53. Chapter 53 Opportunity to make meritorious deeds
"Hey~ why is that girl walking like us?" Bai Qilang, with sharp eyes, saw Mu Qiulan following Xiao Jingchen.
Laiji said: "What else can be done? If the flowers don't bloom for a hundred days, they must have fallen out of favor!"
"It's only been a day and you've fallen out of favor?"
"What's so strange about this? The prince has power and looks like that, but what kind of beauties are there without him? It's just that the picture is fresh for a while."
Bai Qilang shook his head: "I don't think His Highness King Qi is that kind of person."
"Are you very busy?" Zhuang Wan glanced at him and said, "Mind your own business!"
"Brother Zhuang Wan, don't pay attention to them." Chen Wujin said: "These two are just like that long-tongued woman. Look, Brother Daniu has already gone ahead, let's catch up quickly!"
Zhuang Wan glanced forward and nodded.
"What's going on in the past two days?" Lai Er looked at Zhuang Wan's back and said, "Both Li Daniu and Zhuang Wan don't look right, so there's no need for Li Daniu to say anything. He doesn't talk much in the first place, but Zhuang Wan doesn't do it now.
It's like someone provoked him, he's very angry. Old Qi, do you know what's going on?"
Bai Qilang: "..."
"Hey~ I'm asking you something!"
Bai Qilang glared at him: "It's none of your business! Mind yourself, you long-tongued woman!"
After that, he chased Zhuang and Wan: "You two, wait for me!"
Laiji felt aggrieved. Wasn't he just curious about why a tongue-tied woman came to be?
The army camped more than 20 miles away from Mangshan Pass. The scouts sent came to report that the Nanyi army also camped outside Mangshan Pass.
Although tomorrow is the day when the two armies will fight, in order to prevent the Nanyi night attack, Xiao Jingchen ordered the entire army to be on alert and not to relax.
Xiao Jingchen pointed to the sand table and said to the generals present:
"There is a canyon in the southwest corner of Mangshan Pass that leads directly to Nanyi. It was not surveyed before because it was covered by rocks. Fortunately, General Pang reported it in time. So now we need to send troops to guard this place. Do you have any good ideas?"
Han Wei said: "The last general is willing to lead troops to guard."
Pang Ao said: "General Han wants to lead the three cavalry lines on the right. How can he use his time to defend the canyon?"
"General Pang, I'm not going there personally. I asked my centurion to lead the troops to garrison."
"A centurion under your command?" Pang Ao said with a smile: "Isn't it the one called Ma Hu? General Han, Pang wants to remind you that although the canyon here is covered with rocks and surrounded by cliffs, you can't care less.
Whether it's an attack or a retreat, it's the closest path for Nanyi, and you can't just pick anyone to take on this responsibility."
"General Pang also said that the canyon is surrounded by cliffs, so how can the Nanyi people fly with wings? Before the war even started, General Pang had the ambition of others and destroyed his own prestige!"
"How does Pang increase the ambition of others? This is a case-by-case discussion. If there is any discrepancy, can General Han be held responsible?"
"I……"
"Okay!" Xiao Jingchen shouted: "Stop arguing!"
He looked at Pang Ao: "Does General Pang have a more suitable candidate?"
"Yes!" Pang Ao clasped his fists and said, "The general wants to recommend someone."
"who?"
"Li Daniu!"
"Hmph..." Han Wei sneered: "It turns out that General Pang is also a nepotist. Then Li Daniu has no merit and no fame, so why can he take on such an important task!"
Pang Ao said: "When promoting a virtuous person, do not avoid relatives. Although Li Daniu is under Pang, he is brave and resourceful. General Han should know who is more suitable between him and Ma Hu."
Han Wei said disdainfully: "Since General Pang can recommend Li Daniu, I can also recommend Mahu. As for who to send..." He turned to look at Xiao Jingchen and cupped his hands and said: "I will ask the prince to make the decision."
Pang Ao also said: "Please make a decision, Your Majesty!"
Xiao Jingchen thought for a moment and then said: "General Pang is right. Although the canyon here is dangerous, we must prevent the Nanyi people from taking risks. Let's do this! Let the centurion under General Han lead five hundred people and three under General Pang.
Hundreds of people will guard together. If there is any enemy, they will sound the signal with arrows."
Pang Ao and Han Wei said nothing more, and both obeyed the order.
…
After the military order came down, there was an uproar in Pang Ao's barracks.
"Didn't you say we don't have to go to the battlefield?" Lai Er said with a sad look on his face: "Why do we have to guard some canyon? I heard that the canyon leads directly to Nanyi. If the Nanyi people attack from that canyon, how can we resist it?"
Chen Wujin said: "I also heard that there are cliffs dozens of feet high in the canyon. No matter how powerful the Nanyi people are, it is impossible to climb up from there!"
"Don't worry!" Bai Qilang said, "I think this is an opportunity that General Pang specially won for us."
"What an opportunity to make meritorious deeds!" Lai Er said: "Isn't this also because of the sloppiness? I am a centurion, so it is not our turn to make meritorious deeds."
Chen Wujin said angrily: "We are really enemies."
Bai Qilang asked Zhuang Wan, who was silent, "Do you think General Pang called Daniu here to entrust him with an important task?"
"That goes without saying!" Chen Wujin took over: "We must have a leader no matter what, we can't just listen to that careless person."
Zhuang Wan said nothing, looking up at Pang Ao's tent not far away, wondering what he and Yan Cheng were talking about.
Pang Ao looked at the place marked in red in the southwest corner of Mangshan Pass on the sand table, and asked Yan Cheng: "How likely are Nanyi sneak attacks here to be in your opinion?"
"It's hard to say!" Yan Cheng said: "If Nanyi succeeds in a sneak attack from here, they will be able to bypass Mangshan Pass and reach the rear of our army with food, grass and baggage. We must be on guard!"
Pang Ao nodded: "So don't be careless. It'll be fine if everything is safe. If the Nanyi people really attack from here, you must hold on and wait for support."
Yan Cheng said firmly: "Yes!"
Pang Ao paused and then said: "Although Ma Hu is a centurion, he will be in charge of the defense here, but you don't have to listen to his orders in everything."
He took out a token: "This is my token. At a critical moment, if you have any disagreement with him, you can use this token to dispatch troops."
Yan Cheng held his fist and said, "Thank you so much, General!"
Pang Ao patted him on the shoulder and sighed: "I hope we are worrying too much."
He also didn't believe that the Nanyi people could fly up from there.
"General..." Yan Cheng asked, "about Zhuang Wan..."
"Don't worry, I will arrange for him to enter the Huotou camp and will not set off with the army."
"Thank you General!"
"There is no need to be polite between you and me, brothers!" Pang Ao asked doubtfully: "Although Zhuang Wan is short in stature, he still has some abilities. Going to the battlefield does not necessarily mean death. Why do you want him to go to Huotou camp?"
Yan Cheng could only lie: "Because he has an old mother at home who needs to be taken care of. If something happens to him, the old man will have no way of living."
"Oh...that's it!" Pang Ao said: "Forget it, it doesn't matter if he is missing. In this battle, Nanyi will be defeated. I believe we can return in triumph in just two or three months."
Yan Cheng: "I hope so."
Chapter completed!