Chapter 52: Confrontation

At the foot of Yangtou Mountain, before Shentong Tuanchi Village, the Jin and Liao armies faced each other across a vast expanse of open ground, and so it had been for a full two days now.

Liu's army had established four camps, each occupying high ground. Though none were particularly formidable in terrain, they formed a mutually supporting pincer formation that compressed the space north of the Liao camp within a radius of several li to nothing, leaving the enemy no room to maneuver at all.

The Jin camp had been erected right under Geng Chongmei's nose, so of course it had not been easy. But Liu Chengyou, relying on his abundant troop strength, had built them one by one in a somewhat cautious and conservative manner, using the high ground seized by Ma Quanyi as his base. During the daylight hours, Geng Chongmei had indeed attempted sorties to disrupt Liu Chengyou's rhythm, but had only smashed his head bloody for the effort.

On the plain before the village, the two sides had engaged in a probing skirmish. Ma Quanyi led his troops out, and the Liao soldiers suffered a complete defeat, nearly having their camp overrun in a counterattack. It was only because Geng Chongmei personally led troops to cover the retreat, and the Jin army sounded the gongs to withdraw at the opportune moment, that they managed to break off contact.

Liu Chengyou, seeing the fierce performance of the Longqi Army, could not help but be surprised—he seemed to have underestimated their combat power. At that time, gazing at the Liao camp stretching across Yangtou Mountain, a sudden impulse to launch a swift assault surged in Liu Chengyou's heart, but he forcibly suppressed it.

It was still that same reasoning: in this situation, Liu Chengyou had far too many options available. There was no need to show off momentary bravery and waste soldiers' lives on a forced assault. After consulting with Xiang Xun and the others, the decision was made—for now, just keep the Liao army under watch. Time favored them, not the enemy.

To the east stood one of the Jin camps, garrisoned by the Fourth Army of the Longqi and part of the Luzhou troops. Beneath the camp palisade, Yang Ye listlessly made an inspection round and ordered men to reinforce two sections of fence that were not entirely sturdy.

"What kind of fighting is this? We've just come to build fences and watchtowers. Defend—can defending defeat the enemy..." Yang Ye muttered, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.

"Yang Ye, what are you complaining about now!"

The sudden deep voice at his ear gave Yang Ye a start. Turning to see Murong Yanzhao approaching with a sword at his waist, he immediately stepped forward to salute, then grinned and said, "Your subordinate wouldn't dare complain—I was just a bit puzzled."

It was clear that Yang Ye and Murong Yanzhao had a good relationship. Yang Ye pointed directly at the Liao camp to the south and said, "The enemy is right before us, and their camp doesn't look like any formidable stronghold. Why don't we, the fierce tigers of Hedong, just charge straight over, attack the camp, and seize it? Why sit here in stalemate? Those Yan troops opposite are weak—General Ma easily defeated them yesterday. The enemy is nothing to worry about..."

At this time, Yang Linggong could only be described as young and hot-blooded. Moreover, since he had been personally promoted into the Longqi Army by Liu Chengyou, his words had unconsciously carried a hint of arrogance.

Murong Yanzhao glanced at the young man and put on a stern face: "If I gave you, Captain Yang, a thousand men, could you trample the enemy opposite flat?"

Hearing this, Yang Ye's face immediately took on a thoughtful expression. After pondering for a moment, he said seriously, "It might be worth a try!"

Seeing Yang Ye's expression, Murong Yanzhao broke into a grin and laughed scoldingly, "I myself only command a few hundred troops right now. You—you've still got a long way to go!"

Yang Ye smiled along: "By the time your subordinate becomes a Commander, you'll surely already be an Army Commander—at the very least, a Chief Inspector."

"You're certainly confident!" Murong Yanzhao shot Yang Ye a look, then his face turned grave again. "I know you, Yang Ye, are brave, but you must not underestimate the enemy across the way. In battle, arrogance is the greatest taboo. You only saw the First Army easily defeat the Yan troops yesterday—have you considered that it might be Geng Chongmei's trick, deliberately showing weakness to lure us into attacking his camp? Besides, on this open plain, the camp is our most reliable defense. If even the palisade isn't built solidly, how can you speak of commanding troops to defeat the enemy..."

Murong Yanzhao was giving Yang Ye guidance, and Yang Ye listened attentively. After thinking it over, he put away the arrogance he had shown and respectfully saluted Murong Yanzhao: "Thank you for your instruction, General!"

A look of "the lad is teachable" appeared on Murong Yanzhao's face. He pointed again at the Liao camp opposite and said with a light laugh, "Now you, Yang Chonggui, are itching for action—but when the real battle comes, don't you go freezing up on me!"

"Rest assured, General!" Yang Ye answered without hesitation upon hearing this, then his eyes rolled around a couple of times. He moved closer to Murong Yanzhao and asked in a low voice, "Are we preparing to attack?"

Hearing the question, Murong Yanzhao looked at Yang Ye with surprise, then beckoned him closer, cleared his throat, and looked as if he were about to share some inside information. Yang Ye immediately perked up and pricked his ears, only to hear Murong Yanzhao instruct: "Take your men and go chop some firewood to bring back to camp..."

With that said, he walked off to inspect elsewhere, leaving Yang Ye staring blankly.

Not far to the east, at the edge of the camp's control radius, there was a small grove—this was where the Jin army had been gathering firewood these past two days.

In the grove, the "chop, chop" sound of felling trees rang out as Yang Ye urged his men to cut timber. One of the squad leaders, swinging his axe, said, "At Siting, we carried water and stood guard every day; here, we chop wood and build camps. Is this what we came to war for..."

Yang Ye naturally heard this. He walked over and thumped the man, cursing, "You talk too much, you wretch. You can't even chop a tree properly—how do you expect to kill enemies?"

"Captain, enemy cavalry approaching!" As he was scolding, a soldier on perimeter watch suddenly shouted a warning.

Yang Ye's expression turned stern. He immediately called his men to prepare for battle, moving quickly. Such a situation had been anticipated—though the two sides had not engaged in any major clash, probing skirmishes of this sort had already occurred several times, whether over water or firewood...

In the distance, a dozen or so Yan cavalry came galloping toward the grove. Such a small number was clearly just for harassment. But Yang Ye's eyes lit up, and he instinctively licked his lips. Estimating the distance, he planted his feet, drew his bow, and loosed—the arrow shot forth and felled the lead rider from afar.

In the central army tent, Liu Chengyou was still quietly studying the map. Whether or not he could glean anything from it, his expression remained perfectly calm, looking utterly composed.

Inside the tent, besides Xiang Xun, who was carrying out his usual duties as bodyguard, Guo Rong was also present.

"Geng Chongmei's defeat is already sealed!" Guo Rong suddenly said, looking at Liu Chengyou, whose head was nearly buried in the map. His tone was exceptionally certain.

Without even lifting his head, Liu Chengyou said casually, "The closer we get to the critical moment, the less we can afford to relax. Send orders to all camps: prepare to attack, and don't let the enemy slip away!"

"That much, Your Highness need not worry about!" Xiang Xun spoke up. "Your subordinate has made several rounds through the army. The morale of the officers and men in every unit is high—their fighting spirit is truly reliable!"

"I wonder where Li Wanchao has gotten to? And what's the situation on Gao Fang's side?" Liu Chengyou finally raised his head and said calmly.

Geng Chongmei had no idea of the Jin army's true disposition. Had he known, he would have discovered that among the Jin troops encamped against him, one unit was missing—the Surui Camp led by Li Wanchao.