Chapter 297: So This Is What You’ve Been Expecting in Your Heart
“Your waist is too thin.”
“A thin waist is good! A thin waist and soft body make it easy to push someone down.”
Yan Xiaosi answered without thinking, and only after responding did she belatedly realize that His Highness the War King was commenting on her waist.
Not expecting her to answer like that, Long Yu raised the corners of his mouth, feeling somewhat surprised.
His slender fingers, bearing slight calluses, gently hooked under her chin.
“So this is what you’ve been expecting in your heart.”
Yan Xiaosi’s face flushed red as she bit her own tongue in embarrassment.
In Long Yu’s eyes, she had always been a shameless and thick-skinned person who dared to say anything. Seeing her blushing face, Long Yu found it quite interesting and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Yan Xiaosi glared at him.
“Have you laughed enough?”
Afraid the little thing in his arms might explode in anger, Long Yu had to press his lips together and stop laughing.
“I’ve laughed enough. Let’s continue discussing what we were talking about earlier. How do you want to deal with the Rongdi army?”
Long Yu instantly became inscrutable and profound.
“Since Chunyu Hanfeng is trying every means to cross the river, why don’t we help him out and give him some advice?”
Yan Xiaosi somewhat understood his plan now.
“You want to make the entire Rongdi army mobilize together, then defeat them so thoroughly that they scatter like fallen flowers in spring, never daring to run wild in Great Chu again?”
Long Yu smiled and nodded.
“It’s not impossible. We can achieve this now.”
“You’re planning to use the newly made red-coat cannons against the Rongdi army?”
“Yes. Although we only have two red-coat cannons, combined with fire attacks and the fact that the Rongdi people are not skilled in water warfare, as long as we can trick them onto Yunluo River, even if we can’t defeat them as thoroughly as scattered spring flowers, we can still greatly damage the Rongdi dynasty’s morale.”
Yan Xiaosi very much agreed with his assessment.
Strike while the iron is hot, win decisively in one battle.
“But how are we going to get the river-crossing method to Chunyu Hanfeng’s ears?”
That day when they saw each other from afar on the warships, although Yan Xiaosi hadn’t gotten a clear look at Rongdi King Chunyu Hanfeng’s appearance, that man had an imposing presence and was definitely a shrewd person. Trying to lure such a person into a trap was really not an easy matter.
Long Yu had been pondering this problem for the past few days, and last night, he finally had some leads.
“A single vessel will bob up and down unsteadily on the turbulent river surface, but if iron chains are used to connect the bow and stern of all the warships, they can move as smoothly as on flat ground.”
Yan Xiaosi looked at the man beside her with bright eyes.
Wasn’t this a strategy from the Battle of Red Cliffs? This man could actually think of it – he truly was a military genius.
Under her surprised gaze, Long Yu continued: “On Yunluo River, fishermen often come to fish. We can use fishing boats to convey this method to Chunyu Hanfeng. Fortunately, even during wartime between the two countries, the fishermen in this area still go to Yunluo River to fish every day. Otherwise, this strategy couldn’t be implemented.”
Yan Xiaosi sighed softly: “Fishermen depend on fishing for their livelihood. If they don’t fish, they’ll starve to death. Even when two countries are at war, to support their families, they still have to risk their lives to go fishing on the river. They have no choice.”
Although Long Yu was born into royal nobility, after all these years of leading armies in campaigns across various regions, he had a deep understanding of the people’s suffering.
With wars raging year after year, not only did fishermen by Yunluo River risk going out to fish, but even more terrifying incidents of cannibalism had occurred.
He suddenly remembered the time when he was recovering from injuries in the dilapidated temple at Shaoyao Village.
The little thing’s family was impoverished, and eating an egg made him feel incredibly happy.
Now, hearing the little thing sigh for those fishermen, his heart ached with a sharp pain. He reached out to gently stroke her soft hair.
“Trust me, I will definitely defeat the Rongdi army and restore peace to the western borderlands of Great Chu.”
He thought Yan Xiaosi cared deeply about this.
Yan Xiaosi did care about this quite a bit – with peace in the realm, she could do business well!
“Yes, I believe in you.”
Fishermen usually went out to fish in the early morning or evening. Since the recent battles between the two countries had all taken place at noon or evening, the fishermen had been going out in the early morning, when dawn was just breaking.
The next day, at dawn’s first light, Yunluo River was shrouded in thin mist.
Three fishing boats drifted side by side on the misty river surface. Dim light shone from the boat cabins, casting a golden glow over the ethereal river.
Such a morning was serene and beautiful.
On both riverbanks, a team of Great Chu soldiers and Rongdi soldiers patrolled along their respective shores.
Seeing those three fishing boats floating remarkably steadily on the river from afar, the patrolling Rongdi soldiers stopped in their tracks.
The leading soldier stared at the river surface, his face full of puzzled confusion.
“This morning the river isn’t calm, so why are those three small fishing boats sailing so steadily on the water?”
“Chief, those three fishing boats have been sailing side by side on the river. How could boats arrange themselves so neatly on the water?”
A group of Rongdi soldiers were bewildered.
The leading soldier’s mind stirred, and he ordered: “You guys, continue following those three fishing boats. I’ll immediately go see the military advisor.”
“Yes.”
This place was some distance from the Rongdi military camp. After giving his orders, the leading soldier ran all the way back to camp to inquire where Military Advisor Tantai Yi was.
Rongdi King Chunyu Hanfeng was currently meeting with Tantai Yi, and the two were discussing strategy in the commander’s tent.
“I have urgent matters to report to the King and Military Advisor.”
The guard outside the commander’s tent reported inside, and soon heard Chunyu Hanfeng’s deep voice from within.
“Let him enter.”
“Yes.”
Chunyu Hanfeng looked at the soldier who hurried in and asked in a deep voice: “Such urgency. What has happened?”
“Greetings to the King, greetings to the Military Advisor. We were just patrolling along the Yunluo riverbank and discovered three fishing boats.”
Tantai Yi frowned.
“Discovering a few fishing boats warrants such a fuss! Several fishing boats appear on Yunluo River every day.”
“Military Advisor, today’s three fishing boats were somewhat strange.”
A hint of interest appeared in Chunyu Hanfeng’s eyes.
“Oh? How were they strange?”
“Those three fishing boats kept sailing side by side on Yunluo River. We followed them for a while and found that the three boats maintained their neat formation throughout. But this morning the river was quite turbulent, yet those three fishing boats not only arranged themselves very neatly but also sailed very steadily. I felt there was something suspicious about this, so I hurried here to report to the King and Military Advisor.”
After the soldier finished speaking, Chunyu Hanfeng and Tantai Yi looked at each other and exchanged a glance.
Tantai Yi said: “Indeed quite strange.”
Chunyu Hanfeng waved his hand decisively and stood up: “Lead the way. This king will personally go to the riverbank to see what’s going on.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The soldier led the way while Chunyu Hanfeng and Tantai Yi quickly rushed to the Yunluo riverbank.
When they arrived, the three fishing boats were anchored on the river surface.
As the soldier had said, today the river was very turbulent, yet those three fishing boats sat rock-steady on the water.
Several fishermen on the boats were casting nets.
The fishermen seemed to notice people on the shore watching them. Before even a quarter-hour had passed, they hurriedly pulled up the nets they had cast into the water, then frantically rowed away.