xymnovel Chapter 398 Xiang Liang's Win-Win Situation
Chapter 398 Xiang Liang's Win-Win Situation
"The people of the Central Plains are afraid of the cold. They have traveled a long way to this icy and snowy land, and the soldiers will surely suffer from frostbite and the number of warhorses will be severely reduced. The rations for an army of 300,000 cannot be transported across the snow. Ying Zheng is acting out of spite, and this is a major taboo in military strategy."
The Chanyu listened to Xiang Liang's analysis and, although he felt there was some truth to it, his brows remained furrowed.
"You make it sound so easy. Even if our army of 300,000 is weakened, a single spit from each of them could drown us. Besides, we have not only a renowned general like Meng Tian leading the troops, but also that Qin Immortal Master!"
Upon hearing the words "Immortal Master," the Xiongnu generals inside the tent exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with apprehension.
The people of the grasslands revere heaven, earth, and spirits, and they have an instinctive fear of the legendary immortals who can summon wind and rain.
Upon hearing the Chanyu mention Zhang Fan, Xiang Liang suddenly tilted his head back and burst into laughter.
The laughter sounded extremely abrupt in the oppressive atmosphere of the royal tent.
The Chanyu looked displeased and glared at him: "What are you laughing at? A large army is pressing in, do you find that funny?"
Xiang Liang stopped laughing, turned around, took a step to the side, and made way for Ji Dan, who had been standing silently behind him.
"Great Chanyu, I laugh at you for being deceived by Qin's smokescreen."
Xiang Liang pointed outside the tent, his tone laced with sarcasm: "That military advisor in the Qin army isn't some kind of immortal master at all! He's just a fraudster who deceives the world!"
The Chanyu was stunned, and his gaze involuntarily turned to Ji Dan.
"Fake goods?"
"good."
Xiang Liang nodded. "In order to appease the people and consolidate his crumbling rule, the tyrant Ying Zheng found a street ruffian named Zhang Fan from somewhere and deliberately packaged him as a celestial master."
"Great Chanyu, consider this: a true immortal should be compassionate and detached from worldly affairs. That Zhang Fan was full of foul language, vulgar and crude, even provoking the envoy like a scoundrel. Where is there even a trace of the demeanor of an immortal?"
The Chanyu recalled the words relayed by the envoy. Zhang Fan was indeed arrogant and domineering, and his behavior was not at all like that of a master who had mastered the laws of heaven and earth.
Xiang Liang turned around, bowed slightly to Ji Dan respectfully, and then solemnly introduced himself to the Xiongnu people.
"Great Chanyu, I have come today to bring you hope for a breakthrough. This man is the true immortal master of Qin!"
"He was proficient in Qimen Dunjia and had a grasp of celestial secrets and destiny."
Because he could not stand Qin Shi Huang's tyranny and could not bear to see the people suffering, he left Xianyang incognito.
"I went to great lengths to persuade the immortal master to descend from the mountain and come here to help the Xiongnu chieftain repel the enemy!"
These words elicited gasps of astonishment from the tent.
The anger in the Chanyu's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by surprise.
There were long-standing rumors on the grasslands that a celestial master had emerged from the Qin state, creating many incredible divine objects.
The Chanyu was originally terrified of the immortal master in the Qin army, but now that he heard that the one leading the troops was a fake and the one in front of him was the real god, he was really surprised.
"So it was a true immortal master who descended!"
The Chanyu tossed the blood-stained scimitar to the guard beside him, his gloomy expression vanishing in an instant, replaced by an extremely warm smile.
He strode forward, placed his right hand on his chest, and performed a very solemn grassland salute to Ji Dan.
"This humble chieftain is blind and unaware of the presence of the immortal master. I have been quite negligent just now; please forgive me!"
Upon seeing this, the Xiongnu generals inside the tent also knelt on one knee and bowed their heads to Ji Dan.
Faced with this unexpected and generous gift, Ji Dan's cheeks began to sweat.
He's now being forced out by Xiang Liang to play the role of a deity, and he has absolutely no confidence in himself.
But now that the arrow is on the bowstring, we absolutely cannot reveal the slightest flaw.
Ji Dan put his hands behind his back, trying to keep his body stiff so that no one could see his tense nerves.
He tilted his head slightly and lowered his voice.
"The Chanyu may dispense with the formalities."
The Chanyu stood up and asked impatiently, "Immortal Master! The Qin army of 300,000 is about to arrive, and we are also suffering from a white disaster, with scarce supplies. Now that you have come to help, do you have a strategy to defeat the enemy?"
All the Xiongnu generals raised their heads, staring at Ji Dan with expectant eyes.
Ji Dan's mind raced. He rummaged through the Yin-Yang and Taoist classics he had read before, trying to piece together some vocabulary that could impress people.
He did not answer immediately, but instead began to pace slowly inside the tent.
"The way of Heaven is constant, and the five elements counteract each other."
Ji Dan slowly said, "Ying Zheng has gone against the will of Heaven, and his aggressive military campaigns have long angered the heavens."
The Chanyu and his generals could not understand the profound classical Chinese of the Central Plains, but they found the vocabulary to be very mysterious, and they couldn't help but hold their breath even more intently.
Ji Dan stopped and turned to point at the raging snow outside the tent.
"What you perceive as a calamity is actually a golden opportunity bestowed by Heaven to defeat the enemy."
Ji Dan's voice became unfathomable: "The North belongs to Water, and the Qin army belongs to Metal. Metal and Water are mutually generative, but in extreme cold, Water is cold and Metal is frigid!"
The Qin army came from afar, unaware of the opportune moment, thus committing a grave mistake in military strategy.
He turned to look at the Chanyu, his tone resolute: "Last night, I observed the stars and saw that north of Yinshan, Mars was guarding the heart of the sky, while the stars in the south were dim. This is the heavenly secret that the Qin army is doomed to defeat."
"The Chanyu only needs to take advantage of this icy and snowy terrain, avoid their sharp edge, and hold his ground. When the Qin army runs out of supplies, they will collapse without a fight."
Ji Dan spoke more and more fluently, and even raised her hand to make a strange hand gesture.
"As for that fake immortal master Zhang Fan, the Chanyu has even less to worry about!"
I will set up a Qimen Dunjia formation on the front lines to disrupt their morale and confuse them!
That fake immortal master is nothing but a clown jumping around in front of my array formation, not worth mentioning.
Ji Dan finished speaking in one breath. Although her forehead was covered with fine sweat under the mask, her posture remained as upright as a pine tree.
These words were all fabricated by him; there was no substantial tactic involved at all.
But when dealing with these grassland people who have low levels of education, the more incomprehensible something is, the more sophisticated it seems to them.
really.
"Metal and Water Mutual Generation", "Mars Guarding the Heart", "Qimen Dunjia"...
The Chanyu and the Xiongnu generals were completely stunned by the barrage of obscure and difficult vocabulary.
Although they didn't understand at all, they felt that the immortal master in front of them was indeed a learned man who could control even the celestial phenomena and the five elements on earth.
Upon hearing this, the Chanyu's eyes blazed with fervent passion.
"Excellent! Excellent! The Immortal Master's magical power is indeed boundless!"
The Chanyu cheered loudly, his earlier dejection vanishing, and strode back to the fire. "With these words from the immortal master, what do we, the Great Xiongnu, have to fear?"
The generals also stood up, their faces showing excitement.
"With the help of the immortal master's formation, the Qin army is doomed to defeat!"
"Let that fake immortal master Zhang Fan know the consequences of offending the Xiongnu!"
The atmosphere inside the tent instantly eased!
Xiang Liang stood aside, watching the happy Xiongnu people, a barely perceptible sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.
If the Xiongnu regain their confidence and are willing to risk their lives to delay the Qin army's advance, his plan will be more than half successful.