I am the villain in the book

"Quick! Keep up!"

"Don't look around! We must reach the Niutou Mountain Pass before Xu hour!"

"Faster!"

“. . . ”

Outside the carriage, the clamorous shouts rose from time to time, and the atmosphere seemed even more tense and oppressive amidst the churning dark clouds.

However, the atmosphere inside the carriage was several times more tense than this.

Compared to You Wenzong, Han Zhao was clearly slightly inferior in terms of scheming and planning.

Therefore, even though he was extremely cautious, it was still possible that the former had caught his flaws at some point, thus seeing through his "true identity."

Of course, all of this might just be You Wenzong's probing.

Therefore, Han Zhao's response next was particularly crucial.

"An ambush at Niutou Mountain?"

He paused for a moment, then said slowly in a deep voice, "Lord You, if you ask me about this, then my answer is no."

"The scout camp has already scouted the Niutou Mountain area several times and found nothing unusual."

"Therefore, I don't know why you would suspect this."

"Taking a step back, since the Emperor has already ordered the army to approach Shuzhou City via Niutou Mountain, then I will naturally act in accordance with the imperial decree."

"So, unless you can produce conclusive evidence, my lord, then please don't engage in such infighting anymore."

With each sentence, his tone became colder, and Han Zhao's acting skills could be said to have reached a super level at this moment.

He stared at You Wenzong, suddenly slammed the table in front of him, and his expression became extremely gloomy in an instant.

"Lord You! Now that the army has just experienced the beast tide, the situation in the Battle of Shuzhou is no longer as clear as before!"

"At this time, I have no time to play guessing games with you!"

"Take care of yourself!"

“. . . ”

From simple explanations to invoking the imperial decree, and then using a trick to "seize the moral high ground."

Faced with You Wenzong's questioning and probing, Han Zhao's response could be said to be very decisive, basically without revealing any flaws, completely in line with the reaction that a repeatedly wronged and loyal general should have.

And this did indeed make You Wenzong stop talking for a long time.

He just looked at Han Zhao, who was no longer paying attention to him, hesitated for a long time, and then slowly took out a small note from his sleeve.

"General Han, please calm down. I was indeed offended just now."

"However, what I just said was not groundless."

Putting the note next to Han Zhao, You Wenzong said softly, "General, you will know when you see this."

“. . . ”

Glancing at You Wenzong, Han Zhao did not respond, but turned his head to look at the note.

As for what exactly was written...

[Do not enter Niutou Mountain]

[Do not enter Niutou Mountain]

[Do not enter Niutou Mountain]

“. . . ”

His hands hidden in his sleeves clenched into fists, Han Zhao quickly forced himself to calm down and turned his head to ask:

"Lord You, where did this note come from?"

"I don't know."

You Wenzong shook his head, and from his expression, he didn't seem to be lying.

Seeing that Han Zhao didn't believe him, he then briefly explained.

"General Han, this note was thrown into my carriage in a small bottle this morning."

"But the strange thing is that the surrounding guards did not find any suspicious person. It seems that the person who sent the message does not want me to know his identity."

"Huh? No one was found?"

Han Zhao's heart was beating violently at this time, but his face still did not show a trace of panic: "Lord You, there are at least hundreds of personal soldiers guarding your carriage. How could you not have noticed anything unusual?"

"This is the strangeness of this matter."

You Wenzong held the note in his hand and frowned, "Unless this person knows some clever camouflage, otherwise it should be a personal soldier who did it when others were not paying attention."

"And I think this person's handwriting... seems to be from a woman's hand."

"Woman?"

Han Zhao looked blank.

Although he was nervous now, he was more puzzled in his heart.

This mysterious person obviously knew about the ambush in Niutou Mountain and was also prepared to sabotage this ambush.

But how did outsiders know about such a confidential matter?

Did someone on Wei Changtian's side leak the news?

But even if there really was such a spy, why was he unwilling to show himself?

You should know that what is said face-to-face is more credible than a mere note.

Oh, and also.

This person is actually a woman?

For a time, countless questions flooded Han Zhao's mind.

Although You Wenzong couldn't figure it out either, he was not prepared to discuss these unimportant details now.

"General Han, it is not important who the messenger is at the moment."

"We should think about whether what she said is credible."

"Yes, my lord is right."

Nodding, Han Zhao had already thought of his explanation: "In my opinion, this may be Wei Changtian's conspiracy."

"He ordered a spy in the army to send this letter, intending to make us shrink back and delay the army's advance, until all the Dali reinforcements arrive."

"If not, why would the messenger be unwilling to show up?"

"It must be because this person can't say why we shouldn't enter Niutou Mountain, so he can only leave a note with a few words!"

“. . . ”

Objectively speaking, Han Zhao's explanation can be said to be very reasonable.

Niutou Mountain is the fastest route to Shuzhou City, and it would take at least seven or eight days to take other routes.

And this is why Ning Yongnian ordered the army to take Niutou Mountain, in order to surround Shuzhou City as soon as possible before the Li army arrived.

But now the sudden appearance of the note is intended to make the army take other routes, which is indeed in line with Wei Changtian's interests.

But-

"What the general said is reasonable, but what if what this letter says is true?"

You Wenzong frowned: "If there really is an ambush in Niutou Mountain-"

"Lord You!"

Han Zhao suddenly interrupted in a deep voice: "If a mere note of unknown origin can influence our army's deployment, then how can this battle be fought?!"

"If one day we receive another note, asking us not to enter Shuzhou City, would we really not attack the city?!"

“. . . ”

The carriage was bumpy, making You Wenzong's already weak body somewhat unstable.

Although Han Zhao's last two sentences were very heavy, they were still very reasonable.

Indeed, if you believe any rumors, then this battle really cannot be fought.

Although You Wenzong was just a civil servant, he certainly understood this.

Therefore, after some hesitation, he finally nodded silently.

"General, don't blame me. We civil servants have been in the court for a long time, calculating each other all day long, and our minds will inevitably be too heavy."

"This is indeed not the way to march and fight, so this matter... will be decided by the general."

“. . . ”

Dark clouds were dense, and lightning could occasionally be seen rolling in the clouds.

The rain had not yet fallen, and in the gray sky, the 200,000-strong army was still marching rapidly towards Niutou Mountain.

Several brilliant responses allowed Han Zhao to successfully deceive You Wenzong, but in fact, even if he couldn't deceive him, there was a high probability that there would be no problems with the entire plan.

After all, there were less than two hours left to Niutou Mountain. If it really didn't work, he could use "physical means" to make You Wenzong shut up temporarily.

In just two hours, Han Zhao, the commander-in-chief, could still achieve complete control over the army.

In other words, even if Ning Yongnian suddenly sent a message asking the army not to enter Niutou Mountain, it would not work now.

In this way, after several twists and turns, the Battle of Shuzhou was finally about to usher in a earth-shattering turning point.

And it can never be reversed.