Chapter 1054: with translation of chapter title

Chen Wuji

It was so beneficial that even Chen Wuji wasn't too eager to restart hostilities so quickly.

With the Uyghur crown prince and left general wholeheartedly supplying grain and fodder, his army could stay three more months at Yǐnmǎchuān without issue; he could come at a leisurely pace.

But this war wasn't something Chen Wuji could decide when to launch troops.

Xie Fengxian

Of course, if he insisted on dragging his feet, that would be possible, but the hard-won results Kong Fang had achieved would be greatly diminished.

"My lord, perhaps it's better to let Lü Ji continue holding the post!" Xu Zengyi said, somewhat helplessly, "He is the best at defense among those good at offense, and the best at offense among those good at defense; besides him, I really can't think of anyone else who could bear this great responsibility!"

Chen Wuji went over the officers around him one by one, silently accepting this fact.

Lü Ji, his position now truly is unshakable.

Chen Ruoshui also showed a certain degree of combined offensive and defensive tactical ability, but she was still somewhat young and lacked experience commanding large armies; her Sinrong army now numbers only eight thousand.

Having a commander who leads eight thousand troops suddenly take charge of defending and directing tens of thousands to build fortifications, while also needing to be ready for battle at any moment, the difficulty is somewhat too great.

"Then let it be Lü Ji; we can only wrong him a little." Chen Wuji said, silently overlooking the thick memorial Lü Ji had written him a few days earlier volunteering to be the vanguard.

Feng Linchuan

"We can't use Lao Yang's tactics; this war must be swift, we should as much as possible expand the gains Kong Fang has taken, so that the entire southern part of the Uyghurs falls into paralysis." Chen Wuji said in a deep voice.

"My plan: Chen Baojia, Xie Fengxian, and Feng Linchuan will each take a route, advancing side by side; they will lead the way, only responsible for assaulting cities and looting strongholds, killing enemy manpower. Prisoners, luggage and supplies, territory, etc., will all be handed over to the rear support units."

Qian Fugui

Kong Fang and Yang Pojun have fully mobilized the Uyghur southern armies; they can certainly use this tactic to advance rapidly, aiming to maximize results in a short time.

Xu Zengyi said: "Chen Baojia's rear support unit could be entrusted to Qian Fugui; the two of them have cooperated quite tacitly in previous battles, and in critical moments Qian Fugui can step in promptly, and he can keep up with Chen Baojia's pace."

Southern Commandery

"For Feng Linchuan's route, Cao Mu can handle the support; the two get along well privately and should be able to coordinate well on the battlefield. As for Xie Fengxian's route, there's no choice but to let Hu Bu Gui take it; the Sinrong army is too small, and otherwise only the lord himself can go." Xu Zengyi said.

"The three routes' troops will advance side by side; the Sinrong army will be in charge of escorting grain and fodder, and the lord himself will personally hold the rear."

Chen Wuji thought it over, saw no major problem, and decided thus: "Notify the whole army, order each unit to return to camp within two days, and set out at the yin hour the day after tomorrow."

Royal Court

Tavern

Uyghur

Great Yu, the Grand Ancestor Emperor

Back then, this was a story that made the commoners of both countries secretly curse its shamelessness.

The Uyghur commoners cursed their king as a spineless waste, not acknowledging his ancestors, rushing like dogs to kneel before the Emperor of Great Yu.

The Great Yu commoners cursed the Taizu Emperor as a bastard with no father, mother, or ancestors, saying the land soaked with countless blood shed by their forebears was being given away just like that.

Even to this day, stone statues of the two emperors from that time still stand in the city.

The half-kneeling Uyghur king was used by children as a horse to ride, his shoulders and back worn smooth and shiny.

The Great Yu Taizu Emperor fares worse, smashed beyond recognition, his original appearance unrecognizable, his body covered in filth, like a broken stone figure dug out of a trash pit.

At this moment, in a tavern not far from the statues, two men of extraordinary bearing sat by the window drinking opposite each other. The table had plenty of food and drink, but their faces showed no joy of drinking; gloom clouded their brows, as if they had just come out to relax after their father's death.

"Your Highness, don't sigh anymore; hearing you sigh one after another truly makes us ministers feel awful!" The middle-aged man on the left gulped his bowl of wine, furrowed his brow, and said.

The young man opposite couldn't hold back another long sigh, "General Xu, I'm really worried. How many days has it been? Those bandits haven't even left a trace, and the Royal Court Envoy comes every few days, urging me to catch the bandits quickly. I can feel my father's patience running thin."

We failed to rescue Lao San, lost tens of thousands of troops, and still haven't found a single group of arsonist bandits. Old Xu, if this continues, my father will surely put duty before family and strike me down harshly.

Since Lao San wasn't rescued, he's already suspecting I did it on purpose. If we still can't pull this off… what will I do? I'm not joking—I really will die.

General Xu remained calm, "Your Highness, while the two armies are at war, with my support the king won't do anything to you—just stay assured. However, after so long failing to catch those bandits, you're bound to get a scolding."

Just brace yourself for the scolding, Your Highness. To be frank, those bandits are probably untraceable. If nothing unexpected happens, they must be scouts under Chen Wuji, aiming to burn our supplies and prepare for the upcoming army invasion.

The young man lunged forward, "General Xu, why are you only telling me about such an urgent matter now?"

"This is just my guess!" General Xu said. "A guess without any evidence—if you take it to the king and cause trouble, I'll likely get a scolding too."

"Even if I don't present it to my father, I should know the situation!" the young man growled. "In the southern cities, the supplies have almost been completely burned by those bandits. If Chen Wuji really leads his army here, setting aside other concerns, the provisions will be a huge problem."

My father already said he won't allocate supplies to the southern cities; we can only wait until next autumn's harvest. What time is it now? It's a snowless winter, almost a full year away.

General Xu said helplessly, "So I can only wait until Chen Wuji's main force actually arrives before making plans. By then the king will surely allocate supplies. For now we just need to tighten our belts and borrow some grain from the wealthy households—it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Is that your solution?" the young man questioned.

General Xu looked earnestly at the young man and said slowly, "Your Highness, our reputation before the king and the entire court is already terrible. The only thing we can do now is one thing: win this battle, preferably by outright destroying Chen Wuji, and march into Da Yu's Nan Jun."

Besides that, it's best not to say another word to the Royal Court.

Our Uyghur people have been doing well recuperating these years; the populace still has grain, and although the official stores were burned, we haven't yet reached the point of having no food.