Chapter 692: Gray-Templed Old Thief

"Oh? Then I will have to watch closely." Zha Hu smiled.

"Luo Zhao cannot see through Meng Shanming's intention, yet General has seen through it. It appears there is some truth to the saying 'Yan has Shanming; Qi has Wuhen.'"

"I only wonder, if General and Meng Shanming faced one another, which of you would prove superior?"

Even Hao Yuntu had been too considerate to ask the question aloud.

His steward showed no such restraint.

Huyan Wuhen fell silent for a moment.

At last he said slowly, "If this campaign were mine instead, and Luo Zhao struck precisely at my weak point the way he has here, I would certainly lose."

Zha Hu had thought he was joking.

He had asked Huyan Wuhen to compare himself with Meng Shanming.

Why had he turned around and compared himself to Luo Zhao, whom Huyan Wuhen had just described as the lesser commander?

Worse, he had actually said he himself would lose.

What did that mean?

But Huyan Wuhen did not look as though he were joking.

The smile vanished from Zha Hu's face.

"How could that be?"

"General himself just said Luo Zhao has still not seen through Meng Shanming's intention, while General has already done so. The difference seems plain enough."

Huyan Wuhen waved a hand and shook his head.

"Tiger, this has nothing to do with whose techniques of war are superior."

"If I were in Meng Shanming's place, I could not simply disregard the danger to Yanjing."

"One imperial decree would be enough to force me to race back and reinforce the capital."

"I would have no choice but to let Luo Zhao lead me by the nose."

"Meng Shanming is a comparatively pure soldier."

"You can see it from the way he fights."

"All these years have passed, yet what he believes should be upheld has never changed."

"Not only does he fight with few restraints, his methods have become more seasoned and ruthless with age."

"I am different. There are matters I cannot simply ignore."

"Tiger, I am entangled too deeply."

He sighed softly and turned away.

Zha Hu watched his departing back, thoughtful.

He roughly understood what Huyan Wuhen meant.

There was no need to look farther than all the entanglements created by marriage ties with the imperial clan.

...

Morning light spread across the sky.

Song's great army began stirring.

After its rest, the troops were preparing to set out again.

"Wen You is here. Has some new development occurred?"

Outside the courtyard of a private residence, Chang Fei, one of the three Elders speaking together there, called out when he saw Wen You approaching with an intelligence report in hand.

"Exactly." Wen You nodded.

He reached the courtyard gate, saw the house doors still tightly shut, and looked somewhat surprised.

"The Grand Commander-in-Chief still hasn't woken?"

Dong Yinglai said, "He may have been too worn down by worry and labor these past few days. The army can spare another hour. Let him sleep a little longer."

Wen You frowned and lifted the report in his hand.

"The military situation from the river-defense front is supposed to be reported every two hours. How could he possibly sleep soundly?"

At that, the three Elders exchanged glances.

That did seem strange.

Wen You strode quickly into the courtyard and knocked on the closed door.

"Grand Commander-in-Chief?"

The three Elders followed behind him.

Inside, morning light filtered through the papered lattice windows.

Before a hanging map sat Luo Zhao.

He had spent the whole night there.

He had not slept at all.

His handsome face remained firm, though exhaustion showed plainly upon it.

He had spent the entire night staring at that map.

Fighting deep inside Yan did not worry him.

The greater strategic momentum was on his side.

What truly concerned him was the war inside Song against Meng Shanming.

Meng Shanming's intention remained unclear.

A powerful sense of danger had pressed on Luo Zhao's heart without cease.

Until that danger was resolved, how could Song's Grand Commander-in-Chief possibly sleep?

Hearing the knock and call outside, Luo Zhao said, "Come in."

The door creaked open.

Wen You and the others entered and found Luo Zhao sitting there in silver armor.

From the look of him, he had not even removed his armor during the night.

The men exchanged glances.

Wen You approached.

"Grand Commander-in-Chief, you did not rest at all?"

Luo Zhao looked at him.

"What is happening with Wu Qunlie's side?"

"Xin Mao's troops have entered the Qunluo Mountains. The force following them has gone in as well."

As Wen You reported, he walked to the map, picked up a piece of charcoal, scraped several marks across it, and updated the positions of the armies.

Then he tapped several locations.

"The forces have led one another back and forth until their range of movement has grown smaller and smaller."

"At present, almost all the major forces on both sides have entered the Qunluo Mountains."

Luo Zhao's face was taut.

He had already noticed that.

"Meng Shanming seems to intend a decisive battle with our forces in the Qunluo Mountains."

Wen You nodded.

"That intention is obvious."

"The difficulty is that I simply cannot see what method he could use to fight us decisively."

"Wu Qunlie and the others are not fools."

"By now they must be on the highest alert. How could they fall into a trap easily?"

That was precisely the problem Luo Zhao had been pondering.

Dong Yinglai spoke.

"The mountains are thick with vegetation. There are many edible plants."

"Could Meng Shanming be thinking that once his grain is exhausted, he can rely on what grows naturally in the mountains and use that to endure a prolonged struggle with us?"

Naive nonsense born of imagination.

Do you think two million soldiers are cultivators like you?

Luo Zhao almost rolled his eyes.

Even so, his reply remained polite.

"Elder Dong is joking. This is not a force of several tens of thousands. It is more than two million men."

"No matter how abundant the things growing naturally in the mountains may be, whatever is edible could not withstand so many mouths."

Dong Yinglai considered that and realized it was true.

He gave a slightly awkward smile.

"The Grand Commander-in-Chief is right."

"But Meng Shanming has lured our river-defense forces into the Qunluo Mountains. How exactly does he intend to fight this battle?"

Everyone continued staring at the map in thought.

Luo Zhao, however, slowly turned his head toward Dong Yinglai.

He spoke one word at a time.

"Elder Dong, what did you just say?"

Something in his tone was wrong.

Wen You whipped around to look at him, then at Dong Yinglai.

He knew Luo Zhao well enough to realize Dong Yinglai's words must have triggered something.

The others also turned toward Dong Yinglai.

None of them had noticed anything wrong in what he had said.

Under all those stares, Dong Yinglai became uncomfortable.

"I said the Grand Commander-in-Chief was right. Was that wrong?"

Luo Zhao seemed suddenly burdened by a weight of ten thousand jin.

Both hands braced against the arms of his chair, yet for a moment he could not stand.

His voice trembled.

"The sentence after that."

Dong Yinglai frowned.

"I asked how Meng Shanming intends to fight after luring our river-defense forces into the Qunluo Mountains."

Everyone looked at one another.

They still heard nothing strange.

Yet Luo Zhao was now pushing himself shakily to his feet as though using every scrap of strength in his body.

His widened eyes stared at the map as though they might split.

Su Yuanbai stepped forward.

"Grand Commander-in-Chief, what is wrong?"

Luo Zhao staggered several steps toward the map.

A trembling finger pointed at it.

"River defense... Dongyu River... Qunluo Mountains..."

He could barely form the words.

His legs seemed to lose their strength.

Before he could finish, he staggered backward like a man seized by convulsions, knocked over the chair, and collapsed to the floor as helplessly as a three-year-old child.

"Grand Commander-in-Chief!"

Everyone cried out and rushed to support him.

Even after they hauled him up, Luo Zhao continued struggling to point toward the map.

Something seemed lodged in his throat.

No sound would come.

His eyes strained wide.

Seeing him like this, Wen You grew frightened and uncertain.

He had no idea what Luo Zhao had seen that could shock him so badly.

Su Yuanbai said, "Grand Commander-in-Chief, do not rush. Speak slowly."

He pressed a palm against Luo Zhao's back and circulated spiritual power to calm his disordered breathing.

At last Luo Zhao's chaotic qi settled.

His voice finally came.

It was almost a cry of despair.

"We have fallen into his trap!"

"Withdraw!"

"Have Wu Qunlie's forces withdraw immediately!"

"Get out of the Qunluo Mountains at once!"

"Quickly! Quickly! Quickly!"

Everyone stared at him in alarm.

They already understood the matter had to be extraordinarily serious.

Otherwise Luo Zhao could never have panicked like this.

But they were still confused.

Wen You asked, "Grand Commander-in-Chief, explain the situation first. Otherwise it will be difficult to withdraw properly."

"The forces entered the Qunluo Mountains from every direction. Are they supposed to retrace their routes and scatter out in every direction again?"

Luo Zhao pointed at the map and cried out in grief.

"Withdraw now!"

"The Dongyu River!"

"Heavy rains one after another have swollen the river!"

"Meng Shanming intends to breach the dikes and destroy the embankments. He is going to flood the Qunluo Mountains!"

The three Elders were shocked, but still looked toward the map in confusion.

Wen You whipped his head toward it.

One glance at the terrain around the Qunluo Mountains, then another thought of the way both armies had maneuvered after entering the region, and he finally understood Meng Shanming's horrifying intention.

All color drained from his face.

His jaw trembled.

For a moment he could not even speak.

Then he spun around so violently that he knocked over a stool.

He fell, scrambled back up, struck his forehead hard enough to draw blood, and did not even notice.

He practically rolled and crawled as he fled outside.

"Meng Shanming, you gray-templed old thief! I swear I will never coexist beneath the same Heaven with you! Ah..."

Luo Zhao's furious curse suddenly broke into a cry of pain.

One hand clutched his chest.

His eyes rolled back.

His whole body went rigid and collapsed.

Fortunately, the men beside him caught him before he struck the ground.

"Grand Commander-in-Chief!"

More cries of alarm erupted.

Only after the three Elders hurriedly treated him did they realize Luo Zhao had actually fainted from rage attacking his heart.

...

Figures flew swiftly toward the bank of the Dongyu River.

More than one hundred disciples of Yan's three major sects landed together beside the water.

"This is the designated position. Open the breach wide and deep. Move quickly!"

The cultivator leading them swept one hand forward and shouted the order.

More than one hundred cultivators immediately spread into a line behind the river dike.

Thunderous explosions erupted.

Palm strikes blasted the earth.

Sword qi slashed down again and again.

Soil and stone flew continuously from the embankment.

The thick river dike grew thinner by the moment.

At last a breach was blasted open.

Water from the river behind it burst through with a roar and struck one unprepared cultivator hard enough to sweep him away.

Once the opening appeared, the weakened dike tore apart like paper beneath the violent pressure.

The cultivators shot upward from the rushing flood and landed on the two sides of the widening breach.

The man swept away by the water came skimming back across the waves and landed beside them with one hand pressed to his chest.

All of them were badly exhausted as they watched the tremendous flood pour outward.

The dike had been broad and thick.

Breaking through it had consumed an enormous amount of their spiritual power.

...

The Qunluo Mountains were lush and green, ridge after ridge rising and falling into the distance.

Great masses of troops climbed the slopes.

Two cultivators carried Meng Shanming's wheelchair up the mountain and set him down when they reached the summit.

From the high ground, Meng Shanming looked far into the distance.

Below, the army was still climbing.

Several li away, the enemy force that had been following closely had also stopped.

It seemed to be watching Yan's movements.

Gong Lince flashed through the air and landed beside Meng Shanming.

"Have the army hurry up the mountain."

Meng Shanming turned his head.

"Has it been opened?"

Gong Lince nodded.

He even smiled and cupped his hands.

"Once released, the flood will surge a thousand li."

"This time, Gong will personally witness Marshal Meng establish an achievement without equal!"

Men were not grass and wood. Who could truly be without feeling?

After spending so long together, some degree of friendship had naturally formed.

More importantly, Gong Lince knew perfectly well what was about to happen.

The cultivators sent to breach the dike had been secretly arranged by him.

He had taken part in the plan personally.

And with his own eyes, he had watched Meng Shanming calculate every step along the way and play the enemy army in the palm of his hand.

His admiration came from the heart.

[End of Chapter 692]