My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

On the outskirts of Sikou, there is a small river mouth covered with reeds.

Han Yong, who had already withdrawn, handed Lu Da a clean inner lining.

"Hey Lu A-da, how about you come back to the Northern Prefecture and come with me? You're pretty good at running away!"

Lu Da took the clothes and smiled.

"Since following the Prefect, this time I was the slowest to escape. Before, I was chased all over the mountains by those barbarian dogs..."

Before he could finish speaking, Han Yong's men suddenly rushed over.

"Captain, Zhou Laosi is here!"

Upon hearing this, the smiles vanished from their faces instantly, and Lu Da even spat out a disdainful spit.

"What's this guy doing here?"

Han Yong remained relatively calm and instructed his subordinates to come over.

A moment later, Zhou Laosi was brought to their side and Xiao Heng's waist token was handed to him first.

"The Prefect has ordered that you two attack the water fortress again, and change the Northern Prefecture's flag!"

"A second attack? And they're going to use the Northern Army's banner again?"

Han Yong frowned upon hearing this.

"What is Your Excellency going to do..."

"The Lord's plan lies in Huaiyin City!"

Zhou Laosi spoke slowly and deliberately, yet every word was clear.

"Only by convincing Shao Bao that the main force of the Northern Army is launching a fierce attack on Sikou will he mobilize all his troops. This time, the Commandant is both a feint and bait, but the target is General He!"

Han Yong stared at Zhou Laosi for a moment, then suddenly grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

"I get it! It's just bait!"

Seeing that Han Yong did not say much, Zhou Laosi clasped his hands and spoke.

"I have other military duties to attend to, so I won't bother you any longer!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

After everyone left, Lu Da looked disdainfully at the vanished Zhou Laosi.

"What do you mean? Going again?"

"What? Scared?"

"How could that be? It's just that this week, Fourth Brother..."

"..."

Downstream of the Huai River, the Northern Navy.

He Qian's third kick toward the ship's side stopped in mid-air. In the direction of Sikou, the second burst of fire was several times more intense than the first, illuminating half the sky.

"here we go again!"

He almost growled, his eyes glaring at Zhuge Kan beside him.

"Are we going to go or not?"

Zhuge Kan stared intently at the flames, even he couldn't figure it out.

"The first time might have been a test, but this second time..."

"Report! Prefect Xiao has sent an envoy to request an audience!"

The officer's voice came from below.

The two exchanged a glance upon hearing this.

"They finally remembered us!"

"Get him up here!"

He Qian suddenly turned around.

When Zhou Laosi was brought aboard the flagship, the deck was already filled with a tense atmosphere. He Qian paced back and forth anxiously, while Zhuge Kan looked him up and down.

"What message did Xiao Sanlang send you to deliver?"

He Qian asked abruptly, his tone unfriendly.

Zhou Laosi stood still, his face calm and expressionless.

"The Prefect ordered me to inform General He that the night raid on Sikou Water Fortress was merely a feint, intended to draw out the garrison at Huaiyin. General, there is no need to panic about the fire at Sikou."

"A feint attack?"

He Qian laughed in anger, pointing to the expanding flames in the northwest.

"Burning it like this and you call it a feint?! Are the defenders of Huaiyin blind or stupid? Can't they see this is for real? You first alerted the enemy, and now you've set up this huge fire—a feint? Nobody believes that!"

After Zhou Laosi finished yelling, he continued in that flat tone.

"The first raid failed to mobilize the water fortress due to its tight defenses. Therefore, the Prefect has ordered Commander Han Yong to lead his troops in a second assault to make a significant impact."

"Is Han Yong here too?"

He Qian and Zhuge Kan exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. Han Yong was a veteran of the Northern Army and quite famous. Since following Xiao Heng, he had risen through the ranks. If he were to participate, the significance of this feigned attack would be completely different.

Zhuge Kan stepped forward and stared intently into Zhou Laosi's eyes.

"What is Lord Xiao's intention in mobilizing the garrison at Huaiyin? And what will happen after they're mobilized? Does he really intend to engage Shao Bao in a decisive battle with only a few thousand men?"

Zhou Laosi met Zhuge Kan's gaze and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The Lord's intention is that when the main force of the Huaiyin garrison is transferred away from the city and the city is left vulnerable, our army will take Huaiyin directly."

The deck fell into a deathly silence.

Even He Qian was stunned. After a few breaths, he jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his voice changing tone.

"He's taking Huaiyin?! Has he gone mad?! What kind of place is Huaiyin? It's a well-fortified city with deep moats, what does he have to fight with? Just a few thousand men?!"

Zhou Laosi remained calm: "Under the Lord's command, there are now over 15,000 soldiers, no less than a hundred warships of various sizes, and a full complement of bows and crossbows. The morale is high."

"Not seven thousand?"

Zhuge Kan gasped.

"Where did he get so many people?!"

"We accepted the surrender of Murong Yan's troops, reorganized the garrison of Qu County, and recruited more young and strong refugees."

"Among them, the surrendered soldiers who originally belonged to the Qin army accounted for more than half. The Prefect said that this battle is a good opportunity to test their loyalty and weed out the weak and incompetent."

Eliminate the weak and incompetent! Test their loyalty!

He Qian and Zhuge Kan both understood the bloody meaning beneath those calm words. Xiao Heng wanted to drive these surrendered soldiers to rush Huaiyin, use their blood to open the city gates, and at the same time complete the internal purge!

Ruthless! Vicious! And audacious!

He Qian's breathing became heavy. He wasn't frightened by the ruthlessness of the scheme, but rather by the almost arrogant ambition and opportunity within it, which made his blood boil.

Capture Huaiyin! If successful, what a great achievement that would be! He could almost see Governor Xie's commendation, the imperial court's reward, and the possibly sour face of Liu Laozhi, who had always been one step ahead of him!

As fellow fierce generals of the Northern Army, Liu Laozhi always attracted more attention. If Xiao Heng, an outsider, were to take Huaiyin first, where would He Qian's face be? Where would the face of the Northern Army Navy be?

"A feint attack? A feint attack my ass!"

He Qian slammed his fist on the gunwale.

"Even if Shao Bao is truly a turtle, after being burned twice in a row, he should at least peek out! Wait for him to slowly mobilize his troops out of the city? I can't wait! I have three thousand elite naval troops, why should I wait for him?"

He turned his head, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Zhuge Kan: "Did you hear that? Huaiyin! That's Huaiyin! Xiao Heng dares to dream of it with his band of surrendered soldiers, and my elite navy is just supposed to stand here in this waterway? By the time he takes the meat, we won't even have a hot bowl of soup!"

Zhuge Kan still harbored many doubts. Xiao Heng's plan was too bold, too risky, and too uncertain. However, He Qian's words struck a chord with him. The credit should not be given away for nothing, especially for someone like Xiao Heng who had already accumulated great merit to claim the unparalleled achievement of recapturing Huaiyin.

Before he could respond, He Qian couldn't wait any longer and, looking at the distant firelight, gave the order directly.

"My mind is made up! It's my turn to claim the credit on the water! Let's go!"

Military orders are absolute. The massive fleet of the Northern Army Navy began to change course, oars flying, and charged against the current towards Sikou, where flames were raging.

Zhou Laosi silently stepped aside, his face still expressionless. He decided to leave without lingering, quietly boarded his small boat, and quickly disappeared into another dark waterway, heading towards the next place arranged by Xiao Heng.

He Qian's flagship took the lead. He stood at the bow, his battle robe billowing in the river wind, his restlessness replaced by intense fighting spirit.

Zhuge Kan stood beside him, gazing at the unknown darkness and firelight ahead, his hand tightly gripping the map, his brow furrowed. He didn't know if this decision was right or wrong, but the arrow had already been released. For the sake of military merit, nothing else mattered.