Unsure whether he had been exposed, Li Xiao dared not make any rash moves and could only lead his ambush troops to continue hiding on both sides of the valley, watching helplessly as the Han army set up camp at the valley entrance.
Li Xiao also consulted with the Right Chancellor and Zhu Yao, among others, to discuss countermeasures.
"What's going on with the Han army? Why aren't they entering the valley?"
Zhu Yao pondered for a moment before speaking, "Your Majesty, there are many capable people in the Han army. This valley is located in a dangerous area, so they must already be suspicious."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiao frowned even more deeply.
"Your Majesty, look!"
Just then, an officer pointed towards the valley entrance.
Li Xiao turned his head and saw a group of soldiers walking out of the Han army camp and heading into the valley.
"Order the entire army to conceal their positions and not to expose themselves."
Li Xiao gave a low shout and pulled everyone behind a boulder to watch the Han soldiers' every move.
The leader of the Han army was Guo Si. Guo Si swaggered into the valley with an air of indifference, as if he didn't recognize anyone.
"stop!"
After entering the valley for several dozen meters, Guo Si raised his hand to stop moving forward, and then looked up at the mountain peaks on both sides of the valley.
Upon seeing this, the Goguryeo soldiers lying in ambush quickly lowered their heads and concealed themselves.
Guo Si looked towards one of the mountain peaks and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey~, stop hiding, I've found you! Come out now~"
"Come out!"
Come on~!
"Pah~....."
The echoes reverberated through the valley, startling the Goguryeo soldiers.
A guard leaned close to Li Xiao and whispered, "Your Majesty, have we really been discovered?"
“Probably not.” Li Xiao looked at Guo Si with a flicker in his eyes and said in a deep voice, “This is a feint by the Han army. Tell the soldiers not to reveal themselves.”
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The guards standing beside Li Xiao immediately turned around and quickly relayed Li Xiao's orders.
Seeing no response, Guo Si continued to shout at the top of his lungs, "Hey~, you bunch of bastards, stop hiding and go home to nurse!"
"Go drink your milk!"
"Go make milk!"
"Go on~...."
The echo reverberated through the valley once more, leaving the Goguryeo soldiers looking at each other in bewilderment.
"What is he yelling? What does 'bastard' mean?"
"I don't know. He also said he wanted us to drink milk, but where in our army do we have any milk?"
"Exactly, even if there is milk, it's for the leaders and the king, not for us."
The Goguryeo soldiers couldn't help but whisper amongst themselves, while trying to hide themselves even more concealed.
"Alright, let's go back!"
Seeing that there was still no response, Guo Si shook his head in disappointment and then led his soldiers into the camp.
Watching the Han army leave, a hint of hesitation flashed in Li Xiao's eyes.
"Your Majesty, what should we do next?" the Right Chancellor asked with a worried expression.
"Wait!" Li Xiao's expression hardened. "The Han army is just trying to trick us into showing up. They might enter the valley tomorrow."
"But... what about tonight? It's so cold on this hillside..."
Feeling the mountain wind blowing, Zhu Yao couldn't help but tighten his fur coat.
"Tell the soldiers to be patient. Once we defeat the Han army, I will reward them handsomely. Also, no fires are allowed at night, lest the Han army discover them."
After saying that, Li Xiao also huddled in a sheltered spot and took out a piece of frozen, hard dry food.
Looking at the cold, raw food in front of him, Li Xiao couldn't help but sigh softly, automatically imagining it as all sorts of delicious food, and began to eat it with great effort.
Seeing this, the soldiers around Li Xiao were very dissatisfied, but since things had come to this, they had no choice but to find sheltered spots and huddle together to try to get through the cold night.
Guo Si, who had returned to the camp, also came to the main tent and reported the findings of the reconnaissance to Liu Hong and Zhu Jun.
"Your Majesty, I was ordered to go and make a call, but I found the forests on both sides of the hillside to be unusually quiet, without the sound of any wild beasts. I suspect that a large army is hiding there."
"Alright." Liu Hong nodded with a smile, then turned to Zhu Jun beside him, "Gongwei, what do you think our army should do? Should we go and harass them tonight?"
Zhu Jun laughed and said, "Your Majesty, we don't need to do anything. We just need to eat our fill and rest. Let's freeze them for one night first."
Guo Si couldn't help but ask, "What if the Goguryeo army launches a night attack on the camp?"
"No, the Goguryeo army is here to ambush us, so they will not expose themselves. We can rest assured."
“Gongwei is right.”
Liu Hong smiled, then turned to the generals in the tent: "Order the whole army to set up cooking pots and bring out all the good food."
"promise!!"
The generals respectfully acknowledged the order and then dispersed.
Soon, bonfires were lit in the Han army camp, and the soldiers took out dried meat and grain to cook, the aroma of the food spreading all around.
Looking at the firelight emanating from the Han army camp, the Goguryeo soldiers, huddled on the hillside and shivering, were filled with envy.
At night, the cold north wind blew through the valley, making a whistling sound.
This place belongs to the Changchun area in later generations, and the temperature at night is at least minus twenty degrees Celsius.
Although it was cold at night, the chill was dispelled as the Han soldiers ate the hot meat soup and flatbread.
Hearing the sobbing sounds outside the tent, the Han soldiers neatly arranged their weapons at the head of their beds, then covered their cotton-padded clothes and fur coats with their quilts, crawled into bed, and fell peacefully asleep.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
