My vicious dog, my horse, I can do whatever I want with it

Chapter 297: Turning against guests

With the New Year approaching, Zong Yanli also turned thirty-six years old.

Just after the New Year, she received a letter from Gao Jiayue with a list attached. Zong Yanli almost spit out the tea in her mouth when reading the letter. Her eyes were a little dull as she repeatedly chewed on the words in the letter.

'The Emperor Selects His Concubine'

Zong Yanli's pupils trembled, and he finally felt a sense of confusion as he reacted belatedly.

After the Chinese New Year, He Honglang was seventeen years old. He was no longer the child emperor as people talked about him in the past. Empress Dowager Gao decided to let go of the emperor and retreat behind the scenes after he came of age. The most important thing for the emperor when he came of age was to expand the harem and select concubines.

The list Gao Jiayue presented was none other than the daughters of ministers in the court. They were the ones who would be of great use in assisting the king in the future. They were selected to enter the palace and to check and control the court affairs. He also wanted Zong Yanli to take a reference from them.

Zong Yanli carefully checked the list. The more he looked, the more clearly he could see how rapid Daqian's rise was.

She was not a person who was good at scheming, but she was definitely not a brainless general. Zong Yanli did not pay attention to the children of the officials in the capital, but paid attention to the daughters of the states and counties. The former Nankang and Qingguo areas have changed over the years, and the power of the state government has gradually formed.

Zong Yan singled out a few people, and mentioned in the letter that the relationship with Jin and Gao should be consolidated to stabilize Daqian's position.

After careful consideration for a long time, although it is the best choice to propose a concubine to enter the palace, she also needs to pay more attention to the emperor's preferences and should not be controlled like a child. Finally, regarding who should be chosen as the queen, Zong Yanli did not give much opinion. Perhaps Gao Jiayue already has a candidate.

"Father." When Zong Yanguanghe entered, Zong Yanli had already handed the letter to Gao Feilin. He looked up and saw Zong Yanguanghe, and smiled slightly, "What's the matter?"

"I hunted a snow fox and came here to present it to my father!" Zong Yanguanghe's face was full of pride, and his voice was a little hoarse, which was unique to boys in the voice change period. Two years of accompanying the army had changed him greatly. His thick eyebrows and big eyes gradually showed some of the perseverance of a soldier.

His stature was gradually increasing, and now the armor on him was no longer as wide as it was before.

He still had no chance to personally fight in the battlefield, but he was already well versed in military tactics and military formations. His riding and archery skills became more and more powerful, and even his hunting skills were outstanding.

The winter snow had not yet melted, but he had already managed to catch the most agile and cunning snow fox in the snow, which showed that he had considerable skills.

"I want to use the snow fox fur to make a scarf for my father." Zong Yan Guanghe's eyes were bright and clear.

"Since you hunted it yourself, there is no reason for your father to refuse it." Zong Yanli smiled and nodded in agreement. Then, as if he had thought of something, he raised his hand and took out a letter from the table and said, "It's a letter from your grandmother, and there are also clothes for you."

"My grandmother wrote me a letter?" Zong Yan Guanghe's tone was tinged with excitement. He quickly took the letter with both hands and read it carefully. The letter contained not only a letter written to him by Han, but also a letter from Zong Yan Haoyan. The handwriting of the young boy was already quite elegant, and the font was graceful but the strokes were still childish.

The letter contained many long-winded questions, expressing his longing for his brother and his longing for his father. He hoped that he would grow up soon, and wanted to fight in the battlefield with his father and brothers, and he also wanted to show off that he had read many books.

Zong Yan Haoyan's intelligence and talent were fully demonstrated. He inherited Zong Yan's great strength. Although he was only six or seven years old, he was already able to move huge rocks and carry swords and axes. His skills were much stronger than Zong Yanli's back then. The martial arts teacher called him a genius.

When it comes to martial arts, he learns it quickly. He can master it naturally when holding a sword, and his quick mind has earned him many praises.

The word "talent" is fully demonstrated in Zong Yan Haoyan. Even someone as outstanding as Zong Yan Guanghe is far inferior to him.

Zong Yanli asked Zong Yanguanghe to go back and write a reply and then give it to Gao Feilin, while he got up and went to Xiao Tianhe's tent. Now there was no shortage of food and military supplies, but what was always in short supply was medicine. Since Feng Pei retired, Zong Yanli would come to Xiao Tianhe whenever he had a headache or a fever.

Naturally, Xiao Tianhe also became the third person in this tent, besides Long Feiguang and Pei Liang, who knew Zong Yanli's identity. It was a thing of the past that he was surprised and shocked by him.

"General." Xiao Tianhe was fiddling with a book on herbal medicine. When he saw Zong Yanli coming, he nodded and greeted him. He turned around and took out the medicine bag he had prepared long ago and handed it to Zong Yanli, saying, "General, have you felt any relief from your headache recently?"

"Very little." Zong Yanli took the medicine bag with a sigh and frowned, asking, "Is there any more effective medicine?"

Xiao Tianhe sighed helplessly, looked at Zong Yanli with a solemn expression and said, "General, you are already middle-aged. Working day and night will inevitably hurt your body. You need to rest and recuperate from your headache. How can you do that in the current situation?"

He looked at Zong Yanli with an indescribably complicated expression, and then whispered: "The general didn't let me make it public. This medicine can only relieve the symptoms but not cure them. There are not many medicinal herbs available in the army..."

Zong Yanli frowned, then put the medicine in his pocket and said, "Got it."

Zong Yanli had a headache earlier, but it was just a intermittent pain and she didn't pay much attention to it. Recently, the headache has become more severe, making her sleep uneasily, so she came to see a doctor. Xiao Tianhe prescribed medicine for her, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

"Let's make it into pills next time..." Zong Yanli said to Xiao Tianhe dimly and left.

Although this headache is not a big problem, it is really painful when it happens. Zong Yanli, who doesn't sleep much to begin with, has not slept well for a long time because of the headache.

Gao Feilin also knew about this, and asked Zhao Zhangbu to ask someone to buy some calming incense. Zong Yanli didn't feel it calmed him after using it, but was stimulated by the fragrance and kept sneezing. In the end, he placed his hope on Xiao Tianhe.

Bu Gaoxuan was given the job of cooking medicine, and now he is doing it more and more handily beside Zong Yanli.

The war was still going on. The State of Lu had been invaded many times and was now exhausted. Zong Yanli guessed that the State of Lu would replenish its military supplies and fodder after the new year, so he decided to take this opportunity to block the enemy's food supply route.

If we can intercept it, that would be the best. If we cannot destroy it, that's fine too. If both are difficult to do, then just treat it as disrupting the enemy's food transportation routes. Simply making the enemy run more and causing trouble is fine!

Since you are prepared to fight a long war, there is no need to rush.

Inside Danlin Pass, Baines was indeed discussing the issue of grain transportation with his soldiers. He said with a serious look in his eyes, "Zong Yanli will definitely not miss this opportunity. We must ensure that the grain transportation is smooth no matter what!"

"Ask Kan Shi to come see me." Baines said, turning around and calling to Quan Liangpeng, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble General Quan for help this time."

"General, please give me your orders." After Quan Liangpeng and his soldiers joined Baines, the treatment they received was indeed good. Although it was not as good as the treatment he received under Min Wenshan back then, it was not too bad either.

"I want you two to go and support the food supply..." The fact that Baines mobilized all his elite troops was enough to show how much he valued food.

Zong Yanli and Baines's plans came at the same time by coincidence. As both sides were targeting food and grass, a fight was inevitable. After hiding and harassing the State of Lu for so long like annoying flies, they finally met head-on again.

However, Baines was not happy about this at all, and only felt lingering impatience in his heart.

Zong Yanli intercepted the grain route as he wished, fought with Kan Shi again, and ran into Quan Liangpeng. In the end, he didn't gain anything. Destroying a small part of the grain was the maximum he could do. After all, with Kan Shi escorting him, it was still difficult to succeed.

The spring chill had not yet faded, and when Zong Yanli led his troops back to the camp, Long Feiguang had already ordered his men to cook a pot of mutton soup and wait for them. The food in the army was getting better and better now.

"Judging from Benes' reaction, the national strength of Lu is gradually exceeding its capacity as we expected." Pei Liang said quietly as he sat aside.

"It's just the beginning." Zhan Haoyue raised his head and drank the delicious mutton soup and said, "Now Lu State only needs to deal with the military. After a while, Lu State will have to deal with the people, which is the most important thing."

"Now that Lu has obtained food and grass, I'm afraid they know that our army intends to delay the battle, and will definitely take this opportunity to send troops." Zong Yanli blew the foam on the mutton soup and whispered, "Turn the passive into the active. This is a good time for us to capture Danlin."

"How does the general plan to respond?" Everyone looked at Zong Yanli when they heard this.

"Everything remains the same. Let's go and harass the State of Lu first." Zong Yanli put down the bowl and raised his eyebrows slightly, saying, "Let the State of Lu think that our army is using the same old tricks again and is acting like the rat people."

"Bearns will definitely think that the main camp's troops are scattered everywhere, and will definitely try to attack the camp."

Zong Yanli stood up and put down the rolled-up map behind him. He pointed to the location of our army's main camp and whispered, "I will plan a good show for Baines to lure him into a trap."

Zong Yanli continued with a look of sadness on his face: "If Benesi sends out his troops, he will definitely spare no effort. The danger of Lu has already made him lose his composure. He will not dare to delay any longer as the army is in urgent need of food."

"Once the Lu army moves, they will come out in full force."

"I don't want to wipe out the Lu soldiers, I want... Danlin!"

Zong Yanli's finger slid across the map, and finally landed heavily on the location of Danlin Pass. There was a sense of confidence in her eyes that she had won the victory. Her dark eyes were full of determination. She said in a calm and powerful voice: "It will be easy to take over Danlin."

Zhan Haoyue and the others listened carefully, and finally their eyes lit up, stroking their hands and praising: "What a great move to turn the tables! Brilliant!"

After they finished the mutton soup in a few gulps, they began to discuss the specific deployment and how to divide the troops. They would continue to harass the State of Lu with Fu Jiashi as the leader and send the brothers Yan Yingshan and Zhu Jin to assist. They must make sure that the State of Lu think that they were using the same old tricks again.

After Bai Xiuyun died in battle, Zong Yanli selected a new general from the Ghost Camp to take over. This person was also one of the first Ghost Camp soldiers to follow Zong Yanli, and his name was You Zhenghao.

When he first entered the Ghost Camp, he was the youngest, but he committed the most serious crime. He had five lives on his hands. He was doomed to die, but he managed to fight his way out of it in the Ghost Camp.

Almost all of his former fellows who had joined the Ghost Camp had died. He had seen off too many brothers and met too many newcomers. Until the news of Bai Xiuyun's death came back, he finally felt despair, as if his faith had collapsed.

It was the appearance of Zong Yanli that pulled him back once again. In the end, he took over the Ghost Camp, put on the mask that Zong Yanli had left for Bai Xiuyun, and became the commander of the Ghost Camp.

At this moment, everyone in the ghost camp seemed to feel that their leader had never died and they were still together.

"General." You Zhenghao lowered his head and stood in front of Zong Yanli, bowing respectfully.

"I need you to do something." Zong Yanli raised his head from the table and said to You Zhenghao, "I want you to lead the Ghost Camp to bypass Danlin and launch a feint attack on Dingyang to attract the enemy's attention. When our army captures Danlin, we will encircle Dingyang from both sides."

"Before that, you need to split your troops into three groups and pass through these three cities to harass the enemy and disrupt their line of sight..."

Zong Yanli finished explaining all the strategic plans, You Zhenghao wrote them down one by one and went down to prepare immediately.

At the beginning of March, everything was proceeding slowly according to Zong Yanli's deployment. With Fu Jiashi, Yan Yingshan and others in place, You Zhenghao also led his troops to start a new round of harassment against the State of Lu. This familiar feeling made Baines laugh.

As military reports from various parts of Lu were submitted to Baines, he was almost certain that Zong Yanli was planning to repeat his old tricks in order to undermine Lu's national strength.

"We can't just sit there and wait for death!" Baines really took the bait. He was so angry that he slammed the military newspaper on the table and said angrily: "Lu can't afford to waste time like this! We must fight quickly and decisively!"

"General, now might be a good time." Yue Yuqi frowned slightly, thought for a moment and said to Baines, "If Zong Yanli really uses the same old trick again and divides his troops to fight, then the main camp will definitely be empty. General, you can take this opportunity to build up enough troops and capture the enemy camp in one fell swoop."

"But General, be careful. Zong Yanli's tactics are so cunning that we are caught off guard. We should further determine where the enemy's forces are divided..."

"Otherwise, if we fall into the trap, our army will suffer heavy losses."

Of course, Baines kept Yue Yuqi's warning in mind, and at the same time he distributed food and fed the soldiers while collecting intelligence. In succession, news came from five or six cities, indicating that the enemy had a large number of troops and was fighting hard to drive them out.

Baines was almost certain that everything was as he had guessed, so he gathered all his forces and prepared to go out and attack the enemy camp directly.

No one expected that Baines would come out of Danlin Pass and reach the enemy's tent unhindered. He thought he had guessed right, and that Zong Yanli's troops were scattered everywhere and had no way to resist his offensive.

Who would have thought that before he could show his joy, he rushed into the enemy camp and found that it was empty. All the tents were empty, not even the beds and quilts were left!

Upon hearing the news, Baines's face changed drastically, and his heart skipped a beat: "Oh no, I've fallen into a trap!"