Chapter 125 A foolproof plan

At noon, in the main camp of the Western Rong army, inside the tent of the central commander.

General Sumonai raised his wine bowl and gestured to Xiumuye, who was sitting across from him, "Drink."

After saying that, he tilted his head back and poured the wine down his throat.

The spicy taste made his throat feel like it was on fire and made his blood boil. He smiled and said to Xiu Muye:

"Your plan is indeed clever!"

The two brothers had been badly defeated by the Xiliang cavalry led by Meipu, forcing them to flee in panic. They had intended to return to their king to apologize, but the king, enraged, ordered them to return to King Doma to await his orders, as compensation for their inability to help him.

The two men returned to King Doma in disgrace, just as Xiao Zhuo led his cavalry to cut off their food supply. King Doma panicked. Fortunately, Xiu Muye came up with an idea that finally calmed King Doma down.

The strategy was to decisively lift the siege of Leshan.

King Thomas was still not very happy. After besieging for so many days, wouldn’t it be too much of a loss to just give up?

Xiu Muye explained it to him.

Spending a hundred thousand troops to besiege a useless figure like Xiliang King Mei Cheng was a waste. While Leshan's walls were old, the Xirong army lacked siege tactics and wouldn't be able to take it down anytime soon. Food and fodder were the lifeblood of an army; it would be better to turn back and deal with Xiao Zhuo, who had cut off their supply lines.

Seeing the 100,000-strong army surrounding them, Xiao Zhuo absolutely did not dare to confront them head-on and could only lead his army to flee. This naturally resolved the army's food shortage crisis.

As for the King of Xiliang, they already knew his character and could send troops to destroy him at any time. There was really no need to compete with him. The real enemy of the Xirong people was Xiao Zhuo.

King Thomas did not know that there was some selfish motive in Humuya's suggestion, but Sumona was clear about it.

Xiu Muye's son had died at the hands of Xiao Zhuo, and he had long yearned for revenge. Furthermore, they shared a common grudge of defeat, and he longed to defeat Xiao Zhuo and wash away the shame. Now, with the help of King Doma's military might, he could fulfill his wish.

King Doma adopted Xiu Muye's advice, but underestimated Xiao Zhuo and only sent 20,000 cavalry to attack. Only after suffering a heavy loss did he send out his entire army to besiege Xiao Zhuo.

The 100,000-strong army surrounded Xiao Zhuo, seemingly with great momentum, but they were confused and disoriented by Xiao Zhuo's cavalry and could never catch up with him.

King Duoma was troubled and began to complain about Xiu Muye's bad idea. He thought it was embarrassing to have Xiao Zhuo walk a hundred thousand soldiers like a dog. Even Sumonai felt that Xiao Zhuo was too slippery and could not be dealt with.

Only Xiu Muye was confident.

He had known for a long time that Xiao Zhuo would avoid fighting, and he had already thought of the next countermeasures.

Xiu Muye put down the empty wine bowl and said with a beaming expression:

"King Doma has now blocked all of Xiao Zhuo's routes south, forcing him to head north. General, you and I will lead our army south to capture the Langya Pass. Hehe... Xiao Zhuo can't interfere this time, or he'll be worried."

If you can't catch Xiao Zhuo, then turn around and catch Xiao Zhuo's wife.

Xiao Zhuo's wife Shen Yuexi is still at Langya Pass. As long as Shen Yuexi is captured, she can be used to threaten Xiao Zhuo.

Sumonai took the wineskin from the table and filled it with liquor for him again:

"The more I think about it, the more I think your plan is brilliant. If we attack Langya Pass, Xiao Zhuo will definitely panic. It will be impossible not to come."

"General, Xiao Zhuo has used this tactic before," Xiu Muye smiled, picking up his wine bowl. "He didn't go directly to Leshan, but instead cut off our food supply, forcing us to rescue him. I also learned it and used it immediately, forcing him to rescue."

Su Monai laughed and said, "Once Xiao Zhuo gets to know this news, he will have a headache."

"Yes, yes," Xiu Muye put down his empty bowl and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "He can either sit back and do nothing until King Doma forces him into a desperate situation and his entire army is annihilated. Or he can only gamble everything and march south with his entire army. If he's unlucky, he won't even be able to get past King Doma. Even if he does, by then our 20,000-strong army will have already ambushed him along the way, waiting for him to enter our trap."

There is another possibility that he did not mention, that is, Xiao Zhuo was so skilled in using troops that he neither fell into danger nor went south to rescue Langya Pass.

In this scenario, they would simply lead their troops to capture Langya Pass, thus venting their anger. They would capture Shen Yuexi and take her north to find Xiao Zhuo, who would surrender.

Xiao Zhuo seemed to attach great importance to his wife. No matter how he thought about it, this tactic seemed foolproof.

"But the repeating crossbow designed by Xiao Zhuo's wife is very powerful. What if we can't take it down..."

Seeing Sumonai's worry, Xiu Muye consoled him, "General, we suffered losses before because we didn't know about the repeating crossbow. Now that we know about it, how can we be at a disadvantage? I've ordered the craftsmen to build arrow-proof chariots, and several have already been constructed. The soldiers are practicing with them in the camp. General, you can come out and see."

Sumonai put down his wine bowl and said, "Okay, let's go out and take a look."

The two men left the tent and came to the open space in the camp.

On the open ground, two hundred soldiers, forty people in each group pushed an anti-arrow vehicle, a total of five anti-arrow vehicles, and practiced under the command of flag signals.

The arrow-proof cart that Humuye mentioned was actually a large wooden plank with wheels. Soldiers would hide behind the thick planks and push the cart forward, shielded on both sides by large shields. This way, no crossbow arrows could penetrate the planks. Once they reached the enemy, they could attack all at once, rendering the crossbow useless.

Sumonai nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right. This way, the crossbows won't be able to harm our warriors."

"Look, General, is the Wolf Fang Pass within easy reach?"

"Oh right," Sumonai said to Xiumuye, remembering something. "Last time we failed, we had the help of the Xiliang cavalry, in addition to the crossbows. Will there be any other troops helping them this time?"

"Don't worry, General. I've already sent scouts to investigate," Xiu Muye chuckled. "The King of Xiliang is hiding in Yongwei and dares not come out. King Jing of Dayan is at odds with him, so he definitely won't send troops. The border guards, despite the Emperor of Dayan's order, absolutely won't dare to send troops either. Currently, there's only one place where the Crown Prince of Dayan, Prince Qi, is leading 50,000 troops towards this direction."

"Prince Qi, what is he bringing his army here for?" Su Monai asked doubtfully, "Is he here to help the King of Xiliang?"

"I don't think so. King Duoma conquered two cities from the King of Xiliang, but I didn't see the King of Qi send any troops. It's obvious that their relationship is not good," Xiu Muye said confidently. "The kings of Dayan are always scheming against each other and have always been at odds. I think it's more likely that the Prince of Qi is leading his troops to fight for the King of Xiliang's territory."

"What if he reaches Langya Pass..."

"No, no, it will take another half month for the Prince of Qi's army to arrive. We can get there in just seven days." Xiu Muye patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, General. No one will be able to save Langya Pass this time. It will definitely be ours."

"That's good," Sumonai laughed, "I feel relieved now."

As the two were talking, a Xirong scout came running over and said, "General, our troops have been spotted to the south. There are about 5,000 of them."

"Five thousand people, and it's our team?" Sumonai frowned and asked, "Who is the commander?"

"Captain Qiang Lin."