Chapter 662: Reply

Just as Chen Wuji had given up waiting for Langdu's reply, the whole army was tightening weapon repairs and preparing for battle when Langdu's reply suddenly arrived.

This development was completely beyond Chen Wuji and Xu Zengyi's expectations.

Upon seeing the letter, both of their expressions were as if they had swallowed a fly.

"What does this bastard mean?" Chen Wuji asked.

"He seems to be merely disgusting me. He came to look at my main camp, then sent me a reply—what was his purpose in observing our army's main camp?"

"Or does he think our main camp is easy to defend but hard to attack, so he gave up a strong assault and plans to hit me with a Hongmen Banquet? Or carry out a decapitation strike?"

"My lord, it must be the latter!" Xu Zengyi's expression grew somewhat solemn.

He paused, then spoke softly: "We used to think the Qiang people were not good at stratagems, but that saying shouldn't apply to Langdu—this person must be skilled in scheming. Those scholars who have defected to his Da Yu might actually be secondary."

"Let's blindly guess what's written in this letter?" Chen Wuji asked, pressing his right hand against the letter box.

Xu Zengyi didn't even bother to guess, saying directly: "Langdu must have chosen a place and invited our lord to come discuss a peace alliance. Now our lord absolutely cannot go; Langdu surely has laid heavy ambushes near the alliance site, perhaps even attacking before our lord sits down."

"Actually, regarding the peace talks, we understand in our hearts, and Langdu surely knows it as well."

Chen Wuji chuckled: "Everyone's just fooling the other side into thinking they're stupid; actually, nobody really takes it seriously. No, I still took it seriously—this time, I've acted foolishly."

"You say, if we pretend to fall for the trick, does this have any merit?"

Xu Zengyi jumped in alarm, immediately set down his wine bowl, and said solemnly: "My lord, you want to take risks again? Stop forcing me to kneel and beg; I've just recovered from my illness, I hope my lord will show some understanding."

Chen Wuji clicked his tongue lightly: "If we pretend to fall for the scheme, must I personally go onto the battlefield?"

"No!" Xu Zengyi said firmly.

"Your lordship's idea is inherently extremely dangerous; my lord should not take risks, nor should he endanger the soldiers' lives. Since our army is capable of facing them head-on, there's no need to give the Qiang people a chance to win."

"Nobody knows exactly what kind of ambush Langdu has set; we know he has ambushes, but our soldiers may not all figure this out. With the calculative set against the unsuspecting, plus Langdu having more troops than us, it's highly likely our army will be dragged into a quagmire."

Chen Wuji still felt this had merit: "Sir, you're not a conservative in military affairs—why have you suddenly become so cautious? We could fully explain this to the soldiers, letting everyone up and down have a clear idea; how could that still be considered using calculation against the clueless?"

"My lord, I have never played it risky in warfare; I am called a Poisonist, not a reckless man." Xu Zengyi said helplessly, "Explaining the tactics to the entire army is itself a risky path, easily leaking information; moreover, even if explained clearly, one can still be caught off guard in battle."

Chen Wuji rubbed his neck, "That's also true; then let's fight steadily and firmly, strike first, attack from both sides, and give Langdu a little surprise."

"Steady and solid fighting will catch Langdu off guard." Xu Zengyi said.

Just now he truly feared Chen Wuji would insist on using a reciprocal scheme.

When there's no other idea, this could be considered a good plan.

But when we clearly have strength yet still do this, the gamble becomes rather large.

It's not worth it, and there's absolutely no need.

"Issue the order: Chen Ruoshui will lead his troops to garrison the Wuyang Mountain main camp; the rest of the units and troops prepare to march out." Chen Wuji said solemnly, "Order, send an urgent courier to Lü Ji to make battle preparations."

"Yes!"

Chen Wuji then opened the letter box sent by Langdu's messenger, saying, "Let's see what this Mr. Lang actually said, and whether it matches our guess."

Inside the letter box lay a rolled-up sheep-skin letter, its edges neatly trimmed, yet a faint mutton odor could still be smelled.

Chen Wuji held it in his hand, quickly read it through, and said, "Indeed, it's exactly as expected, though this person's speech is truly refined and courteous, making me somewhat suspect he might have secretly been a Confucian disciple. But Confucianism would hardly accept such a disciple."

"My lord, where did Langdu choose to meet?" Xu Zengyi asked.

"Gongyi Town."

Chen Wuji tossed the letter aside, rose, found Gongyi Town on the map, and pointed it out to Xu Zengyi: "It's actually to the east; this place selection is somewhat interesting—it seems he spent some effort to prevent me from becoming suspicious."

Gongyi Town, Wuyang City, and Wuyang Mountain roughly form a triangle; this location is some distance from both sides' main camps, appearing safe.

But it only appears safe.

"He chose the site at Gongyi Town; if he wants to ambush troops, he must have done so before sending this letter. He should be able to guess that once I learn the location, I will certainly send scouts to survey the surroundings." Chen Wuji murmured, "Sir, my feigned alliance effort doesn't seem wasted; Langdu has surely divided his forces now, and with a two‑pronged attack using superior numbers, our army already has two advantages."

"Indeed, sir still has foresight; a reciprocal scheme is certainly no match for meeting them head‑on."

Xu Zengyi, hands behind his back, examined the map repeatedly, then suddenly said solemnly: "My lord, you must send scouts to closely observe Gongyi Town, and order Lü Ji to verify whether the Qiang forces' camp outside Wuyang City is empty."

Chen Wuji nodded: "We should check a bit, but Langdu must have split his forces."

"His main camp lies just outside Wuyang City; if the main army makes a large‑scale movement, he would surely know and couldn't hide it from Lü Ji's eyes. He can only sneak out a portion of troops to set an ambush at Gongyi Town, then feign that the whole army remains in camp—it's impossible to move all his troops to Gongyi Town."

Xu Zengyi nodded: "My lord's analysis is sound, but I always feel something is still off."

"What else is wrong?" Chen Wuji asked strangely.

"It seems we've considered everything that needed consideration, right?"

Xu Zengyi's eyes wandered over the map; he gave a slight shake of his head and said, "For now I can't clarify it—just a feeling; I need to think it over well."

"What else could be wrong?" Chen Wuji, hearing this, felt a bit dazed, murmured softly, and sat back down in his seat.

Chen Wuyi's tea had finished brewing; he lightly brought it in.

Xu Zengyi stood before the map for about half an hour, motionless, his gaze wandering back and forth between Wuyang City, Wuyang Mountain, and Gongyi Town.