"Based on the current situation, attacking from the Sole River is undoubtedly the best option."
Yun Zheng replied: "However, I have also been wondering whether we can capture Tianqiong Pass!"
His previous plan was to attack from the Sole River.
But if you can think of a good strategy to take Tianqiong Pass, attacking Tianqiong Pass would be the best option.
As long as the gate of Qiuchi is opened, Qiuchi’s rear will be left with a lack of troops, and they will inevitably withdraw their troops from the border to provide support.
It can even be said that as long as Tianqiong Pass is breached, Qiuchi will be on the verge of destruction.
Hearing Yun Zheng's words, Yu Shizhong and Wang Qi couldn't help but smile at each other.
Sure enough, His Highness, like them, also wanted to take over Tianqiong Pass.
But if you want to attack Tianqiong Pass, the question still comes back to how to break through Tianqiong Pass.
Neither they nor Yun Zheng wanted to attack the Tianqiong Pass by force.
...
...
The one guarding Tianqiong Pass was Qiuchi’s general Tiexiong.
They didn't know much about Tiexiong.
All we know is that he is a general who is very good at defending a city.
Even if they sacrificed their lives, they might not be able to capture Tianqiong Pass.
Just as they were racking their brains to figure out how to break through the Sky Pass, Miaoyin suddenly thought of something and immediately leaned over to Yun Zheng's ear and whispered, "Can we use gunpowder to blow open the Sky Pass?"
"Honestly, the possibility is not very high." Yun Zheng shook his head slightly and asked Yu Shizhong: "Can we dig a tunnel under the wall of Tianqiong Pass by using the earthwork excavation method?"
“It’s basically impossible!”
Yu Shizhong replied: "The area at the Tianqiong Pass is probably all rock, so it's probably impossible to dig."
really!
It was pretty much what he thought.
It is not impossible to use gunpowder to blow up the city wall of Tianqiong Pass.
After shocking Jia Yao last time, they accumulated more gunpowder through the subsequent acquisition of saltpeter.
But if the gunpowder was just thrown under the city wall, the possibility of blowing down the solid wall would be very small.
Only by burying gunpowder under the city wall can we ensure that the wall can be blown up.
As for blowing up the city gate, Yun Zheng basically never thought about it.
For important gateways like Tianqiong Pass, there is most likely a city wall.
In this case, there is almost no point in blowing up the city gate.
If we were to cut down trees on site and make siege equipment such as catapults, it would take too long.
By the time those large siege engines are manufactured, it will probably be almost winter.
Yun Zheng pondered for a moment and asked Yu Shizhong: "How many defenders are there at Tianqiong Pass?"
“I don’t know.”
Yu Shizhong shook his head. "But according to my estimation, the garrison at Tianqiong Pass should not be too large, perhaps around 10,000 to 20,000 people."
"How many troops have Qiuchi and Dayue Kingdom respectively stockpiled at the border?" Yun Zheng asked again.
Yu Shizhong replied: "Both countries claim to have an army of 100,000."
"So many?" Qin Qihu frowned, seeming a little unbelievable.
Qiuchi and Dayue are both small countries.
In Qin Qihu's opinion, even if these two countries sold everything they had, they could at best gather 50,000 troops each.
The two countries now have a total of 200,000 troops on the border, which is really an exaggeration.
Moreover, these are just the troops they have stockpiled on the border.
A dangerous pass like Tianqiong Pass must be guarded by troops, right?
They should also send some people to guard other cities in their country, right?
With this calculation, the military strength of the two countries is indeed somewhat excessive.
"An army of 100,000 is just a title."
Yun Zheng smiled indifferently, "Maybe only 50,000 or 60,000 people. Even if they really have an army of 100,000, the combat troops with full armor are probably less than half! Most of them are probably civilians transporting food and grass."
This is just like the wars in ancient China.
They often claim to have an army of hundreds of thousands.
But the actual combat troops there usually account for less than half.
"Your Highness, Qiuchi and Dayue Kingdom should not be underestimated."
At this time, Deng Bao suddenly spoke up to remind him.
"What do you mean?"
Yun Zheng asked with interest.
Deng Bao said seriously, "Except for the previous war against Beimotu, Qiuchi and Dayue have not fought for more than ten years. Although the two countries are small, they must have accumulated some wealth over the past ten years."
"Yes."
Wang Qi nodded in agreement, "Beihuan was very powerful before, and Quanrong and Beimoduo were both dependent on Beihuan. Even if the two countries wanted to, they did not dare to use military force against Beimoduo and Quanrong easily. The strength of the Moxi tribes and Guifang next to them was also stronger than them. They could only conserve their strength and wait for the right time."
Yun Zheng thought about it and nodded slightly: "That's right."
Well, it seems that I underestimated the enemy.
No matter how strong the two countries are, since the decision has been made to send troops, they must go all out.
Yun Zheng adjusted his mindset and stared at the sand table in front of him in deep thought.
To be honest, even if he didn't underestimate the enemy, he thought it would not be difficult to defeat them.
In terms of eliteness, the troops of Guifang, Dayue Kingdom and Qiuchi are definitely not as elite as those of Dagan.
They originally divided their troops into two groups, and this group of troops was reserved for the Guifang.
Moreover, Beihuan will also send troops against Guifang.
It was almost impossible for Guifang to block their army advancing from the Sole River.
If Dugu Ce and his army launched a frontal attack, as long as they failed to fall into the enemy's trap, it should not be a big problem to defeat the coalition forces of Qiuchi and Dayue.
But they cannot launch a head-on attack without considering casualties.
In this battle, the Northern Army sent out its best troops.
If the elite troops were destroyed, the Northern Army would be ruined.
After much thought, Yun Zheng still wanted to try to capture Tianqiong Pass.
This is the fastest and most effective way to defeat Qiu Chi.
Once Tianqiong Pass is lost, they may not even have to fight, and Qiuchi will have to sue for peace.
After a long while, Yun Zheng turned his eyes away from the sand table. "Anyway, it will take General Dugu a few days to reach the designated location! Let's still march from the Sulu River as planned! But let's use our brains and think carefully to see if there is a good way to break through Tianqiong Pass."
If we can think of a solution, it must be to attack Tianqiong Pass.
If you really can't think of a good solution, you can only proceed according to the original plan.
"What about Beihuan?"
Yu Shizhong asked worriedly, "Should Beihuan be on guard?"
"You don't have to worry about that." Yun Zheng shook his head and smiled, "I have already agreed with Jia Yao that if she doesn't send troops to attack Guifang, we will keep our troops on hold!"
Yu Shizhong was surprised, then he smiled heartily, "In this case, I have nothing to worry about."
"There's nothing much to think about attacking from the Sulu River Plain. After thinking about it, it's just like that." Yun Zheng said: "Let's think of a way to break through the Tianqiong Pass!"
"Um."
Yu Shizhong nodded and started thinking again.
However, he had thought about this question countless times.
But I haven't thought of a better solution.
Seeing Yu Shizhong's worried look, Yun Zheng couldn't help but shook his head and smiled, "Don't think about it for now. Let me write a letter to Tiexiong first. You send someone to deliver this letter to Beimoduo and order Ashina to be my special envoy and take my handwritten letter to Tianqiong Pass to persuade them to surrender..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
