The Tyrant's Beloved Empress

43

Xiao Zhige rode at top speed for six days before finally arriving in Yanzhou.

Vice Commander Qi Wei saw his return and quickly opened the gates to welcome him. He knelt and cupped his hands, speaking with great relief, "General, you've finally arrived! The Beidi troops have issued their call for war for several days now. We did not take them head on and have so far been able to defend the gates."

"What's the situation outside the gate?" Xiao Zhige waved his hand, signaling for the 800 soldiers to follow him into the city.

"The commanding general is Hu Yan Ah Te, leading an army of 50 000 elite soldiers. They had charged at us twice but we've managed to push them back."

Xiao Zhige was led upwards to the citadel and saw that just a few miles outside the city gates, the Beidi people already had their barracks set up. Xiao Zhige asked, "What about Hu Yan Zhi and Hu Yan Xun?"

The Beidi army had three formidable warriors: the first was Hu Yan Xun, the second was Hu Yan Ah Te, and the third was Hu Yan Zhi. Whenever they had gone up against Xiao Zhige before, the leading Commander had always been Hu Yan Xun while the supporting commander had either been Hu Yan Ah Te or Hu Yan Zhi. However, at this point, it seemed there was only Hu Yan Ah Te who had come to challenge them.

According to Xiao Zhige's understanding of Hu Yan Xun, he was not someone who would rashly underestimate his opponents.

"Our spies reported that Hu Yan Xun and Hu Yan Zhi are currently back at the Beidi Imperial Court." Qi Wei said.

"That's not right," Xiao Zhige squinted at the Beidi camp in the distance, "An army of fifty thousand elite soldiers waiting to attack Yanyun County when I'm away, they couldn't possibly only have Hu Yan Ah Te as the headliner."

"Hu Yan Xun must be planning something," Xiao Zhige quickly deduced, "Rations are scarce due to the recent winter... feeding a troop of 50,000 soldiers is no small feat and yet they only make several small scale attacks... It's a decoy!"

Xiao Zhige jumped off the wall and said urgently, "Bring me the military map!"

Qi Wei hurriedly ordered for the map to be brought up and summoned for the other lieutenant generals to gather as well. Xiao Zhige studied the map and, after contemplating for a long time, he pointed at an area on the map and said, "The Hongya County's militia is now the weakest and its terrains are also not as steep as Changri County's, making its defense vulnerable. If I were Hu Yan Xun, I would take my troops to raid Hongya."

Yanzhou comprises three counties. Yanyun was the largest with most of its border shared with the Northern Desert, making it the first line of defense against the Beidi armies. Hongya and Changri were situated as its flanks but they were surrounded by steep terrains and had a sparse population. Hence, the troops deployed to guard these counties were small, making it vulnerable to any surprise attacks. After marching through Hongya county, the enemy could easily reach Yanyun, opening it for a pincer attack from the front and side. If that happened, Yanzhou's defense would collapse!

Xiao Zhige had an ominous look, "Qi Wei, lead your troops out of the city. Make sure to hold Hu Yan Ah Te back and keep him from sending reinforcements to Hongya. Another five thousand armored soldiers will follow me to Hongya!"

In Yanzhou, Xiao Zhige's words held absolute power. His lieutenant generals had long put all their faith in him. After his orders were issued, there were no objections and the men promptly went to prepare for the march

Xiao Zhige also quickly changed into his battle armor. When his eyes accidentally landed on the now empty satchel, there was an uncontrollable surge of softness in his heart.