CH 58

Edited -Zaki

———– 

Yu Chen retreated 20 miles and ordered people to set up a camp along the river bank, stretching for 100 miles to resist the advance of Zhang Hong with the formation of the city wall.

But Yu Chen forgot one thing, that is, the longer the camp stretched, the more difficult it would be to save themselves. Although he also thought of this, the distance between the battalion and the camp was not far, which caused even more disadvantages. Once the enemy set fire, a hundred miles of camp will be on fire one after another. Zhang Hong had no reason not to use fire attack. This could be a good way to get rid of the enemies once and for all.

Lang Jing advised Yu Chen against it, but Yu Chen was furious, scolding Lang Jing for being young and not knowing his own place. He said that he had been fighting for decades. How would he be still afraid of Zhang Hong?

Yu Chen not only refused to listen to Lang Jing’s advice, but also ordered him to be arrested and beheaded, saying that he disturbed the morale of the army. The Official Registrar Zhang Mo and the Generals begged hard, saying that Lang Jing was the person who was personally ordered by His Majesty and was Xue Yu’s confidant. If he killed him, he would offend many people. Yu Chen let Lang Jing go angrily. 

Lang Jing knew that this battle was bound to be lost, but it was a pity because the news of  defeat would be spread to the Capital and Emperor Xue would implicate Marquis Zhenjiang in a fit of anger.

In a few days, a General came with a decree, ordering all the people to bow down and receive the decree. The decree said that Yu Chen had been careless with his troops and caused them to retreat, and that Emperor Xue had dismissed him from the post of Commander and asked him to hand over the Military plaque and the seal immediately and return to the Capital, and that General Teng Ying was rushing to Ming River.

Yu Chen was not happy to hear this. When he heard that it was Teng Ying, the little white boy, who had caused the trouble for him, he refused to accept the decree and detained the guard who read the decree.

Yu Chen disobeyed the Imperial decree, which made the army terrified, but no one dared to stand up against it, fearing that they would become the next Lang Jing.

Yu Chen ordered 1,000 elite soldiers to put on armor and helmets and hold lances in their hands, and to go with Yu Chen to meet the new General.

Official Registrar Zhang Mo was also a great General in the past, but unfortunately, he injured his right hand severely when he went to battle to kill the enemy. Although it was alright to pick up a pen and write, he couldn’t hold heavy objects. He had to step back from the battle and become a civil servant. He ran to ask Lang Jing for advice. Lang Jing just said, “Teng Ying can retreat from the enemy when he comes.”

When Teng Yun took the army to Ming River, he heard the soldiers in front suddenly say, “General, there seems to be a troop ahead.”

At this time, there was some fog and he could not see far away. So Teng Yun was afraid that it was Zhang Hong’s ambush and did not dare to let everyone march rashly. The team of men came forward, and the one in lead came closer, it was Yu Chen. 

Yu Chen was holding a lance in his hand, and when he saw Teng Yun, he sneered and said, “Your Highness Teng is here.”

Hearing his first sentence, Teng Yun knew that Yu Chen had not obeyed the Imperial decree, and said, “Is General Yu here to submit the Official seal and the Military plaque?”

After hearing this, Yu Chen sneered again, spat a mouthful of spit and said, “What are you, did you come to lead the troops in Ming River?”

Then he raised his lance, pointed its sharp head at Teng Yun and said arrogantly, “If you can fight through here today, you can be the General . If you can’t even pass the lance in my hand, how can you be the General? Get back to Capital and just be a fucking concubine.” 

Teng Yun said, “I am afraid that if we do it in front of the army, it will disturb their morale.”

Yu Chen laughed and said, “If you don’t dare, go back obediently, there is no need to talk about them!”

At this time, Zhang Mo stood up and said, “Now we are confronting Zhang Hong. If the two Generals end up fighting, it will really make all the soldiers suspicious. It’s better like this … All the Generals present are witnesses. The two Generals each hold the Commander-in-Chief flag and take the hill in front as the boundary. Whoever can insert the Commander-in-Chief flag on the hill first would be the Commander of Ming River. All the Generals should be convinced.”

Yu Chen raised his eyes and looked at Teng Yun. He seemed very disdainful. It was even okay to say that the other person came here as a Civil Officer, but to grab the Commander-in-Chief’s flag from himself, wasn’t this a joke? 

Teng Yun glanced at the Commander-in-Chief flag, although the big flag was heavy, and the physical strength of this body was half-strong, but it might not be impossible to insert the flag by skillful means.

It was pointless for both sides to talk more, so their respective soldiers presented the Commander-in-Chief  flags.

Teng Yun weighed the Commander-in-Chief flag in his hand. It was really a little hard to play with the flag on the horse.

Yu Chen took over the Commander-in-Chief flag, immediately grabbed the reins, urged his horse and galloped away first. Teng Yun picked up the flag in his left hand and grabbed the reins in his other hand to catch up. 

Both horses were naturally good horses. They kept abreast of each other for a time. Yu Chen disdained his opponent. He swung the banner up with his arm and he stabbed Teng Yun with the tip of the flag. Teng Yun ducked on the horse’s back and dodged the blow. He was not provoked by the other party, but tried his best to urge the horse to rush up the hill.

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Teng Yun was not strong enough to wave the Commander-in-Chief flag and turned his hand to take out the Tiger Wing Sword. 

In a flash, with a single “hiss”, a big flag was deeply inserted into the soil, and the flag in Yu Chen’s hand was cut in half by the Tiger Wing sword.

Although the fog was heavy, the soldiers stood not far away and still they didn’t understand what had happened. They saw the Commander-in-Chief flag with the words “Ming River General Yu” crashing and falling to the ground. Naturally, they knew that the victory and defeat had been decided.

Yu Chen was annoyed by the brat who had taken the lead. He wanted to make a killing move, but at this time Lang Jing came over with his men and said with a smile, “General Yu is a man of his word, naturally he will not bother with his junior.”

Yu Chen was surrounded by his Generals and was ashamed to be watched by so many pairs of eyes. 

Teng Yun just clasped his fist and said, “Emperor Xue has an order — He has asked General Yu to return to the Capital in a few days after reorganization.”

Yu Chen could not say anything even if he was not convinced, so he threw his lance away and set his horse back to the camp.

When Teng Yun entered the camp, he immediately called his men for a meeting to discuss the matter of dealing with Zhang Hong.

On the table, the cloth camp map and Zhang Hong’s camp map were laid out. Lang Jing said: “Every fire attack will inevitably need the help of wind. It is dry and windy north of the Ming River. The reason why Zhang Hong didn’t set fire immediately is because the direction of the wind is wrong. If he sets fire rashly, he will definitely bring trouble to his own army and troops.” 

Teng Yun looked at the army camp that stretched for a hundred miles and his heart was troubled for a moment. He said, “The camp might not be so secure. But its already too late to change it now.”

Lang Jing said, “This Lang has studied astronomy and astrology. There will be a strong wind within three days. When the time comes, Zhang Hong will set fire to the wind. If we re-establish camp again, three days will definitely not be enough.”

Teng Yun ran his fingers over the map and said, “What is the name of this canyon?”

Zhang Mo said, “This place is called Broken Intestine valley. The valley is named after the sheep’s intestines as the path mirrors the intestines. The rations and provisions that are  supplied from the nearest state and county can reach Ming River only after passing the Broken Intestine valley.  If the valley is abandoned, it would take a long time to deliver rations each time.” 

Teng Yun reached out and knocked on the map, and suddenly laughed, “There’s a way out of this.”

Lang Jing also nodded in surprise at this time, and a cold face that had remained unchanged all year surprisingly changed somewhat, saying, “I wonder if the General’s solution is the same as this Lang’s thoughts.”

Teng Yun picked up the pen on the desk and wrote a word in the palm of his hand. Lang Jing also picked up the pen and wrote a word. They spread out their palms at the same time. The Generals saw that both had written the word “fire”.

Zhang Mo said, “What is this attack with fire method?” 

Teng Yun pointed to the canyon on the map and said, “Right now, we don’t have enough time to re-establish the camp, so let’s use the Broken Intestine Valley to lure Zhang Hong into a scheme and delay the time.”

He paused, “Zhang Hong has been stationed in the hinterland for a long time, but there must be a shortage of food and grains. At this time, if there is a troop of improperly guarded food and grain carts, Zhang Hong will certainly try to take advantage of this… Especially in the dangerous terrain of Broken Intestine Valley, Zhang Hong would certainly send troops to ambush there in advance. Let the grain transportation officer pile the food and grain carts with straw that can easily catch fire. As soon as the ambush is discovered, the straw should be set ablaze and this would cause chaos among the enemy troops in the narrow Broken Intestine valley. Dozens of food and grain carts should be nailed to each other and block the exits at both ends. In this way, Zhang Hong would inevitably lose his troops and would not dare to attack rashly. ”

As soon as the Generals heard this, they all felt that this was indeed a good plan. In this way, Zhang Hong would fail to ambush, but instead fall into their trap. The soldiers naturally could not escape in chaos. At that time, due to the loss of their troops, they would not attack this side.

Lang Jing’s plan was also similar. Teng Yun sent someone to spread the rumors and the matter about food passing through Broken Intestine valley was revealed to Zhang Hong on the other side of Ming River. 

Zhang Hong was overjoyed when he heard the information. Many soldiers had already complained about lack of food and provision in their army. Although Zhang Hong had cut down several complainants, even if people did not dare to say anything now, the problem of food shortage had to be solved.

Zhang Hong’s ancestral origin was nomadic. Although brave, they were people who drank wine and ate meat. Now being in an expedition outside, although they could transport wine, they could not transport meat, as it became rotten very easily. Now everyone could only eat grains to fill their stomach.

How could soldiers fight and kill the enemy without enough food?

Zhang Hong did not think too deeply about it. He immediately sent a thousand elite soldiers, let his General lead an ambush in the Broken Intestine Valley, and sent two thousand elite soldiers to meet at a later point, to ensure that nothing was lost! 

Zhang Mo volunteered to pretend to be the grain officer. Hundreds of grain trucks pushed mountains of “food and grains” into the canyon. As soon as they entered, they were ambushed by the soldiers lying in wait.

Zhang Mo was about to light the fire when he saw that someone else had come to meet the soldiers as reinforcements. Zhang Mo was secretly pleased, he did not expect Zhang Hong to send so many people. So he pretended to panic and waited for another 2,000 elite soldiers to enter the canyon before setting the grain wagons on fire.

One of the grain trucks caught fire, and the rest of the barrage also caught fire. The enemy army panicked, Zhang Mo and others took advantage of their panic and fled out of the valley. When the soldier who was waiting outside saw the Official Registrar coming out, he ordered the men to push out the grain wagons that were nailed together to block the entrance of the valley.  The enemy troops were chased by fire and rushed out to clash. When they rushed to the entrance of the valley, they saw that there was a big fire here also. The grain wagons that were red with fire blocked the way out, because the nails were connected to the wagons, there was no place to escape at all.

Teng Yun personally led the troops and captured all the escaped fugitives alive. 

Zhang Hong happily waited for the return of food and grains. He also deliberately distributed the rest of the wine and meat to the soldiers in order to celebrate the victory in advance.  As he was happily drinking to his fill, a soldier suddenly rushed into the tent.

Zhang Hong pulled the soldier to drink together, the soldier knelt on the ground and shouted, “Lord Commander, the sentry tower found the fire in the north, I’m afraid the Broken Intestine Valley is on fire!”

Zhang Hong shouted “What?!”

He flat out did not believe it, and said the soldier was from the enemy camp trying to disturb the morale of the army. Because he was drunk, he grabbed a big sword and cut down the soldier who reported the news. 

The banquet broke up unhappily because of the killing. The next day, Zhang Hong only sobered up at around noon, and found that none of the 3000 elite soldiers that he had sent had come back.

Zhang Hong then realized that the situation was not good.. He sent spies to explore the Broken Intestine Valley. The spies soon returned and said that 3000 elite soldiers had disappeared in the Broken Intestine Valley fire. Only then, Zhang Hong knew that he had gotten caught in a trap and he fell onto the ground full of anger.

———-

The first battle report was soon sent to the Capital, General Teng Ying did not lose a single soldier, eliminating more than 2,000 enemy troops, and captured more than 100 enemy soldiers, including a Senior General who was the Deputy General of Zhang Hong. 

When the Ministers in the court heard the good news, they were awed by Teng Yun’s style. Within a few days after arriving at Ming River, he had made such a great achievement. He not only won a battle, but won it in a crisp manner. It must have been a big blow to Zhang Hong. For a time, the name of the General shocked the whole government and the public.

Xue Junliang said with a smile: “It seems that Teng Ying really didn’t disappoint this Seat, but also confirmed his ability to everyone. This Seat lacked such talents.”

The Ministers kowtowed and shouted “Your Majesty is wise”. Then Shen Yi stood up and said, “Your Majesty, although the General has won the war, there is another urgent matter.”

Xue Junliang glanced at him and said, “Oh? What’s the matter?” 

Shen Yi said, “General Yu Chen still hasn’t returned to the Capital… If we continue to let General Yu Chen stay in the Ming River, I’m afraid one mountain can’t accommodate two tigers and will divide the army’s morale. At that time, I’m afraid Zhang Hong will take advantage of the opportunity to enter. Wouldn’t the loss be more than the gain?”

Xue Junliang nodded and said, “This is indeed the truth, but ……”

He said with some hesitation on his face and pretended to be very tired: “Although this Seat is above everyone, sometimes, this Seat does not have freedom to act independently. Yu Chen holds a massive army in his control. This Seat has made a decree, but he doesn’t come back. Do you have any good solutions?”

All the ministers became silent when they heard the question. The military power in Yu Chen’s hand could not be underestimated, and Xue Houyang was in the southern border, no one could fight against Yu Chen, if they were not careful, they would end up raising internal trouble 

Shen Yi did not say anything, so Xue Junliang ordered for the court to be dispersed, and then called Shen Yi to the warm pavilion in the study.

Shen Yi said, “This lowly Minister really has a plan.”

Xue Junliang sat on the big chair in the warm Pavilion and said with a smile, “I knew you had a lot of tricks, this Seat asked you to teach the young prince to read, you would not teach this Seat’s son badly, right?”

Shen Yi said with a dry smile, “The prince is smart and can distinguish right from wrong. Could this lowly Minister be able to teach him wrong? Your Majesty, please listen to the plan, and don’t make fun of this lowly Minister.” 

Without waiting for Xue Junliang’s interface, he hurriedly continued: “Your Majesty is so eager to invite Yu Chen back, he will definitely not be willing, after all, he lost the battle. His Majesty should promote the title of concubine De and then take this opportunity to make Yu Chen return to the Capital, who will naturally return without doubt. As long as Yu Chen returns to the Capital, would Your Majesty need to be worried about his troops?”

Xue Junliang nodded and said with a smile, “That’s how it will be done.”

While he was talking, Jiang Yu came in, presented a memorial and said, “Your Majesty, Marquis Wannian asked someone to bring this back to the Capital using a fast horse. He said he wanted to present it to Your Majesty.”

Xue Junliang did not know what Xue Houyang was up to, so he asked Jiang Yu to bring it over, unfolded the memorial and took a look, and froze. 

Shen Yi had not yet retreated. He thought that Marquis Wannian had encountered some difficulties. This was the first time he had seen such an expression on Emperor Xue. So he asked, “Your Majesty?”

Xue Junliang recovered after hearing the sound. He spread out the memorial to Shen Yi. There were only three words “Blue Blood Pavilion” written on it.

Xue Junliang said, “You are knowledgeable, do you know who wrote these three words?”

Shen Yi did not understand what Xue Junliang was trying to point out, he just replied: “Naturally, I know, this lowly Minister lived in the Teng Kingdom for a little while …… The three words – Blue Blood Pavilion has a story, but to say it now may be a little treacherous.” 

“Oh? How treacherous?”

Shen Yi said, “Because back then Tengnan was still Teng Country.”

“Say it.”

With Emperor Xue’s permission, Shen Yi continued, “When Teng Country was still fighting with the Emperor, Teng Country had an Iron General, called Teng Yun. The Emperor might know that that year, because the previous King Teng was stupid and incompetent, he only knew how to enjoy himself in the Capital and squandered all the food and salaries that should be used as military provisions. The eunuchs in order to please the King, seized the request report that was made for urgent provisions. General Teng Yun resisted with his troops. But because of lack of food and reinforcements, the army was beaten back again and again. At that time, he retreated to a small abandoned pavilion and General Teng Yun vowed not to surrender, and wrote the words ‘Blue Blood Pavilion’ on the pavilion pillar with blood. Later, the people living nearby, in order to commemorate Teng Yun’s vow to defend the pavilion to the death, specially copied his words down and made it into a plaque. This is how the pavilion got its name.” 

Xue Junliang narrowed his eyes, knocked on the memorial, and said, “These are exactly the three words?”

Shen Yi just nodded.

Xue Junliang didn’t say anything more, but just got up and walked to the bookcase in the warm pavilion. He pulled out a book, turned to a specific page and handed it to Shen Yi.

Shen Yi didn’t know what Emperor Xue intended. He could only read the opened page. Some of the military techniques that were written on it were all strategies and marching plans against Cheng Tian. Cheng Tian had already been killed by Zhang Hong. This was obviously something from the past. 

Shen Yi turned to the back, could not help but stare as he saw the two small “Blue Blood” written in the corner. The previous “Blue Blood Pavilion” written on the memorial, the handwriting was exactly the same, not even the slightest difference.

If it was a different word, just looking at the handwriting, there may be an imitation, but even if it was imitated again, it couldn’t be exactly the same.

At this time, Xue Junliang said faintly, “What Shen Yi has in his hand is the late Empress’ calligraphy.”

Shen Yi’s hand trembled and dropped the booklet on the floor with a “snap”, Jiang Yu stood to the side and hurriedly picked up the booklet and wiped it clean, this was the Empress’ treasured calligraphy, the crime for breaking it was not small. 

Xue Junliang narrowed his eyes and stared at the memorials on the table. “Shen Yi has always been smart. What do you think of these two words?”

“This… lowly Minister…..”

Shen Yi naturally guessed long ago that Teng Yun and the Empress were the same person, just because Shen Yi has learned a lot of Teng Country’s affairs. He had also spent a long time in Feng Country. He naturally knew that the information was conflicting. So after guessing the truth, he went to the Empress to confirm his conjecture.

Although the Empress did not admit anything, she was silent. Now these “old things” were suddenly mentioned by Emperor Xue. Shen Yi was a little overwhelmed. If he was asked to say something, it might be absurd, but this was the truth. 

Obviously, Xue Junliang also began to doubt this absurd fact.

The only woman he favoured and trusted in his life was the enemy he had killed himself. If this was true, all his doubts that he had for a long time would be solved easily. It turned out to be so simple………