Chapter 155 Attack: Playing the Boy Who Cried Wolf
The peach blossoms in the mountains have bloomed for another season.
Liang Xingqi walked through the forest path, his trousers covered in grass seeds, but he didn't bother to brush them off. Following the clear, melodious singing of children coming from afar, he arrived at "Liangzi Shang" (the ridge).
The local villagers were working in the newly reclaimed land. Some were loosening the soil with hoes, some were sowing seeds, some were carefully transplanting seedlings into the holes, and some were watering the planted seedlings with manure...
Agricultural department staff walked through the fields, pointing out to one villager that the ridges were too wide, another that the seedlings were planted too densely, yet another that they hadn't applied enough manure, and yet another that the wooden poles weren't properly inserted...
The adults were extremely busy, while the children were herding cattle in the mountains and forests.
The older children would gather together to play cockfighting, cards, jump rope, and cat's cradle, but they didn't want to play with the younger children, so the younger children would play house by themselves.
Some children didn't like playing with their friends, so they sat on a boulder and sang folk songs, which prompted the other children to sing along.
Liang Xingqi jumped from the path into the field, carefully avoiding the newly planted eggplant seedlings, and walked up to Huang Changhai, the Minister of Agriculture.
"Minister Huang, a coup has occurred in Ningguo, and Cao Ruheng is dead."
As soon as Liang Xingqi finished speaking, everyone present turned to look at him.
Huang Changhai shook the mud off his hands and went straight to the point, "What's the situation in Ningguo now?"
Liang Xingqi replied, "Zhu Yunwei led his troops back to Ningzhou in time, quelled the rebellion, killed several ringleaders, and then supported Cao Ying's succession to the throne."
Huang Changhai breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
If Ningguo were to fall into chaos at this time, Ye Hui would have to go back to quell the rebellion, and the already captured Chuzhou might be lost again, not to mention the possibility of her sword pointing at Chaozhou.
He sighed, "Sun Yannan's move was quite clever." If it failed, he would suffer no loss; if it succeeded, Ningguo would be too busy to care about its own affairs, giving him ample time.
Liang Xingqi smiled and said, "Cao Ruheng and Ye Hui have been in charge of Ningzhou for many years and have accumulated a great deal of power. They are not so easily overthrown."
“That’s right. Over the years, Sun Yannan has tried to bribe many of our people in an attempt to instigate a civil war.” Huang Changhai sneered. “But he ultimately underestimated the feelings the Yun people have for the Goddess.”
Even if some beasts are heartless, the vast majority of people are grateful for the goddess's life-saving grace and will only obey the goddess's orders, never betraying her.
Liang Xingqi looked up at the nearby farmland and the distant mountains and forests, his brows and eyes relaxing. "I only hope that one day, other prefectures and counties can also be covered in greenery like our southwest region."
Those fields abandoned by war, those mountains barren by natural disasters, will one day be planted with crops and grow flowers, grass and trees.
Looking at the vibrant scene before him, Huang Changhai smiled slightly, thinking, "If only that day would come."
He asked Liang Xingqi, "Did your minister go on another archaeological expedition?"
Liang Xingqi disagreed, saying, "Our minister is just going to the elders to learn about local history and legends, not to do archaeology."
Huang Changhai was speechless. "Does only digging up graves count as archaeology?"
Liang Xingqi: "..." No, that's not it.
Su Yue, the head of the propaganda department in Southwest China, is known for his habit of consulting local chronicles and seeking out local scholars and elders to learn about history whenever he visits a region.
She wanted to write a history book.
“Because the older the era, the fewer historical books will be passed down to later generations, making it very difficult for later generations to understand their predecessors.” Su Yue held a copy of the Records of the Grand Historian from another world in her hand and smiled brightly at her colleagues. “I want to write a Records of the Grand Historian that belongs to our world. This is my lifelong dream.”
Liang Xingqi could understand and admire the minister's dream.
Everyone is already very busy, yet the minister still manages to squeeze in time during his rest to collect and organize information. He truly deserves to be called the king of documents.
After saying goodbye to Huang Changhai, Liang Xingqi crossed the mountain ridge to go to the village at the foot of the mountain to report on Ningguo's affairs to Minister Cheng of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
He had a blade of grass dangling from his mouth as he walked, humming a song.
Ji Yunheng wrote to say that her application to go to the Maozhou battlefield had been approved, and asked if he wanted to go to the battlefield to gain experience as well.
Liang Xingqi didn't want to go.
He is not good at military affairs; it is more suitable for him to stay in the countryside and do a good job in rear construction and support.
He went back and wrote a letter to Yunheng, telling her about his decision.
Chuzhou.
Ye Hui received two letters, one from Cao Ying and the other from Zhu Yunwei.
She clutched the letter, tears streaming down her cheeks, dripping onto the paper and blurring the words.
Cao Ruheng is dead.
He was her husband of several decades, a confidant to whom she placed her trust, and a reliable political ally.
But she couldn't see him one last time; when she returned to Ningzhou, all she could see was his grave.
But Ye Hui didn't have much time to grieve over this. She stayed in Chuzhou and didn't go back, determined to hold onto Chuzhou as a prize and then take Chaozhou.
She has too many things to do.
The newly appointed Queen Dowager of Ningguo put down the letter, picked up the decree of investiture bearing the seals of the King of Ningguo and the late King, and got up to leave the room.
She remained expressionless, summoned the civil and military officials of Chuzhou, and announced to them that Cao Ruheng was dead, Cao Ying had succeeded to the throne, and that she, as the Empress Dowager, would henceforth be in charge of the affairs of Ningguo.
Everyone was shocked; no one had expected Cao Ruheng to be dead.
They instinctively wanted to comfort Ye Hui, but Ye Hui made a shushing gesture, her expression solemn. "Let's discuss sending troops to Chaozhou."
Li Xianyu sighed inwardly, then said seriously, "Perhaps we can learn from Meng Junping's move in taking over Ganzhou Prefecture!"
Ye Hui raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Li Xianyu said, "They disguised themselves as ordinary people, infiltrated the prefectural government, and then launched a night raid, coordinating with those inside and outside."
Ye Hui narrowed her eyes. "It's an inside-outside collaboration."
Hong Changxu thought it was worth a try. He suggested, "We can feign an attack on Yuhe County, which borders Chaozhou, to attract the attention of the prefectural government. Then we can send someone to infiltrate the prefectural government and secretly open the city gates at night..."
Li Xianyu continued, "Take over the prefecture as quickly as possible, and then use it as a base to attack other counties."
Ye Hui nodded thoughtfully, "If we lose the prefecture, the other counties will be easier to deal with."
She said to Hong Changxu, "You take charge of the prefecture, and I'll handle Yuhe County."
They quickly finalized their battle plan.
Then preparations began: Hong Changxu mobilized troops, and Ye Hui arranged for people to prepare supplies.
A few days later, Hong Changxu led two thousand men, traveling light, straight to the Chaozhou prefecture.
Ye Hui then led his troops to attack Yuhe County, taking the proper route: first, declare war, send people to the city gate to challenge them, and then attack the city.
Maozhou.
The former emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, who was specially brought back by Sun Yannan, and the ministers who fled with the emperor were all in Maozhou at this time.
Sun Yannan's wife, Yang Wenyu, and their children, as well as the families of the civil and military officials under Sun Yannan, were all in Maozhou.
Therefore, when Yang Wenyu received the news that the Yun Kingdom's army was heading towards Maozhou, he was startled and repeatedly confirmed the truth with the person who reported the news.
The man exclaimed urgently, "It's true! Meng Junping, one of He Qinglan's subordinates, is leading her female soldiers to attack us!"
Yang Wenyu was surprised, "Meng Junping? Female soldiers?" When did Yun Kingdom have a female army? And who is Meng Junping?
"Meng Junping was a female general who rose to prominence during the battle of Yun Kingdom to attack Ganzhou. She commanded thousands of female soldiers, just like Song Zhiyun's women's army at Yan Hui Pass."
The messenger continued, "He Qinglan actually ordered her to attack our Maozhou. Does she think that with our lord far away in the capital, Maozhou is easy to bully?"
Yang Wenyu understood, and her face turned cold. "He Qinglan wants to use my Maozhou to boost Meng Junping's military merits? Not so easy!"
She immediately ordered people to summon the civil and military officials who remained in Maozhou for a meeting.
In any case, Maozhou cannot fall into He Qinglan's hands; otherwise, these people will become tools for He Qinglan to threaten Sun Yannan.
They must defend Maozhou.
On the road from Ganzhou to Maozhou, Meng Junping sat on a large tree, gazing at the distant city.
Under the tree, a female soldier asked curiously, "General, why did you send a message to Maozhou so they could prepare in advance?"
Isn't speed the key to war?
We won't sneak over; we'll take Maozhou just like we took Ganzhou.
Meng Junping looked down at her and smiled, "I want to play the 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' story with Maozhou."
The female soldier asked in confusion: Huh? The wolf is coming?
Another female soldier, who was sitting under a tree sharpening her knife, explained, "Have you heard the story of King You of Zhou playing with the feudal lords by lighting the beacon fires? The general wants to use this trick to scare them. Once, twice, three times, the people of Maozhou will either lose their guard or be so frightened that they will be on high alert."
She clicked her tongue twice. "Either way, it's beneficial to us."
"Playing psychological warfare, huh?" The female soldier who asked the question suddenly realized.
Meng Junping thought to himself, even if they knew I was playing this trick, they wouldn't dare gamble on when I would attack; they could only be prepared to defend at all times.
Sooner or later, some people will slack off, and sooner or later, some people will break down.
After all, we've already tried it ourselves...
The first female general of Yun Kingdom recalled the past, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
During the female soldiers' training, Mo Jingchun, who was extremely energetic, would often wake everyone up in the middle of the night or early morning by banging gongs and drums to train their adaptability and to train them to dress neatly and gather at the training ground in an extremely short time.
Over time and with more repetitions, everyone's abilities improved, but some people privately didn't understand and complained that Mo Jingchun was unapproachable.
In response, Mo Jingchun said, "Do you think the enemy will wait until after sunrise, when you've had breakfast and are standing on the training ground, before slowly coming to attack you?"
"Do you think the enemy will write you a formal letter every time, telling you that they will attack you at a certain time, and then arrive precisely on time?"
Drawing on her experience in handling emergencies while working at the grassroots level, Mo Jingchun's cold gaze swept over the crowd. "You're going to the battlefield, to risk your lives, not to a sports meet! You'd better be prepared for that!"
Mo Jingchun's special training was effective. Whether the female soldiers were focused, lax, serious, or crazy, they were all eventually trained into elite soldiers who could prepare themselves for battle at any time.
But the Maozhou soldiers won't have that opportunity to grow. I will defeat them and take over the state capital before they "evolve".
Meng Junping leaped down from the tree and landed gracefully.
She said to the female soldier sharpening her knife, "You go first."
The female soldier sharpening her knife looked up in surprise, "Really, boss?"
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