Chapter 131

Reporting to General Yang, this isn't our fault; General Wang said that winter is coming, Great Wu definitely won't invade again, so we don't need to go too far and can save some grain and fodder.

The scout's face was full of bitterness; Yang Hongyue helplessly patted her forehead. Wang Liu is really an idiot; in a border garrison, the one thing you cannot skimp on is grain and fodder and military salary—the soldiers defending the pass are risking their lives.

This time, let it slide; Wang Liu is dead, the Yang Family Army is back under my command, the whole city has entered a state of war readiness; immediately repair the city walls, build defensive works, and produce rolling logs, stone missiles, and fire oil.

I, the General, will report the situation to the Governor of Leizhou, ordering him to mobilize troops and send grain and fodder; this time we must ensure that Great Wu's 100,000-strong army comes and never returns.

We will dutifully obey General Yang's orders.

Hearing the Yang Family Army under her command respond in unison, Yang Hongyue felt as if she had returned to the state of inspecting the battlefield earlier.

This feeling is fine; 80,000 defenders are enough.

Yang Hongyue thought to herself, then began deploying defenses. Although she had someone send news to Shen Tianxing, she did not mean to request reinforcements; she only wanted Shen Tianxing to send grain and fodder and military supplies.

Shen Tianxing received the message; he had already taken full control of Taicheng, and at that moment he was sitting opposite Xu Shu, drinking tea.

My Lord, it seems Lady Yang intends to defend Humen Pass herself; Taicheng is quiet now, so let This One go to Humen Pass to lend Lady Yang a hand—arranging troops and devising strategies is something This One can still do.

Xu Shu volunteered himself, and Shen Tianxing naturally agreed, for this strategist's ability is only slightly inferior to Zhuge Liang's; the key is that he has never had a chance to display his talent, so being able to help Yang Hongyue is naturally a good thing.

It would be best if you could go, but Hongyue is rather stubborn; although she listens to reason, she might not fully follow your arrangements, and I won't give you any advice—just handle it yourself!

Shen Tianxing's words left Xu Shu both laughing and crying, but given his ability there was absolutely no problem, so he nodded as well.

My Lord, rest assured; Lady Yang is also a seasoned general of the battlefield, as long as we reason with her, This One can make Lady Yang listen to me—how to respond, how to fight, none of that is a problem.

With Mister Xu's help, I feel relieved; moreover, I will assign a few people to Mister Xu to handle battlefield trends, letting Mister Xu direct them.

Have them investigate why Great Wu suddenly chose again to attack Humen Pass; if there's anything fishy, how to investigate is left to Mister Xu.

By the way, take the Hubaqi with you, along with the 200 cavalry brought from Lecheng, for a total of 200 cavalry; hand them over to you to command, with no other requirements—I guarantee your own safety, and if necessary they can also serve as a special force.

My Lord, This One will definitely get it done perfectly.

Xu Shu earnestly agreed; Shen Tianxing smiled and nodded, then they discussed the current situation in Beizhou for a while before letting Xu Shu leave.

Just as Xu Shu left, a soldier came outside to report.

Governor, Lord Tian Feng has returned under the escort of the Hubaqi, looking extremely disheveled; he says he has urgent business and wishes to see the Governor.

Shen Tianxing frowned upon hearing this; logically, Tian Feng's abilities should not have brought him back in such a sorry state—something must have gone wrong.

Quickly let him in.

Yes, Sir!

Soon the disheveled Tian Feng came running in, hair messy, his originally white robes now covered in mud, one shoe missing; Shen Tianxing looked at him and also felt both amused and exasperated.

I have greeted My Lord; fortunately, with My Lord's Hubaqi escort, This One would truly not have been able to return.

Tian Feng, upon arriving, immediately knelt with a thud and poured out his grievances; Shen Tianxing patted his forehead and said:

Mister Tian, what exactly happened? Logically, with your talent you shouldn't have been discovered—how did you end up like this?

My Lord, please let This One explain in detail; originally everything was fine, and This One basically succeeded in making the people of Pingcheng trust the fabrications This One devised.

But for some reason, yesterday a group of people suddenly appeared in Pingcheng; after meeting the Pingcheng magistrate, they began a citywide manhunt and forcibly dragged This One out.

Fortunately, the Hubaqi arrived in time to cover This One's escape; This One still wasn't clear what was going on, but while fleeing, This One heard the locals say that the sudden arrivals in Pingcheng came from Wuzhou, seemingly from the Lei Family Army.

Shen Tianxing stroked his chin, feeling something odd; logically, even if it were Lei Family Army personnel, they wouldn't be looking for Tian Feng—after all, Tian Feng had only just been summoned not long ago, so even Lei Family Army personnel wouldn't know him.

Unless there is a traitor in the Governor's Office of Leiming City, no one would know of Tian Feng's existence.

Besides Shen Tianxing's summoned subordinates, the Governor's Office basically has no outsiders able to enter, making it even less likely to know of Tian Feng's existence; thus, the possibility of someone from the military is low.

But if it wasn't a military personnel leaking the news, then it must be a servant of the Governor's Office; if that's the case, we should investigate thoroughly.

This isn't your fault; perhaps you've been wronged and someone leaked the information—who exactly is it? I will investigate properly; first go wash up and rest for the night, since we can't win without bloodshed, tomorrow I will take you to assault the city.

Thank you, My Lord; This One takes leave.

Tian Feng thanked Shen Tianxing with tears of gratitude, then turned and left; Shen Tianxing immediately closed his eyes to contact Hong Yi.

The Governor's Office must have a mole; please help investigate.

You only just noticed? I've already been checking for you; there's a maidservant in the Governor's Office kitchen—guess who she belongs to?

At a time like this, you're still being coy—don't say she's Shen Erhu's person.

Congratulations, you guessed right; that little girl likes your brother, willing to go through fire and water for him, holding nothing back; after your brother left, she became his secret agent planted by your side.

Shen Tianxing shook his head helplessly; it seems this time he truly ought to sever ties with Shen Erhu.

If I'm not mistaken, Shen Erhu must have gone to rely on Sun Zhongquan, receiving his help, then made contact with Lei Wufeng, and from that maidservant learned of my plan to attack Beizhou, which is why he went to great lengths to gather this information to cause trouble for me.

Great Wu's attack on Great Zhou is also one of their strategies—not bad, quite clever, knowing they'd put me under attack from both front and rear; it seems Leizhou will also have to face invasions from Linzhou and Jiangzhou.

Shen Tianxing originally didn't pay much attention to Shen Erhu's departure, given his own abilities were just average; he never expected him to cause so much trouble.

Then you're mistaken; Leizhou here is very peaceful, and there's no sign that the other two states intend to send troops to attack—you should know that Sun Zhongquan still hasn't taken control of Linzhou and Jiangzhou.

It's impossible for those two states to cause you trouble through them, nor could they grant passage for troops to attack Leizhou; that's why they chose to use Great Wu and the Lei Family Army—you just focus on responding, and since I'm watching over Leizhou, you can rest easy.

As for what Hong Yi said, Shen Tianxing naturally believed it; he had brought out an 80,000-strong army, and it wasn't unprepared—Leizhou, when combined, still had 40,000 troops left, and had already begun extensive recruitment of New Soldiers, handing them over to Zhou Yu for training.

Having you with me naturally puts me at ease; just arrest that maidservant, don't kill her for now—wait until I return to decide—and also have that maidservant spread a few false rumors, claiming that Leizhou's defenses are currently extremely empty, making it the best time to attack.