Chapter 465- Risky Use of Troops
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
On the Cangcheng County city wall, Baiqi looked at the black ocean of troops bearing down on them; his eyes seemed unsettled.
The enemy was moving exceedingly slowly. After they covered a short distance, they would stop to organize themselves. The reason behind this was that the army was made up of ten different forces, so their timings were different. As a result, they moved in a disjointed fashion and would need of reorganization.
If they did not stop, before they even reached the city wall, they would fall into a scattered chaos.
Baiqi's observations were so sharp and intricate.
He counted silently in his heart. The intervals between their stops were getting shorter and shorter. The entire army had grown more orderly and familiarized with the movement speeds of one another.
The enemy was an extremely careful person.
Baiqi defined the enemy commander.
220 thousand alliance army troops, apart from forty thousand in Yun An County, the remaining 180 thousand were split into three and pressed on toward the three counties.
On the rods, the flags swung around all over, while swords and spears were held upright. Dust rose, as they moved.
The enemy troops were like three sharp knives, which stabbed toward the Shanhai City Army.
Sixty thousand troops, for Yaogu County that had two divisions, defending should not pose too much of a problem. Even Genglou County, under the adjustments and leadership of Han Xin, would not face any problems.
The key was the main camp, Cangcheng County.
There only had ten thousand troops, and they were the Tianshuang County city protection division that were comparatively weaker. If they faced the attack of forces six times their number, Baiqi was not confident.
Under consecutive attacks, the city protection division would reveal their weakness.
What should he do?
Baiqi knew that he needed to do something. Otherwise, the next attack could be eighty thousand or even a hundred thousand men.
Should he activate the 2nd division of the Dragon Legion that hid outside of Genglou County?
That was reserved for the worst case scenario.
The moment he made use of Luo Shixin's division, it would reveal the real and fake of the Shanhai City Army to the enemy. Not only that, it would rent Baiqi's plan so far useless.
Baiqi did not turn his head and asked, “Whose their general?"
"Di Qing."
The one who replied was the intel officer that the Military Intelligence Division had sent out.
During every large-scale war, the Military Intelligence Division would send intel officers to take charge of intelligence matters. Even in the patrolling squadrons, they would have an intel officer leading them during wartime.
With that, through the Military Intelligence Division, the army could build a highly efficient and unified intel network that would effectively use the available resources to obtain the best intel.
"Di Qing?"
Baiqi frowned. He only knew a little about history.
"Immediately send a letter to the Military Affairs Department and ask them to prepare a detailed report on Di Qing."
"Yes, General!"
……
As the sun set in the west, along with the last rays of the sun, the alliance army abandoned the thousands of bodies and retreated like a flood. They completely lacked the intentions of staying.
Under the cover of the night shade, the soldiers were tired. Some felt fortunate, while others were pumped up.
This was war!
Compared to the determined faces of the alliance army, exhaustion filled the soldiers on the city wall. Some soldiers directly fell into a deep slumber on the city wall, while they grabbed tightly onto the spears in their hands.
In just one day, the city protection division had nearly fallen apart. If it was not for the leadership abilities of Baiqi, the enemy would have seen through the weakness of Cangcheng County.
Although they had survived, Baiqi's eyes lacked even a sliver of joy. They were already at their limit. At tomorrow at the latest, their weakness would be revealed to the enemy.
Baiqi had to make preparations for the worst, so he ordered Luo Shixin's division to get ready to assist them.
In truth, Luo Shixin did not feel good today either.
The enemy scouts were like mad dogs, charging aimlessly around the wilderness.
He had no choice but to send out scouts of his own. In the wilderness, the scouts killed one another to prevent the enemy’s investigation.
Although the scouts that he sent out had successfully misdirected the enemy, if this continued, the enemy would uncover the hiding spot of the division. After all, they were a cavalry division so trying to hide was really difficult.
Night.
Cangcheng County, which was busy throughout entire day, had finally regained its peace and quiet. On the streets, the soldiers on patrol could not see a single person outside.
The soldiers, who had fought valiantly for a day, had already fallen asleep in preparation for the huge battle tomorrow.
In the room of Commander-in-Chief Baiqi, the oil lamps still burned bright.
Within the room, Baiqi sat upright, as he read the information on Di Qing that the Military Affairs Department had sent.
The profile only had four pages with thousands of words. It not only had an introduction of his life, but also a personal evaluation by Du Ruhui.
"Uses soldiers carefully? Seems like that's the case."
Baiqi muttered.
"Since that's the case, let’s use a plan against his plan!"
Baiqi placed down the document and decided to take a chance.
Baiqi rarely took risks in war, but the situation had forced his hand.
"Now, the only change would be the Guards Division the Lord is leading."
Baiqi looked up. Outside of the window, the clear bright moon hung high above the sky. Bright moon and little stars, tomorrow would have good weather again.
Wulong County, Lord's Manor.
After receiving Baiqi's latest intel report, Ouyang Show knew that he could not wait any longer. The moment the main battlefield fell into a disadvantage, the consequences would be dire.
At that time, what would Spicy Snack Prince think?
Ouyang Shuo did not want to place the fate of the territory in the hands of someone else, even an ally.
People were always complicated.
If Shanhai City lost their advantage, Spicy Snack Prince could betray them.
Ouyang Shuo had once read a book and liked one of the phrases inside, ‘If you don't want to be betrayed, don't give other people a chance to betray you.’
In his last life, he did not understand this concept, so he was betrayed.
In this life, he understood that phrase.
As he contemplated, a cold flash appeared in his eyes.
"Men!"
"Present!"
"Invite Mr. Du over!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
The guard turned around and left.
A short while later, Du Sijing hurried over. Doubt filled his eyes, as he did not know why he was summoned.
"Sit!"
Ouyang Shuo's face did not reveal anything strange.
When Du Sijing heard this, he sat down respectfully, as he grew more and more anxious.
"I have something I need you to instruct me on."
"Please ask!"
The more polite Ouyang Shuo acted, the more uneasy he felt. He had just sat down, but now he stood up once again.
"Mr. Du, don't worry."
Ouyang Shuo raised his hand and asked Du Sijing to calm down.
When Du Sijing heard these words, a flash of astonishment appeared in his eyes. His performance today was really unkempt and inappropriate.
"I've heard that the moment the twelve territories are attacked, they can inform the fifty thousand iron cavalry, right?"
"That's right!"
"Does the attack have a sort of judging standard, or can anyone send an alarm that reinforcements will definitely respond to? Apart from that, the army that arrives, is it the whole fifty thousand or just a portion?"
"Lord, please elaborate." Du Sijing calmed himself down, "Since the establishment of the wartime alliance till now, no territory has set off the alarm. Only, before the war, the commander sent orders to the territories. If they are attacked, they must make the number of enemies clear."
When Ouyang Shuo heard these details, he nodded, “In that the case, can Mr. Du spread the word tomorrow that Wulong County is under attack and needs reinforcements?"
"This…." Du Sijing could not understand, “Wouldn't that expose the Lord?"
Ouyang Shuo smiled but did not say anything.
Suddenly, a light bulb lit up in Du Sijing’s mind, and his face instantly turned ashen white. He had understood what Ouyang Shuo was talking about. He wanted to bait the fifty thousand cavalry. Then, he would wipe them out.
This plan was simply toxic.
The problem was that this plan was not within the terms they had discussed.
It was easy to forsee the result that would occur the moment Wulong County lied about intel and led the troops over. No matter their fate, it would reveal the betrayal of Spicy Snack Prince, who was amongst the alliance army. He would fall into trouble.
At that time, death would be something that he wished for. How the furious alliance army would treat a traitor, one could only imagine.
Just the thought alone sent a shiver down Du Sijing’s spine.
Seeing Du Sijing's expression, Ouyang Shuo sighed. He knew that the other man had already seen through his plan. He also knew that this course of action treated Spicy Snack Prince unfairly.
Unfortunately, Ouyang Shuo could not wait any longer.
Who knows since when, but Ouyang Shuo's heart had grown colder and colder.
However, he needed Du Sijing to spread the news of the attack. Hence, Ouyang Shuo needed to calm him down. If not, the plan would not work.
This was also a dangerous move on Ouyang Shuo’s part.
The South Alliance were impressive, as they could force both Ouyang Shuo and Baiqi to take risky moves at the same time.
"After this war, I'll give an explanation to your Lord."
Ouyang Shuo took a look at Du Sijing, but he did not make any promises. Du Sijing would understand. At the current moment, any promises could not compare to an explanation from Ouyang Shuo.
Although Ouyang Shuo had become cold-hearted, that did not mean he was a liar. On the contrary, his words were worth their weight in gold. One he said something, it would not change.
If not, it would cause a deadly blow to his prestige and reputation.
When Du Sijing heard this promise, his expression turned mixed.
Ouyang Shuo, on the other hand, was relaxed. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
From how Du Sijing had persuaded Spicy Snack Prince to form an alliance with Shanhai City, Ouyang Shuo knew that he was a person who knew how to measure pros and cons.
Dealing with such a person would only be beneficial to him.
As long as he saw that the temporary loses could be exchanged for greater benefits, he would agree. Unexpectedly, Du Sijing raised up a requirement, "You have to promise that after the war, you will rescue my Lord from the alliance army."
Du Sijing's expression was resolute.
If Ouyang Shuo did not agree, he would not budge. Who cares if his life was on the line, he was not afraid of such matters.
It seems like Du Sijing had tossed death out of his worries.
Spicy Snack Prince had developed a great minister.
Ouyang Shuo looked at Du Sijing, delighted in his heart. This only proved that his judgment was correct. If Du Sijing had agreed without hesitation, he would have felt disappointed instead.
"I promise you."