My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

The lakeside camp saw its first conflict after rations for salt producers and refugees were reduced.

Tan Lin rushed into the command post, his face covered in sweat and his voice hoarse.

"My lord, we can't hold it in any longer!"

Xiao Heng had already witnessed this conflict in the simulation just now, and after thinking for a moment, he coldly gave the order.

"Send Commandant Han to lead men and drive the ringleaders of the disturbance down the mountain!"

Tan Lin thought he had misheard and stood still. This time, the troublemaker was his fellow villager.

Seeing his hesitation, Xiao Heng ignored him and focused his consciousness on checking the simulation results.

On the third night, a rare and powerful storm struck, with waves reaching several meters high...

Xiao Heng left no ink mark; this was the only variable he could see recently.

[Start deep simulation!]

[All historical points invested: 238 points!]

[Objective: How to defeat Murong Yan using the storm three days from now, the current camp conditions, and the available troop strength]

What appeared before him was no longer a gentle flow of text, but countless images that violently rushed into his mind.

He saw how the gale arose from the sea, how the giant waves surged up, and how Murong Yan's fleet was violently rocked in the storm, with siege engines on the dock being overturned.

He saw that the camp below the mountain had been swept away by flash floods in the storm, leaving it in a mess.

He saw a chaotic battle erupt in the darkness.

......

The images flash, jump, and combine continuously, pointing to countless possible endings.

Points are being depleted rapidly, and all plans are failing.

Until Article 69, he saw victory, but the cost made Xiao Heng hesitate.

"Everything will perish! Many people will die!"

The outline of a near-cruel plan gradually became clear in his mind.

Xiao Heng did not immediately summon Deng Jing as usual.

If this plan is implemented, many people will die, not just the blood of the Hu people.

After a long while, Xiao Heng stood up. The commotion outside had been temporarily suppressed by Han Yong with an iron fist.

After walking around the lake, Xiao Heng arrived at the dam that had been built earlier.

Soon, an order to raise the dike again reached the salt farmers and the refugee camp. This time, even Han Yong couldn't understand it. Xiao Heng didn't offer any explanation, and all the troublemakers were driven down the mountain.

Perhaps only Deng Jing understood Xiao Heng's actions. He knew the decisive battle was approaching, so he quietly trained his troops every day.

Over the course of three days, people were driven down the mountain every day, but Murong Yan accepted them all without exception.

An atmosphere of impending war began to spread throughout the Qin army camp, and siege equipment that had not been used last time was sent to the front line that day.

The wind begins to change tone from evening, no longer the scorching heat of the day.

At the makeshift drill ground by the lake, torches flickered in the wind. All officers of the rank of squad leader and above, as well as village leaders such as Tan Lin, were urgently summoned there.

Xiao Heng stood on a slightly elevated earthen platform, fully armored, with no expression on his face.

"Gentlemen!"

"The Qin army's siege equipment has arrived at the front line. Murong Yan will definitely do his best to attack the mountain tomorrow. This mountain can be defended, but it cannot save everyone's lives."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Tan Lin and the others, but the command he uttered made everyone freeze instantly.

"Distribute all stored grain and salt to all salt producers and refugees on the mountain immediately. After one hour, open the hidden path on the southeast side that has been sealed off, and let them go down the mountain on their own to find their own way to survive."

The moment these words were spoken, there was a deathly silence, which was then followed by a huge shock and commotion!

To descend the mountain on their own? Surrounded by enemy forces? This would be tantamount to driving them toward the slaughter!

"Your Excellency! No!"

Tan Lin was the first to rush forward, his face flushed red.

"The area below the mountain is infested with Xianbei barbarians! Letting people down now would be sending them to their deaths! They are all fellow villagers who fled with us all the way here! Aren't we guarding the island precisely to give them a chance to survive?!"

His words resonated with many village leaders, and the crowd buzzed with confusion and anger.

Xiao Heng looked at Tan Lin with a calm, even cold, gaze.

"Leaving them on the mountain will only lead to their deaths if the Qin army launches a fierce attack tomorrow. Arrows and stones have no eyes, and they'll die anyway. Besides, it will deplete our already meager defensive supplies and hinder the battle. If we go down now, under the cover of night and while the Qin army's attention is diverted, there might still be a glimmer of hope. We can scatter and escape; someone will survive!"

"The Qin army will surely interrogate you about the situation on the mountain; simply answer truthfully!"

"I'm not leaving!"

Tan Lin stiffened his neck, his eyes bloodshot.

"Although I, Tan Lin, am a rough man, if I'm going to die, I'll die on this mountain! If the Prefect insists on forcing me down, then so be it, I'll take you down with me!"

He was the de facto organizer of the salt producers and refugees, and he was highly respected. After he said this, many of the panicked people calmed down a bit and looked at Xiao Heng with complicated expressions.

Xiao Heng stared at Tan Lin in silence for a moment, a gaze that sent a chill down Tan Lin's spine.

Then, he nodded slowly.

"Alright, let's start with you, Chen Da."

"exist!"

Chen strode forward.

"Make sure they leave!"

Chen Da's face twitched slightly. He glanced at Tan Lin, then at the expressionless Xiao Heng, and finally clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"This subordinate obeys!"

The scene descended into chaos. Tan Lin cursed loudly, but was restrained by Chen Da and his men.

Cries, pleas, and angry curses filled the air.

In the end, nearly two thousand salt farmers and refugees, who were on the verge of collapse, were driven down the mountain with the meager amount of food they had been given, weeping and wailing.

Han Yong, Liu Dan, and the others frowned, clearly unable to fully comprehend the order either.

Only Deng Jing stood silently behind Xiao Heng from beginning to end, as if he had expected all of this.

Below the mountain, the Qin army camp.

When the massive influx of civilians was captured by the outposts and the news was quickly relayed to the central army, Murong Yan was discussing the details of tomorrow's attack on the mountain with his generals.

How many people?

Murong Yan suddenly stood up.

"No less than two thousand! They said they were forcibly driven down by Xiao Heng! They even gave them some food and told them to find their own way to survive!"

The scout was panting heavily.

Murong Yan strode out of the main tent and climbed onto the observation platform.

In the darkness, a scene of chaos could be vaguely seen at the foot of the mountain, with flickering firelight and faint voices.

"Hahaha!"

Murong Lie, who was standing to the side, burst into laughter.

"Xiao Heng can't hold on any longer! It must be due to escalating internal strife and running out of food. He's trying to shed his burdens and make a final stand!"

Other generals echoed this sentiment, believing it to be a harbinger of the mountain's collapse.

Murong Yan frowned, his doubts not completely dispelled.

This action is too unusual; it's too much like a bait.

But those two thousand or so genuine refugees did not seem to be faked.

If the situation on the mountain has truly deteriorated to the point where people are being driven out to conserve their food, then the internal conditions must have become extremely dire.

"Strengthen security down the mountain, carefully interrogate the refugees, and interrogate them separately. I need to know every detail up the mountain!"

"Order all battalions to inspect their equipment. Tomorrow—or perhaps not even tomorrow—have the vanguard battalion prepare for a night attack should the mountain be cleared and thrown into disarray!"

Murong Yan decided to take a risk. If this was truly Xiao Heng's breakdown, then tonight would be the best opportunity to catch him off guard!

About an hour after the people on the mountain were dispersed.

Xiao Heng summoned all the core generals again, right next to the reinforced and heightened dam.

The wind grew stronger, the lake surface turned dark, and the waves surged.

"Deng Jing".

Xiao Heng was the first to call out names.

"I now place all my combat-ready troops, totaling more than 2,100 men, under your command."

"You have only one mission: after noon, lead everyone to evacuate the mountainside camp and secretly move to the area behind the reef at the southern tip of the island. Without my orders, you are not to attack, you are not to expose yourself, and you are not to return to reinforce the mountainside!"

This order was even more astonishing than the dispersal of the people. Abandon the mountain lake fortress they had been building for months? Go to the southern reef area? That place was simply indefensible!

"Your Excellency! This..."

Han Yong couldn't help but speak.

Xiao Heng raised his hand to stop him, his gaze fixed on Deng Jing: "Can you do it?"

Deng Jing raised his eyes, met Xiao Heng's gaze, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and spoke each word clearly.

"Upon receiving this order, the entire army must be disciplined, their movements concealed, and await further instructions!"

There were no questions asked, no doubts raised; this absolute trust and obedience felt particularly heavy at that moment.

Xiao Heng nodded, seemingly relieved, but also appearing more serious.

"Chen Da, you take fifty of the bravest and most experienced veterans in mountain night warfare and stay here. The rest of you will be at General Deng's command."

He paused, then, meeting the astonished and uncertain gazes of the crowd, revealed the core of the final plan.

"Tonight, a rare and powerful storm will rage. This is our only, and final, chance! The moment the world changes color will be the decisive moment!"

The entire venue was deathly silent, save for the howling wind.

Everyone understood that this was an extremely crazy plan, with risks far exceeding any other level. If any link in the chain went wrong, it would lead to utter ruin.

But no one raised any further objections; Xiao Heng had laid all his cards on the table and revealed all his resolve.

As for Xiao Heng's ability to understand astronomy, it had already been verified many times, especially by Deng Jing. He solemnly clasped his hands again, looked deeply at Xiao Heng, and then resolutely turned around and began to give the order to move in a low voice.

Xiao Heng stood alone on the dam, gazing at the surging lake water in the darkness below, and looking towards the dark horizon where the sea and sky met in the south.

Chen Da silently walked behind him, his hand on the hilt of his sword: "My lord, are fifty men enough?"

"Perhaps not enough to deal with Murong Yan!"

Xiao Heng did not turn around.

"But bringing Murong Yan here might be enough!"

Chen Da was puzzled and scratched his head.

Xiao Heng turned around.

"Chen Da, after the army leaves, burn down those barracks and those wooden fences..."

Chen Da followed his gaze and still didn't understand, but he still clasped his hands in obeisance and accepted the order.

......