Shangguan Fei had once proposed that they should set up an ambush in the mountain and attack the Golden Roc Army on the flank. At the time, though Gu Shenwei had not seemed too enthusiastic, he was actually impressed: This was the very strategy he had conjured up with Dugu Xian.
Dugu Xian was making every effort to try to win the imminent war because like the Dragon King, they were both traitors of the Golden Roc Fort. He knew very well that the ending of the war would lead to his survival or death.
In front of the troops, Dugu Xian was a spirited commander. He inspected them every day, helped them to resolve problems and boosted the morale. Compared to the Dragon King who seldom showed his face, the approachable Left General was becoming increasingly popular.
However, in private, Dugu Xian was not so confident. Alone, with the Dragon King, he told the truth, “In addition to the right timing and place, what matters most is the soldiers. We have 30,000 Dragon army soldiers versus 80,000 Golden Roc Army soldiers. Even if Xiaoyao Lake was 10 times larger and the An Kingdom became one man wide, there would still be gaps between us.”
Dugu Xian was not a believer in miracles either. “Indeed, smaller forces have defeated larger forces in the past. However, that was an exception, based on the enemy’s major mistakes. Otherwise, even the greatest general wouldn’t have been able to defeat an army more than twice the size of his.”
Sometimes the Left General was too pessimistic. Gu Shenwei asked, “So, why did we go south to the An Kingdom? To lose as slowly as possible?”
“We have to do it even though it’s difficult. We are less in numbers, so we have to strive for every advantage we possibly can. Every one of them helps us win. We’ve raised the chances of winning, it’s in progress, but it’s not enough. Unless Shangguan Jianyi makes a major mistake, 30,000 soldiers still can’t beat 80,000 soldiers.”
Gu Shenwei was not waiting for the enemy to make mistakes either. Thus, before heading south, he had been reflecting on the tactics of the final battle.
Flank attacks were normal but very effective tactics. In most cases, a general would take great precautions against raids on his flanks, unless there were already natural barriers.
Wushan was a natural barrier, its steep slope fronted on the An Kingdom. A few dozen kung fu masters could be set up there, but it was impossible for a troop.
“That’s exactly why it’s called an ambush, attacks from Wushan that surprise them,” Gu Shenwei explained to the Left General.
Dugu Xian thought little of the plan. “Well, we can surprise them. But how can we manage to hide 3,000 soldiers in an impossible spot, and go unnoticed at the same time?”
Gu Shenwei had studied several maps, and asked An Kingdom natives and Wushan soldiers about every secret passage and undeveloped track before finally, choosing a place.
“Here.” Gu Shenwei pointed it out on the map. “This is Gulping Wind Gorge, there’s a gentle slope five kilometers away in the west. The roads are not too rough there; we can set up 3,000 to 5,000 people.”
Dugu Xian thought for a long while and started to question. “First of all, we need to lead the Golden Roc Army here for the final battle.”
“Yes.”
“Did Your Majesty ever consider that, in that case, we’ll give up half of the An Kingdom territory? The Golden Roc Army will come in easily. We’ll be running out of advantages.”
“Since we’re most likely to lose with a regular strategy, we have to take risks.”
“It’s quite conspicuous here, I’m afraid he won’t take the bait. Or perhaps he’ll take the top of the hill beforehand, and our people will be stuck behind the hill.”
“You said no matter how well prepared we are, if we want to beat stronger enemies, we have to make them make mistakes. That’s what I’m going to do.”
Dugu Xian was surprised, but slowly gained confidence from the Dragon King’s cold and resolute look. The Dragon King’s scheme might work; all he had to do was hold the enemies in the frontline battlefield.
However, there was something he needed to make sure of. “Which troop will you send?”
During the establishment of the Dragon army, they had built more than 20 armies of thousands of soldiers. In the expansion, they had built a few more, amounting to 36 troops at present. Some troops fell short of 1000 soldiers, but were still referred to as armies of thousands.
Gu Shenwei shook his head. “Since we want to surprise them, we can’t be conspicuous. There’re spies all over the barracks. We can’t possibly deploy them in secret. Moreover, we’re already less in numbers; I don’t think we should divide our forces.”
Du Guxian agreed and wondered where the troops would come from.
Gu Shenwei circled Wushan on the map. “We have a troop here.”
Du Guxian thought about it for a while. “Tuo Nengya?”
Soon after he returned to the Western Region, Gu Shenwei appointed machetemen Tuo Nengya and Ha Chilie of the Wushan tribe to annihilate the Golden Roc Fort’s remaining forces in Wushan. The two of them went deep into the mountain and cooperated with other forces to make a safe way toward the Land of Fragrance.
It was not an easy task. The two of them brought only a few people with them. Over the past few months, they had taken over some of the remaining forces, and annihilated others. In the end, they had taken a third of the area. Moreover, they had recruited more soldiers. There were already more than 3,000 people, and the number could be more than 5,000 if they recruited more.
Gu Shenwei had been in touch with Tuo Nengya through letters. When he first restructured the Dragon army, he immediately appointed Tuo Nengya as the commander of thousands, and Ha Chilie the vice commander of thousands, when they were both away from Xiaoyao Lake.
Gu Shenwei had thought about transferring the troop out of Wushan. However, taking the way to the Land of Fragrance into account, he did not. Later, when he decided to set up an ambush, Tuo Nengya’s army immediately crossed his mind.
When Tuo Nengya entered the mountain under the Dragon King’s orders, Dugu Xian had not yet been appointed the Left General. Thus, he was not familiar with the old machetemen. “Wushan tribes and mine thieves, are indeed brave. Several of them, or a dozen of them at most, is strong combat power, but a bunch of them is more of a mob.”
Gu Shenwei had fought with the tribe troops, thus he had more confidence in them than Dugu Xian did. “Tuo Nengya can train them.”
After a long while, Dugu Xian spoke. “To be honest, Your Majesty, these are not tactics I like. There’re too many uncertainties, one wrong step and we’ll lose. Especially if we give up half of the An Kingdom, we may see a great decrease in our morale.”
The conversation took place before they went south, when the Dragon army’s most reasonable tactics were to take the An Kingdom and attack the Golden Roc Army who had just landed ashore. The Dragon Army should have eliminated the enemy’s main force at the shoreline to pave the way for the final battle.
However, the Golden Roc Army had developed a passage on the western bank of Xiaoyao Lake. They had built bridges and sent troops to seize part of the southern bank. So far, the Dragon army’s initial plan was failing. So, Dugu Xian decided to take a risk by carrying out the Dragon King’s plan.
From east to west, he visited the entire An Kingdom in the name of scouting and setting up checkpoints. During his trip, he took the opportunity to study the place the Dragon King had chosen.
“It’s indeed a good place for a flank attack.”
After going south, the two of them discussed the plan further. Dugu Xian had gained more confidence and bore more questions. “Will Shangguan Jianyi notice us? The gentle slope is rather conspicuous. Moreover, I’ve asked about it, the road behind the hill is rough. The An Kingdom tried to develop a track there but failed.”
“That’s exactly why tribe soldiers living in Wushan can use their dexterity on the rough road, and Shangguan Jianyi won’t bother to take precautions there.”
Dugu Xian agreed, but then he pointed out the biggest loophole in the plan. “If that’s the case, the entire Dragon army will depend on a newly-recruited tribe troop that Your Majesty hasn’t even met.”
Gu Shenwei admitted it was true. This was his biggest concern as well. He trusted Tuo Nengya, and believed in Ha Chilie. However, as for the Wushan tribe, he was not so sure.
According to practice, outside the Gulping Wind Gorge and into Wushan, did not belong to the Western Region anymore. Previously, the Wushan tribe had been on its own. They hated mine thieves from the Western Region. It was indeed questionable if Tuo Nengya could turn them into loyal soldiers and have them fight in the land of the Western Region.
“I should go to Wushan myself.” The Wushan Tribe would play an unexpectedly important role in this fight. Gu Shenwei was indeed worried and wanted to make sure they were willing to fight for the Dragon army.
Dugu Xian immediately opposed. “No, you shouldn’t. If Your Majesty leaves, our 30,000 soldiers will be at a loss. It would do more harm than good.”
To keep it confidential, the ambush was never revealed to a third person. Even Tuo Nengya was not aware of the responsibility he was going to take.
Thus, Gu Shenwei had the Left General recommend one man to pass the secret order to Tuo Nengya. The man needed to have knowledge of tactics so as to help Tuo Nengya organize the troop.
“Wu Zongheng.” Dugu Xian immediately had a candidate.
Wu Zongheng had been a guard leader in the An Kingdom. He’d been promoted to vice commander because of his leadership. In the Willow City at the border of the Hui Kingdom, he had resisted the Golden Roc Army, organized an orderly retreat, and gone south. He had lived up to the Dragon King’s expectations.
Another reason Dugu Xian chose him was that the Dragon King trusted him.
If not for the Dragon King, the civilian Wu Zongheng could never have achieved what he had done today. Therefore, he was one of the most reliable people in the five countries.
Indeed, Gu Shenwei believed in Wu Zongheng, but not as much as Dugu Xian imagined. He needed to assign one more person, one who he trusted whole-heartedly.
Maid Lotus’s task was easy. She protected Wu Zongheng along the way and made sure he was truly trustworthy at critical moments.
Maid Lotus was brought back to the days when they were killer apprentices in the Stone Castle. At that time, Slave Huan and she had suspected each other but had to ally against common enemies in the end. They had built the “Tattooed Arm Gang” together. She was not only the best partner, but also the most resourceful advisor. She advised on almost every one of Gu Shenwei’s plans and participated in them.
Now, she was purely a guard.
The Dragon King discussed different things with different people. Sometimes she could hear them, sometimes not. In the end, she seldom took part in them.
It was normal for the Dragon King since Maid Lotus was not war savvy. She only missed the old times once in a while.
“Yes.” She accepted the task as usual, but Shangguan Fei’s words kept echoing in her mind. She started to wonder if the Dragon King was deliberately sending her away.
Gu Shenwei was also thinking about Shangguan Fei. He decided to give the latter an unexpectedly important role as well.