Knowing he couldn't keep up the act any longer, He Yunxiao, who had already started practicing his cultivation technique, opened his eyes and feigned surprise, saying, "Oh dear, Master, what are you doing?"
Upon seeing that He Yunxiao had woken up, Qing Yuzi immediately stopped his cultivation and stood up, saying, "I was indeed unwell before, but even so, I am more than capable of dealing with ordinary Grandmasters. As for Chu Xiaoxiao, she and I are not on the same side. I did not want her to come, and she does not want to help me. So please do not make things difficult for her."
He Yunxiao sighed, thinking that if Qing Yuzi couldn't win, he could still run away, so he said, "Alright."
"Whenever you need to breach the city, just come find me. I need to practice my skills now."
The Taoist priest is trying to dissuade people from leaving the temple.
Having benefited greatly from the beautiful Taoist priest, He Yunxiao felt too embarrassed to insist on staying, so he said, "Master, I'll be going now."
"Um."
...
After leaving a trail of blood on the road west of Yinjing, the Qi and Yan armies switched sides, with the Yan army taking the initiative to retreat and the Qi army in pursuit.
The fighting continued intermittently until the Yan army retreated to Luoyue Pass and the Qi army deployed troops on the border, at which point things calmed down.
Although Luoyue Pass was breached once by the Yan army, it still lies on this plain, still a colossal black beast.
Inside this behemoth, there is a high possibility that a grandmaster of the Yan Kingdom is hidden.
...
Luoyue Pass must be recaptured. It is the northwestern gateway to Qi. If it is left in the hands of Yan, it means that the Yan army can come and go freely in the heart of Qi.
The idea of retaking Luoyue Pass was met with little pressure at the internal meetings of the Qi army's high command; everyone shared this view.
But how to recapture Luoyue Pass is a topic worth discussing.
Some demanded a direct assault, some demanded a siege, and others requested that envoys be sent to persuade the city to surrender.
Such a major matter cannot be decided unilaterally by the King of the Southwest. The only recourse is to gather all opinions and report back to Yin Jing to see what the Princess thinks.
Soon after, the eldest princess's opinion arrived along with the special envoy.
The special envoy was also an acquaintance of He Yunxiao, Meng Qingqian's cousin, Fan Ziruo's student, and the famous "talented scholar" Li Jin.
Li Jin had two purposes on this trip: one was to deliver a letter and offer condolences to the troops, and the other was to "observe" He Yunxiao on behalf of his aunt. If he discovered that He Yunxiao was associating too closely with others, he was to report it truthfully.
The Qi army meeting featured many new faces. These were all generals from various Qi armies that had served in Yinjing City. However, they were all young faces; veterans like He Yuanhao and the various dukes had not gone to the front lines.
Two tigers cannot share one mountain. With the King of the Southwest in power, there is no need for other leaders for the time being.
After receiving the letter brought by Li Jin, the King of the Southwest did not hide it. Instead, he read it himself and then circulated it among the generals at the Qi army meeting.
At such high-level meetings to discuss tactics, the Qi army had few participants; each army only sent two or three people, and the newly dispatched troops from within the city also sent only one or two. It could be said that, apart from Li Jin, who was merely there for show, everyone else present was the top two commanders of their respective armies.
On the rear side, the army sent out its chief leader, Ling Wang, and its strategist, Fan Ziruo.
Mengbao's message was clear: no matter what method was used, Luoyue Pass could not fall into the hands of the Yan people. However, Mengbao added later: fighting was acceptable, but casualties could not be too great; encirclement without attack was also possible, but it was essential to ensure the Yan army could not break out, thus increasing leverage in negotiations.
After reading the leader's letter, everyone wore a bitter expression.
Luoyue Pass was the most formidable city in Qi. To attack it? It would be a feat to capture it, and the casualties would be enormous. As for besieging it and preventing the Yan army from breaking out, that was highly unlikely.
The Yan state originally had 800,000 troops attacking, and there were also about 100,000 garrison troops in Luoyue Pass. Including the casualties of the Yan army, there were now more than 500,000 Yan troops in Luoyue Pass.
Even 500,000 pigs could break through the Qi army's scattered formations while besieging the city, let alone 500,000 Yan troops. A siege is possible, but the current forces against Yan are only twice as strong. If the siege is broken up, the forces will be scattered in all directions, and there is no guarantee that they will not be able to break out.
The demands from the top leader are too difficult.
The generals were on the verge of tears.
He Yunxiao had told Fan Ziruo about Qing Yuzi, making Fan Ziruo the only general among them who knew a method to breach the city without taking damage. (M.cascoo.net)
However, He Yunxiao also emphasized to Fan Ziruo that they must not use Daoist Qingyuzi as a "battering ram." The city can be breached, but after it is breached, it can only be used as a bargaining chip, and the Qi army must not be allowed to follow Qingyuzi into the city to fight.
He Yunxiao's original words were: "Enough people have died in this war. If we forcefully attack the city now, another two or three hundred thousand people will easily die. Don't do that. If it can be resolved peacefully, then let's resolve it peacefully."
After hearing He Yunxiao's words, Ruobao wished he could urge him to go to the Fan family to propose marriage on the spot.
"I'm at a loss for what to do. What suggestions do you all have?" The Southwest King and his generals, having all read Meng Bao's letter, spoke up.
The generals stared at each other, none of them daring to answer.
When attacking a city, casualties must be minimized; when besieging a city, escape routes must be prevented. These two points aren't impossible, but the key issue is the extremely limited troop strength and resources available. Conventional methods are simply not feasible. If someone were to suggest methods that defy military strategy and common sense at this juncture, and failure were to result in severe consequences, they would be held accountable.
The King of the Southwest looked around at everyone and, seeing that no one dared to answer, had no choice but to take the blame himself.
“I have a plan. We can feign an attack day and night to keep the Yan army inside the chariot busy, and then launch a sudden attack to take down the city in one fell swoop.”
One of the generals said, "This method is good, but if the feint attack is too fake, the Yan army will not believe it. If it is too real, the daily losses will be staggering. We may not be able to afford to wear down the enemy day and night."
Another general said, "We can take turns launching feigned attacks, and the Yan army can take turns defending in the same way, so we may not be able to tire the enemy out."
Seeing that they couldn't reach a conclusion, the King of the Southwest looked at Li Jin. As the uncle of the eldest princess, the King of the Southwest didn't stand on ceremony with Li Jin and said directly, "Li Jin, what do you think?"
Li Jin, however, said with considerable confidence, "It's a piece of cake. We can use ropes to quietly climb over the wall at night while the Yan army is sleeping, and secretly open the city gate to catch them off guard."
All soldiers: ...
King Ling: "Is it possible that the Yan army guarding the city doesn't sleep at night?"
Li Jin: "Then let's wait until they're asleep before we go."
King Ling: "What I mean is that they don't sleep all night."
Li Jin: "If you don't sleep at night, you'll have to sleep during the day, right? Go during the day!"
King Ling, shut up. There's no need for further discussion now.
The King of the Southwest didn't understand why the Princess had sent him, and could only awkwardly say, "This plan won't work. Do you have any other ideas?"
The Southwest King meant: Stop talking, let's adjourn the meeting and have dinner.
But Li Jin clearly didn't get this point, so he looked to his teacher, Mr. Yuhe, for help.
Following Li Jin's gaze, everyone looked at Fan Ziruo.
Ruobao slowly said, "Ziruo, there is indeed a way to break through the city."
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