Chapter 184: Fell Into a Trap

In the blink of an eye, the third day arrived. Li Goudan wore a tattered cotton jacket, his trousers stained with mud and snowmelt, his hair as messy as a bird's nest. He swaggered into the tent and spoke slowly, "My Lord, the wind outside is still so fierce. It is truly abnormal and unbearable. Alas..." As he spoke, he vigorously slapped the snowflakes from his body.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu sat by the brazier, holding a map, his brows furrowed. Jiang Jiang Mingyu wanted to capture cities and take strongholds, yet he struggled to find a suitable opportunity. Seeing that the harsh winter was approaching and supplies were running low, Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt anxious in his heart.

Hearing Li Goudan's voice, he raised his head to glance at him and said, "You lazy fellow, where have you been again?"

Li Goudan chuckled and said, "I went to scout the enemy situation. Do you know? That old fox Wang Hao can hardly sit still anymore. The food in his city is running low, and the soldiers are starving and emaciated. I heard he is recently trying to smuggle grain into the city."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes lit up. He said, "Really? Are you sure?"

Li Goudan nodded and said, "I saw it with my own eyes. Just this afternoon, I secretly slipped to the small road outside the city and saw a convoy of carts coming from a distance. I hid behind a tree and looked carefully; those carts were all filled with sacks of grain and fodder. I think those must have been obtained by Wang Hao from elsewhere."

Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt a stir in his heart and said, "Can you recognize those people?"

Li Goudan shook his head and said, "I have never seen those people. However, I feel they do not seem to be Wang Hao's subordinates. Their clothes are not uniform, and their speech does not sound like a northern accent."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu pondered for a moment and said, "So it seems Wang Hao may have sought external aid. Perhaps he invited people from the south or the west. In that case, we have an opportunity."

Li Goudan asked strangely, "What opportunity?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu stood up, pointed to a spot on the map, and said, "Look here; this is the only road leading to the city gate. If we can block this road, we can cut off Wang Hao's supply line. When the food in his city is exhausted, he will have only two paths to choose: either surrender or fight."

Li Goudan nodded and said, "That is a good idea. But how do we block this road?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled and said, "Did you not just say the wind outside is very strong? I thought of a good plan. Zhu Ge Yu once said, 'Those who are skilled in warfare can use grass, trees, earth, and stones as soldiers.' With the north wind blowing fiercely now, let us use a fire attack. We will burn down the city gate, and our army can enter by following the momentum and achieve great success!"

Hearing this, Li Goudan widened his eyes and said doubtfully, "My Lord, is this... is this feasible? In the harsh winter, these trees are long covered by thick snow; a fire attack might not be very effective."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled slightly and said, "I understand your concern. Water overcomes fire, does it not? But one cannot speak too absolutely. Great floods can extinguish small fires, but great fires can also evaporate moisture. I only intend to burn down the city gate. With military strength on our side, entering the city means victory. Do you think this is feasible?"

Li Goudan wanted to say something else, but he was interrupted by two people behind him.

"My Lord is wise!" a voice said.

"My Lord's calculations are divine!" another voice said.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu turned around and saw two people standing behind him. One was Tu Tu Kesiluo, and the other was Wu Wu Ziyu. Hearing Jiang Jiang Mingyu's plan, both felt the Lord's strategy was not unusable, so they nodded in agreement.

Seeing the wind direction was just right, Jiang Jiang Mingyu immediately ordered everyone to prepare fire attack equipment. Soon, everything was ready. Seeing that time waited for no one, Jiang Jiang Mingyu personally led the main army to the foot of the city, just about to launch the fire attack.

At that moment, a cold voice suddenly came: "Jiang Jiang Mingyu, this official has been waiting for you!" Before the words finished, fire suddenly blazed on all sides. Seven or eight thousand of Wang Hao's soldiers broke out of the encirclement and surrounded Jiang Jiang Mingyu's army completely.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was greatly shocked and blurted out, "No good, we have fallen into a trap!"

It turned out this was a trap set by Wang Hao.

He had long known Jiang Jiang Mingyu would covet his grain supplies, so he deliberately sent a convoy of carts pretending to transport grain.

He also secretly bought some mercenaries from the south and the west and set up an ambush outside the city.

After waiting for Jiang Jiang Mingyu to take the bait, he immediately surrounded and trapped him.

Trapped in the sea of fire, Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt waves of heat rushing at his face, burning his eyes red and his throat dry.

He looked around and saw Wang Hao's soldiers like wolves and tigers, holding knives and spears, radiating murderous intent. The generals and soldiers around him were also in panic; some desperately resisted the enemy's attacks, some searched for an escape route in all directions, and some simply gave up resistance and knelt to beg for mercy.

A sense of despair filled Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart. He knew he had fallen into Wang Hao's poisonous scheme, and this battle was probably irretrievable.

Just then, he heard a familiar voice sound beside his ear: "My Lord, do not fear; we are here to save you!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu turned his head and saw Li Goudan and Wu Wu Ziyu holding a long sword, rushing over to protect him. Wu Wu Ziyu's body was already covered in blood and ash, but his eyes remained firm. He said to Jiang Jiang Mingyu, "My Lord, I have found a way to survive. Follow me."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu did not understand what Wu Wu Ziyu meant, but he had no time to think much. He felt Wu Wu Ziyu and Li Goudan were his only hope, so he followed them forward. Wu Wu Ziyu and Li Goudan led Jiang Jiang Mingyu through a sea of fire to the city gate. Jiang Jiang Mingyu saw the city gate had been swallowed by flames, leaving only a pile of ruins. Wu Wu Ziyu said to Jiang Jiang Mingyu, "My Lord, look over there!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu followed Wu Wu Ziyu's finger and saw a small hole beside the city gate, with a wisp of white smoke rising from the opening. Wu Wu Ziyu said, "This is a hole I discovered just now. This hole should be a tunnel leading into the city. Wang Hao probably used this tunnel to smuggle grain into the city. We can take advantage of Wang Hao's inattention and crawl in here."

Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt a surge of joy. He recalled a story: During the Spring and Autumn period, the Chu general Wu Wu Ziyu besieged the Qi capital Linzi. The Qi ruler Tian Ji devised a plan to have soldiers wear Chu army uniforms, emerge from the tunnel at night, and set fire behind the Chu army. The Chu army thought it was their own people setting the fire and did not guard against it. The Qi army took the opportunity to break out and counterattack the Chu army camp. Wu Wu Ziyu was defeated and fled.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu thought: If I can also use this strategy, perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope. He said to Wu Wu Ziyu and Li Goudan, "Very well, let us do as you say. You go in first to scout the path."

Wu Wu Ziyu and Li Goudan nodded and crawled into the tunnel. Jiang Jiang Mingyu followed closely behind. The three walked for a while in the tunnel and heard the noise coming from ahead. Li Goudan stopped and said to Jiang Jiang Mingyu, "My Lord, ahead is inside the city. I see Wang Hao's military camp. They are celebrating their victory and have no guard at all."

A stir arose in Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart. He said, "Good, let us take advantage of their unpreparedness and give them a surprise."

Wu Wu Ziyu smiled and said, "My Lord, rest assured. I have prepared some torches and oilcloth. We only need to ignite these items and throw them into Wang Hao's camp to start a fire. At that time, Wang Hao's soldiers will surely be in chaos, and we can take the opportunity to cut a bloody path out."

Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt Wu Wu Ziyu and Li Goudan's plan made great sense. He said to Wu Wu Ziyu and Li Goudan, "Very well, let us do so. You go out with me. Before I departed, I ordered Tu Tu Kesiluo's reinforcements to provide support; he will arrive soon."

Wu Wu Ziyu shook his head and said, "My Lord, we cannot go out with you. We will stay here to cover your rear. Rest assured, I will do my best to hold back Wang Hao's pursuing troops."

Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu was moved and said, "Goudan, Xiao'er, rest assured. I will remember your merits."

Wu Wu Ziyu and Li Goudan smiled and said, "My Lord, do not be polite. I have only done what I should do. You must go quickly; do not waste time."

"Rest assured, I will return soon to support you. Wait for me."