Chapter 870: The Trap

Niu Youdao did not stand on ceremony.

He took down the hanging map, rolled it into a scroll, and held it in one hand.

As he passed Shang Chaozong on the way out, he raised a hand and patted the Prince's shoulder.

"Your Highness, what happened has already happened. Anxiety won't change it. Keep yourself steady."

Pain showed on Shang Chaozong's face.

"This Prince cannot pretend to feel nothing."

"I understand. But the army cannot be allowed to lose control."

Niu Youdao turned his head toward Meng Shanming.

"His Highness's mind is unsettled. Marshal Meng, you'll need to take extra care of the army for him."

Meng Shanming nodded.

"It is my duty."

"Good. I'm leaving. The moment word arrives, tell me."

Niu Youdao tossed the rolled map to Guan Fangyi, then departed with his sword planted like a walking stick.

Guan Fangyi followed him.

The moment they returned to his tent, Niu Youdao gestured for Guan Fangyi to unroll the map and hang it up.

After hanging it, Guan Fangyi asked, "Master Dao, have you already thought of a way?"

Niu Youdao sighed.

"Under circumstances like these, how could a solution appear merely because I want one?"

"At least we've confirmed where the Commandery Princess and young prince are. Now we have a direction and don't need to grope around blindly."

He said nothing more.

Standing before the map, he studied the terrain in silence.

Guan Fangyi paced slowly around the tent and did not disturb him further.

She knew he was thinking through possible methods.

Roughly half an hour later, the familiar sound of wheelchair wheels came from outside.

Meng Shanming had arrived.

The moment he entered, he said, "Master Dao, Lan Ruoting's report has arrived."

He offered a decoded secret letter with both hands.

"Oh?"

Niu Youdao quickly took it, opened it, and read while Meng Shanming watched his expression.

After finishing, Niu Youdao seemed to let out a breath of relief.

"Looks like I was overthinking it."

In the letter, Lan Ruoting explained that according to his own investigation, there should not have been any internal problem.

Afterward, he had learned the full situation from Feng Ruonan.

It appeared the accident had been caused by the baby's crying inside the underground passage. Without that, the key people should already have escaped safely.

Most importantly, the Supreme Elder of Xiaoyao Palace stationed at the residence had indeed been killed.

Lan Ruoting could confirm that with absolute certainty. There was no possibility of deception.

In addition, the Supreme Elder of Dachan Mountain had also been killed on the spot.

With that, Niu Youdao confirmed that his suspicions had gone too far.

Even if Yan's three great sects wanted to play some trick against him, at present they would not go so far as to use the lives of their own venerable elders as pawns.

Guan Fangyi took the letter from his hand and read it.

Meng Shanming asked, "What do we do next?"

That was also the reason he had come personally.

There were certain things Shang Chaozong could not conveniently say.

"Marshal Meng came at the right time." Niu Youdao walked back to the map. "You know the enemy's disposition well. I was just about to ask your advice."

He pointed toward one marked location.

"Is this the position of the enemy's central command?"

Meng Shanming raised one hand in indication.

Luo Da'an immediately pushed his wheelchair in front of the map.

"Correct. That's exactly where the enemy's central command is."

Niu Youdao rubbed his chin and murmured, "Then the Commandery Princess and the young prince are very likely at this position."

He then pointed toward a nearby lake.

"I noticed a lake on the map in the central command tent, which is why I borrowed this copy to study it."

"Judging from the map, this lake is about one or two li from Zhao's central command tent. Is that correct?"

Maps of this era were not especially standardized. They were comparatively abstract.

Certain details had to be confirmed directly.

Meng Shanming replied, "Correct. It's about two li to the lakeshore."

"This lake looks rather large. Marshal Meng, please explain its details to me."

"Good!"

Meng Shanming held out a hand for Luo Da'an's sword.

Using the blade as a pointer, he began carefully explaining the lake and surrounding terrain.

He knew Niu Youdao had suddenly asked about this lake for a reason, so he did not dare be careless.

"The lake is roughly fifty li long and about thirty li across at its widest point. It is the enemy's main water source."

"The Zhao army fears having its water cut off. Because the lake covers such a large area, any poison thrown into it would be diluted enough that poisoning is not a major concern. Its stored water is also sufficient to supply several million Zhao troops."

"That is why the Zhao army deliberately chose to camp around this lake."

"Our army controls the key routes around them. Once Zhao's forces were compressed into this region, they spread themselves around the entire lake."

"They either burned the surrounding forests or cut down enormous numbers of trees and turned them into wooden rafts, using the lake itself to create a natural inner defensive line."

"Pang Teng's arrangement has caused our army considerable difficulty."

"To keep them surrounded, our forces have had to spread the encirclement over an enormous area, which makes it difficult to concentrate superior strength and strike at a single point."

"If we concentrate superior forces and try to crush one section, the enemy can immediately board the wooden rafts and withdraw onto the lake."

"Troops on every side can do the same."

"Because all the nearby trees have been destroyed, our army cannot quickly construct rafts and pursue them. We can only watch."

"But once Zhao's forces are on the lake, they can land again at any point around its entire circumference."

"Our army cannot simply keep every man standing on the lakeshore."

"If we spread ourselves around the whole lake, then we can no longer create superior strength at one point. Instead, the enemy can concentrate superior strength at a chosen location and break out in full force."

"By the time our troops march around the lake and concentrate there to intercept them, it will already be too late."

Niu Youdao rubbed his chin.

"So war can actually be fought this way?"

"Looks like Pang Teng does have some ability."

"Since he already has this terrain to rely on, why did he still become desperate enough to raid the Prince's residence and seize hostages?"

Meng Shanming replied, "Because we've already cut off their logistical supply."

"Even relying on this natural stronghold, they cannot hold out forever."

"At most, they can last another three months."

"Pang Teng's arrangement has advantages, but it also has disadvantages."

"His army is scattered."

"So long as we have enough patience, respond calmly, and refuse to make reckless moves, he has no way to gather his forces quickly enough to break out."

"Nor can he wait until his food is completely exhausted before thinking of a solution."

"Once they break through, if they have no provisions left in hand, they won't get far."

Niu Youdao stared thoughtfully at the map.

"In other words, if Zhao's army relies on this terrain and simply drags matters out, they can still defend for another two or three months."

Meng Shanming shook his head.

"No!"

"At first, I did not expect Song to undergo that kind of upheaval."

"At the time, the war in Song was going badly. Great Yan's internal defenses were hollow, and I worried that once Han destroyed Song it might threaten Yan."

"So I never intended to drag matters out against Zhao."

"From the beginning, I prepared for a quick and decisive battle."

"Give me another ten days, and I am confident that in one battle I can annihilate the last several million troops Zhao has left!"

Niu Youdao and Guan Fangyi looked at one another in startled disbelief.

Annihilate several million troops in one battle within ten days?

Even several million pigs would not be so easy to kill.

Niu Youdao had never paid much attention to this side of things.

He generally did not interfere in how battles were fought.

He had only asked because the matter had become relevant to what he was doing.

Now he could not help probing further.

"Marshal Meng, how do you mean?"

Meng Shanming hesitated for a moment.

In the end, he revealed the truth.

"Zhao's retreat to this place was deliberately engineered by me."

"The rebel army's rush toward the Zhao capital was itself my lure."

"All along, they controlled their marching speed precisely."

"Once Zhao's army entered the area I wanted, the rebels immediately changed direction to intercept them, while our army pressed from the rear."

"Naturally, that forced Zhao's forces into this region."

"Several million troops moving as one body must find a water source large enough to sustain them."

"That made it natural for Zhao to retreat here."

"This lake is a natural barrier to our army, but it is also a natural barrier to Zhao."

"Given Pang Teng's habits in warfare, he would never cluster all his forces on only one side of the lake and give us the chance to attack overland from one direction while crossing the lake from the other, catching him between front and rear."

"It was highly likely he would deploy around the lake and use the terrain as a natural defense."

"And sure enough, that is exactly what Pang Teng did."

"At the crucial moment, he thinks he can withdraw onto the lake, gather superior forces there, then choose another landing point and break out?"

"He wishes."

"I will not give him that opportunity."

Meng Shanming raised the sword and pointed to the downstream end of the lake.

"Once the trap is complete, we can concentrate superior forces and seize the lake's downstream end."

"The moment we succeed, we order large numbers of cultivators to rapidly dig open a drainage breach and increase the outflow."

"The lake level will fall sharply."

"All around the shore, vast stretches will turn into muddy flats and boggy ground."

"Infantry will struggle to move. Horses will sink to their fetlocks."

"Ten thousand men positioned on firm ground could easily suppress a hundred thousand enemy troops trapped in that mire."

"And hiding in the middle of the lake without coming ashore won't work either."

"There's no firewood out there for them to cook."

"Are they supposed to burn the rafts beneath themselves and leave the whole army soaking in the water?"

"Once the trap is complete, Zhao's several million troops will have nowhere to flee."

"We may not even need ten days to finish them!"

Niu Youdao and Guan Fangyi stared at one another.

The shock in their hearts was difficult to describe.

Both understood that if this battle succeeded, it would be a feat for the ages, one certain to shake all beneath Heaven.

Meng Shanming continued, "This battle is too important. I did not dare allow the slightest leak."

"Aside from His Highness and me, almost no one knows."

"Not even the three great sects know."

"We did not reveal anything to the rebel army either. Mr. Yucang only knows that this is a joint operation."

Niu Youdao and Guan Fangyi understood his meaning.

It was enough that they themselves now knew.

They could not allow the plan to spread any farther.

If word leaked out, Zhao's forces would rather risk death in a breakout than obediently enter a battle meant to annihilate the entire army.

Guan Fangyi could not help exclaiming, "People beneath Heaven always say, 'Yan has Shanming; Qi has Wuhen!'"

"Today, even a woman like me has finally had her eyes opened and learned what it means for a reputation to be fully deserved."

"Merely knowing of this plan means the journey was worthwhile."

"After this battle, Marshal Meng will leave behind a masterpiece no one can surpass!"

Meng Shanming gave a bitter smile and waved one hand.

"It is merely something forced upon us by circumstance."

"War has no constant form, just as water has no constant shape."

"The situation on a battlefield changes ten thousand times over."

"Until the last blow is struck, no one knows what the result will be."

"Anything can happen."

"Everything we say now is still only strategy on paper."

"In the end, victory or defeat alike must be fought for with the lives of soldiers."

"Using soldiers' lives to complete my own reputation is not what I desire."

"I only wish there were no more wars beneath Heaven!"

He sighed.

"His Highness has already begun moving troops and arranging the final decisive battle."

"The great battle was almost upon us, and yet the Commandery Princess and the young prince fell into enemy hands at precisely this moment."

"Now we hesitate to strike for fear of harming them."

"What are we supposed to do?"

Niu Youdao fell silent.

He roughly understood the situation now.

Shang Chaozong knew that one battle might decide the entire outcome.

So many people had already been sacrificed to reach this point.

How could he destroy the whole arrangement for selfish reasons of his own?

Niu Youdao gathered his wandering thoughts and pointed at the map again, returning to the matter at hand.

"Marshal Meng, how deep is this lake?"

"That..." Meng Shanming hesitated briefly.

"Naturally, some parts are deep and others shallow."

"Whenever I arrive in a place, I make a habit of reading the local gazetteers."

"According to the records, the deepest places exceed thirty zhang."

"Near the shore, of course, the water is shallow enough that fish can be seen swimming near the bottom."

"The lake is broad. We never sent anyone to measure it in detail, so I cannot tell you the exact situation everywhere."

"That's enough."

Niu Youdao nodded.

"Thank you for coming personally to explain it, Marshal Meng."

"You still have military affairs to handle, so I won't keep you any longer."

"I ask that you keep what I have been asking about confidential."

With that, he extended one hand in a gesture of dismissal.

"Naturally."

Meng Shanming nodded.

Then he tried asking one more question.

"Master Dao, you're investigating this lake because it has something to do with rescuing the Commandery Princess and the young prince?"

"It does," Niu Youdao replied.

"I am indeed making plans in that direction."

"At present, I am only gathering information, so I cannot yet give Marshal Meng any concrete explanation."

"Later, I will give His Highness and Marshal Meng a definite answer."

"Allow me to think it through carefully and investigate further."

"Marshal Meng, please return for now."

He extended his hand once more in invitation.

[End of Chapter 870]