Chapter 366: Halfway through the plan
"This is a hundred thousand special forces."
Shen Yuexi jumped three feet high with joy holding the document. Fortunately, Mei Dai was quick-witted and she and Shen Lan supported her on both sides, and she finally landed safely.
The document was sent by the envoy of General Zhao Mu, and one hundred thousand border troops will cooperate with the coalition forces to attack Xiao Beiheng from the north.
"Sister, don't get too excited," Mei Dai supported her arm. "Doctor Hua said that extreme joy and sorrow can harm the body and are not good for the child."
Chen Lan also advised: "Sister, the war hasn't started yet, everything is unknown."
Shen Yuexi didn't care about that. She jumped in front of Xiao Zhuo as if no one was around. "Husband, this is your plan, right? You've been hiding it from me, right?"
Before Xiao Zhuo could answer, Shen Yuexi had already kissed him seven or eight times on the face, completely ignoring the large group of people standing in the tent.
"No, I only planned half of it." Xiao Zhuo's face flushed red from the kiss, but he didn't dare to push her away, so he had to stand straight. "I didn't expect the subsequent developments."
Everyone finally managed to calm Shen Yuexi down, and Xiao Zhuo explained to her what had happened.
General Qi Shengjue of Anzhou and Zhao Mu conspired to capture Xiao Beiheng, but Zhao Mu's wife, to protect herself, reported the plot to Xiao Beiheng, leading to the imprisonment of Zhao Mu's entire family. Qi Shengjue fled the capital with his trusted guards to find Xiao Zhuo. As the Anzhou army pursued and besieged Xiao Zhuo, he easily found him and helped him escape the encirclement.
Xiao Zhuo rushed back to Shengjing to prepare his army and assigned Qi Shengjue 100 cavalrymen to rush to the border to find Wei Liang. In Xiao Zhuo's view, with Zhao Mu imprisoned, Xiao Beiheng would inevitably attack the 100,000 border guards, and he must be prevented from taking over the border troops.
Qi Shengjue rushed to the border and informed Wei Liang of the incident in the capital. Wei Liang was furious and immediately wanted to attack the capital to rescue Zhao Mu, but Qi Shengjue tried to dissuade him. Then, a general sent by Xiao Beiheng arrived to replace Wei Liang. Wei Liang hosted a banquet for the general and captured him without leaking any information.
After Xiao Beiheng's troops conquered the capital, Wei Liang planned to send a force directly to attack the capital to rescue Zhao Mu's family first. Qi Shengjue suggested not to risk alerting the enemy and instead send troops to aid Xiao Zhuo. After all, even if they captured the capital, it would be useless since Xiao Beiheng's army was still there.
Wei Liang sent a letter to the Northern Di Grand Marshal, who was about to attack the border, accusing Xiao Beiheng of treachery and patricide to usurp the throne. The border guards were heading to Shengjing to aid Prince An, Xiao Zhuo. The Northern Di Grand Marshal replied that his target was also Xiao Beiheng, seeking revenge for his son's death. Since Xiao Beiheng had already dispatched troops to Shengjing, the Northern Di army would temporarily suspend the border attack.
The border guards were halfway through their journey when they learned that Zhao Mu had captured the capital, and they immediately contacted him. After Zhao Mu and Qiang Lin arrived at the border guards, Qiang Lin suggested that the army march through the heartland of the Western Rong. This way, Xiao Beiheng would not be aware of the army's movements, thus achieving a surprise victory.
"I originally only asked General Qi Shengjue to go to the border to help me lobby General Wei Liang," Xiao Zhuo concluded, "but I didn't expect that he would do far more than I expected. He really played a crucial role."
"It doesn't matter. We have reinforcements anyway," Shen Yuexi happily hugged Xiao Zhuo's arm, "Qiang Lin is back too. We now have 150,000 troops and can fight my brother openly."
Hu Gubie represented the Western Rong army at the battle meeting. Upon learning that Qiang Lin was safe and sound and that he had led a large army to support him, he was overjoyed and pumped his fist, saying, "Great! Our king is back."
Chen Lan said: "Brother-in-law, if we don't have the support of 100,000 border troops, what will we do next?"
Xiao Zhuo said, "My younger brother is unlike other generals I've fought against. He is very knowledgeable about military tactics. When our forces are outnumbered, we must retreat. This is the only option. If we force a fight, our entire army will be annihilated. I originally planned to defend Leshan County and use the city to wear down the enemy. But General Zhao Mu led a hundred thousand troops to join the battle, and our total strength is now sufficient to fight a decisive battle with my younger brother."
Shen Yuexi looked at Qiu Liming beside her and said, "General Qiu, has the declaration of war been sent to the other party?"
Qiu Liming nodded and said, "It was sent last night. Our entire army will fight the enemy to the death in Leye. I just don't know how Xiao Beiheng will respond to our offensive."
Xiao Zhuo patted Shen Yuexi's head and asked her to let go of him first. He walked to the hanging map and said to everyone in the tent:
"We now have two armies. I lead a coalition force of 53,000 men, which will confront Xiao Beiheng head-on in Leye. To our northeast lies General Zhao Mu's 100,000-man border army. Xiao Beiheng must prevent an encirclement and must divide his forces to resist. Behind Xiao Beiheng, another 50,000-man Anzhou army is on its way and will arrive in about half a month."
Mei Dai glanced at the map and raised her hand, saying, "Prince An, where are the 50,000 troops in Yuzhou now?"
Xiao Zhuo smiled slightly and said, "I sent a letter to Yuzhou Governor Guo Xinyuan, stating the severity of the situation. Governor Guo was very understanding and lied that the road was blocked by heavy snow and he stopped halfway."
Chen Lan said, "The military manual says that speed is of the essence in war. We should take the initiative and fight to the death. That way, the Anzhou enemy won't have time to support us."
Xiao Zhuo turned to Chen Lan and said, "Sister, you're right. My original plan was to retreat to Leshan County and try to delay the enemy. Now that we have General Zhao Mu's army, a quick victory has become a good option. General Zhao Mu is a veteran of many battles. I estimate that his route can hold back at least 90,000 to 100,000 of the enemy's troops."
Chen Yuexi lowered her head and counted on her fingers. "That means... in Leye, we have 53,000 men against 70,000. Northeast of Leye... let's say General Zhao Mu has 100,000 against 100,000. Both sides appear to be evenly matched."
Mei Dai clenched her fist and waved it vigorously, saying, "Sister, when two armies meet, the bravest one wins. Now it depends on who can hold on."
Seeing Mei Dai, a woman, so determined, the other generals in the tent became more excited. Qiu Liming rolled up his sleeves and said, "We've been retreating for more than half a month. Now it's time to fight the enemy."
Xiao Zhuo glanced at the generals and said, "Indeed, this is the final battle. As long as we all work together and bravely move forward, victory will surely belong to us."
A loud shout rang out from inside the tent, almost breaking through the top of the tent and flying out.
Outside the general's tent, Qiang Lin stood quietly in the snow, listening to the passionate speeches inside the tent.
He had come with the messenger who had delivered the document. Both Zhao Mu and Qi Shengjue had suggested that he return, and they had both tried to persuade him earnestly.
Zhao Mu said, "Brother, you're too shameless. It was just a casual boast. I'd be more ridiculous if I got drunk. So what if we didn't defend Baixiu Mountain? It's all because of that bastard Xiao Beiheng's despicable tactics. Besides, the coffins of your wife and mother-in-law have been brought out, so they need to be placed before the battle."
Qi Shengjue was even more outrageous, using Xiao Zhuo as an example: "King Qianglin, you are from the Western Rong. You must be aware of the oath King An and King Duoma swore together. That oath was made in front of thousands of soldiers. Didn't King An later break it to save the Mei family in Xiliang? Well... I'm just saying this. When you go see King An, don't tell him I was the one who brought it up."
"Brother, how about drinking three big bowls of wine before you go? Oh... I really miss the wine brewed by Princess An, it's so strong."
"King Qianglin, don't you want to defeat Xiao Beiheng? Don't forget that there are still so many Western Rong soldiers waiting for you to command."
The two men tried their best to persuade him, but when they finally arrived at the coalition camp, he remained outside, not daring to enter the general's tent. Whenever he thought of what he had said, he wished he could find a hole to crawl into. Yet, he desperately wanted to see Shen Yuexi and Xiao Zhuo. He had to fight this battle; it would be a battle of revenge for his beloved wife, Li Wan.
He didn't know how long he stood there when he suddenly woke up and found that a woman had appeared in front of him - a woman as bright and clear as the moon. She was looking at him with a smile and holding out her jade-white hand.
"King Qianglin, we are all waiting for you. Please come in."
"Yes...Princess An." He wiped away the hot tears that welled up in his eyes with his sleeve and strode into the tent.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com