Chapter 855 It's Not a Dead End Yet
When Cheng Wanwan woke up the next day, she heard about the surprise attack by the Western Rong Kingdom the night before.
In war between two countries, if they confront each other head-on, death is inevitable regardless of victory or defeat. Hence the ancient poem that says, "When will we return from the battlefield?"
The Western Rong cavalry were already strong, and even the elite troops of the Great Yu Kingdom might not have a chance of winning against them. Now, most of the soldiers on the Great Yu Kingdom's side were new recruits, and even with bombs as weapons, it was not a sure thing...
In addition, the Western Rong Kingdom used the elderly, weak, women and children of the Yuezhi tribe as human shields, which somewhat suppressed the advantage of the bombs.
“We don’t have many bombs left in the warehouse,” He Xiao said. “Based on the current usage, if we have five more battles of the scale of last night, the bombs will be exhausted.”
Although the Great Yu Kingdom is rich in fireworks and firecrackers, the gunpowder produced from all the raw materials combined is hardly enough to supply such a large war.
Cheng Wanwan paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, Princess Taiping hid a large amount of gunpowder and weapons in a small village on the border between the two countries..."
Her online store was overflowing with explosives and weapons, but she lacked a legitimate excuse to use them.
Princess Taiping died while helping them escape. They used her name to produce these items, hoping to ensure that more people would remember her…
He Xiao's eyes lit up: "Where?"
“The princess only told me the general location. I need to go to that small village and search carefully.” Cheng Wanwan pondered. “Although bombs are the trump card, having bombs alone does not guarantee victory. Military campaigns mainly rely on strategy and tactics. Only by using them well can we defeat the Western Rong soldiers at the lowest cost.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a group of people walked in through the tent entrance.
The group was led by Pang Jie and Li Jian, followed by students from Xiao Qin Academy.
They were the sons of officials from the capital, with special status and no physical strength, yet they insisted on coming to the battlefield to join in the fun... The General of the Cavalry did not arrange for them to go to the battlefield, but instead had them learn strategy from the strategist.
Last night, the Great Yu Kingdom suffered a crushing defeat. The strategists discussed the matter all morning but couldn't come up with any strategy. So they stepped back to discuss it on their own, and then they overheard what Cheng Wanwan had to say.
In their eyes, Lady Sui was intelligent, far superior to those so-called military advisors.
Pang Jie cupped his hands and said, "Please do not hesitate to enlighten me, sir."
Cheng Wanwan looked at them with a sense of relief in her eyes.
Initially, she looked down on these spoiled brats, but she never expected that after a series of events, these second-generation rich kids would grow up so quickly.
Whether it was to save the country or to save her, it shows their commendable courage.
She said, "Then you should come with me to find the explosives and weapons that Princess Taiping hid in the small mountain village."
Pang Jie and the others nodded repeatedly.
He Xiao led five hundred men to go with him.
This small village is located deep in the mountains on the border of the Great Yu Kingdom and the Western Rong Kingdom. The people here moved here from the war-torn land. After settling in the mountains, no matter how much fighting happened outside, it would not affect them. Generation after generation, they multiplied and lived a relatively peaceful life.
Cheng Wanwan randomly chose a nearby address on the map.
She needs to find a secluded cave, hide the items there secretly, and then lead people to find them...
"Pang Jie, take twenty men over there. Li Jian, you and a few others go check the west side." She instructed. "He Xiao, take men and conduct a thorough search of the village... I'm tired, I'll wait for you here."
It's normal for a woman nearing forty to be tired after following a group of men for so long, and the men were understanding and let her rest temporarily in a farmer's yard.
Once everyone had left, she asked Gu Leng and Gu Bing to leave, and then quickly disappeared into the deep mountains...
The village wasn't very big. He Xiao and his men searched it carefully three times, but still found nothing. They had no choice but to turn back and ask Cheng Wanwan.
But Cheng Wanwan was sitting in the yard covered in mud, looking extremely disheveled.
"Cough, I just tripped and fell." She lied without batting an eye. "Since it's not in the village, it might be hidden in the mountains. Why don't we go look for it up there?"
He Xiao had the same idea and immediately led his men up the mountain.
A group of several hundred people searched from dawn until dusk, and finally, in a cave deep in the mountains, they discovered a large amount of gunpowder and firearms.
This gunpowder smells much stronger, and a small piece is estimated to be five to ten times more powerful than a bomb from the Great Yu Kingdom.
The muskets in the cave were not made of bamboo tubes, but of iron, and were extremely heavy to hold. Hundreds of chests were filled with the same type of musket, estimated to be 20,000, enough to equip each elite soldier with one...
"Could the Western Rong Kingdom really have so much ironware?" Pang Jie asked incredulously. "This iron looks even better than that of the Great Yu Kingdom."
“When Princess Taiping was sent to marry a foreign ruler, she brought many blacksmiths to the Western Rong. Over the years, the accumulated ironware must have been this much.” Li Jian turned to look at Cheng Wanwan. “It must have been Lady Sui who provided the gunpowder formula and the blueprints for the musket that allowed Princess Taiping to have it made.”
“The formula and blueprints are important, but it is obviously more difficult to manufacture so many weapons under the nose of the Western Rong King and arrange for them to be sent back to the Great Yu Kingdom,” Cheng Wanwan said. “Let’s bring everything back to the camp first, without delay.”
Fortunately, there were enough people and vehicles were arranged, and hundreds of vehicles were fully loaded.
It was already past midnight when we got back to the camp.
The lights in the main tent were still on, and you could hear several generals and strategists talking. Although their voices were full of exhaustion, none of them wanted to rest.
This time, the Great Yu Kingdom conscripted 350,000 soldiers to resist the Western Rong. If they still lose, then these generals will be the sinners of the Great Yu Kingdom and can only atone with their deaths.
"Arrange for 100,000 men to bypass this mountain and launch a surprise attack from the rear of the Western Rong," the General of Chariots and Cavalry said in a deep voice. "Taking advantage of the Western Rong's loss of rear, we will gather the remaining 250,000 men for a fierce attack and will surely take this land ahead..."
He Xiao pursed his lips: "While this might increase the win rate, the casualties are immeasurable..."
“To win this battle, casualties are inevitable,” General Yunhui said. “If death can wash away the shame of the Great Yu Kingdom, and if death can repel the Western Rong army, it would be a good strategy.”
Everyone inside the tent fell silent.
If we don't want to confront them head-on, then we can only use this tactic to divide the Western Rong army and have a chance of winning. Otherwise, the army will be defeated like a house of cards, and we may not be able to hold this land.
"Death is the last resort when there is no other way out. Have we reached that dead end now?"
A clear, cold voice rang out, and everyone looked up to see Cheng Wanwan walk into the tent.
In the past, if a woman entered a military camp, she would have been scolded and driven out by everyone present.
But this person is Mrs. Sui.
It is said that the reason why more than a hundred of them were able to escape from the Western Rong Palace was because of Lady Sui's strategy. Also, the bomb that is now regarded as their trump card was first developed by Lady Sui, and then presented to the court by her son. If it weren't for the bomb, they would have lost even more miserably...
Cheng Wanwan looked at the crowd in front of her: "What's the point of winning a war by sacrificing human lives? Those young soldiers outside are children raised with great difficulty by their parents, fathers of many children, and pillars of their families. If they die, a family is destroyed. Tell me, if your sons were among them, would you still be able to say such a thing so lightly?"
General Yunhui and Cheng Wanwan exchanged glances: "Madam Sui is worried about her son..."
“No.” Cheng Wanwan interrupted him directly. “If sacrificing my four sons could bring peace and prosperity to the Great Yu Kingdom, I would never stop my sons from dying for their country. But the reality is that it’s not just four people who will be sacrificed, but four thousand, forty thousand, one hundred and forty thousand… or even more… There are clearly better ways.”
Upon hearing this, the General of the Cavalry's eyes lit up immediately: "Lady Sui, please speak quickly."
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