Chapter 33: Thunderous Strike, Slaying a Chicken to Warn the Monkeys

Zhang Jianzhi's authorization was like connecting the final power source to Wang Jin's precise war machine.

"I, Lieutenant Li Xin, am ready to die for you, my lord!"

The first to step forward and declare his stance was the Imperial Guards colonel who had followed Wang Jin from Luoyang and fought a life‑and‑death battle at Yuliang Ferry. His gaze at Wang Jin now was no longer a simple superior‑subordinate relation, but one of near‑fanatical worship.

Lord Wang truly can calculate everything!

The dozen or so Imperial Guards veterans behind him also knelt on one knee in unison, their voices booming like a great bell: "We too are willing to die for you, my lord!"

They are the emperor's personal troops, supposed to answer only to the emperor and the Ministry of War, yet along the way Wang Jin's wisdom and daring have completely won them over.

Zhang Jianzhi watched the scene, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He knew these twenty Imperial Guards were the emperor's assigned protectors for Wang Jin, but he did not expect that within a single month Wang Jin could make them so utterly devoted.

What talent does this young man possess that makes these veteran soldiers so wholeheartedly obedient?

"Very well," Wang Jin nodded, without any courtesy, "Colonel Li, I give you three thousand elite troops, all veteran soldiers who have followed Prince Zhang for years of campaigns. I have only one request."

"Lord, please speak!"

"I want you, within three days, to erase this place completely from the sand table!" Wang Jin's finger hammered down on the sand table at the small tribe named Luodian.

When those words were spoken, several generals in the council hall who were familiar with the southwest geography were all taken aback.

"Wang Ce, the acting official, the Luodian tribe is weak but remote, the mountain roads are rugged, and two large tribes flank it as opposing corners. If our main army moves there, the movement will be too conspicuous; they may get word and flee before we arrive," a general warned.

"Who said we need to send a main army over?" Wang Jin smiled.

He walked up to that general and asked, "General, tell me, from here to Luodian, taking the mountain paths, how long would a rapid march of a five‑hundred‑strong light cavalry take?"

The general was momentarily stunned, quickly calculated in his mind, and replied, "If we ignore horse fatigue, marching day and night, it can be reached in a day and a night."

"Very good." Wang Jin turned to another scout‑camp general, "General, I ask you again, of the terrain around Luodian, where is the best spot to set an ambush?"

The scout general immediately pointed to a valley on the sand table: "This place, called 'One-Thread Heaven', is the only hunting route out of Luodian. On both sides are sheer cliffs, with only a narrow path in the middle—one man can hold the pass, ten thousand cannot break through."

"That will do." A cold glint flashed in Wang Jin's eyes.

He gave Colonel Li the order.

"Colonel Li, obey!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Immediately muster five hundred light cavalry, each man with three horses, carrying only three days' dry rations and water, slip out of camp secretly, and rush to ambush at 'One-Thread Heaven'."

"Select another two thousand elite foot soldiers, led by the deputy commander, equipped with firearms and siege engines, to follow you at half a day's pace and set out."

"The final five hundred will serve as a reserve, stay at the main camp, ready to respond at any time."

"Your mission is not to assault their stronghold, but to wait."

"Wait for their people to pass through 'One-Thread Heaven'. Kill! If there is one, kill one! If there is a pair, kill the pair! Young, old, women, children—make 'One-Thread Heaven' a true road to the Yellow Springs!"

"When night falls on the second day, send men dressed in Luodian garb to the two allied tribes that flank each other, request aid, and claim that enemy forces have launched a surprise attack and set fire to the camps! Make the commotion as loud as possible!"

"When their reinforcements set out, your two thousand infantry main force should also arrive. At that moment, tell me how long it will take to capture a deserted, panic‑stricken stronghold?"

Colonel Li's blood boiled at the words, and he shouted loudly, "Half an hour is enough!"

"What I want is not to capture it," Wang Jin's voice was as cold as ice, "I want, after dawn, that in Luodian's stronghold no living soul remains except our men. Their cattle, sheep, and grain—all must be burned! Their walls, level them for me!"

"I want every tribal chief's scout to see with their own eyes that this is the fate of betraying the Tang Dynasty!"

"Your subordinate... receives the order!" Colonel Li felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet up to his crown; he clasped his fists heavily, turned, and strode out to muster the troops.

The council hall fell silent.

All the generals looked at Wang Jin with a gaze as if staring at a monster.

Ruthless! Too ruthless!

This is no soothing strategy; it is outright annihilation! First, use a small force to ambush and cut off their wings, then send false news to lure the tiger from its mountain and draw away reinforcements, finally the main force strikes for a single battle that eradicates their roots!

This combination of moves interlocks perfectly, leaving no flaw. Even they, seasoned veterans themselves, could not devise such a cruel yet effective tactic.

Even Zhang Jianzhi, the veteran chancellor, now looked at Wang Jin with an exceedingly complex expression.

He had thought the emperor had sent a talented scholar.

He did not expect that what arrived was a river‑crossing dragon versed in strategy, adept at scheming, and ruthlessly cruel!

Three days later.

A piece of news, as if given wings, spread throughout the seventy‑two caves of Yaozhou within a single day.

Luodian is gone.

In one night, the entire tribe—over three thousand souls, from elders to infants in swaddling cloths—were all slaughtered. The stronghold was burned to a white wasteland, not a grain left.

The scouts sent to gather information returned with nothing but endless fear and crows circling over the charred earth.

Meanwhile, the Tang army's main force remained stationed at the border the whole time, never moving a step.

This news poured a bucket of ice water over all the tribal chiefs who had responded to Mo Zhe Nian.

Deploying a single detachment can wipe out a tribe; if the Tang army's main force were to move, they dare not imagine the consequences.

They finally realized that they faced not a pliable weak court, but a tiger that had just dozed and now opened its eyes.

The tiger is about to eat people.

For a moment, panic spread throughout the rebel alliance.

Those small tribes that had only wanted to reap a few benefits began to waver. They sent representatives to gather, deliberating through the night, weighing whether to plead surrender to the Tang Dynasty, for they did not wish their entire clan to be annihilated.

And Wang Jin's second move was, at that moment, silently set in motion.