Chapter 623 Why did you bully my little sister?
After leaving the military camp, the three of them rode their horses for a while. Climbing the slightly sloping uphill road was not too difficult for their riding skills. However, the narrow and rugged mountain road and the dense pine and cypress branches on both sides made it unsuitable for riding. The three of them could only lead their horses for a while and then ride for a while.
By the time they got close to the mountain wall, it was nearly midnight.
Although he knew that the mountain wall to the north was still some distance from the valley where Yuwen Cheng was, just to be on the safe side, Yuwen Ye still made them stop when they were still some distance from the mountain wall. He wrapped the horses' hooves with the cloth he carried with him, put bridles on the horses, and then tied all three horses to trees.
Then, the three of them, guided by the moonlight, passed through the dense pine and cypress forest on the mountaintop and finally arrived silently at the cliff face.
The night was as dark as ink, and all was silent.
The sheer cliff face beneath my feet is as smooth as if it had been cut by a knife, as if some immortals or gods had wielded enormous axes to cleave this ancient mountain in two. Standing on the cliff, I had a wide-open view in front of me. Although it was dark at night, the dark clouds overhead had finally dispersed a bit, revealing the bright stars and moon, whose light illuminated the outlines of some of the great mountains in the distance.
One particularly deep shadow, like a splash of thick ink, led to the valley ahead.
"That's it, right there..."
Yuwen Ye frowned slightly, took another closer look, and immediately became wary.
He grabbed Shen Wuzheng and Nie Chong beside him with both hands, immediately bent down and lay on the ground, staring intently ahead. Shen Wuzheng looked at him with some surprise: "What's wrong?"
Yuwen Ye said, "There are lights ahead."
"oh?"
Shen Wuzheng was startled and looked up again. Sure enough, in the deep darkness of the night, he saw a faint, almost invisible point of light at the entrance of the valley. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a few points of fire.
It appears to be several campfires.
Around the campfire, there were some faintly moving black dots, which seemed to be people gathered around the fire.
He said in a deep voice, "That is—"
Yuwen Ye said, "That should be the men Wang Shaoji sent to chase Yan Jie."
As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Although the night was deep, his cold eyes shone with a sharp and refined light like a hawk's in the dim light. He stared ahead for a while before saying, "Yan Jie is trapped in the canyon, and they have been guarding outside."
"They've been holding out outside the whole time? They haven't managed to break through?"
Shen Wuzheng was taken aback, then he understood: "Could it be because the entrance to the valley is very narrow?"
“Yes.” Yuwen Ye nodded and said, “The entrance is narrow, making it a terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.”
As he spoke, he frowned again, looking along the valley to the other side, but he couldn't see the exit in his sight. He let out a heavy sigh, whether out of anger or helplessness, and said, "It's a pity that it's a place where you can get in but not out. Although others can't get in, they're blocked inside too."
"..."
"Without reinforcements, even if these people can't break through, just blocking them outside will be enough to starve them to death."
Shen Wuzheng looked ahead and nodded silently.
At this moment, Nie Chong, who was lying on Yuwen Ye's right, asked softly, "Your Highness, now that we have found the location, shouldn't we take this opportunity to strike and catch them off guard?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "No."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wuzheng and Nie Chong were both stunned. They exchanged a glance, then looked at him simultaneously: "Why?"
Yuwen Ye said, "It's too dark now. Although we can launch a surprise attack, it will be difficult to capture them all once they scatter and flee."
Shen Wuzheng's eyes widened slightly: "You want to arrest all of these people?"
Yuwen Ye nodded: "Mm."
"Why?"
"Because if they escape, they will definitely return to Taiyuan and report our movements on the front line."
"..."
"If there really has to be a 'surprise' battle, I hope it will be in Taiyuan, not here."
"..."
Upon hearing his words, Nie Chong couldn't help but gasp, speechless. Shen Wuzheng, on the other hand, his eyes flickered slightly, and after a long pause, he said, "What you say makes sense, but what about the enemy's forces—"
As he spoke, he squinted and gazed ahead for a long time. Although the night was dark and he couldn't see clearly how many troops were in front of the valley, the number of men who had pursued Yuwen Cheng all the way here must be considerable, at least several thousand. Even if their vanguard force numbered 20,000 and they could defeat the enemy, capturing them all would be virtually impossible.
So he said, "It's difficult to catch them all without leaving a single one."
Yuwen Ye did not deny it, but said in a deep voice, "Therefore, we cannot take action at night, but must do so during the day."
"..."
"That way, for every one that runs away, we can catch one."
"..."
"We can't rely on just one force to attack; we have to attack from both sides to achieve such results."
"A pincer attack?"
Shen Wuzheng looked at him: "You want to divide your forces?"
Yuwen Ye shook his head: "The two routes I mentioned are our route and Yan Jie's route."
"King Qi?"
Upon hearing this, Nie Chong said with some surprise, "But His Highness Prince Qi is currently trapped in the valley. Even if we wanted to get them to join us, we wouldn't be able to notify the people inside."
Yuwen Ye shook his head and said, "No need to notify him, he knows it's time to make his move."
Nie Chong was even more puzzled: "Why?"
Shen Wuzheng frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Is it because of their food rations? Their food rations have been running out by now?"
Yuwen Ye nodded and said, "That's right. They fled Taiyuan in a hurry, so they must not have carried much food. The fact that those people are still guarding the entrance of the valley and haven't broken in proves that the people inside are not too hungry to move. However, they will run out of food in the next day or two."
Shen Wuzheng said, "But it may not be tomorrow."
Yuwen Ye stared ahead. Although the firelight was so far away, barely the size of a pinpoint in their vision, it was clearly reflected in his eyes, revealing a sharp and penetrating light. He said in a deep voice, "But tomorrow, these people will make their move."
Shen Wuzheng was startled and glanced ahead again: "You mean, the people surrounding them are going to make a move?"
"right."
"Why?"
Yuwen Ye smiled faintly and turned to look at him: "If you were besieging Yan Jie, what method would you use to force him to submit?"
Shen Wuzheng frowned slightly, looked ahead again, and after a moment's thought, he immediately understood and said, "Fire attack!"
Nie Chong, who was standing to the side, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
Yuwen Ye nodded and smiled, "That's right."
"..."
"This valley is narrow, the road is short, and there is only one exit. The best way is to use fire. Smoke can also be used to smoke people out."
"..."
"The reason they didn't do that the other day was because—"
"It's because of the rain,"
Shen Wuzheng took a deep breath and said, "It's raining, so we can't use fire, and smoke won't achieve the best effect either."
Yuwen Ye nodded: "That's right."
Shen Wuzheng didn't say anything more, but turned his head and gave Yuwen Ye a deep look.
Only then did he recall that three days earlier, in the council hall of the Tongguan County government, Yuwen Ye had said while looking at the map that Yuwen Cheng might only be able to hold out for the next two days. Everyone had heard this statement then, but everyone thought it was nonsensical. Now, it seemed they had been foolish.
Yuwen Ye's calculations were indeed accurate.
They not only accurately calculated Yuwen Cheng's food rations, but also the terrain and the weather.
This person's military talent is not just that of a prodigy, but that of a genius!
Looking across the world, it's hard to find another person who can predict and match this ability. In such a chaotic world, even without the protection of ancestors, such a person would surely be able to make a name for themselves.
It will create an even brighter future.
Therefore, Shang Ruyi made the right choice in selecting him.
only--
Seemingly sensing the change in Shen Wuzheng's gaze, Yuwen Ye turned to look at him and said in a deep voice, "What's wrong?"
"..."
Shen Wuzheng was silent for a while, then looked up at the front and said, "However, we'd better observe more carefully to avoid any oversights when we set out tomorrow."
Yuwen Ye looked at him for a while, then turned his head away: "That's natural."
Hearing their words, Nie Chong seemed to understand something. He didn't say anything more, but just quietly looked ahead. After a moment, he said, "Your Highness, this place is sheltered from the wind, and I can't hear what they are saying."
"..."
"I'd like to go down there and see if I can hear what they're saying."
Yuwen Ye glanced to the side. Although the cliff beneath their feet was as sharp as a knife, there were mountain slopes on both sides. Although they were steep and not easy to walk on, for people like them who came specifically to scout out the enemy's situation, as long as it was not an insurmountable cliff, they could walk on it.
So he nodded and said, "Go ahead."
"yes."
Nie Chong accepted the order and immediately got up, still crouching low, and walked down the hillside. Yuwen Ye thought for a moment and then added, "Be careful and don't reveal your presence."
Nie Chong immediately replied, "Understood."
After saying that, his figure disappeared into the dark cypress forest in the night.
Only two people remained on the cliff face.
A gust of wind blew by, causing the pine and cypress branches behind them to sway and rustle against each other, like distant waves crashing in. But the sound, surrounding the two silent people, only made the world seem even more still.
Just then, a cold voice said, "Your Highness, why are you treating the Princess Consort like this?"
"..."
Yuwen Ye frowned and turned to look at Shen Wuzheng.
The other person also looked at him.
Their eyes met, both flashing with sharp light. Although Yuwen Ye knew that Shen Wuzheng had come with him to investigate the enemy's situation for a reason, and the other party's unusual silence and gaze along the way made him feel that he would definitely say something to him, he did not expect that the other party would say this.
Before he could respond, Shen Wuzheng spoke again, this time in a lower and more serious voice: "Or perhaps, I should ask it like this—"
"..."
"Yuwen Ye, why did you bully my little sister?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com