Chapter 434: A soldier never tires of deceit
"Master Yan, with a little testing in the ruined temple, we can find out whether Yun Zhuiyue is real or not. What do you think? I didn't lie to you, did I?"

At this moment, Sui Zuo had a confident smile on his face, as if he had anticipated the enemy's attack.

From his calm expression, nonchalant tone, and the respectful way he addressed Yan Wuji, it was not difficult to see that Sui Zuo had already gotten rid of his anger, and he was completely different from the "General Sui" who had just come out in anger.

Facing the "ever-changing" Sui Zuo, Yan Wuji was not surprised at all. He just smiled bitterly amid Sui Zuo's endless nagging, and said helplessly: "I have to admit that General Sui's vision of judging people is far more vicious than mine."

"Don't be fooled by Yun Zhuiyue's plausible words, they are actually nonsense." Sui Zuo snorted, "What do you mean by abandoning the dog after the rabbit is dead? What do you mean by not trusting him? They are all excuses. In the end, he just doesn't want the Central Plains martial arts world to be overturned."

"Although Yun Zhuiyue is a heretic in the martial arts world, he still has some regard for the feelings of his fellow tribesmen." Yan Wuji sighed, "Such a person can only be used, but not reused."

"That's right!" Sui Zuo smiled contentedly, "Fortunately, Elder Yan still has his sanity and brought me here tonight to test him together. Otherwise, we would have pinned all of the Khan's hopes on Yun Zhuiyue, and there might be some trouble in the future. In my opinion, Yun Zhuiyue's alliance with us is fake, and the real purpose is to use us to achieve his own goals."

Yan Wuji raised his eyebrows and asked, "You mean... he wants to use us to sit on the throne of the leader of the martial arts world. After the success, he will kick us away?"

"It may be possible." Sui Zuo pondered, "Through the game tonight, I have concluded that Yun Zhuiyue is not loyal to the Khan. On the contrary, he not only has selfish motives, but also has other intentions. The Khan's temperament has always been close to his own people and distant from outsiders. In all important battles, the commanders are all relatives of his clan, or at least his trusted generals who have followed him for many years. He will never use outsiders, let alone foreigners."

"That makes sense." Yan Wuji agreed. "When I proposed the plan to join forces with Yun Zhuiyue to the Khan, the Khan said 'You can only use him, don't trust him'. I think the Khan had already expected that he was unreliable. In fact, I knew that Yun Zhuiyue had hidden selfish motives, but I never expected that he would be so resistant to sending troops. In my opinion, it is not wise to expose one's selfish motives so blatantly."

"Based on my many years of military experience, Yun Zhuiyue's actions could be attributed to three reasons."

Hearing this, Yan Wuji's eyes lit up and he said hurriedly, "I'd like to hear the details!"

"First, we have just said that he cares about the friendship between our clansmen and does not want us to kill people. Second, just like a general leading his troops to fight, he only wants one commander in chief so that he can monopolize power and enjoy all the military merits. Yun Zhuiyue's move is a 'delaying tactic' if you say it's implicit, and 'nurturing the enemy for self-protection' if you say it's blunt. He does not want us to wipe out those gangsters in order to preserve his 'value' and his position in the Khan's heart." Sui Zuo explained, "Just imagine, once the Central Plains martial arts world no longer exists, Yun Zhuiyue will no longer be of any use, and will only end up like a rabbit after its death. Therefore, if he preserves the Central Plains martial arts world, he is preserving himself."

Yan Wuji felt deeply moved. Sui Zuo looked like a burly and rough man on the surface, but in fact he was meticulous and resourceful.

"Keep talking!"

"Third, Yun Zhuiyue wants to have the power of life and death alone, and he wants to decide the life and death of those Han people, not us." Sui Zuo said, "In other words, he tried his best to stop us from sending troops, not to protect everyone, but... to protect certain people. Little did he know that when the army approaches and the war begins, life and death will be unpredictable and life will be worthless."

Sui Zuo's words made Yan Wuji fall into deep thought. He frowned and thought hard for a while before he nodded slightly and said, "This... makes a lot of sense."

Seeing Yan Wuji was absent-minded, Sui Zuo couldn't help but move his eyes and asked, "Did Master Yan remember anything?"

"That's right!" Yan Wuji said, "Yun Zhuiyue once sent people to Luoyang to risk their lives to rescue the people from Jueqing Valley. As I expected, Yun Zhuiyue and the Lord of Jueqing Valley... seem to have a close connection. Thinking about it this way, it coincides with what General Sui just said."

"In any case, we must use Yun Zhuiyue and guard against him at the same time." Sui Zuo grinned, "If he can become the leader of the martial arts world and act according to the prior agreement, then we can postpone the deployment of troops and give him a chance to 'show his loyalty'. But once he fails in the martial arts conference, all the previous promises will be empty talk. At that time, we will still have to rely on our own troops. In any case, we must make full preparations to prevent any accidents. We must not let Yun Zhuiyue take over and lead us by the nose. In this alliance, he is just the 'follower' and we are the 'master'."

Yan Wuji looked embarrassed and said hesitantly: "But I have just promised Yun Zhuiyue that he will send people to closely monitor every move around Huashan. I am afraid that any disturbance will not escape his eyes..."

"There is no need to worry about this, Elder Yan." Sui Zuo smiled mysteriously and said, "There won't be a single soldier around Huashan. No matter how he monitors, he won't be able to detect any clues."

"Oh?" Yan Wuji looked surprised, "What do you mean?"

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war, how can we be slow? To be honest, the 30,000 troops were already arranged a month ago. As long as I give the order, we can attack Huashan in an instant and kill them all."

"Is everything arranged?" Yan Wuji looked around the vast wilderness and asked in surprise, "Where are your troops hiding? Why didn't I notice anything?"

"Although the Song army is weak, the Han people's military books are quite sophisticated." Sui Zuo said with a sly smile, "The Art of War by Sun Tzu says: 'Warfare is the art of deception.' The most dangerous place is often the safest. Therefore, my troops are currently lurking in the most dangerous place."

"The most dangerous place?" Yan Wuji rolled his eyes and asked suspiciously, "Where is it?"

Sui Zuo pointed his hand towards the north and said with a sly smile, "It's far away in the horizon, but it's right before our eyes." "Huashan Town?" Yan Wuji seemed to have some enlightenment. "You mean, you ambushed 30,000 troops in Huashan Town? How... is this possible?"

"How is it impossible?" Sui Zuo said proudly, "My troops are now on standby in Huashan Town, right under the eyes of those Han people. We are with them day and night, shoulder to shoulder. It's a pity that these Han people are blind and can't tell the difference."

"What do you mean?"

"In order to avoid arousing suspicion, I sent troops to infiltrate Huashan Town in batches several months ago and secretly captured the townspeople, leaving behind women, children, the elderly and the young. At the same time, I had my soldiers disguise themselves as young and strong townspeople, working from sunrise to sunset..."

"What?" Yan Wuji suddenly realized and was immediately shocked. "You mean... the people in Huashan Town are all soldiers you secretly set up?"

"Not just the common people. There are also many soldiers disguised as wandering knights, merchants, monks, and even beggars. Even among the craftsmen recruited by Shen Dongshan to build the sword arena, many are my people. Scattered, they finally managed to infiltrate Huashan without anyone noticing. Now, I only need to give an order, and they can instantly turn the people into soldiers and rise up." Sui Zuo said solemnly, "Old Yan, how is my trick of hiding the truth from the world?"

"Brilliant! Really brilliant! I admire you! I admire you!"

Until this moment, Yan Wuji finally understood why the Mongolian Khan let Sui Zuo be the commander of the Jingbei camp.

This man is not only loyal, experienced, skilled in martial arts, and ruthless. More importantly, he is courageous, knowledgeable, brave, and resourceful, making him a rare general.

This desperate "hiding the truth from the heavens" strategy alone is enough to demonstrate his extraordinary ability to command troops.

"To avoid any mistakes, I ordered all weapons to be hidden outside Huashan Town. That way, no one would suspect that there was a trick in the town." Sui Zuo said in annoyance, "Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. A batch of weapons hidden in the grain field of Xingyao Village were accidentally discovered by the people of the Xianwang Mansion. Since then, the secret ambush has spread all over Huashan Town and it has become uncontrollable."

"Now, even Yun Zhuiyue, who is thirty miles away, has heard about it. It shows that this matter is no longer a secret in Huashan Town." Yan Wuji pondered, "Fortunately, you hid the weapons outside the town, which can conceal people's eyes and ears. No one would have thought that the ambush was in the town. Moreover, if the weapons had not been exposed, I would not have thought of using this to test Yun Zhuiyue's loyalty. At least there is a benefit for the mistake, and I have gained something."

"Being discovered is not a good thing after all. I think all the sects are actively preparing countermeasures right now." Sui Zuo said indignantly, "Old Yan, you know these people in the martial arts world quite well. If my troops have been exposed, how do you think they will respond?"

"Once the truth comes out, they will definitely put aside their past grudges and join forces to face the outside world. As for the countermeasures... most likely they will hold their ground and wait for help, cooperating from inside and outside." Yan Wuji pondered, "In my opinion, they will rely on the natural barrier of Huashan to hold out for some time, which will deplete our military strength. At the same time, they will send people to ask for help and mobilize manpower from various sects..."

At this point, Yan Wuji's eyes suddenly changed, and he exclaimed: "Not good! Since the weapons are exposed, I believe many people have sent letters for help."

"I will immediately send people to seal off Huashan Town. Not even a fly can fly out." Sui Zuo made a prompt decision and said in a deep voice, "I guess that only a few people have sent out letters for help. Even if most people know about this, they will be hesitant and think about it for a while to distinguish the truth from the false."

"That's right!" Yan Wuji nodded repeatedly. "Every one we stop is a success. If they lose a strong supporter, we will have a better chance of winning. In this battle, even if we can't kill all the martial artists, we must at least inflict heavy damage on them. Let them be afraid and no longer dare to be our enemy, let alone be used by the Song Dynasty court."

"It's not just that." Sui Zuo sneered, "Huashan is a dangerous place, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Once they put aside their past grudges and join forces to face the enemy, tens of thousands of gangsters will be ready to die, which will still be a big problem for us. Therefore, if we want to deal with them, we still have to use some strategies."

"General Sui means..."

"Either don't fight, or if you do fight, you must win a complete victory! If they gather together, they will be a huge threat to us. The best strategy is to lure them out of their holes and destroy them one by one."

"Once we let them leave Huashan, they will scatter like birds and beasts in an instant. Plus, with the reinforcements working together with them, I'm afraid some of them will slip through the net..."

"It doesn't matter! Even if they escape from Huashan, they can't escape the other net outside Huashan."

"General Sui means..."

"The martial arts conference will last for three days. Including today, we still have four days to prepare, which is enough!" Sui Zuo said fiercely, "I will immediately order another 10,000 elite soldiers to be mobilized from the Jingbei camp to rush here. Set up ambushes at all the passes and roads within 50 miles of Huashan Mountain, weave an invisible net, and deal with those fish that slip through the net. This time, I will make these self-righteous fools unable to escape!"

……

(End of this chapter)