"Hmph, don't think about such nonsense!"
Cai Yu glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "I asked you to send someone to find out the enemy's troop strength and equipment. How's that going?"
The great battle ended a few days ago, so there should be some news by now. Surely Xiliang isn't a monolithic entity.
"General, rest assured, although the enemy has been on high alert, we have still managed to uncover quite a bit of information. This time, it wasn't Lin Yi who personally took action; it was the Xiliang Army who came, and another person who is an acquaintance of yours!" Dong Chengwu handed a document to Cai Yu and said with a smile.
"Acquaintance?"
" Bai Zizai, the Grand General of the Northern Liang Asura Army!"
"Hmph, it's that old bastard!"
Cai Yu was instantly flustered. She opened the case file and saw that it really was that old man. It seemed that the two of them were truly destined to meet here.
I originally thought that since the old guy was in Xiliang and I was in Xining, we wouldn't run into each other. But I never expected fate to be so strange. This is really interesting.
"Does the general have a grudge against Bai Zizai?"
The deputy general Dong Chengwu, was both amused and exasperated. His general had always been a man of few words and never wanted to fight with anyone. This was the first time he had ever heard him curse someone like this. There must be a story behind this.
He just couldn't understand it. His own general was over forty years old, and Bai Zizai was probably almost sixty. How could there be such a deep grudge between the two that they had held a grudge for so many years?
"This is an irreconcilable feud!" Cai Yu said through gritted teeth.
"He killed the general's family?"
"No!"
"That's because she stole the general's lover?"
"Hmph, how could that old bastard possibly take my Chan'er away!"
Cai Yu glanced at him and, to prevent him from making wild guesses, explained, "Back then, when I was defending Xining against the Frostwest Empire, I managed to hold off their 200,000-strong army with only 50,000 troops for a full two months."
What an honor this is! It is truly a shining moment for us soldiers.
As a result, that old fellow Bai Zizai actually got jealous of me, saying I was a coward who could only defend Xining by quickly shrinking back! How could I tolerate that?!
Forehead!
Dong Chengwu was completely dumbfounded. The general had remembered this one reason for almost ten years. The general was indeed a man of steadfastness.
He chuckled dryly, " Bai Zizai indeed extremely wicked. The General saved the entire Great Ning by guarding Xining Commandery. How dare he say such a thing? It's simply outrageous."
"Hmph, this time I'll show this old bastard what the might of this general is all about, and I'll make him know what a peerless warrior he is!" Cai Yu said indignantly.
ah?
Dong Chengwu nodded slightly, but still said with some worry, "General, Bai Zizai is only the vanguard this time. The person in charge is the Xiliang Army. This person is probably not simple. We must be careful."
The same army of 100,000 men can have vastly different effects depending on who wields it.
This strategist annihilated two countries in just one and a half days. Such a feat wouldn't be achieved even with 100,000 troops fighting against 50,000. This can only mean that the commander-in-chief is incredibly capable, exceptionally capable.
"Yes, this Jia Xu is no ordinary person!"
Cai Yu frowned as he looked at the records of this battle, and said in a deep voice, "It seems that the Xiliang Army swept through the country and directly crushed the two kingdoms, but that's not the case. I'm afraid that before they even reached the Jushi Kingdom, Jia Xu had already begun his scheme!"
"What? How is this possible?"
Why is it impossible?
Cai Yu sneered and pointed to a passage of text, saying, "See? In addition to the collapse of the front line, the Jushi Kingdom Defense War also saw riots in the rear, causing the Jushi Kingdom's 100,000 cannon fodder to collapse without a fight."
To orchestrate a rebellion involving 100,000 people—could a small group of people accomplish that? The Jushi Kingdom would likely have been infiltrated by Xiliang long ago!
Holy crap!
Dong Chengwu suddenly realized that he had felt there was a problem earlier, and only now that the general had brought it up did he realize the issue. Even if these 100,000 men were cannon fodder, they wouldn't be so easy to deal with.
Even if they used a large amount of money to attract their attention, it wouldn't be enough to completely throw them into chaos; it just means the other party has even bigger plans in store.
Goodness, this strategist is no ordinary person!
Look here again!
Cai Yu then pointed to a key point and laughed, " The White Horse Volunteers scattered the allied forces of the two countries. These men were lambs to the slaughter in the hands of the cavalry, but they didn't completely annihilate these 20,000 men. Instead, they let some of them escape. Why do you think that is?"
ah?
Dong Chengwu was slightly taken aback. Why did the strategist let some of them go back when they could have wiped them out completely? What was going on?
"The art of winning hearts and minds!"
A hint of admiration flashed in Cai Yu's eyes as he smiled and said, "No wonder this man Xiliang Army. He doesn't judge success or failure by small gains or losses. That can only mean that his ambitions are very grand. He is a strategist with a broad vision, skilled in planning!"
To put it bluntly, Jia Xu wanted these defeated soldiers to go back and tell the kings of both countries about the situation in Xiliang, so that they would feel a little fear of Xiliang's strength.
Don't underestimate this slight fear; it will not only terrify the soldiers, but also restrain the two small countries.
If the Jushi Kingdom had dispersed from the start, they might have been able to take advantage of being the host country and use the terrain to their advantage to engage with Xiliang, perhaps even delaying their arrival until they could catch up.
Unfortunately, their fear led them to band together for warmth, which destined them to be wiped out in one fell swoop.
The two countries joining forces to resist the offensive seemed to be the only option, but the White Horse Volunteers could easily take down the Shachi Kingdom by flanking from behind.
With one arm missing, it's clear that one person can't hold up the tree alone.
To put it bluntly, even before the battle began, Jia Xu already believed that the war was over. Both countries were doomed to perish because the initiative lay with Xiliang.
Jia Xu is really good!
Dong Chengwu was dumbfounded. He thought this battle would be a clean sweep, but he didn't expect there to be so many tricks involved.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "Good heavens, you can't mess with cultured people. They're calculating every move carefully; who can withstand that?"
"Nonsense, otherwise why would he be a strategist?"
Cai Yu rolled her eyes at him and said irritably.
But this is good, at least for the time being, I will have an opponent. The Frostwest Empire has been quiet for years, and although other small countries have occasionally harassed me, they have only made minor disturbances. But the Xiliang is a big player now!
"General, what should we do?" Dong Chengwu asked, frowning.
Cai Yu glanced at him lazily and laughed, "We don't need to do anything. This kind of thing is decided by the Emperor, not by us. We just need to keep an eye on things."
Forehead!
Upon hearing this, Dong Chengwu couldn't help but twitch his lips. "As expected of you, General."
The world thinks that he is known as the Wall of Xining" because he is an extremely powerful and fierce general, but little do they know that their great general is known for his good temper and never gets angry easily.
Now that the enemy is at the door, the only one who can remain so calm is probably our general.