xymnovel 098: War Is Coming
098: War Is Coming
Su Wen felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Xu Ge then came out of the inner room with a small packet of tissues and said, "Master, I found a packet of these in the cupboard in the inner room!"
Su Wen took it, held it to his nose, smelled it, and said, "Gastrodia elata powder. It seems these people committed suicide as a sacrifice!"
Cui Lingyu, who had been fierce just moments before, softened her tone and asked, "Su Lang, are you saying that these people all committed suicide?"
Su Wen nodded and said, "Xu Ge, get ready. It seems we'll be going to investigate those people in the outer city who're spreading the news about the new Buddha tonight!"
Xu Ge responded, and Cui Lingyu said softly, "Su Lang, I want to go see too!"
Su Wen said, "No, it's too dangerous. You have no idea how crazy those people are!"
Cui Lingyu said, "I have Xiao Bi with me, so it's fine. She can protect me. Besides, if you two men go, people might not trust you. Having two women with you makes a difference; they'll think you're bringing your family along, which makes you more trustworthy!"
Xu Ge said, "Yes, Master, if the two of us men go, people will immediately know we're there to gather information. If the four of us go together, it'll be less likely to arouse suspicion!"
After thinking for a moment, Su Wen replied, "Alright, Lingyu is right. Xiao Bi, you must protect your young lady at all times and make sure she doesn't get hurt. I saw something like that when I was in Qingzhou!"
Xiao Bi smiled and replied, "Yes, don't worry, my young lady..."
Before she could finish speaking, Cui Lingyu looked at Xiao Bi and said, "Xiao Bi, I think you're getting bolder and bolder. You can't control your mouth anymore; you have to talk about everything!"
Xiao Bi pouted and said, "I was wrong, Miss, I won't do it again next time!"
Upon seeing this scene, Su Wen subconsciously recalled that after Cui Lingyu fully revealed her true colors after marriage, she would be like Lin Daiyu uprooting a willow tree and killing Zhen Guanxi with three punches!
Just then, Zhang Yi rushed into the house and exclaimed to Su Wen, "Imperial Envoy Su, something has happened! Shortly after you left, scouts reported that the Tibetan army of 30,000 has crossed the Aihekou River and will arrive at the walls of Dunhuang within three days!"
Su Wen, Qin Zhan, Cui Lingyu, Xu Ge, and Xiao Bi all looked astonished upon hearing this.
Su Wen looked at Zhang Yi and asked, "How many days would it take at the fastest if we went to the Grand Commander's Mansion to mobilize troops?"
Zhang Yi said, "I have already sent someone with urgent news to inform them. The enemy's influence is so strong that they will probably be lying in ambush along the roads. Therefore, I have ordered fifteen men to deliver the message along fifteen different routes. As long as one of them arrives, the fastest route will reach the Grand Commander's Mansion by tomorrow morning. It will take the Grand Commander at least five days to mobilize troops!"
"If we take the slowest route, we won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon. Reinforcements will arrive in about six to seven days at the earliest!"
Su Wen took a deep breath, his heart pounding.
Because Su Wen knew nothing about military strategy or warfare, his mind went completely blank at that moment.
Ancient warfare differed from modern warfare. In ancient times, the morale of soldiers was extremely important. A small defeat could trigger a major defeat, leading to a rout.
Moreover, waging war is not something you can just do with a word. It requires managing logistics, the soldiers' food, water, and sanitation, as well as marching and troop deployment. There are a lot of things to manage, and it's not so easy to control!
Seeing that Su Wen remained silent, Zhang Yi spoke up, "This humble general has a brilliant plan. If it succeeds, the Tibetan army will retreat on its own. Even if it fails, it will at least buy a few days of time, giving reinforcements more time!"
Upon hearing this, Su Wen did not hesitate at all and said frankly, "General Zhang Yi, to be honest, I know nothing about military affairs, nor how to use troops, let alone how to march and fight. I have no ideas whatsoever!"
"Since you have such a clever plan, then use it. If it succeeds, the credit will go to you and all the soldiers; if it fails, I will take the blame. Now I am handing over the military command of Dunhuang County to you, hoping that you can help the people of Dunhuang County escape this calamity!"
Zhang Yi was also surprised that Su Wen would hand over the military power of Dunhuang County to him. Zhang Yi had seen and heard of too many people who didn't know how to fight, who were all talk and no action, who clung to power and ended up suffering great defeats.
Su Wen, standing before him, bluntly stated that he was incapable of commanding troops and even handed over military power to Zhang Yi. At this moment, Zhang Yi bowed deeply to Su Wen and said, "Zhang Yi swears to defend Dunhuang County to the death!"
Cui Lingyu and Qin Zhan were quite shocked to see Su Wen like this, and even felt a sense of admiration for him deep down.
You know, just by daring to say that you don't know how to use troops, you're already ahead of countless others!
Zhang Yi turned around and left through the door, while Su Wen watched him go.
Su Wen had no idea what Zhang Yi's trick was, but all he could do now was believe it. Besides, Su Wen had a very important thing to do right now.
That is, to capture the person who is colluding with us from within and without as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the Tibetan army arrives in a few days, they will take action and attack from both inside and outside, and Dunhuang County will be in danger!
......
barracks.
Zhang Yi rode back to camp, and everyone had gathered at the training ground.
The Dunhuang County government only had a thousand soldiers because most of the troops in Shazhou were deployed around the Silk Road. The Dunhuang County area was rarely attacked by Tibetan troops because they needed to pass through Tuyuhun or traverse the mountains.
The reason there were only 1,000 soldiers was that Dunhuang Shazhou was a medium-sized prefecture. According to the military regulations for prefectures, an upper-class prefecture had 1,200 soldiers, occasionally up to 1,500, a middle-class prefecture had 1,000, and a lower-class prefecture had 800.
Furthermore, the commander of the troops should be the Zhechong Duwei, but the position of Zhechong Duwei in Dunhuang County, Shazhou was vacant, so the Xuanjie Xiaowei temporarily took over the management of the military camp!
Zhang Yi said, "Brothers, according to our scouts, the Tibetan army of 30,000 has just crossed the Aihekou River and will soon enter open territory. Once they spread out their formation, we'll be in serious trouble!"
"So, brothers, I have a brilliant plan. Are you willing to come with me to fight against the Tibetans and slaughter them!"
"We are willing!" the soldiers responded in unison.
Zhang Yi said, "Alright, brothers, today is the day to make our mark!"
Zhang Yi looked at the Deputy Commandant Xuan Jie to the side and said, "I'll take eight hundred men out of the city to ambush at Aihekou. The defense of the city walls is in your hands!"
Deputy Lieutenant Kang Li nodded in agreement.
Zhang Yi said, "Second Regiment, Third Regiment, Fourth Regiment, Fifth Regiment, all armored, horses armored, ready to follow me out of the city to meet the enemy. First Regiment, all guard the city gates strictly; from today onwards, you are allowed to leave but not enter!"
"yes!"
After a while.
The military camp was opened wide, and all the soldiers began to leave the city. Everyone on both sides of the road watched this scene and began to whisper among themselves.
At this time, news of the impending war spread rapidly throughout Dunhuang County, and some people began to discuss it. Some even started packing their bags and preparing to flee.
But most people did not choose to leave, because their home was here, so where else could they go!