The Demon Lords

Chapter 437 50 - Dare Not_4

The man had no peanuts this time, but he kept shoving red-coated fried noodles into his mouth, his cheeks bulging, chewing heartily with an air of profound satisfaction.

Zheng Fan took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily.

Zheng Fan had no intention of going up to confront Li Fusheng or say anything, because he was the one in the wrong.

At this moment, A Ming surreptitiously pulled an arrow from his shoulder and tossed it aside. Turning to Liang Cheng, who stood beside him, he asked, "What on earth was this fight about?"

"Li Fusheng must have just learned that this army garrison is undermanned," Liang Cheng explained. "Clearly, given its size, there should be more soldiers. Perhaps some were diverted earlier to deal with Li Bao."

"And then?"

"Well, we now hold two crossings along the nearly Baili-long stretch of the Bian River," Liang Cheng replied. "These crossings are inherently suitable for getting over the river. Although the river is currently frozen, moving a large number of troops across the ice isn't realistic; many of our soldiers fell on the ice when we crossed earlier. Building pontoon bridges would also take time. Moreover, as long as we have enough scouts, the Qian people might manage to sneak a few men across. However, a large-scale troop movement would certainly be detected by us in advance, making it much easier to strike them mid-crossing. This place must be West Wind Crossing.

"Originally, Qian State's strongest troops were all relocated to the north. Later, because of Li Bao's forces, most of the elite troops that could be mobilized from the Qian State's capital city region were sent to the West Mountain region to intercept and besiege Li Bao.

"Now that we've captured this crossing too, the Bian River—originally excavated by Qian State to prevent the Yan people from advancing south—is effectively on our side, working to our advantage."

Liang Cheng turned and looked south, where the most prosperous city in this world stood.

And this city, because of the Bian River that had been intended to protect it, was now cut off from its own troops.

...

"Chief Zheng."

Li Fusheng waved at Zheng Fan, who was standing in the distance.

Zheng Fan walked over, his face showing no disrespect. On the contrary, when he saw the deep, bone-visible knife wound on Li Fusheng's left shoulder, his expression filled with concern, and he asked, "Sir, your wound?"

"It's nothing, nothing at all. Just a minor injury, that's all. I'll have someone tend to it shortly. By the way, this fellow, is he also one of your men?"

Li Fusheng pointed to his side.

Only then did Zheng Fan notice Xue Three, who had previously been entirely obscured by Li Fusheng's considerable frame.

"If it weren't for him, I couldn't have killed the enemy's main general so easily. Chief Zheng, you truly have a wealth of talent around you."

So much so that Li Fusheng felt a twinge of jealousy.

"You're jesting, Sir. They are all your men now."

"Ha, cut the bullshit," Li Fusheng said. "Now that this fort has been taken, if we leave seven or eight thousand cavalry here to guard it, the damn Qian people on the other side of the river won't dare to cross easily. However many they dare to send, I'll see to it that they lose just as many.

"Even if they try to take a detour, given the Qian people's scarcity of cavalry, their infantry would need at least three or four days of hard marching to get around.

"That stupid leopard, Li Bao, played a big game this time. He deliberately exposed a vulnerability to bait the Qian army into encircling him, thereby luring all the Qian soldiers from this garrison away. Otherwise, taking it would have been truly difficult."

Zheng Fan lowered his head and remained silent.

"We owe that stupid leopard a huge favor this time," Li Fusheng chuckled.

He pointed south and said, "Chief Zheng, I mentioned earlier that I'd love to have a good chat with that Qian ruler. Now, he and I have at least three days to talk as much as we wish."

Li Fusheng patted Zheng Fan's shoulder and asked, "Chief Zheng, I have a grand achievement to offer you. If you accomplish this, you'll be the foremost contributor in this battle! Let me ask you: do you dare to be my messenger tonight and deliver a letter of greeting to that Qian ruler in the imperial capital?"

Zheng Fan immediately dropped to one knee, clasped his fists, and said sincerely, "I dare not!"

"..." Li Fusheng was speechless.