Jiang Suizhou was caught off guard. He was brought forward and slammed into Huo Wujiu’s chest.
It was somewhat hard, but somehow, it gave him an entirely safe feeling, even when they were clearly in a critical juncture.
This was the first time he had been so flustered and completely thrown into a panic.
In the past, although Pang Shao was making progress step by step and the Hou Zhu was overbearing, he did not panic. Because he knew them, knew what chips they had in their hands, could cope with them; and everything was within his control.
But this time…
The butterfly flapped its wings and disrupted the course of history. Even if he were to plan the groundworks again, he could never stop Pang Shao, who no longer believed in the Hou Zhu and wanted to destroy everything indiscriminately.
He gently sniffed a couple of times.
“But…” Huo Wujiu’s warm palm pressed the back of his head, and his voice buzzed, “In less than half a month, Southern Jing will be in chaos, so even if we besiege the city and kill Pang Shao at this point, it will be difficult to stop his plan.”
He listened as Huo Wujiu paused, as if making up his mind.
“I have a way to secure the army,” he said. “Do you believe me?”
Jiang Suizhou did not speak for a moment, nor did he move.
However, Huo Wujiu released an impatient ‘tsk’. His tone turned more lighthearted, as if he was really not afraid of anything: “I’m asking you.”
“But…”
“No buts.” Huo Wujiu interrupted, “You just have to tell me if you believe me or not.”
This was sheer coercion.
Jiang Suizhou stopped for a moment, and then whispered reluctantly, “I believe you, okay? Then what are your next…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Huo Wujiu said.
After saying that, he gently let go of Jiang Suizhou.
The warmth on the side of Jiang Suizhou’s face and the back of his head suddenly disappeared, and for some reason, it gave rise to a feeling of emptiness and with no one to turn to.
He looked up at Huo Wujiu and realized that he, too, was looking down at him.
“Since you believe me, go back to sleep,” Huo Wujiu instructed.
Jiang Suizhou said, “But you forced me to say…”
“Go back to sleep,” Huo Wujiu repeated. “I’ll go out, and when you open my eyes tomorrow morning, I’ll give you an answer, all right?”
Huo Wujiu coaxed Jiang Suizhou into going back. Then he took Wei Kai with him and went straight to General Lou Yue’s manor.
He wasn’t at all calm as he had behaved in front of Jiang Suizhou.
He barged into Lou Yue’s residence, went straight to his room, and dragged Lou Yue, who had already fallen asleep, up. Lou Yue was sleeping dazedly when he noticed Huo Wujiu standing tall and stalwart in front of his bed. He also scolded unceremoniously, “Are you still sleeping? That old thief Pang Shao has already captured your nest, yet you’re still sleeping!”
Lou Yue only thought that he was having a nightmare. He didn’t realize that everything was true until Lou Wanjun, who came to the room, lit a lamp and illuminated the anxious Wei Kai and Huo Wujiu, who was pacing around the room.
“What’s the matter? Pang Shao?” Lou Yue quickly flipped over and sat up.
“Jingwang just received a tip-off that Fang Zhaohe, who he sent to Lingnan, has incited the army you left in Lingnan to defect!” Huo Wujiu informed him, “It won’t take half a month for them to find an excuse to launch a war in Lin’an.”
Lou Yue felt even more like he was dreaming.
“What scheme does Pang Shao have, huh?!” he countered sharply, “His Majesty already obeys him at every turn, yet he’s still not satisfied?”
Huo Wujiu had no time to explain the deepening tension between Pang Shao and the Emperor over the past few days, and only said concisely, “It’s just an appearance. I’m afraid he now wants to kill two birds with one stone. One is to eliminate his enemy, and the other is to change the dynasty.”
Lou Yue was stunned.
“How could that be?!” He said, “Even with your participation, it would be a drop in the bucket for these 50,000 troops to fight my 300,000 strong army! What’s more, Lingnan isn’t that far from Lin’an, with counties and towns making up the road. Where can they stage a battle?!”
By then, even if they won, the battle would drag on for at least a year and a half. At that time, how many people would have died?
Lou Yue didn’t dare to think about it.
“That’s why we have to strike first,” Huo Wujiu said.
Lou Yue quickly asked, “Do you have a countermeasure?”
Huo Wujiu pondered for a moment.
“I’m just taking a risk,” he said. “The only solution for now is to borrow Northern Liang’s soldiers.”
When Lou Yue heard this, he knew that Huo Wujiu had already made contact with Northern Liang, and was relieved.
“That’s great,” he said.
But Huo Wujiu said, “However, I want to borrow some of your soldiers and horses. I want light cavalry, fast-footed, and the more the better.”
Lou Yue was puzzled: “Why?”
Huo Wujiu looked at him and said in a deep voice, “People from Northern Liang can’t be totally trusted.”
Lou Yue was startled: “You mean…”
He hesitated to continue.
From the onset, he was quite surprised. With Huo Wujiu’s ability, how could he easily be captured? Either Southern Jing had prepared in advance, or someone of Huo Wujiu’s… had betrayed him.
With Huo Wujiu’s remark, it must be the latter.
Then Huo Wujiu nodded: “It’s just a guess.”
Lou Wanjun, who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two, could not help but frown and say, “Then if you step forward, won’t you be courting death?”
“That’s why I’m going to lead the army.” Huo Wujiu said. “You need to propose to Jiang Shunheng in the next few days and find some random excuse to send some of the army to the river bank. If the number isn’t considerable, he won’t stop you. Later, I will lead the army forward and set an ambush in the south bank. If they lower their guard, we can first capture the leader of the traitors, and the rest of the troops will be at my disposal.”
Lou Yue argued, “But how can you be sure that they will lead troops across the river?”
Huo Wujiu looked at him.
“They will definitely come.”
Beside them, Lou Wanjun mused, “If they want to help you, they will definitely come back; if they want to kill you … they won’t let go of the opportunity, right?”
Huo Wujiu nodded slowly.
Lou Yue deliberated for a long time and took a deep breath: “I will do things according to your arrangement.”
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