Chapter 193: Preparation

As the army approached, the garrison on Soul‑Breaking Pass began to feel an unprecedented pressure.

They gazed down at the dark, surging crowd below, and a sense of fear welled up in their hearts.

That feeling was as if an invisible mountain pressed on their chests, making it hard for them to breathe.

Li Jing's eyes burned like torches, fixed firmly on Soul‑Breaking Pass ahead.

His gaze was resolute and sharp.

It seemed as if he could pierce through layers of clouds and mist to see directly into the pass's interior.

At this moment, time seemed to freeze.

Between heaven and earth, only the surging black sea and that solitary fortress remained.

At this time, Li Jing stood on a nearby height, overlooking Soul‑Breaking Pass below.

He did not rush to launch an attack.

Instead, he first sent out scouts to conduct detailed reconnaissance and detection.

He needed to know the pass's internal structure, the garrison's troop deployment, and any possible traps or obstacles.

So as to devise a more thorough and effective attack plan.

As time passed, the scouts returned one after another, bringing detailed intelligence.

Li Jing carefully analyzed this intelligence, gradually gaining a clear picture of Soul‑Breaking Pass's details.

Although Soul‑Breaking Pass's terrain is perilous, easy to defend but hard to attack.

But the garrison's forces are not sufficient, and morale is low, limiting their combat effectiveness.

This gave him an opportunity to exploit.

He could use these weaknesses of the garrison to launch a surprise attack.

To capture the pass with the speed of thunder before one can cover one's ears.

"Shubo, where is General Xue?"

Li Jing withdrew his deep gaze from gazing at Soul‑Breaking Pass, turned, and asked Qin Qiong, who stood silently like a pine nearby.

Qin Qiong, courtesy name Shubo, this famous general of the Tang dynasty.

At this moment, however, he temporarily served as Li Jing's deputy commander.

Assisting him in commanding this crucial campaign.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, according to the latest scout report..."

"General Xue and his men have been wandering in the mountains west of Qi Zhou for several days."

"Their exact location is still unclear, but they should be nearby."

Upon hearing Li Jing's question, Qin Qiong immediately replied.

Li Jing nodded slightly; he already had a firm grasp of Xue Ren Gui's movements.

As an important reliance for his surprise attack.

Previously, the elite cavalry led by Xue Ren Gui and others had been conducting guerrilla operations throughout Qi Zhou, disrupting enemy deployments and defenses.

But the result was also obvious.

They were being chased all over by the Silver Feather Flying Cavalry sent by Qi Wang.

After Qi Wang's period of encirclement and interception,

Xue Ren Gui and company kept thrusting left and right,

in a dazed, confused state,

they ended up wandering to the mountains west of Qi Zhou.

And their appearance

also turned Qi Zhou's once impregnable defense line into a riddled, perilous state.

Now, most of the defending forces inside Soul‑Breaking Pass are concentrated on this side facing Li Jing's Cangzhou army.

The other side backs onto the city walls within Qi Zhou territory.

The defending forces there are utterly empty.

As long as Xue Ren Gui and his men seize the opportunity,

Soul‑Breaking Pass can certainly be taken in one battle!

"Let General Xue and Iron General split their forces into two routes."

"One route will continue guerrilla tactics, must pin down Qi army's pursuing forces."

"At the same time, closely watch Qi army's movements and reactions, ready to respond and support at any moment."

"The other route will secretly come to Soul‑Breaking Pass!"

Li Jing issued the order in a deep voice.

Meanwhile, in the mountains west of Qi Zhou, Xue Ren Gui and his men were also extremely busy.

During this time, they have fully exploited the terrain and the enemy's negligence.

They have been winding through the mountains, appearing and disappearing unpredictably.

Sometimes they launch surprise strikes at the enemy's weak points.

Sometimes they split up to infiltrate behind enemy lines, creating chaos and destruction.

Their actions may seem utterly without pattern,

but in fact they conceal hidden tactics, advancing step by step.

After this period of encirclement, interception, and left‑right thrusts,

Xue Ren Gui and his men have now mastered Qi Zhou's terrain and enemy deployments as if they knew the back of their hand.

They know which places are the enemy's defensive strongholds, which are supply lines, which are weak points…

They committed all this information to memory, one by one.

And they were always ready to make use of it.

But at this moment, in a dazed state.

They, who had wandered over to the mountains west of Qi Zhou.

Yet they did not rush to launch an attack, nor reveal their whereabouts.

On the contrary, they chose to hide and closely observe the surrounding situation and changes.

They merely had the intelligence network send out personnel to inform Li Jing.

As time passed and the battle situation evolved, Xue Ren Gui and the others gradually figured out the enemy's details and movements.

They discovered that, although the enemy held a certain advantage in numbers and equipment.

But due to prolonged encirclement and continuous combat, they had gradually shown signs of fatigue and disorder.

This gave them an opportunity, and they decided to seize the moment to launch an attack to break the stalemate and turn the tide.

Obviously, Xue Ren Gui also sensed the battle opportunity!

However, just as they were preparing to launch the attack.

But they unexpectedly received an order from Li Jing: suspend the attack plan, and detach a portion of the troops to continue guerrilla tactics to pin down the enemy's main force, while the remaining troops head to the rear of Duanhun Pass.

Faced with this sudden order, Xue Ren Gui froze for a moment.

Then he immediately reacted.

He directly led Mo Peng and six thousand troops toward Duanhun Pass.

The remaining five thousand troops continued to be led by Tie Shi Wen.

They circled around the pursuit detachment sent by Qi Wang.

Although when Xue Ren Gui and Tie Shi Wen set out.

They brought thirty thousand troops to Qi Zhou.

But after this period of continuous fighting and multiple skirmishes with the enemy.

The detachment they led has now become somewhat 'trimmed down'.

From the original thirty thousand, it has dwindled to just over ten thousand.

But that is enough.

As long as we can capture Duanhun Pass this time.

Then Xue Ren Gui, Tie Shi Wen, Jiao Mo, and Mo Peng, the four of us.

The mission of this detachment we led is already fully accomplished.

Even exceeding expectations!

"Haha, it looks like we're really going to 'elite troops, streamlined administration' this time."

Xue Ren Gui took a breath and spoke in a deep voice.

"Yeah, but this is also good."

"With fewer people, our movements become more flexible, making it easier to catch the enemy off guard."

Tie Shi Wen also curled his lips and said.

The two exchanged a smile, confidence flashing in their eyes.

Although their numbers have dwindled, the remaining ten thousand-plus are all elite troops tempered by the fires of war.

Their combat strength has not diminished in the slightest.

Moreover, they have Jiao Mo and Mo Peng, two War God-level experts, at their side.

It can be said to be like adding wings to a tiger.

"As long as we can capture Duanhun Pass this time, the mission of our detachment is already fully accomplished."

Xue Ren Gui continued speaking, his tone revealing determination and confidence: "Even exceeding expectations!"

"Originally we only planned to cause trouble within Qi Zhou's borders, preventing Qi Zhou from fully reinforcing the Qi Zhou mountains."

"To assist General Li Jing's offensive within the mountains."

"Now it seems we have not only achieved that, but we may also inflict even greater blows and losses on the enemy."

Tie Shi Wen nodded in agreement: "That's right; this time we not only successfully pinned down the enemy's main force, but also incidentally wiped out a considerable portion of their manpower."

"Once General Li Jing and his troops capture Duanhun Pass, we can then jointly launch a pincer attack on the enemy's main force and utterly annihilate them within Qi Zhou's territory."

Saying this, both of their eyes shone with excitement and anticipation.

(End of chapter)