Chapter 831 Secret Meeting at Qingqing Gorge

Xin Tribe, east of Jiahai County, Qingqing Gorge, 30 miles east of Qingquan Valley where the Xin Tribe’s headquarters is located, is the first important pass for the Qingshui River, the only large freshwater river on Zhudao Island, to rush eastward into the sea.

Now it has become the front line of defense for Elder Jin’s “Anvil” to resist the attack of the Han army.

Qingqing Gorge has an advantageous geographical location, blocking the waterway for the Han army to advance westward. There are 40-meter-high cliffs above the river here. The troops are deployed on the cliffs on both sides of the river, and the entire river surface can be blocked with bows and arrows. Most of the Han tribes are sailing boats. If they use rockets to set fire, they can definitely stop the ships of the Han tribe from advancing westward.

In terms of land, Qingqing Gorge is high above and also controls the key points. It is like a natural city covering the river. If they only use ordinary cold weapons to attack, the attackers must have at least six times the number of troops as the defenders to break through this place. If they don’t want to suffer too many casualties, they can only besiege it.

Commander Xin was worried about the loss of this place, so he specially transferred the smartest and most capable Elder Jin Tiezhen to garrison Qingqing Gorge. He had a force of 5,000 people, including a 2,000-man corps that had been uniformly trained before, which was also a mixed organization of half clan soldiers and half herdsmen. The remaining 3,000 people were basically newly recruited militiamen without armor or weapons, holding various farm tools in their hands.

The women and children of these militiamen were uniformly placed in Qingquan Valley 30 miles behind them. If they could not defend here, their women and children would have to wait for death as well.

On this day, Tiezhen was training the newly recruited militia with several of his men who were also from the Han tribe, and arranging their deployment positions and defense tasks.

On the mountain of Qingqing Gorge, there was a militia of 500 people. Some of them were armed with bamboo poles, hoes, and shovels, and some were armed with wooden shields and short weapons such as axes, hatchets, and sickles. A group of people had just finished the formation exercise. When Tiezhu announced that they would all return to their defense areas to rest, one of the militiamen with a long-handled axe quietly followed Tiezhu.

Tiezhu immediately realized that something was wrong. His long-term undercover life made him highly vigilant. Any abnormal behavior of others could make him extremely sensitive. He suddenly found a guy carrying an axe following him, which scared him immediately.

"What's going on? Does this man have a grudge against me? Or has he discovered my undercover identity? Or maybe Commander Xin doesn't trust me and sent him to monitor me?"

A lot of messy thoughts immediately popped up in Tiezhen's mind. He didn't know if the man behind him wanted to kill him, but he didn't dare to take the risk. So he pondered it in his mind and came to a secluded place in a roundabout way. In fact, he had secretly greeted the other brothers of the Jinwu Guard who were lurking here, and called two people to help him with the usual code.

Just as Tiezhen walked around a bush and walked into a slightly sparse forest, he suddenly turned around and looked at the axe-wielding militia who had been following him and said coldly.

"Who are you? What do you want to do by following me? But the commander-in-chief doesn't trust me, so does he send you to kill me?" Tiezhen asked in the Takeshima language of the Xin tribe.

The militiaman was not panicked. He turned around and looked around. He found that two people suddenly appeared behind him. One of them was holding a bow and arrow and was aiming at him. The other was holding an iron halberd and approaching him. The anvil in front also drew his sword at this time. He was surrounded by these three people.

"Hahahaha, I heard that the spies sent by the Jinwu Guards are very smart. Today I see that they are indeed as good as they say. I knew I had been discovered by you and I was watching you all the time, but I didn't see when you called two helpers. Awesome."

Seeing that he was surrounded, the militiaman did not resist fearlessly. He simply put the axe in his belt and laughed. He spoke Chinese with a very good accent. It was obvious that he was from the Eight Counties of Hanyang.

Tiezhen didn't say anything, but frowned deeply, because he didn't know the identity of the militia in front of him, why he spoke Chinese with such an authentic accent, and even opened his mouth to reveal the Jinwu Guard, the most mysterious military intelligence organization in the Han tribe.

He didn't know if this was arranged by Commander Xin, whether that guy heard some rumors or got some intelligence, began to doubt him, and then got this person to deceive him, so he didn't dare to answer easily.

After carefully looking at the other two companions who had just arrived, and confirming that there were no other people around, Tiezhen replied.

"Who are you? Why are you hiding in our army? Did the Han army send you to find out the truth? And what do you mean by Jinwu Guard and spies?"

The militia saw that Tiezhen was still acting here, so he smiled and said, "Elder Jin, don't panic. I wonder if you still recognize the butterfly card of the Jinwu Guard? If you recognize it, you can know my identity."

The militia said, and took out two golden waist cards from his coarse linen clothes and threw them to Tiezhen.

With a jingle, two bronze plates fell to the feet of Tiezhu, making a crisp sound.

Tiezhu saw that one of them was the butterfly plate unique to Jinwu Guard. Butterfly means "spy", which is a military token specially issued to spies lurking outside the Jinwu Guard to prove their identity.

The butterfly plate is made of bronze, golden in color, and is in the shape of a double-petal flower. The surface has butterfly-like patterns, but no words. However, there is a hinge on one side of this thing that can be opened and closed. It can be unfolded from the middle to become a four-petal flower, that is, the shape of a butterfly spreading its wings, and the identity information of the holder is written inside. Such a unique shape, exquisite hinges, and the patterns and text carvings on it, except for the Han tribe, there is absolutely no other force in the world that can do it.

Looking at the content written on it, it is the contact person "Yang Feng" who has been responsible for contacting him. Then Tiezhu looked at the other rectangular waist plate and immediately exclaimed.

"Are you my contact Yang Feng?! Or Yang Feng, a soldier of the Tiger Guard?!"

"Yes, it's me. Seeing that you, the blacksmith, are safe and sound now, I can rest assured."

The militiaman immediately changed his appearance. Although he was still unkempt, with messy hair, a set of undyed coarse linen clothes hanging randomly on his body, and the straw sandals on his feet were covered with mud, he now stood with his hands folded, his back straight. Although his figure was not burly, he could still be called tall and straight, just like a general.

"It's really Yang! After more than two years, I can finally recognize the people in my hometown as a Han tribe, woo woo woo woo."

Tiezhu confirmed the other party's identity and burst into tears with excitement. He hurriedly took two steps to Yang Feng, held Yang Feng's hands tightly with both hands, and sobbed.

Yang Feng pulled him into his arms and hugged him hard twice, patted Tiezhu's back hard, and then comforted him.

"Brother, you have worked hard these past two years, but please rest assured that your wives and children are all well. The tribe has enjoyed good weather and good harvests over the past two years. The leader has also led people to create many interesting things. You can see them when you return home."

Tiezhen choked for a long time, then stopped sobbing and said, "General Yang has come to meet me in person this time, but is there anything important that you need me to do? Tiezhen will definitely complete it."

"That's right, the decisive battle between Han and Xin is imminent, and the tribe really needs your help." Yang Feng let go of Tiezhen's hand and stood with his hands covered, and once again resumed his general's demeanor.

"Please tell me in detail, General." Tiezhen stepped back, bowed and clasped his fists to ask for orders.

"Do you know that the Xin tribe fabricated rumors and discredited the Han army?" Yang Feng did not talk about the task first, but asked Tiezhen about the situation first.

"Of course I know. A few days ago, two corps on the frontline were annihilated. The strength of our Han tribe has frightened Commander Xin and several other elders. They are in a state of panic and want to form more troops to protect themselves. That's why they spread rumors and tricked several other clans to migrate here and form militias in an attempt to resist the Han army together. My men have just been assigned 3,000 militias." Tiezhen reported truthfully.

"It's true, but the Xin tribe has indeed caused us a lot of trouble. Our army is strong. Even if we forcefully attack Jiahai County, we will surely be able to conquer it in one fell swoop, but it will definitely cause a lot of casualties on both sides. This is inconsistent with the strategy proposed by the leader. What we want is the entire Zhudao Island and the population on Zhudao Island, not an empty island without people. So we don't want to kill these militias, and we can't kill them. Going to war with the militia will lose the population of our Han tribe. This is something that the leader, the marshal, and the Sima don't want to see. I'm afraid those militias are not willing to go to war with our army." Yang Feng said solemnly.

"Yes, that's right. The militia is not enthusiastic about this battle, but rather a little afraid of it." Tiezhen also nodded in confirmation.

"So the Grand Marshal has an idea, and wants you to cooperate with us to disintegrate the enemy's morale from within and win this decisive battle without bloodshed."

"How can I cooperate with you, please tell me, Army General." Tiezhen asked again.

"How many troops do you have now? If you want them to turn against you, is it possible to control them all?" Yang Feng asked first.

"This may be difficult. I have a corps of 2,000 formal armed troops under my command. I have also assigned the Jinwu Guard brothers who came to Zhudao with me to various levels of command in this army. If the commander wants me to lead them to the ambush circle, this is easy to do, but it is extremely difficult to get them to turn against us. The

clan soldiers in the corps are originally in the same mind as those elders and Commander Xin. The other half of the grassland soldiers are the remnants of Maodun, and they are considered to have a grudge against us. The remaining 3,000 militiamen are simply unusable. If we intimidate them, they should surrender directly, but it is impossible for them to turn against us." Tiezhen analyzed worriedly.

"It is not impossible to turn against us. It is easiest to surrender on the spot. In fact, you have already said that these soldiers are also afraid of fighting and do not want to fight with us. If we do some ideological work on them, this matter will be settled. Come, take a look at Sima's secret letter first." Yang Feng said, and then took out another letter from his arms and handed it to Tiezhen.

Tiezhen took the letter and read it roughly. He found that the content was all about psychological warfare methods, how to incite the army to rebel, how to publicize policies, what the focus of publicity was, etc. The surrender policies mentioned in it, such as "three no kills" and "three major rewards", made Tiezhen's eyes widen. He secretly exclaimed that it was a vicious strategy, but it was indeed very effective.

"Do you understand? If you don't understand, you can ask me now." Yang Feng reminded him when he saw that he was absorbed in reading.

"I understand. Sima's strategy is exquisite. If you follow this method of attacking the heart, you can indeed win without fighting." After reading the content, Tiezhen was full of confidence. He had no way, but as long as he could do the things in this letter well, it would not be difficult to achieve victory without fighting.

"Well, if you have no problem, we will start the first plan two nights later. When our scouts find you in position, they will launch an attack. Remember to run away with your soldiers to avoid accidental injuries." Seeing that he agreed to the above plan, Yang Feng formally issued an order.

"Understood, please rest assured, the commander, and the commander and the commander, Tiezhen will definitely live up to your trust." Tiezhen immediately bowed his hands in response.

"Well, in that case, I will go back. After this battle is over, I will personally hold a celebration banquet for you." Yang Feng nodded, returned a salute to Tiezhen, and prepared to go back.

"It's dangerous here, do you want me to send my brothers to escort you?" Tiezhen asked worriedly.

"No, go back early. Remember to hide the letter and don't reveal your identity. I have someone to escort you."

As soon as Yang Feng finished speaking, there was a noise in the surrounding woods. A dozen Han scouts wearing black clothes, dark green crocodile leather armor, wearing bamboo hats, holding crossbows, and telescopes on their waists suddenly appeared. These elite scouts did not say a word and silently guarded Yang Feng.

Tiezhen and the other two were shocked. Although this forest was relatively remote, it was also very close to their camp, only less than one kilometer away, but these Han scouts in front of them had already quietly touched them, and no one had noticed.

The three of them couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. Fortunately, they were not really from the Xin tribe. Otherwise, facing such an elite Han army, I'm afraid that their heads would disappear inexplicably when they slept at night.

Yang Feng turned around and bowed solemnly to Tiezhen and the other two, saying "take care".

Tiezhen and the other two also saluted hastily. When they looked up again, there was no longer any General Yang and the elite scouts in front of them. There were only a few dark shadows shuttling through the woods, and the rustling sound of leaves in the wind.

Tiezhen looked at the letter in his hand and sighed. He knew that everything just now was true and it was not his eyes. He took off his shoes and carefully hid the letter in his shoes. Then he silently waved to the other two companions, and the three of them immediately left in different directions.

In the blink of an eye, the forest that was a little lively just now has become deserted again. Only a little deer quietly poked its head out from behind the bushes, as if nothing had happened here.

Congratulations to the motherland on the successful launch of the "Tianwen-1" Mars probe. We, China, are coming to Mars. Ole Ge (**)

(End of this chapter)