Along the border between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty, we saw four or five villages still belching thick smoke after the fires. By the roadside, refugees were filled with sorrow and grief, children were crying, and the elderly were all filled with lamentations.
In the destroyed village, people who had fled the disaster searched for their belongings and food in the ruins.
"General, we learned from the villagers who fled that a small group of Western Xia soldiers has infiltrated the area," Yang Zhi reported upon returning from his investigation.
“It’s riddled with flaws, ignore it, let’s go straight to the border camp,” Wang Han said, glancing at the dilapidated village.
"Ah!" Upon hearing this, everyone was somewhat confused. What did they mean by "full of loopholes"? Weren't they going to stop this small group of Western Xia troops from infiltrating?
"Remember, details determine success or failure." Upon hearing this, Wang Han shook his head and said, "There were no small groups of Western Xia soldiers infiltrating in at all. It was all an act for us to see, just to give us a legitimate reason for attacking."
"It's an act, General. Judging from the way these people look, it doesn't seem like an act!" Yang Zhi said, somewhat puzzled. The sorrow on the faces of the fleeing people didn't seem feigned.
“Of course the people aren’t acting; they’re just being forced to act. They have no idea what’s going on.” Hearing this, Wang Han shook his head and analyzed for Yang Zhi and the others, “If it were a real small group of Western Xia troops infiltrating, the people’s faces would not only show sorrow and grief, but also the sadness of losing loved ones.”
"If a small group of Western Xia soldiers has indeed infiltrated, then the Western Xia soldiers who can evade the border guards will not be easily discovered by the people. Even if the people discover them in time, they will not be able to evacuate in time. Considering the old and weak soldiers and soldiers with marching habits, it will be difficult for the people to evacuate, and there will inevitably be casualties. Unless the Western Xia soldiers give the people time to evacuate."
"Even if the people really evacuated in time, how could the Western Xia soldiers not plunder the food and property when they arrived? Even if they were infiltrating troops and didn't plunder the food, they would still burn down houses and take away the property. This is a common problem of the Western Xia soldiers, or even all armies. Unless they are their own countrymen, they will be more restrained. Of course, we cannot rule out a benevolent military policy, but it is obviously impossible now, and it will not be done in this way. This is the second loophole."
"The third loophole is that if Western Xia soldiers had infiltrated, they wouldn't have just come to attack villages. Their main task would have been to cut off supply lines or do something more meaningful. But judging from the way several villages around were attacked, these Western Xia soldiers burned the villages after finally infiltrating, and didn't even kill many people. Based on these three points, the infiltrators were not Western Xia soldiers, or even foreign soldiers."
"In other words," Wang Han said, and Yang Zhi immediately understood.
“That’s right.” Wang Han nodded and said, “These infiltrated Western Xia soldiers are actually soldiers of the Song Dynasty in disguise. This explains why these infiltrated Western Xia soldiers didn’t kill many people, why they set fire to houses but didn’t loot money, and why they attacked so many villages but didn’t do anything more meaningful. It’s because they were just putting on an act, putting on an act for me. In this way, I think the Western Xia never actually attacked. The purpose of the act was twofold: one was to give me a reason to send troops to attack the Western Xia, and the other was to give us a legitimate reason to fight, to give the people of the world a reason to wage war.”
Upon hearing Wang Han's explanation, the entire army nodded in understanding.
"Guess what the border troops will say when we get there," Wang Han said with a smile. "They'll probably say that the Western Xia army didn't attack the city; they just came and set up battle formations. Upon hearing that I had arrived at the border, they only infiltrated a small force, plundered some civilians, and then withdrew, leaving the civilians with heavy losses. They'll also say that the Western Xia people were so audacious and asked me to send troops to avenge the people. Emperor Huizong's edict has definitely reached the military camp; they're just waiting for me to arrive, watch the show, and then jump out to announce the edict and launch an expedition against Western Xia. And who knows, maybe my acquaintance Zhong Shidao is already waiting for me."
"..." Upon hearing this, everyone was speechless. They were putting on an act for the general, but the general had already seen through everything and even guessed what would happen next.
"So what does the General plan to do? Should we go on an expedition?" Yang Zhi asked, and the entire army looked over as well, for this was a matter of their future.
"Of course I'm going. There are plenty of reasons to go on an expedition. Even if there weren't any, I would have found one. Besides, we already have a reason now," Wang Han said with a smile. "The previous imperial edict has already granted us the authority to command the army. Now all we're missing is that imperial edict that's already waiting for us in the camp—the edict to set out on the expedition."
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"Welcome, Great General Shenwei." Upon arriving at the military camp, just as Wang Han had expected, Zhong Shidao was already waiting for him at the camp gate.
"General Zhong arrived very quickly!" Wang Han asked with a smile, "How is the battle going? I believe the Western Xia troops have already retreated by now, with General Zhong here! It must have been a great victory, with casualties in the single digits!"
"General, you flatter me." Upon hearing this, Zhong Shidao blushed slightly, but he still had to say what needed to be said. He said, "Those Western Xia soldiers did not attack the city. They only set up battle formations. I heard that General, you are almost at the border. You only sent a small group of troops to the rear to plunder the people before withdrawing. However, the people suffered heavy losses."
“Teacher Zhong, what you said is almost exactly what the General guessed before he came, in the exact same order,” Zhao Fujin said with a smile.
Now Zhong Shidao's smile became even more awkward; he had been completely seen through. However, despite being seen through, Zhong Shidao continued to act, saying, "General, the Western Xia people are so presumptuous. General, send troops to avenge the people."
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