Gong Qiu jumped up and down with a few moves and arrived next to his subordinates.
"General, look!"
The stoves the soldiers pointed out had apparently been used for cooking, but the walls were too new and had only been blackened by firewood. A few pieces of wood had been left in the stove, so only a small amount had been burned.
There is not even a trace of carbon ash.
This is not a real stove for cooking.
"That's it. Look! There are so many more of these disguised stoves!"
As soon as Gong Qiu finished speaking, the voices of many soldiers were heard.
"General, I found three new disguised stoves here."
"I have a whole row here without any charcoal fire."
"General, these stoves are too close together. If they were really cooking, the fire at the back would definitely burn their butts. This should be done by someone digging and someone else lighting the fire."
These soldiers are all veterans and they are very experienced in this.
When we cook together, it feels like we are cooking together.
The densely packed, three thousand stoves before him were clearly disguised. It was just that the outer ones were disguised more realistically, while the stoves inside were just for show.
Gong Qiu analyzed, "So, they don't have 30,000 men, they're just pretending to have 30,000 men. They really think we're rookies, don't they understand this? Humph, who are they trying to scare?"
Kuntai was sweating next to him and kept fanning himself, purely retorting:
"Boss, is there a possibility? They have 30,000 soldiers, but they think cooking is too troublesome. So they don't cook and eat pills instead."
Gong Qiu was very calm and shook his head. "While what you said is possible, I think they are more likely to be pretending. If they had the elixir, why didn't they take it right away? Why did they have to dig a stove and light a fire before eating it?"
Kuntai thought for a moment and said, "What if the enemy is setting a trap within a trap? They actually have 30,000 troops, but they've deliberately rigged the situation to make us think they don't have 30,000. Maybe they have 40,000..."
Kuntai smiled, continued to carefully check the remaining stoves, and explained:
"If there really were 30,000 enemies, why would they be disguising themselves? Couldn't they just surprise us without leaving any traces?"
"This must be Lin Pojun's tactic. They thought we were 40,000 new recruits, so they set up a confusing formation to make us panic and intimidated before the battle even begins. They made us think there were ambushes all around us."
"What a pity. Their tactics were discovered by our General Lin!"
Kuntai thought about it and couldn't think of any reason to refute it.
One thousand soldiers from the Shenji Camp carefully inspected the three thousand stoves and found that at least two thousand five hundred of them were just for show.
Only the stoves on the periphery are actually used for cooking.
This enemy force probably numbered about three thousand people.
Gong Qiu also sent troops to search around, but no horse manure was found, which proved that the 3,000 people were still walking.
"Okay—retreat."
Before dark, Gong Qiu finally rushed back.
He reported the whole situation to Lin Che.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work! Let's continue our journey tonight!"
Lin Che appeared calm on the surface.
The only ones who could do such a thing were Lin Pojun's Zhenyuan Army. Moreover, he could also conclude that there were not many Zhenyuan Army troops nearby.
If there really were 100,000 Zhenyuan troops arriving, why would they bother digging stoves? They would just be thinking about digging holes to bury people.
The Zhenyuan Army did this for two reasons: first, to disrupt the morale of the Shenji Camp, and second, to delay the Shenji Camp's speed.
But Lin Pojun never expected that he possessed military spirit and momentum, and even his marching speed was four or five times that of other teams.
The next day, it was dawn.
Lang Zhenglu, the garrison commander of Liangjie City, pretended to grab a handful of sand from the ground and shouted:
"Oh, the smell of this sand is so familiar to me. That's the desert over there. We'll be in the Two Realms City soon."
After marching for another hour or so, we saw houses.
We even saw a residential area that had long since collapsed. It was not difficult to see that this place was once prosperous many years ago.
"Liangjie City is just ahead, haha, now we're in Liangjie City. We must serve good wine and food to our brothers." Lang Zhenglu greeted loudly.
"I have 40,000 people here. Sir, thank you for the treat! Good wine and good food, we must stay a few days longer."
"Haha. It doesn't matter how long you stay, as long as it doesn't delay the Marquis's diplomatic mission to Yanyun Country."
After a while, they encountered the outpost of Liangjie City in front.
With Lang Zhenglu around, everything naturally went smoothly.
However, the small group of outpost soldiers looked at such a large army, their eyes widened, and they began to whisper:
"What kind of army is this? They've actually come to Liangjie City. Are we going to declare war on the Yanyun Kingdom?"
"These are all Beiyuan war horses. They're so luxurious."
"Huh? No, that's not right. What are these large troops behind us wearing? They look like natives. They're armed with hammers, hatchets, and even maces. Are they guerrillas formed by the people?"
"Haha, I think. They are more like beggars."
Indeed, from a distance, the cavalry leading the way looked very brave.
But when I looked behind, I found that some of the soldiers in the village were wearing straw sandals. How could they look like regular troops?
Soon, the enemy arrived at the city.
The gate of Liangjie City was also opened, and Lang Zhenglu was about to invite Lin Che in.
Lin Che said, "Ah, Lord Garrison. Don't be in a hurry. We're all covered in dirt. If we go in like this, we'll definitely scare the residents of your city. How about this..."
"First Battalion, listen up! You have good manners. Follow the garrison commander into the city first. Explain yourselves to the people when you meet them. We will then enter the city."
Yao Wenkui understood it instantly.
The general was worried that there was an ambush in the city, so he sent one battalion in to scout the way first.
Once it's safe, the rest of the people can go in.
"Yes!" Yao Wenkui answered loudly.
Lang Zhenglu had experienced battles to some extent, so he naturally heard it.
"My Lord, don't worry. The people in our city are all very obedient. If they knew you were a friend invited by our Prince Wu, they would applaud and welcome you."
"Come, come, take our distinguished guest inside. I'll stay and chat with the Marquis here."
Lang Zhenglu wanted to stay in person, which meant that he was willing to be a hostage and prove that there was no one left in the city.
This means that they arrived earlier than the Zhenyuan Army.
But to be on the safe side, let Yao Wenkui lead the troops in to take a look first...
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