Chapter 450: Hidden Hand

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The Flintlocks in the hands of the Yanguan soldiers were all fitted with Bayonets, aiming at the dead soldiers who had infiltrated Yanguan.

Seeing the dead soldiers say this, they all looked toward Mo Yu.

Mo Yu very much wanted to kill them, but he knew that even if he killed them, he could not cover up his negligence this time.

Moreover, this time Yan Wang had ordered Bai Shang to capture quite a few Beidi prisoners.

Compared to dead people, Yan Wang preferred living prisoners.

Thinking of this, he said: "Have all your people come out; you can still keep your lives. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without exception."

The dead soldier nodded and, with weak steps, knocked on the Baggage Carts one by one to let the dead soldiers inside come out.

Knowing they were exposed, noisy sounds of wooden boards moving echoed from the pile of Baggage Carts.

Before long, three or four thousand people stood in the gaps between the Baggage Carts.

Some dead soldiers, like the first one, had completely lost their will to fight from hunger.

But there were still dead soldiers who remained very fierce, drawing their Long Blades and charging at the Wangfu Army.

It was just that, thirsty and hungry, these dead soldiers were extremely weak.

In the eyes of the Wangfu Army, their threat was not even as great as that of seven or eight-year-old children.

Facing these dead soldiers, they naturally showed no mercy.

Holding their Bayonets, they killed all these resisting dead soldiers in front of the Baggage Carts.

"Tie up everyone who is left." A quarter of an hour later, Mo Yu shouted.

More than a thousand resisting dead soldiers were killed, and nearly three thousand dead soldiers chose to surrender.

Then he returned to the General's Mansion with a decadent look on his face.

If his father were here, he feared his own legs would be broken as well.

Picking up a pen, he wrote down the entire process of the fake imperial guards and the discovery of the dead soldiers, ordering someone to send it to Yan Wang to await Yan Wang's disposal.

Fanyang.

The news that the Beidi army had been annihilated at sea by a group of sea bandits reached here.

At the same time, Yuan Family soldiers discovered the corpses of Beidi soldiers washed up by the waves on the coast of Fanyang.

This corroborated the rumors, and Yuan Li and Zhuoge instantly felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.

"The dead soldiers who infiltrated Yanguan are also finished." The hand with which Yuan Li held his teacup was trembling.

According to Zhuoge's orders, these dead soldiers were to wait for the sound of cannons from Beidi attacking the Nanmen.

Now that Wulanba could not come, even if they took the Nanmen, it would be of no use.

Zhuoge had no heart to drink tea; he paced back and forth in the great hall.

The large number of Beidi soldier corpses drifting in from the sea proved that this rumor was not false.

Moreover, the Beidi army crossing the sea to head south was supposed to be a secret.

This secret was now known to all, which showed it was even more certain.

It was precisely because he was clear that all of this was true that he was so afraid.

"How is it possible, how is it possible!" Zhuoge kept asking himself.

Three hundred warships—even Wufeng Island could not have annihilated this army of one hundred thousand so cleanly and efficiently.

"Who on earth is working against us Beidi!" Zhuoge wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He did not believe this matter was done by Yan Wufeng Island.

Wufeng Island had a grudge against Yan Wang; it was impossible for them to help Yan Wang at this time.

But if it wasn't Wufeng Island, who else on the high seas had this capability?

Thinking left and right, he really could not think of a reason.

Looking toward Yuan Li, he said: "I must go to Gaoli now to investigate the cause and effect clearly. This time Yan Wang really had a stroke of dog-shit luck."

Yuan Li sighed deeply; he and Zhuoge had the same thought.

Originally, this Beidi southward expedition was absolutely a perfect plan.

They truly did not expect such a slip-up to occur.

A group of sea bandits had actually wiped out the Beidi army, indirectly helping Yan Wang.

"Commander Zhuoge, take care on your journey." Yuan Li stood up to see him off.

Outwardly respectful, he was actually inwardly seeing off a plague god.

Since Beidi had failed, Zhuoge staying here was of no benefit to him.

If it weren't for the thought that Beidi might be able to win a battle in the northwest, he would have secretly ordered someone to kill Zhuoge and destroy the evidence.

That way, he could have destroyed all evidence of contact with Beidi.

Sending Zhuoge to the door and watching him leave, Yuan Li's expression immediately turned gloomy.

Fortunately, he had been very careful this time and had not acted rashly.

He had also ordered the soldiers posing as imperial guards to detour through Qizhou and return separately.

No handle had been left behind.

"Hmph, Yan Wang, this time you really had a stroke of great luck, detestable." Thinking of Yan Wang escaping a disaster, Yuan Li gritted his teeth in hatred.

Like this, he would have to continue living under the shadow of Yan Wang.

Over here.

In one day's time, Zhuoge arrived at the coast of Fanyang Commandery.

Boarding a Merchant Ship, he headed north along the coastline.

It was just that, no matter what, he would never have imagined it.

On the distant sea surface, an eye was observing his ship through a Telescope.

"Follow him, and capture him in the waters of Leting County." Putting down the Telescope, Zheng Xiang said.

He was the captain of this Sailing Warship.

Upon receiving the order, the Sailing Warship followed in pursuit.

Yancheng.

After a day of preparation, Chang Wei had prepared three Hot Air Balloons for Zhong Li, along with the soldiers to operate the Hot Air Balloons.

At this moment, the balloon envelopes were loaded onto a Baggage Cart pulled by four horses.

There were also two other Baggage Carts pulled by four horses.

One was loaded with the gondolas, and one was loaded with fuel.

With four horses pulling them, the Baggage Carts would be able to keep pace with the Cavalry.

"Your Highness, this general is also prepared," Zhong Li said.

He had hand-picked one thousand Cavalry from the army.

These one thousand elite Cavalry would not yield in the slightest even if they were to fight the Northern Di one-on-one.

"If the chaos in the east cannot shake Mule Hongzhen, then I can only count on you all," Zhao Xu patted Zhong Li on the shoulder.

Although Zhong Li's operation was small, its importance was no less than the operation against Ningjin Dusi.

Zhong Li nodded solemnly, "That Your Highness has entrusted such an important matter to this general is a sign of your trust; this general will certainly not fail Your Highness's commission."

It was his own request to bring only one thousand Cavalry.

Too few, and once they encountered Northern Di Cavalry, they would have no power to fight back.

Too many, and it would cause the unit to be cumbersome and inconvenient to hide.

"Even so, you are all the apple of my eye; if one is lost, I will also feel heartache. Remember, do your utmost, but if the matter is impossible, do not do anything reckless," Zhao Xu said slowly.

"Yes, Your Highness," Zhong Li bowed and said.

Nodding, Zhao Xu signaled that Zhong Li could set off.

The grain and fodder in Xian City could last for at most one month; he had to resolve the crisis at Xian City before the grain and fodder were exhausted.

Once the figures of Zhong Li and his party disappeared.

Zhao Xu said to Chang Wei, "The Yanshan Bastion only needs five thousand men left to garrison it; all remaining troops should be transferred to Yanguan, and leaving six thousand men for Bai Shang in Leting County is enough."

He planned to let Bai Shang execute this plan to attack Ningjin Dusi from the rear.

With twelve Warships, if each Warship were squeezed a bit more and carried less Baggage Train, it would still be possible to accommodate five hundred soldiers.

Any more than that would be very difficult.

Encountering this problem, he suddenly realized an issue.

It seemed necessary to build specialized Troop Transport Ships.

Only in this way could he possess a powerful troop projection capability.

After all, when necessary, he would need to fight ground wars against enemies overseas.