Chapter 258 Sneak Attack
Ji Ping was shocked. He said, "Now that the Lord has come, we are no longer afraid of the Tatars!"
Gao Ming thought for a moment and said, "Sir, the Fourth Prince and Yuan Kuishan weren't completely inactive. They were also useful. They fought fiercely with the Tatars, and the Tatars suffered heavy losses. Therefore, after they captured Huai'an, they didn't continue their offensive, but stayed to rest and recuperate."
In fact, the Fourth Prince really hopes to make great contributions in the battle against the Tatars. Military achievements are always the best foundation. This will allow him to quickly accumulate reputation and gain a firm foothold in the army.
Think about it, if he could recapture the Yanhui Army, how would the world judge him? No matter what mistakes he had made in the past, they would all be wiped out.
Therefore, the Fourth Prince and Yuan Kuishan were truly determined to repel the Tatars. The two sides fought fiercely, but unfortunately, in the end, the Yanhui Army suffered many casualties, and their troops became fewer and fewer, and in the end, they saw no reward at all.
It wasn't the Fourth Prince's fault. Even Yan Xing wasn't sure he could recapture Yanhui Pass in two or three years, let alone the Fourth Prince. Wasn't it a bit too much for him, a pampered prince?
So after trying hard, the Fourth Prince found that he couldn't do it, so he gave up and decided to retain his strength and not continue to consume the troops in his hands.
But the Fourth Prince did cause damage to the Tatars.
Lu Chenyang let out a breath, his eyes falling on the map in front of him.
The locations of Huai'an and Yanhui Pass on the map are marked with Tatar flags. This should have been their territory, but now it has been occupied by the enemy. This is a shame for every official there.
Take it one step at a time, Lu Chenyang secretly warned himself, and slowly get back what they have lost.
Lu Chenyang gave the order in a deep voice, "Mr. Gao, go recruit soldiers from the surrounding area. All the civilians rescued by Dong Zhe, males over 16 and under 46 years old, will be drafted into the army!"
Gao Ming hesitated for a moment: "If they don't want to..."
Lu Chenyang looked at him coldly: "That's your business. Do you still need me to help you?"
Gao Ming was silent for a moment, then bowed and replied, "Yes!"
This was the first time that Lu Chenyang showed his tough side, but Gao Ming did not feel any dissatisfaction in his heart, because they were facing a very serious situation now.
Lu Chenyang continued, "Ji Ping, go select a group of death squads from the army, about fifty people. These fifty people must all possess unique skills, especially be proficient in Qinggong. I'll give you Lu Ning who is by my side. Select him as soon as possible, I'll be able to use him."
Ji Ping quickly agreed.
Lu Chenyang wanted to take advantage of the Tatars' rest and attack. The Tatars were exhausted, but the Lu family army was full of energy. Now was their chance.
Ji Ping quickly selected fifty people, including Lu Ning who was beside Lu Chenyang.
Lu Ning was also brought out from Lu Chenyang's home. He was an orphan and was adopted by the Lu family and taken as a disciple. He also took the Lu family's surname. He was one of the thirty bodyguards brought by Lu Chenyang.
He was relatively low-key and didn't stand out, unlike Tan Feng who was so prominent in the army. However, he always stayed by Lu Chenyang's side as a guard. He was an excellent Qinggong and had helped Lu Chenyang complete various letter delivery missions many times without making any mistakes.
Lu Chenyang trusted him very much. This time, Lu Chenyang let him be the captain, and the fifty members of the death squad all obeyed his orders.
Lu Chenyang said, "After dark tomorrow, I will have Ji Ping send troops to attack. You will then take advantage of the chaos and sneak into the city with your men. You will do two things. The first is to find the granary and set it on fire. The second is to incite the people in the city to cooperate with you in starting a civil unrest and cooperate with me in this internal and external attack."
Lu Ning didn't say anything and waited quietly for Lu Chenyang's instructions.
Lu Chenyang continued, "This is a topographic map of the city, left by Dong Zhe. The location of the granary is marked on it."
Lu Ning took it. The picture on it was very clear and easy to understand at a glance.
Lu Chenyang said: "The other place is where slaves were imprisoned. After the Tatars occupied Huai'an City, they imprisoned all the people and made them slaves."
When Lu Chenyang said this, his eyes showed sadness.
The city's civilians, the elderly, the weak, and children were all slaughtered for their own pleasure. The Tatars saw them as worthless, while the women were reduced to mere tools for their sexual gratification. Only the young and strong men were treated as slaves, perhaps even serving as human shields on the battlefield.
These people were useful, so they were able to save their lives. The Tatars imprisoned them all.
This was a map left by Dong Zhe. The Yanhui Army had been in Huai'an for a long time, so he was very familiar with the city. He had long known the location of the granary, and as for where the slaves were held, he had guessed it based on his knowledge of Huai'an.
In the entire city of Huai'an, this was the only place most suitable for the large-scale detention of slaves. The Tatars were known for their strong limbs and simple minds, so they would definitely choose this place to detain slaves.
At that time, Dong Zhe was no longer able to lead troops to attack Huai'an City, so he left this map to Gao Ming.
Before leaving, Dong Zhe said, "Lord Lu loves his people like his own children. If you have the chance, please lend a hand... Save as many as you can." He wiped his face, a look of dejection on his face. "It's us who are incompetent."
Facing the people he protects, watching them being bullied and killed while he is powerless to do anything, this is the most painful part for all soldiers.
When Gao Ming gave Lu Chenyang this map yesterday, Lu Chenyang came up with this plan.
We need to work together inside and outside. If we can't rescue the people, we must burn their food and supplies.
Lu Ning nodded heavily: "Yes, sir."
Lu Chenyang patted his shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Just do your best. If it really doesn't work, withdraw first. Your lives are also important."
Lu Ning grinned, bowed to Lu Chenyang, turned and walked out.
He did not agree to Lu Chenyang's words.
Lu Chenyang came to lead Huai'an, and he was under tremendous pressure. Since he had entrusted him with such an important task, how could he let him down? Even if he died, he would help the adults complete the task and make his life easier.
There is a team in Lu Chenyang's army, which is called the Jianghu Army within the Lu Family Army. Because these people are made up of Jianghu people, these are the people who were doing evil in the Jianghu when Lu Chenyang was in Yanquan County, and they were reorganized into an army.
This team was not on the imperial roster, but was registered under Lu Chenyang's name, and was completely loyal to Lu Chenyang alone (in fact, the entire Lu family army was also loyal to him alone). But that was different, because the others were registered and were powerful soldiers, but this army was not.
This team was filled with talented individuals, almost all of whom possessed unique skills. Most of them had eccentric personalities and were unruly. However, after witnessing Lu Chenyang's abilities in Yanquan County, most of them were convinced.
Lu Ning looked at the selected people. He walked up to them and repeated the tasks assigned by Lu Chenyang.
"My Lord, you told us to take care of ourselves. Our lives are precious," Lu Ning said. "My Lord, you must be aware of your current situation. The Tatars are strong and outnumber us, so you are in a very passive position. Our actions are of vital importance to you. For you and the people in the city, we must succeed."
He said in a grave tone, "If you don't have confidence, quit now. I won't blame you, and I won't settle accounts with you later. But if you follow me, you can only succeed, not fail!"
The fifty men looked determined, not one of them flinching, and answered in unison, "Yes!"
Lu Ning breathed a sigh of relief and said in a cold voice, "Let's go."
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