Chapter 905: Taking Advantage of the Situation
The change of military forces in Luoyan Pass occurred on the third day. Beiling attacked again. Taking advantage of the chaos during the war and when the two armies were about to withdraw their troops after the battle, Hang Li and Wen Xinhou led their troops to leave secretly.
Within half a day, the Beiling army received the news.
Xiahou Ling and Lu Zhinian were in the same place. Upon hearing the spies' report, Lu Zhinian asked, "Are you sure that the Wei army has been divided?"
"I'm sure."
The man, a short man, reported with a serious expression, "Although the Wei army is using the war as a cover, it's impossible to conceal the mobilization of their forces. We who were ambushed on the nearby official road saw with our own eyes that their army split into several groups and left Fengcheng in different directions."
Lu Zhinian asked, "How many people are there?"
The man replied, "Our men dare not get too close, and some of them left last night. In total, there are at least 70,000 or 80,000 of them. Furthermore, they brought with them a large amount of food and fodder after their rapid march. It seems they are planning to go elsewhere for a long-term battle."
Lu Zhinian found this extremely strange and couldn't help but frown at Xiahou Ling: "The Great Wei really dares to divide its forces. Are Di Shuangcheng and the others crazy?"
They divided their troops because Beiling already had a large number of soldiers, and their cavalry could move as fast as the wind. If there was any problem, they could withdraw at any time. Even if they couldn't withdraw, the troops left behind could handle some unexpected situations. However, it was different on the Wei side.
Their military strength was originally inferior to Beiling's, and they had suffered heavy losses after fighting for such a long time. They were already stretched thin in dealing with Beiling before, and now they dared to send troops out. Apart from the word "crazy", Lu Zhinian really didn't understand why they dared to do this.
Xiahou Ling snorted coldly upon hearing this: "They're not crazy, they're just using our own tricks to scheme against us."
Lu Zhinian raised his eyebrows and looked at him.
After Xiahou Ling waved his hand to dismiss the people in the tent, he spoke coldly, "The Great Wei pretended to send out troops to intercept our cavalry, but in reality, only a small number of people were sent to Linping and other places. They were just pretending to split up, hoping to deceive us into thinking Luoyan Pass was undermanned. In reality, they were taking advantage of this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on us."
Lu Zhinian was surprised: "You mean, their target is us?" He paused and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Did they believe Zhan Meng?"
Xiahou Ling said, "Zhan Meng holds the Dragon Jade Token and is familiar with the Wei army. As long as the Dragon Jade Token is genuine, he will naturally be able to gain the trust of Di Shuangcheng and the others."
"Di Shuangcheng and the others must have believed that the war with Southern Qi was over and that the Wei Emperor had sent troops north to reinforce them. Furthermore, we have been making frequent moves recently, attacking various border crossings in the northwest. They probably truly believe that we are afraid of the Wei Emperor and are afraid that we will retreat, so they want to capture us all in one fell swoop."
Lu Zhinian hesitated after hearing this. "But they shouldn't understand that as long as the 100,000 cavalrymen in Beiling are still there, even if they capture us, it will be of no use. It seems strange that they would plot and scheme to seize this opportunity just for the troops outside the city."
He knew that Xiahou Ling had sent people to Luoyan Pass, and he also understood why Long Yuling was able to gain Di Shuangcheng's trust.
If Zhan Meng really deceived the people of Wei, making them think that reinforcements had arrived, and if they believed Beiling and wanted to withdraw their troops after hearing the news, it would be understandable that Di Shuangcheng and his men intended to keep the Beiling army. However, Di Shuangcheng has always been steady and cautious in his marches. Even if he was ambitious enough to keep them, he should never leave other places alone.
What's more, if they concentrate their forces to deal with them, even if they defeat the Zhen'an Army, they will suffer heavy losses. By then, when the 100,000 cavalry come to support them, what can they do to stop them?
People from the Great Wei should not be so radical and adventurous.
Xiahou Ling snorted coldly: "Di Shuangcheng and the others certainly won't do that, but what if Shi Changan is included?"
Shi Changan?
Lu Zhinian was stunned for a moment when he heard the name. After he entered Beiling, he became hostile to the National Master's Mansion. Naturally, he knew all about Xiahou Ling's past. Xiahou Ling had been doing well since he entered Beiling. The only time he fell was at the hands of his fellow junior brother.
It is said that after that man sneaked into Beiling, he stirred up the situation in Beiling by himself, causing the various tribes in Beiling to fight each other, and the old Khan also died at his hands. At the beginning, the Wanhu tribe almost replaced the Zongyan tribe and entered the royal court because of that man's strategy, but later he lost to Xiahou Ling in the end.
Xiahou Ling helped the current Khan ascend to the throne, dealt a heavy blow to the Wanhu tribe and won the position of national teacher, but although he seemed to have won, he also lost an eye and nearly died.
Lu Zhinian remembered that the person who had caused Xiahou Ling to suffer a great loss, and who even Wu Ya and the others were very secretive about when they mentioned him, seemed to be surnamed Shi.
His gaze fell on Xiahou Ling's blind eye, and he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is the Shi Chang'an mentioned by the Imperial Master the same Mr. Yu Lin that the princess and the others mentioned?"
Seeing Xiahou Ling's sinister expression, clearly extremely averse to the words "Mr. Yulin," Lu Zhinian was curious: "I heard that he disappeared after being severely injured by the Imperial Master. How could he be in the Wei Dynasty?"
Xiahou Ling snorted gloomily, "When he infiltrated Beiling, he already had the help of the people of Wei. So why is it so surprising that he stayed in Wei?"
After the old masters of his sect died, Shi Changan was left with nothing. He fled everywhere like a stray dog, but after sneaking into Beiling, he seemed to be helped by God.
He did not deny that this junior brother was a capable person and had always suppressed him when they were in the sect. However, if no one helped him under such circumstances, how could he have escaped his eyes and easily contacted the powerful people in Beiling and secretly hooked up with people from the Wanhu tribe.
At that time, Xiahou Ling was only angry and wanted to kill Shi Chang'an, and did not guard against the people of Wei. Now he understood that the reason why Shi Chang'an came to Beiling was probably because it was a strategy of that old man surnamed Cao of Wei to disrupt Beiling, seek peace for the Wei Dynasty, and delay Beiling's unification and southward advance.
Lu Zhinian was surprised when he heard this. He had been in the Wei Dynasty for so many years, and the Lu family and the aristocratic families had been fighting each other fiercely. With the caution of Lu Chongyuan and others at the time, they should have investigated Cao Dejiang thoroughly.
But they never knew that Cao Dejiang had secretly intervened in the civil strife in Beiling, and even Shi Changan was sent to Beiling by him.
Xiahou Ling's face was extremely grim. "Zhan Meng sent back news that Shi Chang'an has been staying in Wei for all these years. Cao Dejiang helped him become a guest of honor to the Emperor of Wei and his men. Now he is staying in the Northwest Army as a military advisor."
"I've always felt that the Wei army's tactics were peculiar, completely different from before. Now I think it's all that Shi's doing. He's always been known to take unconventional approaches, and his actions are extreme. His hatred for me is greater than anything else, and he won't let go of any chance to kill me."
Di Shuangcheng and the others might not dare to take such a risk, and might endure and hesitate for the sake of the overall situation, but Shi Changan would not.
Just like he wanted to kill Shi Changan.
Shi Changan would also do whatever it takes to keep him outside Luoyan Pass at all costs.
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