Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

The messenger lowered his head, not daring to look into Qian Xu's eyes. He knew that the news he brought was like a bolt from the blue for the commander-in-chief. "The court... the court is still debating whether to send troops..." The messenger's voice became smaller and smaller, almost inaudible.

Qian Xu waved his hand weakly, signaling the messenger to leave. He fell into a chair, his mind blank. Was he really going to give up? Was he going to watch the Tang Dynasty fall to ruin?

No, he couldn't give up yet!

Qian Xu stood up suddenly and paced back and forth in the tent. He had to think of a way, he had to find a breakthrough!

It was late at night, and the cold wind whistled through the cracks in the tent, making a humming sound, as if mocking Qian Xu's helplessness. He lit a candle, and the dim light reflected his tired face.

Suddenly, Qian Xu stopped moving, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. He thought of Dou Qing, and the captured strategist.

"Dou Qing..." Qian Xu muttered to himself, and a bold idea emerged in his mind.

He vaguely remembered that during a casual conversation, Dou Qing had inadvertently mentioned a weakness of Huang Chao, a fatal weakness! But he didn't take it seriously at the time, but now he thought that it might be the key to turning the tide of the battle!

Qian Xu immediately called his trusted generals and convened the military think tank overnight. "Everyone, I have thought of a way that may turn the tide..." Qian Xu lowered his voice and told all the information he had heard from Dou Qing.

After hearing Qian Xu's plan, everyone in the tent was shocked.

"General! This... this is too risky!" A counselor was the first to break the silence, his tone full of worry, "Going deep behind enemy lines is like walking into a tiger's mouth!"

"Yes, General," another strategist echoed, "Huang Chao is full of tricks. What if this is a trap..."

Qian Xu took a deep breath. He knew that what everyone said made sense, but the strong premonition in his heart drove him to take a risk. "I understand your concerns," Qian Xu said firmly, "but now we are in a desperate situation. We can only win in danger! Mr. Dou is resourceful. If we can rescue him, he will definitely help our army!"

Seeing that Qian Xu had made up his mind, everyone stopped trying to dissuade him and began to discuss a specific action plan.

As night fell, Qian Xu changed into night clothes, took only a few trusted men, and quietly sneaked out of the military camp. His destination was a valley 20 miles away from the Tang army camp. According to reliable intelligence, Huang Chao's army was stationed there.

The night was deep and the valley was silent, with only the occasional chirping of insects making it even quieter. Qian Xu and his companions took advantage of the cover of night and carefully moved deeper into the valley.

Along the way, they dodged patrols one after another and finally arrived at the center of the valley. With the faint moonlight, Qian Xu saw a densely packed tent in front of him. That was the camp of Huang Chao's army.

They found a hidden place and observed the movements of the enemy camp, trying to find the place where Dou Qing was imprisoned. However, the enemy camp was heavily guarded, and it was not easy to sneak in without being noticed.

Just when Qian Xu was at a loss, he suddenly saw a group of soldiers running by in a panic not far away, as if something urgent had happened. Qian Xu suddenly had an idea and signaled his men to follow and take a look.

They quietly followed the group of soldiers and came to a more remote tent. They saw the group of soldiers whispering something outside the tent and then left in a hurry.

Qian Xu's heart moved. Could it be that Dou Qing was imprisoned here? He signaled two of his men to guard the exit, and he quietly opened the curtain of the tent and slipped in.

There was only a dim oil lamp in the tent. With the weak light, Qian Xu saw a narrow passage on the ground, which seemed to lead underground. He was delighted, thinking that this might be the secret passage leading to Huang Chao's main camp!

Qian Xu took a deep breath, lowered his body and crawled into the tunnel. The tunnel was pitch black, and the air was filled with a damp and moldy smell. Qian Xu groped the wall and walked forward cautiously.

The tunnel twisted and turned, and after walking for an unknown amount of time, a faint light finally appeared in front of him. Qian Xu was delighted and quickened his pace.

When he got closer, he found that it was an underground secret room. There were several oil lamps in the secret room, illuminating the surrounding environment. Qian Xu saw Dou Qing tied to a pillar at a glance, with disheveled hair and tattered clothes, but his eyes were still bright.

"Mr. Dou!" Qian Xu stepped forward quickly and untied the ropes that tied up Dou Qing.

Dou Qing stretched his muscles and said with a wry smile, "General Qian, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"Sir, you have suffered a lot!" Qian Xu looked at the scars on Dou Qing's body, his heart filled with guilt.

Dou Qing waved his hands to indicate that he was fine, then lowered his voice and said, "General Qian, during the days I was imprisoned, I have been observing Huang Chao's movements. I found that although he appears to be strong on the surface, he is actually very suspicious and superstitious..."

Qian Xu's eyes lit up, and he asked anxiously, "Oh? Sir, do you have any good ideas?"

Dou Qing smiled slightly, leaned close to Qian Xu's ear, and whispered his plan. After hearing it, Qian Xu couldn't help but applaud.

After returning to the camp, Qian Xu immediately called together the think tank and told Dou Qing all about his plan. After listening to it, everyone was impressed by Dou Qing's wisdom and expressed their agreement.

"Mr. Dou's plan is brilliant!" one of the counselors said excitedly, "We can take advantage of Huang Chao's suspicion and superstition and set a trap for him!"

"That's right!" Another counselor also agreed, "We can spread rumors, saying that Huang Chao's throne is unstable and that God has sent down a disaster. Only..."

Everyone talked and soon worked out a detailed plan. Qian Xu looked at the sand table in front of him with a confident smile on his face.

He knew that they would win this battle!

A letter from the imperial court was delivered to Qian Xu. The letter was stamped with the seal of the Minister of War. The letter was concise and told Qian Xu that the imperial court's reinforcements would arrive soon. After reading the letter, Qian Xu finally felt relieved and a long-lost smile appeared on his face. He handed the letter to Dou Qing and said excitedly: "Sir, look, God is really helping us!"

Dou Qing took the letter, read it carefully, and couldn't help but laugh: "What good news! With the support of the court, we can work together inside and outside to defeat Huang Chao in one fell swoop!"

Qian Xu nodded in agreement, and then summoned all the generals, informed them of the court's reinforcements, and explained the next plans and deployments one by one. When the generals heard that reinforcements were coming, their morale was greatly boosted, and they all expressed their willingness to contribute their own strength to quell the rebellion.

However, just as everyone was immersed in the joy of the upcoming victory, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the tent, and then a soldier ran into the tent in a panic, knelt on the ground, and said in panic: "Report... Report to the general, it's bad, Huang Chao... Huang Chao's army suddenly launched a night attack!"

The atmosphere in the tent froze instantly, and the smile on Qian Xu's face froze. He stood up suddenly and asked sternly: "What did you say? Say it again!"

The soldier's body trembled even more violently, and he stammered, "For some reason, Huang...Huang Chao's army suddenly changed their plan and is now attacking our camp fiercely!"

Qian Xu suddenly felt a chill running from the soles of his feet straight to his heart. He knew that Huang Chao's move was clearly intended to catch them off guard and completely crush their last hope!