Chapter 284

The envoy's gaze turned icy as he stared at the soldiers for a long moment; finally, he began to nod: "Very well! I shall convey these words to the Emperor—Your Majesty—exactly as spoken, not missing a single character!"

Having finished speaking, he looked directly at Wang Ben: "Wang Ben, receive the imperial decree!"

Wang Ben hurriedly knelt and bowed: "Your subject receives the imperial decree!"

"I, the Emperor, order General Wang Ben to lead an army of one hundred and fifty thousand to guard the Great Wall and prevent any unforeseen disasters!"

"Your subject! Humbly obeys the decree!"

After receiving the decree, Wang Ben saw the envoy preparing to leave and hurriedly blocked his path: "Trouble the envoy to report to the Emperor: Wang Ben is willing to lead the army to the Xiongnu to kill bandits to earn merit! I beg the Emperor to grant permission!"

"Very well! General Wang Ben, I shall convey these words to the Emperor Your Majesty exactly as spoken, not missing a single character. If the Emperor grants permission, I, a humble servant, will surely send a swift horse to inform you immediately!"

Having finished speaking, he turned and left.

Watching the envoy's retreating back, he then looked toward the camps of Meng Wu and General Meng Tian in the distance.

In that moment, Wang Ben sighed again and again, clutching his wrist in frustration again and again!

In this situation, even he did not know how to respond!

On the grasslands!

Because winter had arrived, and because of the snowfall!

The marshlands were freezing over!

Inside Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu's military camp!

After a full three days of preparation, today, Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu's great army had finally decided to leave Hulun Grassland!

There was no other way!

The reason Han Xin and Li Yuanba had not yet attacked was simply that the marshlands were not frozen solid enough!

Han Xin and Wang Jian, seeking stability and to avoid casualties among their troops, had therefore delayed their attack!

And once the marshlands were completely frozen, there was no doubt the attack would begin!

And moving four hundred thousand troops, even in normal times, was not an easy task.

Let alone now?

Not only the army, but also grain, tents, bows, arrows, and various other supplies had to be carried.

Furthermore, they had to evade Han Xin's patrols!

In short, leaving without anyone knowing was far too difficult!

But fortunately, Fan Zeng had prepared for all of this in advance!

As soon as Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu asked, he could respond immediately!

Fan Zeng stated plainly:

"Because the number of troops is too great and the target too large, it is utterly impossible to move all four hundred thousand troops out!"

"At this time, one must be decisive and cut off a limb to save one's life!"

"You and the main Xiongnu generals must take the ten thousand loyal troops and withdraw first; this is the primary mission!"

"To achieve this goal, first dispatch fifty thousand men to break out forcefully from the due north and due south directions, creating a false impression that we are fleeing from here, thereby drawing Han Xin's great army to surround and intercept us."

"Chenciji Society, you and the various Xiongnu generals, along with the ten thousand main forces carrying supplies, must head west. Follow the previously arranged route and execute a great detour!"

As he spoke, Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu, upon hearing these words, was utterly stunned:

"Then... then what of the remaining three hundred thousand?"

"Do they... do they all... have to die?"

Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu asked, trembling with fear as he spoke.

Fan Zeng pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"Not necessarily. The remaining two hundred and seventy thousand, I will command. I will bring as many people out as possible!"

"If I can successfully escape, we shall meet at Lake Baikal."

"This..."

Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu still frowned!

Fan Zeng said:

"Opportunity knocks but once; if missed, it returns not. At this time, we can no longer hesitate; we must be decisive!"

"Hiss..."

Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu inhaled repeatedly; finally, he began to nod: "Very well, we shall begin the operation tonight!"

"Good!"

Fan Zeng, Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu, and a host of Xiongnu generals finalized the retreat plan!

Next, they began to act!

And a large group of Central Plains experts, watching their figures preparing to leave, looked at one another in confusion!

Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu and his entire army were fleeing the grasslands.

What about them?

What should they do?

Previously, they had all planned to kill Li Yuanba, and then, together with Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu, the Qin nobility, and many other factions, launch an attack on Xianyang City, overthrow Facing Ying Su, and force Seeing Ying Zheng!

But now... Li Yuanba had not been killed, and Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu was withdrawing his army.

What about them?

How should these Central Plains experts proceed?

In that instant, all the Central Plains experts present were lost in confusion.

Should they return?

Returning meant facing a catastrophe.

Not going back?

If we don't go back, are we supposed to fight Han Xin's hundred thousand troops?

Without Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu, they have only a few thousand men in total!

How can a few thousand men possibly defeat Han Xin's hundred thousand troops?

Everyone's scalp went numb!

They all turned to look at Yin Feng, the one who started this!

And Yin Feng's scalp was numb too!

At this very moment, he was also bewildered!

He had absolutely no idea what to do!

However, no matter how bewildered they were, no one cared about them!

Chanyu Modu Chanyu Chanyu Modu didn't care about them, and Fan Zeng didn't care about them either!

Everyone was busy with their own tasks!

In the blink of an eye, night fell!

For Fan Kuai, Zhou Bo, Lu Wan, Zhou Yafu, and others!

The night patrol work was extremely difficult!

Especially since it was snowing, making it even harder!

After all, this is the grassland!

The grassland nights are cold by nature!

The weather was freezing, and even the Ma Pi were tired from running!

But... no matter what, the two thousand men each of them led were all executing Han Xin's military orders.

Strictly monitoring everything on the Hulun Grassland.

If they saw any sign of an army preparing to withdraw, they were to report it immediately!

And just as Fan Kuai's troops patrolled to the due east of the Hulun Grassland, suddenly, an army appeared in everyone's sight!

This scene utterly stunned the soldiers under Fan Kuai, but they wasted not a second, shouting loudly at once:

"They are trying to leave!"

"Intercept them immediately!"

At that moment, everyone shouted without ceasing!

However, the commanding general Fan Kuai calmly pulled something resembling a fire starter from his sleeve!

Then, he lit the fuse!

Instantly, swoosh... a faint whistle!