Chapter 489: Ten Thousand Banners Slay Yama (Part 4) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
We'll head straight to Huanglong Prefecture and drink heartily with you all.
These words sound grand and inspiring, but putting them into practice is incredibly difficult, as even the most skilled cook cannot cook without rice.
But the words had already been spoken. If she didn't do something to the Ten Crow Kings, where would she put her face, which was full of collagen?
But how to raid their stronghold?
This requires a proper discussion among the group.
"Although the capital of Shiwu is not as well-equipped as the cities within the pass, it is still not something our small force can conquer. Even if we could, the time we would spend delaying the nearby tribes would be enough to send reinforcements, putting us in a dilemma." Inside the simple tent, Jiang Sheng pointed to a simple sand table and analyzed where the defenses were relatively weak, where it would be convenient to attack, and when would be the safest time to attack.
They did not know how many troops the King of the Royal Court had taken with him on his personal expedition, but according to the intelligence they had gathered recently, the capital of Shiwu was now practically an "empty city" compared to its peak, with its military strength unprecedentedly weak!
The most ingenious part is that the army is commanded by the underage prince of the Ten Crows King. These princes are generally young and inexperienced. They may nominally control the capital's army, but in reality, the army does not obey them at all.
If planned properly, even if we can't destroy the capital of the Ten Crows Kingdom, we can still send them to their doom and burn them to the ground!
Shen Tang sat on the mat, arms crossed, brows furrowed and eyes deep, and asked, "Are you planning a surprise attack on the city?"
Jiang Sheng: "It would be best to first create a false impression—for example, by having Sheng create a great deal of momentum at the south gate with incantations such as 'Flood the Seven Armies' or 'Burning the Camps,' to lure them to a city gate, and then launch a real all-out attack from the opposite city gate."
Of course, bait thrown out is prone to getting into danger.
A smaller number of people means a smaller target, and it also makes it easier to escape.
Gu Chi stayed by Shen Tang's side in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
This fellow's scholarly ways are somewhat annoying, but once you get the hang of it, they have many advantages. Jiang Sheng explained the method, and Gu Chi didn't object, clearly acquiescing. But Shen Tang still had a different thought: "Why—"
Jiang Sheng said gently, "Please speak, my lord."
Shen Tang tilted his head and thought for a moment, organizing his thoughts. He held a chopstick against the sand tray, fiddling with the small flags on the sand tray with the tip of the chopstick, and asked, "The method of first landing is not impossible, but I have another question—why must a war be fought from the ground?"
Jiang Sheng subconsciously looked at Gu Chi.
Gu Chi was baffled: "Don't look at me, look at the sand table!"
Jiang Sheng: "..."
Shen Tang pinched a small lump of clay and tossed it toward the location of the capital city on the sand table, asking, "Why can't we airdrop it to smash the wall?"
Jiang Sheng countered, "Do we have catapults?"
Two thousand people at most, what are you thinking?
To hide these two thousand-plus people, they dared not linger in one place for long during this period; to put it bluntly, they were "hiding their heads and tails," fearing that their whereabouts would be revealed and they would be surrounded and wiped out by the Shiwu faction. How could they possibly have the conditions to carelessly transport large siege weapons?
“When Gong Xichou led his troops to attack Xiaocheng before, I didn’t see them using catapults…” Shen Tang muttered to himself.
Jiang Sheng was unaware of this, but Gu Chi was very clear about it. He explained, "Gong Xi Chou's catapults were the result of the combined morale of his army. If our army had such resources, we could attack the city with catapults even without such supplies."
The number of catapults that can boost morale is limited. When it comes to a serious battle and siege, the necessary supplies still need to be carried.
Shen Tang asked again, "Word of Power has many wonderful uses, so why can't Martial Warriors fly into the sky and strike enemies from the air?"
Gu Chi said, "A martial artist who can briefly hover in the air or walk on air must be at least a tenth-rank Left Vice Minister. Besides, in the chaos of war, everyone is afraid of becoming a target for the enemy. Why would they take to the air for no reason? To be used as a target for arrows?"
He didn't say that Shen Tang's ideas were wildly imaginative. As long as the lord didn't go crazy, it was harmless for him to have such wonderful ideas.
Shen Tang pondered for a moment.
The chopsticks gestured to indicate a height: "Arrows have a limited range. If they can fly high enough, like this—high! Then even the most powerful ground forces will just be sitting ducks, getting smashed to pieces. Don't underestimate Wangchao."
Gu Chi just wanted to roll his eyes at his lord.
He had never seen a martial artist fly that high.
Although he didn't manage to roll his eyes, Shen Tang still sensed the retort from his subtle expression and earnestly lectured him: "Wang Chao, nothing is absolute. I didn't say that martial artists rely solely on their strength to ascend to the heavens. Can't they rely on external forces?"
Gu Chi: "External force?"
"For example, like a bird sprouting wings!"
Gu Chi: "..."
Look at his eyes, does he seem like someone who's easy to fool?
Shen Tang immediately realized that an aerial attack was out of the question, and Gu Chi and the other two didn't have any such incantation. She changed her approach: "Since an aerial attack is not feasible, why don't we attack from underground? Why must we attack from the ground?"
There's no rule that you have to charge head-on when attacking a city in a battle.
Gu Chi and Jiang Sheng both changed their expressions.
The former collected his thoughts and asked seriously, "Underground?"
Shen Tang plunged his chopsticks into the sand table at the coordinates of the capital city and said, "Right! Ground attacks are too easy for the target to detect, so let's dig tunnels and attack from underground. We'll strike right at their lair without them noticing!"
Whether it's the capital of Shiwu or the capital city within the pass, the defenses must withstand attacks from the ground or suddenly falling from the sky.
The underground area is definitely the weak point!
“Ordinary martial artists may not have the ability to fly hundreds of feet into the air, but they must have the skill to burrow underground, right? We have more than two thousand people, so digging a tunnel to the capital is not difficult at all.” Yan Ling was definitely the most unreasonable being. She continued, “If we are worried that the noise underground will alert the Ten Crow soldiers above, how about we dig even deeper?”
She watched their reactions nervously.
Since direct combat is too difficult, why not use deception in war? Why insist on following the old, conventional methods of attacking cities and taking on enemy lines?
Gu Chi and Jiang Sheng exchanged a glance.
a long time--
Gu Chi: "My lord's plan is excellent. However, digging a tunnel is still too wasteful. Although this move can directly launch a surprise attack on the inner city and easily cause heavy casualties to the Ten Crows, once they react and destroy the tunnel, we will be at a disadvantage!"
Shen Tang was somewhat disappointed.
"Does this mean it's not feasible?"
Jiang Sheng shook his head, smiling like a cunning old fox: "No, no, what Wangchao means is—a cunning rabbit has three burrows! Only one tunnel is a dead end for us."
Shen Tang: "Then... three?"
Gu Chi said, "Not enough, not enough."
After saying that, he and Jiang Sheng laughed in tacit agreement.
Shen Tang, standing to the side, sensed that they were plotting something sinister: "So you mean—thirty?"
This workload is too much.
Even the most capable old ox can't withstand this.
"No, no, no, we don't need that many. We just need to dig a few large ones, make them crisscross, spread throughout the entire underground of the capital, set up an army formation, and on the day of the attack, we'll use the power of words to shake it down, causing the earth dragon to rise up—" Gu Chi stopped laughing, but the upturned corners of his lips still betrayed his good mood. He slapped down the capital's symbol on the sand table and said coldly, "At that time, we'll send them on a 'Burning the Camps' attack!"
(；′⌒`)
Tang Mei (clenching her fist): One day we'll be able to build an air force! We'll explore all sorts of uses for martial arts masters!
It's estimated that only the Mohist school could solve this dream.
PS: "We'll march straight to Huanglong's capital and drink heartily with you all." This line comes from the biography of Yue Fei, which is the origin of the idiom "to strike directly at Huanglong."
(End of this chapter)
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