Chapter 45: Beginning the Counterattack (Part 4)

The King of Wuhuan pointed at Zhao De and asked impatiently, "Left Wise King, what is the deal with this eunuch?"

The Left Wise King replied, "Zhao De was originally a eunuch in the Han court. His understanding of the Han dynasty surpasses that of all of us. You should just listen to what he has to say."

The King of Wuhuan looked at Zhao De with a skeptical expression.

Zhao De bowed and said, "Two Great Kings, the present moment is the absolute best opportunity to seize Luoyang and achieve immortal feats! Luoyang is the imperial capital of the Han, with a population of a million and countless treasures. If we can enter Luoyang, the gains will exceed everything Your Majesties have accumulated over the past hundred years. If we miss such a wonderful opportunity, we will surely regret it for the rest of our lives.

"As for the concerns weighing on Your Majesties' minds, they are completely unnecessary. This humble servant knows these Han people very well. Now that imperial authority is in decline, these Han individuals are all busy scrambling for power and profit; no one will come to save Luoyang. Not only will they refuse to rescue Luoyang, but they are actually eagerly hoping that Your Majesties can eliminate a rival like Luo Ang! The only one who might possibly save Luoyang is Dong Zhuo, but Dong Zhuo was just defeated by the Left Wise King and is currently busy fleeing to Chang'an, so how could he possibly have the mind to care about Luoyang? Therefore, right now is the prime time to capture Luoyang."

Upon hearing Zhao De's words, the King of Wuhuan and the King of Xianbei were greatly tempted and nodded in agreement.

The Left Wise King said, "Two Great Kings, as long as we eliminate the Marquis of Yan right before us, Luoyang will be within our grasp!"

The King of Wuhuan shouted loudly, "Good! Then we will launch our attack at dawn tomorrow, wiping out this Luo Ang in a single battle to avenge today's humiliation!"

The Left Wise King cautioned, "This Luo Ang is a renowned general of the Han army and cannot be underestimated. Tonight, we shall order all tribes to hastily construct siege equipment so that we can attack tomorrow!"

The King of Wuhuan chuckled grimly and said, "That is rather difficult! Though our lads move like the wind, expecting them to craft siege equipment is asking far too much of them!"

The Left Wise King pointed at Zhao De and said, "Zhao De is naturally a skilled artisan. Let him guide them, and we can certainly forge powerful siege engines!"

The King of Wuhuan and the King of Xianbei looked at Zhao De with bewildered and disbelieving expressions.

Huqiu Pavilion.

The old Daoist smiled and said, "The Marquis of Yan is truly a renowned general of this era, defeating an opposing force of one hundred thousand troops with a smaller force in a single battle!"

Luo Ang smiled, waved his hand, and said, "Daoist master, please stop flattering me! Today's battle was merely a stroke of luck that we did not suffer defeat."

With that, he glanced at the exceptionally handsome young man standing behind the old Daoist and said, "We owe it to this young brother here that the enemy forces retreated temporarily!"

The old Daoist looked at Luo Ang, smiled slightly, gently stroked his beard with his right hand, and let out an expression of deep admiration in his eyes.

A question came to Luo Ang's mind, and he asked, "I still do not know the Daoist title of the master?"

The old Daoist cupped his hands and replied, "The Marquis of Yan may simply call me Zuo Ci."

Hearing this, Luo Ang's eyes widened in shock, and he exclaimed, "You are Zuo Ci? That legendary old immortal?"

Zuo Ci chuckled softly and said, "I dare not accept such praise! The title of old immortal is merely exaggerated flattery from the villagers."

Luo Ang had originally thought Zuo Ci was merely a legendary figure; he never expected him to truly exist, finding it quite hard to believe.

At that moment, Luo Ang recalled a plotline from a video game and hurriedly looked at the handsome young man standing behind Zuo Ci, asking with curiosity, "Could this young hero bear the surname Zhao?"

Zuo Ci smiled gently and said, "How did the Marquis of Yan know? This humble disciple of mine indeed bears the surname Zhao."

Saying this, he looked toward his disciple and commanded, "Yun'er, come pay your respects to the Marquis of Yan."

The young man immediately stepped forward, bowed to Luo Ang, and said, "Greetings, Marquis of Yan! Your mastery in military strategy and your boundless righteousness inspire my utmost admiration."

Luo Ang stared with wide eyes at Zhao Yun, finding it utterly hard to believe, for although Zhao Yun was dressed in men's attire and possessed an extraordinary martial heroism, her eyebrows were like willow leaves, her eyes like autumn waters, and her figure was exceptionally slender and graceful—she clearly appeared to be a woman disguised as a man.

Good heavens! Is Zhao Yun really a woman, or was Zhao Yun simply born with such delicate features?

Unable to accept this, Luo Ang continued to stare fixedly at Zhao Yun, completely at a loss for words.

Noticing Luo Ang gazing straight at her, Zhao Yun felt a wave of bashful annoyance. Her cheeks flushed red, and with a cold snort, she retreated behind Zuo Ci.

Only then did Luo Ang snap back to his senses. Realizing he had acted inappropriately, he smiled awkwardly and said, "I apologize. I merely thought you looked somewhat similar to someone I once knew."

Hearing Luo Ang's explanation, Zhao Yun's expression softened slightly.

Zuo Ci smiled faintly, cupped his hands, and asked, "I wonder what plans the General has next?"

Before Luo Ang could reply, Zhao Yun stated coldly, "The Marquis of Yan bears the heavy responsibility of defending Luoyang, yet you left Luoyang of your own accord. Though it was said to be for rescuing the common people, losing Luoyang would mean sacrificing the greater for the lesser!"

Luo Ang smiled and said, "There is truth in those words. There are only tens of thousands of people here, whereas Luoyang holds over a million souls. The heavy and the light are self-evident. If necessary, I would abandon the people here, but obviously, the time to make such a choice has not yet arrived."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun wore a thoughtful expression.

Zuo Ci asked with a gentle smile, "It seems the Marquis of Yan already has a plan?"

Just as his voice trailed off, a scout hurried before Luo Ang and reported, "Reporting to the Marquis of Yan! The seventy-thousand-strong army of the Xiongnu has just arrived!"

At these words, Zuo Ci and Zhao Yun furrowed their brows simultaneously.

Luo Ang maintained a calm expression and instructed the scout, "Continue scouting."

The scout acknowledged the order and dashed away.

Luo Ang rubbed his chin and muttered, "I originally thought we had a few days to buffer, but it seems these damned heavens have no intention of sparing us even a single moment!"

Looking at Zuo Ci and Zhao Yun, he cupped his fists and said, "I must ask the two of you to gather all the common people immediately. We must break through the encirclement tonight!"

Zuo Ci cupped his fists and replied, "Whatever commands the Marquis of Yan gives, this old Daoist and my disciple will obey without question!"

The Left Wise King returned to his main tent to rest.

At that moment, an officer ran in and reported, "Reporting to the Left Wise King, the King of Xianbei has sent someone to invite you over!"

Hearing this, the Left Wise King murmured, "To invite me at an hour like this... it seems the Han people have made some movement."

With that, he strode out of the tent.

Inside the tent of the King of Xianbei.

The Left Wise King led Zhao De into the tent of the King of Xianbei, where he met with the King of Xianbei and the King of Wuhuan. He asked, "Have the Han people made a move?"

The King of Xianbei replied, "We just received reports that the Han people are sneakingly concentrating toward the southern side, as if they intend to break through."

The King of Wuhuan scoffed mockingly, "They deliberately made a grand show of gathering on the eastern side, but in truth, they are gathering to the south. They probably thought they could fool us, unaware that we children of the grasslands excel most at observing the movements of animals at night. How could their stealthy gathering to the south possibly keep anything from us?"

Zhao De cupped his fists toward the Left Wise King and said, "Great King, Luo Ang is undoubtedly trying to execute the tactic of making a feint to the east while attacking the west. On one hand, he makes a grand display in the east to draw our attention, and then intends to break out from the south. We can simply turn his own strategy against him!"

The Left Wise King nodded in deep agreement and mocked, "Everyone says the Marquis of Yan is a renowned general of this era, yet I never expected him to employ such a childish and laughable scheme. Very well, we shall play along with him and give him a tremendous shock!"

Turning to the King of Xianbei and the King of Wuhuan, he said, "Two Majesties, since he wishes to play the trick of feinting east and attacking west, we shall return the favor with the exact same tactic! We will send a small unit to make a false show of force in the east, while our three main divisions lie in ambush among the southern mountain forests. The moment the enemy emerges, we will strike out together and not leave a single one of them alive!"

The King of Xianbei and the King of Wuhuan cheered in loud approval.