"Nonsense! A true man would rather die on the front lines than perish on the rear. How can our mighty Western Yue Kingdom hide in the rear and live a life of cowardice?"
Xi Yuelei put on a righteous and awe-inspiring expression, pointing with his finger to the military map on the table.
"Alright, my Western Moon army will take the lead and choose the eastern route to attack Anyang. The other two routes can be decided by your three kingdoms."
Barhu frowned, wishing he could slap Xi Yuelei across the face. "I chose this road to the east first. There's a proper order to things. Brother Xi Yuelei, you can't be so unreasonable!"
"What's the point of reasoning? I made the decision to divide the troops and assign generals. Just do as I say, and stop with the nonsense." Xi Yuelei glanced at the group and said in an unquestionable tone, "That's settled then. You two should discuss the other two routes quickly. Get some rest tonight, and we'll attack Anyang first thing tomorrow morning."
As the saying goes, "Many hands make light work."
Rather than going it alone, let's join hands and achieve mutual benefit.
Bargu and Nangong Jin exchanged a glance, understood each other perfectly, and decided to form an alliance between their two countries to advance and retreat together.
The two of them had their own reasons for making this decision.
Now is the time to truly test our strength. The Northern Barbarians are outnumbered by the Western Yue. If the Western Yue army were to advance directly from the east, Princess Anyang would be within our grasp.
If the Northern Barbarians and the Southern Frontier armies unite to fight as one, their power will surpass that of the Western Yue, and they will surely seize Anyang in one fell swoop.
Once you enter Anyang, whoever gets Princess Anyang will have to rely on their own abilities.
Seeing that the two remained silent, Gao Lizhu sneered. The path in the middle had already been cleared by Xi Yuelei, and the firepower was probably not as strong anymore, so it was most appropriate for him to take the lead.
However, he wouldn't say it outright; his eyes darted around, and he chuckled softly.
“Brothers, now there are only two roads left, the middle one and the western one. We three can’t divide them up. As brothers, we should be modest. Let my Gaoluo troops guard the rear. General Ba and Brother Nangong, you two each take one road and attack Anyang first thing tomorrow morning. I will wait for your good news in the rear.”
Barhu waved his hand, adopting a magnanimous expression, "Brother Gao, you are mistaken. Since we have agreed on fairness and reasonableness, how can we let you guard the rear? That would be inappropriate."
Gao Lizhu gave a light snort, "Brother Ba, what arrangements do you want to make?"
"Nangong Jin and I will take the western route, leaving the middle route to Brother Gao. What do you think?"
Nangong Jin also chimed in, "Let's do as General Ba said, you and I will take the western route, and leave the middle to Brother Gao."
After saying that, he looked at Gao Lizhu and asked, "Brother Gao, what do you think?"
Gao Lizhu knew what they were up to; they simply wanted to leave the toughest challenges for him to tackle.
Your cleverness has backfired; you'll regret it someday.
He shook his head slightly and smiled faintly, his meaning ambiguous. "Now that we've finished the allocation, I'll trouble Brother Xiyue to draft the documents!"
"Alright, I'll begin drafting the documents now." Xi Yuelei finished speaking, picked up the prepared calligraphy brush, and began to write.
He believed that with the 200,000-strong army of Xiyue, they would surely be able to capture Anyang in one fell swoop.
To prevent the three kingdoms from finding fault with him, he wrote down every clause clearly and explicitly.
The document was finally completed after an incense stick had burned for a while.
Xi Yuelei, fearing he might have missed or omitted something, carefully read through the text three times from beginning to end before letting the others take turns reviewing it.
After confirming that there were no objections, they all pressed their fingerprints and affixed their respective military seals.
With everything completed, Xi Yuelei was in high spirits and ordered a grand banquet to be prepared for their farewell.
The group clinked glasses and ate and drank heartily...
The next morning, the four nations split into three groups and headed towards Anyang City.
Within Anyang City,
Under Chen Qingqing's leadership, no one panicked.
Under Chen Qingqing's instructions, Chen Feng and Da Bao managed the logistics, delivering three meals a day on time to the soldiers guarding the city.
They knew the saying "when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken," and they all hoped that Chen Qingqing could lead them to victory in this battle and hold out until Chu Jiuqing's reinforcements arrived.
Just then, a scout rode up at full speed, dismounted, knelt down, and loudly reported, "Your Highness, the enemy army has split into three groups and is approaching the city."
Chen Qingqing picked up her binoculars and looked in all directions, and sure enough, a large enemy army was approaching Anyang.
She curled her lips into a smile. "Give the order to continue setting up explosives along the way. Light the fuses when the enemy gets close, and try to wipe them out in one fell swoop."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Chen Qingqing had never been on the battlefield or fought in a war, but she knew the power of explosives. It wouldn't be easy for the enemy to reach the walls of Anyang.
At this moment, Xi Yuelei led an army of 200,000 men in a grand offensive from the east.
His choice of the eastern route was not a rash decision, but rather the result of his thorough research into Anyang beforehand.
There are three routes that can simultaneously reach the city of Anyang.
The middle road is wider than the east and west roads, and it's sure to be the most heavily fortified with traps and ambushes; he's already experienced firsthand how dangerous it is.
Although the western road is not as wide as the central road, its surface is relatively flat, making it a key defensive point for Anyang City.
However, the defenses on the eastern route should be weaker, since this route is far from Anyang City, and even if there are traps or ambushes, there won't be many.
It's just a matter of traveling a few more days, which is much better than being struck by lightning.
His plan was good, but he hadn't gone far when he encountered a horse trap.
At the time, he still clung to a sliver of hope and ordered his 200,000 troops to continue their advance.
However, there were too many horse traps, forcing them to set up camp on the spot and adjust their strategy.
For four or five days in a row, the soldiers racked their brains but couldn't come up with a good idea.
In the end, they resorted to Goryeoju's "pig and sheep" tactic, managing to gather their only livestock and barely manage to cross the horse-trapping pit.
But just after they passed the pit, thunder roared again, blasting the Western Moon army into chaos, with countless men and horses falling over and countless casualties.
Watching his soldiers being blown to pieces one by one, Xi Yuelei felt like dying.
Although he was terrified, he knew he couldn't back down now; if he gave up the attack, all his previous efforts would be in vain.
To win over Chen Qingqing, who brings prosperity and peace to the country, it would be worth it even if many people died.
He gave his soldiers a strict order: advance bravely and never retreat. Whoever first captures Anyang will be rewarded with high rank, generous salary, and a fine horse.
The saying goes, "A generous reward will surely bring forth brave men."
Lured by the prospect of profit, the soldiers disregarded their own lives and gritted their teeth as they charged into the thunder array.
But they were only flesh and blood; how could they escape the power of landmines?
Wherever they went, severed limbs and broken arms were left behind.
Wave after wave of soldiers died, and most of the generals were blown up. Xi Yuelei was so angry that he jumped up and down in frustration and had no choice but to personally lead his troops into battle...
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