Chapter 356 - - 354 Duge’s Strategic Layout_1

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Linyang City.

Luo Shuang sat in the chief seat.

A gathering of people.

Cao Lin looked down at the map, his stick pointing to a location on it, “Princess, Imperial Master, Lin Qing’s army of three hundred thousand is resting in Luan Ridge and is expected to reach Linyang City in five days. I believe Lin Qing will divide his forces into three routes, with two attacking Linjiang and Jiangbei respectively, and the main force moving against Linyang. Once we divide our troops, we will surely be unable to look after both ends.

Even if we assemble our forces in one place, we do not have sufficient strength to resist Lin Qing’s three hundred thousand troops. After all, we must dispatch at least fifty thousand soldiers to guard East Ridge Pass to prevent the Qingwu Country from seizing the opportunity to attack and creating a pincer attack with Lin Qing…”

“General Cao is familiar with Chongming Country, do you know how many Grandmasters there are in Lin Qing’s army?” Luo Shuang asked.

Under Duge’s stern guidance, she had shed her childishness and begun to show the makings of a queen, at least in front of others.

When alone with Duge, however, she occasionally made mistakes for Duge to ‘hammer’ his traits.

That day, when Huangfu Yue returned from Linjiang and told her that Duge had not awakened any skills, she took the matter to heart, making mistakes in various ways to have Duge’s Hit King Whip strike her as often as possible.

She even hinted several times to Duge that the Imperial Master could use water torture on her, just as he had done with Huangfu Yue.

But Duge, true to his duty, was unmoved. To punish the princess with the Hit King Whip was to train with derivative items. To actually use the Seven-Hole Touch on the princess would be an outright act of insubordination, and his loyal traits would soon be completely depleted. Therefore, facing the princess who was actively offering herself, all he could do was say, “Princess, please conduct yourself with dignity.”

However.

In recent days.

When Duge used the Hit King Whip on the princess, she would involuntarily emit some strange sounds, causing him to suspect that the princess might, under his influence, have awakened some special predilections.

If this trend continues.

Duge seriously suspected that one day, if the Hit King Whip truly evolved into a derivative item, it might produce some strange effects!

“Three to four,” Cao Lin contemplated for a moment before replying, “Grandmasters each have the ability to take on ten thousand enemies, so when it’s clear that the enemy has Grandmasters in their ranks, the court would summon wandering Grandmasters to join the army to contend with those of the opposition. As long as we can hold off the enemy’s Grandmasters, the rest comes down to soldier versus soldier, general versus general. On our side, we have me, the State Preceptor, and the Imperial Master—three Grandmasters. Hence, in Lin Qing’s army, there would also be at least three to four Grandmasters.”

“Three hundred thousand against eighty thousand, and they also have Grandmasters…” Luo Shuang frowned slightly and turned to Duge, “Master, do you have any effective strategies against the enemy?”

“If we can’t win head-on, then we’ll engage in guerrilla warfare with them!” Duge’s finger slid across several major rivers running through Chongming Country, “The mobility of three hundred thousand people surely can’t outdo thirty thousand! If General Cao Lin was able to lead thirty thousand men on a forced march here, we could replicate General Cao’s tactics, utilizing the crisscrossing waterways to harass and attack all the important towns in Chongming Country.

Drag Lin Qing into exhaustion, forcing him either to divide his forces for defense or to chase after us back and forth. Perhaps his army of three hundred thousand will collapse under its own weight. Moreover, hasn’t Dachu Country deployed troops? Even if the Chu army is targeting us, Emperor Chongming probably won’t feel comfortable with thirty thousand Chu soldiers roaming around Chongming Country, right!”

After becoming a Grandmaster, Duge’s heart, which was always restless, could never settle down. Why should he wait passively for others to attack when he had always been the one to strike?

“The Imperial Master’s strategy is indeed good,” Cao Lin glanced at Duge before speaking, “But if we adopt elite guerrilla tactics, Lin Qing just needs to recapture Linyang City and the three passes, and we will truly become outlaws and will eventually be eroded away bit by bit. After all, we have a total of one hundred and thirty thousand troops, and of those, at most thirty thousand are able to conduct long-distance raids. The remaining one hundred thousand, without the help of Grandmasters, won’t be able to hold the three passes and Linyang City.”

Duge turned to look at Wei Tingjiang.

Wei Tingjiang shook his head, “Without the assistance of Grandmasters, with my own strength, indeed I cannot hold. Besides, the Fourth Princess’s original intention is to compete for the world; to lose a territory as soon as we gain one, we can never truly develop it.”

“So according to you, in this battle we can only brace ourselves and stand firm, a sure defeat, is that it?” Duge sneered.

Everyone fell silent.

“You have forgotten one principle: from the beginning to the end, the one who fears loss is not us, but Emperor Chongming.” Duge extended his hand towards the position of the Capital City, “As long as we attack where the enemy must rescue, Lin Qing will never have enough time to assault Linyang City. He dares not let us raid the Capital City…”

“Imperial Master, are we going to attack the Capital City?” Huangfu Xing frowned and said.

“Not necessarily attack, nor necessarily not attack.” Duge smiled, “It all depends on timing. It’s much better than sitting in Linyang City waiting to die.”

“The Capital City has a standing guard of two hundred thousand soldiers; thirty thousand men won’t be able to take it down,” the State Preceptor said.

Duge’s finger traced over several strategic towns on the map, saying, “As long as we take these cities, Emperor Chongming won’t be able to sit still. To encircle us, they’ll have to commit even more troops. If we make a few more detours, the Capital City might just be left open.”

“Imperial Master, if we do this, Chongming Country is bound to suffer terribly,” Huangfu Xing’s brow furrowed tighter as he mustered his courage. “You promised me that after thwarting Fourth Prince’s schemes, we would divert our battle to Qingwu Country. I think that currently we should abandon Linyang City and the three passes, and rise to counterattack Qingwu Country. Lin Qing’s army of three hundred thousand, however strong, will not be able to pursue us to Qingwu Country, and Qingwu Country will also not expect us to suddenly change the battlefield…”

Luo Shuang’s eyes lit up, “Master, I think what General Huangfu is saying makes sense. Instead of going around in circles with Lin Qing here, we should really fight our way back to Qingwu Country…”

Duge glanced at her, “Firstly, we don’t have enough provisions; secondly, the journey is too far. By the time we fight our way to Longqing Pass, Duke Dingguo would have gathered hundreds of thousands of troops there. By then, we wouldn’t even have Linyang City anymore.”

Luo Shuang reflexively wanted to reach out her hand, but just as she did, she subconsciously retracted it, worried that in front of the civil and military officials, if her master struck her with a Hit King Whip, and she made strange noises, the queen would never be able to command respect again.

“All of you are generals, you should understand that there are never foolproof strategies in battle. If there is a thirty percent chance of victory, that is enough. And when I formulated this plan, that thirty percent assurance had already evolved into one hundred percent. So, we will definitely win,” Duge looked around the room and smiled.

“Imperial Master, just now, you said that there are no foolproof strategies on the battlefield,” Huangfu Xing, uncertain of Duge’s confidence, reflexively retorted.

“General Huangfu, you must trust the State Preceptor’s vision,” Duge grinned. “General, as long as the Heavenly Demon exists in this world, the chaos will never cease. Only when one—be it us, Emperor Chongming, Great Chu, or the North Sea—dominates the world with an absolute advantage, can people truly find peace. The Fourth Princess becoming the ultimate winner is the best outcome for everyone.”

“Why?” asked Huangfu Xing.

“Destiny,” Duge glanced at the State Preceptor behind him and said, “Because I won’t die. As long as I live, the chaos will never end…”

So, you’re the real source of chaos!

As Huangfu Xing and the others watched Duge, they suddenly fell silent.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Duge chuckled. “I’m just making an analogy. Even if I died, other Heavenly Demons would continue their strife until only one remains. So, gentlemen, you better hope I win, because I am the best for the common folk. Most importantly, once your names as the ‘Sky Gang Land Killing’ are known, you are already tied to me…”

The crowd exchanged looks, again falling into an unspoken silence.

“General Wei, General Huangfu, General Gao, General Gou. I’ll leave ninety thousand troops for the four of you to defend Linyang City and the three passes. In the meantime, my ‘Linyang Daily Newspaper’ will not cease publication, and you need not worry about what is released in the paper. In your spare time, push the culture of astrology throughout the year, then, forcibly compel everyone to practice. In the next few days, this can increase the fighting capacity of the troops to a new level,” Duge commanded, his eyes scanning the few people inside the hall, issuing an order for the forced promotion of astrology.

With the examples of Huangfu Yue and Luo Shuang before them, Huangfu Xing and the others had to believe in the miraculous nature of astrology, and on the battlefield, they were not in control. Since their suggestions were not adopted, all that was left was to follow orders.

After all, a soldier’s duty is to obey.

Duge swept past them, looking at the State Preceptor, Cao Lin, Huangfu Yue, Zhang Yizhi, Wu Chang, and others, his finger pointed towards a major city closest to Jiangbei, “The rest of you, reorganize the troops. Tomorrow morning, we will join forces with Linjiang, Jiangbei’s Earth Tease Army and Earth Alien Army, and set out for Gui City.”

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