pertwk Chapter 15 Desperate Situation? No, All-Out Attack!
Chapter 15 Desperate Situation? No, All-Out Attack!
Seven days later.
The sound of bugles tore through the thick morning fog at Yanmen Pass.
The sound was mournful and drawn-out, like the wail of some giant beast on its deathbed.
Beyond the pass, a dark mass of Northern Rong cavalry surged to the horizon like a tidal wave.
Half a million troops were mobilized in full force. Shigeru Inuya stopped with any more probing tactics and went all in, betting everything he had.
The endless felt tents stretched as far as the eye could see, the neighing of horses and the sound of war drums mingling together, causing dust to fall from the walls.
The soldiers of the Wei family army on the city wall gripped their spears tightly, their palms sweating profusely.
Five hundred thousand people, just standing together breathing, the oppressive feeling is enough to suffocate you.
Inside the pass, in the council chamber of the garrison headquarters.
The atmosphere was as heavy as a sponge soaked with water, making even breathing difficult.
The old lady sat upright in the main seat, leaning on her iron cane with both hands, her eyelids slightly lowered, her weathered face revealing no trace of joy or anger.
Wei Zhao stood to her left. He wasn't wearing armor today, only a plain white long robe.
This was intentional on his part—the passive skill of the [White-Clad Killer] requires him to be unarmored to trigger.
He could feel that as long as he stood there, that invisible field was spreading outwards.
The generals in the hall, who were originally so agitated they were about to draw their swords, found their breathing calmer upon seeing that figure in white.
It was a power that made people want to believe, like seeing a stabilizing force in a storm.
Liu Jingshuang stood on the right, her hand on the hilt of her sword, her gaze coldly sweeping across the entire area.
The murderous aura emanating from her was even stronger than usual, and she was as taut as a fully drawn bow.
The dozen or so captains below were already arguing amongst themselves.
"Even the rats in the granary starved to death!"
An old general with a full beard slapped his thigh so hard that the sound made dirt fall from the roof beams:
"The porridge the kitchen cooked yesterday was so bad, you could pour it out the moment you stuck a chopstick in it! Those sons of bitches in the imperial court are clearly trying to cut off our Wei family army's escape route! That old scoundrel Lu Song, I'll chop him up and feed him to the dogs sooner or later!"
"It's better to court death than to wait to die!"
Another one-eyed captain roared, his eyes red and bloodshot:
"So what if there are 500,000 barbarians? I'll lead the charge, taking ten down with me is enough, twenty is a bonus! Dying on the charge is better than starving to the point of being unable to even lift a sword!"
"Charge out? What are they going to use to charge? The soldiers have been drinking thin porridge mixed with grass roots for the past two days. Do you expect them to charge headfirst into the Northern Rong's sabers?!"
The noise grew louder and louder, mixed with profanities and the muffled clashing of weapons.
Some advocated holding out to the death, some advocated fighting to the death, and some even cursed and cursed, wanting to dig up the ancestors of that dog prime minister who withheld grain and supplies and give him a thorough dressing-down.
Wei Zhao watched coldly. He knew very well what these veterans were angry about.
I'm not afraid of dying, what I'm afraid of is starving to death in misery.
Running out of food is devastating to an army. Even the invincible Wei family army had their eyes nearly extinguished after seven days.
We need to find a way to redirect this anger.
"Bang."
The old lady's iron cane tapped lightly on the bluestone slab. The sound was faint.
But the council chamber fell silent instantly. All eyes were fixed on the person in the main seat.
The old lady slowly raised her eyelids, her gaze passing over everyone and landing on Wei Zhao.
"Zhao'er".
Her voice was calm and even, without a trace of panic: "What do you think?"
Wei Zhao kept his eyes down, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings. Suddenly called upon, he didn't rush to speak, instead quickly piecing together the fragments he had gathered over the past seven days.
Their food supplies were cut off. The Northern Rong army was pressing in.
The timing was perfect. It was as if someone had turned the Wei family army inside out and handed it to Quan Ya Mao's desk.
A day earlier, the Northern Rong might still be observing;
If they had waited even a day longer, Wei Jiajun might have truly become too hungry to even lift a knife.
It was precisely on the seventh day, the day the granary was completely empty, that the jagged teeth began to stir.
He took a step forward and looked around at the crowd.
"Everyone knows the situation: our army is about to run out of food supplies, and the Northern Rong have launched a full-scale attack at this critical juncture."
Wei Zhao's voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet council hall.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the news of food shortages within the pass has already been deliberately leaked."
Upon hearing this, several hot-tempered captains below immediately erupted in anger.
"There really was a traitor inside!"
"I knew it! That mad dog, Shigeru Inuyasha, was suddenly biting so hard. Turns out someone tipped him off!"
"If I find out who it is, I'll skin him alive! I'll hang him on the city wall to dry in the wind!"
Liu Jingshuang's brows furrowed deeply.
The Battle of Hulu Valley was a disaster because the route was leaked and the supplies were cut off, resulting in the annihilation of an army of over 100,000.
Now the same scene is about to play out again. The veins on the back of her hand, which is pressed against the hilt of the knife, are bulging, and her knuckles are white from excessive force.
If there really was a traitor among them, she would definitely chop that person into mincemeat herself.
Wei Zhao waited until they had said a few more curses before speaking.
"You've insulted the wrong person."
He turned around to face the old lady, his tone as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.
"The person who deliberately betrayed our military intelligence is none other than..."
He paused for a moment.
"It was arranged by you, Mother."
Dead silence.
Even breathing stopped in the council chamber.
The captains who had just been clamoring to skin him alive now stared wide-eyed at Wei Zhao as if he were a madman.
Liu Jingshuang turned her head sharply, her eyes so sharp they could kill.
She thought Wei Zhao had gone mad.
Did the old lady betray the Wei family army?
This is absolutely the most ridiculous joke in the world!
She saw her husband and nine sons go; how could she possibly betray the banner she had guarded with her life?
"Commander!"
The bearded old general was the first to react, stamping his feet in frustration, even his address carrying a stern warning:
"You can't say things like that! How could the old lady possibly..."
Wei Zhao ignored the shock around him and stared straight at the old lady.
The old lady wasn't angry.
A look of surprise flashed across his wrinkled face, as if he hadn't expected Wei Zhao to be so direct.
Then, the corners of her mouth slowly turned upwards. She tilted her head back and suddenly laughed.
The laughter went from low to hearty, filled with an irrepressible joy that made the lights in the hall flicker.
She nodded to Wei Zhao.
"Go on."
Everyone was completely dumbfounded.
Does the old lady's reaction mean she's admitting it?
Wei Zhao felt more confident.
His previous predictions were all correct.
"My mother had told me before that arrangements had been made for the supplies."
Wei Zhao turned around and faced the generals again, speaking faster and with an undeniable certainty.
"If there were plans in place, why are the granaries still empty after seven days?"
"Because we need to make sure the spies from the Northern Rong are clear that we're really out of food. The intelligence has to be true for that mad dog, Quan Ya Mao, to believe it."
He walked up to the huge map of the northern border and pointed to a large blank area outside Yanmen Pass.