Chapter 668: with translation of chapter title

Attack-Defense Easy Form!

Xu Zengyi muttered, "My lord, we can transfer the Hu Bugu Unit over to assist Lu Ji."

Good.

Chen Wuji didn't even ask an extra question and directly agreed.

Actually, he had just been thinking of transferring Lu Ji over to temporarily distance from Wuyang City and observe the outcome.

Langdu this wolf has become extremely dangerous; with everyone being a Death Soldier, this battle is tough to fight.

Chen Wuji had already prepared to stall Langdu in Wuyang for three to five months.

After issuing the mobilization order, Chen Wuji sat on the hu bed and asked, "Mr., why such an arrangement? Attack-Defense Easy Form, to continue dragging it out like this?"

"Food supplies!" Xu Zengyi said.

"Wuyang City has little food supplies; our army's this batch of food supplies hasn't reached the front line. According to time calculation, the Qiang's 50,000-strong army can at most hold out in the city for ten days; they definitely won't abandon the food supplies outside the city."

"In this battle, how they fought, we can completely copy their tactics and throw it back at them! Food supplies are their bait; as long as they dare to bite, I can make sure none of them return."

The Poisonist Xu Zengyi's aura suddenly appeared.

His words were not only tough but also absolutely confident, full of vigor, resonant and powerful.

Chen Wuji couldn't feel optimistic, "Mr., the Qiang will use the commoners to force us to hand over food supplies; there are still many commoners in Wuyang City. Given the Qiang's usual nature, they will definitely think of this first."

"Indeed, they will definitely do that." Xu Zengyi nodded, "However, wasn't the Protector General sent to Qiang Land? They can use our commoners as hostages; why can't we do the same?"

"Calculate the time; the Protector General's side should have made progress by now; Liulin City has fallen, so he doesn't need to repay them with their own tactics; it's perfect to send the Qiang people to Wuyang."

"Going back and forth, the road will probably take about four days; if we can delay a bit, that should be enough. Langdu incites the whole army to fight to the death; the root cause is basically just the Qiang tribe soldiers' homes and families; if Langdu at this point would rather have food supplies than the tribe, could those soldiers still fight desperately for him? Impossible."

Chen Wuji nodded seriously.

The Poisonist Mr. Xu finally began to display his usual expertise.

In war between the two armies, attacking the heart is supreme.

"Mr.'s plan is very detailed; the only problem is this four-day gap." Chen Wuji said, "Langdu is extremely scheming; upon arriving in Wuyang City, he might send someone tomorrow to propose this condition. Delaying one day is still okay, but two days and this bastard will definitely start killing people."

"My lord, there are still many ways to delay time; our army also has a most direct means—attack the city!" Xu Zengyi said solemnly, "If Langdu has no time to attend to it, this time will naturally be delayed; attacking the city doesn't require our troops to personally brave arrows and charge; we can widely construct siege equipment, using cannon carts to bombard day and night for two or three days, which is enough."

"He will drive the city's commoners onto the walls..." Chen Wuji said gloomily.

It's not that he deliberately sabotaged Xu Zengyi; it's just that the Qiang are too skilled at this.

Whenever there is war, the commoners of Da Yu are their best consumables.

As long as they can catch them, they will definitely make use of them.

When the two armies face off, they deliberately drive the Da Yu commoners to the front to disgust people; when attacking the city, they drive the Da Yu commoners to scale the walls first; these examples are countless.

Xu Zengyi gave a contemptuous smile, "My lord, our purpose is to delay time."

"If they drive the city's commoners onto the wall tops to defend, we simply won't attack, or we can use cannon carts to throw some weapons onto the wall tops."

"As long as the Qiang's envoy cannot reach our army's front, Langdu won't achieve his goal. He wants to use the commoners to force us to hand over food supplies; at the very least, we need to know about this, right? Our army's cannon carts bombard day and night, his people can't leave the city gate, standing on the wall tops shouting—who could hear?"

Chen Wuji deeply agreed and nodded.

"In that case, it's up to Langdu to choose—either take the bait, or wait for our army to calm down and seek negotiation. But by then, using the city's commoners as leverage would be useless." Xu Zengyi said.

"My lord might worry that the Qiang will stop our army's attack on the city by slaughtering commoners, but that shouldn't happen. Wuyang City is a small city; there aren't many commoners inside; Langdu is very shrewd and should understand he can only use this once."

Chen Wuji stared at the teapot in front of him for a while, then picked it up and placed it on the small clay stove that was burning; the tea water doesn't know when it was boiled, but it should have cooled somewhat.

"Fighting this bunch of damned things is truly frustrating!" Chen Wuji cursed, then said, "Mr., this battle needs caution; any possible outcome must be considered. I never cared about my own reputation, but I care about the people's hearts and also about the commoners' lives and deaths."

"Even if it's just dozens, or even a few commoners!"

Xu Zengyi deeply glanced at Chen Wuji, "Let's calculate again."

Hmm.

Will the Qiang use the city's commoners as leverage when attacking the city?

The answer is yes.

This actually has nothing to do with the number of commoners in the city.

What the Qiang want is to block Chen Wuji's attack on the city.

Many people, when reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, hate Liu Bei for leading the commoners in a great migration, wishing they could turn iron into steel, angrily cursing their mothers; but when Chen Wuji reaches this position, the commoners still become his weak point.

He comes from the commoners, his soldiers come from the commoners; these are his foundations.

He can not care about his reputation, but this one point must not be ruined.

He cannot, for a strategic goal, ignore the lives and deaths of the commoners.

Even setting aside all these reasons, from a personal standpoint, Chen Wuji would not ignore the lives and deaths of the people.

He, however, from that day when artillery filled the sky, only his own plane took off empty from the homeland, the nation that had flown across the world to pick up people—some things are ingrained in his bones; even without mentioning any reasons, he simply wants to do this, and he firmly believes it ought to be done this way.

Xu Zengyi stared at the map without blinking, lost in thought again.

On the small red-clay stove, the flames swayed gently, making the Zisha teapot gurgle, blowing out all the fragrant aroma from within, filling the Zhongjun Camp set up on the grass.

Chen Wuji picked up the teapot, poured two cups, pushed one forward, but did not remind Xu Zengyi to come over for a drink, to wet his throat.

The strategist had entered meditation; let him think for a while.

Chen Wuji took a light sip of tea, his mind repeatedly pondering how to breach the gate of Wuyang's ruined city without loss and chop down those bastard bandits.