Chapter 46 Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

At the south gate of Fengxi County.

Dou Yuan, leading an army of twenty thousand, had arrived right beneath the city walls, locked in a standoff with the defending garrison of Fengxi County for a full quarter of an hour.

Yet, the garrison forces persisted with the exact same excuse.

"There is still unrest within our city; it is inconvenient to open the gates until peace is restored."

"Otherwise, if foreign enemies were to escape the city, we fear we would have no way to answer to the imperial court!"

The commanding general clung stubbornly to this rhetoric, refusing to relent no matter what.

For this reason, Dou Yuan was burning with anxiety.

However, unable to order an attack on the city, he could only maintain the status quo.

"Daoist master, you are full of schemes. Can't you think of a way out of this impasse right now?"

Dou Yuan had no choice but to seek help from Miaofa.

Yet, Miaofa remained completely indifferent.

"General, please calm your impatience."

"The only thing to do in the current situation is to wait."

Miaofa said helplessly.

What did he mean by saying the only thing to do was wait?

Should anything go wrong with Gao Changsheng, and should the Emperor Shenwu hold him accountable in the future, Dou Yuan would find it impossible to shirk the blame.

He certainly could not tell Emperor Shenwu that Gao Changsheng had willingly taken risks for his sake.

"If His Highness comes to any harm, I, Dou, will sooner or later be purged by His Majesty."

"Since it is death either way, I might as well fight for a glimmer of hope."

"I am about to order the attack on the city!"

Dou Yuan said in a deep voice.

He knew very well that leading an army to attack one's own city was an unpardonable crime.

Yet he was even less willing to watch Gao Changsheng throw away his life in vain for him.

Just as Miaofa failed to persuade Dou Yuan and was on the verge of letting the situation escalate into a far greater crisis, a commotion suddenly erupted atop the city walls.

"Reporting to the General, a riot has broken out in the north of the city!"

"Twenty thousand men suddenly appeared in the northern district, intending to break through the garrison's encirclement and breach the north gate!"

As soon as this news broke, the commander of the garrison could no longer sit still.

The entire garrison of Fengxi County numbered no more than twenty thousand.

Although they were well-equipped soldiers, their forces were severely scattered because they had to guard all four gates simultaneously.

Compounded by Dou Yuan bringing twenty thousand troops to the south gate, the pressure on the south gate had skyrocketed.

Under these circumstances, the commander had been forced to redeploy more personnel to reinforce the south gate.

Consequently, the garrison at the north gate was left with a mere three thousand men.

Considering there were still a thousand elite foreign troops within the city, their combat prowess could not be underestimated.

Merely three thousand garrison soldiers at the north gate would likely find it difficult to stop them from breaking through.

"Immediately notify Lord Cao and have him discuss countermeasures with this general."

"At the same time, transfer three thousand guards from the south gate to follow me northward, quickly!"

The commander departed the city tower with an expression of extreme panic.

This scene naturally did not escape the eyes of Dou Yuan and Miaofa, who immediately grew alert.

"It seems the situation inside the city has changed. If we attack now, we can surely take it in one stroke."

"What does the Daoist master think?"

Dou Yuan asked, his face a picture of eagerness.

"Wait a little longer!"

Yet, Miaofa gave the exact same response as before.

Only this time, he seemed to have perceived some underlying clues, and continued:

"If this poor priest has guessed correctly, the upheaval within the city is undoubtedly the handiwork of my Lord."

"Earlier, my Lord and I discussed how to handle any sudden emergencies in Fengxi County."

"My Lord believed that the twenty thousand men of the supply transport corps would become the key to breaking the deadlock."

"Now that several thousand men have been withdrawn from the garrison at the south gate, it must be to deal with those twenty thousand men."

"However, knowing my Lord as I do, he would never use those twenty thousand men as the main force."

"Instead, he would choose the south gate—where the original defending forces were strongest—as the breakthrough point."

"At such a crucial moment, I beg the Great General to keep his composure!"

Miaofa's series of analyses finally managed to steady Dou Yuan.

Yet, when all was said and done, these were merely Miaofa's conjectures.

They were still not enough to put Dou Yuan completely at ease.

Tonight was excruciatingly harrowing for everyone.

Even for Lord Cao, who had orchestrated the trap to turn Fengxi County into a dead end, it was no different.

"Lord Cao, you have finally arrived."

"The twenty thousand men who suddenly appeared at the south gate—this general surmises they are most likely the supply transport corps stationed at the granary."

"Yet, when the battle at the granary ended, this general never received even the slightest bit of news."

"Does Lord Cao have no explanation to offer?"

The garrison commander demanded, his face dark with blame.

"Heh!"

"Not to mention the General being kept in the dark, even I have not received intelligence from my agents for half an hour."

"Now Lord Cao understands: Dou Yuan must have learned of our plan and seized control of the granary in advance."

"When all is said and done, it is simply because Song Ziyong is incompetent. Not only did he fail to kill Dou Yuan, but he also handed the twenty thousand men of the supply corps over to the enemy on a silver platter."

"Although those twenty thousand men lack weapons and cannot form a truly effective combat force,"

"Their sheer numbers are there nonetheless. Should Dou Yuan escape the city, all our efforts will have been in vain!"

Lord Cao wore an expression of profound regret.

He had thought victory was already within his grasp, only to create a thirty-minute intelligence blackout.

And a single miscalculated move could cost him the entire game; naturally, he regretted it!

"There is no need to say more."

"I shall lead men to reinforce the south gate right now."

"I must ask Lord Cao to go and guard the north gate."

"I fear Dou Yuan may grow desperate and order a forced assault on the city, in which case we will lose all the same!"

The commander said coldly.

Without waiting for Lord Cao's reply, he immediately led three thousand men away in a hurried dash.

At this moment, the entire long street was left with only Lord Cao and his trusted aides.

His mind was filled entirely with the commander's parting words.

"This is bad!"

"It's a diversion to lure the tiger from the mountain!"

Lord Cao woke up to the reality with a start, breaking out in a cold sweat of terror at the thought.

"Quick, call the commander back immediately!"

He dispatched his trusted aides with frantic urgency.

As for himself, he headed straight for the north gate.

Along the way, he kept a nervous eye on the situation throughout the city.

It felt as though a large mob of people could burst out from any street corner or alley at any second.

"Weren't the twenty thousand men of the supply corps at the south gate? Why is my lord so worried?"

An aide asked, puzzled.

"What do you know!"

Lord Cao said, drenched in sweat:

"Those twenty thousand men are merely a nominal figure. Whether Dou Yuan himself is among them is something no one knows."

"Even what actually happened in the granary remains a mystery."

"If Dou Yuan has already guessed that we control Fengxi County, he will surely join forces with the Northern Qi people."

"Once the commander transfers the troops away from the north gate, the north gate will inevitably be left defenseless."

"With Dou Yuan's capability, combined with a thousand Northern Qi elites and the imperial troops outside the city, they can easily smash open the city gates!"

Hearing this, the trusted aides were struck with immense terror.

They instantly felt as though the surrounding air had grown much more sinister.

Just as this squad intended to quicken their pace and escape this creepy, haunting street, a sharp arrow suddenly shot forth from the darkness with explosive force.

"Ah!"

A miserable scream tore through the long night.

One of the aides collapsed into a pool of blood, losing his life instantly.

Seeing this, Lord Cao's eyes were filled with sheer horror.

Half an hour ago, he was the chess player controlling the board.

At this moment, however, he had been reduced to a mere pawn whose life could be snuffed out at any second.

"This palace has been wondering who possessed such great ability as to control the garrison forces of Fengxi County."

"So it turns out to be Duke Wei, Cao Rui."

"It seems you, Cao Rui, have learned absolutely nothing from the fate of Duke Liang!"