Chapter 381 General, what should we do if there is no wind?
Just as Yang Mingzhi handed the letter to Liang Chu, the soldiers at Guanshankou also became busy.

Yang Zhengshan issued more than ten orders in a row, mobilizing all the soldiers under his command. Not only the soldiers, but also the engineers and tens of thousands of civilian laborers received orders.

The soldiers and civilians carried the straw baskets and kerosene that had been prepared long ago up the hillside.

Straw cages of all sizes almost covered the back of the hillsides on both sides of Guanshan Pass.

Such a large-scale action naturally could not be concealed from the Wuliang army in the valley.

Wu Tuo looked at the soldiers busy on the hillside, frowned and asked: "What are they doing?"

"Not sure, it seems like they are building fortifications!" said a Wuliang general.

Although you can see the hillsides on both sides of the pass when standing in the valley, you cannot see the back of the hillside, and naturally you cannot see the grass cages on the back of the hillside.

"Do they know that we are going to launch a general attack tomorrow?" Uto said with some doubt.

According to his idea, tomorrow would be the best time to launch a general offensive.

Liang Chu had just arrived at Xiling City with the imperial guards and would certainly not launch an attack on them in the short term.

As long as they launch an attack before the Imperial Guards, they will not be caught in a pincer attack.

So Utto set the time for the general offensive for tomorrow. As for why he didn't launch the general offensive in advance, it was because he also needed time to prepare.

At present, he has nearly 70,000 Hu cavalry and Cui Liang's 20,000 troops under his command, and they are also carrying thousands of carts of supplies.

If we want to launch a general attack and evacuate everyone from the valley, the preparation alone will take several days.

In fact, tomorrow's attack will be very hasty. If possible, Utuo would like to stay for a few more days before launching a general attack.

It's no use saying these things now. Wu Tuo looked at the hillside opposite and was a little undecided for a moment.

Should we launch a general attack now?

Too hasty!

The order has been passed down, and suddenly changing the order may cause the situation to become chaotic.

It should be okay to wait one more night, right?

Uto was in a state of hesitation.

But he didn't know that at this moment, on the opposite hillside, Yang Zhengshan was observing him with a telescope.

The two sides were not far apart, only about three miles apart.

If he only relied on his naked eyes, he would definitely not be able to see clearly, but after using the telescope, Yang Zhengshan could see Wutuo's figure very clearly.

In fact, Yang Zhengshan was also gambling at this time, and he was betting on Wutuo's caution.

Analyzing from Utuo's previous actions and deeds, he felt that Utuo was a very cautious person.

As soon as the imperial guards left the capital, Wutuo decided to retreat.

When the imperial guards entered Jizhou, Wutuo retreated to Huade Prefecture.

After he occupied Guanshankou, Wutuo first sent Cui Liang to test the situation, and then launched several exploratory attacks on Guanshankou.

All these show that Uto is a cautious person.

For a general, there is nothing wrong with being cautious.

But if you remain cautious all the time, it will become a fatal weakness.

Yang Zhengshan was not sure whether Wutuo would always maintain a cautious attitude, so he was gambling that Wutuo would not attack Guanshankou with all his strength today.

The result was that his bet was right. Until sunset, Utuo did not order an attack. Instead, he ordered his troops to shrink their defense and prepare for a sneak attack.

The night was getting darker and darker, the new moon was rising, and a bright crescent moon was hanging in the starry sky.

The faint moonlight could not dispel the darkness of the earth, causing the entire valley to appear pitch black as if it had fallen into an endless abyss.

In the quiet and dark night, a large number of infantrymen and civilians quietly spread across the back of the hillside.

Then, each straw cage was doused with kerosene and thrown to the south side of the hillside.

The straw cage rolled down the hillside, but it didn't roll too far before it was caught on rocks or grass, but some were lucky enough to roll down the hillside.

At the same time, the open space at the exit of the valley was filled with straw cages.

Yang Zhengshan rode on Hongyun's back, standing quietly outside the exit of the valley, looking at the dark valley.

Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu looked at the straw cages, then at the motionless flag above their heads, and looked at each other in confusion.

"General, are you waiting for the northwest wind?" Niu Zhuang couldn't help asking.

Although Yang Zhengshan has not explained his next plan to them until now, they have guessed what Yang Zhengshan wants to do after seeing the scene before them.

Yang Zhengshan stroked his long beard and said with a smile: "That's right!"

"But will there be northwest wind tonight?" Niu Zhuang felt a little unreliable.

Everyone knows that there will be northwest winds in Chongshan Town after the autumn and winter, but who can predict when the northwest wind will come and how strong it will be? Yang Zhengshan smiled but said nothing. Others could not predict it, but he could.

No one knew whether it was due to the expansion of the spiritual spring or the improvement of his cultivation, but his perception of the weather became clearer and more accurate.

A month ago he knew that the northwest wind from the snowfield would arrive in the next few days. Ten days ago he could sense that there would be a northwest wind today. Three days ago he could accurately estimate the time of the northwest wind's arrival to the hour of Chou. Now he knew that the wind would blow in another quarter of an hour.

"General, what should we do if there is no wind?" Tang Feihu couldn't help but ask.

Yang Zhengshan looked at the dim camp in the valley and said calmly: "If there is no wind, then we will retreat!"

"This~" Tang Feihu was a little doubtful.

Retreat is not difficult, but how to explain to the court after retreating?

If they achieve nothing in this battle and let the Wuliang army leave openly, the court will certainly be dissatisfied with them, and someone may even come out to impeach them for being cowardly.

"Don't worry, I have my own plans." Yang Zhengshan didn't know what to say, so he could only fool people like this.

……

North of Xiling City.

Tens of thousands of imperial guards were ready to go out of the camp and fight. As long as Liang Chu gave the order, tens of thousands of imperial guards would immediately rush into the valley and launch a night attack on the Wuliang army.

At this time, Liang Chu was also waiting in front of the military camp.

What they were waiting for was the time, three quarters past midnight!

Zhou Lan, Xue Ou, Lu Shizhi and others did not have too many doubts. They thought that Yang Zhengshan wanted them to cooperate in launching a night attack.

Although I don’t know Yang Zhengshan’s plan, it is not difficult to understand that he should cooperate with the action.

However, although they did not have too many doubts, several of them were somewhat dissatisfied with Yang Zhengshan.

They are the imperial guards, they are the marquis of Dayong.

Yang Zhengshan asked them to cooperate with the action, which was somewhat disrespectful to these dukes.

In their opinion, even if there is cooperation, it should be Yang Zhengshan who cooperates with them.

If they were not forced by Liang Chu's power, they would not have paid any attention to Yang Zhengshan's request.

"Commander, why hasn't General Yang taken any action yet? Are they waiting for me to act first?" Cao Can couldn't help but speak.

When launching a night attack together, it is a big problem as to who goes first and who goes second.

Those who attack first will certainly encounter greater resistance. If Yang Zhengshan lets them attack first, it would be somewhat like using them as cannon fodder.

Liang Chu turned his head and glanced at Cao Can, "What? Is Marquis Wu Xin scared?"

"No, why would I be afraid?" Cao Can retorted anxiously.

"If you're not afraid, why are you asking so many questions?" Liang Chu retracted his gaze and continued to look towards the valley.

"I am just afraid that General Yang might have some inappropriate thoughts!" Cao Can said in a deep voice.

When everyone heard this, they all looked at Cao Can strangely.

Zhou Lan frowned even more and said in a cold voice: "Marquis Wu Xin, don't judge others by your own standards! The commander and I know who General Yang is better than you!"

When Cao Can heard this, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. Saying that he was judging others by his own mean character, doesn't that mean he is a villain?
However, he did not argue with Zhou Lan, mainly because he was a little afraid of Zhou Lan.

Although Zhou Lan is a woman and has no title, she is the eldest daughter of the Ningguo Mansion, and her status in the Ningguo Mansion is extraordinary.

Ever since Huaijiang Bo Sui Yi'an passed away, the Ningguo Mansion gave up the idea of ​​marrying Zhou Lan off.

As long as Zhou Lan does not get married, she will be an important figure in Ningguo Mansion.

In fact, the Ningguo Mansion has now regarded Zhou Lan as its new spokesperson, and she can represent the attitude of the Ningguo Mansion.

The Ningguo Mansion is different from the Changping Marquis Mansion. The Changping Marquis Mansion has always felt a little independent from the circle of nobles and has no intersection with most of the nobles, so Cao Can and others are not very afraid of Liang Chu.

But the Ningguo Mansion is the leader of the nobles, and Zhou Mao has a very high prestige among the nobles.

Therefore, Cao Can was very wary of the Ningguo Mansion behind Zhou Lan.

Faced with Zhou Lan's scolding, even if he was dissatisfied, he did not dare to express it.

"Haha, I also believe in General Yang's character." Lu Baishu suddenly laughed.

"Oh! Marquis Nanyang is very familiar with General Yang?" Lu Shizhi asked curiously.

"No, we just met once!" Lu Baishu explained, "I met General Yang once when I was dealing with the corruption case of Liaodong Salt Transport Bureau."

"I see. Then what kind of person does Marquis Nanyang think General Yang is?" Marquis Xuanping also interrupted.

Just like that, the originally heavy atmosphere eased, and several people started a discussion around Yang Zhengshan.

(End of this chapter)