Chapter 878: The Willing Fish Takes the Bait

"Hmm, this is very good." Zhao Xu looked toward Chang Wei, and Chang Wei also nodded.

Since they were going to put on a show, they naturally had to make it look realistic.

The Prince's Personal Army was truly going to head toward Songyang Pass.

If they dealt with the tail that was Tiemuta, they would then directly attack Songyang Pass.

This matter was decided.

Ma Han returned to lead the Qin Army soldiers in digging Hidden Soldier Caves in concealed places within the residential courtyards of Miancheng.

Chang Wei then dispatched another ten thousand men to him, allowing him to bring the total to sixty thousand.

These sixty thousand soldiers were distributed throughout the entire city of Miancheng according to orders.

Especially in the courtyards on both sides of the main roads, the soldiers were hidden in the greatest numbers.

After digging for five consecutive days, the Hidden Soldier Caves were basically completed.

These caves were different from tunnels; because they were only used to hide soldiers, they were not as interconnected as the tunnels in villages.

They only needed to be enough to conceal some people, so the amount of work was not large.

And while they were digging the caves, the scouts responsible for reconnaissance indeed discovered that Tiemuta's forces had followed them, trailing far behind.

Once they left Miancheng, Tiemuta's forces would certainly station themselves between Miancheng and them to cut off their supply line.

"Hmph, this time I'll let you follow to your heart's content." Upon learning this news, Zhao Xu sneered several times.

The next day, he and Chang Wei led the troops out of the city, heading straight toward the direction of Songyang Pass.

Just like when they arrived, during their march, the War Chariots were still on both sides, with the soldiers in the middle.

In this way, because the War Chariots blocked the soldiers, they were unable to accurately estimate the number of soldiers.

And in order to confuse the Northern Di scouts, he specifically ordered the War Chariots to widen their spacing, and also widened the spacing between the soldiers.

He also ordered the soldiers to deliberately kick up dust while walking, letting the entire formation be shrouded in smoke and dust, making it even harder to distinguish.

At the same time.

As soon as the Prince's Personal Army left the city, the Northern Di scouts sent the news to Tiemuta.

"They are going to attack Songyang Pass."

Upon receiving the news from the scouts, Tiemuta's heart tightened.

He naturally understood the importance of Songyang Pass.

This was the only road they could take to return to the Grassland.

Therefore, after the news of Miancheng's fall reached his ears, he cursed Ashuer and Aersiji a hundred times in his heart.

"Great King, what should we do now?" a Langlu asked.

Tiemuta frowned and pondered for a while, then he said: "We must still cut off Yan Wang's supply line. The food carried by their War Chariots is limited, and Songyang Pass has high walls and thick ramparts; it is not so easy to take. We must exhaust their food and grass and starve them to death."

Then, thinking of something, he asked the scout, "You said the city gates of Miancheng are open?"

"Yes, all four city gates are open," the scout replied.

Tiemuta's brow furrowed even deeper, and he said: "What kind of medicine is Yan Wang selling in this gourd?"

According to the scout's account, this Miancheng seemed to be an empty city.

However, he had also been scared by Yan Wang's schemes and tricks.

So he said: "You take a team of men to scout inside the city, to prevent any traps."

Responding with an "yes," the scout ordered a team of two hundred cavalry to head toward Miancheng.

Arriving outside Miancheng, they looked at each other and split into four paths to reach the four city gates.

After reining in their horses and standing for a while, seeing no movement, they gathered their courage and entered the city.

But inside the city, apart from the sound of their mounts' hooves, it was so quiet that one could hear a needle drop.

Then, they checked the shops on both sides of the road and broke into empty residential houses to search.

As a result, they found nothing at all.

And while they were searching, the Qin Army soldiers were observing them from hidden corners.

At this moment, the Qin Army soldiers were extremely nervous.

This plan was a gamble; if they were discovered, the scheme would fail.

The Prince's Personal Army would then only be able to turn back and think of other ways.

If they could make the Northern Di believe that Miancheng was an empty city, they would succeed.

Therefore, when digging the Hidden Soldier Caves, they were very meticulous.

They dug holes into the side walls of the wells and then plastered over the openings, leaving only a small hole for ventilation.

Looking from above, there was not a trace of anything unusual.

There were also holes dug under large trees in courtyards, and holes dug under counters in street-side shops for concealment.

They even pulled out the blue bricks of the inner city wall, dug out the mud inside to create a Hidden Soldier Cave, and then rebuilt it with bricks from the outside.

The soldiers inside only carried Roasted Flour to fill their stomachs.

After these Hidden Soldier Caves were dug, they even conducted drills.

Soldiers from the Prince's Personal Army came to search for them personally.

Those who were discovered had to redo their work until a different batch of soldiers came and could not find them.

And precisely because of this, the Northern Di scouts searched the city roughly, found nothing, and left one after another.

"It really is an empty city." The news brought back by the scouts made Tiemuta feel strange.

Then he thought: In the Battle of Miancheng, Yan Wang won a great victory, so he must be full of confidence, feeling that he does not need the food and grass of Miancheng and can win a quick victory to obtain supplies again.

Furthermore, Yan Wang also understood that even if he left people in Miancheng, it would be of no use; just like the cities to the north, even if there were food and grass in the city, it could not be transported out, so it was better not to leave troops.

Having figured out this point, he ordered his soldiers to head toward Miancheng.

If Yan Wang fails in his attack on Songyang, he will inevitably retreat back to Miancheng.

If he occupies it at this moment, Yan Wang will not be able to return when the time comes.