Chapter 721 - In Front of Jiamen Pass (I)
Chapter 721: In Front of Jiamen Pass (I)
Never mind ” in history,” cases of cannibalism could be easily found in recent years.
Dongqing had suffered from numerous natural disasters in recent years. In despair, some people had even exchanged children to eat. What was the difference compared to cannibalism during wartime?
The four factions of Nanman and the three tribes of the northern borderline sent their troops to the Central Plains to kill and rob all the time. Cannibalism happened among them frequently.
Huang Song sighed with concern. “Indeed, it’s not that rare. If possible, I’d rather we don’t see it happen at all.”
A brief glint flashed in his eyes. Perhaps only a world of complete peace could stop something so terrible from happening.
“It is what it is, unfortunately. Who likes to see such terrible things happen?”
Jiang Pengji looked into the distance at Jiamen Pass. Such a natural barrier between the two steep cliffs would cost them God knew how many lives!
Cheng Jing glanced at Jiang Pengji out of the corner of his eyes, more respectful than ever.
It was very windy in the mountains. Feng Zhen, who was not a big fan of cold weather, wrapped himself more tightly in his cloak. His pale lips now had a tint of blue in them.
“Since Jiamen Pass is difficult for the offensive forces to overcome but easier to guard for the defensive party, if we attack by force, we will no doubt pay a heavy price. That being said, we are not going to follow suit and use dead bodies to burn Jiamen Pass, are we?” Feng Zhen swallowed nervously and raised his fist to cover a light cough. “But if we don’t, I can’t think of any other way except straightforward attacking, which again, will make us lose a lot of men and will take forever.”
Jiang Pengji looked around to observe the terrain. Her thin lips were pursed in a stubborn line.
“How long do you think it will take the alliance to break Jiamen Pass based on its combat capacity?” she asked.
Standing right next to Huang Song, Feng Jue placed one hand on his forehead and took a look at Jiamen Pass.
“The road leading to Jiamen Pass is very narrow. It’s very, very hard. Based on the alliance’s fighting capacity, if we attack directly, maybe it will take one or two days. If the defense is really prepared behind the Pass, it may take one or two days extra.” Feng Jue then continued with a sarcastic smile, “Except that the alliance is suffering from internal dissension. As soon as they see what Jiamen Pass looks like, they will probably turn around.”
Why would they retreat up upon seeing the Pass?
It was narrow and flanked by two cliffs, which meant that the spearhead of the mission was inevitably doomed.
Who would volunteer to complete the task?
Even if a force didn’t mind going first, they would not want to sacrifice themselves. This meant that they wouldn’t try their best to succeed.
When Jiang Pengji and Huang Song snuck out, the alliance was in the middle of a big meeting to decide who would spearhead the campaign.
Just thinking about their arguing gave Feng Jue a headache. He rubbed his forehead as if he could still hear them fighting with each other.
“If we don’t solve this problem, Jiamen Pass will hold us off for about 10 to 15 days, if not longer,” Cheng Jing said.
10 to 15 days?
Prince Changshou’s army had already reached Chenzhou territory and was occupying more and more of the area daily. Who knew what it would be like after 10 or even 15 days?
At the same time, the alliance forces were arguing terribly over the issue. No one wanted to go first for fear of burning themselves out for nothing.
Besides, they would not dare to make Yang Jian go first and sacrifice himself for them this time.
Ever since Yang Jian had made a huge scene and called everyone out, they’d realized that he would not stand any nonsense. Setting him up? Probably not.
All forces agreed on one thing: They would hold back and try to get someone else to do it.
Those who had fewer men argued that if they lost everything at Jiamen Pass, how could they face their people afterward?
Those with a lot of men also had their concerns. They reasoned that even though they had a higher head-count, they were not properly trained, therefore not suitable for spearheading.
Sitting on the seat of honor and listening to the going-no-where arguments, Xu Pei looked grim and overwhelmed.
Xu Fei, who was sitting next to him, found the look on Xu Pei’s face satisfactory. Xu Pei had fought so hard with him to become the alliance leader. He totally deserved this mess!
It wasn’t an easy job for him indeed, especially because everyone under his leadership only cared about themselves.
A full day passed and they still had not reached an agreement. The meeting ended and everybody left in misery.
Jiang Pengji went back to their own camp with Feng Zhen and Yang Si. They saw that Liu She was on his way back from the meeting as well.
“May I ask you something, father?” Jiang Pengji walked up to Liu She, holding Little White’s reins. “Do you have a minute?”
Liu She responded with a warm smile. “I always have time for you, Lanting.”
Yang Si and Feng Zhen were impressed by the father and son (actually daughter) interaction.
“How much do you know about Meng Zhan of Cangzhou, father?”
“Meng Zhan?” Hearing the name of his former brother-in-law and friend, now his current archenemy, Liu She furrowed his eyebrows. He continued in a cold voice. “Meng Zhan and I used to be best friends in school. We later broke it off because of what happened with your mother and your aunt. Now we have no contact anymore so I don’t really know much. Why did you mention him so suddenly? Did you discover something when you went out to check the terrain? Was it something about Meng Zhan?”
“There were signs of fire damage near Jiamen Pass, so I figured Prince Changshou used dead bodies to burn his way through the Pass, which would explain why his army broke through so quickly. Maybe Meng Zhan was the person who proposed this plan. That’s why I want to know more about him.”
Liu She laughed a little.
“It does sound like something he would do. That’s who he is. He acts like some artsy gentleman, yet he’s a real ruthless character in disguise,” Liu She scorned. “When I was still friends with him, I had no idea. When he was younger, he was well-known for being a gentleman. But things change, and people change. Within the Meng family, things can go really ugly among the family members. Meng Zhan may have had no way to survive if he did not choose to fight.”
When Meng Zhan was young, he’d indeed been a real gentleman who everyone admired.
Time, however, could change a person inside and out.
His situation made him into a different person. Liu She did not see it coming, thinking the Mengs were a loving family.
Introducing Meng Zhan to his sister-in-law, leading her to marry this real-life werewolf, was one of the very few awful decisions Liu She had ever made.
“The internal conflicts within the Meng family were pretty fierce. Meng Zhan made it and won. Of course, he is a crafty man.”
Jiang Pengji knitted her brows heavily. She then asked about the result of the alliance meeting.
Liu She sneered. “A bunch of irresponsible cowards. Everybody wanted to have someone else die for them. What kind of progress could come out of that?”
After talking to Liu She, Jiang Pengji returned to her tent, staring blankly.
“Jingrong and Zishi, please tell me, if you were Meng Zhan, what would you do next after helping Prince Changshou take Jiamen Pass?”
Feng Zhen and Yang Si exchanged looks.
From Prince Changshou’s perspective, of course, holding the alliance off as long as possible sounded wise.
Jiamen Pass was a natural set-up where the alliance’s internal disagreements could be aggravated.
But that wasn’t enough. They needed to be pushed a little harder.
Yang Si had worked for Prince Changshou for a while and knew a thing or two about the man.
But everything about the enemy’s strategies sounded so much like the Meng’s style. Speaking of the Meng’s, who would know more than Meng Hun?
Jiang Pengji then said to a soldier, “Call for Colonel Meng, now! I need to discuss something very important with him.”