I summoned all the famous generals of history in another world.

Chapter 966 Meng Zhang's Grand Gift to Gu Changqing!

A reading feast: a vast collection of books and an unparalleled reading experience.

"Order the entire army to break camp immediately!"

The moment Su Ye breathed a sigh of relief, no one saw the half-fallen talisman ash that drifted from his sleeve.

Meanwhile, a hundred miles away at Luoxia Ferry, the Moon Goddess was holding the young prince, embedding spells into the child's forehead.

"This child's fate has been altered; no one will ever find him again. Duke Su can rest assured."

The river sobbed, swallowing their conversation. The corpses of hundreds of Qiankun Imperial Guards floating on the river were slowly drifting eastward with the current, like the final sigh of the Great Qian Dynasty.

...

Meanwhile, in front of the Panlong Hall of the Qiandu Imperial Palace, Meng Zhang reined in his horse and stood still, gazing at this core building that symbolized the four hundred years of the Great Qian Dynasty's foundation. The setting sun cast his long shadow, a twisted dark shadow on the white marble steps, like a lurking beast baring its fangs.

The setting sun outside the coiled dragon was like blood, casting a faint glow on the bronze taotie incense burner inside the hall.

Li Cunxiao, still in his armor, with blood dripping from the Yuwang Spear at his waist, was squatting in a corner wiping his Biyan mace. Qiao Shefei, arms crossed, leaned against a pillar, his black cloak stained with fragments of the imperial city's golden tiles, shimmering in the twilight.

"Commander, the brothers are searching the palaces. Should we leave some men here to keep watch tonight?"

The bloodstains on Qiao Shefei's armor were not yet completely dry, and when he spoke, they aggravated the scabbed wound at the corner of his mouth, causing him to grimace in pain.

This man, now known as the "Smiling Yama" by various Yellow Turban armies within the Taiping Rebellion, still considers himself Meng Zhang's personal guard commander.

"Leave two battalions of the Azure Dragon Legion to garrison the area, while the other units rest for two hours and then set off overnight."

Meng Zhang waved his hand casually, and the whip struck the gilded bronze cauldron with a crisp sound.

"Zhang Hao, what do you think that senior, Gu Changqing, is doing right now?"

He suddenly turned to Zhang Hao, who was curiously looking around, and smiled.

"What else could they be doing? They're probably mobilizing troops in Qianling County, waiting to collect our corpses."

Zhang Hao tore open the gap in his armor, sprinkled some wound medicine on the wound, and hissed as he breathed out cold air.

"So the quieter he is right now, the more prepared they are."

"Order all commanders to immediately proceed to the side hall for a meeting!"

Meng Zhang suddenly dismounted, threw the reins to his personal guard, and strode towards the Panlong Hall.

He slapped the twelve bronze xiezhi (mythical beast) heads in front of the hall, making them clang loudly.

As the last rays of sunlight sank below the horizon, the side hall of the Panlong Palace was already brightly lit with candles.

"Commander-in-Chief, you have terrible taste in picking spoils of war. This chair is uncomfortable; you might as well dismantle it and use it as firewood."

Li Cunxiao, his muscular upper body bare, was wiping the bloodstains on Yuwang Spear with a cloth when he heard Meng Zhang's footsteps and looked up with a smile.

"We can't tear it down; we'll keep it as a gift for Grand Tutor Gu."

Meng Zhang paused before the dragon throne, suddenly drew his sword and severed the armrest, gazing at the faint light emanating from the broken surface of the golden nanmu wood.

"Cunxiao, if you were to lead 50,000 Qinglong soldiers to face Gu Changqing's 200,000-strong army, could you hold out until reinforcements arrive?"

The entire hall fell silent; even their heavy breathing could be clearly heard.

"What is the commander-in-chief up to? The Yellow Turban warriors just finished taking down the tough nut of Qiandu; shouldn't the brothers be allowed a breather?"

Li Cunxiao slammed the tip of his spear heavily on the ground, the sparks that flew up startling the crows perched on the beams.

"Gu Changqing, with the Wuxiong and Chongyan Guards, plus Tan Mengjun's army to quell the rebellion, has a force of nearly 400,000. If he gathers the defeated soldiers of Qianzhou, he may be able to assemble an army of 500,000."

Meng Zhang traced the serpentine march route on the map with his fingertips, drawing a blood-red circle over Qianling County.

Do you know what an army of 500,000 means?

He suddenly looked up, the candlelight casting dancing shadows in his eyes.

"During the Taiping Rebellion, 300,000 Taiping followers attacked Luzhou City, but were blocked by 120,000 Daqian government troops at Fangcun Pass in Luzhou and could not advance an inch. The mountains of corpses and seas of blood were piled up higher than the pass walls."

Before Li Cunxiao could speak, Meng Zhang had already answered his own question.

"Gu Changqing is a hundred times better at commanding troops than those good-for-nothings. Give him 500,000 troops and he can crush millions of ordinary Yellow Turban soldiers into dust."

He flicked the battle report off the table with his finger.

"Does the commander-in-chief mean... to take the initiative?"

Zhang Hao suddenly stood up, the iron chainmail at his waist clanging loudly.

"Exactly!"

"Thirty li north of Qiandu lies Gourd Valley, with steep cliffs on both sides and a narrow official road in the middle. If an ambush is set up here..."

Meng Zhang's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his fingers drew a sharp arc on the map.

"Liang Fang and Liang Lin will lead 30,000 elite Qinglong Legion troops as bait, while Qiao Shefei will lead a portion of the Yellow Turban Warriors and 20,000 Qinglong Legion troops to ambush at the western cliff. I will personally lead 150,000 troops to encircle them from the rear. We will then sing 'Inviting the enemy into the trap' to Grand Tutor Gu!"

He suddenly turned to Liang Fang and Liang Lin, the two brothers, behind him.

"It should have been like this a long time ago! These days, being a sitting duck on the city walls, either fighting in sieges or street battles, has been incredibly frustrating!"

Li Cunxiao was thrilled by what he heard, and the Yu King Spear danced, creating swirling snow shadows.

"What's the rush?"

Meng Zhang smiled and pressed down on his spear shaft.

"Gu Changqing is always cautious in his military campaigns. If we don't set a bait, how can he easily take the bait?"

"These are Si Cangqiong's personal tokens and the military seals of the Twelve Xuanlong Guards. Send them to Gu Changqing by fast horse, saying..."

Suddenly, as if by magic, he produced a brocade box from his sleeve, inside which were half a tiger tally and a golden sword.

"Brilliant! Let's say Si Cangqiong isn't dead, but imprisoned in Calabash Valley, and lure him to rescue him!"

Qiao Shefei leaned closer to examine the tiger tally's pattern and suddenly chuckled.

"Then have the brothers pretend to be defeated soldiers, crying and recounting the fall of Qiandu along the way, so that Gu Changqing will believe that we are complacent and lax in our vigilance after capturing Qiandu."

Meng Zhang nodded, the candlelight casting a flickering shadow in his eyes.

"But Gu Changqing has spent half his life on the battlefield; he's experienced and shrewd. If he sees through it..."

Li Cunxiao suddenly frowned, somewhat uncertainly.

"So you have to act it out realistically."

Meng Zhang tapped the secret letter on the table with his fingertips; it was a copy of the letters he had exchanged with Su Ye.

"Cunxiao, when the time comes, you will take Gu Changqing's head directly. Qiao Shefei will lead his troops to intercept and kill the central army. Someone will lead the Yellow Turban warriors to charge the commander's flag—with Gu Changqing dead, the army will be leaderless, and the overall situation will be settled!"

Meng Zhang was silent for a moment, then suddenly lowered his voice and said to Li Cunxiao.

Suddenly, the candlelight in the side hall burst open, casting everyone's shadows on the wall like a chaotic dance of demons.

"Good! This time, I'm going to smash those heavily armored soldiers of the Martial Hero Guard into a bloody pulp right in front of the Great Qian Army God!"

Li Cunxiao slammed the Yu King Spear heavily on the ground, causing the accumulated dust on the beams to fall in a flurry.

"Don't forget that there is also a Duke Zhenguo in Gu Changqing's army."

"The elite Imperial Guards under his command are not easy to deal with."

Qiao Shefei suddenly interrupted, his purple armor emitting a cold, sharp light.

"This is a deployment map of the Imperial Guards under the command of that Duke Zhenguo in Gu Changqing's army. Cough... it was just sent by the Taiping Guard."

Meng Zhang remained silent for a moment, his expression somewhat unnatural, before suddenly pulling out a roll of parchment from under the table.

"See that? This Duke of Zhenguo patrols the east side of the commander's tent every night at 9 PM, making the western side the weakest point of defense..."

He ran his finger over a mark on the map.

"Is the commander-in-chief planning a decapitation strike?"

Li Cunxiao suddenly grinned and laughed.

"Beheading isn't enough?"

"I want Gu Changqing to watch as his Wuxiong Guard, Chongyan Guard, and Tan Mengjun's army that quelled the rebellion all turn into lonely ghosts in Calabash Valley!"

"Order the entire army to break camp in one hour! We've prepared a grand gift for the pillar of the Great Qian Dynasty!"

Meng Zhang suddenly stood up, his face flickering in and out of the candlelight, and then suddenly raised his voice.