Chapter 1144 Surprise Attack!

With a muffled thud, the gates of Hulao Pass slowly closed.

Xue Lin ordered the hundred-plus soldiers who had followed him out to return to their ranks immediately. Then he strode up the city wall, where he saw Yuwen Ye and the others still standing there. Upon seeing him return, Yuwen Ye nodded slightly and said, "Good."

Xue Lin gasped slightly and said, "But Your Highness, is this how it is?"

Yuwen Ye glanced at him but didn't say anything. Instead, Shen Wuzheng ordered the soldiers behind him to quickly bring towels and rags to wipe Xue Lin's armor. He had almost walked to the middle of the Sishui River, and the river water had soaked his boots. The way back, there were watermarks all over his body.

Xue Lin could only say in a low voice, "Thank you, Military Advisor Shen."

Yuwen Ye continued to look ahead. The Sishui River, which Xue Lin had just crossed, gradually returned to calm, its waters flowing gently and reflecting shimmering light in the sunlight. On the opposite bank, Xiao Yuansui's army was the same. When Xue Lin broke out of Hulao Pass and stepped into the Sishui River, the soldiers in the ranks were clearly on high alert. In particular, the soldiers in the first row quickly raised their shields, and the thousands of archers behind them also drew their bowstrings.

But as soon as Xue Lin withdrew, they seemed to relax again, like a taut bowstring being released.

Some people even sat down on the spot, saying, "That coward won't dare to attack."

"So when are we going to get there?"

"Is there any more water? I'm thirsty."

Water bags were passed around among the crowd and were quickly consumed.

Yuwen Ye looked up at the sky again. The sun was high in the sky, and perhaps because the continuous rainy weather in the past few days had exhausted the coolness of autumn, it was unusually hot today, even a bit scorching. People like Yuwen Ye and Shen Tu Tai, who were physically strong and naturally sensitive to heat, soon had their clothes soaked with sweat. Even Shen Wuzheng was so hot that he took out a handkerchief and kept wiping his sweat.

At this moment, Shen Tu Tai suddenly realized something and looked around—Shan Tong'er was gone.

Wasn't he just here with Yuwen Ye? Where did he go at this hour?

Just as he was beginning to have doubts, Xue Lin dried himself off. The steam cooled him down a bit, but the heat in his heart wouldn't subside. He asked softly again, "Your Highness, shall we not—"

Before he could finish speaking, he heard footsteps behind him.

When everyone turned around, they saw that it was Shan Tong'er leading the monk named Jue Yun up. On the other side of the city gate, the monks who had come with him had also arrived at the city gate.

Shan Tong'er said, "Your Highness, I have called Senior Brother Jueyun and the other senior brothers."

Shen Tu Tai then realized that Yuwen Ye had sent Shan Tong'er to fetch someone.

But, calling these monks...

The monk named Jueyun stepped forward and clasped his hands together in greeting to Yuwen Ye: "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Qin."

Because of the heat today, he was wearing a one-shoulder monk's robe, revealing his left shoulder and a muscular arm, which looked very strong and muscular. Yuwen Ye nodded to him and then said, "I haven't had a chance to thank you all for your help these past few days, but today, I have another matter I would like to ask for your help with."

Na Jueyun asked, "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

Yuwen Ye said, "I would like to ask you to cross the Sishui River and run two laps in front of Xiao Yuansui's army."

"What?"

Jueyun was stunned.

Not only was he stunned, but Xue Lin was also taken aback, staring wide-eyed at Yuwen Ye.

He had just led over a hundred men out to fight, but he wouldn't let them cross the Sishui River. Now he was letting these monks cross the Sishui River, but not to fight the enemy. Instead, they were to run a couple of laps in front of Xiao Yuansui's army.

What's this?

Before he could speak, or even before Jueyun could speak, Yuwen Ye said, “Please rest assured, according to my estimation, Xiao Yuansui’s army will not be mobilized for a team of a dozen or so people. Moreover, I will provide you with horses, and as soon as they make a move, I will immediately send someone to cross the river and bring you back. Remember, never fight with them.”

"..."

"Of course, whether they make a move or not, I will send someone to pick you up."

After saying that, he looked at Shen Tu Tai and said, "You can go and prepare now."

This time, Shen Tu Tai seemed to have fully understood, immediately cupped his hands in agreement, and then turned and went down the city wall.

Na Jueyun had been a monk since childhood. Although he practiced martial arts, he knew nothing about the ways of the battlefield. He had only heard about the wisdom and martial prowess of this Prince Qin from Shantong'er and other refugees. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright."

After saying that, he didn't ask any more questions, turned around and went down the city wall.

Shan Tong'er immediately followed, but Yuwen Ye hesitated for a moment before calling out to him, "Shan Tong'er, you—"

But before he could finish speaking, Shan Tong'er turned around and glanced at him, her gaze landing on his shoulder. Yuwen Ye noticed her gaze, paused for a moment, and said nothing more. Shan Tong'er then turned and left.

Sensing something amiss, Shen Wuzheng turned to look at Yuwen Ye: "You—"

Yuwen Ye walked up to him and said in a low voice, "Go and give the order to Gao Feng and Jiang Kesheng to come back."

"...!"

Shen Wuzheng took a deep breath.

He certainly understood what Yuwen Ye was trying to do.

However, with that breath, he seemed to smell an indescribable odor, the smell of flesh being burned by flames. He couldn't help but frown and give Yuwen Ye a deep look. Yuwen Ye had already turned around, glanced at Xue Lin, who was still breathing heavily and seemed hesitant to speak, and said, "You will stay by my side. From now on, whether the glory of your Xue family is given to your father by the Emperor or to you by me, it all depends on today."

Xue Lin's pupils widened instantly.

Meanwhile, Shan Tong'er, Jue Yun, and the others had already mounted the horses that the soldiers had brought for them, but they hadn't even taken a single sentry stick. As they watched the soldiers slowly open the heavy gate, Shan Tong'er shouted and was the first to spur his horse out of Hulao Pass. Jue Yun and the others followed suit and galloped out as well.

The soldiers standing in the first few rows on the opposite bank of the river, who had been somewhat relaxed and had sat down, immediately tensed up when they saw someone coming out of the pass.

But upon closer inspection, they turned out to be a group of monks.

For a moment, they even found it somewhat amusing, especially seeing that the group of monks didn't even have a single stick, and the one running in front was a chubby little boy. They couldn't help but laugh and turned to the people behind them, saying, "Hey, look, more people are coming out over there."

The people in the back rows could barely see clearly, and they all burst into laughter: "What's going on here?"

"Is there no one left at Hulao Pass? They've even sent out monks."

Are they here to chant sutras?

As everyone laughed and joked, the group of monks rode their horses across the river. The huge waves stirred up by the horses' hooves soaked them almost completely. But this commotion did not alert the army on the other side. Instead, they laughed even more loudly, saying, "Hey, hey, they're here."

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The army of 100,000, even when divided into separate formations, covered an area of ​​dozens of miles. Xiao Yuansui in the central command tent needed the soldiers at the front to rush back and tell him about the situation in front of Hulao Pass. The soldiers at the back of the column were almost completely unaware of what was happening in front. So, even though the soldiers in the first few rows were laughing so hard they were pounding their chests, the people at the back didn't even know that the gates of Hulao Pass had been opened, nor did they know that a group of monks had run out of Hulao Pass.

Of course, it's not that no one has seen this group of monks.

Just a few nights ago, Yuwen Ye led a group to launch a night attack on the camp. Xiao Yuansui and a squad of personal guards chased him to the banks of the Yellow River, where he was finally rescued by thirteen monks. The squad of personal guards knew of the monks' existence, but since they were Xiao Yuansui's personal guards, they could not be sent to the front lines. Instead, they stayed around the central command tent, so they knew nothing about the situation.

At this moment, the soldiers were so hot from the sun that they could hardly open their eyes. Without anyone supervising them, they simply sat down to rest and dozed off, becoming even more unaware of what was happening ahead.

Under these circumstances, Shantong'er, Jueyun, and a dozen other monks crossed the Sishui River.

Some people became wary: "Could they be planning a sneak attack?"

But someone immediately retorted with laughter, "A sneak attack? Look at them, they didn't even bring a stick, what kind of sneak attack are they talking about?"

"What can a group of monks do?"

“If they dare to come over, I’ll arrest them and use their skulls as wooden fish to beat them.”

These words drew laughter from the crowd. Amid the laughter, Shan Tong'er, Jue Yun, and the others had already ridden their horses to within a dozen or so feet of the main army. Instead of continuing forward, they turned their horses around and rode from north to south.

The soldiers watched as they crossed the road right in front of them.

They didn't know what this group of people wanted, but since they weren't there to fight and were just a bunch of unarmed bald monks, there was no need to be wary. The group simply watched as they rode their horses from south to north and back again, like a spectator. This aimless galloping only made them happier, and many even cheered them on.

"Come on, run another trip to see me."

"That bald guy can run pretty fast."

Hearing these mocking and teasing words, Shan Tong gritted his teeth but ignored them, continuing to concentrate on galloping on his horse.

Just a few days ago, the continuous rain had made this land muddy and difficult to walk on. But today the sun was shining brightly, and especially now that it was past noon, the ground had long since dried up. The horses' hooves trampled the ground, quickly loosening it and crushing the sand, which then gradually stirred up a cloud of dust that filled the air in front of everyone.

Soon, the cloud of dust became a barrier.

At the same time, the gates of Hulao Pass, which had not been completely closed to begin with, slowly opened once again.

A majestic figure galloped out of the city gate on horseback. He had fierce eyes and a thick beard, and was as strong as a mountain. He held a long spear upside down in his hand, which gleamed with a chilling light in the sunlight. It was Shen Tu Tai!

Following closely behind him were two hundred armored cavalrymen. This group of men, their eyes blazing with anger, galloped across the Sishui River in no time, their horses' hooves thundering and dust billowing in the air.

A man and his horse leaped up like dragons through the surging waves. Shen Tu Tai shouted at Shan Tong'er and the others, "Step back!"

At the same time, he charged directly into the enemy camp, who had not yet had time to react, wielding a long spear!

I'm taking leave today.

I'm not feeling well today, so I'm taking the day off. Please forgive me.