flstandardbreds Chapter 362 Ning Huan Uses a Borrowed Knife to Eliminate Peng Qi
Chapter 362 Ning Huan Uses a Borrowed Knife to Eliminate Peng Qi
No matter how capable or skilled you are, once someone sets their sights on you, you basically become invisible in their eyes.
It's not the theft itself that's scary, it's having someone eyeing you.
Ning Huan was the commander of the scout battalion, and his specialty was gathering intelligence. While building fortifications in the camp and preventing Peng Qi from rebelling, he sent out two hundred scouts to find out Zhuge Jin's whereabouts.
Furthermore, to prevent Zhuge Jin from discovering the anomaly and retreating to Yuhan, Ning Huan ordered the scouts to act in groups of ten, and to kill or capture any Wu scouts they found immediately, under no circumstances allowing them to return and report to Zhuge Jin.
In a situation where Zhuge Jin was caught off guard, his scouts were completely wiped out. Although none of them returned to report, this indirectly alerted Zhuge Jin, leading him to flee.
"What? Zhuge Jin has retreated, and he's retreating south?"
Ning Huan was horrified when he saw the scout who had returned with the news. That damned Zhuge Jin was too cautious; he had slipped away so easily without receiving any information.
Isn't he afraid that running away now will kill Pan Zhang? Does he really not care about Pan Zhang's life or death at all?
The scout said with certainty, "He did run away. I saw Zhuge Jin turn south with my own eyes. Battalion Commander, General Guan was heading north, planning to circle around and sneak up behind Zhuge Jin. Now Zhuge Jin is running south instead of returning the way he came. Isn't that going in the opposite direction from General Guan? Can General Guan still stop him?"
Guan Xing was taking the path along the bow's back, which is an arc, while Zhuge Jin was taking the path along the bowstring, which is straight. If things continued this way, Guan Xing would eventually circle around to the point where the bow body and bowstring meet, and intercept Zhuge Jin from behind. But now that Zhuge Jin has fled south, Guan Xing's attempt to block him on the official road would be futile.
Ning Huan paced anxiously in circles, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Not necessarily. General Guan taught us that all the military books of past dynasties, though full of flowery language, can be summed up in one word: deception."
"Military strategy is deception, and deception is divided into means and ends. The means serve the ends, while the ends are the results that the deceiver wants to achieve. So tell me, what was Zhuge Jin's purpose in retreating?"
"Uh..." The scout's head was buzzing and he felt terrible. We were talking about military intelligence, how come you passed the exam again?
Following General Guan is great in every way, except for one thing: you might have to take exams anytime, anywhere.
Fortunately, the scout was already used to it, and upon hearing this, he said without thinking, "It must be a retreat to Yuhan. Zhuge Jin is responsible for guarding the grain and protecting Lu Xun's rear. It's impossible for him to abandon Yuhan and retreat to Nanchang, right?"
Ning Huan smiled with satisfaction: "It seems you haven't been slacking off lately. You're right, Zhuge Jin must have gone back to Yu Han. The reason he took a detour was probably because he realized that General Guan was blocking his way, so he ran away. But no matter how far he goes, he will eventually return to the main road and go back to Yu Han, so we still have a chance."
"Now that Zhuge Jin has left, there's no need to linger in the camp. We must take the initiative. You should lead your team out immediately and find General Guan to report on Zhuge Jin's retreat. Judging by the time, General Guan should have already arrived at the designated location, so there's no need for you to take a detour. Just take the official road. If you follow the official road, you'll definitely encounter General Guan."
"I order Bi Kui to lead 5,000 men to pursue Zhuge Jin along the official road to prevent him from suddenly turning back and fleeing north. I also order You Chong to lead 5,000 men to make a larger circle to the south than Zhuge Jin, blocking him from escaping south. I will personally lead 10,000 troops to follow behind Zhuge Jin. With our encirclement from three sides and General Guan's interception, we will surely be able to keep Zhuge Jin here forever."
His mission was to guard the camp and keep Zhuge Jin occupied, buying time for Guan Xing to intercept Zhuge Jin. But now that Zhuge Jin has escaped, what's the point of guarding the camp? He should take the initiative and launch an attack.
"Yes..." The scout ran off to relay the order.
Ning Huan quickly went to report the situation to Peng Qi. Upon arriving at the tent and seeing Peng Qi lying on the bed groaning after his dressing had been changed, he said, "Brother, this is the situation..."
Peng Qi said nonchalantly, "Let Zhuge Jin run away, that's Guan Xing's business, what does it have to do with us? Can't we just sleep in the camp? Why bother chasing after him?"
Ning Huan said speechlessly, "No way, brother. Our goal is not Zhuge Jin, but Yu Han's grain reserves. If Zhuge Jin escapes back to Yu Han with several thousand elite soldiers, he will definitely strengthen the defense of Yu Han City. At that time, can our tens of thousands of rabble still conquer Yu Han City, which is guarded by Zhuge Jin and has sufficient troops and food?"
"So if we want to easily take down Yuhan and seize the city's stored grain, we must annihilate Zhuge Jin in the wild and never let him return to Yuhan City. The reason we are taking action against Zhuge Jin now is not for Guan Xing, but for ourselves. Do you understand?"
Peng Qi sat up and pretended to ponder, saying, "Brother, you are right. Let's do it your way."
Ning Huan continued, "So, will you come with me or stay in the camp to rest?"
While asking the question, he secretly resolved that if the other dared to follow him, he would definitely have someone shoot him with a black arrow. He didn't want to see the arrogant fool like the other for even a second longer.
Peng Qi touched the wound on her face and shook her head, saying, "I'm not going. Zhang Nan said I need to take good care of myself and can't travel too much, or it will aggravate the wound."
Ning Huan didn't say anything more, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Then I'll go first. You can wait for my good news in the camp."
After saying that, he turned and left. Once outside the tent, he called Li Tong over and instructed him, "General Li, I'm leading the bandit army out to attack. I'm leaving Wu's troops in the camp to you. Wait for me to return."
Li Tong quickly refused, saying, "No, General. I was just a minor commander before. There are a lot of battalion commanders and captains in the army. These people may not listen to me. What if they rebel without your supervision?"
Ning Huan said, "Give me a list of people you can't control and who might rebel. I'll take everyone on the list with me. Once they're gone, you should be able to control the situation, right?"
Li Tong was overjoyed and quickly said, "That's wonderful! I'll go and bring those traitors to you right away."
These words were spoken in a grand and righteous manner, completely forgetting that he was the biggest traitor in Wu's army.
Li Tong was about to act after speaking, but Ning Huan grabbed him back as soon as he turned around, then put his arm around his neck and whispered in his ear, "Do you see those prison carts protected by the bandits? There are more than 100 people locked up in those forty-odd prison carts. Do you know who those people are?"
Li Tong replied, "I heard that he was a personal guard of the former second-in-command, Xiao Dan. Xiao Dan slashed Peng Laoda with a knife and almost cleaved him in two. Peng Laoda was furious and dismissed all of Xiao Dan's confidants, saying that he originally wanted to kill them, but the new second-in-command, who is you, pleaded for their lives."
Ning Huan said, "Yes, I was going to let them go, since Xiao Dan's rebellion had nothing to do with them. But Boss Peng refused to agree, insisting that while they could escape the death penalty, they couldn't escape punishment. He said he wanted these traitors to watch us defeat Pan Zhang for Xiao Dan, so that Xiao Dan would know how foolish his rebellion was."
Traitors have always been the most hateful, and the methods used to deal with them are naturally the most ruthless, with executions and collective punishments being commonplace.
Peng Qi was a ruthless and decisive bandit leader who had dominated Poyang Lake for many years. Naturally, he would not be lenient with Xiao Dan's confidants. If it weren't for Ning Huan's intercession, these personal guards of Xiao Dan would have been beheaded and thrown into Poyang Lake to feed the fish.
Although Peng Qi spared the lives of Xiao Dan's personal guards out of respect for Ning Huan, he would never let them go. So, the group was locked in a prison cart and left to bake in the sun. They were almost exhausted from the heat and probably wouldn't last much longer.
To be honest, this way of living is worse than being killed.
Li Tong, however, insincerely praised, "I admire the Second Boss's kindness and compassion, but did you suddenly mention this group of people because you want me to do something?"
Ning Huan glanced around and whispered, "Pan Zhang is dead, and Zhuge Jin will be finished soon too. General Guan already sees these 20,000 bandits as his own, but Peng Qi will definitely not hand over his troops to General Guan. Moreover, Peng Qi is unwilling to go on the expedition with me and will stay in the camp with you..."
Li Tong's eyes widened, he gasped, and said incredulously, "So the second-in-command is General Guan's man! Now I know what to do. Xiao Dan's personal guards rushed out of the prison cart and, while Chief Peng Qi was fast asleep..."
Ning Huan suddenly covered Li Tong's mouth and hurriedly said, "I didn't say anything."
Li Tong nodded emphatically and pried open his palm, saying, "I didn't hear anything, I don't know anything."
The two exchanged a smile and turned to leave.