Chapter 270 Little Sun

The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, casting a faint rim of light on the edges. In such a dim light, the undulating mountains in the distance and the round valley below not far away blended into the night and became blurred.

The soldiers on horseback held a globule in their mouths to prevent any noise, and the horses' hooves, holding the cotton cloth, brushed against the weeds on the ground, making a slight rustling sound.

Xiao Beiheng rode his horse closer to Xiao Ming, lowered his voice, and pointed at the entrance to the lower round valley in front.

"Father, the Lower Round Valley is ahead."

To avoid being discovered by Xiao Zhuo's scouts, the cavalry marched southward for more than ten miles in the dark, making a large circle. It was already late at night when they arrived at Xiayuan Valley.

Xiao Ming squinted his eyes and looked ahead. The entrance to the Lower Round Valley looked like the gaping maw of a crouching beast. He asked with some confusion, "For such a strategic location, why aren't there any soldiers guarding the entrance?"

Xiao Beiheng said, "Father, you're being overly suspicious. Xiao Zhuoruo has heavily guarded this place. He's clearly telling us that this is where his grain storage is. He secretly brought grain here at night to conceal his presence, so naturally, we can't send troops to defend it."

Xiao Ming nodded: "You have a point. But there may be soldiers in the valley. Since we have come to Xiayuan Valley, we can't hesitate and fight quickly."

Xiao Beiheng drew his sword and said to the deputy general beside him: "Charge in!"

He was anxious to make a contribution, so he led his vanguard and rushed into the valley, with Xiao Ming following closely behind.

The sound of unsheathed swords and the rapid beat of horses' hooves rang out in the darkness, and three thousand cavalrymen, along with Xiao Ming and his son, rushed into the lower round valley.

Xiayuan Valley, though called a valley, is actually a giant circular pit protruding from the ground, earning its name from its nearly circular shape. The cliffs surrounding the valley are about 30 to 40 feet high, like a city wall encircling the entire valley.

The ground in the valley was uneven, and there were many vines that entangled the horses, so the cavalrymen dismounted and walked to search for food and grass.

Xiao Ming rushed into the valley, reined in his horse and looked around.

It was already early June, and the trees, flowers, and grass in the valley were lush and dense, rustling in the night breeze. Besides that, there were no soldiers guarding the valley.

Xiao Ming felt uneasy and was about to go find Xiao Beiheng when a cavalryman came to report, "King Qi, we just dispersed and searched. We didn't find any houses storing food or fodder near the entrance."

Xiao Ming was puzzled and said to himself, "Could it be that the military advisor's intelligence is wrong?"

Just when he was confused, Xiao Beiheng's excited voice rang out from far ahead: "Father, come quickly. The food and fodder are in the innermost part."

Xiao Ming followed the sound further into the valley and arrived in front of Xiao Beiheng. Xiao Beiheng pointed ahead with his whip and said, "Father, for the sake of secrecy, Xiao Zhuo has hidden all the food and fodder in the deepest part of the valley. Look."

Xiao Ming looked in the direction he indicated, and in the dim moonlight, he saw rows of thatched houses in the deepest part of the valley, neatly arranged like soldiers in formation. There were probably hundreds of them.

One of his soldiers dismounted, opened the doors of the huts one by one, and ran to report: "King Qi, Crown Prince, we have found that the items in the huts are all food bags."

Xiao Ming was still a little unconvinced, so he dismounted and asked, "With Xiao Zhuo being so cautious, why wouldn't he send a soldier to guard this place?"

Seeing him dismount, Xiao Beiheng also jumped off his horse and followed Xiao Ming. "Why is your father so suspicious? There are mountains of food and fodder here, enough to support tens of thousands of troops. It can't be fake, right?"

"Is there food in the food bag?" Xiao Ming asked worriedly.

A soldier brought out a grain bag near the door. He poked a hole in it with his sword, and the grain inside spilled onto the ground. The father and son went to another thatched hut and inspected the bag. It was indeed full of grain.

"I didn't expect that even someone as cautious as Xiao Zhuo would take such a risk." Xiao Ming sighed.

Xiao Beiheng laughed and said, "Father, you think too highly of Xiao Zhuo. His plan was nothing more than a covert operation to lure us father and son into a surprise attack on Jia Valley. Little did he know that he had secretly transported food and fodder here at night. Come on, light the torches quickly."

Just now, all the soldiers were searching in the dark in the valley. Now, after receiving the military order, they immediately lit torches.

Xiao Beiheng looked proudly at the grain bags piled up like a small mountain in the thatched house, then turned to Xiao Ming and said, "Father, if these grains are burned, the camp outside Xiaozhuo City will lose its supply. In two days at most, they will naturally fall into chaos."

Xiao Ming also agreed with him: "Xiao Zhuo's plan is not bad, but we have military advisor Song Zhen on our side who has seen through his plan. Order the soldiers to disperse quickly, set all the straw houses on fire, and then we will withdraw from the valley."

Just as Xiao Beiheng was about to give an order, a soldier not far away exclaimed, "What is this?"

Xiao Ming and Xiao Beiheng turned around at the same time and saw a soldier squatting on the ground, stretching a thin thread from the soil with his hands. After the thread was pulled up, it went straight into the thatched house.

"What is this?" Xiao Ming asked.

Xiao Beiheng couldn't see clearly either, he only saw the string enter the pile of food bags, so he ordered the sergeant: "Bring the torch closer."

A soldier nearby brought a torch closer. Xiao Ming and Xiao Beiheng squatted down and looked closely at the string. The other soldiers also came over to watch.

The thread was gray and much thicker than ordinary cotton thread, about the thickness of incense sticks, and it was two strands twisted together. Xiao Beiheng grabbed the thread with both hands and pulled it lightly, and it broke, with some black powder falling from the broken end.

Xiao Ming reached out and picked up some of the black powder that had fallen to the ground. He crushed it with two fingers and his face changed. "This is gunpowder!"

"Gunpowder?" Xiao Beiheng watched the string in his hand enter the pile of grain bags, and his legs trembled involuntarily. "Father, this... this is an ambush."

Xiao Ming stood up hurriedly: "Everyone, put out the torches!"

The soldiers in the house were holding torches. When they heard Xiao Ming's order, they hurriedly threw the torches on the ground and stepped on them. Sparks flew everywhere, and one spark landed on the fuse on the ground.

The fuse first lit up with a small red light, as faint as incense, then suddenly lit up, spitting sparks, and burned all the way out of the house.

Xiao Ming and Xiao Beiheng exchanged a glance, then quickly stood up and ran out of the hut. Xiao Beiheng pointed at the sparks and shouted, "Stop that line."

As soon as the soldiers rushed over, the cluster of sparks disappeared into the darkness.

At this time, all the soldiers had extinguished their torches as ordered, and the valley was once again plunged into darkness.

Xiao Beiheng waited for two breaths, but nothing happened. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Xiao Ming, "Father, I think the soldier just now destroyed the mechanism when he pulled the fuse. We are so lucky."

Xiao Ming's voice trembled as he said, "Don't be happy yet, leave quickly..."

Before he could finish his words, there was a loud "boom" in the darkness not far away, and a dazzling fireball exploded, like a small sun rising in the valley, exploding into countless sparks. Some sparks hung on the trees, and some shot into the grass and immediately began to burn.

Several soldiers near the fireball had no time to dodge and were set on fire by the flying fireballs. They instantly turned into firemen and rolled on the ground wailing.

"Quick, the entire army will withdraw from the valley entrance, quickly!"

Xiao Ming's face turned pale as he mounted his horse by the light of the fire. Xiao Beiheng and the other soldiers also hurriedly looked for horses.

Just as the chaos was going on, several sparks appeared on the ground, hissing and spreading in all directions.

Many little suns lit up, illuminating the entire lower valley red.