Chapter 92: The Nine-Striped Dragon's Dual Plan

  When Shi Jin climbed up the Ximen city wall again, a swift horse rushed into the city. After a brief moment, it galloped up and saw Shi Jin, immediately kowtowing to him. Lifting his face slightly, he panted quickly and said: "Master, all government troops have retreated back to their respective camps and are holding out without coming out. According to our spies in the army, Commander-in-Chief Meng Sen is seriously injured and is currently at the Western Camp's large camp. The morale of the government soldiers has been severely dampened. However... there is another branch of light cavalry, with an unknown number of people, fully equipped, seemingly heading towards the direction of the mountain stronghold."

  Shi Jin nodded and thought for a moment before asking, "Is there any news about the deployment of government troops? And which camp did this cavalry come from?"

  That little scout said: "This light cavalry came out of the big camp in the west, as for how to deploy, I haven't got any news yet."

  "Yes, continue to gather information about the movements of the officials and soldiers, if there is any news, immediately rush back to report!"

  He clasped his fists together and bowed, then turned and rushed down from the city wall, riding a fast horse away.

  Shi Jin walked away the scout's entourage and sat back down in front of the large table with the map spread out, his eyes fixed intently on the various strongholds marked on the map, his expression turning solemn.

  If Meng Dujuan was seriously injured, then who would be in command at the Western Camp, able to swiftly turn the sword and point it at the mountain stronghold... If Meng Dujuan's injuries were not severe, why did the military morale waver and the formation become disordered after Wu Sanlang and his daredevil hundred-man squad launched a surprise attack? And why, when he himself led the troops in a counterattack, did the officers and soldiers become so frightened that they threw away their helmets and armor and fled in terror? They should have taken advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack and retake the city.

  Moreover, even if Meng Zong was injured at that time and temporarily lost the ability to command the army, what about now? As long as the injury is not serious, he will come back with a vengeance, sweep through Huayin County, but they didn't, instead they attacked the mountain stronghold.

  Could it be another conspiracy of Meng's? Shi Jin stood up, his fingers pointing at Huayin County and Shao Huashan Stronghold. Between these two points was the Western Camp of the government troops and Lian Shan Kou. These places were like four stars in a row, all on a winding line, but the Western Camp was very close to Huayin County, while going to Shao Huashan would not only take a long journey, but also had to pass through Lian Shan Kou.

  Shaohua Mountain stronghold occupies the terrain of Shaohua Mountain, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, Zhu Wu leads thousands of brothers to guard it. If the government troops want to take advantage of the siege to destroy Shaohua Mountain, they must dispatch three times the military strength. But if Guangxi Camp gathers these people and horses, how many will be left in the camp? He is not afraid, I will raise an army to rescue Zhao by besieging Wei?

  Even if he wanted to rely on the nearby camp to launch a surprise attack, it would be extremely difficult. The northwest camp had already been trampled in the previous battle, and for the time being, the government troops could not recover, leaving an opening for an eight-sided siege. Therefore, even if there was an ambush, it would only be on the southwest side of the camp. But with only one side having ambushing soldiers, to be honest, their power is really not worth mentioning.

  Shi Jin thought for a while and suddenly turned his head to look at Shi Qian, who was standing by and waiting, saying: "Where is Yang Chun's camp located? Is there any news about it?"

  Shi Qian said, "From the captives we just obtained, it was learned that the news obtained by the official soldiers' scouts is that Yang Chun has set up a camp on the high slope north of Lianshan Pass."

  "How many more horses can be spared?"

  He shook his head and said, "This... is not easy to say. When Yang Chun and I first came out, we had 2,000 soldiers with us, including half of the village guards from Shijiayuan Village. After our last defeat when Chen Da ambushed us from both sides, I don't know how many were lost, but there are still a thousand or so left. The captives said that according to what the government troops had found out earlier, they wouldn't have been able to face our strange formation with such confidence and not worry about threats from behind."

  Shi Jin listened, nodded his head, and his gaze returned to the place name between his two fingers. Gradually, more and more energy gathered on the name "Lian Shan Kou", and in a flash of lightning, an idea struck him.

  Shi Jin straightened his waist and faced Shi Chong, saying seriously: "Brother, I have a plan. With just 1,000 men, we can kill our way out of the encirclement by the government troops attacking the big camp."

  Shi Qian leaned in as soon as he heard Shi Jin had a plan to defeat the enemy, and listened intently to what Shi Jin had to say next.

  Shi Jin feared that there were ears on the other side of the wall, so he leaned in close and whispered: "You also know that our northwest camp has been flattened, it's a huge weakness for the government troops. You'd better take this route to Yang Chun's camp. When you see Yang Chun, tell him to immediately lead his troops to Lian Shan Kou, and have them ambush on both sides of the mountain cliffs in front of Lian Shan Kou."

  It seems that he had guessed three parts of it, but Lian Shanguo had also gone back and forth several times, and the terrain there was naturally familiar to him. As for the pros and cons of laying an ambush there, he also had his own views. So he said in a low voice to Shi Jin: "Brother, isn't it going to be an ambush on the mountain cliff? But this is very difficult. Firstly, it's impossible to prepare so many rolling stones and wooden logs in a short time. Secondly, Lian Shanguo is not suitable for ambushes. Once the government troops rush over, they can charge up from the gentle slope at Lian Shanguo, and our brothers will be cut off by the government troops. With the government troops in front and the mountain cliff behind, what should we do then?"

  Shi Jin listened, smiled slightly and said: "How could I not consider these? Moreover, the government soldiers are not fools, they are very cunning and have precautions everywhere. The reason why I want to ambush at Lian Shan Kou is because the government soldiers will also think that it is not a place for an ambush, so when they pass through Lian Shan Kou, they will not be too vigilant. So, you tell Yang Chun to boldly follow my instructions."

  Shi Qian nodded slightly and became serious in expression, carefully remembering what Shi Jin was about to say next.

  Ambushed on the mountain cliffs in front of Lian Shan Kou, rolling stones and wooden logs were temporarily unavailable for collection, but the sulfur they brought with the army was available. Let them set up their bows on the mountain, wrap the sulfur in cloth, tie it to the arrowheads, and have 400-500 people on each side of the cliff shoot alternately in shifts of 100 people per unit. Moreover, there is another very important thing, which concerns the success or failure of this ambush.

  "Brother, please go on, I'll definitely take care of it!"

  Shi nodded and said, "While preparing the bows and arrows, we also need a group of people to cut down dozens of large trees. These trees must be sturdy and have dense branches and leaves. We'll use dry grass to cover the ground, add a layer of oil-soaked wood, and then lay these trees across the road on top of it. When the government troops arrive, we'll let our brothers on one side of the mountain slope shoot a round of arrows to ignite the dry grass, while at the same time shooting arrows to kill the government troops in the middle. If there's enough time, we can also cut more oil-soaked wood and place it on both sides of the mountain slope, apply sulfur to it, and when we're shooting arrows at the government troops, we can ignite it and push it down. Dozens of blazing oil-soaked woods will roll down, and the government troops will be in for a treat."

  "Brother, I understand. I'll set off immediately and do my best to get ahead of the government troops and work with Yang Chun to lay an ambush." With that, he clasped his hands together in a fist and hurriedly left the city.