Chapter 920 Civil strife
The Wei army stopped advancing and withdrew its forces to set up camp to only defend. At first, the people in the Beiling royal court were overjoyed, thinking that it was the Thirteen Scattered Tribes who launched a surprise attack and ambushed the Wei army, but gradually, Huyan Min discovered that something was wrong.
"Khan, although the Wei army hasn't advanced further, they haven't shown any signs of retreating either. Furthermore, after setting up camp in the east, they've built defenses for nearly ten miles around the perimeter. Hundreds of troops, nearly a thousand strong, patrol the area every twelve hours. Our troops can't get even close."
Wu Ya stood in the tent wearing light armor, with a scimitar hanging at her waist. As she spoke, her brows were furrowed and her eyes were full of worry.
The reason they were able to launch a successful sneak attack before was that the Wei army had too many people and was mainly composed of infantry. Whether it was marching or attacking, the elongated battle line would always have places that were not taken into consideration. After dispersing their forces, they used cavalry teams to launch sneak attacks and set ambushes, killing some people and then turning around and running away.
The grassland was originally their habitat, and no one was more familiar with the terrain than them. Relying on the cavalry that came and went like the wind, they were able to make the Wei army run around in circles, making them exhausted and losing a lot of people. But now the people of Wei were consolidating their fighting force, gathering everyone in one place to set up camp and increase defenses.
No matter how powerful their cavalry was, it was impossible for them to break through the encirclement silently and threaten the Wei army.
"Did they set up camp because they had some trouble? A few days ago, the Nata tribe sent a message saying that the Emperor of Wei was seriously injured and had been poisoned by a snake."
The man who spoke had a rough face and looked to be in his thirties. When Beiling sent troops, he took away almost all the elite troops of the three major tribes. He was one of the few remaining generals of the Zongyan tribe to protect Huyan Min.
Wu Ya frowned and said, "Impossible. If the Wei Emperor were seriously injured and dying, the Wei army would not be so safe. Moreover, the snake's poison can only be used against ordinary Wei soldiers and generals. It will be useless against the martial arts masters of the Wei army."
She had heard people say before that the Emperor of Wei was extremely powerful in martial arts and had deep internal strength. He was a top master even in the Central Plains. Moreover, the medical skills of the people of Wei were far superior to those of the Hu doctors. Unless he could be killed by an arrow, the Emperor of Wei would not be in serious trouble even if he was poisoned.
Moreover, if the Emperor of Wei was really seriously injured, the Wei army would definitely be in chaos. Without a leader, they would either retreat directly or fight back with all their might.
But now the people of Wei are setting up camp, which is really too strange.
Hu Yanmin was well aware of the oddity. He turned around twice and said, "The Wei army has so many people, and their daily needs are no small matter. I don't know what the Wei Emperor is planning, but if we can cut off their supplies, I don't believe they won't retreat!"
If it were a few months ago, Hu Yanmin would have ordered his men to encircle and kill the Wei army and capture the Wei emperor alive after the Wei Dynasty's supplies were cut off, but now Beiling is at a disadvantage.
The troops in his hands were barely enough to protect himself. He only wanted to drive the people of Wei out of the grassland and preserve the few remaining foundations of the royal court.
As long as the Wei army is driven away, Beiling will have a chance to catch his breath, and he can also lead these people to retreat to the imperial city.
Upon hearing this, Wu Ya said, "But the Wei army has a huge amount of food and fodder with them. There are over ten thousand people guarding the baggage alone. Our people can't get in at all. As for cutting off their supply lines from the rear, it's even harder. The Wei army will definitely be on guard against us."
"When they were transporting food and grass before, I sent people to try to rob them. However, the people of Wei Dynasty were extremely cunning. They didn't know what to put on the carriages transporting food. If someone tried to rob them, the carriages would explode as soon as they left the Wei Dynasty.
Not to mention the food, even the people who stole the food couldn’t escape, and Hetai and his men died there.”
Hu Yanmin's face turned extremely ugly when he heard this.
The news sent back from Luoyan Pass before was that Xiahou Ling and his men fell into the trap of the Wei Dynasty. A shocking explosion outside Luoyan Pass caused the Beiling army to suffer a crushing defeat. Now, the people of the Wei Dynasty actually brought things to Beiling and asked people to "carry" them with them.
Where on earth did the people of the Wei Dynasty get such a sharp weapon? It's simply abominable! !
Hu Yanmin cursed softly, raised his head and said coldly, "Let the Thirteen Scattered Divisions go."
"King Khan?" Several generals in the tent widened their eyes.
Wu Ya also looked up in shock: "Are you crazy? You're asking the Thirteen Scattered Tribes to die. How could they possibly agree to that?"
Hu Yanmin frowned. "The Thirteen Tribes haven't had much dealings with the Great Wei, so they might not know what happened before. As long as you don't tell them and I don't tell them, they won't know. Besides, the things the Great Wei has in their hands definitely don't have too many. Otherwise, the Emperor of Wei would have just bombed us all the way and we would have been powerless to resist. Even after the battle outside Luoyan Pass, no one would have escaped."
If such earth-shattering power could be used at will, not to mention Beiling, the entire world would have fallen into the hands of Emperor Wei. He would not need to lead his troops to risk going deep into the heart of Beiling. He could just send people to blow it up all the way. Who could withstand the power of that thing?
But the Emperor of Wei did not, and even suffered heavy losses at the hands of the thirteen scattered tribes, which shows that the thing in their hands cannot be used casually.
Either the quantity is scarce, or there are special restrictions on their use.
Hu Yanmin looked at Wu Ya and said, "The Emperor of Wei and his men have no clear purpose right now. Continuing to waste time with them will do us no good. Let the Thirteen Scattered Tribes go over there. As long as we can completely consume the supplies the Emperor of Wei has, then it will be easy to cut off their supplies from Luoyan Pass and seize their food and fodder."
"The Wei army remaining on the grasslands is a disaster. We can't defeat them with just the men we have. Only by forcing them to retreat and forcing the Wei army to withdraw will we have a chance to survive."
Wu Ya said, "But if the Thirteen Scattered Divisions charge forward like this, they'll suffer heavy casualties..."
"So what?"
Hu Yanmin interrupted her coldly, his expression sinister. "They have always been estranged from the royal court. Previously, the royal court made every excuse to send troops. Now, they are helping us stop the Wei Dynasty out of necessity. But don't forget, the royal court is no longer what it used to be."
"The three major tribes were defeated at Luoyan Pass. The remaining forces we have are less than those of the Thirteen Scattered Tribes. They can still join us now that we are facing a formidable enemy, but once the Wei army withdraws, the first target the Thirteen Scattered Tribes will likely target is the royal court."
Hu Yanmin looked at Wu Ya coldly.
"I know you made a deal with them, and they may have promised to push you to the throne later, but my sister, Hu Baoxian is not a good person."
"If you still had the powerful Zong Yu tribe standing behind you like before, he would naturally not dare to rebel against you. But now, like me, your tribe has suffered a devastating defeat and is almost a lost cause. Do you think Hu Baoxian would willingly lead the thirteen scattered tribes to submit to you?"
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