novelSusiti Chapter 79 The Iron Nail Falls into the Net—Sima Yi's Camp Begins Slaughtering Horses
Chapter 79 The Iron Nail Falls into the Net—Sima Yi's Camp Begins Slaughtering Horses
Midnight. Materials yard.
The moon was covered by clouds. It was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Chen Dao lay prone in a crevice between the piles of timber, covered by half of an old tarpaulin.
Two wooden strips were placed on top of the tarpaulin, mixed in with the surrounding waste.
He arrived at the end of the Xu hour (7-9 PM). He had been lying down for three hours.
My leg went numb twice. My left elbow was pressed against the edge of the wood and I couldn't feel it anymore.
The area around the material yard was so quiet that only the chirping of insects could be heard.
The two men on night duty were in the shed at the east end. The White Feather Soldiers had given prior notice—they didn't need to worry about the west end tonight.
One quarter past midnight.
Footsteps.
Light. Very light. Cloth shoes crunching on wood chips. Rustling. Coming from the south.
Chen Dao reached under the tarpaulin for the hilt of the short knife. He didn't draw it.
My steps stopped.
It's at the west end of the timber pile. About three steps away.
A figure. Short. Standing. Glancing around.
I waited for ten breaths.
There was no movement.
The figure crouched down. He pulled something from his pocket: a bamboo tube.
Chen Dao breathed as shallowly as possible.
Feng Qu squatted beside the pile of timber, holding a bamboo tube in his hand. It wasn't open. He was waiting for someone.
Wait for "Zhao An".
A quarter of an hour has passed.
Nobody came.
Feng Qu's hands began to move. He tucked the bamboo tube back into his robes and stood up.
I'm leaving.
Chen moved.
The tarpaulin was lifted. Wooden planks rolled down. With a clattering sound.
Feng Qu reacted faster than expected—he turned and ran.
I took a step.
Chen Dao's hand gripped the back of his neck. Five fingers. Tightly clenched. Feng Qu stumbled forward half a step, but was pulled back abruptly. The back of his head slammed against the pile of timber.
A muffled thud.
Feng Qu reached into his waistband—to find an awl. A sharp one. The kind a blacksmith uses.
Chen reached out with his other hand. He snapped it. A cracking sound came from his wrist joint. The awl fell.
Feng Qu opened his mouth to shout.
A wad of cloth was stuffed inside.
Two soldiers from the White Feather Army scaled the wall from the south side of the materials yard. The three men pinned Feng Qu to the ground and bound him with rope, his hands and feet tied.
It took less than ten breaths in total.
Chen squatted down. He took the bamboo tube from Feng Qu's arms. Then he touched Feng Qu's waist. A cloth bag. He opened it—seven black beans.
Feng Qu lay face down on the ground, a cloth stuffed in his mouth, panting heavily through his nose. He stopped struggling.
"Take him away. Use the secret passage. Don't let the engineers see you."
Two soldiers in white uniforms supported Feng Qu and helped him climb over the south wall.
Chen picked up the awl. He weighed it in his hand. A blacksmith's awl. The tip was sharpened. It could pierce leather armor.
He tucked it into his sleeve and walked towards the central command tent.
-
Central command tent.
Liu Shan was not asleep. He sat at his desk, flipping through geomantic maps.
When Chen came in, he was covered in the dampness of the night dew.
"Arrested."
Liu Shan closed the geomantic map.
Did he say anything?
"His mouth was gagged. I didn't have time to ask."
"Has there been any new developments from Zhao An these past couple of days?"
Chen Dao pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve. It was folded twice.
"We had another interrogation yesterday. Zhao Anduo confessed to one thing—Tie Ding was from the same village as him. He also had the surname Zhao. He used to be a blacksmith in the village. Later, he was conscripted into the Chencang garrison."
Liu Shan took the paper, glanced at it, and placed it on the corner of the table.
"Bring it over."
Chen hesitated for a moment.
"Is this where the trial is held?"
"Right here. I'll ask you a couple of questions. After that, take me away for further interrogation."
Chen went out.
Fifteen minutes later, Feng Qu was brought in.
The gag in his mouth was removed. His hands and feet were still bound. He was kneeling in the middle of the tent.
Liu Shan sat behind his desk. Only one oil lamp was lit. It was dim. Feng Qu looked up but couldn't make out the face of the person sitting above him.
"Feng Qu".
Feng Qu's body stiffened for a moment.
"The supply train of the garrison at Chencang was long. They surrendered in the sixth year of Jianxing and were incorporated into the engineering battalion."
Feng Qu kept his head down and remained silent.
"Zhao An's contact. Code name: Iron Nail. He sends a message to Chencang every half month. The message contains information about the Shu army's strength, supply lines, and the movements of its generals."
Feng Qu's shoulders trembled slightly.
"Zhao An confessed. Zhou Fu confessed too. You're the last one."
silence.
Liu Shan picked up the seven black beans from the table and placed them neatly one by one on the edge of the table.
"Sima Shi arranged this for you. Before the city fell—you were one of his men. When Chencang fell, you took advantage of the situation to infiltrate."
Feng Qu raised his head.
Two eyes in the darkness. Not fear. Shock.
"you--"
"I know everything. I'm just asking to confirm. Whether you tell me or not won't affect the outcome."
Feng Qu's Adam's apple bobbed twice. He swallowed.
"Would you live if you said that?"
"You can live without telling. But if you do, your family can live."
Feng Qu's body collapsed. He went from kneeling to slumping, as if all his tendons had been pulled out.
"Zhao Family Village, Wugong County. You're not surnamed Feng. You're surnamed Zhao. You're from the same village as Zhao An. You used to be a blacksmith."
Feng Qu—the man surnamed Zhao—closed his eyes.
"I said."
Chen stepped forward.
"Your contact. The one from Chencang. After the city fell—did he flee or surrender?"
"They surrendered. They're mixed in with the surrendered soldiers. But—"
He paused for a moment.
"He fled on the third day after the city fell. He headed east, saying he was returning to Luoyang to report back."
Ran.
Liu Shan's fingers stopped on the edge of the table.
They ran away, so be it. The line over there broke. These three sections over here—we've taken them all.
"Is there anyone else? Among the Shu army, besides the three of you, those planted by Sima Shi?"
"I don't know. I only know Zhao An. Zhao An only knows Zhou Fu. He only logs in with me online. I don't know anyone else."
Single-line communication. Standard espionage protocol.
Liu Shan waved his hand.
"Take him away. Lock him up. Take good care of him. Don't hit him."
Chen Dao set up Fengqu. He left the tent.
The curtains fell.
Liu Shan gathered the seven black beans from the edge of the table into his palm, squeezed them, and placed them in the hidden compartment.
Three fish. I bought them all.
This secret network within the military has been severed.
-
Day sixteen. Dawn.
The scouts' silk ribbons flew in like snowflakes.
The first letter.
"On the north bank. This morning, more than three hundred people crossed the river. Most of them were soldiers from Yanzhou. Among them was a garrison commander."
The second letter.
"In Sima Yi's camp, only five cooking fires remain today, compared to more than thirty before."
The third letter. It was delivered by Zhao Yun.
"In the camp on the north bank, the sound of horses being slaughtered this morning. At least ten horses."
Liu Shan placed the three silk strips under the paperweight.
The horse was killed.
The last resort when food supplies ran out: slaughtering warhorses for food. Cavalry without horses—were reduced to infantry.
"How many soldiers have surrendered?"
Chen Dao flipped through the booklet.
"As of this morning, a total of 1,423 people have been identified."
Sixty thousand people. A little over fourteen hundred ran. Less than three percent. But the pace is accelerating every day.
"What did the village head find out during his interrogation?"
"The interrogation was conducted. He said the camp is currently serving two bowls of horse meat soup daily. There's no grain. They're killing horses—starting with the packhorses. The warhorses haven't been touched yet. But there are only two hundred packhorses left."
Two hundred packhorses. They can't last two days.
Next came the warhorses.
An army of 60,000. More than 10,000 warhorses. One horse can feed 20 people a day. 10,000 horses—enough to last half a month.
But without horses, the cavalry is useless.
Sima Yi wouldn't be foolish enough to completely eliminate his cavalry.
He can make choices.
Or—a decisive battle across the river. While we still have cavalry.
Either retreat. Take the cavalry that can still run and retreat back to Luoyang. Leave the infantry behind in Chang'an.
Liu Shan pulled out the third draft of the strategy from under the table.
Turn to the last page.
The inscription reads: "On the seventh day, Sima Yi will either cross the river for a decisive battle or retreat to Luoyang."
Today is the sixth day.
tomorrow.
"Chen Dao, pass on the order to Wei Yan."
Chen took out his pen and waited.
"Wei Yan's three thousand cavalry, heading towards Puban Ferry, are to immediately move west and position themselves sixty li east of Chang'an, blocking the retreat route towards Luoyang."
Chen finished writing and sealed it with sealing wax.
"Send the message to Jiang Wei."
"Jiang Wei led 500 cavalrymen out from the western route of Longyou and moved to the north of Chang'an, forming an angle with Zhao Yun to the south."
Two orders. Seal the secret. It's over.
Liu Shan leaned back in his chair.
To the south—Zhao Yun pinned down 10,000 men at Wuzhang Plain.
To the east—Wei Yan's three thousand cavalry blocked the retreat route.
To the north—Jiang Wei's five hundred cavalrymen were putting on a show of force.
To the west—Zhuge Liang has trapped Guo Huai.
All four sides.
Encirclement.
"General Zilong."
Zhao Yun entered from outside the tent.
"Today's stove fire—add two wild boars. Cook them again."
Zhao Yun's lips twitched.
"Your Majesty. The surrendered soldiers on the south slope are drooling just from the smell."
"Let them flow. Let the north bank flow too."
Zhao Yun is gone.
Liu Shan stood up. He walked to the tent entrance and lifted the curtain.
Wei River.
The sun shone on the river. It was dazzlingly white.
That large camp across the way. Before, when viewed from here, it looked like a dense mass of flags.
Today, one-third of the flags are missing.
tomorrow.
Liu Shan loosened the curtain and returned to his desk.
I picked up my pen. On the last page of the strategy, I wrote four characters.
"Please enter the urn."
[End of Chapter]