On the vast plains, the smoke of battle filled the air, like heavy black clouds pressing down. The thunderous drums, the neighing of warhorses, and the shouts of soldiers intertwined to create a tragic symphony. Iron cavalry surged forward like a tide, their armor gleaming, soldiers wielding spears and swords, charging bravely. On the battlefield, swords flashed, blood splattered, and every clash was accompanied by the loss of life.
The war drums beat like the rhythm of fate, quickening hearts and igniting passion. Arrows rained down, slicing through the sky, carrying the chill of death as they hurtled towards the enemy lines. At the edge of the battlefield, corpses piled up like mountains, blood flowed like rivers—a horrific sight. Yet, the soldiers did not flinch; for honor, for their beliefs, they fought to the death.
"Your Highness, we have already lost more than half of our men, and the enemy is still advancing aggressively. Continuing to fight will be disadvantageous for us," Song Jue said worriedly. Wei Ting, who was next to him, clutched his injured arm and looked down at the city below with a face full of resentment.
Those damned Mongolians, he wished he could eat their flesh and drink their blood.
At this moment, Jing Xi also returned from outside. There was still fresh blood dripping down the patterns on her armor. Jiang Bai picked up a handkerchief and wiped the blood off Jing Xi's face. Jing Xi tied her hair up, and the heroic spirit between her brows and eyes made her look like a young general.
"I have submitted a memorial to the capital. Song Jue, send someone to the surrounding prefectures to mobilize troops. When can they arrive at the earliest?" Ji Mosheng said solemnly.
Song Jue sighed and said, "The earliest they can arrive is tomorrow noon." That's too slow. It's too late to help a city in the present. It seems they'll have to hold Yunzhou City tonight.
“I have an idea, but I don’t know if it will work?” Jing Xi, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up.
"What method?" Ji Mosheng asked.
“Since the reinforcements aren’t coming, let’s make it look like they’ve arrived ahead of time,” Jing Xi said with a smile.
"Go on," Ji Mosheng said encouragingly, looking at Jing Xi.
"There are three steps in total. First, I need a thousand men and horses. Five hundred will ride in front, and five hundred will follow behind, raising dust to create the impression of a massive army, making them mistakenly believe that reinforcements have arrived. Second, we need the villagers to cooperate, having them stomp their feet forcefully side by side to influence their judgment through sound. Finally, we need to have someone make a loud noise in the woods to make the birds fly away. This way, the Mongols will definitely think that reinforcements have arrived, and they might even retreat." Jing Xi explained, pointing to the sand table to demonstrate.
The generals listening below all thought the idea was feasible and exclaimed in unison, "Brilliant! Brilliant! What a great idea!"
"Yes, yes, that's a great idea."
Ji Mosheng nodded in satisfaction. He also thought this method was feasible, as it could at least buy them time until the real reinforcements arrived, thus reducing unnecessary losses.
Ji Mosheng waved his hand and said, "Miss Jing, then I'll trouble you and Jiang Bai to take charge of things in the woods. Wei Tingyun and Long, you two will lead five hundred soldiers on horseback from the west, creating the illusion of ten thousand horses galloping to scare away the enemy. General Wang and General Li, you two are responsible for raising dust; make sure it's very obvious and realistic. Thank you for your hard work, everyone. Success or failure hinges on this. Once you all return safely, I will definitely report to the court and reward you all for your contributions." Ji Mosheng looked at everyone encouragingly as he spoke.
"Yes, Your Highness, this humble general obeys!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
"Don't worry, I understand." After saying that, Jing Xi pulled Jiang Bai away.
Jiang Bai looked at Jing Xi in surprise and said, "Jing Xi, you are really amazing. You even know military strategy. I am really surprised."
Jing Xi smiled and said, "Actually, this is not my own idea. Someone else came up with it before me. There are many other famous strategies, such as the Empty City Stratagem and the Beauty Trap. Many of these are the wisdom of the ancients. I just imitated them."
Jing Xi dared not take credit for herself. The Chinese nation has a history of five thousand years, a long and profound history, and is the crystallization of the wisdom of many sages. She dared not claim credit for herself, nor should she feel at ease using other people's wisdom to benefit herself.
"Jingxi, regardless of whether you came up with this idea or not, the fact that you brought it up during this crisis makes me think you're amazing and very capable. Jingxi, we're just ordinary people, aren't we? Don't put too much pressure on yourself or put too many burdens on yourself. Being an ordinary person is fine too, isn't it?" Jiang Bai gently comforted Jingxi, seeing that she didn't want to accept his praise.
Jing Xi must have rarely been praised before, otherwise why would she be so flustered? Jiang Bai silently told himself that he should praise Jing Xi more often in the future.
Jing Xi suddenly seemed to realize something, looked up at Jiang Bai and smiled, without saying a word.
When she was in the organization before, people would only blame her for not doing the task perfectly, and even though she was already very good, she didn't receive any praise.
——
"Brothers, hold on! Our reinforcements have arrived!" Someone shouted, and all the soldiers, as if injected with adrenaline, yelled, "We've won! Reinforcements have arrived! Reinforcements have arrived!"
Suddenly, a troop of cavalry charged out from the west, cutting down everything in their path and quickly tearing a gap in the battlefield. More and more riders appeared behind them, raising dust and their neighing echoing through the sky. Birds flew out of the woods, and many soldiers emerged from the forest. The soldiers behind them marched in unison, their voices steady and powerful, clearly well-trained.
The deputy general of the Mongol Kingdom hurriedly ran to the Mongol merchant's side and said respectfully, "Your Highness, it seems their reinforcements have arrived."
The Mongol merchant swept his eyes at the cavalry coming from the west and the dust they kicked up, and said angrily, "Damn Yin people! Didn't they say that even if they sent reinforcements to the nearest city, it would take a day and a night? How dare they lie to us! If we see him again, we'll tear him to pieces!"
"Your Highness, what should we do now?" the lieutenant asked cautiously.
The Mongolian merchant gradually calmed down. What if the other side was bluffing them? They decided to wait and see how things went. The Mongolian merchant said, "Let's see how many reinforcements they have."
Seeing that there was no movement from the Mongolian side, Jiang Bai and Jing Xi became anxious. What should they do? Why weren't they reacting? Could it be that they knew this was their scheme?
At this moment, Ji Mosheng led a troop of soldiers to encircle the enemy from the east. They fought bravely and quickly tore open another gap in the enemy's ranks. The soldiers of the Yin army were greatly encouraged and became even more courageous in killing the enemy.
When the soldiers of Meng saw that the reinforcements of Yin had arrived, their morale gradually crumbled, and some even began to retreat. In war, morale is the most important thing. If the enemy has no morale, how far is defeat from them?
"Your Highness, it seems their reinforcements have truly arrived," the deputy general said, pointing to the group led by Ji Mosheng.
The Mongol merchant also saw the new cavalry appear, and the enemy wanted to flank them from both sides. He glanced at the plaque of Yunzhou City with resentment and said angrily, "Withdraw."
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