Chapter 104: Arson!

In the dead of night.

Hu Jingyuan, Lai Bo, and the others were following Fu Zihou out of the city for the first time. When they saw Fu Zihou leading them quietly past the enemy’s patrol lines, all of them were filled with awe, barely daring to breathe.

Yue Ming had already been waiting outside the rebel vanguard camp.

Upon seeing Fu Zihou emerge with the first group, Yue Ming approached him.

“Captain, the defenses of the forward camp have been thoroughly scouted!” Yue Ming reported to Fu Zihou.

Fu Zihou nodded, then took out some herbs he had brought from the city and instructed Yue Ming to take two men to the water source. After finishing the task of dispatching some corpses, they soaked all the herbs in the water.

Watching Yue Ming and his men depart, Fu Zihou saw Xing Ming arriving with the rest of the group one after another.

“Let’s move!”

Fu Zihou instructed the others to wait in place, then led Hu Jingyuan, Lai Bo, and Xing Ming back along the same route.

“There will be ten men ahead, and another ten on the other side, with intervals of over twenty breaths between them…” Fu Zihou explained the patrol patterns he had uncovered to Hu Jingyuan and Lai Bo.

Having just experienced it themselves, Hu Jingyuan and Lai Bo no longer felt the initial tension when seeing the patrols across the plains. They silently memorized Fu Zihou’s words and compared them with the patrols they observed on their way back.

On the plain outside the city.

The five hundred selected troops Fu Zihou had gathered were all sitting quietly on the ground, weapons in hand, waiting silently.

Qi Lingyang was among them. Since being captured and waking up, he had been coerced and tempted by Fu Zihou. At first, Qi Lingyang was puzzled how the Eastern City’s defending general knew his background and residence so well, but upon seeing Chu Bo, he understood.

Now, after compromising with Fu Zihou and having his toe cut off like Song Jianfeng, Qi Lingyang, like Chu Bo, had no way back.

Seeing Fu Zihou, Xing Ming, Hu Jingyuan, and Lai Bo return, Qi Lingyang’s eyes showed surprise. He hadn’t expected Fu Zihou to pass through the patrols personally set by Zhen Zhaier so easily.

Knowing Fu Zihou’s plan for the night, Qi Lingyang felt some unease but was mostly curious.

Curious whether Fu Zihou could lead the Eastern City troops to successfully launch a night raid on the large army left by Zhen Zhaier.

“Move!”

Seeing others rise and follow in groups, Qi Lingyang noticed Fu Zihou call him and he stood as well.

Then Qi Lingyang finally understood why people like Xue Hong had been willing to surrender to Fu Zihou and spoke of him with such admiration.

There was no exaggeration: that night, Qi Lingyang and the over five hundred others witnessed firsthand how Zhen Zhaier’s patrol arrangements were completely ineffective—every detail had been thoroughly uncovered.

Outside the rebel vanguard camp.

All five hundred troops gathered together.

After confirming the numbers, Fu Zihou began to organize the operation.

“Xing Ming, take everyone and ambush near the rebel main camp! Once in position, Hu Lvshuai will lead two hundred men to ambush outside the camp! Xing Ming, Xue Hong, and Lai Bo will each command a hundred men to ambush on three sides of the camp…”

Fu Zihou gave his orders quietly under the cover of night.

“Understood!”

“Understood!!”

Hu Jingyuan and the others acknowledged and promptly rose to lead their men away.

Fu Zihou stayed behind with Qi Lingyang and several others, waiting for Yue Ming to return.

“Captain! The herbs have been placed!” Yue Ming reported breathlessly.

Knowing that tonight’s success or failure hinged on this moment, Yue Ming had not dared rest on the way. At the water source, he had been extra cautious, having his men dismember one or two corpses and crush the herbs finely before returning.

“Let’s go!”

Fu Zihou nodded, then quietly led Yue Ming, Qi Lingyang, and the others to the rear perimeter of the rebel camp near the foot of the mountain.

From the darkness, they observed the rebel camp, which contained not only campfires but also tall fences. Inside the fences were watchtowers manned by sentries.

The sentries on these watchtowers not only saw each other but also maintained mutual support with the patrolling soldiers below.

Zhen Zhaier was a man knowledgeable in military strategy, skilled in defense, as each sentry’s position allowed for message relay.

“You cover outside, using the wind as a signal! Yue Ming, come with me!” Fu Zihou whispered to Qi Lingyang and the others behind him, then removed his sword, leaving only his dagger, and quietly left with Yue Ming.

Those assigned to cover immediately understood and, under the night’s cover, took several stones to the foot of the mountain not far away.

Qi Lingyang also took down his longbow and arrows, aiming from the shadows into the camp. He was confident he could instantly shoot any sentry on the watchtower who was left unprotected should anything happen.

Shortly after,

A breeze rustled the green trees, and a soldier forcefully threw a stone into the bushes.

The sudden noise, as if caused by a fleeing animal disturbed by the shaking leaves, immediately drew the attention of the sentries on the towers.

As the sounds gradually moved away, the sentries looked disappointed, thinking how wonderful it would be to shoot or catch the fleeing animal—meat was hard to come by these days.

Swallowing their saliva, they turned back just as the wind calmed and the camp’s flickering fires brightened again.

Inside the rebel camp,

Fu Zihou and Yue Ming walked quietly.

Perhaps trusting Zhen Zhaier’s patrols too much, or relying on the sentries and patrols around the perimeter, or having scouted the mountains to know no ambushes awaited outside Jinyang, Fu Zihou and Yue Ming found the rebel patrols inside the camp surprisingly lax.

Only outside the commanding general’s tent and the granary was the defense formidable, with patrols passing by and ten armed rebels stationed at each spot.

Fu Zihou initially considered targeting the granary but gave up after observing its defenses.

Around the granary, the patrols, sentries, and watchtowers all kept watch on each other. To avoid detection, eliminating any one of these would be impossible.

Fu Zihou couldn’t help but admire how Zhen Zhaier had turned these over a hundred thousand bandits into a force almost indistinguishable from a formal army.

Inside the camp,

With no chance at the commanding tent or granary, Fu Zihou led Yue Ming to the last location.

They saw tall ladders, siege towers, battering rams… countless wooden components piled in one area.

Fu Zihou finally exhaled, feeling immense relief.

“Captain! Fortunately!” Yue Ming also breathed deeply and smiled, looking at Fu Zihou.

Fu Zihou nodded. Perhaps without plans to assault the city again and not fearing surprise attacks, the rebels had been careless in storing their siege equipment.

“Set fire!”

Fu Zihou ordered.

Without hesitation, Fu Zihou and Yue Ming gathered torches and the braziers from wooden frames and threw them onto the siege equipment.

Many braziers had to burn all night and contained black oil besides cloth. Fu Zihou and Yue Ming spread the flammable materials around the wood as widely as possible, instantly igniting a fierce blaze.

The plains were already windy.

Now with a great fire, Fu Zihou and Yue Ming exchanged a glance and, hearing cries of alarm from the watchtowers, immediately turned and fled.

Under the cover of night,

The sleepy rebel soldiers in the vanguard camp were abruptly awakened from their dreams. Groggy, they stumbled outside their tents and, hearing shouts to extinguish the fire, finally came fully awake.

Sheep Bo Yue, who had been snoring thinking of the Di family in his sleep, was roused by the noise, his face full of irritation and anger.

“What’s going on?”

He shouted loudly.

Beside him, a beautiful woman wrapped in a blanket looked frightened at his angry demeanor.

Seeing this, Sheep Bo Yue glanced at the woman with whom he had shared a night—her face far less captivating than the Di family’s—and felt no affection.

“General! The siege equipment storage is on fire!” A trusted aide reported from outside the tent.

Sheep Bo Yue’s expression changed immediately. He rushed outside in his nightclothes and bare feet.

“Fire? What’s the cause?”

The siege equipment stored here was crucial for the upcoming assault on Eastern City of Jinyang. If destroyed, it would severely impact the campaign. Zhen Zhaier would surely hold him accountable, and even the Duke Wei might be displeased.

“Not clear yet!” The aide admitted ignorance.

“Send men to extinguish the fire immediately! At any cost!” Sheep Bo Yue ordered sternly. His heart sunk at the thought of the siege engines burning.

“Wait! Also send men to investigate if there have been any changes in patrols!” Sheep Bo Yue suddenly remembered something and instructed his aide.

Unlike rash men such as Tang Zhenhao, Xiang Yifeng, or Tu Ye, Sheep Bo Yue found this fire abnormal and suspicious.

“Yes, sir!” The aide saluted and hurried off.

All soldiers in the camp were now fully awake, ferrying buckets of water back and forth to fight the fire. No one dared slack off under Sheep Bo Yue’s orders; those with buckets fetched water, others fought the flames directly, and many shouted loudly to show their diligence.

“Damn it!”

Sheep Bo Yue dressed hurriedly and came to the siege equipment area, staring into the roaring flames with burning anger in his eyes.

How could the fire have grown so large?

At that moment, an aide gasped beside him.

“General! We’ve inquired; no abnormalities outside Eastern City patrols, nor within the camp defenses!”

The aide reported.

Sheep Bo Yue’s face darkened.

He was well aware of Zhen Zhaier’s patrol deployments, confident in their strength.

Now, with no abnormalities found in patrols inside or outside the camp, it meant…

The arsonist was inside the camp!

He recalled Zhen Zhaier’s suspicion of insiders from Eastern City within the camp.

Staring at the raging fire from afar, feeling its faint heat, Sheep Bo Yue’s breathing quickened. He already imagined Duke Wei’s disappointed expression upon hearing the news.

Clenching his fists tightly, Sheep Bo Yue was soon approached by captains and lieutenants who had noticed him amid the chaos.

“General!”

“General!!”

Their faces were anxious. Though Sheep Bo Yue usually appeared easygoing, he was not broad-minded. Everyone feared becoming the scapegoat.

“After extinguishing the fire, order everyone to remain inside their tents. Have the captains lead men to conduct a thorough search!” Sheep Bo Yue commanded.

“Yes, sir!”

The captains and lieutenants acknowledged and hurried off to carry out the orders.