Whether they won or lost, Dugu Xian disliked wars with too many surprises. So he spent a great deal of time learning what each army had experienced that day, analyzing how the Western coalition, whose members each harbored their own ambitions, had managed to win, while Luoluo, with his superior numbers, abundant generals, and thorough preparations, had lost.
In the end, he came to a conclusion. "We have to thank Dudun."
Gu Shenwei, who had been pacing back and forth without purpose, looked up in surprise. "What do you mean?"
Dugu Xian's face lit up with the excitement of someone solving a difficult puzzle. "I think this is how it happened: Dudun wanted to use Luoluo's forces to destroy the Dragon Army and force the Naihang Tribe and Shulitu's army to surrender. Luoluo turned the tables on him, reached an agreement with the Naihang Tribe, and planned to wipe out our left wing in one fell swoop, opening a breach in our lines."
"That seems about right." Gu Shenwei's guess was much the same as General Dugu's.
"Does the Dragon King know how many men Luoluo sent against our left wing? A hundred thousand. A full hundred thousand. He was afraid the Naihang Tribe would turn on him, and he wanted to end the battle quickly. That's where we have to thank Dudun. He unwittingly drew the main force of Luoluo's army toward him. Without that, the attacks by our center and right might well have ended in disaster."
This was something Gu Shenwei hadn't known. Luoluo's army had scattered, and all its leading officers had fled. The ordinary prisoners couldn't explain Luoluo's plans, but Dugu Xian was an experienced man. He could piece together the bigger picture from the scraps of information in their confessions.
"But Li Man only