Chapter 416: A Swift, Decisive Battle

A good proposal?

The entire room remained silent. No one spoke. Tianyu Sect and Feng Lingbo had already known in advance about the imperial court's sudden mobilization and had discussed it among themselves. The only reason they were raising it now was to let Shang Chaozong's side hear the situation. Meilin Sheng and the other two commandery governors had already departed separately to lead their armies. Feng Lingbo himself had thought there was no need to tell Shang Chaozong's group. Peng Youzai had insisted. He wanted to hear Shang Chaozong's opinion.

More precisely, he wanted to hear Meng Shanming's. Whatever else could be said, Peng Youzai knew Meng Shanming's ability in war. There was no need to repeat the man's old achievements. Meng Shanming had fought battles large and small, and among everyone present he alone possessed experience commanding armies on this scale. If Feng Lingbo was left to command everything, even Peng Youzai himself lacked confidence. That made Feng Lingbo somewhat uncomfortable. After all, he was supposed to be the supreme commander of this campaign.

And the others were not fools. After everything Tianyu Sect had done, asking them for advice now—was Tianyu Sect not afraid they might deliberately lead it into a trap? Even so, Shang Chaozong, Lan Ruoting, and Meng Shanming all remained silent. The atmosphere became slightly awkward. In the end, Peng Youzai smiled and spoke first.

"Marshal Meng, you are a renowned general of your generation. Do you have any guidance for us?"

Meng Shanming replied, "Sect Leader Peng flatters me. If I were truly as capable as you say, how would I have ended up crippled in a wheelchair?"

Peng Youzai said, "Everyone knows how Marshal Meng was injured. It does nothing to diminish your reputation."

"When it comes to war, everyone here is your junior. Your experience and judgment are precious to them."

"If this battle is lost, none of us will benefit. Wouldn't you agree?"

A faint threat lay beneath the words. Meng Shanming remained composed.

"Whether the imperial court sends reinforcements or not, I have only one question. Are we fighting or not?"

Peng Youzai's expression turned solemn. "Things have already reached this point. The arrow is on the string and must be loosed."

He had no way to retreat. He had already persuaded the three major sects to loosen their grip. If Tianyu Sect backed down now, leaving aside whether the imperial forces might seize the opportunity to attack, the three major sects themselves would become disgusted with Tianyu Sect.

Were they being toyed with?

If Tianyu Sect could not bear the consequences, why had it jumped out in the first place?

Meng Shanming said, "Then fight."

His gaze slanted toward Feng Lingbo. The implication seemed obvious enough. Let Feng Lingbo command the battle. Peng Youzai simply asked the question directly.

"Marshal Meng, how do you think this war should be fought?"

Meng Shanming instead looked at Feng Lingbo.

"How does the Commander-in-Chief intend to fight it?"

Feng Lingbo drew a slow breath inward. Displaying his ability to direct a war in front of this man left him somewhat lacking in confidence. Even so, he turned around and motioned for his two sons to step aside. Standing before the hanging map, he pointed to it.

"Judging from the intelligence gathered from all sides, Zhou Shouxian has already deployed forces around Beiling Mountain. He intends to block our army there."

"We should send one force to make a feigned attack and draw in the enemy's main strength, while two more forces strike Beiling Mountain from the left and right flanks..."

Before he could finish, Meng Shanming waved impatiently.

"Does the Commander-in-Chief intend to fight a decisive battle with Zhou Shouxian around Beiling Mountain?"

Feng Lingbo nodded. "Correct. We draw in the enemy's main force and decide victory or defeat against Zhou Shouxian at Beiling Mountain."

"Distance favors us. Our troops will be rested and waiting while the enemy's main force will have rushed a long way to reinforce the position and arrive exhausted. We can defeat them in one stroke..."

Meng Shanming interrupted again.

"What if the enemy's main force never comes to reinforce Beiling Mountain?"

Feng Lingbo said, "Then we take the opportunity to destroy the troops at Beiling Mountain. Afterward, our army pushes through the mountain line and establishes itself with Beiling Mountain at its back. We can advance to attack or retreat to defend. If Zhou Shouxian refuses to reinforce the position, then he will be handing us the strategic ground at Beiling Mountain for nothing."

Meng Shanming asked, "And when does the Commander-in-Chief expect this war to end?"

Feng Lingbo replied, "How could the ending date be determined now?"

"So long as we win the first battle, our morale will soar. We can then exploit the momentum and continue operations according to changes in the battlefield. Marshal Meng has spent a lifetime in war. Can you determine in advance when this campaign will end?"

Peng Youzai and the others all looked toward Meng Shanming.

Meng Shanming said, "If I were Zhou Shouxian, you could fight your war while I fought mine. The Commander-in-Chief would not dare spread the flames of war into neighboring provinces. Doing so would create enemies on multiple fronts. Aside from Jinzhou, all the neighboring provinces are territories of Yan. That fact alone gives me room to maneuver. I could withdraw into a neighboring province, then strike anywhere along Nanzhou's long northern and southern borders. When you came after me, I would withdraw. Somewhere else, I would strike back in again. I would not need to defeat you in a head-on battle at all. Your resources for sustaining war are limited. A single Nanzhou cannot outlast the whole State of Yan. I would drag things out until you could no longer afford the war. Once your resources were exhausted, you would collapse without needing to be defeated in battle. Why would I take the risk of fighting you head-on when I could simply drag you to death?"

At those words, a chill ran down Peng Youzai's back. If Zhou Shouxian really fought that way, Tianyu Sect could not afford it. Merely being dragged back and forth like that could wear the strength of the five commanderies to collapse. When that happened, Tianyu Sect's dreams would become nothing but smoke. Peng Youzai hurriedly interjected.

"That would be Marshal Meng's method, but Zhou Shouxian is naturally no match for Marshal Meng. He may not think to fight in such a way."

Meng Shanming replied, "Zhou Shouxian climbed his way up through court politics. He was even willing to present his own daughter to the emperor."

"Does Sect Leader Peng truly think Zhou Shouxian is the sort of man who likes head-on confrontation?"

"The chance that he will concentrate all his forces here for a final battle is not high."

"If the fighting at Beiling Mountain turns against him, there is a much greater chance he will immediately flee."

"Wherever is safest, that is where he will go. Naturally, the neighboring provinces will be safest."

"Once he retreats into neighboring territory, he cannot admit he has been defeated, because then he will have no way to answer to the imperial court."

"Yet he also cannot stop fighting."

"At that point, I'm afraid he may have no choice but to fight exactly as I described, whether he originally wanted to or not."

Feng Lingbo's expression immediately turned awkward. The strategy he had carefully prepared suddenly seemed worthless. Several times he wanted to speak, yet he could find no convincing rebuttal. The key problem was that Meng Shanming's reasoning was entirely plausible. The possibility was genuinely high. The senior members of Tianyu Sect frowned. Their gazes drifted toward Feng Lingbo from time to time, plainly wondering whether the man was truly capable of commanding this war. A faint trace of mockery appeared at the corner of Shang Chaozong's mouth.

Shang Shuqing and Lan Ruoting, meanwhile, looked at Meng Shanming with unconcealed delight. Marshal Meng was still the Marshal Meng whose name had once shaken the realm. The treasured blade had not grown old. Peng Youzai cast a cold glance at Feng Lingbo, gloom already visible on his face. Inside, he was cursing furiously. This idiot had almost ruined everything. Good thing Peng Youzai had swallowed his pride and asked Meng Shanming. His expression then changed again.

Smiling, he asked humbly, "Marshal Meng, in your view, what is the best way to fight this campaign?"

Meng Shanming's eyes abruptly sharpened. He stared at the map and spoke with each word striking like iron.

"End it swiftly and decisively!"

Feng Lingbo immediately objected.

"Do you think I don't want a swift decision? If the situation refuses to resolve quickly, how exactly are we supposed to force it?"

Meng Shanming said, "The supreme commander of an army must first understand why the war is being fought and what the purpose of the campaign is. Only then can he formulate a clear strategy. We are not fighting Zhou Shouxian for the sake of fighting Zhou Shouxian. We are fighting to occupy Nanzhou. Do not become entangled with him. This war does not require repeated probing or back-and-forth exchanges."

"Concentrate superior forces and pursue Zhou Shouxian directly. Ignore every disturbance around us. We have only one target. Whatever the cost, keep striking Zhou Shouxian himself. Beat him until he suffers defeat after defeat. Beat him until all he can do is flee for his life. In short, never let him go."

"As long as we can produce that result, the morale of every force coming to reinforce him will collapse."

"If Zhou Shouxian escapes Nanzhou, immediately turn our forces back and intercept the reinforcements still inside Nanzhou. Catch them between our returning army and the troops pursuing from behind."

At Meng Shanming's gesture, Luo An pushed his wheelchair up to the map. Meng Shanming took the bamboo pointer from Feng Lingbo's hand and began indicating the positions of both sides' forces.

"So there is no need to spend time arranging some elegant formation before this war begins."

"We do not need perfect preparations, and we must not give the enemy time to make perfect preparations either."

"We can begin fighting in complete disorder if necessary."

"Send troops now."

"The faster, the better."

"First, mass heavy forces against a weak point in the enemy's forward line and blast open a breach."

"Then drive the army through it."

"Do not make capturing cities the objective."

"Abandon the baggage train."

"Ignore everything else and rush straight at Zhou Shouxian hiding behind the front..."

That very day, the entire Tianyu Sect rapidly relocated. The whole campaign command center moved forward with the army. Feng Lingbo remained the commander-in-chief in name. In reality, however, he became little more than the man who relayed military orders. Meng Shanming had become the true strategist directing the campaign. Every order issued thereafter followed his deployments... And so a strangely dramatic war began. Under Meng Shanming's direction, concentrated forces launched a sudden assault against a weak point in the enemy line and tore open a gap.

Elite troops then ignored everything else and charged straight toward Zhou Shouxian's headquarters. The forces following behind likewise abandoned their baggage train, lightened themselves, and hurried after them. They weren't even going to fight? The troops defending the six upper commanderies were baffled. Such an enormous enemy army had abandoned its baggage. They had even thrown away their logistical support. How were several hundred thousand soldiers supposed to eat and drink? Was this a war or a march to their deaths? Who fought a war like this?

But the direction of the five lower commanderies' attack was far too obvious. Zhou Shouxian quickly realized they were coming directly for him. He immediately mobilized forces to surround, intercept, and attack the invading army. The troops guarding the original defensive line no longer had any reason to remain there. There were practically no enemy troops left inside the five lower commanderies. The enemy had recklessly driven straight into their rear. What was the point of guarding the line any longer?

The defending army immediately turned around and shifted from defense to pursuit. Only after the pursuit began did the problem become obvious. The enemy was moving light and fast. The pursuing force, burdened with its baggage, could not catch up. They too had no choice but to abandon their supplies and chase.

Meanwhile, the elite strike force from the five lower commanderies, led by the Yingyang and Wulie Guards, refused to engage any blocking force that appeared ahead. They did not attack cities either. They bypassed everything. Each man had two mounts. After every detour, the direction remained unchanged. Straight toward Zhou Shouxian's headquarters.

That forced the troops trying to block them along the route to abandon their own baggage as well and rush back urgently to reinforce Zhou Shouxian. Then the main army from the five lower commanderies arrived behind them, moving light. It seized the supplies those defending troops had abandoned along the way. After replenishing itself, it took none of the captured baggage along. Instead, it set everything left behind ablaze on the spot.

The pursuing army from the six upper commanderies, the same troops that had originally been guarding the front line, eventually reached those positions and stopped dumbfounded. The enemy had replenished itself and could keep marching. All that remained for the pursuers was a field of ashes.

[End of Chapter 416]