Chapter 88: Survive, and You Are a Famous General

The sun was setting in the west, the sky covered in a layer of evening glow, which, combined with the green mountains and clear waters, the open wilderness and dense forests, formed a beautiful scene.

Less than ten li east of Luancheng, on the vast plain dotted with low hills, the Liao army completely unaware, Liu Chengyou personally led the Longqi Army as they had already crept to this spot.

Behind several hills, the various units of the Longqi Army hid among the trees, seizing the time to rest, eat, recover their strength, and prepare for battle. At Liu Chengyou's direction, the troops had already undergone a top-down ideological mobilization, and morale was still fairly high.

On one of the ridges, Liu Chengyou roused himself, forcibly suppressing his fatigue, and discussed the next course of action with Guo Rong.

"To have slipped all the way here, all the hardship of the journey was worth it!" Leaning against an earthen wall, a blade of green grass dangling from his mouth, facing west, he said: "If we pull off this great deed, we will surely become famous throughout the realm!"

Liu Chengyou had led the army north, and to conceal their movements and avoid the counties and towns along the way, they had truly taken a huge detour, covering plenty of wasted ground, before finally approaching Luancheng from the east—they had endured no small hardship.

Guo Rong sat beside Liu Chengyou, weariness written on his face, yet his expression held a hint of excitement, and his eyes showed expectation—but more than that, worry. He naturally knew what the "great deed" Liu Chengyou referred to was.

Hearing Liu Chengyou's words, Guo Rong spoke, still appearing very cautious, with a rigid demeanor: "Your Highness, our army has traveled light on this march, carrying only three days' rations. Though our movement has been secret and swift, on the open plain, word will leak out sooner or later. Now that we have arrived here, we must act with decisive resolution—our time is not much. If the Khitan react, the matter may be hard to accomplish!"

"There's not a trace of cowardice in my words!" Hearing Guo Rong say this, Liu Chengyou turned his head to look at him, and even rare for him, cracked a joke: "But that's over a hundred thousand enemy troops—where Yelu Deguang's great banner stands, the most elite forces of the Khitan nation are probably all gathered there. With just this little force of ours, to actually charge their formation—when I think about it, it's truly inconceivable, insane!"

"If not for the Liao emperor's death, I would never have dared suggest Your Highness come with a light force!" Guo Rong replied with a look of great pressure: "Your Highness, to speak frankly, my heart is also hanging in suspense. If Your Highness harbors doubts, withdrawing the army now is still in time."

In fact, after learning of Yelu Deguang's sudden death, the suggestion to march north and launch a surprise attack had been Guo Rong's own proposal. Though Liu Chengyou had been making plans in his heart for quite some time, to outsiders, it looked as though Liu Chengyou had again been spurred into action by Guo Rong.

Guo Rong's character contained a strong streak of risk-taking, but he was by no means recklessly adventurous—he assessed the situation, weighed all factors comprehensively, and only then acted on opportunity, just as that day in Shangdang when he urged Liu Chengyou to march south and attack Geng Chongmei.

But this time, even he felt somewhat uneasy at heart. He could see the enormous benefits of a successful surprise attack, and naturally could also see the extraordinarily high risks behind it. Yet Liu Chengyou had supported his choice without the slightest hesitation.

"We've already crept right up under the Liao army's noses—there's no reason to abandon all our previous efforts! This hesitant, looking-before-and-after behavior, seen on you, Guo Rong, is a rare sight!" Liu Chengyou showed himself very resolute, raising his hand and clenching his fist, saying solemnly: "The Liao emperor died suddenly, the three armies have no master, morale is scattered—this is a heaven-sent opportunity. A chance like this to stake little against much—if we don't seize it, we'll regret it for a lifetime!"

Hearing Liu Chengyou's firm tone once again, Guo Rong still couldn't help feeling somewhat surprised.

After all, back in Lu and Ze, when dealing with Geng Chongmei's few thousand Yan troops, Liu Chengyou had behaved so cautiously, even "fearful of battle." But why this time, facing over a hundred thousand Khitan troops, was he so resolutely determined to take the initiative and attack? The contrast between before and after was simply too stark.

Turning his head to look at the young man's face, from which the fires of war had washed away all childishness, so calm, the grass stalk in his mouth swaying irregularly as his teeth worked it, the whole person radiated serene confidence.

"Your Highness, you previously advanced close behind the enemy army—it seems you had the intention of a surprise attack on the Khitan host from the very start?" Guo Rong suddenly asked.

"Was I seen through?" Liu Chengyou's brow twitched, and he shot Guo Rong a sidelong glance, thinking to himself. Still, he said very naturally: "If not for the Liao emperor's sudden death, no matter how bold I was, I wouldn't dare such a mad act. Originally, I intended to seize Zhenzhou, control Chengde, and settle Hebei. But now, compared to the gain or loss of a single prefecture or piece of land, I'd rather inflict a bone-deep, unforgettable loss on the Khitan's living strength—especially their elite troops!"

Liu Chengyou's words seemed to make good sense, and Guo Rong quickly reined in his doubts.

"Your Highness, Staff Officer Xiang has returned!" Just then, the guard captain Li Chongju ran up the ridge along the narrow path and reported.

Liu Chengyou sat up at the news, instinctively biting through the grass stalk. The bitter taste swirled in his mouth, but Liu Chengyou paid it no mind, directly ordering someone to bring Xiang Xun to see him.

Though the troops had already reached this place and were about to attempt a perilous gamble, this was no reckless blind charge—Liu Chengyou would not take his hard-built Longqi Army to tread ground of certain death. Investigating and assessing the enemy camp's situation was still absolutely necessary; otherwise, if anything unexpected happened, there would be no chance for regret. Taking it seriously, Liu Chengyou had even ordered Xiang Xun to personally reconnoiter the enemy's situation.

"How is it?"

"I personally scouted the enemy camp. The Liao army stretches over ten li from north to south, the front and rear cannot support each other, the field headquarters is loosely organized, the banners and units are in confusion, the fortifications are crude, and morale is unstable—this is plain to see! And there may be internal discord: before I returned, from afar I saw three groups of Khitan cavalry surrounding Yan troops and taking them into custody." Xiang Xun carefully reported to Liu Chengyou the intelligence he had gathered through half a day of observation, gazing at Liu Chengyou with determination, his voice even trembling slightly: "Your Highness, we can fight!"

"Pass the order—assemble all the officers!" At these words, Liu Chengyou directly turned to Li Chongju and commanded.

Soon, all officers of the Longqi Army at the battalion level and above were summoned by Liu Chengyou to report the situation, analyze the military intelligence, study the battle plans, and conduct one final round of ideological work.

A full half hour was spent, and once everything was agreed upon, it was not to be changed. The officers, some anxious, some excited, some hesitant, all now had their mental preparations made, and each returned to his unit to issue orders.

It was already late in the day. After eating, the entire Longqi Army—except for the necessary sentries—including Liu Chengyou himself, all slept where they were. Even those who couldn't sleep had to close their eyes and conserve their strength.

Not until after midnight did Liu Chengyou personally climb over hill after hill, walk through unit after unit, personally giving each soldier of the Longqi Army his final encouragement one by one. Since setting out, Liu Chengyou had already given too many impassioned speeches. This time, there wasn't so much chicken-soup-for-the-soul talk—he simply let the soldiers look once more at their commander, made them a promise, and told them that afterward, he would charge alongside them.

"Yang Ye!" Before setting out, when he made his rounds to the cavalry unit, Liu Chengyou took a moment to speak two sentences with Yang Ye alone.

"Your Highness!" The young Lord Yang, his expression brimming with excitement, showed not a trace of fear.

Liu Chengyou looked at him and said in a low voice: "Tonight, many brothers will die. Do you remember when we first met in Jinyang, I told you that one day you could become a famous general? Now, I'll tell you one more thing. Survive, and you are a famous general!"