Chapter 688

Just as he approached the great tent, the personal guards stationed nearby recognized this disciple at once and immediately called out to ask.

"This... I have come on behalf of my master to report back to Grand General Borhu."

In truth, there was no mission to report on at all.

After all, the decision to go out and attack Yanmen Pass tonight was made by Watching Bi Xuan on his own initiative, and the three hundred disciples he brought were all from his own sect.

Only this seventh disciple did not dare to act as brazenly before Borhu as his own master would.

"Good! Wait here a moment; I'll go report for you right now."

That guard nodded politely and immediately turned to go inside and report.

After he went in, the laughter and chatter inside paused for a moment.

Then he came back out and called Watching Bi Xuan's seventh disciple in to give his report.

"Your subordinate pays respects to the Grand General, the Demon Master, and all the generals!"

Once inside the great tent, this seventh disciple of Watching Bi Xuan did not dare to be casual and immediately bowed to each of them in turn.

Looking at him, his clothes were torn, some places even stained with blood, and his expression was somewhat flustered.

How could Borhu not know that tonight's battle was a defeat for Watching Bi Xuan!

"Dispense with the formalities! How did tonight's battle go?"

Although Borhu wanted to mock Watching Bi Xuan, he also knew that among the experts in this Western Route Army, apart from Meng Chixing, Watching Bi Xuan was the strongest.

If he wanted to take Yanmen Pass, he could not do without Watching Bi Xuan's help.

Therefore, his personal feelings were set aside for the moment, and instead he patiently asked about the night's battle.

Naturally, Watching Bi Xuan's seventh disciple did not dare to hide anything and began to give a full, faithful account.

Starting from how Watching Bi Xuan swaggered forward and attacked head-on from the front.

To how the Great Tang unleashed ten thousand arrows at once, working in concert with giant siege crossbows, blocking Watching Bi Xuan from advancing a single inch.

Then three hundred disciples of Watching Bi Xuan's sect used their lightness skills to climb the city wall and fought a great battle with the Great Tang defenders.

At this point Watching Bi Xuan's seventh disciple exaggerated somewhat, claiming they had killed and wounded a great many Great Tang defenders.

Then the Great Tang deployed those small crossbows, teams of over a dozen, firing rapid, lethal volleys.

The bolts from those crossbows could ignore true essence body protection and pierce straight through the body.

Three Earthly Immortal Realm experts, caught off guard for a moment, were shot dead on the spot by the crossbows.

Afterwards, the remaining disciples were terrified, their fighting spirit collapsed, and they were driven back down from the city wall.

Watching Bi Xuan had no choice but to lead his disciples back.

This seventh disciple was quite the smooth talker, managing to spin a defeat into something that sounded almost like a draw.

He made it sound as though if General Wulisu's army had arrived just a moment earlier, this Yanmen Pass might well have been taken.

Some of the generals, hearing his account, actually believed it and could not help but sigh and wring their hands in regret.

Borhu, on the other hand, gave a faint smile, though in his heart he was thinking that this Wang Xiaojie truly was no simple man.

This night battle was clearly not something he had arranged or commanded.

He himself had already led a portion of the Tang Army and left Yanmen Pass.

Yet even so, in this battle the Tang Army remained calm and composed, their morale high.

Facing Watching Bi Xuan, who could withstand even the giant siege crossbows head-on, they still managed to divide their tasks and cooperate, methodically surrounding and killing Watching Bi Xuan's disciples.

In the end, Watching Bi Xuan and his disciples, over three hundred in all, saw their efforts come to nothing at the last moment.

The will of the Tang Army truly is extraordinary!

"Good! In this battle, Wu Zun was able to probe out the enemy's true strength; that should count as one merit. Please pass this on to Wu Zun."

After hearing the report and deducing what he wanted to know, Borhu did not wish to fall out with Watching Bi Xuan openly. Instead, before everyone, he made a grand flourish and directly credited Watching Bi Xuan's defeat as a merit.

"Ah!? Your subordinate thanks the Grand General on behalf of his master for this kindness."

Watching Bi Xuan's seventh disciple immediately kowtowed and thanked Borhu profusely.

495 Mad or just stupid?

After sending Watching Bi Xuan's seventh disciple away, Borhu began to ponder this campaign's grand strategy.

The Great Yuan Western Route Army had two tasks. The first, and most important, was to draw the attention of the Great Tang.

But now the Great Tang's attention had not only not been drawn; instead, the Great Tang had abandoned everywhere except Yanmen Pass.

The cost of relocating soldiers and civilians cannot be said to have been small.

Yet it effectively rendered this Western Route Army of the Great Yuan's efforts fruitless despite their long march.

If Yanmen Pass cannot be taken and the second objective achieved, then this Western Route Army's campaign can only be considered a complete failure.

"These Great Tang people truly are cunning. They appear to hand over the northwest, yet they ensure our Western Route Army's strategic objectives cannot be completed."

Thinking to this point, Borhu gazed at the sand table before him and could not help but feel a headache coming on.

The three thousand elite vanguard cavalry that had been following Meng Chixing had by now returned one after another.

They had scouted east, west, and south respectively, covering at least a thousand li.

Those thousand li encompassed virtually all of the Great Tang's two northwestern prefectures.

To say nothing of soldiers, civilians, and armies all having moved south—at the very least, the great majority were no longer there.

As a result, the area was practically undefended, save for Yanmen Pass, which stood like a nail.

Yet this also meant the Great Tang had not been drawn to pay the Western Route Army even the slightest bit of attention.

Instead, they had redeployed quite a few of the northwestern frontier troops—no one knew whether into the defense of Youzhou or somewhere else.

"Grand General, since our army's mission this time is to draw the Great Tang's attention,

yet these Tang Ren are cunning and refuse to give battle,

I suggest we simply dispatch a force to keep the defenders pinned here at Yanmen Pass.

The remaining bulk of the army would march south, putting on a posture of attacking Changancheng.

This general, however, does not believe it—if we attack Changancheng, would this Great Tang continue to yield?"

A Dayuan general caught Borhu's meaning and immediately offered a tentative suggestion.

Once out of the two northwestern prefectures, the army could drive straight in; after passing Xiao Pass, they could reach the walls of Changancheng within a day.

Only…

That is the Ducheng of the Great Tang imperial court!

The Qian Niu Wei, Jin Wuwei, and the twelve other guards' armies are all garrisoned there.

There are also the National Protectors, the Royal Protectors, and countless other experts beyond count.

Relying only on Borhu and his fifty thousand troops—among whom a portion must still be left to watch the Yanmen Pass garrison.

With just this bit of force, you still want to attack Changancheng?

Are you mad or just stupid?

Borhu gave the man a look as if Seeing Meng Chixing, glanced at him once, and asked directly,

"Then how many men do you think should be sent to this Yanmen Pass?

Give you five thousand men—can you hold the rear for this General?"

Yanmen Pass has a garrison of ten thousand; although five thousand scattered today, there are still five thousand within the pass.

Relying on only five thousand men to hold down the Yanmen Pass garrison is no small difficulty.

Hearing Borhu speak thus, this man's face changed drastically; he stammered and dared not accept the order.

"Grand General, in truth the two objectives of our army can be merged into one."

Seeing Meng Chixing spoke up at this point instead,

"Yanmen Pass is one of the most important border passes between Great Tang and Dayuan.

Take this Yanmen Pass, and Great Tang's northwestern shield will cease to exist.

No matter where the Great Tang's northwestern border army has been transferred to, by then they will have no choice but to turn back to rescue it.

We may simply wait at ease before Yanmen Pass for the exhausted enemy.

To instead abandon Yanmen Pass and march south to attack Changancheng—

With too few troops, it won't work.

With too many troops, the rear becomes unstable.

Therefore I suggest concentrating full strength to Gongkeyan Sect."

Who would have thought this Meng Chixing's Wu Gong was no mean feat; holding the post of Demon Mentor, he was also quite well-versed in the art of war.

The words made Borhu's eyes light up; he nodded again and again,