yingqi said: "Since it's like this, why don't we just eat these ten or twenty people?"

  Di Yu heard this and said: "Just now you said that the good defender hides beneath the ninth earth, but now our food is exhausted, we can't even hide, how can we still provoke them!"

  Yang Yingqi said, "If we let them chase us at their leisure, we're afraid we won't have a good day. Therefore, we must use a small trick to make Song and Liao have a not-so-big-not-so-small dispute on the border. The Great Song and the Great Liao are always sensitive to each other's borders. As long as they focus on each other, they won't bother with us little fish who slipped through the net! Only then can we escape safely." He then explained his plan to lure the Khitan army into the Song army's trap. Zhe Yan and others felt that this plan was too bold, but Ouyang Yi repeatedly praised it.

  Cao Guangyi listened halfway and suddenly stood up saying: "Guangyi is a subject of the Great Song, this kind of thing, forgive me for not being able to participate."

  Yang Yingqi hastily pulled him back and said: "Cao brother, we are also Han people, and we absolutely do not want our motherland to suffer harm. Now such a plan is really unavoidable!"

  Cao Guangyi hesitated for a moment before saying, "I understand that you have no choice, but I shouldn't be involved in this matter either emotionally or rationally. Don't worry, even if I don't join you, I won't go and inform on you."

  Yang Yingqi thought to himself, "Although you agreed, if we don't drag you into the water, I'm afraid things will still go wrong!" Then he said, "We have another matter that we'd like to ask for Cao's help, I wonder if Cao can lend a hand."

  "What's going on?" asked Cao Guangyi.

  Yang Yingqi said: "Our grain and grass are about to run out, and we will have to go deep into the Taihang Mountains, heading north to the vast desert. No matter what, we must prepare some money and grain. Brother Cao has been here for a long time, do you know where we can get some grain and grass?"

  Cao Guangyi thought for a moment and sighed: "An army without food and grass cannot march. There's no choice, I'll have to go borrow some."

  Yang Yingqi said: "We don't have any good relatives who can lend us so much grain and fodder."

  Ouyang Yi laughed and said: "Haha, Xiao Yingqi! Are you really not understanding or pretending not to understand? What Brother Cao meant by borrowing grain is actually robbery!"

  Yang Kaiyuan felt a bit embarrassed after hearing this, but Cao Guangyi said seriously: "In an emergency, one has to take drastic measures. It's okay to do it once or twice when there's no other choice, but making a living out of it is not acceptable." He turned his head and asked Di Yu: "Have you heard of Zhao Lümin, Di Xia?"

  Di Yu said, "I heard that he is a wealthy merchant from the Yan Zhao region, traveling between Liao and Song to trade in tea, horses, silk, and even contraband goods! He's a man with connections all the way up to heaven."

  Cao Guangyi said, "That's right. This man has three dens, although he is settled in the Southern Capital of Liao State, but he also has mansions in Xiong Prefecture, Bao Prefecture, and Cang Prefecture, and there is also a nest nearby!"

  Ouyang Shidao said: "Your meaning is to go and 'borrow' some money and grain from Zhao Lümin?"

  "Close enough."

  Yang Yingqi pondered and said: "Since this person is not simple, then his lair might also be difficult to deal with?"

  Cao Guangyi said, "He has several hundred men in the Liao and Song territories. That small stronghold is also quite stable, but he's not here right now. I estimate there are only about fifty or sixty people inside. This man has a good relationship with the border generals of both Liao and Song, and he also has connections with the heroic outlaws from the Taihang Mountains area. The larger armies don't want to tear their faces off by attacking him, while the smaller ones don't dare provoke him, so this stronghold can remain safe. But our words are enough to take it down."

  Di Yu asked: "How many things are inside?"

  Cao Guangyi said, "I was once ordered to deliver a letter and negotiate with Zhao Lümin, so I know quite well about this stronghold. This is his base for traveling north and south, making friends with heroes, and storing enough food for hundreds of people to use for two or three months. When he's not around, it's unlikely that he would leave the red goods behind - otherwise wouldn't that be an invitation for others to covet? But there should be some weapons and clothing."

  "Alright! Let's get started with it."

  Cao Guangyi said: "My official position is humble, but this surname Zhao looks at me with respect, and has never been lacking in courtesy. Now taking people to raid his stronghold, after all, there's something that can't be justified, so after entering the stronghold, please try not to set fires or kill people - if you don't agree to this, I won't dare take you there."

  Zhe Yan Chong said: "We are not really robbers, we just borrowed what we needed and left."

  "Alright." Cao Guangyue stood up, figured out their location and said: "Is it the second watch now? I think we shouldn't rest anymore. Let's pick a hundred men to set off immediately, and we can arrive by the fourth watch."

  Yang Yingqi said: "So anxious?"

  Cao Guangyi said, "Everyone's situation, you are clearer than me, it's best to leave as soon as possible. Besides, I have a plan in mind - if we go again tomorrow and let Zhao Lümin's subordinates know that I've been expelled, this plan won't work."

  Yang Yingqi pondered and said, "We need to borrow grain from Zhao Lümin's side, but we also have to deal with the Khitan people. Let's divide our troops into three routes. The first route, led by Cao Guangyi, Shi Kangshi, and Kaiyuan, will take 100 men to Zhao's border camp. The second route, led by Zhe, Di Shu, Ouyang Shi, and Alu Man, will take 100 elite soldiers to handle the Khitan affairs. The rest of us will be commanded by me to respond accordingly. If Cao takes down the border camp, we'll retreat in that direction! We'll rest for two days before heading deep into the Taihang Mountains."

  Zhe Yan nodded and said, "Alright, let's do it as Ying Qi said."

  Cao Guangyi looked at Yang Yingqi before leaving and said: "You're really under thirteen years old?"

  Yang Yingqi smiled and said: "What's wrong with being thirteen? Gan Luo was already a prime minister at an age like mine!"

  Cao Guangyi nodded twice and led the way. Under Ou Yang's leadership, Zhe Yan-chong, Di Yu, and others approached the Khitan vanguard camp overnight. The four of them, each leading 25 men, quietly surrounded this small group of people. At the fourth watch, Zhe Yan-chong gave a loud order, and the three groups of cavalry rushed out together. Zhe Yan-chong claimed to be the commander of Xiongzhou, ordering the Khitan people to surrender.

  Those dozen or so Khitans were shocked and didn't know how many enemy troops there were, and they fled in all directions to the north. Ou Yang suddenly appeared from his hiding place on the northern side and used hastily made tripwires to cut off more than half of the escaping men and horses, with only four riders managing to escape.

  Zhe Yan Chong and others inspected the spoils of war, a total of fifteen horses, twelve short swords, five bows, and seven knives. Then he divided the men into two groups: Ouyang Shi led the majority to join Yang Yingqi, while he himself, Di Yu, and Alu Man led the other twelve skilled horsemen to set up an ambush.

  Fifteen men hastily swept the battlefield, speaking loudly and revealing that they were actually Khitan escaped slaves. They "accidentally" let a few captives escape. After the captives left, Zhe Yan-chong and others headed towards Xiongzhou, leaving extremely obvious hoof prints along the way.