The rain was getting lighter, but to the people who were marching in the dark, it was still muddy.
"We can't go any further. There are scouts ahead. They should be cultivators. We can't figure out the situation ahead. It's not good to rush forward recklessly. We'll be discovered easily."
A cultivator flashed back and stopped the people who were moving stealthily in the dark.
Sun Gaotian, the commander of the right under Zhang Hu's command, asked, "How far are we from the grain depot?"
The cultivator replied, "About five miles?"
After pondering for a while, Sun Gaotian ordered his men to stop hiding. The five thousand men went straight to the main road, lined up neatly, and openly headed for the target location at a moderate pace, not caring if they would be discovered.
Along the way, they came across a checkpoint and the cultivators killed them.
Not far from the checkpoint, a Moon Butterfly flew out from the forest to look after them. It was obviously a Song cultivator who rode it.
The cultivator flicked his finger and shot a copper coin at the incoming Moon Butterfly.
A shout came from the forest, "Who is it?"
Sun Gaotian, the commander of the right, replied, "River Defense Xu Laiping's men."
A silhouette came to check. It was obvious that he wasn't easily fooled and wanted to verify it himself. Two cultivators immediately rushed forward and the two sides started fighting.
After a few sounds, the cultivator was easily killed. However, the commotion caused by the fight was too obvious. Now that they were close to the enemy's lair, the commotion could no longer be concealed.
"Full speed ahead!" Sun Gaotian, the commander of the right, drew his sword and shouted.
The five thousand men immediately galloped in the dark. A group of cultivators rushed to the front and fought with the cultivators blocking their way.
This was an important place to store grain. It was guarded by thirty thousand men and a large number of cultivators. Under the continuous warning, the people guarding the grain depot quickly gathered and set up a defense.
As soon as Yan's men got close, they shouted at the top of their lungs, as if they were going to kill them.
The grain depot troops didn't know what was going on. It was too dark, so they didn't dare to attack. They went into full defense and greeted with a rain of arrows.
Yan's men also took out their arrows and shot at each other. It was easier to shoot in the dark than in the light. Both sides were in a stalemate.
However, the shooting here was more particular. Several arrows were nocked and shot at the same time. It didn't matter if they were accurate or not, they just needed to shoot the arrows at the opponent.
The arrows carried by the thirty thousand men were all concentrated on these five thousand men.
Hearing the earth-shaking sounds of killing outside and seeing the dense rain of arrows, the defending general became extremely nervous. One-third of the food for the two million soldiers of Jiang Fang was stored here. If this place was lost, his head would not be enough to chop off.
The grain officer immediately ordered someone to report that the grain depot was under attack!
In a certain house in the Hukou section of the river, Commander Xu Laiping was sleeping soundly on the bed.
"Sir!" Suddenly, there was an urgent knock on the door. A young soldier knocked on the door and shouted.
Xu Laiping was startled and raised his head, shouting, "What is it?"
The young general outside the door shouted, "Sir, the granary of the defensive zone was ambushed by a large number of Yan soldiers!"
Xu Laiping suddenly got up and ran to open the door barefooted. He scolded whoever he saw, "Bullsh * t! How can a large number of Yan soldiers appear in our defensive zone?"
"Sir, it can't be wrong. The grain officer reported that a large number of soldiers were ambushed. The cultivators guarding the granary also sent news." The young general reported.
Xu Laiping took the report and was shocked. He quickly asked, "Is there any movement from the Yan army on the other side?"
The young general replied, "There is no movement at the moment!"
Xu Laiping immediately paced back and forth barefooted. He mumbled, "What the hell, where did the large number of Yan soldiers come from? There is no movement from the other side. It seems like they are trying to cut off our army's food supply." He suddenly turned back and took out an arrow of command from the quiver on the table. He threw it to the young general and said, "Pass down my order. Order Xu Gui to personally lead a hundred thousand soldiers to reinforce the granary. Tell him that if the granary is lost, he will bring his head to me!"
"Yes!" The young general hurriedly took the arrow of command and ran to pass down the order.
Xu Laiping quickly put on his clothes and muttered, "A large number of soldiers crossing the river. How can they not be discovered? Damn it, where did the Yan army come from? Did they fall from the sky? "
He was also anxious. If the granary was breached, his head would be in trouble.
After putting on his clothes, he strode out and met with the generals and other cultivators who had just arrived.
He ordered his men to strengthen the defenses of the river and went up to the balcony to observe the movements of the army.
Of the three hundred thousand soldiers in the Hukou defensive zone, two hundred thousand were stationed at the frontlines. The one hundred thousand in reserve left with torches in their hands like a winding dragon.
The nearby Yan cultivators checked on the situation. After making a rough count of the number of soldiers that left, they quickly retreated to the Yan army's ambush ten miles away. They met up with Zhang Hu's Left Commander Guo Xianfu, who led twenty-five thousand soldiers. He reported, "As expected, the one hundred thousand reserve soldiers in the Hukou defensive zone have left to reinforce the granary."
Left Commander Guo Xianfu said in a deep voice, "Good! Send a message to Sun Gaotian immediately. Tell him to retreat at any time and report to the general. "
Soon, two golden wings were released and they flew off in different directions in the night sky …
Meng Shanming sat in the central tent of the Chang State's army camp at the East Domain River. He closed his eyes and rested.
Zhang Hu and the other generals stood in two rows in armor.
The tent was silent. Gong Lince and the other cultivators could only stand at the side. They looked at each other from time to time, not knowing what Meng Shanming was waiting for.
Gong Lince did not ask what Meng Shanming was doing. He was afraid that he would appear ignorant.
Time passed slowly. The rain outside had lightened, but the people in the tent could hear the dripping of the raindrops clearly.
Suddenly, footsteps came from outside. A young general rushed in and reported an urgent letter to Zhang Hu.
Zhang Hu read it and immediately placed it on the table in front of Meng Shanming. He said, "Marshal, everything went smoothly. As expected, the granary guards did not dare to move out on a rainy night. The one hundred thousand reserve soldiers in the Hukou defensive zone have been successfully lured away!"
Gong Lince was confused. Meng Shanming did not want to reveal the specific battle plan until the last moment.
Meng Shanming suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes and looked at Gong Lince. "Sect Leader Gong, this battle concerns the outcome of the entire war. I hope Sect Leader Gong will order all the cultivators to listen to Zhang Hu's orders. No mistakes are allowed. Anyone who disobeys will be executed immediately!"
Gong Lince nodded. "Don't worry. I will kill anyone who disobeys!"
"Bang!" Meng Shanming suddenly slammed his palm on the table. Gong Lince, who was calm and composed, almost jumped in fright.
Meng Shanming said in a deep voice, "We will break through the Song army's East Domain River defense line tonight. All soldiers must be united. Anyone who disobeys will be executed immediately!"
"Yes!" With a 'hua la' sound, all the generals turned around, cupped their fists and responded in unison.
Meng Shanming pointed to the dark sky outside the tent and said in a powerful voice, "Cross the river!"
"Yes!" All the generals received the order again.
Zhang Hu strode forward with a majestic gait, leading a group of generals.
Soon, there was a commotion outside. Torches were lit everywhere, and the army quickly got ready.
When they learned that they were going to cross the river at this time, and that their men were going to be the vanguard, the people in the imperial court who were being monitored immediately objected.
A general ran over with a few people and complained to Zhang Hu, who was in charge of the mobilization. "Grand General Zhang, the river is rising rapidly. It is too much for us to cross the river with wooden rafts."
Too much? My tens of thousands of brothers are too much? Zhang Hu's eyes widened. He said in a deep voice, "The war is imminent, and you dare to bargain with me?"
That general smiled bitterly and said, "Grand General, you misunderstand. I am not bargaining. I am just trying to persuade you. It is not advisable to cross the river at this time. If you really want to cross the river, why not wait until daybreak?"
Swoosh! Zhang Hu drew his sword and pierced the general's heart with a cold light. Blood splattered everywhere.
That general's eyes widened as he pointed at Zhang Hu with a trembling arm.
The cultivators who came with him were shocked. They did not expect Zhang Hu to draw his sword and kill someone. Furthermore, the person he killed was a general of the imperial court.
Bang! Zhang Hu kicked the general who had his sword pierced. He waved his bloody sword and said sternly, "The war is imminent. Carry out the military order immediately. Anyone who tries to bargain will end up like this!"
The other cultivator was furious and said, "He is a general of the imperial court. If you want to punish him, you have to get the imperial court's approval. How can you kill him as you please?"
Zhang Hu immediately turned to look at the cultivators around him and said coldly, "What do you think?"
The cultivators of the three major sects immediately stepped forward and warned the cultivator to retreat. They ordered him to cooperate, or else they would not be lenient.
Soon, the riverside was filled with people, dragging a large number of wooden rafts upstream.
The speed of the river was not suitable for crossing directly. They wanted to use the current to row diagonally to the Hukou Defense Area on the other side.
A large number of people boarded the rafts. Those who boarded the rafts immediately extinguished their torches and obeyed the order. They only needed to row to the other side where there was light.
…
River Defense Governor Wu Qunlie was also sleeping soundly in his bedroom. Just as he was sleeping soundly, he was awoken by intense knocking on the door.
He sat up and hugged his quilt, shouting, "Come in."
A general pushed the door open and quickly entered. He reported, "My lord, the scouts have reported that Zhang Hu's troops on the other side of the river are moving. It seems like they are going to attack during the night."
With such a large number of troops, it was impossible for both sides not to send scouts to the other side of the river to monitor each other. Even if they couldn't investigate the situation in front of them, they could still observe the situation from afar.
"Zhang Hu, is there something wrong with his brain? Meng Shanming is over there …" At this point, Wu Qunlie who was mumbling to himself was suddenly startled. He quickly lifted his quilt and got down from his bed, pacing back and forth on the floor with his bare feet.
At this moment, another voice came from outside. "Report!"
Wu Qunlie shouted, "Come in."
A messenger entered and presented an urgent report with both hands. "My lord, Hukou Defense Area's General Xu Laiping has sent an urgent report. The Hukou Defense Area has been ambushed by a large number of Yan soldiers. We have sent an additional one hundred thousand men to help!"
Wu Qunlie sucked in a breath of cold air and exclaimed, "Why would a large number of Yan soldiers appear in my defense line? Could it be that divine soldiers have descended from the heavens?" He grabbed the urgent report and read it.
After reading it, he found out that Xu Laiping was also wondering where the large number of Yan soldiers came from.
Thinking about the sudden movement of Zhang Hu's troops, Wu Qunlie quickly walked barefooted to the river defense map and stared at it.
At this moment, another report came from outside. It was another message from Xu Laiping. It said that Zhang Hu's troops on the other side of the river were going to attack.
This was nonsense. They had already received the news first. Wu Qunlie waved his hand and ignored it. He stared at the map and shouted, "Quickly go and find out if there are any movements from Xu Jingyue's troops, An Xianzhao's troops, Su Qitong's troops and Shi Xinmao's troops!"
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