Chapter 474 Taking the Initiative?
Shang Ruyi's eyes flickered.
But she said nothing, only lowered her eyelids quietly, her long eyelashes covering her pupils, making it impossible to tell whether she was as calm as she appeared on the surface, or whether her inner world was in turmoil.
Hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.
Dai Junliang immediately said, "Thanks to the military orders left by the General, although there were some setbacks, Fufeng was able to hold its ground. We only hope that the General will take good care of himself and recover fully. Then we will—"
He paused abruptly, instinctively turning to exchange a glance with Yin Changyue. Although still basking in the elation of Yuwen Ye finally regaining consciousness, they clearly hadn't forgotten what his first words upon waking were—
Take the initiative!
He answered the question that had been troubling all three of them, even before he had the strength to open his eyes.
Thinking of this, Yin Changyue cautiously looked at Yuwen Ye: "General..."
Yuwen Ye didn't say anything immediately, but slowly closed his eyes.
Seeing him like this, everyone held their breath and looked at each other, thinking that he had finally woken up and probably hadn't fully recovered yet. He had been bothered by everyone's chatter for so long and was probably tired again and needed to rest. Yin Changyue thought for a moment and said softly to Shang Ruyi, "Madam, we will not disturb the general's rest any longer and will take our leave."
With that, he bowed and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, the people around also carefully prepared to leave.
But just then, Shang Ruyi whispered, "None of you should leave."
"...?"
Everyone was taken aback and turned to look at her.
She sat on the edge of the bed, letting Yuwen Ye, who had already closed his eyes and seemed to be asleep again, lean against her, but she didn't make him lie down to rest. Everyone was puzzled—shouldn't the general, who hadn't yet recovered his strength, be resting and recuperating at this time? Why was she asking everyone to stay?
Just as everyone was hesitating, unsure whether to stay or leave, a series of heavy footsteps came from outside. Turning around, they saw Shan Tong'er, soaked to the bone, rushing in like a little calf, exclaiming with delight, "Second Brother Yuwen, are you awake?!"
Nie Chong, Cheng Qiao, and others nearby hurriedly gestured to him to quiet down.
The innocent child, unaware of what was going on, happily exclaimed, "I just heard outside that Second Brother has woken up! That's wonderful! The bad guys have been taken away, and Second Brother is awake! We're finally—"
Just as he was gesturing wildly and almost jumping up, Yuwen Ye, who had been keeping his eyes closed as if he had fallen asleep again, opened his eyes. His eyes were brighter and more alert than before.
He said, "Dai Junliang."
Shan Tong'er instinctively shut his mouth.
Upon hearing this, Dai Junliang paused for a moment, but immediately stepped forward: "What are your orders, General?"
"You just said that in yesterday's battle, more than 4,000 soldiers from the Longxi army were captured?"
"yes."
"Go down immediately and interrogate the company commander and the squad leader to find out where Xue Xianjun's food supplies are."
Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately held their breath.
Just moments ago, everyone was still overjoyed at his recovery and return to consciousness, but Yuwen Ye, who was so weak that he could barely speak, had already begun to consider the war. At this moment, he even issued military orders.
But isn't this a bit too much of a stretch?
Dai Junliang was taken aback at first, then thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "The General intends to—"
Yuwen Ye took another light breath, then said in a low voice, "Take the initiative."
"..."
"What I just said was not an empty statement."
"..."
"Xue Xian suffered a crushing defeat, and it happened... without my participation in the battle... At this moment, not only will the morale of his soldiers be low, but he himself... will also be demoralized. This is the best opportunity to defeat him, a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"
Dai Junliang thought for a moment and then said, "But even if we want to fight, Xue Xian may not be willing to fight."
"..."
"I hadn't finished speaking when, in addition to clearing the battlefield, I also sent men across the river to scout the situation on the west bank. The scouts reported that after the great defeat the night before, Xue Xian immediately moved his camp back five li, clearly to guard against a surprise attack from our side."
Upon hearing this, Mu Xian and Cheng Qiao exchanged glances, their expressions turning serious.
It's important to understand that retreating the military camps essentially means that there will be no further attacks in the short term, and even less likely to engage in battle.
In that sense, their offensive and defensive strategies have truly shifted.
But in this way—
At this moment, Yuwen Ye closed his eyes again, but this time everyone knew that he was conserving his energy and strength, so no one spoke or left, and they just watched him quietly. Sure enough, after a while, Yuwen Ye opened his eyes again and slowly said, "I said, take the initiative—it was them who took the initiative."
"...?!"
Everyone was taken aback!
Should Xue Xian take the initiative?
How could that be? He just suffered a major defeat and retreated his troops. How could he possibly launch a preemptive attack?
At this moment, Shang Ruyi, who had been silent all along, only supporting his arm to make him comfortable, frowned, looked down at him, and said softly, "So, you want to interrogate him to find out the whereabouts of the grain?"
"...!?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was startled again.
But soon, everyone realized that Yuwen Ye's order for them to interrogate the captured squad leader and platoon leader from the previous night to find out the location of the Longxi army's provisions was not just for that simple purpose.
His plan was to attack the enemy's supplies, which was the simplest method: burn the supplies!
Xue Xian's troops have come from afar, and their biggest problem must be their supplies. This is why Yuwen Ye, before falling ill and going into a coma, instructed them to hold their city firmly. Now, however, the enemy has suffered a major defeat and their morale is low. If their supplies are burned at this time—
At this moment, Dai Junliang, who was standing to the side, finally came to his senses.
He said in a deep voice, "The general means that we should take this opportunity to destroy their food supplies. Once they are out of food supplies, Xue Xian's remaining 200,000 troops will panic and fall into chaos."
"..."
"At that point, he will only have one choice: a swift and decisive victory!"
"..."
"That way, we can force him to take the initiative!"
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Shang Ruyi looked down at Yuwen Ye with a solemn expression.
No wonder his third sentence upon waking was one that elicited a somewhat inexplicable sigh from everyone—"Why is it raining?" Because the rain would delay his time to burn the grain supplies!
At that time, he had just regained consciousness and even opening his eyes was difficult.
At this moment, everyone looked at Yuwen Ye with expressions that were no longer filled with surprise and relief. Even though he was still weak and barely breathing, only able to support himself by sitting in a woman's arms to face them, in everyone's eyes, he seemed even more valiant and heroic than when he was fighting on the battlefield.
In a moment of clarity, he was able to devise a strategy to deal with the enemy!
How can one person be this powerful?!
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