Under the dim starlight, everyone nodded silently. They then broke into over twenty small teams, carefully hiding their incendiary materials. They slowly mingled with the Jin soldiers.
Within the Jin ranks, the uniforms were already chaotic. So far, the Jin camp had Jurchen women in iron armor, Liao defectors in leather armor, and of course, more Song soldiers in cloth armor.
Although this was the heart of the Jin camp, Liu Xu was surprised that they had managed to infiltrate with hundreds of men without the Jin noticing. A Jin patrol even passed them by without a second glance.
"Attack!"
Seeing the Jin patrol move away, Liu Xu immediately signaled to the soldiers behind him.
Upon receiving his order, the soldiers beside him took out the incendiary materials they had hidden, lit them, and threw them directly onto the nearby granaries.
"Fire! Fire!"
"What's that noise outside?"
Hearing the commotion outside, Han Qinghe and his crony scrambled out of bed.
"Reporting to the General, the rear camp is on fire!"
"The rear camp! Quickly arrange for people to put out the fire!"
Hearing this news, Han Qinghe trembled all over.
There were still ten days before Wanyan Zongwang's main army arrived.
They hadn't brought much provisions on this southward expedition, planning to procure them locally. Tan Zhen and his men had already scoured the entire Hebei region.
More than half of the grain confiscated from them was here. If this grain were to burn, they would have to travel at least two hundred li to procure more.
In that case, Zhen Dng City would truly be of no consequence to them!
"Yes, sir!"
"Long live the Song army!"
"Long live the Song army!"
"Kill—"
Han Qinghe's personal guards responded and were about to head out when the sound of Song army battle horns suddenly erupted outside.
"Damn it! These accursed Song soldiers are here to raid the camp! Immediately relay the order to assemble troops and charge!"
By now, if Han Qinghe still didn't understand what was happening, he wouldn't deserve to be a great general.
"General! This is bad, the fire in the rear camp is too large, it's out of control!"
Just as Han Qinghe finished speaking, a soldier, covered in soot, rushed in from outside.
"Damn it! Where are the guards at the rear camp? Drag out and behead all the guards on duty tonight!"
After listening to the soldier, Han Qinghe took two steps forward and fiercely grabbed his collar.
Since the Jin's southward advance, they had been taking cities without much resistance. Apart from the battle with Tan Zhen, there had been no large-scale combat operations, let alone defeats.
But now, he, a newly promoted vanguard general, hadn't achieved any merit, and they had already infiltrated his camp. If he couldn't control the situation tonight, Zhen Dng City might not be captured, and Wanyan Zongwang might use his head as a sacrifice flag!
"Gen-General..."
Seeing the murderous expression on Han Qinghe's face, the soldier, held suspended in mid-air, was filled with terror.
"Useless!"
After taking several deep breaths, Han Qinghe finally released his hand.
"General, what I just said was a lie!"
As soon as his hand was released, the man suddenly looked up and said seriously.
"What did you say?"
Hearing this, Han Qinghe didn't react for a moment.
"I said, go to hell!"
In that moment of his stunned silence, the soldier suddenly pulled a dagger from his hand and plunged it into his chest.
"Assassin, guards, quickly!"
It was only when the sharp pain in his chest struck that Han Qinghe's personal guards reacted.
However, before he could finish speaking, the man had already rushed out of the tent.
"General! General, are you alright!"
As the personal guards nervously checked Han Qinghe's injuries, a loud crack suddenly came from outside the tent.
"No! Don't mind me, go and raise the general's banner!"
The moment he heard the sound, Han Qinghe's mind flashed.
This was clearly deliberate. They were giving him no chance!
In a chaotic army, especially at night, if the commander-in-chief couldn't be seen and the general's banner was cut down, it wouldn't take long for the troops, a combination of various factions, to break out in mutiny!
"Han Qinghe is dead! Those who surrender will be spared!"
"Han Qinghe is dead! Those who surrender will be spared!"
"Han Qinghe is dead! Those who surrender will be spared!"
Before his personal guards could even step out of the tent, the shouts from outside were already echoing.
"How dare you insult me like this, you scoundrel!"
Hearing the soldiers' shouts, Han Qinghe, his face flushed with rage, pushed aside his personal guards, drew the dagger from his chest, and threw it on the ground. With his bare upper body, he turned and prepared to walk out.
"General! This dagger is poisoned, you must let the military doctor see it first!"
Seeing the blood gushing from his chest and the bluish dagger on the ground, his personal guard knelt before him.
"If I can't kill these bastards, what use is there in me living?"
Listening to the constant shouts of killing from outside, Han Qinghe paid no heed to his wound at this moment.
And at this very moment, Wang Yuanji and Li Mao, who had been anxiously waiting on the city walls, finally saw the changes in the Jin camp.
"My lord! The Jin camp is on fire! It's General Liu! It's General Liu and his men!"
Watching the sky-high flames, Wang Yuanji was so excited that tears streamed down his face.
"Assemble the troops, prepare to receive them into the city!"
After taking several deep breaths, Li Mao finally suppressed the tempting thought of pursuing the victory.
Although he didn't know how many men Liu Xu had, they only had two thousand men, while the Jin soldiers numbered at least thirty thousand. Moreover, these were merely the Jin's vanguard. Even if they defeated them, what then?
If they lost too many men, they still wouldn't be able to hold Zhen Dng City!
"My lord, a group of soldiers is heading straight for the city gate!"