Chapter Forty-Five: On the Eve of the Great Battle

Midnight.

One hundred miles away from Fengxi County, the main army camp.

"There is no moonlight tonight. Light the torches!"

Dou Yuan shouted to the assembled soldiers from atop his tall steed.

In an instant, tens of thousands of torches were lit.

Then, Dou Yuan looked at Miaofa beside him, only to see the Daoist looking up, seemingly observing the celestial phenomena.

"Tonight, dark clouds cover the sky, and not a single star can be seen. I'm afraid the Daoist's arts of divination are of no use now," Dou Yuan teased.

"Heh."

"The General misunderstands. This poor Daoist does not practice divination."

"I merely feel that a moonless and windy night like this is well-suited for killing."

"Many people will certainly die within Fengxi County tonight!" Miaofa chuckled darkly.

Human lives seemed as insignificant as dust in his mouth.

Was this something a Daoist priest could possibly say?

A heretical Daoist—this fellow was definitely a heretical Daoist!

"Move out!"

harboring a sense of unease, Dou Yuan led a force of twenty thousand troops toward Fengxi County.

Meanwhile.

Inside Fengxi County, the chaos within the granary continued.

The clashing of swords and blades never ceased.

The sounds of slaughter and screams were even more intense than before.

Looking into the granary from the outside, it was as chaotic as a boiling cauldron, which made many people even more certain that the situation inside was far from optimistic.

"Sixth Prince of Great Yong, my soldiers just captured a dozen fellows attempting to escape the granary."

"After a little interrogation, these wretches confessed everything."

"Your guess was correct; indeed, quite a few hidden agents were planted within the supply transport team. These fellows were planning to slip out and report the news, but my men caught them!" General Xiao said with a look of admiration.

"That is nothing."

Gao Changsheng waved his hand, showing not the slightest trace of joy at General Xiao's praise.

Ninety percent of the supply transport team came from the common folk, so it was completely normal for a few spies to be bought off or planted among them.

If they were merely fighting against the soldiers of Northern Qi, these spies would not affect Gao Changsheng's plans at all.

But the situation was different now.

While temporarily allied with the people of Northern Qi, he also had to integrate the nearly twenty thousand members of the supply transport team.

Thus, preventing the spies from slipping out to report news became the most crucial task.

"Twenty thousand people, it sounds like a large number."

"However, without weapons, these ordinary common folk cannot form any effective combat power on their own."

"Expecting them to break through the siege relying solely on them is truly wishful thinking," the Chief Envoy sighed and said.

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately won the agreement of everyone present.

Gao Changsheng understood this simple logic better than anyone.

However, aside from the twenty thousand men of the supply transport team, Gao Changsheng truly had no other forces at his disposal capable of fighting the city garrison.

Therefore, only one path lay clearly before them:

How to make good use of these twenty thousand unarmed people.

"Lord Chief Envoy, may I ask a small question?"

Gao Changsheng threw an arm around the Chief Envoy's neck and said with a smile.

"Your Highness, please ask. As long as it does not involve His Majesty, this subject shall speak without reservation!"

The Chief Envoy was startled.

Gao Changsheng's sudden enthusiasm caught him off guard.

Especially the smile on his face—it looked rather chilling!

"Let me ask you, when His Majesty ordered the Qingwu Guard to protect me, did he specify the manner of protection?"

"Did Imperial Father ever say I must be guarded at close quarters, without leaving my side for even a single step?" Gao Changsheng asked.

"That was never said."

"This subject merely received His Majesty's imperial edict to protect Your Highness's safety, with no other conditions attached."

The Chief Envoy looked at Gao Changsheng suspiciously.

He always had a lingering premonition that he was about to be sold out by Gao Changsheng.

"Snap!"

Gao Changsheng suddenly clapped his hands, smiling even more brightly.

"Then that makes things easy."

"Lord Chief Envoy is well aware of the current situation. If none of us can walk out of Fengxi County, this humble life of mine will sooner or later be forfeited here."

"In other words, as long as I escape Fengxi County, the mission of the Chief Envoy and the Qingwu Guard will be considered fulfilled, right?"

Hearing this, the Chief Envoy could not help but nod.

The logic made sense, but he still felt as though Gao Changsheng was brainwashing him.

"Since Lord Chief Envoy agrees, I shall assign you a task."

"Rest assured, this task is by no means difficult for you."

"As long as you follow my instructions, the crisis of Fengxi County will surely be resolved!"

Gao Changsheng patted the Chief Envoy's shoulder as if comforting him.

Then, he muttered a few words into the Chief Envoy's ear.

Others tried to eavesdrop, but failed to do so.

Seeing the sudden look of sudden enlightenment on the Chief Envoy's face, everyone else's curiosity became almost unbearable!

"Sixth Prince of Great Yong."

"We are considered allies at the moment. What secret is there that cannot be shared with others?"

"Could it be that you still worry we might leak the secret?" General Xiao said with dissatisfaction.

"Nonsense."

Gao Changsheng retorted bluntly, showing him no courtesy at all.

"There are at least thirteen hundred people here; who can guarantee there isn't a single spy among them?"

"If the secret gets leaked, everyone dies. Will you take responsibility for that consequence?"

He reprimanded General Xiao publicly.

Yet everyone present, including the soldiers of Northern Qi, actually agreed with Gao Changsheng's view.

Not a single person spoke up in defense of General Xiao.

"Whose side are you bastards on?"

"He is a prince of Great Yong after all; even if we are allied, he is still an enemy. Remember that well, all of you!" General Xiao said furiously.

Before he could calm his anger, Han Cong and Shi Meng hurried back.

"Are they all reorganized?"

Gao Changsheng looked at the two and asked.

"Reporting to Your Lordship."

"I have already informed them of the situation inside the city."

"I also instructed them that as long as they follow orders, they can leave Fengxi County alive; otherwise, death is the only path."

"Upon hearing this, all twenty thousand men declared their willingness to follow Your Lordship," Han Cong patted his chest and assured him.

"Good."

"However, there is one thing."

"Among these twenty thousand people, there are quite a few enemy spies who might escape at any moment to spread information. This is of utmost importance."

"Lord Chief Envoy, I believe only your Qingwu Guard can temporarily keep them under control."

"Although it will be difficult to maintain for long, I hope you can buy at least half an hour!" Gao Changsheng said with a solemn expression.

"Your Highness, rest assured!"

The Chief Envoy nodded and said.

At this moment, although Gao Changsheng had made his deployment, in the eyes of everyone, the situation had not improved.

Those twenty thousand men were still going to join the battlefield, which matched everyone's earlier expectations.

The only difference was that Gao Changsheng did not mention a single word about the weapons and armaments everyone had been anticipating.

Did he truly intend to rely on these unarmed common folk to fight against the regular army?!

"Reporting to the Chief Envoy!"

"There is movement outside the city, and subordinates have also heard the sound of many horses' hooves."

"At this moment, the city garrison is negotiating with those outside the city, and the two sides are already arguing!"

A Qingwu Guard returned from outside and reported good news to everyone.

"Where is the army now?!"

Gao Changsheng asked immediately.

"The South Gate!"

The Qingwu Guard replied.

Hearing this, Gao Changsheng immediately looked at the Chief Envoy.

"Then I must ask Lord Chief Envoy to lead the supply transport team to the North Gate!"