Chapter 498: First Volume _ Chapter 498: A Divine Strategy for Fathoming the Enemy

First Volume _ Chapter 498: A Divine Strategy for Fathoming the Enemy

Qin Feng stopped playing coy and said lightly, "Given the enemy commander's talent, the moment he learns Pingcang County has been attacked, he'll send troops to strike Qingyu Mountain right away.

"That way, he can catch us before we've secured our footing, and at the same time cut off our soldiers who plundered Pingcang County outside Qingyu Mountain. We only have two hundred men in total, and now we're split apart by the enemy—it's nothing short of a catastrophe.

"But the enemy didn't send troops right away, which means there must be someone interfering at his side!

"Thinking it over, the only person in the whole region who could interfere with the enemy commander's operations is the local Prefect.

"And based on the earlier Secret Infiltration and reconnaissance by the Jinyiwei, the local Prefect Xu Qian only knows how to play with power.

"If the Enemy Army truly has Xu Qian acting as Supervisor of the Army, then our odds of victory are huge.

"I've been battling wits with political foes at the Imperial Court in Jingdu until now, and I know these corrupt officials' style of doing things all too well.

"Xu Qian would surely stop the enemy commander at once, making the relief of Pingcang County the priority. After all, if Pingcang County is breached and the losses are heavy, the blame falls on Xu Qian as Prefect.

"Once he learns Ning Hu has already left Pingcang County, Xu Qian, to save face and consolidate his position as Supervisor of the Army, would very likely force the enemy commander to attack the mountain immediately.

"If they can't take it, it's the enemy commander's incompetence; if they do take it, it's Xu Qian's brilliant Command… either way, Xu Qian is the one who profits."

Hearing Qin Feng's analysis, every soldier present was dumbfounded.

A born military talent can devise strategies on the Battlefield, but once at the Imperial Court, he easily gets outmaneuvered—after all, civil officials and military generals operate in completely different ways.

And a pure civil official or corrupt official is only skilled in court affairs, yet when it comes to Battlefield matters, he's completely in the dark.

Those who excel at both civil and military matters do exist, but they're far too few.

In the soldiers' eyes, the Qin Feng before them was exactly such a man—versed in both civil and military affairs!

Not only did he know the war situation like the back of his hand, his grasp of human nature was equally effortless.

Standing right here on Qingyu Mountain without stepping outside, he could judge the situation in the Enemy Camp and even drag Xu Qian out into the open—simply unbelievable.

The Light Cavalry Colonel stared at Qin Feng blankly: "Could this… be the legendary 'devising strategies within the command tent, winning victories a thousand li away'?"

Ning Hu was stunned for a while too. He had long known Qin Feng's talent, yet he was still amazed by Qin Feng again and again.

They all say surviving against the odds is the hardest thing—how come this fellow, the harsher the odds, the sharper his mind?

Ning Hu grew more and more excited.

"Hahaha! With Brother Qin holding the fort, the Comrades need not fear. Even if Chen Si himself came, he'd have to bleed to take Qingyu Mountain!"

Hearing this, every soldier's blood boiled with fervor.

Though the soldiers were not afraid to fight, they had long since made a judgment in their hearts: they were doomed to die—only a matter of when.

But now, having witnessed with their own eyes Qin Feng using the "Zhaixie Fa" to forcibly shave down and reshape the mountain, and piecing together the Enemy Camp's situation from fragmentary Military Intelligence—

The soldiers suddenly awoke to the fact that the situation before them might not be a dead end after all—it might also be… a chance to bloom from behind!

Just then, the Jinyiwei scouts up ahead came running back in a hurry.

"Young Master, a large army is approaching from the direction of Mingyun Township, numbers unknown."

At these words, the soldiers felt not the slightest fear, but grew even more excited.

Their gazes at Qin Feng burned with fervor, and for a moment cheers rose one after another.

"Heavens! The Young Master got it all right!"

"Young Master, just what on earth is inside that head of yours?"

"Unbelievable—the Enemy Army actually came. Young Master, how are you merely a military talent? You're clearly a prophet."

In everyone's eyes, the Enemy Army was irrelevant—as long as Qin Feng held the fort here, however many came would die however many!

The Jinyiwei who had returned to report, however, was completely baffled.

A large army was clearly about to bear down on them—why were the soldiers not only unafraid, but actually happy?

Little did they know, Qin Feng had no power of foresight at all. The so-called mastery of strategy actually rested on long-term groundwork and effort.

Ever since founding the Jinyiwei, they had launched round-the-clock Secret Infiltration against the Northern Di, and every piece of intelligence gathered was reported back to Qin Feng by messengers.

Moreover, ever since Qin Feng arrived at Beixi County, he would review the Jinyiwei's archives whenever he had the time—only thus could he gain a general understanding of the Northern Di's situation.

Long before the two kingdoms took up arms, the intelligence war had already been fought to a bloody standstill.

The Jinyiwei, the Night Owls, and the Black Commanders—these three Top-Tier spy organizations are the true key to victory in this all-or-nothing National War.

At this moment, the Search and Exterminate Army was less than Ten Li from Qingyu Mountain.

Since the Xiongying Brigade specialized in Cavalry, it was of little use for encircling and attacking in the mountains. They could only patrol at the foot of the mountain to prevent enemy troops from slipping down to escape.

But every Cavalry trooper of the Xiongying Brigade knew perfectly well that patrolling was utterly pointless—after all, the ones up there were from Beixi County.

Flee for their lives? Not a chance!

Last night's escape was nothing more than a Strategic Retreat.

This search-and-exterminate operation could only end in one of two ways.

First, every enemy soldier on the mountain dies in battle.

Second, the Liang Kingdom Reinforcements cross the Border directly to come rescue them.

Beyond these, there was absolutely no third possibility.

Not only would the enemy on the mountain fight to the last man, the encircling army would absolutely not give up the search—after all, this was within Northern Di territory. No matter the cost, they had to wipe out every last one of the invaders who had breached the border.

Xu Qian personally oversaw the battle. Looking at the mighty three thousand troops under his command, and considering the enemy numbered a mere two hundred, his face was full of confidence.

The disparity between the two sides was so vast that any strategy or scheme was utterly meaningless.

Just charge in, and victory was assured.

At Xu Qian's command, the three-thousand-strong Search and Exterminate Army surged up Qingyu Mountain.

Chen Ping did not join them, but led his officers and Confidants to stand and watch from two li away.

Watching the Search and Exterminate Army rush headlong at Qingyu Mountain, Ma Ning couldn't help but spit and curse: "That damned Xu Qian—his head's clearly been kicked by a donkey. Sending the whole army charging straight up—doesn't he know the Tianji Camp Guards are best at this kind of Guerrilla Warfare in complex terrain?"

The Night Owl leader nearby also sneered coldly: "Unless a miracle happens, relying on these second-rate garrison troops to take Qingyun Mountain is nothing but a dream. Let Xu Qian suffer a loss once, and he'll learn his lesson."

Chen Ping said nothing, only concerned with preserving his Xiongying Brigade Cavalry and making no meaningless Sacrifices to Consume them.

In Chen Ping's view, the Enemy Army on Qingyu Mountain was already a fish in a barrel; since they hadn't attacked the mountain from the start, there was no need to rush—just encircle Qingyu Mountain entirely, then advance step by step, slowly surrounding upward until the enemy was driven to a dead end.

After all, General Chen Si's Military Order was to capture the Tianji Camp Guards, not to slaughter them all.