Chapter 170: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 

 Chapter 170: 

 

However, this meant that the previous battle plan had to be completely reworked.

Cui Xingzhou listened as the soldiers discussed and rehearsed various strategies, but he still felt something was off. That day, he specifically returned to the residence early, intending to consult Bandint King Lu one more time before the battle.

Meanwhile, after Mian Tang buried the silver, she finally felt at ease. However, after two days, she began to feel uneasy again. If Cui Xingzhou truly suffered a disastrous defeat and the Japanese returned to Beihai, it would inevitably lead to the suffering of the people. Even if she had money, it would be useless if there was nothing to buy.

She deeply felt this point. Back when she was the head of the Yangshan bandits, Cui Xingzhou had once sealed off the mountains to eradicate them. At that time, the entire mountain had only a few grains of rice, and all the ants, grasshoppers, and mantises on the mountain had been eaten. If it weren’t for her leading a night raid on Cui Xingzhou’s main camp to break the siege, they would have starved to death on the mountain.

Thinking of this, Miantang immediately felt restless. She hurriedly called for Lu Yi, giving him silver to buy grain, and then, along with Lu Zhong and a few brothers, buried the food in a nearby cave and marked the spot, feeling reassured after doing so.

During these days, she had also gathered quite a bit of information. Cui Xingzhou did not have good relations in the official circles, and if the situation in Beihai turned disastrous, there would be no reinforcements.

So, the plan to escape had to be foolproof.

Just as she was scratching her head and planning the escape route, Cui Xingzhou returned. However, this time, he brought not the street snacks that Miantang loved, but models of cannons and warships used for troop deployment in the military camp, along with a sand table of Ko Island.

After securing the sand table to the desk in the study, Cui Xingzhou pulled Mian Tang over to set up the battle again.

Mian Tang looked at his sharp brows and cold eyes, lost in thought as he contemplated strategy, and for a moment, she felt a bit enchanted.

He was not only handsome but also highly skilled; truly, he met all her expectations. No wonder she had agreed to marry him and have children.

However, when she thought about how he used to gather his subordinates to devise plans for encircling the Yangshan bandits, he must have looked just as handsome and charming while plotting. This made her, as a former bandit leader, feel a bit uncomfortable, and she glared at him with annoyance.

With this in mind, when they faced off again, Mian Tang naturally brought her A-game, pretending that she was defending Ko Island, ready to take down any ships and troops from Beihai that came her way.

Cui Xingzhou, in turn, witnessed once more the ruthless and crafty fighting style he had seen years ago on Yangshan—it was truly relentless!

After taking several losses, Mian Tang triumphantly popped a plum into her mouth and then pointed a finger at Cui Xingzhou’s shoulder. “Your Highness, are you deliberately going easy on me? It’s just a sand table with fake ships; you don’t have to hold back…”

“Your ammunition is running low; how can you keep firing?” Cui Xingzhou suddenly found a gap after sinking two large ships and seized Mian Tang’s slender wrist to press the attack.

Mian Tang spat out the plum pit she had in her mouth and pointed at the sunken ship beside them. “But your ship still has ammunition. If I sink your ship, I naturally need to seize some supplies to use next!”

Cui Xingzhou was nearly amused by her twisted reasoning; he pinched her nose and said, “That gunpowder will be useless once it gets wet. How are you going to use it?”

At this point, Cui Xingzhou suddenly fell silent, staring at the water surface of the sand table.

Mian Tang stopped the exercise and said honestly, “I lost again. You can do as you please, whether it's to kill or to punish!”

Cui Xingzhou didn’t have time to deal with the slippery bandit; he suddenly stood up, preparing to return to the camp. However, before he left, he reminded Mian Tang, “You might as well bury some silver for no reason. But it’s better to sell the grain you’ve hoarded in the mountains soon! Otherwise, in a few days, when the rainy weather comes, the grain you hurriedly stored in the mountains may sprout.”

Having just suffered a defeat, Mian Tang was feeling frustrated. Seeing him making fun of her again, she retorted fiercely, “Just focus on your battle. Otherwise, even if you want to eat sprouted rice later, you’ll have to beg me. Let’s see if I’m kind enough to reward you with food!”

The only reply she got was a hearty laugh fading away.

Mian Tang picked up the little boy Yier, who was wobbling in through the doorway, and looked at his drooling mouth, saying, “Your father really isn’t worth much!”

When Cui Xingzhou returned to the camp, excited, Li Guangcai asked whether Prince Huaiyang wanted to postpone the attack on the island.

Cui Xingzhou was consulting a local guide, inquiring about the weather in recent days. The guide was skilled at reading cloud patterns and had made several accurate weather predictions during their march.

After listening to Li Guangcai, Cui Xingzhou lowered his gaze and pondered for a moment before saying, “No, we will proceed according to the plan. Additionally... the soldiers have worked hard. Today, send a few jars of good wine to the brothers in the Western Camp to help them relax.”

Li Guangcai was momentarily taken aback; the Western Camp housed two imperial envoys and their entourage. The soldiers had been working day and night without rest, so it didn’t seem appropriate to drink heavily. However, seeing the significant look in Cui Xingzhou's eyes, Li Guangcai understood and promptly made the arrangements.

That night, every soldier in the Western Camp received a jug of wine and gathered in their respective tents to drink. Even the tent where the two imperial envoys were confined received several jugs of wine.

The two envoys, trapped in the tent, felt both hatred and fear toward the Prince of Huaiyang, so they had no mood to drink and instead bestowed the wine on the soldiers guarding them.

Several soldiers, having received the wine from the camp along with the fine wine from the two envoys, were all cheerful. 

After a few jugs, one soldier asked, “I wonder what day it is today to have such a generous supply of wine. If only it could be like this more often!”

Another soldier replied, “Maybe it’s because we practiced too hard recently, and they want to give us a treat?”

The leader let out a burp from the wine and lowered his voice, saying, “I have a brother who works under the camp commander. I heard from the commander that this is to reward us for our earlier training and to let us relax a bit so that we can attack the Japanese on Kou Island the day after tomorrow. Just keep this to yourselves and don’t spread it around.”

Upon hearing this, the two imperial envoys exchanged a glance, their minds stirred. After a while, several soldiers got drunk one after another, collapsing on the ground.

The two envoys sent their servants to check things out. They found that some soldiers were indeed passed out drunk, so they quickly left the tent, discovering that only a few soldiers were standing guard at the camp gate, while the rest were sound asleep in their tents.

When the two servants sneaked back to inform the envoys, they immediately decided that there was no time to waste. If they didn’t leave now, when would they? Who knew what underhanded scheme Prince Huaiyang would concoct against them next?

It was the perfect opportunity, with most of the guards drunk, to make a hasty escape and report the Prince's reckless behavior to the court.

Fortunately, they had been confined to the edge of the camp, and not far away were the wooden walls of the camp. With the help of the servants, the two envoys exerted a lot of effort to climb over the wall, stumbling and slipping as they escaped.

One of the envoys grumbled, “I’ve lived for over half my life and have never been in such a disgraceful situation!”

The other one, stepping carefully along the muddy path, replied, “He’s offended more than just the two of us... Once we reach the front town, I have my ways to contact the people of the Shi family... If Prince Huaiyang attacks Ko Island the day after tomorrow and doesn’t have any ‘support,’ it would be a shame, wouldn’t it?”

As they spoke, the two of them couldn’t help but laugh in unison, continuing on their way... The quicker they walked, the faster they could help Prince Huaiyang head towards the gates of hell!

Also cursing Prince Huaiyang was the general of Ko Island, Eikushi-ji.

Eikushi-ji had built his stronghold over many years, and every time the Japanese raided the North Sea, they returned with full loads of goods. Therefore, the island was well-equipped with both food and the tools necessary for defending it.

Most importantly, there were also the newly cast five large cannons. These were treasures for the island; once fired, they would definitely send the North Sea’s naval forces back without return.

However, this supply was a secret of Ko Island. To deceive Prince Huaiyang, he hid the food in caves, deliberately withholding supplies from the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled Japanese, causing them to flee. He repeatedly sent Japanese to the North Sea to procure grain, intending to instill a sense of overconfidence in Prince Huaiyang, making him feel secure enough to attack.

But Eikushi-ji didn’t know what he was waiting for; he was still waiting for action.

Until he suddenly received news from a subordinate of Shi Yikang that the Huaiyang army had finally begun to regroup and would attack Ko Island tomorrow.

Eikushi-ji had been planning for so long, waiting for this moment. He quickly summoned a few capable subordinates to prepare bows, arrows, and ammunition in anticipation of tomorrow's battle. He then circled the island to ensure that everything was in perfect order.

Before dawn, the Japanese climbed to the hilltops and looked out from the high watchtowers at the dock, constantly searching the sea for signs of the Zhenzhou army through their telescopes.

Before long, a thick fog gradually rolled in over the sea, and amid the mist, a few ship silhouettes appeared, coming towards Ko Island, now faintly visible.

Eikushi-ji was overjoyed to see the North Sea warships indeed appearing and immediately sent someone to prepare to fire the cannons. He wanted Prince Huaiyang’s treasured warships to be blown to the bottom of the sea before they even touched the island’s edge, avenging his previous defeat.

Due to the obscuring fog, the warships flickered in and out of view, reluctant to approach.

Eikushi-ji knew that such large ships would not come to shallow waters, so he waited for them to enter range to immediately sink the ships, ensuring they had no opportunity to lower their small boats.

However, the large ships had already dropped anchor and stopped, forcing the Japanese gunners to adjust their cannon angles higher to target the warships.

With a loud boom, the hillside where the cannons were located seemed to tremble. The five large cannons fired in succession. Soon, the mast of a distant warship collapsed, and the other warships quickly scattered to avoid the incoming cannonballs.

As the cannonballs were fired, the sky gradually began to pour down heavy rain. The rainwater flowed into the cannon barrels, slowly accumulating at the bottom. The Japanese had no choice but to fire a few rounds before lowering the cannon barrels to dump out the rainwater that had collected inside. However, the repeated accumulation of rainwater seriously affected the cannons; with each successive shot, the cannonballs flew shorter and shorter distances, but also more and more off-target. By the end, they simply could not hit anything out on the sea.

Fortunately, the fate of the Zhenzhou warships had also reached its end. In the end, only a few masts stood lonely, half-hidden and half-revealed in the mist and rain, gradually disappearing below the horizon.

The Japanese on Ko Island erupted in cheers.

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