Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 989 Fire
"Chahan?" Seeing Chahan seemed to be in deep thought, Aluta called out to him.

"Oh, Grand Tutor." Chahan came back to his senses and quickly bowed down in a respectful manner to hide the strangeness in his eyes.

"Have you thought of anything?" Aluta thought that Chahan had really thought of some flaw, but he did not doubt him.

"Hmm..." Chahan hesitated, but his mind was racing. He remembered what Zhu Xiongying and Chang Mao had told him and Guilichi when they came here: wait for an opportunity to set fire to the Tatar camp!

If he used ordinary means to set fire, it would be impossible for him to set fire to the entire Tatar camp alone. After all, one person can only light one fire. It is not easy to start a fire in winter, and even if he succeeds, it will be quickly put out by others.

Chahan suddenly had an idea and came up with a crazy idea.

After organizing his words a little, he raised his head and said to Alutai: "Grandmaster, I suddenly remembered something."

"When I was in the Ming camp, I saw the Ming people recruiting Master Guilichi..."

"Oh." Alutai stroked his braided beard and said, "We know that the traitor Guilichi has surrendered to the Ming court. You don't need to report it anymore."

"That damned traitor even helped the Ming people and opposed the King of Liao... If we catch him, we will definitely tear him into pieces."

"Hmph!" Azhashiri on the side also snorted heavily at the right time.

"Grand Master." Chahan bowed, "I don't want to report Master Guilichi, but..."

"On the way out of the Ming camp, I seemed to have caught a glimpse of Lord Guilichi among the group of released captives..."

"What?" Aluta frowned slightly, and Azhashiri and even Bayanchur Khan couldn't help but change their expressions slightly.

"You mean to say that the Ming Dynasty sent Guilichi to infiltrate our camp?" Aluta said solemnly.

"What does the Ming Dynasty want to do by sending Guilichi here?" Ben Ya Shi Li asked hesitantly.

"What else can we do? He must be trying to incite my men to rebel, so as to cause civil unrest and allow him to reap the benefits!"

Azashili had already stood up excitedly. That day, Guilichi incited his herdsmen on the high platform, causing him to suffer a great defeat. The scene was still vivid in his mind.

His first reaction was that the Ming army wanted Guilichi to use the same old trick again.

Alutai was also very wary. Although Guilichi was a useless playboy, he was a descendant of the Golden Family after all, and he had a high status in their Tatar camp in the past. With the prestige of the Golden Family, if he really lurked in his camp and incited the generals and soldiers to rebellion, it would probably cause quite a stir.

"Come here! Order the entire army to be under martial law. Search all the soldiers released by the Ming army. We must find Gui Lichi!"

Alutai's first reaction was to give orders to the soldiers around him, but Chahan quickly said, "Grandmaster, wait a minute."

"Hmm?" Aluta narrowed his eyes and looked at Chahan.

Chahan said sternly, "Grandmaster, you know that a few days ago, the released soldiers had a fight with other soldiers, and there is already a grudge between the two sides."

"And now our morale is low. If we impose martial law on the entire army and search and release the soldiers... then people will be in a panic, and won't that be a good opportunity for Gui Lichi to sow discord among them?"

Alutai opened his mouth and looked at Chahan in surprise. After thinking for a moment, he nodded: "Yes, yes."

"You are right...it really can't be like this."

"So, in your opinion, what should we do?"

Chahan felt his heart beating like a drum, but he still forced himself to calm down and said solemnly: "The Ming people let us go and planted spies among us, just to cause internal strife in our camp so that they can send troops to attack."

"If that's the case, why doesn't the Grand Master take advantage of the situation and lure the Ming army out of the camp?"

"The Ming army relies on nothing more than the solidity of the camp. If we pretend to have an internal conflict and set up an ambush in advance..."

"We just need to make the Ming army think that our plan has worked, and they will definitely send troops to attack us by surprise."

"When they rushed over, they ran into our ambush..."

As Chahan spoke, he looked up at Alutai. Alutai's eyes were full of surprise and he was obviously very excited. He said to Chahan, "Go on, go on."

"How can we make the Ming army believe that our strategy has worked?"

Chahan secretly swallowed his saliva, trying to make his voice sound more serious and sincere: "Yes. Grand Master."

"The Ming army camp is 20 miles away from us, and Guilichi and others are in our camp. I think it will be difficult for them to contact the Ming army easily."

"...I wonder if the Ming army agreed with Guilichi to raise fire as a signal, asking them to find an opportunity to burn the camp..."

"That must be the case!" Before Chahan could finish, Azhashiri slapped his knee and interrupted him, saying, "That must be the case!"

"Otherwise, how would anyone know about the internal strife in our camp?"

"We can take the initiative and light a fire, pretending that the camp is on fire, to lure the Ming army out of the camp, and then..."

Azhashili waved his fist vigorously, he was extremely excited.

"It's probably useless to just light a fire." Alutai narrowed his eyes. "The Ming army seems to be able to see our movements from a very far distance. If we don't really burn the camp, I'm afraid they won't be fooled."

"But it doesn't matter. We can really burn a part of it, and we just need to control the fire within the range that we can control. When the Ming army sees the fire and comes to attack at night, we will come out in full force, eat up the Ming army that attacks at night, and then take advantage of the situation to kill the Ming army camp..."

He looked at Chahan with great admiration. "What a good plan! I never thought that among our Tatars, there is someone as resourceful as you!"

"I will leave it to you to pretend to burn the camp... After you are done, you can come to my Asut tribe."

"From now on, whenever I'm not around, you will be in charge of commanding the warriors of the Asut tribe!" He patted Chahan's shoulder heavily, obviously impressed by Chahan's talent.

"Thank you, Grand Tutor." Chahan bowed, but his eyes hidden in the shadows did not show any sign of intention.

……

In a felt tent somewhere, Guilichi, Hulegen and several other spies sent by the Ming Dynasty were discussing something in a low voice. Suddenly, the tent curtain was rolled up, and a man rushed into the tent at an extremely fast speed.

"Who is it... Is it you? Chahan?" Hulegen immediately recognized the face of the person who entered the tent. The people in the tent thought they had been discovered and quickly reached for their scimitars, but they heard Chahan say very quickly: "Don't make a sound! Be careful not to attract the Tatars!"

Everyone was stunned. Chahan had already stuck his head out and checked the situation outside the tent. After confirming that no one was paying attention to this place, he walked back into the tent.

"Brother Hulegen, put down the knife. I have not betrayed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I..." Hulegen looked at Guilichi inquiringly, and Guilichi looked at Chahan suspiciously, then nodded to Hulegen. Then he said to Chahan: "Brother Chahan, you did not betray His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"But why did you reveal your identity to the Tatars as soon as you got here... How can we trust you?"

Chahan bit his lip. He naturally couldn't say that he had actually intended to betray the Ming Dynasty from the beginning. He just said to Guilichi: "Brother Guilichi, the Ming Dynasty is the righteous army that can bring peace and stability to the grassland. How could I betray His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"The reason I revealed my identity is to find a better opportunity and fulfill His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's request!"

Seeing that Hulegenhe Guilichi and others did not believe him, Chahan said:
"...Alutai devoured my subordinates and treated me as a discarded pawn. Earlier, he even asked me to lead others to cover their retreat."

"How can I possibly offer my loyalty to him?"

When talking about the matter of cutting off the rear, Chahan's face was grim and he gnashed his teeth. Guilichi and Hulegen and the others looked at each other and believed it. Guilichi said, "If that's the case, why did you suddenly come to look for us?"

"That's it..." Chahan was completely disappointed with the Tatars at this time, so he told them all his previous conversations in the tent without reservation. Hulegen's face changed when he heard it, and he stood up suddenly and scolded Chahan: "Chahan! You actually gave advice to Alutai!"

"What if...what if this plan really attracts the Ming Dynasty's heavenly soldiers and causes the Ming Dynasty to suffer a defeat..."

"This, what should I do?!"

"So, we still need your help in this matter!" Chahan said in a very fast tone. He came to find Guilichi and others, and he took a great risk, fearing that the night would be too long and dreams would be peeped by Alutai and others. "Alutai now, let me be responsible for pretending to set the fire."

"So, I'll pretend to set the fire in public, and I need you to really set the fire in secret."

"Alutai and others thought the fire was under control, so they would not be alert when they saw the fire."

"By the time they realize something is wrong, the fire has already started and it will be too late..."

"When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked us to set the fire, he specifically told us not to consider anything else. This is our only chance. If we miss it, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to complete His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's request!"

He finished speaking quickly, then stood up anxiously. "Alutai summons me from time to time, and I can't leave for too long. At three o'clock tonight, I will be ordered to lead people to light a big fire."

"You must take advantage of the time I set fire to it and burn down the other camps as well!"

"Remember, remember!"

After saying that, he lifted the tent curtain, checked furtively for a while, and then quickly left the tent, leaving Guilichi Hulegen and others looking at each other in bewilderment.

"...Brother Guilichi, how much do you think we can trust what Chahan said?" Hulegen asked Guilichi.

"...I don't know." Gui Lichi shook his head. "But, as he said, we don't have any other chance."

"If we didn't have Chahan to protect us, we would have been discovered and extinguished by the Tatar bandits if we wanted to set fire to the camp... Only by working with him can we possibly complete the instructions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"But...what if the Ming soldiers are really attracted by the fire and fall into an ambush by the Tatar bandits..." Hulegen hesitated.

Gui Lichi was also very conflicted. He pulled his beard and thought for a long time. After a long time, he finally made up his mind and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only asked us to wait for an opportunity to set the fire. After the fire started, perhaps the Ming Dynasty had other plans that we don't know about."

“…Believe in Changshengtian. I believe that Changshengtian will bless the Ming Dynasty and allow the Ming Dynasty to bring true peace and stability to the grassland…”

……

At night, in order not to alert the Ming scouts, Bayanchur, Azhashiri, and Aruta did not choose to mobilize a large number of troops out of the camp. Instead, they chose to set up an ambush in the military camp and informed the soldiers of their plan to ambush the Ming tonight.

Afterwards, Aluta's newly appointed confidant Chahan led a group of troops to burn down some unimportant military camps in various places in order to lure the Ming army to launch a surprise attack.

In the big tent, Ben Ya Shi Li, A Zha Shi Li, and A Lu Tai were wearing helmets and armor, ready to go. They had arranged everything, and they only needed to lure the Ming army into a trap, so that they could immediately mount their horses and fight, inflict a fatal blow to the Ming army, and then take advantage of the situation to attack the Ming army camp and win the battle.

"Today, the Ming army will arrive sooner. I can't wait to capture that young boy Zhu Xiongying." Azashili raised his head and drank a bowl of strong liquor. The Tatar liquor was rough, and he was used to drinking the latest distilled liquor of the Ming Dynasty. He originally disdained the Tatar liquor.

But tonight, he saw for the first time the chance to defeat the Ming Dynasty. He was so happy that he suppressed his disgust and drank a few sips.

As long as we catch Zhu Xiongying, we can use the child as a bargaining chip to ask the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty for wine, and we will be able to get as much as we want.

"The Liao King has a scimitar and is thirsty for blood. He is indeed a true warrior of our Mongolia. Tonight, we will fight against the Ming army. I think you, the Liao King, will definitely establish a great reputation among the Ming army." Alutai also agreed indifferently. He also poured himself a small bowl of wine. The hot wine seemed to make his heart warm. "If we win a big victory over the Ming army tonight, the Daning Dusi will be in our pockets."

"With this victory, the people of the grasslands will surely be excited... and it will be a natural thing for them to rebuild the Yuan Dynasty's ancestral temple and the country."

Speaking of the topic of rebuilding the country, Bayanchur became obviously excited. He raised his wine bowl and said to the two people: "If the Yuan Dynasty can be rebuilt, this Khan will definitely not forget the great contributions of the Grand Tutor and the King of Liao!"

"From now on, as long as I, Ben Yashili, am here, the Yuan Dynasty will belong to the three of us, and we will share the world!"

The three of them raised their bowls and drank, as if victory was within their reach. At this moment, someone from outside came into the tent and reported, "Reporting to the Khan and the Grand Master, a fire has started in the camp."

"Well, has it finally started?" Alutai nodded. "Go down. Instruct the troops to get ready."

"Once the Ming army arrives, we will attack with all our might."

"Yes." The soldier who had sent the message patted his chest and retreated. Alutai wanted to show his general temperament in the midst of thousands of troops, and he remained calm even when faced with a mountain collapse. He smiled and said to the other two, "Great Khan, King of Liao, don't pay any attention to me."

"Come on, let's keep drinking, keep drinking."

"Cheers!" The three of them continued to raise their glasses and drink, looking heroic.

"Reporting to the Khan and the Grand Master, there are several fires burning outside the camp..."

Hearing another messenger's report, Alutai frowned in displeasure. "Didn't I say I knew?"

"It's a fire, why are you panicking?"

"Go away, don't disturb our drinking mood!" As he said this, he waved his hand at the soldier in disgust.

The soldier opened his mouth, wanting to say something but stopped. Finally, he could only bow and touch his chest, and then he left awkwardly. The three of them continued to drink, and drank several bowls in a row. Azashili said, "I think the fire must have been burning for a while. Why is there no movement outside the tent?"

"The Ming army hasn't arrived yet? I'm getting so anxious waiting."

As he spoke, he seemed to wait until the heat became unbearable and pulled off the large flag covering his armor.

"Uh...King of Liao, Grand Master, I wonder if you feel the same way..."

"It seems to be much hotter in this tent than before?" Ben Yashiri wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to the two of them hesitantly.

(End of this chapter)