mtl008 Chapter 1386 The Enemy Stockpiles Food, We Stockpile Guns
Chapter 1386 The Enemy Stockpiles Food, We Stockpile Guns
Yue Fei's voice was hoarse, and his face was filled with solemnity. He drew a circle on the map with his finger, a circle that firmly enclosed their isolated army of 20,000 men in the center.
"The King of Mobei has abandoned the attack on Yumen Pass. He has mobilized all the troops under his command and is now encircling us from all directions. The royal court ahead still has at least 50,000 elite troops waiting in battle. We...we are trapped like turtles in a jar."
When this battle-hardened war god of the Great Qian Dynasty uttered his last words, his voice carried a hint of helplessness that he himself was unaware of.
This was not a tactical mistake.
This is a conspiracy.
It was a deadly trap set up by the King of the Northern Desert with his overwhelming military force.
He would rather give up the easily attainable Yumen Pass than let this thorn in his side, which dared to penetrate deep into his territory and cause trouble in his backyard, be completely crushed.
Silence fell over the command tent.
The only sounds were the occasional crackling of the lamp wick and the howling of the night wind on the grassland outside the tent.
Murong Yan stood quietly in front of the map. Today, she was not wearing her wedding robes, but her legendary black and gold phoenix dress still exuded an unassailable majesty in this simple military tent.
A five-zhang-long, dark gold train cascaded down from the general's desk, casually spreading across the cold ground. The giant phoenix woven from real gold thread on the skirt, its eyes slightly closed in the dim light, seemed to feel a hint of impatience with the desperate situation before it.
Her face was calm, so calm it was almost frightening.
Those phoenix eyes, always clear and cold like the moon, were now fixed on the map, on the huge red encirclement that surrounded them.
She was thinking.
A 150,000 against a 20,000 is like throwing an egg against a rock.
Hold out and wait for reinforcements?
The defenders of Yumen Pass will likely be ambushed by the Northern Desert army as soon as they send reinforcements.
They seemed to be truly in dire straits.
"His Majesty."
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Yue Fei finally couldn't help but speak.
"Now that things have come to this, we can no longer hesitate. The only option now is to concentrate all our forces and force a breakout in one direction. I am willing to be the vanguard and carve a bloody path for His Majesty and the Prince!"
His voice was resolute and decisive, full of the fearless determination unique to soldiers.
In his view, this was the only, and most likely, way to find a glimmer of hope.
Murong Yan shook her head.
"Do not."
She slowly raised her head, and in her beautiful phoenix eyes shone a kind of mad light that made Yue Fei's heart tremble.
"General Yue, why do you think the King of Mobei is deploying such a large force to besiege us?"
"Naturally... because we burned his backyard and cut off his supplies, making him feel threatened," Yue Fei answered instinctively.
“That’s right.” Murong Yan nodded. “He was afraid that our lone army, which comes and goes without a trace, would be like a sharp knife, tearing the northern grasslands that he had finally managed to unify to pieces.”
"That's why he's willing to do anything to keep us here permanently."
Murong Yan paused, a cold smile appearing on her lips.
"The more he wants us to die, the more we will refuse to die. He wants a final battle with us, right? Then we will refuse to fight him."
She pointed out on the map that the marker representing her location was marked with several sharp arrows extending in different directions.
"Break the whole into smaller parts."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it resounded loudly in Yue Fei's ears.
"We will divide these 27,000 men into 15 squads! Each squad will be led by an experienced captain, discarding all unnecessary provisions and supplies, with one person and two horses, and will launch a lightly armed raid!"
"Although the Northern King's army is large, the grassland is so vast that it is impossible for his 150,000 troops to blockade every inch of the land."
"We slipped through his fingers like sand!"
"Let his 150,000 troops be powerless, and let his sure-fire encirclement become a huge joke!"
These words left Yue Fei completely stunned.
Break it down into smaller parts?
This is a battle tactic that has never been heard of before!
To break up a complete army into dozens of small teams, each fighting its own battle?
Can this... can this still be called an army?
Once discovered by the enemy, they can be easily defeated one by one, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army!
"Your Majesty, you must not!"
Yue Fei's expression changed drastically, and he knelt down, his voice filled with anxiety and fear.
"As the art of war says, 'Unity brings strength, division brings weakness!' If we further disperse our already disadvantaged forces, it's tantamount to suicide! Once the cavalry from the northern desert catch up, our small squads will be utterly powerless to resist!"
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Murong Yan's face remained unwavering as she looked at Yue Fei, who was kneeling on the ground with a look of anxiety, and simply said, "General Yue, what you are talking about is ordinary military strategy."
"But we are not facing an ordinary enemy, and we ourselves are not an ordinary army."
She turned her head and looked at the man sitting there quietly, a playful expression on his face.
"My husband, what do you think?"
Lin Zhen smiled.
He slowly stood up from his seat, walked to Murong Yan's side, reached out and pulled her into his arms, and affectionately kissed her on her smooth forehead.
"Yan'er, you are truly a born leader."
His words, full of praise and trust, chilled Yue Fei's heart completely.
He knew that the prince had also agreed to His Majesty's plan, which, in his view, was utterly insane.
"General Yue."
Lin Zhen turned his head and looked at the iron-blooded general who was still kneeling on the ground with a look of despair. The smile on his face gradually faded.
"Have you forgotten why we came to the northern desert this time?"
"It's for...revenge," Yue Fei replied with difficulty.
“That’s right, it’s for revenge.” Lin Zhen nodded. “But revenge is not our ultimate goal.”
"Our ultimate goal is to frighten them, to subdue them, and to ensure that they will never dare to set foot on the borders of our Great Qian again."
"But to achieve this, it takes more than just winning or losing on the battlefield."
Lin Zhen's eyes gleamed with an all-knowing wisdom.
"The key is to instill fear in them from the bottom of their hearts, to let them know that the army of Daqian is invincible."
“We are like the wild grass on this grassland. If you burn it today, it will grow back from the ground tomorrow.”
"Only in this way can we completely destroy their will and make them truly submit to us."
These words caused Yue Fei's body to tremble violently.
He looked up at Lin Zhen's deep eyes, which seemed to see through everything, and the wavering in his heart caused by fear and unease gradually dissipated.
Yes.
The prince is right.
They want more than just a victory.
What they want is an absolute deterrent that will make the entire northern desert tremble!
“But, Your Highness…” Yue Fei was still somewhat worried, “After losing the baggage train, what about our provisions…”
"forage?"
Lin Zhen smiled.
He pointed to the map, where there were densely packed markings representing the northern desert tribes.
"The entire northern grasslands are our granary."
"We eat wherever we go. The enemy stores grain, we store guns. The enemy is our granary."
He turned his head and looked at Murong Yan. Her beautiful phoenix eyes shone with the same confident light as his own.
Looking at the madman before him, Yue Fei put aside all his doubts.
He slowly stood up and solemnly saluted the two of them.
"This subordinate understands."
"Pass the order."
Mu Zhiyan looked at him, her beautiful phoenix eyes flashing with the decisiveness and ruthlessness of an emperor.
"All soldiers, discard all unnecessary baggage and burn all the grain that cannot be carried away."
"Half an hour later, the entire army broke up into smaller units."
"Break through!"