Chapter 113
The suggestion came from Lin Yi: clear away all the dry grass growing around the Anjun camp and burn it all down. With the vegetation reduced to ash, only scorched earth would remain, preventing the Xili people from starting a fire. This is similar to setting up firebreaks in forests and mountains.
Xie Chengnan's plan could perfectly complement this idea. By starting a fire themselves, the flames would reach the sky, luring the treacherous Li army there for a swift and decisive victory. The chaos itself would provide excellent cover; in the darkness beyond the firelight, they could do other things…
The Li army, who came to fish in troubled waters, indeed fell into the trap. They intended to launch a surprise attack, but upon closer inspection, they discovered that the fire only covered the outer perimeter of the An army's camp. The flames stretched and reflected, appearing raging from the outside. The An army fled in all directions, shouting for water to be sent to put out the fire, but the fire stopped before it even reached their outposts! It was as if they had encountered an invisible wall of water, baring its fangs and claws but not advancing an inch.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the Li army wanted to retreat, but suddenly a raging fire broke out behind them and quickly surrounded them like a wildfire.
"Fire! Fire! There's a fire behind us too!" a soldier shouted.
Flames raged and billowed thick smoke. The Xili general dismounted, inspected the fire, and cursed, "The An people actually laid oil beforehand!"
The north wind continues to blow tonight, making it difficult to extinguish the fire, which instead intensifies.
The thick smoke obscured the view of the camp's interior, but its direction was clearly visible. The Xili chieftain, seated on horseback, stared intently with hawk-like eyes—the Anren camp was positioned upwind, unaffected by the smoke and fire. He immediately realized this was no accident; the Anren were not foolish. They had calculated the wind direction beforehand, and the apparent fire was merely a ploy to lure Xili into a trap!
Thick smoke filled their mouths and noses, but the wall of fire could not penetrate it. The struggles and shouts of the Li army, and the mournful cries of their warhorses, were weakened and distorted by the layers of thick smoke, sounding like the wailing of weeping beasts.
This can't go on any longer! Even if it means death, we must break through the enemy lines!
The Li army leader plunged his dagger into the horse's back, blood gushing out. In excruciating pain, the horse went mad; even the scorching flames beneath its hooves couldn't compare to the agony. The sharp, tearing pain overcame its instinctive fear of fireworks, and it charged wildly towards the blazing flames.
Meanwhile, the An army had changed into the Xili battle uniforms they had previously taken from the captured Xili soldiers, transforming themselves into a "Xili" force.
They came out from the Anjun camp, not very close to the circle of fire, and only guarded the outer perimeter.
A tall Li soldier bravely rode his horse out of the ring of fire, his body and horse both engulfed in flames, his skin scorched by the flames. Though his face contorted in pain, he gritted his teeth, determined to escape the encirclement. The moment he stepped out of the inferno, he was instantly killed by the An soldiers who had been waiting for him.
Even the Li army that still managed to launch a counterattack was exhausted. Obscured by thick smoke, they could not discern the enemy's location and were instead riddled with arrows by the An army, who were already aware of the encirclement.
The Li army, responsible for real-time reconnaissance, observed the movements of the An army camp from afar and assumed that their allies had successfully surrounded the An army.
Upon closer inspection, however, something seemed amiss.
He advanced another half mile under the cover of night, and upon closer inspection, he saw the 'Li army' returning on horseback, seemingly in triumph. Behind them, thick smoke billowed into the sky, and flames still roared.
Because the number of An's troops disguised as Li troops was about the same as the number of those who had previously attacked An's camp.
They deliberately disguised themselves and arrived at the foot of the capital city without encountering any obstacles.
Upon seeing the people returning from afar, the guards immediately went to report to their leader.
Xie Chengnan sat on his horse, looking down at the remaining gatekeepers. Zhan Xian reined in her horse and stopped behind him, subtly glancing over the sentry posts at the city gate.
The guards, all from the Li army, spoke a string of words in the Li language.
Xie Chengnan frowned; the man was speaking too fast, and he hadn't understood a single word.
He glanced at Zhan Xian and silently said, "Make your move."
The mutiny happened in an instant.
The poor guards were just going through the motions. Since they hadn't seen the leader of the troops who had recently led them out of the city, they asked a question. Then they saw this "own troops," numbering less than ten thousand, suddenly and inexplicably draw their swords. The moment their eyes widened, they were killed without even knowing who had taken their lives.
They moved so fast that the Li soldiers on the sentry post had their throats slit before they even knew what was happening.
The Li army reacted too slowly, and the city fell in an instant.
When Hulunhe heard that his subordinates had returned in triumph, he realized something was wrong, but the An army had already entered the city.
Fireworks suddenly lit up a corner of the city gate, rising into the night sky and exploding into a beautiful flower.
Upon receiving the message, the An army troops remaining at the camp ceased their feigned chaos. The escape immediately stopped, and once the oil and grass had burned out, the fire subsided, leaving only enough troops to guard the camp and deal with the corpses of the Li army. The remaining troops marched at full speed to support the siege.
For An Jun, this was a thoroughly exhilarating and absolutely overwhelming victory, and they even captured Hulunhe alive.
However, for such a vast royal city, the number of civilians and soldiers in the city was far too small.
"To think of setting fire to lure the enemy shows you have some brains, but you're still stupid." Hulunhe grinned maliciously, his eyes gleaming like a ferocious beast. "Have you forgotten something? It seems you Anguo people are not only stupid, but also have bad memories."
Something's not right. From the moment they breached the city, everything went off in a way that seemed off.
What exactly is wrong?
The horse outside snorted, and Zhan Xian finally remembered that the Xili people were skilled with horses—they lived by following the water and grass, and nomadic migration was commonplace for them. Their royal tent was not even in the city!
Xie Chengnan's expression suddenly changed: "Let's retreat from the city first!"
The civilians on the streets were merely disguised Li army soldiers; the city's inhabitants numbered less than ten thousand! The royal tent and the people were not within the city walls; they had known all along that the An army would attack. The city was sparsely populated because it was, in essence, an abandoned city!
"Too late." Hulun glared at them fiercely. "This entire city has long been filled with gunpowder."
“Once the commander is captured, the assassins scattered throughout the city will set fires. Since I was captured, guess where my bravest warriors from Xili have set fires?”
As if to confirm his words, a huge explosion suddenly rang out.
Hulunhe suddenly burst into laughter, his voice drowned out by the explosion, leaving only a silent, exaggerated laugh frozen on his face, like that of a madman. No one knew where this madman had planted the gunpowder.
Those who reacted quickly took action when Xie Chengnan ordered them to retreat from the city, while those who reacted slowly only realized what had happened after hearing the roar.
Xie Chengnan only had time to leave Hulunhe's camp before the gunpowder buried behind the camp was ignited.
Zhan Xian walked ahead of him, but there was also plenty of gunpowder lying in ambush all over the street.
He watched the man's retreating figure, managing only to yell "Get down!" while quickly seeking cover. Almost simultaneously, smoke, gunpowder, and debris from shattered buildings rained down on him.
The An army that had come to join the royal city stopped outside the city. They did not know what had happened, but they saw flames soaring into the sky inside the city.
After Gu Shuan took over the defense of Liangzhou, he instructed Shu Lang to quickly organize the city and then immediately go to check the inns outside the city.
The people in the inn somehow got wind of the news, and when Shulang and his men arrived, the place was already deserted. However, they discovered that the Xili people were lurking in the vicinity.
The prefect of Liangzhou also found him in the city. When he was found, he was huddled in the cellar of a house with his wife and children.
"Wei Ping," Gu Shu'an called his name, "is there anything you want to say?"
He had little patience; his fingers tapped the table repeatedly, as cruelly as a water clock.
Wei Ping shrank back, stubbornly saying, "This humble official, although I have a heart set on protecting the city and want to go to the front lines to fight the enemy, the artillery fire was simply too terrifying. I was terrified, so I changed my mind and hid..."
This person is shameless, stubbornly trying to turn black into white. The adjutant slammed his hand on the table: "Do you think we're fools? When His Highness the Crown Prince asks a question, answer truthfully!"
Not only was Wei Ping startled, but Gu Shu'an was also frightened; he was already quite annoyed.
Gu Shu'an stopped the adjutant from about to explode, then glanced meaningfully at Wei Ping's wife and daughter, who were trembling in the corner. "You'd better confess quickly, before I start interrogating the others."
Prefect Wei swallowed hard, thinking to himself that this prince was not to be fooled and he was doomed.
He wasn't a man of much principle. He could do things that weren't too heinous to ensure his own good life, and he could also turn tail and run if things went wrong. He didn't think he had done anything wrong; that's just how the world is, who doesn't value their life? Who isn't acting in their own self-interest?
To survive, he could abandon the people of a city and flee, and naturally, he could also betray those behind him.
However, he was unsure how much Gu Shuan knew. Years of experience as an official had taught him that he could not rashly reveal all his cards.
Wei Ping changed his tune, saying, "This humble official knows his mistake. He shouldn't have abandoned the people of the city just to save his own life. Please, Your Highness, consider my years of hard work in defending the city and be lenient with me and my family!"
Gu Shuan'an's patience ran out, and she stopped beating around the bush: "A large amount of valuables were found in your residence. I know the salaries of the various prefectures and counties. Those are not wages. Where did this money come from? You only have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to explain clearly."
The adjutant cooperated by lighting an incense stick.
“If the incense burns out, and you still have something to hide—take his wife and daughters away first.”
The adjutant grabbed the two of them and dragged them away, completely ignoring the woman's pleading eyes.
Wei Ping didn't know much about this Crown Prince and wasn't sure if, given his character and style, he would really harm his wife and daughter. But he figured that people accustomed to high positions always meant what they said, so he didn't dare to gamble.
"I'll talk, I'll talk! Your Highness, please have mercy! They know nothing!"
"Those who are unaware of the truth yet benefit from it should be punished as well." Even while fleeing for their lives, the mother and daughter still possessed a considerable amount of gold, silver, and jade.
Wei Ping was terrified and kept kowtowing.
Gu Shuan raised his chin slightly and said to the adjutant who had already dragged the person outside the door, "Place them in the next room first."
Wei Ping breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Gu Shuan said, "Now you can talk? Tell me everything clearly: what you know, what you did, where the money came from, whether you colluded with Xili or with anyone in the court."
Although Gu Shuan didn't say it outright, Wei Ping knew perfectly well that he couldn't afford to take any chances now. Whether they concealed the truth or not would directly determine their fate.
"This humble official... no, no, this sinful subject was also deceived. It was Prince Jing! Prince Jing's men sent this humble official a message saying that he wanted to open a shop outside Liangzhou City and asked me to help cover it up, with the profits split 50/50."
"Just because he occupies a piece of land outside Liangzhou City, he wants to take half of your profits? Is there really such a good deal? What kind of business is he in?" Gu Shuan asked.
Wei Ping dared not speak further and lowered his head deeply.
Gu Shuan finished speaking for him: "It's weapons."
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