Chapter 1098

Xue Daohong angrily said: "Don't tell me about elite soldiers! Thirty thousand troops, fifty warships, yet they can't even beat the enemy's mere three thousand soldiers—did I use all my military provisions and grain to feed pigs? Trash! All trash! This Tang Bohui, still called a famous general of Da Yong? Utter nonsense! Who let him attack Dongliang Jun? Did I issue an edict? If it weren't for his greed for glory and reckless advance, how could he make such a mistake, suffer such a crushing defeat?"

Huang Beishan dared not speak, attentively serving at the side.

Xue Daohong vented his anger, shook his head and said: "Two hundred catties of grain per soldier—this Hu Xiaotian is also poverty‑mad; give it to him, I want to see if he has the fate to eat it."

Huang Beishan said: "Give it to him?"

Xue Daohong said: "Shao Yuan isn't he supposed to have fifty thousand garrison troops? Why is Qin Yangming holding back?"

Huang Beishan whispered: "At this time I have already investigated; it is because Tang Bohui did not request a joint pincer attack from Qin Yangming."

"He's afraid Qin Yangming will steal his credit—damn it! Utterly damn! If they had a little less selfishness, how could they end up like this?" Xue Daohong, furious, slammed the table again.

Huang Beishan said: "Your Majesty, actually Hu Xiaotian is nothing to worry about; Dongliang Jun is under our encirclement, retaking it won't take much effort."

Xue Daohong said: "You all talk big as heaven, yet when you act you're full of holes—and you know it, those old ministers are just waiting to see my jokes, yet you've gone and poked this hole for me, as if my affairs aren't enough already?"

Huang Beishan said: "Your Majesty, the urgent priority is to capture Dongliang Jun. Establish your prestige, and those old ministers will naturally shut up."

Xue Daohong said: "Who do you think should be sent to fight this battle appropriately?"

Huang Beishan said: "How about General Dong?"

Xue Daohong flicked his eyelids: "Do you think the Dong brothers are usable?"

Huang Beishan was merely considering from a military standpoint; hearing Xue Daohong ask him that, he suddenly realized he had misspoken—General Dong is the close nephew of Consort Dong Shu, and Consort Dong Shu is the birth mother of the Seventh Prince Xue Daoming; after Xue Daohong ascended, how could he possibly employ those closely tied to Xue Daoming? How could he fail to grasp such a simple principle? Huang Beishan hurriedly corrected himself: "General Dong is brave but lacks strategy; actually, the defending general of Shao Yuan, Qin Yangming, is quite good. In my humble impression, Qin Yangming rarely suffers defeats."

Xue Daohong said: "Just let him settle it; I have little patience, give him half a month—I want him to personally bring back Hu Xiaotian's head and Dongliang Jun together!"

Liu Yun cai returned not long after leaving and came back to Dongliang Jun to inform Hu Xiaotian. Da Yong had already agreed to the demand of exchanging grain for hostages, to be carried out in three batches; after the first batch of prisoners yielded seven hundred thousand catties of grain, Hu Xiaotian summoned his confidants and held a secret meeting in Dongliang Jun.

Zhao Wusheng and Li Yongfu came specially from Wuxing Jun to attend this secret meeting.

Everyone gathered around the sand table that Hu Xiaotian had someone make; this was his creativity, giving them the most intuitive guidance in three‑dimensional form. For this sand table Hu Xiaotian expended considerable effort. Turning a two‑dimensional map into a three‑dimensional sand table would have been nothing special in the past, but in this era it carries an astonishing significance—even Yu Tianxing sighed in admiration, and for Hu Xiaotian, his lord, he could only feel respect.

Hu Xiaotian said: "According to the plan we negotiated with Da Yong, the final exchange of prisoners is set for ten days from now, which means they are likely to launch a general assault on us in ten days."

Zhao Wusheng said: "With the two million catties of grain they sent, we should be able to survive this harsh winter; better to temporarily avoid their sharpness. Retreat to defend Wuxing Jun and turn Dongliang Jun into an empty city."

Hu Xiaotian and Yu Tianxing exchanged a glance, both laughed. Hu Xiaotian said: "General Zhao's idea is not bad, but if we retreat to the south bank of the Yong River, it will be hard to come back!"

Everyone furrowed their brows, secretly thinking: Hu Xiaotian won't be insisting on holding Dongliang Jun, will he? This Da Yong army's invasion is surely well prepared; they won't repeat the mistake of underestimating the enemy, making victory difficult.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Two million catties of grain isn't much for us—over thirty thousand soldiers each need at least twenty catties per month, meaning this grain will at most see us through this winter. But what about the civilians? Can we just fill our bellies and ignore the lives of the townsfolk? Even if everyone could stuff themselves, what about after these three months? Who can guarantee next year will be a bumper harvest? To have no rear‑area worries, we must first solve the food problem; Military Advisor, give me a suggestion."

All eyes turned to Yu Tianxing, who was visibly a bit embarrassed yet his heart surged with excitement; Hu Xiaotian publicly called him Military Advisor, thereby formally confirming his position.

Hu Xiaotian pointed at the sand table and said: "Capture Dongluo Depot!"

Zhao Wusheng and Li Yongfu exchanged a glance, both unable to hide the shock in their eyes; Li Yongfu spoke first: "Impossible! The walls and gates of Dongluo Depot are higher and sturdier than most cities of Da Yong, and it is garrisoned by twenty thousand troops; its commander Chang Fanqi is a rare fierce general, though not among Da Yong's top ten mighty generals, his true strength is not inferior to General Dong."

Xiong Tianba beside them said: "What's the big deal? Even if General Dong came, I'd still smash him to death!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Since ancient times there is only one path up Mount Hua; rather than die defending, it's better to seek victory in peril—if I seize Dongluo Depot, I can form a complete northern Jiang defense line, hold the advantage of Dongluo Depot, and need not worry about grain and fodder for three years."

Zhao Wusheng said: "Sir, have you considered that if we take Dongluo Depot, Da Yong will spare no expense to send a great army to encircle and annihilate us?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "What we want is grain; if we truly cannot withstand the pressure, we can transport what we can and burn what we cannot, then retreat to defend Wuxing Jun. If the expedition fares poorly, it can also serve as a feint east, strike west, tying down enemy forces—if Qin Yangming learns Dongluo Depot is under attack, he will surely abandon the assault on Dongliang Jun and turn back to rescue Dongluo Depot."

Zhao Wusheng nodded: "Not bad—better to seek victory in peril than to die defending; Sir, this lowly officer is willing to take the order and go forth!"

Xiong Tianba said: "Don't argue with me—I'm definitely taking the vanguard." Upon hearing of battle, Xiong Tianba's spirits rose at once, and he immediately volunteered to take the vanguard.

Hu Xiaotian said: "According to the Military Advisor's plan, Wuxing Jun must retain at least twenty thousand soldiers to guard the city, while drafting ten thousand to join the fight."

Zhao Wusheng and Li Yongfu's faces simultaneously grew grave; Wuxing Jun has thirty thousand troops available for deployment, but Hu Xiaotian only draws out ten thousand, leaving no doubt that the remaining twenty thousand must stay in Wuxing Jun to defend strictly; this arrangement is understandable, after all the Nanyang Water Stronghold still has twenty thousand Da Yong naval elites, plus the over ten thousand exchanged prisoners, their naval force reaches over thirty thousand; it is not impossible that they, taking advantage of Da Yong's large‑scale offensive against Dongliang Jun, could in one fell swoop capture Wuxing Jun.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Although the focus is on Dongliang Jun, the pressure on Wuxing Jun is not small either; we must make the Da Yong forces feel impregnable, so they dare not exploit any weakness." He turned to Yu Tianxing: "Military Advisor, please explain your detailed plan."

Yu Tianxing nodded, then laid out his plan from start to finish; everyone listened in utter silence—not because his plan was bad, but because it was overly bold, even containing several glaring flaws.

Hu Xiaotian saw that no one spoke, smiled and said: "Feel free to speak your minds; if you have any additions, just say them outright."

Zhao Wusheng said: "I basically agree with Mr. Yu's view; after Da Yong exchanges hostages they will certainly launch a major offensive—Nanyang Water Stronghold at least has twenty thousand, the Shao Yuan side Qin Yangming will go all out, possibly bringing twenty‑five thousand; as for Dongluo Depot, it is one of Da Yong's seven major granaries, though small in area, its military importance is the most crucial in Da Yong's southeast—Mr. Yu, on what basis do you conclude that Dongliang Jun will field fifteen thousand troops?"

Yu Tianxing said: "It's not a conclusion, it's an inference! Qin Yangming, in directing warfare, never likes to take risks; although he often wins, careful analysis of his past battles shows he always enjoys numerical superiority, even never fighting when forces are evenly matched. We have left twenty thousand troops in Wuxing Jun; to outsiders, Dongliang Jun's garrison appears to have risen to about fifteen thousand. If he attacks, he would need at least double or more troops. With three lines advancing simultaneously, the forces on those lines cannot differ greatly. According to my deduction, Qin Yangming will likely gather the twenty thousand from Nanyang Water Stronghold, the twenty‑five thousand from Shao Yuan, and the fifteen thousand from Dongluo Depot—about sixty thousand total—coming from three different directions to encircle Dongliang Jun."

Li Yongfu said: "Even so, Mr. Yu, do you have confidence in capturing Dongluo Depot?"

Yu Tianxing shook his head: "I have no absolute certainty, nor do I possess foresight, but aside from this method, we seem to have no chance to turn defeat into victory."

Zhu Ba said: "I thought finishing this battle would be the end of it; I didn't expect we'd have to stay a few more days."

Hu Xiaotian saw that several people still lacked trust in Yu Tianxing; although Yu Tianxing had successfully directed the defeat of Tang Bohui's army, his prestige had not yet been established. At this moment Hu Xiaotian had to step forward to speak for him: "I think Mr. Yu's plan, though somewhat risky, is highly feasible." He pointed at the sand table: "Without Dongluo Depot, Dongliang Jun will always be besieged on three sides; only by seizing Dongluo Depot can we build a complete defensive line, change Dongliang Jun's passive situation, and at once solve the grain shortage."

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