mtl008 Chapter 360 The Greedy Peng Qi
Chapter 360 The Greedy Peng Qi
This battle, in which Pan Zhang was killed and all Wu troops were forced to surrender, can be described as a great victory. However, Guan Xing had no time to rest and celebrate. Instead, he mobilized troops to set off again to deal with Zhuge Jin, who was about to arrive. To be honest, it was a bit of a hassle.
You must know that the Han army marched thirty miles in the night last night and fought a fierce battle for nearly two hours. They were exhausted and their horses were worn out. They had to launch another attack before they could even rest. Even an iron man couldn't withstand that.
But there was no other way. They had finally managed to lure Zhuge Jin out of Yuhan City. If they didn't take this opportunity to get rid of him and he was forced to return to Yuhan, it would take a lot of time and effort to deal with Zhuge Jin and take back Yuhan City. The situation was urgent, and Guan Xing had no time to waste.
Moreover, Zhuge Jin is not stupid. If he knew that Pan Zhang had been defeated during the advance, he would definitely retreat to Yuhan without hesitation. Therefore, we must launch an attack as soon as possible and intercept Zhuge Jin behind him before he receives the news.
Speed is of the essence in war; there's no time to waste.
Guan Xing convened a brief meeting with his generals, handed over the main camp to Ning Huan, and then led the three thousand Xuanjia soldiers who were uninjured and temporarily able to move away from the main camp, heading northeast.
He needed to get behind Zhuge Jin, so he couldn't take the main road and head straight for Yu Han, otherwise he would run into Zhuge Jin.
To avoid turning the encirclement battle into an encounter battle, Guan Xing could only travel in a semi-circle with Pan Zhang's camp and Zhuge Jin as the two ends, which meant taking many detours.
The battle was over, Guan Xing had left, and Peng Qi and You Chong, who were blocking Pan Zhang in the east to prevent him from breaking out and joining Zhuge Jin, no longer needed to hold out. Upon receiving the news, they hurriedly returned to the main camp to join Ning Huan.
Upon entering the camp and seeing Ning Huan, Peng Qi, whose head was wrapped in gauze like a rice dumpling, immediately opened his arms and laughed heartily, "Brother Ning, this battle was spectacular! It was over before the sun even rose."
Ning Huan spread his hands and sighed, "The bitter and fierce battles were all fought by the Han army. What does it have to do with us?"
Peng Qi laughed and said, "So what? We participated too. What are you planning to do next?"
Ning Huan said, "General Guan has already led his troops to circle around behind Zhuge Jin, and we are to defend and block him in the camp to hold him back. So we don't need to do anything now, we can just stay in the camp."
"Well..." Peng Qilu's eyes darted around wildly outside the bandage, and she started to get mischievous.
After pondering for a long time, Peng Qi put her arm around Ning Huan's neck and walked to the side. She looked around like a thief to make sure no one was eavesdropping before whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Currently, Wu's supplies and surrendered soldiers are all in the camp, and even the wounded Han soldiers are in the camp. In other words, General Guan has already obtained the supplies he promised us. We don't need to listen to General Guan anymore, right?"
"Besides, we are the Yue bandits from the mountains, and we are not on the same side as the government troops. If we stay any longer, I am afraid that Guan Xing will scheme against us. So what I mean is that we should stop waiting, pack our things and leave quickly. Let's go back to Pan Zhang's camp at Riyue Lake to rest for a few days, and then head straight for Nanchang as originally planned. After that, we will go north to Jiangling to start our great cause. What do you think?"
Peng Qi really didn't want to deal with government soldiers. If it weren't for dealing with Pan Zhang, a formidable enemy, he would never have cooperated with Guan Xing.
In other words, his cooperation with Guan Xing was only to deal with Pan Zhang. Now that Pan Zhang is dead, the cooperation has naturally ended. Why not take the spoils he has already obtained and run away? Why wait to be swallowed up by his ally?
"Uh..." Ning Huan looked at the smug Peng Qi and couldn't help but curse the national essence in his heart.
That damned Peng Qi, you want to destroy the bridge as soon as you've crossed the river? That's incredibly unethical.
Although he wanted to stab Peng Qi in the back like Li Tong did to Pan Zhang, he also knew that Zhuge Jin had not yet been dealt with, and now was not the time to turn against Peng Qi. So he had to find a way to dissuade Peng Qi from running away.
Ning Huan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "General Zong is wise. Now is indeed a good time to flee, but..."
"Commander Zong, you are a man with lofty ambitions, aiming to take Jiangling and become the ruler of Jingzhou. You can't just focus on immediate gains. Commander Zong, look, we are still two hundred li away from Nanchang, and it's even farther from Nanchang to Jiangling, more than a thousand li. What do we need most if we want to fight our way to Jiangling from here?"
Peng Qi had also led troops and fought battles, so this question was naturally no problem for him. Upon hearing this, he blurted out without thinking, "Needless to say, it must be provisions."
Ning Huan said, "That's right. Although Pan Zhang has a lot of grain, we have 20,000 to 30,000 people. Once this amount of grain is divided among them, there won't be much left. It's a question whether we can even hold out until we reach Nanchang, let alone Jiangling. So, if we want to achieve our goal smoothly, we must obtain more grain."
"Currently, the place with the most grain in Yuzhang is definitely Yuhan. Yuhan City has stored several months' worth of grain for Lu Xun's tens of thousands of troops. If we can get our hands on that batch of grain, it will be enough to attack not only Nanchang, but also Jiangling. What do you think?"
Peng Qi's eyes widened suddenly, gleaming with unprecedented greed. She exclaimed excitedly, "You mean we should feign compliance with Guan Xing first, and then wait until Guan Xing defeats Zhuge Jin and captures Yu Han before..."
Ning Huan nodded emphatically and said, "That's right, brother. Think about it, Guan Xing only has four or five thousand men, which is less than twenty percent of our strength. After fighting Pan Zhang and then Zhuge Jin, how many men will be left after these fierce battles? And how much fighting power will the remaining men have?"
"Besides, taking down Zhuge Jin isn't enough; there's still Yuhan City. After we deal with Zhuge Jin, we'll persuade Guan Xing to help us attack Yuhan City. Once we've entered Yuhan, we'll immediately..."
As he spoke, he raised his palm and made a downward chopping motion, then gave Peng Qi a knowing look.
Peng Qi immediately understood and said excitedly, "Brother, you are right. Let's do as you say. Once we take Yuhan City, it would be best if Guan Xing obediently pledges allegiance to me. If he dares to resist, we will immediately send him to see Pan Zhang."
What the hell?
You want Guan Xing to pledge allegiance to you?
You think too highly of yourself, you're just a bandit!
Ning Huan inwardly scorned him, but on the surface he smiled brightly and praised with admiration, "Brother is wise. So, do you think we should pack up and run away now, or build fortifications to defend against Zhuge Jin's attack?"
Peng Qi said almost instinctively, "Of course we should attack Zhuge Jin first and then take Yuhan City. Ouch, my damn wound is hurting again. I'm going to find Zhang Nan to change the dressing. I'll leave the rest to you."
After saying that, he turned and left, shirking his responsibilities. Ning Huan watched his retreating figure with a strong murderous intent in his eyes, and couldn't help but think to himself, "Damn Peng Qi, you really are both incompetent and greedy. Do you think you can even think about the grain reserves in Yuhan City?"
However, it was precisely this greed that allowed Peng Qi to live a few more days. If Peng Qi hadn't been so concerned about the remaining food supplies and had still decided to run away, Ning Huan would have already killed her.
Although killing Peng Qi now might lead to a rebellion by Bi Kui and others, Ning Huan believed he could stabilize the situation with the surrendered Wu soldiers at his disposal.
Wu Jun was just a sworn enemy of the Han army, but now he has become an important force for Ning Huan to contain Peng Qi's bandit army. It has to be said that variables are truly mysterious.
Since Peng Qi had already shown signs of rebellion, Ning Huan naturally wouldn't let him continue to act recklessly. After sending Peng Qi away, he immediately went to see the group of instructors from the scout camp. After that, he summoned Li Tong and ordered him to lead his trusted troops, who were guarding the military market with him, to keep an eye on Peng Qi, Bi Kui, and other bandit leaders. He was to be prepared to quickly kill Peng Qi to appease the bandits and suppress their rebellion should they turn against him.
Damn Peng Qi, since you want everything, then I'll make sure you get nothing.