Chapter 162: Benevolence Does Not Command Troops

Yang Weiguo’s curses directed at Li Changqi noticeably narrowed the distance between him and the sentry, who by this time had fully bought into Yang Weiguo’s disguise.

Yang Weiguo took the initiative and said to him, "Brother, do me the favor of announcing our presence to the general so we can get some food. We haven't had a proper meal in days and are utterly starved."

Speaking thus, Yang Weiguo had already closed the distance to the soldier's side. The soldier lowered the bow he had raised and told Yang Weiguo, "Wait here for a moment. I will go and report to the captain right away. It's so late at night that you likely won't be permitted to enter the encampment, but food will certainly be provided for you. Just wait for a moment."

With that, the soldier turned around and began to walk back, apparently intending to make his report to his immediate superior.

Yet, the very instant he turned his back, Yang Weiguo made his move.

Although this soldier seemed like a decent man, this was no time for benevolence. As the saying goes, mercy has no place in military command. As a commander overseeing five thousand men, Yang Weiguo was by no means a soft-hearted person.

In three strides, Yang Weiguo reached the soldier's back. A short blade appeared in his hand from nowhere. Reaching out from behind, he clamped one hand over the soldier's mouth and drove the short blade upward beneath his neck.

With a soft *sith* sound, the soldier's throat was slashed right across by Yang Weiguo.

The soldier's eyes widened in shock. Struggling to turn his head, he discovered to his horror that the attacker was none other than the very soldier who had been talking and smiling with him just moments before.

"You... mm..." The soldier tried to speak, but all that welled up was a torrent of blood. Incredulity filled his face; he could not comprehend why Yang Weiguo had suddenly turned on him and taken his life.

"Forgive me, brother. May you be born into a good family in your next life." Having said this, Yang Weiguo waved a hand to the troops behind him, and the men immediately seized the opportunity to slip into the Western Xia encampment.

Yang Weiguo dragged the soldier's corpse to a concealed spot behind a tent, then flashed several hand signals. This was the specialized sign language of the Flying Feather Army, which roughly meant: disperse to carry out individual tasks, set fires first, kill afterward, and then escape through the main gate amidst the chaos.

Over four thousand men separated to execute the plan.

Torches were readily available. In the center of the Western Xia camp stood a massive brazier. Tossing the torches onto the felt tents meant they didn't even need to be deliberately ignited—blazing fires erupted instantly.

"Halt, who goes there?" Yang Weiguo ran into a squad of patrolling soldiers.

"Who are you? I am the General's personal guard, ordered by the General to inspect the various camps. Is everything peaceful on your side?" Yang Weiguo asked, preemptively seizing the initiative.

In an army of one hundred thousand men, it was naturally impossible for everyone to know one another. Hearing Yang Weiguo's words, the soldier had no reason to suspect him, genuinely mistaking him for a personal guard of Fengningdu Baozhong, and hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the General, everything is completely normal on our end."

Yang Weiguo nodded and said, "The General has instructed us all to stay alert. Judging from the previous skirmishes, the Song army excels at night raids, so all of you must be extra careful. If any strangers enter, report it immediately, understand?"

The leading soldier nodded in haste.

Yang Weiguo nodded with satisfaction and said, "Resume your patrol."

The squad leader harbored no doubts and prepared to continue his rounds. As they passed by Yang Weiguo and his men, even without a command from Yang Weiguo, the Flying Feather troops behind him moved in tacit cooperation.

Before this ten-man squad could utter a single sound of resistance, their throats were slit.

Yang Weiguo secretly wanted to make a trip into Fengningdu Baozhong's main tent, but that proved far too difficult. Fengningdu Baozhong was no incompetent fool to be easily underestimated; judging by the surrounding patrol posts, they simply could not slip past several waves of guards.

Thus, Yang Weiguo ultimately abandoned the idea of assaulting the commander's tent and instead ordered his men to scatter and spread the fires.

Before long, towering flames lit up the Western Xia encampment. The Western Xia troops, who had been fast asleep, were completely bewildered, utterly failing to understand how their tents had caught fire.

Crowds of soldiers stumbled out of their tents in disarray.

Believing they had escaped the disaster of the fire, they had no idea that stepping outside would bring even greater peril, as the comrades beside them suddenly turned weapons upon them.

Complete chaos erupted within the Western Xia camp. Everyone feared for their lives, having no way of knowing whether the man beside them was an enemy. Soldiers wearing the exact same Western Xia uniforms were suddenly striking down their own companions—how could this possibly be contained?

Fengningdu Baozhong was roused from his sleep. Though he had taken extreme precautions, he never imagined the Song army would still manage to launch a successful sneak attack.

"How many Song soldiers came in total?" Fengningdu Baozhong demanded of the guard who had rushed in to report.

"N—none... no Song soldiers were seen," the soldier stammered.

"No Song soldiers attacked the camp? Then how did these tents catch fire?" Fengningdu Baozhong asked with a frown, could the tents possibly have combusted on their own?

"This subordinate does not know," the guard replied.

"Quickly bring men and come with me to see," Fengningdu Baozhong felt a faint, ominous premonition that things were far from simple.

With that, Fengningdu Baozhong led a detachment of soldiers in a hurried march to the eastern camp, only to witness the exact scene of numerous Eastern Xia soldiers slaughtering one another.

"Stop, everyone stop!" Fengningdu Baozhong shouted frantically at the masses of soldiers.

Yet at this point, the soldiers had blood in their eyes; no one could hear his cries, and the chaos continued unabated.

It took a tremendous effort for Fengningdu Baozhong to finally quell the frenzy. By then, virtually all the tents in the eastern camp had been reduced to ashes. The soldiers had been so consumed by mutual slaughter that none had spared a thought for fighting the fires, resulting in the complete destruction of all supplies stored in the eastern camp.

"Can anyone tell me what happened here just now?" Fengningdu Baozhong shouted with a dark expression as he gazed at the soldiers gathered before him.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, realizing they had blundered terribly. Choosing to keep their mouths shut, they remained silent, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere settled over the camp.

Meanwhile, Yang Weiguo had already led the Flying Feather Army out through the main gate, once again vanishing into the vast expanse of the night.

Catching sight of Fengningdu Baozhong standing amidst the crowd, Yang Weiguo quietly drew his bow, took aim at Fengningdu Baozhong, and loosed an arrow with a sharp *whoosh*.