Chapter 1467 - 1142: Charcoal Fire

At the same time, at the rear of the one hundred thousand strong army, a tent was quickly erected as a temporary encampment.

Xiao Yuansui sat upright within, the tent flap wide open, allowing a direct view of his army formations ahead. However, due to the distance, the distant Hulao Pass was almost indistinct, with only scouts darting back and forth to report on military situations.

A soldier came forward to report: "Great General, the gates of Hulao Pass are tightly shut, refusing to engage in battle."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuansui raised an eyebrow slightly and instinctively glanced behind him — of course, he couldn’t see anything. A wooden board stood in the center of this temporary central army tent, serving as a makeshift screen, upon which hung a map of the terrain in this area. But he wasn’t looking at that map; rather, he wanted to see if there would be any reaction from Shang Ruyi behind the tent.

Naturally, he couldn’t see that either.

Yet, he still keenly caught the sound of sharp breathing, which brought him a certain satisfaction.

However, he immediately regained his composure and asked, "Is there any activity on the battlements?"

The soldier promptly replied, "Some of us have crossed the Sishui and saw Yu Wenye and Shen Tu Tai atop the battlements, but they are merely observing our side without any reaction."

At this moment, a general within the tent promptly laughed and said, "I reckon it’s not a lack of reaction, but that they’re too frightened to react!"

Upon hearing this, others also burst into laughter, saying in unison, "Exactly."

"With our army of tens of thousands, let’s not just talk about a small Hulao Pass, we could even flatten Tongguan and Chang An City!"

"Great General, let’s deploy our troops!"

Indeed, not only these few generals were exuberant, but even those who had opposed deploying troops today also sighed with relief upon hearing Hulao Pass refused to engage, showing expressions of joy. It’s uncertain whether this emotion spread forward from the central army tent or backward from the soldiers laughing uncontrollably at the closed gates of Hulao Pass, but in any case, everyone felt immensely pleased.

Among them, the most eager was Shi Yutao.

Seeing the high spirits of the crowd, he instinctively took a step forward, intending to say something to Xiao Yuansui, yet before he could speak, Xiao Yuansui, as if anticipating his request for battle, gave him a stern look and forced him back.

Shi Yutao, feeling stifled inside, retreated.

He wasn’t unaware of his current position in the army; previously he could stand beside Shi Yuxin in the front ranks, but now he was relegated to the very end among the generals, not solely due to his consecutive defeats, but especially because captured generals held the lowest prestige in the army.

To lead troops, what face did he have?

Nevertheless, his heart remained uneasy, and he quietly said, "Great General, taking advantage of the current high morale, shouldn’t we cross the Sishui?"

Upon hearing him still speak, Xiao Yuansui’s brow furrowed slightly, and he simply said, "Naturally we will cross, but not the whole army across the Sishui."

Finishing, he instructed the soldier: "You, gather another squad to cross the river, go to the front of Hulao Pass and challenge them, say what’s most obnoxious, insult them as harshly as you can." He paused and glanced back before continuing, "Remember, war is a man’s business; it has nothing to do with women, just curse at those with the surname Yu Wen."

"Yes!"

The soldier accepted the order and turned to leave.

Once he left, Shi Yutao, remaining in the tent, furrowed his brow, seeming uneasy and wanting to speak but didn’t manage to, as Hua Ziyang, standing beside him, had already reached out to press him down, saying in a low voice, "Even though General Shi is within Hulao Pass, Princess Qin is on our side, do you really think Yu Wenye dares to do anything?"

"..."

"He only captured your sister because she is highly capable."

Shi Yutao felt relieved upon hearing the former words; however, the final statement jabbed at him like a needle, causing a prickling in his heart.

No matter the diverse feelings within this tent, across the way, the squad of soldiers soon crossed the Sishui, arriving at Hulao Pass where they began hurling curses—generally, in a challenge, insults are as dirty as they can get, as penetrative as possible, accompanied by notoriously crude soldiers whose mouths were naturally foul, thus it didn’t take long for the soldiers on the battlements to feel their tempers flare, especially Xue Lin, who though not standing on the battlements, was leaning against another section of the wall, now could not hold back.

He turned abruptly to leave the battlements, but after taking a couple of steps, he saw a figure blocking his path.