Zhang Shixun immediately convened a meeting of all commanders and above.
He opened a simple map he had drawn with charcoal, pointed at Gongcheng, and said, "According to reliable intelligence, Yang Tianwang is gathering his troops and preparing to head towards Gongcheng. He claims to be going to fight a local tyrant, but his real intention is to escape to the Taihang Mountains to escape our pursuit."
Han Shizhong said in a deep voice, "We must not let him get into the Taihang Mountains... You thief! You've robbed enough gold, silver, and treasures, and you're just trying to run away. How could you possibly get away with that?"
Everyone nodded.
"Look, Gongcheng is backed by the Jiushan Mountains, a branch of the Taihang Mountains. To the east is the Dongshi River, and to the west is the Baijiwei River... You see, if King Yang wants to enter the mountains, this is the only way."
Yue Fei stared at the map and said, "I have an idea, but I'm not sure if I should share it."
"speak!"
"We will split our forces into two groups. One will rush ahead of Yang Tianwang and block the mountain passage. The other will follow behind Yang Tianwang's group. When he enters the road between the Dongshi River and the Wei River, we will attack him from both sides and drive him towards the passage. Then we will squeeze him from both ends..."
"Good plan!" Zhang Shixun agreed immediately. "Lead one team under Yue Fei. In addition to the cavalry, I'll give you 200 archers and 300 spearmen... Yue Fei, if you let Heavenly King Yang escape from you, I won't bother you. You can kill yourself."
Yue Fei puffed out his chest and said, "Don't worry, Commander. I will definitely block Heavenly King Yang's path. Not even a fly will be able to get through."
He looked up and called to the side: "Slow Monkey, come here."
"I'm here too."
Before he finished speaking, a wretched-looking, thin man appeared in front of everyone.
Zhang Shixun asked, "Do you know the way into the mountains over there in Gongcheng?"
"I know. I've gotten to know all the roads around here very well these past few days, and I've even been into the mountains a few times."
"Alright then." Zhang Shixun pointed at Yue Fei. "You lead this officer and obey him in everything... Remember, if you lead me the wrong way, I'll chop off your head."
"I understand! Don't worry, Master."
Yue Fei set off with his troops.
Zhang Shixun and his men also quietly moved towards Yang Tianwang's old camp.
At this time, the sky was just beginning to brighten.
Yang Tianwang had already gathered his men and horses. He jumped onto his mount and said to Li Moulue, "I'll go down ahead and you can follow slowly. There's no need to rush."
"Goodbye, my king. Leave this to me."
Yang Tianwang looked at him, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Li Moulue said, "Heavenly King, it's already dawn, let's get going."
Yang Tianwang swallowed what he wanted to say and waved his hand, "Brothers, let's go."
He formed a very strange formation, with fifty cavalrymen leading the way and the rest of the cavalrymen guarding on both sides of the infantry.
In the middle of the team were more than 20 mule carts, ten of which were loaded with gold, silver and treasures he had robbed, and the remaining mule carts were loaded with food.
What’s even funnier is that there are two sedan chairs in the middle of the team, which are probably the wives that Yang Tianwang recently robbed.
Because the vehicles were heavy and the road was rugged, the team moved very slowly. When they encountered ditches and bumps, people were needed to push the mule carts.
The First Army was hiding in a forest not far away.
Zhang Shixun was lying behind a clump of grass, with He Ji and Han Shizhong lying beside him. The three of them were observing.
Han Shizhong looked at it and shook his head: "Military Commander, Yang Tianwang is just like a pig waiting to be slaughtered when he arranges this kind of marching formation."
Zhang Shixun laughed and said, "Apart from robbing, this guy spends the rest of his time playing hide-and-seek with the government troops. He has never fought a battle in his life."
"I can guarantee that if we charge out now, these stragglers will be defeated at the first blow."
"The biggest fear is that this will end in a crushing defeat, with thousands of them fleeing for their lives and no one able to catch them... We need to be patient and wait until they reach our designated location before we attack. Once we're blocked from both ends, they won't be able to escape."
"I was just saying that casually, haha! Let's do as we agreed before."
Zhang Shixun turned his gaze towards the old camp and saw that the gate was open. There was a chair in the middle of the gate and a man was fanning it with a feather fan.
This person is Li Moulue.
Zhang Shixun couldn't help laughing.
What the hell! What's going on?
Even Zhuge Kongming wouldn't play like this, right?
Obviously, he was showing it to Zhang Shixun.
He Ji and the other two also saw it and asked in unison, "Who is that person?"
"It was the spy I sent over there—Li Moulue. He was a scholar who had passed the Jieji exam. Because his wife cheated on him, he killed the adulterer in a rage and fled to Wuyou Cave. Later, I subdued him. This time, he volunteered to be a spy for Yang Tianwang."
He Ji suddenly realized, "No wonder you know the whereabouts of Heavenly King Yang so clearly, it turns out you have an insider."
"Lao He, don't blame me for not telling you."
"I don't blame you. This kind of thing is very dangerous. The fewer people who know about it, the better."
Zhang Shixun said, "Yang Tianwang may have realized that Li's strategy was not appropriate, so he abandoned two thousand old, weak, and sick people to fend for themselves."
"Yang Tianwang is quite loyal. If it were someone else, he would have killed Li Moulue with a single blow."
Zhang Shixun shook his head. "This has nothing to do with loyalty."
He Ji was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
Han Shizhong interrupted, "Old He, you're stupid. King Yang is afraid that after he kills Li Moulue, someone will come after him."
He Ji was still puzzled and asked, "Even if Heavenly King Yang found that Li Moulue was inappropriate, how did he know that he was sent by the military commander? Did Li Moulue say so himself?"
Han Shizhong said, "Perhaps it was Li Moulue who really said it. Showing Zhang Tianshi's golden signboard is more effective than a talisman."
He Ji looked at Zhang Shixun.
Zhang Shixun smiled without saying anything. Some secrets should not be told.
Facts have proved that sending Li Moulue to control Yang Tianwang was a bad move.
Originally, they thought that Yang Tianwang came from a poor family and rebelled because he was forced into a rebellion. In addition, he did not kill innocent people indiscriminately and there was no record of him raping women. They thought that he was a target that could be won over, so they sent Li Moulue to him.
At first, Yang Tianwang was very honest and acted completely according to the rules set by Zhang Shixun. Later, as his strength grew, Yang Tianwang began to become arrogant, his mind became active, and he began to think about breaking away from Zhang Shixun's control.
Zhang Shixun reflected on himself and found that he had viewed complex human nature too simply.
The fact that Yang Tianwang was willing to kill Wang Dong for the bounty shows that this person disregards human life for money.
He did not kill people indiscriminately in Weishi because Weishi was his hometown and a native of the area. If he killed innocent people indiscriminately, it would be difficult for him to gain a foothold.
Therefore, he wisely chose to kill officials and gentry.
Zhang Shixun secretly reminded himself that in the future, when he looked at people and things, he should not take things for granted and must be cautious, otherwise, it would delay important matters.
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