Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 142 136. Battle of Fancheng (VII)

"As expected..."

The next morning, Cao Ren was looking at the Han army camp as usual. This morning, the smoke from the Han army camp had decreased a lot.

"General, don't the Han soldiers have fires to cook?"

Seeing Cao Ren looking so carefully, Niu Jin couldn't help but look over as well. Feeling puzzled, he couldn't help but mutter a few words.

"You fool! The Han army took advantage of the darkness and quietly transferred many soldiers away. Judging from the amount of cooking smoke, it is estimated that there are less than 10,000 Han troops in front of us."

Cao Ren treated his trusted and beloved general very well, and even told Niu Jin the key points. Niu Jin could only scratch his head, unable to understand all the twists and turns.

"Then, General, do you need me to capture this stronghold?"

After much thought, Niu Jin felt that this was the most suitable job for him. Judging from Cao Ren's intention, he seemed to want to defeat this Han army, so Niu Jin simply volunteered.

"No hurry. Even a trapped beast will struggle desperately. If our army attacks rashly at this moment, even if we capture these tens of thousands of people, the losses will be considerable.

According to what the rebel general Feng Xi said in the letter, the Han army will try to evacuate tonight. I have asked my confidant to pretend to be a member of Wen Qin's family to deliver the letter back, and I have agreed with Feng Xi to act according to the plan today."

Cao Ren stroked his beard, looking confident of victory.

"But General, wasn't it that shifty servant who delivered the letter? Wouldn't Feng Xi be suspicious if he didn't go back?"

Niu Jin scratched his head and found the bright spot of the blind student.

"Haha... Since the thief general has already thought of passing the buck to Zhuge Jin of Jiangdong as a backup plan, he must be prepared to be discovered. Losing a few messengers is not a big deal."

Cao Ren saw through the logic. If Feng Xi thought it was foolproof, he would not have forged a letter from Zhuge Jin persuading him to surrender, but would have come directly with his own handwritten letter.

Since he did this, he must be worried about being discovered by himself, so he wanted to find an excuse to shirk responsibility.

……

A few hours ago, it was still dark.

"Are you Wen Qin's confidant?"

Feng Xi looked at the Wei army spy dressed as a soldier in front of him with burning eyes and spoke in a stern tone.

"Yes, I am from the same hometown as General Wen, and now I am General Wen's personal soldier."

The soldier's answer was so simple and clear that Feng Xi couldn't find any loopholes.

"In that case, what is the matter that General Wen asked you to come for?"

Feng Xi asked calmly.

"I came here to make an appointment. General Wen is willing to follow the letter and deliberately advise Cao Ren to delay the old villain for one night. I hope the Grand Commander can fulfill his promise and help our general to be the first to reach Fancheng."

Feng Xi nodded. There was no flaw in what the soldier said. At the end, Wen Qin presented him with a handwritten letter, which Feng Xi accepted as well.

"Go back and tell your general to be careful and not let Cao Ren find out. These old guys have very sharp noses."

Feng Xi also gave the soldier some "thoughtful" advice, which made him nod his head repeatedly and then leave.

After Feng Xi and other soldiers left, they didn't even look at the "Wenqin's Handwritten Letter" in their hands, but put it directly into their arms without even looking at it.

"Grand Commander, why is this?"

Bao Yi, who was acting as a guard, asked in a muffled voice.

"Bao Yi, this is very obvious. My order to Wang Laowu was to swallow it directly no matter what the situation was. Now that Wen Qin can write a reply in person, it means that the letter must have been seen by Cao Ren."

Feng Xi shook his head. "What if Wang Laowu deceived us and betrayed us on purpose?"

Bao Yi was a little puzzled. After all, this bachelor was a death row prisoner hired by Feng Xi to serve as a spy in exchange for his family's worry-free food and clothing for the rest of their lives. Maybe he would change his mind at the last minute.

"Haha, Bao Yi, the initiative of this plan is in my hands. Just think about it, there are two major categories and four results in total.

Cao Ren got my letter and Wen Qin got my letter. If Cao Ren got it, no matter Wang Laowu confessed it voluntarily or Wang Laowu was killed by him, he could only choose to believe it or not.

If Wang Laowu told Cao Ren that I asked him to swallow it, it would mean that he knew it was a counter-espionage plot and saved Wen Qin. But he could only choose to come or not to withdraw my troops.

Given Cao Ren's personality, even if he knew that I was trying to lure the enemy, he would just keep his troops in place and take advantage of the enemy's strategy. But we have already arranged for the enemy to take advantage of the enemy's strategy or see through it. So if he keeps his troops in place, we won't lose anything.

If Wang Laowu is dead, it will be even simpler. If Cao Ren hadn't found the letter, there would be no messenger coming. Even if Wen Qin found it, he just wanted to surrender or use it as evidence to regain Cao Ren's trust. Then the situation will be the same as before, and I can even make a fuss about it.

In any case, the initiative is in our hands. Cao Ren's best option is to stay put, and neither side will suffer any loss."

Feng Xi smiled, but Bao Yi's brain was almost burned. He didn't expect that such a fake book could have so many tricks, which made him sigh at the dangers of the world.

As expected, Cao Ren and Feng Xi maintained a tacit understanding. The two sides did not fight during the day today, but instead rested and gathered their strength.

"General, are we planning to take advantage of the Shu army's unpreparedness and attack them?"

In the evening, Niu Jin looked at the sparse smoke from the Han army's cooking and asked Cao Ren, who stood like a stone statue beside him. He didn't know what the general was waiting for.

"As the old saying goes, attack them when they are halfway across the river. The Shu army must be retreating to confuse the enemy. We should do the opposite. If they are bluffing, it means they are planning to escape. We can attack them at this time and catch them off guard."

Cao Ren stroked his white beard and patiently explained to Niu Jin, but Niu Jin only understood the general idea. He could understand the idea of ​​attacking the enemy halfway across the river, but he did not understand the tricks of combining the real and the fake.

The sun sets in the west, the sky becomes dark, and crows and drums sound.

"Boom-boom-boom-boom--"

Suddenly, fierce drumbeats came from the direction of the Han army’s main camp, one after another, sounding like an intense military training.

"General, is this what you just called bluffing?"

Niu Jin widened his eyes and looked towards the direction of the Han army's camp, but unfortunately his view was blocked by the wall of the camp and he could not see anything.

"That's right. Send the scouts to approach immediately and test the enemy. Report back immediately if there is any result!"

Cao Ren did not dare to delay and kept a close eye on the direction of the Han army's main camp. As long as the scouts had any results, he would send troops immediately.

A dozen Wei soldiers rode their horses cautiously and approached the Han army's camp. The sound of drums was deafening, but the soldiers on the walls and towers turned a deaf ear to it.

A brave Wei soldier drew his bow and shot an arrow at a Han soldier on the wall. The Han soldier did not move at all, did not scream or fall, and still stood straight.

"Hey, Lao Li, did you shoot wrong? Why isn't this guy moving?"

The scout on the side couldn't help but mutter a few words.

"Bullshit, you know my archery skills, how could I miss the target? Could it be that this Shu army is a ghost?"

Old Li muttered a few words and shot another arrow.

"Pfft"

There was a clear sound of an arrow hitting an object, but the Han soldier still did not move. Lao Li did not believe in evil, so he called on his companions to shoot several arrows together, and the man shook a few times and fell down.

Seeing the Han army camp in complete silence after such a commotion, several people bravely stepped forward to check.

"Isn't this a scarecrow?"

(End of this chapter)