This military council proved quite straightforward.
Everyone agreed that if Yao Xiang sent troops, he would very likely-even necessarily-choose the moment Xingyang changed hands, or just after the handover.
The reason could not have been simpler. If he attacked now, Zhou Cheng and his men would certainly hold the city. They had spent two years in Xingyang and knew its defenses intimately, and had fought many bloody battles against the Qiang people in Hebei, so they had no fear of them either. Liu Cheng's troops could then commit themselves fully to relieving the city, striking from within and without. The affair might even bring about a swift merger of the two armies instead.
Nothing integrated men more effectively than fighting a battle shoulder to shoulder.
As for waiting a while after Shen Jin entered Xingyang before attacking, quite apart from why Yao Xiang would delay his opportunity, more importantly, nobody knew when or where Huan Wen's troops would appear. They were the true giant axe hanging over Luoyang's head.
But that was not why the council was exceptionally straightforward. Rather, after discussing it back and forth, the men found that if Yao Xiang really did march, there was little to debate about the possible military situation or their response.
If Yao Xiang attacked, he could only come through Sishui Pass, and he could only take Xingyang first. At most, he might also cut off their rear by water, but that too would serve the capture of Xingyang, Luoyang's eastern gateway. For the Imperial Army, the task was simply for Shen Jin or Zhou Cheng to hold Xingyang firmly while the forces outside committed themselves fully to its relief.
"So if fighting really breaks out, it can only be a head-on clash," Huan Yi tried to conclude at last. "I think