novelhk Chapter 894 Calculation and counter-calculation, conspiracy!
Chapter 894 Calculation and counter-calculation, conspiracy!
In Yangping Pass, Gao Yao received the latest intelligence: the Chu army is actively preparing for a second attack on Xianyang, which will be larger in scale and more thoroughly prepared.
"Send a message to the Xianyang garrison to reinforce the city defenses and prepare for a more severe attack," Gao Yao ordered. "Also, have the Shenji Battalion expedite the transportation. No one is allowed to obstruct the transport. Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed!"
Outside Xianyang, the Chu army camp was full of flags and high morale. Xiang Yu stood on a high platform, gazing out at the walls of Xianyang.
After days of preparation, the Chu army had accumulated a considerable amount of black powder and improved its throwing device. Fan Zeng's counter-espionage plan also caused some chaos in Xianyang City. Although it failed to force the southern border army to leave the city for a decisive battle, it at least distracted the defenders.
"Your Majesty, everything is ready. We will launch the general attack at dawn tomorrow."
Xiang Yu's eyes were determined: "This time we will definitely capture Xianyang."
"Scouts report that Gao Yao has dispatched a large number of scouts to investigate the area around Yangping Pass. It seems they are planning to send troops!"
Xiang Yu sneered: "Okay, okay, I was just worried that Gao Yao wouldn't send troops. Now that he is ready to send troops, then our plan will succeed!"
Meanwhile, inside Xianyang, Li Zhao was making final arrangements. Damaged sections of the city wall had been urgently reinforced, the number of defenders had been increased, and various defensive equipment had been deployed.
Li Zhao remained uneasy. The Chu army's sudden attack on Xianyang was a complete surprise, clearly a preparation for a full-scale offensive. Even more worrying was the occasional minor riots and rumors within the city. While these hadn't yet posed a major threat, they had distracted him considerably.
"General, the Qingyi Society requests a meeting." The personal guard reported.
"Let him in."
Xuanwu walked in quickly, his expression serious. "General, we have confirmed that there is a Chu army spy network in the city. The main leader has not yet been captured, but we have seized several important strongholds. We recommend closing the net and arresting them immediately to prevent them from causing chaos in the city when the battle breaks out tomorrow."
Li Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "Yes. But be careful not to alert the enemy. Act simultaneously before dawn and capture them all in one fell swoop."
"Yes!" Xuanwu took the order and left.
Li Zhao walked to the edge of the tower and looked at the tiny flames of the Chu army camp in the distance. Tomorrow would surely be a fierce battle, perhaps determining the fate of Xianyang and even the entire Guanzhong region.
As night fell, no one in Xianyang could sleep. The Chu army quietly prepared its siege equipment, the Qin army stepped up its patrols, and spies and counterintelligence personnel competed in the dark alleys.
A tense atmosphere enveloped the entire city, like the calm before the storm.
In the secret room of the tavern in the south of the city, Goatbeard and others were making final arrangements.
"When the Chu army launches its attack tomorrow, we must all act simultaneously," the goateed man whispered. "One group will set fire to the granary, the second will create chaos, and the third will attempt to open the west gate. Do you understand?"
Everyone nodded, looking nervous and excited.
What they didn't know was that several spies from the Qingyi Society had been lurking in the shadows outside the window for a long time and had heard their plan clearly.
The night in Xianyang City always carries a certain solemnity. Moonlight, fragmented by thick clouds, dapples the bluestone streets, like countless pairs of prying eyes. The night watchman on the street corner strikes the third watch, the clappers echoing through the deserted alleys before being swallowed up by the endless darkness.
At this moment, in an unremarkable house in Xianyang's West Market, candlelight flickered, and five or six figures were cast on the paper windows, sometimes gesturing excitedly, sometimes arguing in hushed voices. They had no idea that their every move had already fallen under the surveillance of others.
"To act now would be to walk into a trap." Xiao Yuan, head of the Qingyi Society's Xuanwu Hall, knelt in a dark room, a map of Xianyang's defenses spread out before him. He tapped his finger lightly on the West Market area. "These people are just pawns. We're after the hand behind them."
Outside the window, a pancake vendor slowly pushed his cart past residential buildings, the wheels creaking rhythmically—a sign of safety. Across the street, on the second floor of a restaurant, a drunk leaned against the railing, seemingly sound asleep, yet in reality, he had a full view of everything going on in front and behind the houses. Farther away, at the alley entrance, two beggars argued endlessly over a steamed bun, their eyes constantly glancing in the same direction.
These were the eyes and ears of the Qingyi Society. They wove a giant invisible net, quietly covering the entire Xianyang.
Although Gao Yao was no longer in Xianyang at this time, but in Yangping Pass, his mind was still on Xianyang. Gao Yao also knew that Xianyang was special, not just in a symbolic sense. More importantly, for himself, Yi Xiaochuan, and the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan, Xianyang was related to a very special existence, that is, Tianxing.
So, years ago, when he had just established himself in this era, he had already begun planning. He knew Yi Xiaochuan too well, yet at the same time, he didn't know the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan well enough. The two of them shared knowledge and methods from the future. In this unfamiliar era, they were both fellow countrymen and rivals, sharing secrets spanning two thousand years.
"You must build a force entirely your own." Gao Yao still remembered what he had said to himself that night, after he was assassinated by the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan's men in his mansion. Raindrops streamed down the eaves, splashing on the stone steps. He had just experienced an assassination attempt, and although he had narrowly escaped, the feeling of hanging by a thread had left a deep impression on him.
From that day on, Qingyi Society was born quietly.
Gao Yao's selection criteria were unique. He didn't choose knights with great martial arts skills or strategists with profound knowledge. Instead, he set his sights on the most insignificant people in the market—street vendors, farmers in the fields, thugs in the market, and even the singing girls in brothels and the dealers in casinos.
These people have one thing in common: they are too ordinary, so ordinary that they will not attract anyone's attention.
"The most perfect way to hide isn't to hide in plain sight, but to blend in with the people and become a part of them," Gao Yao said to the first group of Qingyi Society members. In a remote mountain villa outside the city, more than twenty people of varying backgrounds stood quietly, listening to the arrangement that would change their fate.
The training was brutal and secretive. They learned tracking and counter-tracking, secret code writing, the use of concealed weapons, intelligence gathering, and even how to remain silent under torture. After the training, they returned to their original lives as if nothing had happened.
Even Lu Zhi only knew that Gao Yao was training some people, but she knew nothing about the specific circumstances. It wasn't that Gao Yao didn't trust her, but she knew that in this era of crisis, the less you know, the safer you are.
The conspiracy in the house lasted for nearly an hour.
Under the candlelight, a middle-aged man with a goatee seemed particularly excited: "In three days, the Chu army will attack the city. When that happens, we will set fire to the city to create chaos, and then suddenly attack the west gate. With a pincer attack from both inside and outside, Xianyang will surely fall!"