Yang Yan's mouthful of blood seemed to unleash the loyalty and forbearance he had endured throughout his life, and it also extinguished the last vestige of illusion he had about Li Jingang.
The tent was deathly silent, save for Yang Fu's suppressed sobs and Yang Yan's heavy, painful breathing.
"Uncle! Take care of yourself!" Yang Chao's eyes were filled with tears as he tightly grasped Yang Yan's cold hand. "This enmity is irreconcilable! From now on, my forty thousand men will only obey your orders!"
"We must use Li Jingang's head to pay tribute to the spirits of my aunt and cousin in heaven!"
With Li Jin's help, Yang Yan slowly sat up straight, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his face no longer showed any of the composure of an old general, but only deep-seated hatred and resolute madness.
His gaze swept over the generals in the tent, his voice hoarse yet carrying a chilling, iron-like edge:
"Did you all hear that? Li Jingang is ruthless, so don't blame us for being unjust! From this day forward, Yang Yan and Li Jingang will fight to the death!"
"I am willing to follow the commander (uncle) to avenge our grievances!"
Yang Chao, Yang Hong, and the generals in the tent roared in unison, their emotions running high.
Yang Yan's arrival was like injecting a potent, sobering, and ruthless medicine into this trapped beast, which was driven to rage by despair.
He was ultimately a powerful figure, and his ability to rise from a mere scholar to a founding minister of the Great Feng Dynasty naturally set him apart from ordinary people, including in matters of the heart.
Yang Yan quickly calmed down, composed himself, and began to continue deploying the plan to advance into Xijing.
"Uncle, please accept my condolences. What should we do now?" Yang Chao looked at Yang Yan earnestly as Yang Yan regained his senses.
Yang Yan did not answer immediately. He walked to the simple camp map and slowly traced Wannian, Xijing, Longmen Pass, Hedong with his finger, finally stopping at Jiannan.
After a long silence, he turned around, his voice hoarse but carrying an undeniable resolve:
“As I just mentioned, Zhao Muyun is using us. He sent you to Henan so that you would fight against Li Jingang’s main force, weakening both sides so that he could reap the benefits. This is a scheme to use one tiger to devour another.”
"Let's talk about the plan to capture Xijing!"
"We will obey Uncle's orders!" Like Yang Fan, Yang Chao learned his military leadership skills from Yang Yan, and they had long regarded Yang Yan as their father.
"While launching a surprise attack on Xi'an, we must also make Li Jingang work for us!" Yang Yan sneered. "Zhang Tao is our mouthpiece!"
Yang Chao frowned and asked, "Uncle, what do you mean by this?"
"First, make a show of force to distract Zhang Tao and the Wannian garrison."
Yang Yan had already made up his mind: "You will personally lead 10,000 of your most elite infantry and cavalry as the vanguard, lightly armed and carrying all firearms, and set off immediately. You will bypass Wannian North Mountain and launch a rapid attack on Xijing along the trails!"
"I will take charge of the troops left behind and deal with Zhang Tao and Zhao Muyun here, creating the illusion that the army is still there."
"Once your army reaches the gates of Xijing, I will find a way to escape and lead my troops to meet you!"
"At the same time, you deliberately let Zhang Tao see your marching tracks. Even if he's stupid, he'll figure out your purpose and will definitely take some action or report it to Li Jingang immediately."
"As soon as Li Jingang learns that we have launched a surprise attack on Xijing, he will likely send Ma Zongliang to increase the pressure on Longmen Pass!"
"In this way, with Zhao Muyun's presence causing chaos everywhere, it will be more advantageous for us to seize Xijing."
"Once you take Xijing, I will persuade Zhang Tao to surrender, and then we will lock down Wuguan and Longmenguan. In this way, my Yang family will have both Xijing and Jiannan, and we will be able to challenge Zhao Muyun and Li Jingang!"
This was a bold plan, bordering on reckless, but coming from Yang Yan, it carried a sense of unwavering resolve and precise judgment.
"Uncle is wise!" Yang Chao's spirits lifted, and the confusion and frustration of the past few days vanished. "Nephew will go and prepare now! I will definitely take Xijing for Uncle!"
"Remember, speed is of the essence in war, and surprise is key!"
Yang Yan patted Yang Chao heavily on the shoulder, "The garrison in Xijing is mostly newly recruited, and that brat Yinji is nothing to worry about. The key is speed; we need to break down the city gates before Zhao Muyun can react!"
That night, Yang Chao's camp appeared normal, but his elite troops had already quietly assembled.
Yang Chao selected 10,000 of his most valiant soldiers, including 2,000 cavalry and all the elite troops trained in mountainous terrain.
They took all their remaining food rations, along with the ten cans of fierce fire oil and ten thunderbolts given to them by Zhao Muyun.
At 11:45 AM, the west gate of the camp quietly opened, and ten thousand soldiers, like a surging torrent, merged into the pitch-black night, advancing swiftly towards Xijing along the well-prepared northern mountain path.
Yang Yan stood on the earthen platform in the camp, watching the troops disappear to the west, his eyes filled with both anticipation and deep worry.
He knew it was a high-stakes gamble.
If they win, the Yang family will have a chance to turn their fortunes around; if they lose, they will be doomed.
"Li Jin!" He summoned his trusted general. "Order all battalions to raise more cooking smoke as usual tomorrow, send out more scouts, and make a lot of noise with many flags. Make sure the defenders of Wannian think that our main force is here!"
"yes!"
......
The capital city, the imperial palace.
Li Jingang slammed the urgent military report from Zhang Tao requesting reinforcements and stating that Yang Chaojun's movements were suspicious onto the imperial desk, his face so gloomy it was almost dripping with water.
"Useless! Twenty thousand men are too scared to move by Yang Chao, who may have already rebelled? And they still need reinforcements from the imperial court?"
His chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot. "Zhao Muyun! It must be Zhao Muyun who's behind this! All that feinting, all that firearms, it's all just a smokescreen!"
Feng Liang picked up the report with trepidation and cautiously advised, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. General Zhang is always cautious in his military operations. Perhaps... perhaps Yang Chaozhen and Zhao Muyun have a deep-rooted alliance and their power is considerable? Moreover, the terrain around Wannian is complex, so caution is advisable..."
"Caution?" Li Jingang interrupted sharply. "If we continue to be cautious, Henan will descend into chaos! If Yang Chao really rebels and takes Henan, joining forces with Zhao Muyun in Xijing, wouldn't my heartland be in grave danger?!"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com