Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 261: Surrounded but not attacked

Standing on a high place, Lü Jia looked out over the floodwaters that had submerged Panyu City, and lamented, "My life's work is ruined just like that!"

Wuzhan said: "War is always so ruthless. It can destroy all the buildings in the world, but as long as people are still alive, civilization will continue, the city can be rebuilt, and it will be built more solidly."

Lu Jia said: "How many years can I live? How can I see the day when Panyu is rebuilt?"

Lu Zhe said: "Don't worry, father. After we defeat the enemy, Baiyue will experience unprecedented peace. It will only take a few years to rebuild Panyu. Father will definitely see a brand new and prosperous Panyu city."

Lu Jia smiled and said, "That's your job!"

Wuzhu came in front of Wuzhan, knelt on one knee and said: "Wuzhu thanks the special envoy for saving my Minyue soldiers!" If Wuzhan had not used a trick to make the Minyue soldiers defect, what would have been floating in Panyu City would have been the corpses of the Minyue people.

Lu Zhe said: "Sir, you are very good at foresight. You have already predicted that King Xiong would send my uncle as the vanguard, so you made this plan."

Wuzhan helped Wuzhu up and said, "You are too polite, King Min. Foreign ministers have already stated in the documents that our Qin State is about conquest, not destruction. As long as King Min submits to our Great Qin, our Great Qin will definitely preserve the Minyue State and retain the throne of King Min."

Wu Zhu said: "When I saw the document, I was indeed moved, but I was forced to do so by Wen Lang's threat. I want the people of Minyue to never forget this feeling!"

Xu Hu came to Wuzhan and asked, "Special Envoy, the enemy has suffered heavy losses and their morale is low. Should we take this opportunity to annihilate them?"

Wuzhan said: "The enemy army was on guard and did not rush here. Although they suffered a water attack, their main force is still intact. If we attack now, although we have a chance of winning, we will inevitably suffer heavy losses. Moreover, the 'Zang Ding' has a magic weapon that is enough to destroy the entire army. If we force it, the result will be hard to predict."

Xu Hu asked: "Then what should we do?"

"The Xiong King has lost his mind at this point. He will definitely regroup and pursue us. We will retreat eastwards and enter the territory of Minyue."

Wu Zhu said: "Once we reach the territory of Minyue, we will definitely be able to escape the enemy's pursuit!"

Wuzhan said: "Instead of getting rid of them, we will lure the enemy into Jiulian Mountain and fight them!"

Xu Hu said: "Decisive battle? If we want a decisive battle, why not now? Why go there to fight?"

"It's deserted and surrounded by mountains. Even if they release their magic weapons, the harm won't spread. Besides, my Qin army is setting up an ambush there waiting for them!"

Wu Zhu said: "Hasn't the Qin army built ships and is heading south through the canal dug by Shi Lu to surround the coalition forces?"

"That is just a false impression to confuse the enemy. Only by taking advantage of the situation can we win. If the enemy knows our marching route and hides, I don't know how long it will take for us to win."

Lu Zhe said: "I think you have already laid out this chess game. Once the coalition forces enter Panyu, they will become caged beasts."

Wuzhan said: "If the coalition forces still adopt guerrilla tactics, even with Shi Lu's canal, it will be difficult for our Qin army to find the main force of the coalition forces and annihilate them all. But since Jie Jun succeeded in the sneak attack on Tu Sui and defeated our Qin army, he has become arrogant and has united his troops. In this way, their whereabouts are no longer concealed. In a head-on confrontation with our Qin army, they may not be able to win even with three times their troops."

……

Jiulian Mountain is not actually nine connected mountains, but an endless series of mountains with dense trees, crisscrossing canyons and shrouded in fog.

King Xiong and Jie Jun led an army of less than 150,000 and followed the footprints left by the Nanyue army and civilians for three days. They were already exhausted and food was extremely scarce, so they relied on hunting and wild fruits to survive.

The scouts ahead reported, "The Nanyue and Minyue troops have stopped at the entrance of the mountain stream two miles ahead and have formed their battle array. Perhaps the mountain stream is a dead end, and they are preparing for a decisive battle with our army!"

Everyone was delighted to hear this. The Xiong King said fiercely, "Great, we have finally cornered these bastards. Pass the order down, the entire army should move forward at full speed, and we must bury these rebels in this valley!"

Ji Jie looked around, feeling somewhat uneasy, because the terrain here was shaped like a pot, with cliffs on all sides. Once the rear was blocked, he would be trapped. But even if the enemy army divided its forces to guard, there would not be enough troops to defend it. The Qin army was far away in the Pearl River and it was impossible for it to arrive here in a short time. So his worries disappeared.

There is a hillside next to the entrance of the mountain stream. Looking around, a luxurious ship is particularly conspicuous. It is located at a high place at the head of the formation. Wuzhan, Lu Jia, Wuzhu and others are on the bow of the ship, looking down at the coalition forces below the mountain.

When Ji Jie saw Wuzhan, he became furious and shouted, "Li Zhong, I didn't expect that you would be desperate!" The echo resounded throughout the valley.

Wuzhan said calmly: "This is not my dead end, but the dead end prepared for you."

Ji Jie sneered and said, "I really admire your mouth. You can always talk big!"

Wuzhan said: "Then please tell me, Lord Jing, when did I brag?"

When Ji Jie was asked this, he really couldn't point out when Wuzhan had boasted. Then he heard Wuzhan say, "Did he tell you that at Poyang Lake? You are just an unwilling person. You think the world should be yours and you should be the emperor because your ancestors have ruled the world for eight hundred years. It was the vassal states that stole your kingdom. So you are unwilling to accept this. Even if the world is peaceful, you want to restore it. Do you understand now that it is because of unwilling people like you that many people in the world will die? You have been persevering all the way here, and your purpose is nothing more than that because they do not listen to your orders, they must die and must be punished to maintain your dignity as a king. Even if your kingship is granted by God, you are just an ordinary person. When have these people, including the soldiers of Baiyue, received your favor? Why should they listen to you and die for you?" This sentence not only stunned Ji Jie, but also everyone who heard it. They had never heard such shocking words, and they couldn't even understand it. Some people have never thought about this question since they were born, let alone what they were fighting for.

King Xiong suddenly laughed and said, "I don't want to listen to your nonsense. I only know that some people are born as kings, and they should be worshipped, drink wine and eat meat, while some people are born humble, and they are only fit to be slaves, eat grass and work hard. The world is always ruled by the strong!"

Wuzhan said: "Everyone here can drink and eat meat, and I believe you can also eat grass when you are hungry. The world is indeed ruled by the strong, but unfortunately you are not a strong one yet, you are only fit to be a butcher!"

The Xiong King laughed and said, "I am indeed a butcher today. I will skin you alive later!" He raised his wolf-tooth hammer and roared, "Attack the mountain, kill all the rebels, and eat their flesh alive!"

This shout really boosted the morale of the coalition forces. They were already full of hatred and were starving, so they rushed up the mountain like hungry wolves.

When the enemy troops surged toward the mountainside like a tide, Wuzhan said in a deep voice, "Release the rolling logs and rocks!"

At the command, hundreds of huge rolling logs and hundreds of huge rocks as big as small mountains rolled down the mountain. The soldiers who rushed up saw this scene and dared not rush up anymore. They turned around and fled for their lives down the mountain. Before they had run far, they were caught up by the rolling logs and rocks and crushed into meat paste, resulting in heavy casualties.

The Xiong King smashed the boulder flying towards him with his hammer and shouted, "Don't run away! Keep charging upwards!"

Ji Jie said: "Don't be anxious, King Xiong. I'm sure they don't have too many rolling logs and rocks prepared. Let's make a feint attack first to lure the enemy to release all the rolling logs and rocks. Then we can launch a general attack!"

King Xiong said: "Just do as the emperor says!"

……

Two hours passed and the sun was about to set. The coalition forces launched five rounds of feint attacks. However, the enemy always waited until the coalition forces could no longer escape before releasing the logs. It was difficult for those who went up to retreat alive, and the entire hillside was stained red with blood.

After a long time of attack, the morale of the coalition forces began to decline, and they even began to retreat. King Xiong became more and more impatient and said to Ji Jie, "Didn't you say that they didn't prepare too many rolling logs and rocks? We have attacked six times and lost 20,000 soldiers. Why can't we use up all the damn wood?"

Ji Jie narrowed his eyes and looked at Wuzhan on the ship, thinking: "I can't figure out why they cut so many rolling logs in such a short time. Did they prepare them in advance?"

King Xiong said: "How could they know that we would chase here? Moreover, they don't have so many people here to prepare so much. You should think of other ways to attack!"

Ji Jie said: "Then we can only wait until dark and attack them at night when they are sleepy!"

……

Although it was night, there were bright bonfires on the mountain. From time to time, the aroma of barbecue and rice wafted down the mountain, making the hunger of the coalition forces at the foot of the mountain even more rumbling. In addition, the melodious sound of piano coming from the luxury ship echoed in the valley, making the scene even more desolate and sad.

Inside the ship, Zhao Tuo placed a chess piece and said with a smile, "Sir, you are so lucky. Even when the two armies are facing each other, you can still hear Yunchu's piano music, which is unrivaled in Lingnan. It's just a pity that those people who don't understand music down the mountain can hear it in vain!"

Wuzhan said: "General, you are wrong. Languages ​​may not be understood in this world, but music is. No matter whether the listeners understand music or not, they will feel it. It's just that the circumstances and moods are different, so the feelings are also different. That's why I never get tired of listening to the sound of the piano."

Zhao Tuo smiled and asked, "Sir, do you want to use Miss Yunchu's music to demoralize the enemy?"

"It's not necessarily to demoralize people, it just makes them calm down and think about the beauty of being alive!"

Zhao Tuo said, "I have one question that I don't understand. Sir, since the enemy has been trapped, why do you still hide our Qin army and only defend but not attack?"

Wuzhan asked, "If the general trapped a tiger, when would he choose to kill it more easily?"

"Of course I'll strike when it's hungriest!"

"What the general said is not entirely right. A tiger is much more ferocious when it is the hungriest. In order to survive, it will burst out all its strength to resist. Therefore, it should be allowed to see a glimmer of hope, and exhaust all its strength in hope. Wouldn't it be safest to kill it then? A bloody victory will indeed inspire people and make the world terrified, but a general should be clear-headed and know when to sacrifice and when not to sacrifice. Winning without fighting is the true kingly way. Doesn't the general want to treat the people of Baiyue well? The enemy army is also Yue people, but they are controlled by the reckless man and have no choice but to obey. After the southern border is pacified, they will all be the people of my Great Qin. Treating prisoners of war well is the beginning of governing the southern border."

Zhao Tuo quickly stood up, knelt on the ground, and said with tears of gratitude: "I, Zhao Tuo, have no regrets in my death to have met you, sir. On behalf of the people of Southern Xinjiang, I would like to thank you for your great kindness!"

Wuzhan helped Zhao Tuo up and said, "General, you are too kind. I have no merits. I am just doing my best for Your Majesty."

Zhao Tuo said: "Sir, you are too modest. Without your series of arrangements, how could we have turned the tide of the war and pacified southern Xinjiang in such a short time? Those who are valued by Your Majesty must be extremely talented and knowledgeable."

At this moment, the rumbling sound of rolling logs came from outside the boat, breaking the silence of the night, followed by endless wailing from the bottom of the mountain.

(End of this chapter)