Chapter 690: Your Fellow Clansman

“Thank you for the General’s kindness. But General Xu should know my master’s rules. Those beneath him are not permitted to accept gifts casually.”

Luo Da’an declined politely and pushed the sword back with a light touch of his palm. His manner was neither servile nor overbearing.

Ever since his father’s death, his mother had cried until she seemed made of tears. After going through that ordeal, Luo Da’an himself had matured considerably.

His mother had been born a peasant woman and knew only a few characters, but she understood certain truths.

She had told the two brothers that Meng Shanming and Lan Ruoting had valued them enough to take them as disciples because their father had won that opportunity with his life.

Countless others could beg for such a chance and never obtain it.

The brothers therefore had to make something of themselves.

How could Luo Da’an casually break the rules and accept another man’s gift?

Xu Jingyue’s deputy general immediately became displeased.

“This is one of the Grand General’s own swords. Others could beg for it and never receive one. Why are you putting on airs?”

Xu Jingyue instantly rebuked him.

“Shut up!”

Meng Shanming’s steady voice came from inside the tent.

“Who is making noise outside?”

Xu Jingyue drove an elbow backward.

The blow sent his deputy staggering several steps away, rubbing his chest.

Xu Jingyue and Luo Da’an then entered the tent one after another.

Inside, Gong Lince was personally examining Meng Shanming in his wheelchair.

Meng Shanming had slept for an entire day.

His vitality and spirit were visibly much improved. The dark cast that had covered his face had eased, and some color had returned.

Luo Da’an walked to the wheelchair, bent down, and murmured several words into Meng Shanming’s ear.

Meng Shanming glanced at the extra sword in Xu Jingyue’s hand.

“Since it is the goodwill of one of your father’s old friends, accept it.”

“Yes.”

Luo Da’an obeyed at once.

He walked over to Xu Jingyue and held out both hands almost as though asking for the sword.

“Thank you, General Xu.”

“...”

Xu Jingyue was speechless.

He handed the sword over.

Gong Lince withdrew his hand from Meng Shanming and straightened.

“I had intended to let Marshal Meng rest longer, but the military situation is urgent and everyone is waiting for you to decide matters. I had no choice but to wake you early.”

After the victory at Hukou, Song’s river-defense line had suddenly loosened.

Zhang Hu and the others naturally felt that the regional armies still waiting on the opposite bank should seize the opportunity and cross.

Gong Lince, however, felt that Song could not possibly be so kind.

He feared there was a trap.

Put plainly, Gong Lince did not have enough confidence in Zhang Hu and the others to let them decide a matter like this.

He believed Meng Shanming should be the one to judge.

So he had ordered the old marshal awakened.

The fighting around Hukou had all been arranged by Meng Shanming in advance. He had simply handed the execution to those below.

The moment he woke, his first concern had been the state of the war.

Luo Da’an had already reported the entire battle to him.

What Meng Shanming did not yet know was the latest condition of Song’s river defenses.

He raised a hand.

“To the central command tent.”

The group filed out and escorted Meng Shanming there.

The moment they entered, Meng Shanming signaled for a report.

Zhang Hu immediately stood before the map and explained the enemy and friendly dispositions in detail.

When Zhang Hu finished, every gaze in the tent settled on Meng Shanming.

Meng Shanming studied the map for a while before saying slowly, “Song is loosening its defensive line from north to south. They are preparing to make their move against us here.”

“Transmit orders to An Xianzhao, Su Qitong, and Xin Mao. They are to take advantage of the opening and cross the river, then await my next order.”

“Yes!”

Zhang Hu answered, glancing in passing at Gong Lince.

Gong Lince caught the look.

He understood perfectly what Zhang Hu meant.

He thought Gong Lince had made unnecessary trouble.

The result was still the same: cross the river.

Xu Jingyue gave an awkward laugh.

“Changzhou’s forces have suffered considerable losses. Shouldn’t it be time for my Gongzhou troops to earn some merit as well?”

“Marshal, what is the next step?”

Meng Shanming kept his eyes on the map and did not turn around.

“I have matters to discuss with Sect Leader Gong. All of you leave first.”

“Uh...”

Xu Jingyue was speechless again.

He still wanted to say something, but Zhang Hu seized him by the arm and dragged him directly outside.

Soon only Meng Shanming, Gong Lince, and Luo Da’an remained inside.

Meng Shanming continued studying the map.

Gong Lince waited for a while before finally breaking the silence.

“Does Marshal Meng have some instruction for me?”

Meng Shanming came back to himself.

Luo Da’an turned the wheelchair so he faced Gong Lince.

“I have a secret plan that requires the three major sects to dispatch reliable cultivators to cooperate.”

“I wonder whether Sect Leader Gong is willing?”

Gong Lince replied, “So long as it is within our ability, naturally we will cooperate with all our strength. Marshal Meng may speak freely.”

Meng Shanming asked for a pointer.

He touched it to a certain place on the map and began explaining the plan to Gong Lince in detail.

Once Gong Lince understood his meaning, he gave an immediate guarantee.

Then he left quickly to make the arrangements.

Not long after Gong Lince departed, Xu Jingyue came in again.

He carried a large bowl of meat congee in both hands and wore a broad grin.

“Marshal, I had someone prepare a little game meat and stew it into congee. It has been simmering for a long time until everything is completely tender. It should be just right for nourishing your stomach.”

Meng Shanming had slept for so long without eating and truly was hungry.

He did not stand on ceremony.

While Meng Shanming ate, Xu Jingyue lingered nearby.

His words circled again and again around how Gongzhou’s forces ought to have a chance to earn merit too.

More importantly, he wanted to ask how Zhang Hu’s two captured batches of grain were going to be divided.

Again and again, he stressed that his own army truly did not have much grain remaining either.

Meng Shanming slowly drank his congee as though he had heard nothing.

Xu Jingyue became embarrassed again.

He realized he had only come looking for humiliation.

If another commander had ignored him this way, Xu Jingyue might well have slapped the table.

Before Meng Shanming, however, he had neither the confidence nor the courage.

Of course, if it had been another commander, Xu Jingyue would never have lowered himself so far in the first place.

...

“Notify every force immediately. Halt the concentration. Any troops that have already withdrawn from the defensive line are to return at once!”

Luo Zhao’s new order arrived.

Inside the headquarters of the River Defense Governor-General, Wu Qunlie immediately issued the command the moment he read it.

The generals in the hall looked at one another.

One asked, “Why? Are we going back to plug the line?”

“Xin Mao’s force has already crossed the river. Even if we wanted to seal the breach now, it is already too late.”

Wu Qunlie handed Luo Zhao’s order around for everyone to read.

Once they finished, they understood.

The river-defense line was still being abandoned.

What had changed was the plan to concentrate superior forces and annihilate Yan’s first troops to cross.

That stage had been canceled entirely.

They were moving straight to the final step: harass, entangle, and exhaust the enemy to death.

One man sighed as he read.

“If we loosen the defensive line and then offer no real resistance at all, I fear it will be very difficult to explain matters at court.”

Wu Qunlie said, “That is not our concern.”

“Since the Grand Commander-in-Chief issued this order, naturally he will withstand the court himself.”

“What we have to do is torment Yan’s army and wear them to death.”

“From this moment onward, every force is to stay on the heels of its assigned Yan army.”

“When the enemy advances, we withdraw.”

“When the enemy withdraws, we harass.”

“Do not give them any opportunity to obtain grain or fodder.”

“I want to see how long Meng Shanming can endure!”

Someone tried asking, “Who will follow Zhang Hu’s force?”

Everyone understood why he asked.

Zhang Hu’s army had effectively become the central force of Yan’s eastward expedition.

Meng Shanming himself was there.

After two successive battles, Song had already learned how formidable Meng Shanming was.

Who wanted to be assigned to shadow him?

There was inevitably some fear.

Wu Qunlie’s cheek tightened.

Then he said heavily, “My own troops will follow him personally.”

“I refuse to believe even that can go wrong.”

“Tell every force to spread scouts widely and watch every movement of the assigned target.”

“The main army is to maintain distance from the enemy and guard carefully against being lured into a trap!”

These arrangements did not concern the river-defense troops alone.

For the sake of caution, Luo Zhao persuaded Song’s three major sects as well.

The Song Emperor’s support for his adopted son was also considerable.

Ignoring criticism and pressure at court, Song began implementing another part of Luo Zhao’s strategy.

After calculating the maximum length of time Yan’s remaining grain could last, Song ordered every commoner in cities and villages within a certain distance of the war zone forcibly evacuated farther into the interior.

All food was to be removed.

All crops were to be destroyed.

Song was willing to inflict considerable losses upon itself rather than leave Yan’s army even a single grain of rice.

For a time, no one knew how many common people wept as they were forced from their homes.

Many were not wealthy.

They survived on the crops growing in their own fields.

Once driven away, even finding food and shelter became a problem.

What their lives would become afterward was easy to imagine.

But there was no choice.

Before the greater tide of war, ordinary commoners had no power to decide their own fate.

...

All five Yan armies had now crossed the Dongyu River and entered Song territory.

At the same time, Meng Shanming’s side quickly learned of Song’s unusual new movements.

In a war of this scale, both sides sent out large numbers of scouts.

Movements on such a vast scale could not possibly escape notice.

Song’s former river-defense troops were now following and harassing Yan’s armies.

At the same time, the common people ahead were being cleared away en masse.

The intention could not have been more obvious.

Song intended to exhaust Yan’s army to death.

Report after report arrived.

The situation was poor.

The atmosphere inside Yan’s central command tent became heavy.

Song was determined to drag the Yan army into exhaustion, and it had seized precisely upon Yan’s fatal weakness.

“Luo Zhao has changed strategy.” Meng Shanming studied the map and slowly nodded. “The boy is not completely muddleheaded.”

Earlier, the enemy had plainly intended to concentrate superior forces and attack this side.

Now the former river-defense troops had dispersed again and were harassing Yan’s armies along several routes.

Zhang Hu said, “Marshal, although we seized some grain, even if we drink thin gruel ordinarily and eat solid food only before battle, we still cannot last long.”

“All of you leave.”

Meng Shanming waved with his back to them.

“Let me think in peace.”

Everyone exchanged glances, then withdrew from the tent one after another.

Only master and disciple remained.

The tea water came to a boil.

Luo Da’an went to the side and poured tea.

Meng Shanming suddenly asked, “Da’an, you have followed me for quite some time now.”

“Luo Zhao is a fellow clansman of yours in a manner of speaking. You both bear the Luo surname.”

“Now that Luo Zhao has changed his strategy, what do you make of it?”

Luo Da’an carried the tea over and had just set the cup down.

He froze.

Then he slowly straightened and looked at Meng Shanming’s expression.

“Master already has the answer in his heart.”

Meng Shanming gave a small sound.

“Looking at me is useless. Tell me the answer.”

Luo Da’an turned his head toward the map.

“No matter how Luo Zhao changes his strategy, it will not help.”

“As long as the former river-defense troops continue entangling themselves with us, they cannot escape the contingency Master has already prepared.”

“The only difference is that matters have become considerably more troublesome.”

“But so long as our troop movements and maneuvering are handled properly, the final result should not change.”

“The place for the decisive battle will probably have to change.”

“The enemy has changed methods. The original battlefield is no longer suitable.”

Meng Shanming said, “Then find the most suitable place for me.”

“Uh... Master, I...”

Luo Da’an had barely begun when Meng Shanming called out.

“Someone.”

A guard entered.

At Meng Shanming’s signal, the guard pushed his wheelchair outside.

Luo Da’an was left alone inside the tent.

He stood there blankly for a moment.

In the end, he walked to the map and began examining it carefully.

Outside, a group of men were discussing the situation.

The moment they saw Meng Shanming emerge, they came forward.

Zhang Hu asked, “Marshal, do you have a countermeasure?”

Meng Shanming replied, “Da’an is thinking of one inside.”

“I am old now, and my energy is failing.”

“I will leave the next stage of the campaign to Da’an to command.”

[End of Chapter 690]