Song Xiu

Chapter 85 Interlocking
After a day of marching, Liu Ji'en, who had been pampered, felt quite tired.

During the initial construction of the camp, some generals in the army, worried about the increasingly restless morale of the troops, suggested to Liu Ji'en:

"His Highness toured the camp that night to reassure the people."

Although Liu Ji'en had no prestige in the army, his noble status meant he could represent Liu Jun to some extent.

If Liu Ji'en could truly follow the advice, he might be able to soothe the restless hearts of the soldiers.

Liu Ji'en may understand the principle, but he may not be able to put it into practice.

The thought of having to condescend to go into those stinking tents and talk to those lowly "stubborn people" filled Liu Ji'en with reluctance.

Reluctantly, Liu Ji'en felt the fatigue in his body growing stronger.

After the command tent was built, Liu Ji'en went inside to rest.

Liu Ji'en's reaction drew sighs of regret from insightful people in the army.

Liu Ji'en thought that once he entered the commander's tent, he would be able to get a good night's sleep.

Before he could fall asleep, Lu Zan's anxious voice rang out from outside the command tent.

The constant urging woke Liu Ji'en from his dream of "ascending to the throne".

Upon realizing his sweet dream had been disturbed, Liu Ji'en instinctively wanted to reprimand those outside the tent.

However, upon realizing that it was Lu Zan who was urging him, Liu Ji'en forcefully suppressed his anger.

Lu Zan is Liu Min's son-in-law, and according to seniority, he should address Lu Zan as "uncle".

Left with no other choice, Liu Ji'en ordered someone to light a lamp and bring Lu Zan into the tent.

The sky outside was already pitch black.

The few candles inside the tent were not enough to illuminate the entire command tent.

In the flickering candlelight, Lu Zan's face as he entered the tent appeared somewhat eerie, with light and shadow shifting between them.

Against the backdrop of an eerie atmosphere, Luzan's next words naturally took on a somber tone:
"Your Highness, please come with me to take a look."

Anxious and uneasy.

Aside from these emotions, Liu Ji'en also detected a hint of fear in Lu Zan's tone.

What happened?
Liu Ji'en, who had just woken up, was still a little dazed.

However, Lu Zan's hesitation made Liu Ji'en gradually realize that something big might have happened outside the tent.

Otherwise, the usually composed Lu Zan would not have disturbed him so late at night.

Realizing this, Liu Ji'en first put on an expensive cloak, and then gestured for Lu Zan to lead the way.

Following Lu Zan, Liu Ji'en soon arrived at the foot of a watchtower.

As soon as Liu Ji'en stepped out of the command tent, he noticed something unusual.

Outside the camp, a faint light could be seen.

Is it a wildfire in the distant mountains?

Due to the darkness of the night and the obstruction of vision by the camp's defensive structures, Liu Ji'en could only make this guess for the time being.

To find out the truth, one must climb to the lookout tower.

Driven by curiosity, Liu Ji'en quickened his pace to go on stage.

When Liu Ji'en arrived at the observation tower, he found that some generals had already gathered there.

When the generals saw Liu Ji'en arrive, they all stepped aside with somber expressions.

This allowed Liu Ji'en to reach the edge of the watchtower without difficulty.

When there was no longer any obstruction in front of him, the scene that appeared before his eyes shocked Liu Ji'en so much that his mouth dropped open.

The background color of the entire sky is a deep, dark black.

Beneath that thick, all-consuming darkness, wisps of firelight constantly flickered.

Wisps of firelight strung together into lines and ribbons in the night.

In the firelight, the outlines of the Taihang Mountains in the distance were faintly visible, the mountain range rising and falling, sometimes steep and sometimes gentle.

A band of blazing light stretched and undulated along the intricate contours of the Taihang Mountains, like a fire dragon suddenly awakened, appearing in the mortal world at the summons of some deity. No matter how winding the path, the newly awakened fire dragon was flapping its body and rushing towards a place several miles away.

Judging from the direction the fire dragon went, it seemed as if the deity who summoned it to appear in the world was right there.

That place was the location of the Song army's main camp!
"This this"

Upon witnessing this shocking scene, Liu Ji'en, who had never led troops before, couldn't help but stammer.

While Liu Ji'en was lost in thought, a general behind him solemnly voiced his conjecture:

"Perhaps Song reinforcements have arrived."

This speculation was like a thunderclap, leaving Liu Ji'en completely stunned.

Although the darkness of night prevented the veteran general from speaking with complete certainty,

Any general who has participated in a night march will be familiar with this scene.

Under each spark of fire, there might be a Song soldier coming to their aid.

On the watchtower, it wasn't just that general who was filled with a heavy mood.

Seeing that Liu Ji'en had not given any orders for a long time, the generals who still had a sliver of hope suggested in unison:
"Your Highness, please send out more scouts to investigate the remaining cooking stoves of the Song army."

Using the number of stoves to roughly estimate the number of enemy troops was common sense for generals of the time.

Faced with the unanimous suggestions from many generals, Liu Ji'en nodded blankly.

Cao Bin, holding a torch in his hands, was walking at the very front of the long, fiery procession.

From Cao Bin's perspective, the Song army behind him was not particularly large.

As he walked, Cao Bin remembered the task Zhao Dexiu had given him.

"Summon many strong and capable laborers, along with some regular soldiers, and gather plenty of firewood. Put two bundles together, spaced ten paces apart, and line them up in rows. Go out at night, and return with the fire lit!"

Upon hearing Zhao Dexiu's instruction, Cao Bin immediately understood his intention.

"Gathering fire to form a dragon, creating a powerful military momentum."

As the person involved, Cao Bin was able to see through this mystery.

But what about the Han generals deep inside the main camp?

Cao Bin asked himself if he were in Liu Ji'en's position, and upon hearing that a long marching column had entered the Song camp at night, he would inevitably have great doubts.

Having lived a life of doubt, for the sake of safety, Liu Ji'en would certainly send people to further investigate the strength and weaknesses of the Song army.

The fastest and most direct way to roughly determine the number of Song soldiers was to observe the number of stoves.

Thinking of this, Cao Bin couldn't help but smile.

The magistrate's scheme was truly intricately linked!

In ancient times, folk songs resounded in the Chu camp; now, a fire dragon moves across the Taihang Mountains. Thinking about it this way, Cao Bin gradually felt that becoming a member of the "Chanzhou Party" might not be such a bad thing.

The appearance of a fire dragon at the foot of the Taihang Mountains last night was witnessed by many Han generals.

This meant that the incident would quickly spread throughout the entire Han army camp, and indeed it did.

As more and more Northern Han soldiers learned that the Song army might receive strong reinforcements, their morale became increasingly low.

The mere possibility had already impacted the morale of the Northern Han army.

If this possibility is further confirmed in the future, the morale of the Northern Han army may plummet to rock bottom.

Driven by unease, tens of thousands of Northern Han soldiers embarked on their journey home once again.

Upon receiving intelligence that the Northern Han army had made a move, Zhao Dexiu planned to personally lead several thousand Song soldiers to continue pursuing them.

Before leaving the Song army camp, Zhao Dexiu decided to have Cao Bin stay behind.

"After I leave the camp, I must set up many banners and raise a lot of dust."

After receiving Zhao Dexiu's instructions, Cao Bin respectfully accepted the order.

Cao Bin's acceptance of the order relieved Zhao Dexiu of any worries.

(End of this chapter)