Chapter 317
(TN : Just noticed NU brings you straight here which means you miss a bulk of updates. Go back to the homepage to see the other chapters including chapter 316)
The day passed by quickly. Zhuge Liang hesitated until the sky turned dark.
“It is about time.” Zhuge Liang said as he stood outside. The night was dark as the beautiful moon hid behind the clouds. “It is the time for killing under the moonless night.” Zhuge Liang laughed bitterly as he shook his head. Heaven truly favoured him for giving him this scenery on the night he intended a night raid.
“Military advisor. Everything is prepared. We are waiting for your signal.” Li Yan once again appeared before Zhuge Liang.
“I understand.” Zhuge Liang nodded. He looked at Xiakou believing that this was his last day in Jingzhou. They would be going to Lujiang the next day. ‘Brother. Sister. Take care.’
While Zhuge Liang felt sentimental, Huo Jun suddenly came and whispered. “Military advisor. Something really bad has happened.”
“Hm?” Zhuge Liang furrowed his brows. Zhuge Liang hated impatient people the most. Everything needed to be confronted calmly. However, Huo Jun was no longer calm but panicked. ‘What is going on?’
“Military advisor. There may be traitors in our army.” Huo Jun did not care about Zhuge Liang’s dissatisfaction. This was because he may not have another chance to say it.
“A traitor? What happened?” Zhuge Liang frowned. Zhuge Liang knew the seriousness of this matter. Their next act in the evening was going to be very important. If he fails, he would not only fail to provide support but also cause trouble for the Lu Bu’s Army.
“Military advisor. One of my subordinates, a general of one thousand man, had gone missing. Some of the men told me that he was seen entering General Wen Pin’s camp and did not come out.” Huo Jun anxiously explained to Zhuge Liang.
“He went to Wen Pin!” Zhuge Liang now had a headache. There was definitely something strange for a person with a small position to go and find Wen Pin.
“What does he know?” Zhuge Liang asked.
“I am not sure! You told me not say anything until the final moment. So, I did not tell him anything!”
“Why would he go and find Wen Pin?” One of the possibilities was for bribes. However, Wen Pin was a person that hated bribes. Could it be a relative? That was also not possible as Wen Pin’s two sons and one nephew were all still too young. If this person had been close to Wen Pin, he would have become Wen Pin’s subordinate from the start instead of joining up with Zhuge Liang’s troops. Zhuge Liang’s troops was from Jiangxia while Wen Pin was from Nanyang. Although both were still under Jingzhou, they were separated. There was also nobody of the Wen family in Jiangxia.
As it could not be those two reasons, the remaining possible reason was to rat on them. However, it was also a fact that Zhuge Liang was in charge of Huo Jun. This meant that they had leaked something. Zhuge Liang suddenly remembered. “Does that person look something like that?” Zhuge Liang did not know how to describe the person.
“Yes! His appearance does look something like that.” Huo Jun nodded. If it was any other general of a thousand men, Huo Jun would not be worried. However, this was a despicable person that Huo Jun wanted to kick out of his military but never had the chance to do so. Now, something like this has happened.
“Looks like he already realized something!” Zhuge Liang replied and took a deep breath. That day, after talking to Huo Jun, he had walked out only to see the general of a thousand men smiling at him. Zhuge Liang had thought that this person came to see Huo Jun but never expected that person to have been eavesdropping.
“Military advisor. What should we do? Should we continue?” Huo Jun was a little hesitant. Would they still achieve victory after their movements had been discovered?
Zhuge Liang closed his eyes. He did not expect to encounter this problem at such a critical moment. His plans was already half destroyed once it was leaked. After thinking for a while, Zhuge Liang said, “Continue. However, we will give up the Xiakou main camp. We will go straight for the navy and take all the warships that we can while destroying the warships that we cannot take.”
“But…” Huo Jun was still hesitant. If they were to still act after being exposed, it would just be courting death.
“Don’t worry. I have secret plans within my plans.” Zhuge Liang reassured Huo Jun. He was Zhuge Liang the Sleeping Dragon. It was a fact that Zhuge Liang would think of everything. After all, not many people would think of defeat when making strategems.
“Even if Wen Pin knows, he would reinforce his main camp and would not think his vanguards and the warships. What we need to do is to destroy his vanguards and take away the warships with provisions. Without any warships or provisions, his army would not be able to leave Xiakou!” The reason why Zhuge Liang did not revolt at Sanjiangkou was because he was afraid Liu Biao would become furious and join forces with Sun Ce to chase him down. This was why Zhuge Liang chose Wen Pin at Xiakou as the victim. Without warships, they would not be able to leave. New warships would also not come so easily. Wen Pin who found out about their actions could only reinforce the main camp and the rear guards. He would be unable to take care of the vanguards. This is because he had no evidence which is also one reason he did not arrest Zhuge Liang on the spot.
“I understand. Military advisor. I will go and make the preparations now.”
“Hm. Watch the time and wait for my orders. This must be done within an hour.” Zhuge Liang said with certainty. After watching Huo Jun leave, he shook his head. He originally wanted to take Wen Pin’s troops with him as Wen Pin had about forty thousand men. He could have infiltrated all the troops other than Wen Pin’s bodyguards and the nearby soldiers.
No bribery is allowed in Wen Pin’s Army. As a result, his army is strong. This was because his soldiers would be genuinely strong instead of being inferior products. On the other hand, promotions becomes harder and their salary would remain terrible. As a result, these soldiers would have a hard time supporting their family.
Zhuge Liang did not pay these soldiers but gave assistance to their families. He assisted some personally while depended on his connections for others. The children of some of the soldiers was even able to go to school because of his help. The soldiers would be happy to die for this. Soldiers would be willing to sacrifice their lives for a good Lord who takes care of his soldiers like Liu Mang. On the other hand, stingy Lord would suffer misfortune.
By going to school, one could become an official. They would be able to support their family even if they were only a petty official. This was why the soldiers were grateful to Zhuge Liang. If Zhuge Liang wants to rebel, only a few would stop him.
Zhuge Liang wanted to absorb these forty thousand soldiers, bolstering his forces to seventy thousand. It was enough for a decisive battle with Sun Ce at the Yangtze River. Now, he could only take his thirty thousand soldiers and block Wen Pin’s soldiers at Xiakou.
“General, please take a look. Zhuge Liang and Huo Jun wants to take control of your army. He also placed his elites in front of your main camp. If he is successful, he would kill you and take your military power!” Zuo Chao explained proudly towards Wen Pin. He had already heard a lot of information.
“Those soldiers…” Wen Pin was a little bit quiet. He really felt that those soldiers looked unfamiliar. They were not his men. If they were truly Zhuge Liang’s men, the question would be why were these soldiers there?
“Also, look at those officers. Do you see them gathering? This is because Zhuge Liang said that he wanted to treat them to wine. Actually, this is to control them!”
“Those guys?” Wen Pin had heard a few days ago that one them was now a father. They wanted to celebrate by drinking together. They had even invited him. Wen Pin had gave them a congratulatory gift but did not attend. He did not expect that this would be the reason. The more he thought about it, the colder his expression became.
“General, look at those watchtowers. Don’t you see more people than usual?”
Having more lookouts was better as observations would be even more accurate but where did these people come from? Also, they only needed to look inside Xiakou to see if anything caught on fire. One person up there was enough. There were too many people up there on that day.
“If Zhuge Liang dares to act, I would personally have his head!” Wen Pin’s voice was filled with killing intent. Zuo Chao became even more excited when he heard this. ‘Go ahead and rebel! The fiercer your rebellion, the more merits I would obtain!’
Zhuge Liang was disappointed for not achieving his original expectations but he was still prepared to implement the strategy. Just as Zhuge Liang was about to give the order, a soldier ran towards him.
“Military advisor! I need to see the military advisor!” The soldier was a Jingzhou navy. His accent came from Jiangxia. In Jingzhou, only a few thousand soldiers from Jiangxia worked under Huang Zu. The rest was under Zhuge Liang. Most of Zhuge Liang’s soldiers was at Xiakou. The remaining was at Sanjiangkou.
“What happened?” A bloody soldier rushing up in the middle of the night, making the others more alert.
“Military advisor! Sanjiangkou is lost!”
“What?” Zhuge Liang was shocked by this news. “Wonderful!” Happiness came too suddenly. The capture of Sanjiangkou could only be done by Sun Ce’s men. All of his actions to that night had been to start a war with Sun Ce. Now, he no longer needed to go looking for war. It came right to him. Yet, his sudden words caused the soldiers give him a weird look. “Well played. He dares to take Sanjiangkou!”1
“Who is so daring to attack my Jingzhou?” Zhuge Liang asked.
“It is the Jiangdong Navy!” The bloody soldier continued. “They attacked our main camp from inside and outside. Sanjiangkou could not be defended. I desperately ran out here to inform you!”
“It must be hard on you! Come. Escort this man in and let him rest!” Zhuge Liang replied in high spirits. “Everyone. Those bandits of Jiangdong continues to have evil intentions! They had just sent a ceasefire a few days ago but have now used such tricks to capture our land of Jiangxia, kill and enslave our people! Are you all willing to accept this?”
“No!” Zhuge Liang’s subordinates were all from Jiangxia. Their hatred for Sun Ce was high for ruining their homeland. Anyone that tells you that they were not angry would be lying.
“This voice?” Zuo Chao and Wen Pin had heard those ear splitting voices.
Zuo Chao became pleased. “General. It is like I said. Zhuge Liang and Huo Jun is going to act!”
“Traitors! Liu Biao showed him kindness and treats him like a son. He was given a post as a military advisor at such a young age. Yet, he has wild ambitions and want to take Jingzhou! How repulsive! Men! Bring me my armor! Let us go and kill that traitor!”
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好 Good. Zhuge Liang said good (wonderful) the first time because it was good news to him. He once again said good (Well played), praising his enemy, to ‘deny’ the fact that he is in fact, happy that Sanjiangkou got taken.