Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The Dragon King returned with only Liman and Han Fen behind him. There was not a single soldier of the Naihang Tribe, nor any distant sound of clapping horse hoofs.
Disappointment could be clearly seen on the faces of the soldiers. They were not cowards, but they felt that they suffered a heavy loss. They had been expecting the 100,000 cavalrymen of the Naihang Tribe to show up, but their absence was foreboding.
"200,000!" a veteran yelled loudly.
Gu Shenwei reined his horse back.
"Luoluo has 200,000 men and they'll be here in seven or eight days," the veteran explained. During the Dragon King's absence, the news had become more accurate and detailed as more information came in.
"What should we do?" the soldiers asked all at once. They had heard that the counselor and the young king had convinced all the generals to fight, and now, everybody was waiting for the Dragon King's decision.
"We fight," Gu Shenwei uttered, enunciating the words one by one.
There was total silence at the camp gate. n.o.body opposed his decision, but n.o.body cheered either.
Liman then loudly declared, "The 100,000 cavalrymen of the Naihang Tribe is advancing eastwards. If we don't act soon, we'll be left behind."
"The Dragon King got the Naihang Tribe back?" a soldier asked excitedly.
"The Naihang Tribe will be our vanguards, and they'll hold Luoluo's army back," replied Gu Shenwei.
The air was filled with cheers. Before Gu Shenwei reached the main tent, the message had already spread through the whole army camp and it had turned into a simplified version with just a few words: The Naihang Tribe is in.
Shulitu and Fang Wens.h.i.+ took the lead, and all of the generals followed them along in standing outside the tent to welcome the Dragon King back. As they all stared at him with an intent look, Gu Shenwei said from horseback, "General Zhe Su and his men have already departed for Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s. Today, Shulitu's army will rest and reorganize. We set out tomorrow morning. Long Fanyun, go to the Xiaowan Kingdom and order the 20,000 members of the Dragon Army to come and join our main force right away."
There was no need to even ask what the Dragon King's decision was. Originally, some generals had been prepared to try to reason with the Dragon King about why they should retreat. But when faced with the man himself, none of them took the lead, and after a certain amount of time had pa.s.sed, they found that any objections would now be inopportune.
"Prepare for war!" Fang Wens.h.i.+ shouted, breaking the silence of the generals. "Everybody, prepare for war!"
All the generals followed the order. The issue that they had previously argued so intensely about had become insignificant under the Dragon King's presence. This scene was engraved into Duodun's mind and he finally began to understand why the Second Consort valued the Dragon King so greatly.
"Azheba," Duodun yelled, gathering the crowd's attention before they scattered. "Return to Heaven's Pa.s.s immediately. Order 10,000 of the troops to stay and hold the fort, and for the other 60,000 come here as soon as possible. Order Mo Chu to command the army himself."
"Yes." Azheba remounted his horse and left the camp just a short while later than Long Fanyun.
The confidence of the entire army was drastically boosted. With their army almost 300,000 strong, they would have absolute numerical superiority and victory would be certain. In their eyes, Luoluo had turned from a formidable enemy into a dumba.s.s who was sending them a free victory as a gift.
But in the tent, when the Dragon King, Fang Wens.h.i.+, Shulitu, Duodun and Liman were the only ones present, Luoluo was still "formidable."
Duodun didn't trust people easily, and he was the first to ask, "Is the Naihang Tribe really going to fight Luoluo?"
Gu Shenwei didn't speak and let Liman to answer this question.
"The Naihang Tribe went to go negotiate with Luoluo," Liman revealed.
Duodun's heart immediately sank and he looked at Liman with a severe look. If he knew this, he might not have mobilized his army in Heaven's Pa.s.s.
Liman hurriedly explained, "My father won't ally with Luoluo right away. He'll negotiate with him first, and then stand by and watch us fight. Whoever gains the upper hand will also gain his support."
This was just slightly better than betrayal. Their 300,000 troops had been reduced to 180,000 motley soldiers, and now Luoluo's troops clearly outnumbered them.
Duodun said nothing else. Now that he had given the order, he had no choice but to fight. Yet he had to keep his 60,000 cavalrymen as healthy as possible, no matter the cost.
"We have to fight this war. If the battle doesn't take place north of Heavenly Mountain, Luoluo will no doubt go through Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s and then attack Heaven's Pa.s.s from both the front and the back."
"I have already explained it to the troops," Fang Wens.h.i.+ said impa.s.sively. When he realized that his previous impromptu idea had converged with that of the Dragon King, he felt very self-satisfied.
Gu Shenwei took the hint and changed topics immediately. "Luoluo has come a long way and he doesn't have enough provisions and livestock to take a protracted engagement. I expect that he will have to retreat before winter sets in."
"We can just confront him without fighting him," Fang Wens.h.i.+ advised. "Not only will this cause the enemy's deployment to fall into disarrangement, but it will also enhance our own troops' morale."
Liman nodded to show his approval, but it was mainly to convince Prince Duodun. "The Naihang Tribe has changed the direction of their march after meeting with the Dragon King. When Luoluo learns of this, he probably won't agree to my father's negotiation request. So, in his eyes, we will still have 300,000 men at our disposal. This is also another piece of leverage that we can use."
Duodun's army had been combined together with Shulitu's. If he lost this army, he would never have enough strength to contend for the throne, so he weighed his options for a while before saying, "All right. Then let's face him head on. But our army lacks a unified command network, so I suggest selecting a Commander-in-chief first."
"The Dragon King's our best choice," Fang Wens.h.i.+ immediately made his recommendation.
Duodun smiled and replied, "Has the Dragon King ever been in command of such a large army? It's not just an army of thousands, much less a saber or a sword. And of course, Shulitu and I are not qualified either."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ was just about to rebut Duodun when Gu Shenwei stopped him. "Prince Duodun's right. We need a true leader. Do you two princes have any recommendations?"
To be on the safe side, Shulitu didn't answer. But Duodun merely thought for a while before saying, "There's no need to hurry. Maybe we should hold a meeting and consult the generals as well."
"Tomorrow night, then." Gu Shenwei didn't want to make a rash decision either. "We'll select a Commander-in-chief after setting camp."
Things went well, but as soon as Duodun and Liman left the tent, Fang Wens.h.i.+ immediately said, "Duodun still has designs on the crown. We can't give the position of Commander-in-chief to anyone from his side."
Shulitu certainly understood this. "I think that Duodun's probably going to recommend Liman. He is Zhe Su's son, and has served King Rizhu and fought a lot of wars for him. Besides his young age, he has every qualification to be the Commander-in-chief of this unified army."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ shook his head repeatedly. "Exactly whose side is Liman on? I don't even know whether I should oppose him or not."
"Liman's loyal to Duodun," said Gu Shenwei with certainty. He had never doubted this and queried, "Do you have any recommendations, Your Highness?"
Shulitu had been considering this for a long time, "There're several excellent generals in my army, but none of them can compare to Liman. Alas, if only the Court Attendants Army…"
Most of the generals in the Court Attendants Army had been through numerous battles, but most of them had died during the mutiny.
"I have a recommendation, but he's not a Norlander," Gu Shenwei said.
"Who? Are you referring to the General of the Right, Shang Liao? He's even more inexperienced at commanding a large army." Fang Wens.h.i.+ raised an objection before the Dragon King even named his recommendation.
"Dugu Xian." In Gu Shenwei's eyes, only this man was qualified to be the Commander-in-chief.
Shulitu faintly recalled the name of Dugu Xian, but he didn't say anything. Fang Wens.h.i.+ was very surprised. "Of course Dugu Xian's qualified, but he's at Xiaoyao Lake right now and is too far away to help us out. It will take him more than a month to arrive, and the war will already be over by then."
"General Dugu arrives tomorrow." Gu Shenwei had made preparations well in advance. Back when he had been leading the 10,000 Norland cavalrymen back to the Western Regions, he had already sent someone to Xiaoyao Lake to invite General Dugu here. "He's currently hiding in Heaven's Pa.s.s. Tie Linglong will bring him here tomorrow."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ stood there shocked speechless for a second, and then burst into laughter. "It turns out that the Dragon King has G.o.dlike foresight and even antic.i.p.ated that Luoluo would come back and attack us."
"I didn't antic.i.p.ate Luoluo's move. Originally, I had planned to give General Dugu some more time to become more familiar with the army before appointing him as the Commander-in-chief next year. But now I've been forced to do that ahead of schedule."
Because of the young king's presence, Fang Wens.h.i.+ didn't ask any more questions about the plans.
Shulitu knew that he was just a puppet and that "young king" would become merely a fancy t.i.tle when Dugu Xian arrived. But he had already gotten used to this destiny. "Do you think that General Dugu can compete with Liman?"
Dugu Xian was a very experienced service man and he used to serve among the Norland troops. However, he had never been a senior officer.
"I have faith in him. With regards to how General Dugu can acquire the unified army's recognition, I'll figure something out."
"Let's think together," Shulitu said, trying to seize the initiative as a puppet.
The three were consulting with each other when Red Bat requested permission to come in. She brought news that was both unexpected and expected. "the Second Consort wants to meet with the Dragon King. She's very anxious and she's in Instructor's tent right now…"
"I'll go there later," said Gu Shenwei.
Fang Wens.h.i.+ curled his lips. "This could be tricky. Zhe Su didn't kill Duo Ercha, did he?"
"He didn't." Gu Shenwei stood up. "There might be some people in our troops who know Dugu Xian. See if we can find them. He's from the Xiaowan Kingdom and used to serve in the Norland army."
The Second Consort was wearing an exquisite hat to cover the bald patch on her head that had been created by Duo Ercha. When she saw the Dragon King come in, she stood up and nodded blandly. "I'm very grateful that you could spare some of your time and come here in such busy circ.u.mstances, Dragon King."
Standing to the side with a fairly embarra.s.sed look on her face, Shangguan Ru smiled at Gu Shenwei.
"That's very kind of you to say, Second Consort."
"Alas, what kind of Second Consort am I? I'm powerless and vulnerable, and I can do nothing but swallow my protests after being publicly humiliated."
"Zhe Su said that he will give you a proper explanation sooner or later."
"Yes, that's exactly what I need — a proper explanation. From now on, anybody can just give me a proper explanation after bullying me."
"I'm sorry that you see it this way, Second Consort."
"Hha, you're so kind, Dragon King, but please give me my 10,000 cavalrymen back. I'm so scared, and I don't feel safe anywhere. I need their protection."
Among Shulitu's troops, 10,000 of them had originally belonged to the Second Consort, and she emphasized at that time that she was just "lending" these soldiers to him. Specifically, that she had the right to recall them any time.
"You shall have them back before dark, Second Consort."
"I'm grateful," the Second Consort answered politely and stood up, planning to leave. But she was still a little uncertain about Gu Shenwei's veracity since he had made the promise so quickly. So to ease her mind, she added, "I hope that you won't misunderstand, Dragon King. These 10,000 men are solely under my command, and I won't hand them over to anybody else, not even Duodun. Besides, I'll be with the allied forces and take part in the final showdown. I might even want to expand my army if by any chance I manage to make some contributions."
"Your cavalry will be an important ally to Shulitu's army. Both of us are very grateful to you for your support."
The Second Consort laughed in response and left the tent.
"What is she doing?" Shangguan Ru had been listening, but hadn't spotted any clues in their friendly and polite conversation.
"Her 10,000 men being independent of others' control means that she has a say in the army from now on, which is exactly what Duodun desperately needed."
Understanding dawned on Shangguan Ru as she exclaimed, "So that's what this was about. I should've a.s.sembled my 1,000 female soldiers in the Land of Fragrance. In that case I would've had a say in the allied forces as well, right?"
Gu Shenwei mulled it over. Bu then, Shangguan Ru burst into laughter just as the Second Consort had earlier. "I'm just kidding. Outsiders will never have a say among Norlanders, except for you."
This was probably the only woman who dared to "joke" with the Dragon King, and Gu Shenwei was unexpectedly not annoyed at all. "True. Why would the Norlanders allow an outsider to command the army?"
He was still thinking about Dugu Xian, and he had finally through of an ide
