At the bottom of the valley, the man in black quickly dragged the corpse into the shadows, then replaced it with the place where the imperial soldiers had originally been.
At this moment, several snorts echoed from the mountain. After the men in black below responded a few times, the entire Wind and Cloud Valley returned to silence.
Bai Chuxiao, along with Yu Fengyang and Murong Xuan, watched the scene in the valley from the edge of a distant cliff.
Murong Xuan raised an eyebrow. "The Azure Dragon Camp is indeed reliable; they haven't been discovered for so long."
Bai Chuxiao shook her head. "Soon, Zhang Yu is already waiting for us to go in."
Shortly after the words were spoken, a bright light shot into the sky, clearly not a signal from the Changning Army.
Yu Fengyang said in a deep voice, "As expected, they've been discovered. Although Zhang Yu didn't leave many troops in Fengyun Valley, there are still hundreds of thousands of Changzhou guards outside..."
Bai Chuxiao said nonchalantly, "We have too few troops, so breaking out of Fengyun Valley wouldn't be very effective. Our goal is to take over the main camp in Fengyun Valley. Once Fengyun Valley is in our hands, we can turn the tables and become the dominant force..."
Murong Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "Can Sister Xiao guarantee that the reinforcements from Changzhou Guard won't arrive in time to help?"
Bai Chuxiao gave the two of them a smile.
As they were talking, a battle had already broken out in the distant Wind and Cloud Valley, and the sounds of weapons clashing and fighting could be heard clearly from their side.
Yu Fengyang and Murong Xuan both took a deep breath. Fengyun Valley was not suitable for large-scale battles; now they could only wait for the outcome.
On the other side of the main camp, Zhang Yu, who had been awakened, remained calm and composed. This was their plan to lure the enemy into a trap, and now it had finally come to pass.
However, things did not develop as he had imagined.
The enemy troops that stormed into Fengyun Valley did not rush out of the valley, but instead began a frenzied advance towards the garrison camps on both sides of Fengyun Valley.
If that were all, it wouldn't have been so bad. But just as they were recovering from the shock, several fires broke out in the camp, throwing the garrison soldiers and the entire camp into chaos.
Attacking from below was not a good strategy, given the extremely challenging terrain of Fengyun Valley.
However, the Qinglong Camp members had received special training and were adept at handling such complex terrain. Besides, Zhang Yu had withdrawn most of his troops, leaving only a small number of imperial troops behind.
So much so that by the time the Azure Dragon Camp had captured most of the valley, the imperial army realized that the situation was now quite uncertain.
Outside the main camp in the valley, Zhang Shaoqi was somewhat flustered. "Father, what should we do now?"
I don't know which advisor bewitched my second brother, who's never been very literate, to come up with such a plan. I told him it was unreliable, and now look what's happened—Fengyun Valley is almost taken over.
Zhang Yu said in a deep voice, "It's alright, reinforcements will be here soon! Once Wei'er arrives with his troops, we'll annihilate these rebels in one fell swoop."
Meanwhile, at the so-called reinforcements' camp in Changzhou, upon hearing the signal coming from the direction of Fengyun Valley...
Zhang Shaowei, who was left behind, immediately stood up and ordered, "Pass down the order: the entire army prepares and sets off immediately to reinforce Fengyun Valley."
"yes!"
After giving his orders, the junior officer immediately turned and left.
Soon, whistles sounded in the army camp, and the soldiers who had been sleeping immediately rose, adding a touch of noise and solemnity to the otherwise quiet place.
Zhang Shaowei paced back and forth in his tent, a mixture of excitement and nervousness on his face. Now, because of his suggestion, his father had given him the military seal of Changzhou Guard.
If this victory is won, the benefits for him will be immense. His Majesty currently values him highly and might even bestow upon him a noble title or appoint him as a Grand General.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the tent. After recognizing the person, Zhang Shaowei said respectfully, "So it's Mr. Huai Cai! You truly have great talent. Everything is proceeding as you instructed. If we win this battle, I will certainly reward you handsomely..."
The young man smiled gently, "Is that so? Then congratulations, young master."
Zhang Shaowei nodded, displaying a courteous and respectful demeanor, "Sir, would you like to come with me to witness this victory..."
The young man did not answer, a strange smile appearing on his face.
Just then, a report came from outside the door: "Reporting to the Second Young Master, the entire army has lined up and is ready to depart!"
"Alright, sir, let's go!" Zhang Shaowei said, beaming with pride, and then turned to leave.
"Don't move," a familiar voice whispered.
"What do you mean by this, sir?" Zhang Shaowei's heart sank as he felt the sword tip pressed against his back.
The young man behind him laughed and said, "What do you think?"
Zhang Shaowei gritted his teeth and said, "I trusted you so much, why would you betray me? We're about to achieve something great, why don't you put down your sword and talk to me properly? I will definitely get you what you want..."
The young man smiled, "Is that so? Then I would like to ask that you postpone your military campaign for a few hours..."
Zhang Shaowei retorted sharply, "Absolutely impossible! I know you're a member of the rebels..."
The young man sneered, "You're not hopelessly stupid, but I didn't realize you were the kind of person who would sacrifice yourself for a cause..."
Zhang Shaowei gritted his teeth and said, "What exactly do you want? There's absolutely no way we'll postpone the attack. There are hundreds of thousands of troops outside; you can't get out of there. Release me now!"
Lin Huai said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter, young master will definitely die before me." With that, he pushed the sword forward.
The pain in his back made Zhang Shaowei's expression change. "What benefits did the Princess Consort of Yan give you? I can give you double. As long as we win this battle, I can even ask His Majesty for a title for you..."
Lin Huai lazily interrupted him, "Enough! You think you're worthy of mentioning the Princess? Hurry up and make a decision..."
The young officer waiting outside noticed that Zhang Shaowei hadn't come out for a while and couldn't help but wonder, "Second Young Master, shall we set off now?"
The two men's hearts tightened. Lin Huai suddenly changed the position of his sword, placing it against their necks. "Once a person dies, everything is lost. Even if you win, it will only benefit your elder brother. Second Young Master, you should think carefully."
Zhang Shaowei's face showed a constant struggle. Of course, he didn't want to die, but he also knew that if he delayed the deployment of troops and hindered the war, allowing the enemy to easily take control of Fengyun Valley, he would also be in deep trouble.
"If I continue not to send troops, my father and the other generals will notice something amiss."
Lin Huai smiled faintly, then suddenly pulled out a pill, pinched Zhang Shaowei's chin, and fed it directly into his mouth.
Zhang Shaowei immediately lowered his head, trying to vomit, "What did you feed me...?"
Lin Huai said calmly, "Of course it's not a tonic. Isn't the military tally in the Second Young Master's hands? If the Second Young Master doesn't do as I say, this is what will happen..."
Zhang Shaowei slumped to the ground, a look of despair on his face. "I understand..."
Lin Huai's face curled into a hint of disdain. He hadn't expected Zhang Shaowei's choice. Since the start of the campaign, Zhang Shaoqi and Zhang Shaowei had been searching for advisors, eager to make a name for themselves.
He only chose Zhang Shaowei, whose mind was more easily swayed, after some testing.
And this second young master clearly did not disappoint him, quickly giving this carefully crafted, talented man an important position...
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