Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 533: Hard to tell the real from the fake
Another day dawned and the rain stopped.

The sky was thick with leaden clouds, and the ravines were thick with fog.

Here in the Xishan Camp, the camp on the slope cannot even clearly see the outline of the camp below the slope.

From time to time there were sounds of horses neighing and dogs barking in the camp, but everyone was alert.

I was already tired on the rainy night and didn’t sleep well, and now it’s even more tormenting.

Last night, the enemy cavalry took advantage of the rain to silently pass through the ditch and several small camps along the way, and attacked the temporary small camp outside the main camp.

The fodder harvested during this period was stored there, and although the other party set a fire, it was extinguished by rain.

But it also caused panic in the camp. Unlike ordinary soldiers, what shocked Tian Yu was that the other party actually knew where the fodder was stored.

This fodder was cut down, dried and transported here when the garrison troops were free.

In addition to feeding horses, bundles of grass can also be used as a sleeping and moisture-proof facility for the army during rapid marches and camping.

People use it to keep warm at night and to feed horses when resting during a march.

When a large group of cavalry is stationed, they must disperse to make it easier for the horses to forage and collect fodder everywhere.

Therefore, as long as the activity range of Black Bear's troops is compressed, so many horses accompanying the army will not have enough grass to eat and will soon become weak and lose their ability to move.

When Tian Yu returned to the tent, he saw Wang Ling sighing and handing over the silk book on the table: "Guorang, take a look too. How foolish the general is."

Then Wang Ling got up and went to the fire pit to warm himself and took boiling water to make tea.

Tian Yu picked up the silk book and read it, his eyes widened: "How could they have such an idea?"

The letter sent by Tian Chou described what happened to Yuan Jun yesterday.

Spies in Jixian City sent a secret report saying that there were traces of troops suspected to be from Guanzhong in the city, and some people even saw the black thief.

After reading it, Tian Yu felt it was a bit absurd: "The black thief wears a mask when he goes in and out. The officials and people of Ji County are ignorant. How many of them have seen his true face? I guess this must be a trick of the black thief to intimidate the Yuan family."

"Yes, from the perspective of our army, this is a ruse."

Wang Ling stirred the tea, picked up the tea bowl and blew on it, then held up his hands to warm them, his expression calm: "But from the perspective of the Yuan family, even if they suspect this is a trick, they dare not easily lead their troops into the West Mountain Road. Let's wait for a while until the Wuhuan from the three counties arrive. With the Wuhuan as the vanguard, why not do it?"

After a pause, Wang Ling said to the sulking Tian Yu: "A great general should be cautious before a battle."

"My liver hurts, not my heart."

Tian Yu uttered a few words, folded the silk book and put it on the table, and sat down beside the fire, feeling the warmth. "I also heard some rumors that Shangdang County Governor Cui Yan and Qian Zhao abandoned their posts and fled, and Zhang Yan sent troops to seize them. If nothing unexpected happened, the reinforcements sent by Zhang Yan have already headed north. The continuous rain hindered our scouts, so we didn't notice it."

"Zhang Yan is a remnant of the Yellow Turbans. It is not surprising that he is colluding with the Black Bandits to reinforce them."

Wang Ling made a comment, lowered his head and sipped his tea, then asked, "How do the Xianbei people in the north respond?"

"This is a confidential matter, and it is beyond my knowledge."

After Tian Yu finished speaking, he saw Wang Ling looking straight at him, so he gave his own judgment: "The Xiongnu and Xianbei have already lost their courage and will never dare to defect easily. In addition, the eastern Xianbei are scattered and nomadic, and it is difficult to gather them all at once. According to the season, they can gather in early August, when the weather is cool and the soldiers and horses are fat and strong, which is good for fighting."

Wang Ling listened and nodded slowly: "Yes, it is good for fighting."

Then Wang Ling fell silent. What they did could not bear speculation.

The final head was chopped off by the Xianbei or Wuhuan people, which would provide an explanation to future generations.

Tian Yu also fell silent. He took an empty bowl of tea leaves, scooped water from the boiling pottery pot, rinsed the empty bowl, and then began to brew tea.

After doing all this, he said, "At first, we wanted to assassinate him during the banquet, but Lord Xuande refused to agree. Now, all we can do is to hold him back. Just like Gongsun Bogui, who was trapped in a high building and burned himself to death." He couldn't help but sighed, looking depressed, "I think if things go wrong, he will follow Gongsun Bogui's example."

Few people are willing to chop off that head. Given the other party's current influence, whoever does it will be targeted by assassins, knights, proletarian evil boys and even servants during his lifetime.

Even after death, one will bear enough slander and infamy, which will bring disaster to future generations.

Whenever the Hu people invade the border in the future, this person will be singled out and scolded.

Given a choice, no one would want to endure such an infamy that their body cannot bear.

And the assassins who carried out the initial assassination were all warriors from the various Hu tribes.

The purpose is to come up with a reasonable explanation to avoid getting blood on one's face.

By now in the fight, Tian Yu had already felt the resistance, as if he was powerless, and when he launched his punches and kicks, they were limp.

He didn't believe that Taishi Wengong and the Guanzhong troops were really so powerful.

Judging from his experience, it was the lower-level soldiers and servants of the powerful coalition who were unwilling to fight to the death. Perhaps these people had also heard of Guanzhong's governance measures.

Perhaps the various Hu nobles also had similar confusions. The lower-level herdsmen and slave warriors were unwilling to fight to the death, which was truly a major issue involving their own survival.

Including the Jizhou soldiers, Taishi Wengong appeared from the side of the battlefield, which directly led to the rout of the Hejian soldiers and caused the defeat of the entire army.

If there had not been many Yuan troops following closely behind to provide support, the entire army might have been wiped out by Wei Yan's pursuit.

Tian Yu was in no mood to talk anymore, he just served tea and led the guests.

At this time, a military officer came in and bowed to the fire pit, saying, "Attendant, the historian Wengong is stationed at the entrance of Magou. It is foggy and I don't know how many troops there are."

Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Tian Yu frowned: "Anything else?"

"The enemy was grazing their horses outside the ditch, so we couldn't see much at the moment."

As he said this he lowered his head in shame, it was normal for horses to graze in the rain when roaming freely in the wild; but their scouts did not dare to continue their in-depth investigation.

No matter how many people go, they can never come back.

So much so that he began to suspect that those people had betrayed and surrendered to the other side.

Only people like him who are in charge of scouting know how difficult the other party is.

Tian Yu drank the tea in the bowl, chewed the tea leaves, and smiled after swallowing: "So, Taishi Wengong blocked the mouth of the ditch and surrounded my army here? What are the actions of the other camps?"

"I don't know. I just found out about it. I will know the actions of each village after the fog dissipates."

"Be careful and wait until the fog clears."

After sending the enemy away, Tian Yu turned his head to look at Wang Ling, with a narrow and abrupt smile on his face: "Last night, when Taishi Wengong attacked the camp, he should have known that the road outside the camp could not withstand the trampling of a large group of people and horses."

In the past few days, the scouts had been galloping back and forth after the rain, and the grass on the ground had been trampled and destroyed by the horses' hooves.

If a large army is dispatched, it will be easy for those in the front to march forward, but those at the back will have to wade through the mud.

Wang Ling frowned: "General, do you mean to doubt that this Grand Historian Wengong is not the same Grand Historian Wengong?"

A person's physical strength is limited. He fought in the rain wearing armor last night. How could he come to provoke us again so early in the morning?

Wang Ling thought of the dummy in Ji County again and nodded slowly: "Then let's give it a try."

(End of this chapter)