Chapter 924: Seeing the Mountain Is Still the Mountain

Chen Wuji always believed that in warfare, one should not exaggerate the enemy's shortcomings and minimize one's own.

That is a path to death.

They sat in this small courtyard, sipping fragrant tea, able to openly consider their own side's reputation, but on a battlefield of real swords and spears, there is no reputation to speak of—losing is losing, winning is winning.

There only win or loss results exist, without self-deceptive talk of small wins or small losses.

Xu Zengyi nodded, speaking very sincerely: "In the lord's presence, I shouldn't use overly earthy language; the commendable aspects of our army still need to be pointed out."

"Sir, there's no need for this; you know my character as well."

"Yes!"

"Let's continue with the later warfare," Chen Wuji said. "The charioteer's sneak attack failed; next he should fight openly, right? I can't imagine what other schemes he could pull out."

Xu Zengyi nodded, "The schemes are indeed gone, but the charioteer's upcoming tactics are even more disgusting. Earlier I told the lord that Snake Staff Old Man split his forces into countless units, scattered like beans across Guiling County, some disguising as powerful landlord tenants, others as mountain bandits."

"In the battle at Guiling City, the charioteer failed to seize it, quickly withdrew troops, lowered flags and silenced drums. Over the next nearly month there was no movement, as if they had fully withdrawn, accepting that Guiling County was occupied by General Qian."

Chen Wuji nodded, "Looks like there definitely is a 'but'."

"Yes." Xu Zengyi chuckled lightly, "But when General Qian dispersed his troops and sent people to scout the county, a change occurred. The charioteer first used mountain bandits; they came down the mountain to attack our troops, yet this time they suffered a dull loss, and our forces in all directions gained great spoils."

"Although the charioteer's plans are good, his troops—whether weapons and armor or battle formation—are far inferior to ours; in direct combat they gain no advantage."

"In this battle our army slew thousands of enemies and captured nearly ten thousand. General Qian described it in the war report as finally sweeping away his inner gloom; otherwise he would have felt suffocated to death."

Chen Wuji laughed heartily, "What does he have to feel suffocated about? Merely not grasping the enemy's pulse; as long as our foundation stands firm and steady, responding to all changes with constancy is enough."

"Although that's so, after being schemed against several times, not knowing where the enemy is or their strength still feels unpleasant." Xu Zengyi objectively said this on behalf of Qian Fugui, then continued with the subsequent warfare.

"After this battle, General Qian began investigating the bandit and rebel situation in Guiling County; not investigating is fine, but once he does, his head swells."

"In Guiling County, wherever there are mountains, bandits abound; it is practically a nest of bandits, as if all the bandits in the world are gathered there."

"At that time, General Qian asked me whether these bandits should be wiped out with manpower; his concern was still the lord's order issued before departure: to capture Guiling County and open the route from Xinglin Town to Guiling County."

"My suggestion then was to annihilate some powerful bandits to curb Guiling County's bandit momentum, then carry out the lord's order."

"General Qian followed the order, but while fighting he suddenly realized something was off. Those bandits seemed to have banded together; as he attacked one bandit group, he continually encountered harassment from others, and Guiling City was attacked again."

As a listener, Chen Wuji felt somewhat uneasy, "How familiar this tactic is!"

"Yes, Snake Staff Old Man previously used this very tactic in his assassination attempt on the lord."

Chen Wuji asked, "What kind of tactic is this? A wild dog tactic?"

"Quite fitting." Xu Zengyi nodded with a smile, then continued, "During General Qian's entanglement with the bandits, local magnates along the way enthusiastically helped—those with manpower contributed people, those with money contributed funds, naturally wanting to contribute strength to our army's suppression of the bandits."

"Unfortunately, these people are still Snake Staff Old Man's men. Had General Qian not worried they would disrupt the battle formation and affect combat strength, he would have almost fallen victim again."

At this point Chen Wuji also felt weary for Qian Fugui.

If Xu Zengyi hadn't said so beforehand, he certainly wouldn't have thought these people were still Snake Staff Old Man's men.

And those magnates' so-called enthusiastic help was actually a plot.

Chen Wuji couldn't help but admire Snake Staff Old Man's skill in scheming and trickery—playing it so smoothly. Unfortunately, his bias is severe; though his schemes are excellent, he overlooked that the core of warfare is always just two words: strength.

Soldiers' strength isn't solid enough, weapons and armor aren't strong enough; even the best schemes are castles in the air, collapsing at a touch, besides giving others a disgusting mouthful of saliva, they seem useless.

After hearing Xu Zengyi say so much, Chen Wuji now basically understands Snake Staff Old Man's strength situation in Guiling County: many troops, his people everywhere.

But the strength is uneven; it can be regarded as a rabble.

If Snake Staff Old Man's units in Guiling County were all well-trained, Qian Fugui's battle would turn out how? Really an unknown.

With such endless schemes plus solid strength, it will definitely be a tough battle.

"Snake Staff Old Man lacks two arms; if he had someone skilled at training troops beside him, plus a commander versed in battle formations, this guy… would surely be strong." Chen Wuji said.

Regarding Snake Staff Old Man, this veteran opponent, he has more or less gone through the three stages of seeing mountains as mountains, seeing mountains not as mountains, seeing mountains still as mountains; now he is in the third stage.

He sees mountains as mountains still.

Once in Yunan County, this person once made Chen Wuji extremely wary, but after several encounters Chen Wuji changed his view; in his eyes Snake Staff Old Man became an insignificant jumping clown.

But at this moment, he again squarely faced this old opponent.

Strength is strong, just severely biased.

If one or two capable fighting generals take the front, with Snake Staff Old Man assisting from behind, he will surely become a grave internal threat.

Xu Zengyi glanced at Chen Wuji, "My lord, it seems to be exactly so now. Snake Staff Old Man has returned to his turf and also found his comrades-in-arms."

Chen Wuji rubbed his face, "Has Qian Fugui really come to this point?"

"Yes, currently he is entangled with those bandits and magnates; probably still some time before Guiling County affairs can be settled." Xu Zengyi said.

Chen Wuji became alert, "Originally I wanted to rest a bit, but now it seems I cannot; send orders down, closely monitor the movements of all troops in Yanzhou City, especially Li Yu's unit."

"Qian Fugui is fighting fiercely in his old stronghold; Snake Staff Old Man and Li Yu cannot possibly be unaware, they will certainly take action."