Chapter 248 Traitors in Chaotic Times (Twenty-Four): How to Become a Super Strategist...
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Zhang Liuliang set off with dozens of his trusted followers.
After waking up, Meng Tianxi shook off his dejected state from the previous day and took the initiative to arrange for the rest of his personal guards to clean up the cave, clearing out a clean place to store the grain. He also had his subordinates set up several simple sentry posts near the cave entrance to prevent a sudden attack by the Northern Yan army.
As evening approached, Zhang Liuliang and his men finally returned. A hint of joy shone on his dark face as he quickly approached Meng Tianxi and reported, “General! I have discovered an abandoned village south of the mountain. Most of the houses are still intact, though somewhat dilapidated from long periods of neglect. Most importantly, the village is nestled against a mountain, with a dense forest in front, and a ravine beyond that forest—a very well-hidden location! We wouldn’t have found it at all if we hadn’t searched carefully!”
At this point, Zhang Liuliang paused, "In addition, I encountered dozens of refugees in the mountains behind the village. They said that since the Northern Yan army occupied Leixu City, they have been burning, killing, and looting everywhere. Their families were either killed by the Northern Yan army or separated from them. Of the entire village, only a few dozen of them remain. I have brought them here, and they are currently outside the cave."
Upon hearing this, Meng Tianxi immediately stood up. "Quick, take me to see them."
Outside the cave, about thirty people, dressed in rags and emaciated, huddled together. When they saw Meng Tianxi and his group, their eyes were filled with obvious wariness and fear.
Meng Tianxi lowered the sword at his waist and softened his tone, saying, "Villagers, we are the Meng family army, not the Northern Yan army. You don't need to be afraid."
The people looked at each other in bewilderment. One of the older men, slightly shakily, stood up and asked cautiously, "You...you are really the Meng family army?"
"yes!"
"Why...why did you take so long to arrive! Leixu City was occupied by the Northern Yan army months ago!" The old man asked with tears in his eyes and great sorrow.
Meng Tianxi stepped forward, firmly grasped the old man's hand, and said in a deep voice, "Old man, although Leixu City has been occupied by the Northern Yan army, my Meng family army is still here! Although we are outnumbered and outgunned, we will never allow the Northern Yan army to run rampant in my Qinzhou territory! I assure you that as long as there is a single soldier left in my Meng family army, we will fight to the death to protect our fellow villagers and let you live a peaceful life!"
Upon hearing this, not only the old man but also the other thirty-odd surviving civilians looked over. The old man seemed to remember something, and tears of emotion welled up in his eyes: "You are... General Meng?"
"It's me, old man, and you are...?"
"Good! Good! Good! General Meng said the same thing to us back then! We did indeed enjoy a few years of peace afterward. If it weren't for the Northern Yan traitors' invasion, we wouldn't be in this situation! Alas! Now that Young General Meng is willing to take us in, we... are extremely grateful!"
Seeing that the old village chief had spoken, the other villagers also lowered their guard and kowtowed repeatedly to Meng Tianxi.
Meng Tianxi's hand trembled, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions. His eyes reddened, and he said firmly, "Fellow villagers, there's no need for such formalities. Protecting the people under our jurisdiction is the duty of my Meng family army! Zhang Liuliang, arrange for some men to take the villagers to the abandoned villages in the south of the mountain first, and then distribute some of our supplies there."
"Yes, General!"
For the next two weeks, Meng Tianxi led his remaining loyal followers and a few dozen villagers to repair the abandoned village. Everyone had their own tasks and cooperated well. Some repaired houses, some reclaimed wasteland, and some went into the mountains to hunt and gather wild herbs and vegetables for food. The atmosphere was positive and harmonious.
Meng Tianxi no longer clung to his general's battle robes, but changed into coarse cloth short clothes and personally participated in the work, working alongside everyone else.
In the days that followed, Meng Tianxi led the villagers to reinforce the village's defenses by utilizing the mountainous terrain. At the same time, they formed small teams of multiple people to take turns scouting outside the village and closely monitor the movements of the Northern Yan army.
Not only that, he also organized five civilian guerrilla squads to harass and raid small groups of Yan army.
These native Qinxi people, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, repeatedly raided isolated Northern Yan squads and supply convoys, seizing considerable amounts of grain and weaponry. This not only replenished the Meng family army's supplies but also caused the Yan army some trouble.
During this process, Meng Tianxi and his men also encountered many Qinxi civilians who had been humiliated and abused by the Northern Yan army. Whenever they encountered them, he would order his men to do their best to help them and bring them back to their base camp villages for resettlement.
As they helped more and more people, the village gradually became lively.
The people were very grateful to Meng's army, and Meng Tianxi quickly won their hearts. Some strong young men even volunteered to join the army to fight against the Northern Yan enemy.
Spending time with these people, Meng Tianxi's long-suppressed guilt lessened somewhat. He knew that only by leading them to kill more Northern Yan soldiers and save more people could he make up for his past mistakes. But he also knew that with this irregular army of less than a thousand men, it was far from enough to fight against the powerful Northern Yan army and recapture Leixu City.
Just as Meng Tianxi was worried about the people of Qinxi, Zhang Liuliang brought him some important news that very night.
"General! I captured two messengers outside a Yan army post station on the outskirts of Leixu City, and found a secret letter on them!" Zhang Liuliang strode into the room and said urgently.
Meng Tianxi was taken aback upon hearing this, and quickly asked, "Where is the secret letter? What does it say?"
Zhang Liuliang took out a red and white pouch from his pocket and handed it to Meng Tianxi. "General, please take a look. This secret letter is written in the Northern Yan script! There happened to be a villager in our ranks who understood the Northern Yan language. He translated it for us, and that's how we learned what was inside! The Northern Yan rebels plan to attack Pingzhou in one fell swoop on the fifteenth of next month and then occupy Heyang!"
"What?"
Meng Tianxi's pupils contracted sharply as he grabbed the secret letter and examined it closely. Although he couldn't understand the Northern Yan script, he recognized the outlines of the maps marked with arrows!
"They are preparing to attack from the northwest of Pingzhou! Do you know who their general is? How many troops has Northern Yan deployed for this battle?"
“One of the constables confessed that the commander of this army is Lu Erruolie, a general of the Northern Yan, who has brought a full 50,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry, a total of 100,000 troops!” Zhang Liuliang swallowed and continued, “If this map is true, then the Northern Yan army is planning to split its forces into two routes!”
Meng Tianxi nodded with a grim face, "They have a well-thought-out plan. One group will start from Leixu City along the mountain road we retreated to before, and circle around to the west of Pingzhou; the other group will start directly from Yan and surround the north of Pingzhou! If they succeed in taking Pingzhou, then Heyang will probably be in danger too!"
After hearing this, Zhang Liuliang felt a chill run down his spine. He had only thought that the Northern Yan army would cause trouble in the Qinxi area, but he hadn't expected them to have such great ambitions, daring to directly attack Pingzhou! If the Northern Yan army were to capture Pingzhou and Heyang, then the entire Qinzhou region would likely fall into the hands of the Northern Yan!
Meng Tianxi stared intently at the secret letter before him, falling into an unusual silence. He had been fighting Song Ce for so long, from the failed recruitment attempt to the fall of Heyang, and then to the capture of Pingzhou and the invasion of Leixu. It could be said that Meng Tianxi hated Song Ce to the core.
But now, facing the invasion of the Northern Yan enemy army, a mix of emotions suddenly arose in his heart. Admittedly, Song Ce was Meng Tianxi's enemy, but the people of Qin were innocent! How could he stand by and watch the people of Pingzhou fall into the hands of the Northern Yan enemy and repeat the same fate as the people of Leixu City?
"General, what should we do now?" Zhang Liuliang asked hesitantly, looking at Meng Tianxi's tense profile.
Meng Tianxi snorted lightly, his tone resolute: "What should we do? We certainly can't sit idly by! I will personally write a letter detailing the situation in western Qinzhou. You send two reliable men disguised as refugees to quietly leave here and quickly head to Pingzhou to find Song Ce!"
At this moment, one of his trusted confidants stepped forward, looking alarmed, and said, "General, Song Ce is incredibly cunning. Not only did he seize two cities in Qin Prefecture, but he also caused the complete annihilation of my Meng family army of 70,000. Why do you still..."
"Shut up!" Meng Tianxi's eyes flashed with sternness as he said heavily, "With the Northern Yan facing a formidable enemy, what does my personal grudge with Song Ce matter? The situation is critical now. Are we to bow down to the Northern Yan and submit to their iron cavalry? Song Ce may be hateful, but I must admit he is a capable man! If you want the people of Qinzhou to suffer less from the ravages of war, you must send a message to Song Ce and to the Dali court! Tell them to send troops to fight the Northern Yan army!"
After hearing Meng Tianxi's words, all his confidants nodded in agreement.
Meng Tianxi immediately began writing, detailing how the Northern Yan army had burned, killed, looted, and ravaged the people in western Qin, as well as their troop deployment there. He also informed Song Ce of his current location and the number of his thousand-plus men, even including some of the grain and weapons seized from the Northern Yan army.
Finally, he wrote in his letter: "The western part of Qin Prefecture has fallen, and the people are suffering terribly. Although I have a grudge against Your Excellency, with a formidable enemy at hand, I am willing to temporarily set aside our differences and join forces to resist Yan and protect our country. I hope Your Excellency will consider the plight of the people and take swift action to defeat the Yan invaders!"
As the ink on the paper gradually dried, Meng Tianxi carefully folded the letter and placed it in an envelope, earnestly instructing, "You two must personally deliver this letter to Song Ce. If you are stopped and questioned on the way, you should destroy the secret letter rather than let the Northern Yan people know about this!"
The two chosen confidants were Li Dezhong, a veteran who had served Meng Tianxi for many years. Although he was small in stature, he was agile. The other was Feng Ziyi, who had traveled all over Qinzhou with his uncle since childhood and was quite familiar with the terrain of Qinzhou. Most importantly, he could speak the local dialect of Northern Yan, making him the perfect person.
Li Dezhong stepped forward and took the secret letter. He then solemnly bowed to Meng Tianxi and said calmly, "General, rest assured, even if it costs us our lives, we will definitely deliver this letter to Song Ce!"
"Alright! The journey ahead is long and fraught with danger. You two... please take good care of yourselves!"
That night, Li Dezhong and Feng Ziyi changed into tattered peasant clothes, smeared mud on their faces and bodies, and pretended to be refugees fleeing from disaster and begging. Under the cover of darkness, they quietly left the village and headed towards Pingzhou City.
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Author's note: [Shrug][Shrug][Shrug] Okay
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