Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 501 495. Dark and Windy Night

The three of them looked at each other, their eyes flashing with indescribable meanings.

"Humph, General Zhu is thinking of me now? I was worried that General Zhu would be angry with me and would no longer want to serve the Han army."

Hu Ji said something to Zhu Huan in a very loud voice, and even some soldiers around heard it. But this matter was no longer a secret. Everyone knew that there were some conflicts between the three commanders. The Han army knew it, and the Wei army spies also knew it.

"General Hu, my father and I are now wholeheartedly serving the Han people. Can we put aside our personal grudges?"

Zhu Huan was neither humble nor arrogant, which choked Hu Ji. Hu Ji naturally did not dare to refute this and could only nod with a gloomy face.

"In that case, General Zhu, please tell us what brilliant plan you have."

Hu Ji seemed to be uninterested and waved his hand perfunctorily, signaling Zhu Huan to stop keeping him in suspense.

"Why should we retreat? Why not use the granary as bait to lure the Wei army into the trap? We have been confronting the Wei army in Hefei for too long and have not achieved any success. I am afraid it will be difficult to report to the Grand Commander."

Zhu Huan said, glancing at Hu Ji vaguely, and Hu Ji frowned. Hu Ji had not yet become famous, and was definitely a complete nobody to Zhuge Liang, Feng Xi, and Zhang Fei, so he was in urgent need of some credit.

Even Feng Xi sending him here was a kind of gilding, of course one has to have the ability to gild himself.

"Okay, then let me tell you the details."

After much deliberation, Hu Ji finally agreed to Zhu Huan's proposal, so Zhu Huan told him the details of how they should first transfer the food and grass and then set up an ambush.

"Tonight, I intend to raid the Han army's granary around Liling Mountain."

The Wei army's meeting was held almost at the same time as the Han army's, and Cao Xiu directly put forward his own conclusions when he was in power.

"Grand Marshal, this matter may require further consideration. Our scouts have been discovered by the Han people. They are not incompetent at using troops. They will definitely move the food and fodder, or even use it as bait to set up an ambush and wait for our army."

The next general spoke up to advise, and everyone saw that it was Cao Tai, the son of the former general Cao Ren. Although Cao Tai was now a miscellaneous general under Cao Xiu due to his qualifications and ability, he was still the heir of Cao Ren's title of Marquis of Chen, and should not be underestimated.

"General Cao, don't worry too much. I have already planned this matter and it will be foolproof. Zhang Hu and Le Chen, listen to my orders!"

Cao Xiu always spoke impartially. Although he and Cao Tai had a good personal relationship, they were now the Grand Marshal and a general under his command, so naturally they would not act frivolously.

"The general is here!"

Zhang Hu and Le Chen looked at each other in great surprise. They thought they had to continue defending the city, but they didn't expect to get the position of vanguard.

"I order you two to be the vanguard and lead 5,000 troops to attack the Han army's secret grain storage area in the valley of Liling Mountain. No matter what happens after you get there, don't panic. The enemy will surely have an ambush. Do you understand?"

Cao Xiu's words made the two men's eyes flash with confusion. They didn't quite understand. The Grand Marshal knew that the other side had an ambush, but still asked the two of them to attack. Wasn't this pushing them into the fire pit?

"I will obey my orders."

However, Le Chen still reacted and immediately saluted to accept the order. Zhang Hu, who was standing by, saw that his good brother had accepted the order, so he naturally could not just stand there and accepted the order as well.

"Tonight, Cao Tai will lead 5,000 troops to defend Hefei, and the others will follow me into battle!"

Cao Xiu was extremely confident, as if he had it all figured out. Seeing how determined the Grand Marshal was, the others could only obey his will. "Lao Le, what do you think the Grand Marshal meant by this? Isn't it obvious that he wants us to die?"

Zhang Hu and Le Chen left the governor's mansion temporarily appointed by Cao Xiu and returned to their own residence. They discussed what had just happened in a low voice at the stone table in the backyard.

"Hey, Brother Zhang, don't you understand yet? Since the Grand Marshal knows that the other side has an ambush, what would you do if it were you?"

"Of course I won't fight."

Zhang Hu’s words almost choked Le Chen to death. If he didn’t fight Cao Xiu, would he still bring up this matter?

"Brother Zhang, think about it again. If we don't want to fight, why did the Grand Marshal bring up this matter? He must be using our tricks to lure out the Han army's ambush. Then the Grand Marshal will lead a large wave of troops to counter-encircle these ambush troops. In this way, the Han army's attacking troops will definitely not be able to escape this disaster."

Le Chen shook his head and told Cao Xiu everything he was thinking. Of course, Le Chen naturally didn't know about the connection between Cao Xiu and Zhu Huan.

"What if the Han army also counterattacks and surrounds us?"

Zhang Hu suddenly asked a nonsensical question, which made Le Chengan silent, because this was very similar to the "rebound" method used by elementary school students in quarrels two thousand years later, which had no beginning.

"Why would the Han army set up another ambush? Besides, the Grand Marshal has been on many battlefields. If the Han army's ambush was small in number, he would have naturally noticed it."

Le Chen rolled his eyes at Zhang Hu, causing Zhang Hu to scratch his head in embarrassment. Although he was the son of Zhang Liao, his flexibility of thinking was incomparable to Zhang Liao's. It was not the so-called knowledge or ability, but simply the difference in brain efficiency and thinking speed.

Li Ling Mountain, also known as Zi Peng Mountain, is closely related to the Wei army, because when Li Dian stationed his troops here, he built a temple for his ancestor Li Ling in the mountains, so this place is also called Li Ling Mountain.

Now, the man is gone. The invaders have changed from Wu army to Han army, and Li Dian has been dead for almost ten years. Only the temple on the mountain is still enjoying the commemoration of the local people.

At night, everything was quiet and the sky and earth were covered with a gray haze. The west gate of Hefei was quietly opened, and five thousand soldiers and horses quietly came out of the west gate. They were lightly equipped, with people holding plums in their mouths and horses wrapping their hooves. It was obvious that they were marching in secret.

It was a cloudy night tonight, and the bright moonlight was obscured by the clouds, appearing and disappearing from time to time. It was truly a dark and windy night, a time for murder and arson.

The Wei army marched silently for more than 20 miles, and could already see the fire of the Han army's food and grass camp. This place is located in a valley of Liling Mountain, and few people come here normally. Even the scouts of the Wei army would not go to this corner at the foot of the mountain for no reason unless they were assigned by Cao Xiu.

"How about it, shall we do it?"

Zhang Hu asked Le Chen impatiently. Le Chen looked at the moonlight and shook his head.

"No hurry, wait a little longer, and let our soldiers rest. There will be another big battle later, and we need to conserve our energy."

When Zhang Hu heard what Le Chen said, he had no choice but to follow Le Chen's advice and let the soldiers rest on the spot for half an hour to prepare for the ambush from the Han army later.

"Okay, it's almost the second watch, let's go!"

Le Chen looked up at the moonlight, suddenly stood up and called Zhang Hu.

"Brothers, follow me!"

Zhang Hu did not dare to delay and mounted his horse with Le Chen. There was no need to act secretly at this moment, so Zhang Hu roared and led the army with Le Chen to rush towards the Han army's food and grass camp.

(End of this chapter)