Chapter 004: Undertaking the Task

The army of the Zheyun Kingdom that launched the surprise attack is certainly just a small contingent; even in the event of failure, it would not result in the complete annihilation of the entire force. However, if successful, it could lead to the total destruction of the opposing army. Indeed, both sides have calculated their strategies well.

In fact, everyone knows that such a plea for help, the interception of letters is a certainty

The army of the Liujin Kingdom has already retreated over 100 miles on the sand table. Why is the Zheyun Kingdom still sending people out to seek assistance? However, as Xie Xing observes the position of the Liujin Kingdom's army on the sand table, he seems to understand a bit; this next battle is likely to be the final one.

If even the opposing army has retreated and the Zheyun Kingdom is unaware, then the commander of the Zheyun Kingdom might as well buy a block of tofu to throw himself against it

In this way, Xie Xing understood what Niu Manshan meant by asking them to break through. If he was not mistaken, the route he was instructed to take for the breakout to seek assistance would certainly need to avoid the breach at Tongliu River, as this would confuse the enemy, making them believe that Zheyun Kingdom intended to encircle the reinforcements and capture the troops of Liujin Kingdom in one fell swoop

Moreover, this cannot be considered evenly matched; in fact, our forces seem to have maintained an advantage in the battles over the past month. Each time after the battle, the enemy has been pushed back several dozen miles. Although their losses are not significant, it is true that they have retreated considerably each time they camp.

Moreover, the soldiers of Zheyun Kingdom clearly have inferior physical fitness compared to their opponents. What reason do the opponents have to retreat?

However, the plan of the Liujin Kingdom has a significant flaw that confuses Xie Xing. Since the Zheyun Kingdom formulated this plan, it indicates that the Liujin Kingdom's army must be stationed in a narrow area, and all the troops must be in the basin; otherwise, there would only be empty camps, which the Zheyun Kingdom would certainly be aware of

If this is indeed the case, then Xie Xing must be certain that the soldiers of Zhe Yun Guo, waiting for the dam to break, are already under the surveillance of Liu Jin Guo, awaiting the moment when they will flood themselves.

However, Xie Xing quickly understood the intentions of his commander; this fellow was truly ruthless. Even if they could not seize the peak and could not contain the flood, their side had only three to five thousand men for a surprise attack, at most they would perish together with the enemy, while the enemy had nearly one hundred thousand. Moreover, the camp of the Zheyun Kingdom's army was situated at a high point, so even if the flood came, it would not be submerged.

Wang Hu and Ding Qiu saw that Xie Xing had already taken on this task, and they had nothing to say. They could only lower their heads and step forward to stand side by side with Xie Xing

The entire battle plan of both sides gradually became clear in Xie Xing's mind. The Zheyun Kingdom aimed to use the final battle to force the soldiers of the Liujin Kingdom into the basin, or rather, most of the soldiers of the Liujin Kingdom were already in the basin. Then, the Zheyun Kingdom would breach the dam and flood the Liujin Kingdom's army

At the same time, it can also confuse the opponent, allowing our elite soldiers to stealthily reach the point where the river needs to be breached.

To be more precise, it should be described as a standoff between the two armies, with our side having the advantage. Since it is a standoff and involves books, at the very least, it should be evenly matched. Why then seek to break out and request assistance? If this is meant to confuse the enemy, such a simple scheme would not only be apparent to the enemy but could likely be figured out by even a simpleton with a little thought

It is now August, and one can imagine that once the Zheyun Kingdom drives the Liujin Kingdom into the basin, what awaits is not a flood, but a great fire. Trapped in the narrow mountain passes, the army of the Zheyun Kingdom will be extinguished by a single blaze from the Liujin Kingdom in this confined area

Without saying anything, Xie Xing stood there in a daze, and none of the other soldiers who entered voluntarily expressed their willingness to take on this task

What Xie Xing can be more certain of is that the current garrison at the Liujin National Camp is definitely not composed of all the troops; in fact, most of the barracks are empty, just waiting for the main forces of Zheyun Nation to launch a surprise attack

Xie Xing was almost ready to curse out loud at this bastard officer from Zheyun Kingdom, who must have been raised on shit. After such a long battle between the two armies in this terrain, can it be that the others can't even think of this? Moreover, on what basis does Zheyun Kingdom assume it can seize the peak and block the pass?

However, it is clearly not the time to consider these matters. Instead, he is pondering why the higher-ups would send people like them, who have almost no chance, to break through and seek assistance. Moreover, judging by the deployment of the troops on the sand table, their own forces even seem to have the advantage.

Upon hearing Xie Xing's words, almost everyone looked at him as if he were an idiot; this fellow sold his life for just three silver coins from the Sanhe bookstore

However, since the army of Liujin State remains in the basin, it is indeed possible for Zheyun State to flood the entire army of Liujin State. If the army of Liujin State is aware of Zheyun State's plan, why would they leave such a significant flaw?

Niu Manshan noticed that everyone was silent, and his expression immediately darkened. He said coldly: "This time, each person will receive an advance reward of three silver coins, and our team only needs to form a group of five people; the rest will come from other camps"

The location of the Liujin Kingdom's garrison is a narrow strip of land; if one were to retreat further, it would lead entirely into a basin. The outer perimeter of the basin, several miles away, is the Tongliu River, which lies within the territory of the Zheyun Kingdom. However, this area has long been plagued by military turmoil, and human presence is virtually nonexistent. Although it belongs to the Zheyun Kingdom, the Tongliu River is jointly controlled by several nations.

Another more important purpose is to send them to their deaths. This time, the breakout must include a letter. To put it bluntly, this letter is intentionally meant for the people of the Liujin Kingdom. It is to let them know that the Zheyun Kingdom has gone out to seek assistance, and what their intentions are. Moreover, this letter will certainly be written in code to indicate that we have already considered the possibility of the letter being intercepted.

What surprised Xie Xing was that when he closed his eyes, the entire sand table was completely imprinted in his mind. Xie Xing was taken aback; when did his memory become so good?

Suddenly, Xie Xing recalled something. He thought of a remark made by the officer behind Niu Manshan just now, which was that compared to the impending great battle, this task was relatively easy. His implication was that a great battle was about to occur

Xie Xing has already realized that the commander of Zheyun Kingdom intends to force the army of Jinliu Kingdom into the basin through the final battle, breaking the dam to flood the opposing forces. It is conceivable that once the enemy's army is trapped in the vast waters, the army of Zheyun Kingdom only needs to seize the peaks on both sides and block the passes. This would result in a one-sided massacre

Niu Manshan was very pleased to see Xie Xi and immediately said: "Good, I like straightforward people like this. This time, the team leader for the task will be Xie Xi. You three can go back and prepare, and two others will come to report to you shortly." After saying this, Niu Manshan took out nine silver coins

Xie Xing immediately stepped forward joyfully to collect the silver coins, pulling Wang Hu and Ding Qiu as they quickly walked out of the camp

Xie Xing has served in the military for seven or eight years. While he may not be a top-tier staff officer, he has undoubtedly witnessed numerous famous battles throughout history, both domestic and foreign. How could such tricks possibly escape Xie Xing's notice

This is still a secondary concern; the primary issue is that the retreat route of the Zheyun Kingdom's army will certainly be taken into account by the Liujin Kingdom. It is possible that ambushes have already been set up at the locations where the Zheyun Kingdom is retreating, or, like the Zheyun Kingdom, they may have breached the other outlets of the Tongliu River.

Xie Xing inhaled sharply; if this is indeed the case, both sides' battle plans have vulnerabilities, but the flaws in Liu Jin and Tu Shu Kingdom are certainly fewer. Moreover, Xie Xing is certain that the army of Zhe Yun Kingdom believes that an attack by fire is impossible in the bare canyon, which is why they established the plan for a flood.

The Kingdom of Liujin is clearly aware of the plans of the Kingdom of Zheyun, yet it does not attempt to intercept the soldiers of Zheyun who are about to breach the dam. Instead, it waits for Zheyun's surprise attack, and then launches a fire assault against Zheyun's forces in the canyon, scattering Zheyun's army before releasing the water from the dam to flood the enemy. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Liujin will block the escape routes of Zheyun's army, ensuring the complete annihilation of Zheyun's forces.

After Niu Manshan finished speaking, Xie Xing immediately stepped forward with excitement and said: "Captain Niu, there really is a reward of three silver coins. Wang Hu, Ding Qiu, and I have accepted this task"

Moreover, this is not the end. It is believed that once the army of Zheyun Kingdom is attacked by fire, they will surely either flee forward or retreat backward. Regardless of whether they move forward or backward, Xie Xing is certain that what awaits them is the raging flood of the breached river. Furthermore, these soldiers breaching the dam are even from Zheyun Kingdom's own army.

It is clear that when the flood comes, nearly 100,000 troops cannot be evacuated all at once. If one were to say that the Liujin Kingdom is still unaware of the battle plans from the Zheyun Kingdom, Xie Xing would never believe it. Even the most foolish commander would not possibly station troops densely in a narrow area.

There is also a possibility that the soldiers of the current Zheyun Kingdom have already infiltrated several key points at the breach of the Tongliu River, just waiting for the dam to break

However, the commander on our side is clearly a bit too self-satisfied