Chapter 226: Two-Front Campaign

Tuke Tuke Siluo could hardly sit still any longer, and said urgently, "My lord, why haven't the Other Xi Xia people come yet? Could something have gone wrong?"

Gone wrong? Jiang Jiang Mingyu thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "That shouldn't be the case. It rained heavily the day before yesterday—maybe it delayed their journey. Let's just be patient and wait a bit longer. They'll come eventually."

As a result, after waiting nearly one shi-chen more, the Other Xi Xia people still hadn't shown up. Just then, a soldier covered in blood rushed up to Jiang Jiang Mingyu and said loudly, "My lord, disaster! Other Xi Xia general Hamasitelun has led 40,000 troops around us and is heading straight for Changwu City!"

"Hamasitelun has already begun the siege, and Commander Lu's defending troops can't hold out any longer. This subordinate fought his way out to deliver the news. My lord, Changwu is in peril—hurry and lead troops back to reinforce!"

What? The expression instantly vanished from Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face, and he said in a low voice, "How could the Other Xi Xia people know we were lying in ambush here?"

Only then did Tuke Tuke Siluo suddenly realize: "My lord, we have scouts, and so do the Other Xi Xia people. Our 30,000 men have been camped here for two—surely we were spotted long ago. There's no use talking about it now—hurry back to Changwu to reinforce!"

But Jiang Jiang Mingyu fell silent, and only after a long while said firmly, "No, Changwu cannot be reinforced."

Tuke Tuke Siluo's eyes went wide, and he said impatiently, "Big brother, Goudan is a brother we've known since the very beginning. What do you mean by that?"

"If we don't go back to rescue him, Goudan and the 30,000 brothers in Changwu will have no future but to fight to the death!" This was the first time Tuke Tuke Siluo had spoken to Jiang Jiang Mingyu in a near-roar.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked at Tuke Tuke Siluo's angry face, and his heart ached as well. He understood why his brother was so furious—after all, Goudan was a brother who had shared life and death with them, and now he was besieged by the Other Xi Xia people inside Changwu City, his fate unknown. He wanted to rescue Goudan too, but he could not ignore the bigger picture; he could not let Hamasitelun succeed.

"What I mean is, we can't take the whole army back to rescue Changwu," he quickly explained. "Goudan is our brother—how could I not want to save him? Stop glaring and let me finish."

He thought it over quickly, found a way to have the best of both worlds, and then went on.

"Think about it—Hamasitelun took 40,000 men to attack Changwu. Isn't that throwing his life away? He just wants revenge for us blowing apart his old nest."

"But that also means that right now, inside Yingchang City, there are only 10,000 troops left to hold it. The Other Xi Xia people ride fast, but when it comes to defending a city, that's their weak spot."

"What I mean is, you take 15,000 men back to rescue Goudan, and Zhang Zhang Jiaqi and I will take the remaining 15,000 and strike straight at Yingchang."

"As long as you and Goudan agree on a time, and while the Other Xi Xia people haven't reacted, hit them from inside and out together, and wipe out Hamasitelun's army."

"And then Zhang Zhang Jiaqi and I take Yingchang City—wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone? What do you say?"

Hearing Jiang Jiang Mingyu's words, Tuke Tuke Siluo calmed down a little inside. He knew Jiang Jiang Mingyu was doing it for everyone's good, and the plan wasn't bad either. At the very least, it could rescue Goudan and strike a blow to the Other Xi Xia people's morale.

"Fine then, the situation is urgent—please forgive my rudeness, big brother." So saying, he took 15,000 troops and hurried off.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu watched Tuke Tuke Siluo's retreating back, feeling a little worried. He knew Tuke Tuke Siluo was a hot-blooded man, but also somewhat impulsive. He was afraid he might make some mistake on the battlefield.

"Quickly, go catch up with Tuke Tuke Siluo," he said to a soldier beside him. "Tell him to act prudently in everything, and not to act rashly. Go quickly."

Zhang Zhang Jiaqi, seeing how uneasy Jiang Jiang Mingyu was about Tuke Tuke Siluo, asked.

"Big Brother Jiang, since you don't trust my brother-in-law to lead troops, why not go back to Changwu yourself? How about leaving the task of attacking Yingchang to us?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu gave a wry smile.

"When it comes to strategy, I dare say I'm a bit stronger than Tuke Tuke Siluo. But when it comes to valor, ten of me put together still can't compare to half a Tuke Tuke Siluo."

"The Other Xi Xia people are ferociously fierce—if Tuke Tuke Siluo doesn't go, I'm afraid it would be hard to break the enemy for the time being."

"As for you, you are a woman after all, and your foundation in the army is far less solid than your elder sister's."

"If I sent you back to lead troops, I'm afraid the soldiers wouldn't be convinced. And besides, sending Tuke Tuke Siluo back has an even deeper consideration on my part."

He paused, then went on.

"As I said before, there will still be countless great battles and fierce battles ahead—this counts as tempering for Tuke Tuke Siluo."

"After all, even if Zhu Ge Yu and I both grew eight hands, we couldn't attend to everything."

"This means that in the future, people like Tuke Tuke Siluo will inevitably have to become commanders capable of holding their own."

"Goudan has already been tempered enough—Goudan guards Cangzhou, with Zhu Ge Yu training him, so there's no problem there."

"What I'm most uneasy about right now is Tuke Tuke Siluo, who is confident in his own bravery but lacks in strategy."

Zhang Zhang Jiaqi, hearing Jiang Jiang Mingyu's words, also sighed deeply.

"Big Brother Jiang has thought this through carefully. I trust my brother-in-law won't let down your high expectations."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu chuckled.

"Tuke Tuke Siluo just lacks experience—as for whether he'll let me down, I don't worry about that in the slightest."

"Before I met Zhu Ge Yu, I wasn't even as good as Tuke Tuke Siluo is now, and yet haven't we almost taken all of Lanzhou by now?"

Glancing at the sky, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's idle chat came to an end.

"Zhang Jiaqi, quickly muster the troops and march on Yingchang. Taking Yingchang is the same as cutting off Hamasitelun's retreat. Then he'll have only a dead end."

Soon, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's troops set out on the road to Yingchang.

Even though the soldiers were already advancing at full speed, Jiang Jiang Mingyu still felt it wasn't fast enough. He urged them on again and again.

"Faster. Faster still. We must reach Yingchang City before noon the day after tomorrow."