Chapter 713

Xu Zengyi took out from his bosom a crumpled map that he had been using, weighed it in his hand, examined it for a long while, then suddenly said: 'My lord, I think I know where Yu Ren is.'

Where?

'Yu Gong Shan!' Xu Zengyi said in an absolutely certain tone.

Chen Wuji stepped forward, somewhat puzzled, and asked: 'Master, why are you so certain he would be at Yu Gong Shan?'

'Because he wants to found a state, he wants to become emperor!' Xu Zengyi said, 'Yu Ren is also the incarnation of the Heavenly Lord of the Heavenly Duke Cult; if he wants to become emperor, he must combine these two in one place.'

It is rumored that Yu Gong Shan is the place where heavenly deities manifest; when Da Yu fought the Qiang People and recovered Nanjiang, the commanding general at that time also once ascended the mountain to offer sacrifices. Yu Ren establishing his state here with the feng and shan rites would fit his title of Heavenly Lord.

Chen Wuji nodded, 'That theory does sound plausible. But he abandoned the fortified city and instead gathered all his troops on a mountain peak—is this founding a state or seeking death?'

'Judging from the situation at Wu'an City, Yu Ren likely gathered his followers at Yu Gong Shan; his forces may exceed twenty thousand. This, I believe, is his true purpose: to defeat my lord in one battle and then establish a state,' Xu Zengyi said.

'This matter, hearing it, seems extremely unreasonable, but after I calmed down these past days and carefully considered Yu Ren's character, this is something he could do.'

Chen Wuji's eyes narrowed slightly, 'To defeat me in one battle and then secure the tripod of Nan Jun—his ambition is indeed not small.'

'Come!' he shouted sternly, 'Send someone to scout Yu Gong Shan, to investigate the reality.'

Yes!

Just then, Qin Zhanhong, dressed in sturdy attire, walked over from a distance and said, 'My lord, there's no need to send people to investigate; I have just received news that Yu Ren is indeed at Yu Gong Shan.'

Besides Yu Ren, there are also several Qiang People chieftains.

Chen Wuji smiled and said, 'Did you two plan this together?'

'I dare not consult with Lady Qin,' Xu Zengyi said, clasping his hands before his abdomen with a light smile, 'It seems the Mandate of Heaven still rests with my lord; no great effort is needed, and these matters are already clear as day.'

'Although it's not proper for me to rebut Mr. Xu's words, this matter really took considerable effort.' Qin Zhanhong handed the freshly obtained intelligence to Chen Wuji, saying, 'After the army entered Songzhou, I gathered all my subordinates to penetrate deep into Songzhou to investigate the Heavenly Duke Cult and Yu Ren's troop deployment.'

This is the first piece of information I have received since entering Songzhou, and two elite scouts have died. The Qiang People have spread a great net around Yu Gong Shan, altogether eleven units of troops, with a combined force of about 130,000.

Yu Ren deliberately abandoned Zhuque City in order to lure my lord toward Yu Gong Shan; besides the Qiang People, Yu Ren gathered 100,000 followers and formed the Ten Directions Great Army, positioning them at the outermost perimeter of Yu Gong Shan to serve as bait.

Chen Wuji also finished reviewing all the intelligence at this point, 'So that's how it is; they've staged an ambush on all sides for me! 130,000 Qiang troops, plus Yu Ren's 20,000 Songzhou soldiers, and the Ten Directions Great Army, making a total of 250,000—truly they think highly of me.'

'Not only that, I haven't finished speaking yet!' Qin Zhanhong said with a light reproach.

'Speak, speak!' Chen Wuji hurriedly said.

Wearing sturdy attire, don't speak in a coquettish way; it's really unpleasant.

Qin Zhanhong smiled faintly, 'Yu Ren's forces are not just 100,000.'

More precisely, he now has the Three Guards, Four Divisions, and Ten Directions; the four divisions are the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, selected from devoutly faithful warriors who revere the Heavenly Lord, and together the four divisions number about 50,000.

The Ten Directions Great Army was rather hastily assembled, comprising both old and young, though it lacked the women soldiers we saw in Wu'an City. However, Yu Ren has a Personal Guard composed entirely of young women, numbering about 3,000; adding the original 20,000 Songzhou soldiers, all are incorporated into the Personal Guard, i. e., the Three Guards.

Yu Ren's total forces amount to over 170,000.

Chen Wuji rubbed his chin, 'The Heavenly Duke Cult is tightly organized; I had earlier thought he would certainly form a religious army. But I never expected he could, in such a short time, muster such a large scale—this lineup really gives one a headache.'

Religious troops are a type of force that appears very frequently in history, and moreover, their loyalty is extremely high.

Just look at the battle of Wu'an City, and you can see a sample.

Women, children, elders, they hold fire starters and set themselves alight.

If they didn't believe down to the bone, could they commit such cruelty?

Chen Wuji utterly despises Yu Ren, looks down on him completely, and has basically categorized him as a beast. Yet regarding this man's methods, as well as the Heavenly Duke Cult, he has always been extremely cautious and places great importance on them.

The tight organization, plus the dual control of A Furong and the doctrine, is enough for Yu Ren to develop in a short time a large number of followers who truly believe in him to the bone.

The Heavenly Duke Cult, or what should now be called the Heavenly Lord's Army, actually has not high combat power.

But the most terrifying thing about these people is that they are completely unafraid of death.

They are trading their lives for life.

Adding the eleven Qiang units on the periphery, this battle will be tough to fight.

The Heavenly Lord's Army excels at entangling, while the Qiang People are skilled at horse archery.

No wonder Yu Ren so confidently abandoned Songzhou's two fortified cities and shifted the battlefield to Yu Gong Shan.

It turns out it was all calculation.

They are not stupid!

'Do you have any leads, Master?' Chen Wuji asked.

Xu Zengyi smiled and said, 'Don't fight them!'

Chen Wuji was taken aback, then suddenly laughed, 'Indeed, Master is wise; I almost got stuck in a rut again.'

'Also, why should I fight him? If he wants to become emperor at Yu Gong Shan, let him do so; I'll just wait here for him to become emperor. He can set this kind of trap for me, and I suppose I could set one for him as well.'

Knowing the opponent has set up an all-around ambush at Yu Gong Shan, if he still charges straight in...

It would seem he has become that fool.

Xu Zengyi nodded, 'A force of 300,000 consumes a huge amount of food and fodder each day. Yu Ren's hasty march makes it impossible for him to carry large supplies. The Qiang People likely took a detour via Shenxian Ling; the mountain roads are winding, with many steep stretches where draft animals struggle, so they certainly couldn't transport much provisions either.'

Within half a month, Yu Ren's Heavenly Net Earthly Net will collapse on its own!

Chen Wuji said calmly, 'Then let's wait; since they are undertaking the great affair of becoming emperor, we had better not disturb them, lest we provoke their displeasure.'

'However, the Qiang People have played me a trick of "building a plank road openly while sneaking through Chen Cang"—does this mean Zhong Qiang is now completely empty? In this intelligence I saw that Langdu of Zhong Qiang has returned, bringing another 20,000 troops.'

Xu Zengyi lowered his head in thought, then suddenly gave a grim smile, 'This is indeed a good opportunity to pasture the highlands; we can let Generals Chen Baojia and Xie Fengxian go relax and relax, and exterminate their clans!'