The Dragon army wasn’t Dugu Xian’s ideal army. He didn’t understand why he, a regular general, had to explain strategy.
But the Dragon King had asked him to find a way to persuade the whole army, so Dugu Xian was going to try to do that.
Ten commanders and ten vice commanders gathered in the Dragon King’s main tent with a dozen important generals. They thought that the Left General was about to train his troops for the upcoming war.
After several months of contact, Dugu Xian had gradually gained the recognition of all the soldiers. The Five Kingdoms soldiers who had been under his command were very surprised that he was still powerful. He had not shown it when he besieged the capital of Stone Kingdom.
Dugu Xian had become very famous, and it had all started with a bet.
When he was first appointed Left General, he hadn’t had any authority. Besides, he had needed to take precautions against the swordsmen of Great Snowmountain who were anxious to avenge themselves at any time. If he enraged a swordsman, they might have given him a fatal blow.
Dugu Xian hadn’t excelled in Kung Fu. After losing his left arm, he couldn’t even defeat the most common soldier.
The Dragon King had assigned him dozens of guards, but Dugu Xian still felt he had to rely on himself. If he walked among the barracks, he would have to worry about his safety. How could he train and command soldiers?
The swordsmen of Great Snowmountain were the core of the army. Only by changing their attitude could he win the support of the whole army.
Dugu Xian issued an agreement to the chief of the Greatsword Peak, claiming that it would only take ten days to train 100 fresh recruits into qualified soldiers who could defeat the same number of swordsmen.
Dugu Xian carefully considered his objectives before choosing Long Xiaoshi, the chief of Danduo Peak. He undoubtedly had the highest status among the swordsmen of Great Snowmountain. The former chief of Greatsword Peak had been killed. The new chief was an inexperienced agent, who had a bad temper like the former chief. If Dugu Xian defeated him, he wouldn’t offend too many people.
The swordsmen had immediately accepted the challenge and conceitedly cut their numbers in half. They claimed that they could beat 100 fresh recruits led by the Left General with only 50 soldiers.
The gamble attracted the interest of the whole army. More than half of them bet on it. Most of them bet on the swordsmen. Those who bet on the Left General didn’t actually believe in him but believed in the Dragon King backing him.
Ten days passed quickly. The harassment of the killers from the Golden Roc Fort continued, but the fight was what occupied everyone’s mind. Therefore, several months later, their memory of the killers was vague, but they were still impressed by the 100 fresh recruits.
To avoid causing unnecessary casualties, all the weapons were made of wood. Before the fight, the weapons were covered with lime. Once hit in the head or chest, one had to withdraw from the battlefield.
They hadn’t recruited common people from the Five Kingdoms on a large scale, so the so-called “fresh recruits” were actually 100 slaves from the Land of Fragrance. They had only received basic training on weapons and had never fought in the battlefield. In the eyes of the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, they were too fresh to win.
In order to ensure fairness, the two parties agreed in advance that fresh recruits could not use crossbows or javelins, and the swordsmen could not attack from the flanks. This was a battle of charges.
Fifty swordsmen stood in a loose shape; the chief of Greatsword Peak stood in the middle; and others lined up on both sides. Their only complaint was that the wooden swords were too light to hold comfortably.
On the opposite side, 100 slave soldiers stood in three rows side by side, with various weapons in their hands.
The first row of soldiers held large shields that were half a man tall. Their shields were closely linked to one another to form a wooden wall with no other weapons.
The second row of soldiers only held short-sabers that were inserted in their belts. They never pulled them out.
The third row of soldiers held pikes that were almost the height of two people.
It was said that Dugu Xian had used very strict means to train the 100 people. In addition, he had actually beheaded two soldiers who disobeyed orders. But few people believed this rumor.
The fight began.
Fifty swordsmen, led by the chief of Greatsword Peak, shouted out and charged forward to defeat the enemy (and therefore win the bet).
One hundred slave soldiers stood still, waiting for orders.
Dugu Xian didn’t join in the battle himself. Instead, he stayed behind the troops with a drummer at his side.
With the first sound of the drum, they stepped forward at a gentle pace.
The second drum sounded, and the soldiers began to trot, only slightly faster than before.
The two troops met.
Fifty swordsmen hit the enemy’s shields. If they had been holding real, heavy swords, it would have been enough to split several soldiers and their shields.
The slave soldiers team was under great pressure, but not scattered. The second row of soldiers pressed hard against the back of the front row, relying on the strength of two men to withstand the swordsmen’s attack.
The swordsmen were winning. However, the wooden swords in their hands were so blunt that they didn’t win right away.
The third drum rang, and the third row of soldiers with pikes shot out. Because they were much taller, so they stabbed enemies through the shoulders of the two front rows, hitting the swordsmen and leaving lime marks. Immediately they had to stop.
When using a spear, timing was extremely important. If you wielded the spear too early, you couldn’t hurt the enemies. But if you did it too late, more than half the soldiers among the first two rows would be “killed” or “hurt”. They had to go when the two parties gathered together and couldn’t turn around.
It was easier said than done. Dugu Xian had put a lot of effort into training these 100 slave soldiers to use this skill proficiently.
So that was how fifty swordsmen were defeated, but they were unwilling to yield. Firstly, they did not possess heave swords, so their combat power had been greatly reduced. Second, the other side’s pikes weren’t sharp. If they had real weapons, they would only cause minor injuries whereas in this battle they had to leave the battlefield once the lime touched them, which was unfair.
Dugu Xian gave his explanation: the main force of the Golden Roc Fort’s army had trained for many years, so its combat power was far stronger than that of slave soldiers. The swordsmen of Great Snowmountain used wooden swords. The soldiers with pikes would become stronger and stronger. If they had enough training time, they could turn their pikes into deadly weapons.
Through this battle, he wanted to demonstrate that if a group of soldiers with ordinary strength could follow strict military orders, advancing and retreating in a unified way, they would also be able to fight against a powerful enemy.
Long Xiaoshi, the chief of Danduo Peak, was the first to surrender. He announced publicly that the swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain were willing to follow the Left General to the battlefield.
Since that day, Dugu Xian had gradually established his authority, so the reorganization of the army could proceed smoothly.
It would be a test for him tonight to see to which extent his authority had been accepted.
“The army of the Golden Roc Fort is coming.”
His words caused great excitement. Among the dozens of generals, the swordsmen of Great Snowmountain dominated. They were well-known militants who wanted the war to come as soon as possible.
But the Left General’s next words disappointed and surprised them.
“The Dragon Army is not suitable to fight in the Stone Kingdom. It needs to retreat to An Kingdom in the south of Xiaoyao Lake.”
Gu Shenwei thought that Dugu Xian was being too straightforward. It was better to say “withdraw” than “retreat”. However, he sat in his position quietly as usual, trying not to express his opinion.
“Retreat? Why do you want to retreat?”
“Why isn’t it suitable to fight in the Stone Kingdom? The army of the Golden Roc Fort can fight, so should we.”
“We have been preparing for such a long time…”
“If the Dragon army goes to An Kingdom, what about the other four countries?”
The generals questioned noisily. Apparently, they did not support the decision.
The swordsmen from Great Snowmountain were eager to fight against their old enemy. Besides, the generals of the Shi, Kang, Sha and Hui Kingdoms were unwilling to cross Xiaoyao Lake, and leave their countries to the enemy.
“Strictly speaking, this is not retreating. In fact, we are just choosing a more suitable place for our battle according to the characteristics and strength of the Dragon army. The Stone Kingdom is located in a flat area, and the only passage there is through the desert in the north, but there are no high mountains, so it is easy for the enemy to bypass the border and enter directly.”
“There are so many well-trained soldiers in the Golden Roc Fort, and they have cavalry as the main force. While the Dragon army is at a disadvantage in terms of numbers and horses, and have infantry as our main force. Therefore, it is difficult to win. If we want to win, we have to fight in a narrow area and take advantage of the terrain to reduce the enemy’s advantage.”
“It is expedient to go to the An Kingdom. Once we defeat the Golden Roc Fort, we will go back.”
This explanation had not gained much support, but the opposition had intensified, especially among the generals of the four other countries. “The territory can be recovered, but what about people and houses? What will be left after the army of Golden Roc Fort comes through?”
“The Dragon King’s messenger has already set out to inform the royal families of all countries to cross towards the south, and the people can also follow them voluntarily. They can provide ships to anyone who is willing to go.”
“Where are we going to get so many ships? After all, there are hundreds of thousands of people.”
“An Kingdom has a narrow terrain, which is suitable for battle, but if so many people go there, where will they live? What would they eat?”
Dugu Xian thought that this was even more difficult than the battle. The Dragon King did not speak, but Prime Minister Zhong Heng was a good helper.
Zhong Heng had returned to the barracks from the capital. After some contemplation, he had approved the withdrawal plan. He knew that it was the only way to defeat the Golden Roc Fort.
Only he could answer about the many details. Moreover, he had drawn up a general plan for ships, provisions and fodder and houses so that they wouldn’t be anxious about the fight. However, he had to admit that all the plans could only be temporary, because An Kingdom couldn’t support 30,000 troops and a larger number of civilians who were fleeing.
He had only told the Dragon King the truth in private. He estimated the Dragon army could only stick to their plan for three months once they crossed Xiaoyao Lake and lost the support from the four countries.
If the Golden Roc Fort army had enough patience, they could win without even fighting.
The debate started at ten in the evening and lasted late into the night. By then, Dugu Xian was agitated. He had still failed to convince all the generals.
Gu Shenwei listened to them silently. It was much better to let everyone voice their opinions in advance than to vent their dissatisfaction later and withdraw. In fact, he was waiting for the proper opportunity to announce his decision as Dragon King.
Chu Nanping opened the curtain and came in quietly. The generals were quarreling so fiercely that no one noticed him.
Chu Nanping was responsible for monitoring Ju Chi. Since he had come personally to the Dragon King, it meant that the guard was dead and the expected riots were about to begin.
Gu Shenwei hoped that Chu Nanping had gotten the riot plan details and that this would be an opportunity to persuade everyone to come to An Kingdom.