Chapter 720: Chapter 720 - Buck Passing Alliance Meeting (VII)
Chapter 720: Buck Passing Alliance Meeting (VII)
“Master Meng predicted it like magic! The alliance turned out to be a useless mob indeed!”
Prince Changshou used to have a scruple about the alliance because of its size . Their military camp was said to cover over 60 miles . Picturing that alone sent a chill up the spine .
He thought that since the alliance had almost gathered all its forces, it was about time for them to march their way over . Surprisingly, they had not moved for days . Instead, everyone indulged themselves in corporal enjoyment . No sign of taking action at all . Almost a week had passed by and still nothing . Prince Changshou was thrilled .
According to Meng Zhan, Prince Changshou had ordered his forces to stay put and confuse the alliance . That way, they could stay contented with an elusive sense of security . He had also sent a special force to go around and strike Chenzhou by surprise . As soon as he captured the emperor and took the throne, he could knight the lords within the alliance and break it apart from the inside . He would not even need to fight them .
Everything was going as planned . Why wouldn’t he be thrilled?
Meng Zhan donned a pitch-black Confucian gown and carried a jade-framed folding fan closed in his hand . The fan had several worn spots on its pendant .
It used to be the favorite of his late son, Meng Liang . Since his son’s passing, he liked to hold onto it .
“I suggest we remain vigilant, my lord . It’s not over yet . ” Meng Zhan’s smile was cold . “This morning, a scout reported that something has changed within the alliance . Yang Jian made a big scene, yelling at them for slacking and being greedy . Perhaps, in order not to lose too much face, they have already regrouped their forces to attack Jiamen Pass . ”
Prince Changshou’s face went pale when he heard the news, looking as if he’d plastered on too much face powder .
“How… how do we handle this? How can I stop those traitors?”
Jiamen Pass was the only route from Huangshui County to Chenzhou .
With the help of the Mengs from Cangzhou, Prince Changshou had already occupied about one-fifth of Chenzhou . His force was now in a stalemate with the emperor’s army at another pass .
If the alliance took Jiamen Pass, they could catch up with Prince Changshou’s forces within two days .
If that happened, Prince Changshou’s forces would be flanked .
Meng Zhan’s smiling face maintained his signature coldness . “What’s there to be afraid of? We can focus on attacking Chenzhou because they picked Jiamen Pass . If they decide to divide their forces, we’ll have real trouble . Jiamen Pass is located on a key spot in the mountains and is extremely hard to get past . The mountain ranges rise and fall . Two peaks flank Jiamen Pass like a huge gate . It’s not an easy path to take on . ”
Prince Changshou was still anxious . Jiamen Pass certainly would not be easy to take . But the alliance had 400,000 men . All they needed to do to win was outnumber his men .
“Master Meng, the alliance has the advantage of headcount . I’m afraid Jiamen Pass can’t stop them . If they take advantage of their…”
“That’s impossible,” Meng Zhan said decisively . His eyes were icy . “Your highness overrates their dignity . They are nothing but a crowd of greedy men . Who would sacrifice their men just to let other forces walk over their friends’ bodies? No one! So please do not worry, your highness . Jiamen Pass can hold them off for at least half a month . That’s enough time for us to get you on that throne!”
The alliance had many good fighters, yet their selfishness would spoil their advantage .
So many elite soldiers and officers would be stopped at Jiamen Pass .
Meng Zhan lightly smacked his palm with the fan . His eyes were sharp, cold-blooded violence lurking beneath them .
“Jiamen Pass is known for being more easily defended than attacked . God knows how long it will take the alliance to take it, if ever . ”
In the meantime, the alliance had set out . They eventually encamped outside Jiamen Pass . Jiang Pengji and Huang Song took several men with them for patrol duty .
Standing on top of the mountain, they took a far-sighted view and saw Jiamen Pass through the mist .
Jiang Pengji had excellent eyesight, so she could see better . She soon discovered some quite recent signs of damage .
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Not long ago, Jiamen Pass had still belonged to the imperial court . The leader of the defending forces was an experienced general who relied on Jiamen Pass’s natural advantage of its terrain to keep his enemy away . No matter how Prince Changshou’s men attacked or provoked them, they would not come out, determined to guard it .
Unfortunately, Prince Changshou’s forces had broken through Jiamen Pass in the end .
Huang Song knew that Jiamen Pass was way harder to break than to defend . So how had they done it? By outnumbering the defending troops?
Feng Zhen and several other men emerged from the camp to get some fresh air . They also wanted to take a look at the situation and see if they could get any good ideas .
“Have you already figured it out, my lord?” Feng Zhen asked Jiang Pengji .
Cheng Jing and Feng Jue exchanged looks in silence . Was that even right?
In such a situation, wasn’t the lord usually the one asking his advisor for suggestions? How come it was the other way around?
“I believe they used fire,” Jiang Pengji said slowly, squinting her eyes .
“Based on the scout’s report, there were, in fact, signs of fire damage . But it’s still not warm enough for the snow to melt . There are also cliffs around the Pass . All the weeds and random plants have been cleared out . How did they attack with fire when there was still snow everywhere?”
It did sound impossible . There wasn’t much available to burn .
The corners of Jiang Pengji’s mouth lifted slightly in a smile of irony . The same idea on her mind also occurred to Yang Si and other men .
“Dead bodies,” she said .
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Yang Si swallowed a bit . “Who came up with something so cruel?”
Dead bodies were highly inflammable because of the fat underneath the skin . Once they caught fire, they were pretty hard to put out .
As the offensive party, Prince Changshou’s forces must have suffered heavier casualties than the defending army . That meant more dead bodies .
Was Prince Changshou crazy? He’d used the bodies of his own men to fuel his attacking strategy and burned his way through Jiamen Pass?
“How would I know?” Jiang Pengji’s smile remained . “Jingrong used to work for Prince Changshou . Does that bring to ming who might have come up with the idea?”
In the past, Yang Si probably would have minded that Jiang Pengji mentioning his not-so-glorious past on purpose .
Now he didn’t even care . That’s just who his lord was .
Yang Si dug into his memory for a while and said, “No one specifically . ”
When he’d worked for Prince Changshou, he’d been the most crafty one of them all .
“It might be someone who came after he left,” Feng Zhen said .
Jiang Pengji thought about it for a while and smiled . “Considering the timing, the man is perhaps not one of Prince Changshou’s own . The way I see it, whoever proposed this cruel plan had something to do with the Mengs . It might even be Meng Zhan himself . After all, he is known for his cruelty . ”
Huang Song was lost . “What does it have to do with the Mengs?”
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Jiang Pengji smiled but didn’t say anything .
Cheng Jing then said, “We can simply take a look at the battles between Prince Changshou and Chenzhou . Before the Mengs got involved, Prince Changshou was heading downhill . They were even considering retreating . But after they got help from the Mengs, Prince Changshou’s power was boosted which quickly turned the tables . All his strategies got way better . Apparently, he had someone good helping him . So it’s very likely it was the same person who came up with the plan to take Jiamen Pass . ”
Huang Song finally understood and nodded .
Picturing how their opponents might have used dead bodies to burn their way through Jiamen Pass, he felt a cold shiver run down the spine and goosebumps emerge all over his body .
“If that’s true… what a cruel monster!”
Jiang Pengji’s tone was flat as she said, “On the battlefield, there isn’t a good guy or a bad guy . Only the winner and the loser . All strategies are allowed . Burning your friends’ corpses is nothing . Winning the war is the best way to validate their sacrificed souls . In human history, cases of feeding on human flesh under desperate circumstances were more common than you’d ever imagine . ”
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