Chapter 974 – War at the Northern Border (Part 11)
The Xu River is one of the leading rivers in the Northern Border region.
Near the Northern Border camp, the Xu River stretches wide over five li, which is roughly more than two thousand five hundred meters.
Jiang Pengji’s army is stationed on the eastern bank of the Xu River, while the Northern Border army is camped on the western bank, with both sides glaring at each other across the river.
Wu Libai suggested that Dai Wang take advantage of the fact that Jiang Pengji’s vanguard had just arrived and had not yet united with the main forces to make a forced river crossing for a surprise attack.
Halencha, however, offered a completely opposite recommendation, advocating for holding the position and not engaging in battle until the enemy’s momentum weakened and their soldiers grew tired.
The former argument had merits that sparked Dai Wang’s interest, while the latter was more cautious, leading Dai Wang to hesitate.
“Such a child isn’t worth consulting—”
Wu Libai stormed out of the command tent, his eyes filled with rage as though he might spit blood.
Why were the ambitious sons of the Northern Border King such cowards?
Halencha followed shortly after.
With a smirk, he remarked, “Congratulations in advance, General Wu Libai. It seems the King will heed your advice…”
Wu Libai clenched his fists, resisting the urge to punch Halencha in the face; this old fellow had a penchant for speaking in such a sneaky tone.
“The Liu Thief is no ordinary foe, surrounded by countless strategists. Losing such a battle opportunity… After an hour, if the King agrees to switch from defense to attack, I’m afraid the Liu Thief will have already prepared a countermeasure.” The battlefield was ever-changing; missing this chance could mean defeat.
Jiang Pengji led the vanguard to the eastern bank of the Xu River, with just over thirty thousand troops—an easily bulgable meal.
The thirty-thousand-strong vanguard had been drained by the long journey, being at their weakest combat capacity right now.
If his advice had been adopted earlier, they might have been able to cross the river for a surprise attack under the fog of dawn.
But now?
Wait another hour?
Even if Dai Wang agreed and moved the forces to cross, it would still take at least an hour; two hours might even be more realistic.
By then, the river’s fog would have completely dissipated, and a surprise attack?
It’d just be handing out moving meat targets!
Haha, the other side could leisurely enjoy a picnic breakfast and take a nap, lining up their formation to greet the enemy, a surprise attack? What a joke!
Wu Libai fought to suppress his urge to spit blood—
Damn it, these clueless ‘teammates’ really are a burden!
Even if he were fully geared-up, he still couldn’t carry them!
An hour was an hour, not a second more or less.
Dai Wang’s indecision wasted an entire hour before he finally resolved to adopt Wu Libai’s suggestion and cross the river for a surprise attack!
In response, Wu Libai could only smile on the surface—ha ha, while inside he was cursing.
If Wu Libai’s opponent were someone else, there might still be time.
Unfortunately, Jiang Pengji was his opponent, and each of her strategists was a brilliant mastermind.
Looking around him, he found nothing but useless teammates.
Looking at the opponent, all he saw were top-notch rivals.
“The opportunity has been missed; we’ll have to wait for nightfall—” Wu Libai held back a lump in his throat, trying hard to keep his cool. Otherwise, he might grab Dai Wang by the shoulders and spit that lump right in his face. “The fog on the river has cleared; a surprise attack would have little effect.”
On the eastern bank of the Xu River, at the Liu Clan’s camp.
Jiang Pengji was spreading out mats for a picnic with several strategists while Feng Zhen happily sipped on some wine.
“Zai Dao’s insights are truly remarkable; they haven’t crossed the river for a surprise attack after all—”
At first, they observed signs of troop movement from the opposing camp, but it later fell silent, indicating they had given up on crossing.
Tsk, that made him nervous for quite a while.
Sun Wen observed the scene with a straight face, forcing down his twitching eyebrows, “If Wu Libai were the commander, without the King taking to the field himself, or if he delegated authority to Wu Libai, I’m afraid the Northern Border troops would have already crossed for over an hour.”
If that were the case, how could they still be here eating breakfast by the water?
“The reality, however, is that the Northern Border King has taken to the field, and the commander is still Wu Libai’s political enemy—I’m done, this is making me laugh until my stomach hurts—”
Feng Zhen chuckled, nearly choking on his drink; he couldn’t stop himself—
Wu Libai, this Northern Border strategist was so pitiful.
If Wu Libai could take the chance to cross the river for a surprise attack, even if the soldiers were prepared, they might be caught off guard.
Not that it would lead to total annihilation, but suffering some minor losses would be inevitable.
Don’t think small losses are nothing; if the two main forces hadn’t clashed yet, suffering some minor losses would lower the army’s morale by a huge margin.
Sun Wen had been a double agent in the Northern Border and had studied the personalities of the key figures thoroughly.
No matter how capable Wu Libai was, encountering a bunch of fools who only dragged him down with their arrogance would surely land him in deep trouble.
“Regardless of victory or defeat, let’s remain humble. Moreover, we haven’t won yet; it’s not time to be arrogant.” Jiang Pengji reprimanded Feng Zhen to keep him grounded. Calmly, she added, “We missed this opportunity today, but there will be another one tonight; stay alert.”
If they didn’t launch a surprise attack tonight, hmm hmm hmm—let’s not talk about Feng Zhen, she also felt sorry for Wu Libai.
Jiang Pengji squinted her eyes and smiled, “By the way, how are Zixiao and the others doing?”
Feng Zhen adjusted his demeanor, his gaze glimmering with excitement.
“The Lord, please allow the go-ahead; the timing is just right—”
“If wisdom isn’t applicable, then we will conquer by force.” Jiang Pengji stated, “Tonight, let’s teach the Northern Border a lesson on how to fight!”
If wisdom isn’t applicable, then conquer by force? Teach the Northern Border how to fight?
When it comes to arrogance, probably no one was more arrogant than this Lord.
Sun Wen thought to himself quietly.
Jiang Pengji didn’t like to dawdle in battles; her defining feature was her swift pace.
If her army had been average troops, such rapid tempo might lead to a disjointed battle sequence, becoming a liability instead.
But things were different now; her soldiers were elite ones, honed through years of painstaking training. Their daily routine was nothing but training, a refined force indeed.
To put it in the audience’s terms, even if they were placed among the Huaxia military, their average standard would still be above average.
To Jiang Pengji, they were still a bunch of rookies, but to this era, they were a shocking, formidable army!
After years of hiding their strength and honing their skills, they were finally ready to shine in battle today!
Jiang Pengji led her thirty-thousand vanguard to the battlefield, and according to the usual logic, the remaining main force should take another three to four days to arrive.
The vanguard was mostly cavalry, fast and highly mobile.
The main force, primarily infantry and logistics, moved much slower.
Little did they know—Jiang Pengji was not one to play by the rules.
At the ugly right moment.
The Xu Lake lay dark and still, thin fog rising, both banks shrouded in a heavy nightfall.
Right now was the period when people were deepest in slumber and least alert.
Jiang Pengji sat at the main camp tent, her eyes closed as if napping, while the audience in the livestream chatted idly, dreaming of the future.
【Long Star Falls Moon】: If the streamer becomes the unifying Empress of the world, will today’s battle be written in history?
【Kakara】: Definitely! This is the Northern Border’s Xu River; who knows, it might be the famous Battle of Xu River?
【Little Thief Unmatched】: Battle of Xu River? Nah, that name sounds way too lazy!
The audience chatted away with no particular flow, when outside the tent, the voice of vanguard officer Li Yun echoed.
“My Lord, the mist on the river has thickened—”
