Chapter 734

First Volume, Chapter 734: Preparations Before the Siege

Lü Ci's face turned pale; he snatched the secret letter, glanced left and right, confirmed no one had noticed, then exhaled sharply.

Lü Ci glared furiously at the Deputy General: "Are you trying to die? How dare you secretly hide enemy surrender letters? If outsiders find out, you won't have a hundred heads to lose!"

"Crush this idea immediately—and burn this letter!"

Although Lü Ci disliked Ma Tingyun, he knew well the value of Xiongying Ridge.

If Xiongying Ridge falls, not only Ma Tingyun, but even Lü Ci himself will lose his head.

Had the Deputy General not been his old subordinate of many years, Lü Ci would have executed him on the spot for this traitorous intent.

The Deputy General refused to give up: "General, Qin Feng's offer is far beyond your imagination."

"The riches promised in this letter—no matter how hard you or I work in our lifetimes, we could never earn them in ten generations."

Recalling Qin Feng's offer, the Deputy General flushed with excitement.

"Just white silver alone: fifty thousand li! Plus estates and farmland in Liang Kingdom—just say yes, and you'll become a wealthy landowner of Liang!"

"And more! Qin Feng promises to hide our identities, ensuring the Night Owls never find us—we'll live in peace for generations."

Fifty thousand li in white silver…

Learning Qin Feng's offer, even Lü Ci couldn't help but be stunned.

No wonder Qin Feng—he truly has grand ambitions!

But considering the Night Owls' vast power, fifty thousand li may be too much to spend—what if you get the money but can't live to enjoy it?

The real clincher was that Qin Feng had already mapped out Lü Ci's escape route—this "concealment of identity" was the true selling point.

Yet the thought of betraying Da Di Kingdom still made Lü Ci hesitate.

Holding the letter, Lü Ci frowned: "Where did you get this letter?"

The Deputy General didn't hide it; he shrugged casually: "General, Qin Feng's army has surrounded Xiongying Ridge entirely—outside all four walls, Beixi troops are active."

"Last night, someone shot this letter into the city with a bow—picked up by a lowly soldier, passed through several hands, and finally reached me."

"I've secretly investigated: over a hundred such letters were shot in last night."

"Besides this one, I've destroyed every other letter—and silenced everyone who learned of the Pacification Edict."

Hearing this, Lü Ci finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After much thought, Lü Ci still shook his head: "This… cannot be. We've long been under Da Di Kingdom's grace—how can we betray our country for wealth?"

At that moment, Gate General Liu Chi, who had stood silently beside him, suddenly stepped forward.

"General, this opportunity won't come again—seize it now, or you'll never get another chance."

"Just now, while you were out fighting, Qin Feng's men shot more Pacification Edicts into the city. I didn't know how to tell you—now it's clear: Qin Feng raised his offer. If you agree, you alone get fifty thousand li in white silver; every other officer who surrenders gets ten thousand li."

The Deputy General's eyes gleamed: "What are we waiting for? We've fought for decades to repay our country's grace—watched countless brothers die on the battlefield—what did we get?"

"Ma Tingyun just stood there, cold as ice, watching Qin Feng desecrate the corpses of our fallen soldiers."

"In the end, that's our own fate!"

"You've seen Qin Feng's methods—he's going to attack. Xiongying Ridge won't hold. If the City Gate falls, we won't just miss this chance—we'll be slaughtered like chickens and dogs!"

Lü Ci stayed silent, gripping the letter tightly, recalling Ma Tingyun's cold indifference to the sacrificed soldiers—his heart turned icy.

Yet betraying his country for glory was something Lü Ci simply could not accept.

As Lü Ci hesitated, messengers ran back and forth through the Shuaifu.

Inside the Shuaifu, only Ma Tingyun and Military Advisor Li Chou remained.

"General, the Beixi troops have finished hauling away the corpses—but for some reason, they left them where they were and withdrew."

Without hesitation, Ma Tingyun blurted: "Beidi War Command: remove all troops from the City Wall except our own local defenders!"

"No one is to mention retrieving the corpses—anyone who does, will be punished by military law!"

Those three piles of corpses were Qin Feng's bait.

Whoever leaves the city to retrieve them will suffer heavy casualties—right now, defending the city comes first!

At that moment, a messenger rushed into the Shuaifu again: "General, enemy forces at the Front Line are moving—now transporting wood toward the corpse piles!"

At this, Ma Tingyun sneered: "Hmph—is Qin Feng trying to cremate the corpses for us? A weasel paying respects to a chicken—no good intent! Ignore it!"

Military Advisor Li Chou frowned: "Qin Feng is cunning. He went through great trouble to dig up the corpses and bring them to the city walls—it's not just bait. Now he's sending wood to the Front Line—this confirms his malicious intent."

"In my view, no matter what Qin Feng plans, we must stop him."

"The corpse piles are only one hundred steps from the City Wall. Deploy Bow Infantry with Rockets—burn those logs."

Hearing this, Ma Tingyun's eyes lit up: "Correct! Do it!"

Less than half a Envoy later, the Fortress walls were packed with Bow Infantry, lighting their arrows and aiming at the distant wood piles.

The chaotic barrage of arrows missed often, but enough random shots still hit their mark.

Soon, the newly delivered wood piles were engulfed in roaring flames.

The messenger panted back to the Vanguard Camp.

"Commander, the enemy launched a Fire Attack—our wood supplies suffered heavy losses."

Qin Feng stood with his hands behind his back, watching the distant flames burn, calm as ever: "I saw it."

"Order: relocate all Materials and Supplies—fall back fifty steps."

At this, Ning Hu frowned: "Brother Qin, only fifty steps back?"

"Even then, we're still only one hundred fifty steps from the City Wall."

"The enemy Bow Infantry, firing from above with ParabolicShooting, can still reach the wood."

Qin Feng smiled lightly: "If we don't give them a taste of victory, how will they lower their guard?"

Ning Hu finally understood—Qin Feng had already begun setting a trap for the defenders!

As expected, the new Materials and Supplies point, fifty steps back, was once again set ablaze by enemy Rockets.

The roaring flames lit up the night sky.

Ning Hu winced in pain: "Just the high-quality timber lost, front to back, is worth hundreds of taels of silver."

Qin Feng smiled broadly: "A mere pittance, not worth mentioning."

"As long as we take Xiongying Ridge, no matter how much silver we spend, it's a guaranteed profit."

"Issue orders: let the Brocade Uniform Guard keep dropping Pacification Edicts into the city. I don't believe such a vast City has no greedy souls!"

"Once we have an inside ally, the Military Siege is just around the corner…"