Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 441: The Death of Hou Wei (3)

Hou Wei immediately wrote two memorial reports, one presented to the Emperor and the other to the Crown Prince, dispatching two men to rush to the Imperial City overnight.

Having learned from the scouts that the troops led by Hou Wei had run out of provisions, Dugu Chen deliberated before sending a small team to intercept the enemy’s grain supply, not giving them any chance to breathe.

"Prince, let me go."

"Prince, it should be me who goes."

Upon hearing the plan, Tian Yi and Hu Liujin vied with each other to intercept the enemy’s grain supply.

Dugu Chen nodded, "There’s no need for you two to argue, Xiaobai and Wan Hun are the most suitable." His gaze swept over to the two seated within the tent.

Xiaobai looked up at his brother-in-law, then at Wan Hun, who wore an ice-cold expression devoid of emotion, and couldn’t help but wail; if only he had known, he wouldn’t have come.

"Brother-in-law, do I really have to go?" Pouting and sitting in the chair, Xiaobai looked pitifully at Dugu Chen.

"No."

Xiaobai glared fiercely at Dugu Chen and reluctantly nodded, "Alright then."

Dugu Chen then looked at Wan Hun, and upon seeing his nod, retracted his gaze.

When the Emperor Ming Hong of Mingyi Country received Hou Wei’s urgent secret letter, he began to mobilize grain and immediately sent it out through the night. Two days later, the soldiers delivering the grain were just a day away from their destination when a band of robbers intercepted all the grain on the road and left the escorting soldiers unconscious.

The next day, when the soldiers endeavoring to deliver the grain saw that the people were there but the carts were gone, their faces turned white with fear. Upon returning, they faced certain death, and the leader, knowing he wouldn’t survive, flung his sleeves without taking a cloud with him... and fled. Seeing their leader escape, the remaining soldiers stretched their legs and scurried off as well.

By the time Xiaobai and Wan Hun had brought the grain back to their position, a day had already passed. Dugu Chen saw that the timing was almost right; the enemy’s horses had been nearly slaughtered, and with no food or horses left, escape was impossible.

He called Tian Yi to his side, "Inform everyone to summon all the generals and deputy generals."

"Yes."

Soon after, General Hu Liujin, Deputy General Peng Chao, Deputy General Cao Quan, and Deputy General Bu Qiu Shui arrived at the Marshal Camp.

"Marshal," the four saluted with a fist.

Dugu Chen gestured with his hand, and they approached the table to consider the map with the Marshal.

"General Hu, you’ll lead two hundred thousand cavalrymen to attack from the front, Deputy General Cao, you’re in charge of enveloping the right flank, Deputy General Peng, you’ll cover the left flank, and Deputy General Bu, you’ll be sweeping the rear. Attack punctually at the midnight hour," Dugu Chen circled the map and mentioned each person accordingly.

"Yes, Marshal."

At midnight, with the deep stillness of the night, as everyone lay in deep sleep, the urgent sound of a bugle, like a soul-claiming bell, sounded, awakening those slumbering.

Woken by the bugle call, Hou Wei immediately sat up, grabbed the clothes by his bed in a frenzy, pulled them on, and with wide-open eyes filled with panic, asked the guards outside, "What’s happening?"

Hou Wei waited a moment but received no reply, put on his boots, and stepped out of his tent to see what was happening.

Outside, he saw the soldiers in panic; a line of men running east, dozens running west. The deputy generals had vanished without a trace by now. In front of the camp, only Shen Sanzhang remained, but no matter how much the vice general shouted, the terror-stricken soldiers would not follow orders. They looked for their own routes of escape and fled for their lives.

"Shen Sanzhang, what’s going on? Has the enemy attacked?"

Shen Sanzhang turned around and saw Hou Wei, walking toward him with large strides, "Marshal, the enemy has launched a night raid, and the soldiers are in a state of panic. What should we do now?"