Chapter 1228: Not Seeking to Defeat Him Is Itself a Great Victory!

When it came to battlefield matters, Shao Pingbo could hardly be called skilled.

He had simply been born into a military household and absorbed some knowledge through long exposure. He had never truly commanded an army himself.

So he could not understand what Gao Pin meant by all this circling around.

Had it been an ordinary person, Shao Pingbo might already have lost patience.

But Gao Pin's official rank was far above his own. When a superior asked questions, it was not Shao Pingbo's place to decide how the conversation should proceed.

After a brief silence, he said gravely, "I will not conceal anything before the Grand Marshal. My father served under Meng Shanming in earlier years, so I know a little about this matter.

"Meng Shanming lost the use of his legs during a war against Han. He advanced to rescue the Emperor of Yan, suffered a devastating attack from Han's army, and was left crippled. He nearly died in that battle!

"If Meng Shanming had died then, Zhao's fate might have been very different."

Gao Pin said, "Zhao has already fallen. There is no point dwelling on that. I ask only this: with Meng Shanming's ability, how did Han's army manage to surround him so thoroughly that he nearly lost his life?"

Shao Pingbo answered, "He advanced recklessly to save the Emperor of Yan."

Gao Pin grinned and waved a hand. "No, no. Wrong."

Shao Pingbo immediately looked puzzled. "Was there some hidden circumstance behind it?"

Gao Pin said, "There was no hidden circumstance. It is simply that people like you look at such matters differently from those of us who live on the battlefield."

Shao Pingbo immediately cupped his hands. "Then I ask the Grand Marshal to enlighten me."

Gao Pin raised the pointer and tapped Han on the map. "Jin Jue!"

"Jin Jue, Grand Marshal of Han?" Shao Pingbo paused, then said hesitantly, "I know he commanded Han's forces in that battle. But if the Emperor of Yan had not been trapped, Meng Shanming would never have fallen into danger."

Gao Pin shook his head. "That is not wrong, but you are looking only at the surface."

"The real reason was Jin Jue himself. He is an extremely cautious man. After becoming commander of Han's armies, he knew he was no match for Meng Shanming, so he adopted the method of advancing steadily and fighting securely, defending rigorously and giving Meng Shanming as few openings as possible."

"Then the Emperor of Yan advanced rashly and handed Jin Jue an opportunity instead."

"Once Meng Shanming was dragged into danger because of him, Jin Jue acted ruthlessly and decisively. That was why he nearly finished Meng Shanming in a single battle."

The principle was not difficult to understand.

After considering it, Shao Pingbo nodded. "The Grand Marshal is correct. That was indeed the case."

Gao Pin asked, "Then do you see the point?"

Shao Pingbo pondered.

What point?

He did not understand.

At last, he cupped his hands. "I truly am an outsider when it comes to maneuvering armies on the battlefield. I ask the Grand Marshal to explain."

Gao Pin set down the pointer and walked away from the map with his hands clasped behind his back. "I understand what you were asking earlier. You want to know whether I have a plan to defeat the enemy."

"Given your present circumstances, I can understand why."

"You have worked behind the curtain to clear the road for the army, exhausting yourself laying every piece of groundwork needed for a smooth offensive. Yet who could have expected this commander to prove incompetent and lose a battle, wasting all your effort?"

"Your future is tied to the outcome. Naturally, you became anxious. That is why you had no choice but to come out personally and question me face to face."

Shao Pingbo could not afford to offend him and hurriedly explained, "The Grand Marshal misunderstands. I am only concerned about the progress of the war..."

Gao Pin raised a hand and cut him off. Then he looked out through the tent entrance. "Little brother, you are an intelligent man. But I rose from an ordinary soldier to the position I hold today. I am not so stupid as to be beyond saving either."

"If you keep saying things like that, there is no point."

"Even if you had not come to ask me, His Majesty has placed enormous expectations upon my shoulders. The people of Jin expect victory. The lives of countless Jin sons have been entrusted to me. How could I possibly fail to think of a way to defeat the enemy?"

"I have wrestled with the problem day and night. At last, I found the beginning of an answer!"

Shao Pingbo's spirits lifted immediately. Delighted, he asked, "If it is not a military secret that cannot be revealed, would the Grand Marshal be willing to tell me?"

Gao Pin gave him a sidelong look. "Did I not already tell you?"

"..."

Shao Pingbo was left speechless.

He frowned and began reviewing everything Gao Pin had just said.

Gao Pin had already hinted this far, yet Shao Pingbo still appeared not to understand. He could not help laughing. "Shao Dengyun can at least be counted among the notable generals beneath Heaven. If I said this much to him, he would certainly understand."

"It seems that despite sitting in Beizhou for so many years, you truly learned none of your father's skill."

Shao Pingbo looked ashamed. "I have made the Grand Marshal laugh. Please point out the path for me."

Gao Pin slowly returned to the map and stared at it. "This is not the first time I have lost to Huyan Wuhen."

"His Majesty did not abandon me for it and has continued to trust and employ me."

"But this defeat is different from the ones before."

"In this campaign, Jin has effectively committed the strength of the entire state. If we continue losing, this is no longer a matter that can be resolved simply by withdrawing and defending our borders as before."

"If we exhaust the entire state's strength and still lose, Jin will be left too hollow within. Qi and Wei may seize the opportunity to counterattack, and Jin itself could instead be destroyed!"

"How could I not be cautious?"

"I thought day and night about how to defeat him. Then one day I suddenly woke to something."

"The world says, 'Yan has Shanming; Qi has Wuhen!' Yet in my view, Huyan Wuhen is inferior to Meng Shanming."

"If even Meng Shanming could suffer at Jin Jue's hands, how could I have ignored that fact?"

"So I went back and studied the battle between Meng Shanming and Jin Jue in depth. At last, I found the method for restraining Huyan Wuhen!"

He turned and raised one finger toward Shao Pingbo.

"Advance steadily and fight securely. Do not seek to defeat him, and that itself is a great victory!"

"Do not seek to defeat him, and that itself is a great victory? A great victory..." Shao Pingbo looked doubtful.

Gao Pin swept one hand toward the map. "Jin's advantage lies in its fierce customs. Under the influence of the Taishu clan, whether young or old, even women can take up arms and fight!"

"So long as the resources are sufficient, so long as we have enough provisions, a little training is enough to give our people the courage to go onto the battlefield. Jin does not lack manpower for soldiers!"

"Now that we have broken into Wei's granaries, enormous quantities of grain are being transported back to Jin without end. Together with the provisions that will continue arriving afterward, the entire state should have enough to eat for two years."

"With that foundation, why should I force a direct contest with Huyan Wuhen and insist on deciding who is superior?"

"I need only imitate Jin Jue's method against Meng Shanming: defend rigorously, advance steadily, and fight securely!"

"Once Jin finishes assembling the armies still to come, I will pin Huyan Wuhen down from the front while other Jin armies continuously invade Qi from elsewhere."

"When that happens, Jin can afford the attrition. Huyan Wuhen cannot!"

"Whether Huyan Wuhen advances or retreats, no matter how skilled he is at war, once absolute superiority in manpower crushes down upon him, he will inevitably lose. Qi and Wei will inevitably perish!"

"I have already submitted a secret memorial to His Majesty. His Majesty has approved it as well. Jin will mobilize the whole nation for war. Once that force has fully formed, we can sweep away Qi and Wei in one stroke!"

"Naturally, little brother, your contribution remains enormous. If not for your planning, which allowed the army to invade Wei smoothly and seize such vast stores of grain, Jin would not have the confidence to wage war this way."

Shao Pingbo understood.

At last, he understood completely.

Yet he did not look pleased.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "But if we fight this way, the war will drag on. The longer the night, the more dreams arise. I fear unforeseen changes may occur, and things may not develop as we hope."

Gao Pin said, "So long as Yin Chu can hold Xiping Pass and prevent Qin's army from entering, what unforeseen change can arise?"

"I will only strengthen the forces holding Xiping Pass, never weaken them. Qin's army can forget about breaking through!"

"So long as we grasp the greater momentum, once absolute strength takes shape, even if Huyan Wuhen commands troops like a god, even if Meng Shanming himself came, sooner or later they would still be crushed to pieces beneath that momentum."

"Little brother, there is no need to worry so much."

Shao Pingbo asked, "May I ask whether this is already the grand strategy secretly decided by His Majesty and the military?"

Gao Pin answered, "Correct. It is already being carried out."

Shao Pingbo said, "If there were a more convenient and faster way to eliminate Huyan Wuhen, would the Grand Marshal be willing to try it?"

Gao Pin gave an "Oh." "If there truly were such a good thing, why merely try it? We would carry it out directly."

He looked Shao Pingbo up and down. "It seems I truly misunderstood you. You did not come because you were anxious. You came to offer a strategy."

Shao Pingbo said, "I would not call it offering a strategy."

"I have studied Huyan Wuhen for a long time. That old thief advances and retreats with discipline, and the defenses around his army are extremely tight. I have been unable to find any opening."

"After thinking it over again and again, I fear the only way is to use the battlefield itself to pull him into a position where an opening appears."

"So I came to discuss it with the Grand Marshal."

Gao Pin listened closely. The moment Shao Pingbo finished, he asked, "How do you pull him into position?"

Shao Pingbo fell into thought. "On the battlefield, getting him to fall for a false opening would be extremely difficult."

"The only way is to make the false play real."

"If we were to use several hundred thousand troops as bait and give him a genuine opportunity to annihilate them, then with the deception made real, he would inevitably take the bait..."

"So long as the Grand Marshal and I carefully work out the countermeasures, and the Grand Marshal can move the army in coordination, we will certainly be able to create an opening!"

"Hiss..." Gao Pin drew in a sharp breath.

He understood.

And he was shocked.

Shao Pingbo wanted to exchange the lives of several hundred thousand soldiers for Huyan Wuhen's life!

Seeing his reaction, Shao Pingbo explained, "In a war of this scale, if the fighting continues for a long time, the soldiers sacrificed may number far more than several hundred thousand."

"The casualties among the people of all three states would be even greater."

"If Jin eventually unifies the Western Three States, then the people of all three states will become people of Jin."

"If the war drags on, even after unification, every death will still be damage to Jin's own vitality. It will also deepen hatred among the populations of the former states and make an eastern campaign more difficult afterward."

"Viewed over the long term, the price of ending the war quickly is lower than the price of prolonged attrition."

"It would also reduce the chance of unforeseen changes arising over a long campaign."

"I ask the Grand Marshal to think carefully!"

Gao Pin raised a hand to stop him. "Little brother, listen to one piece of advice from me."

Shao Pingbo immediately cupped his hands respectfully. "I am listening."

Gao Pin said, "Do not take everything to the absolute extreme."

"If you do too many ruthless things, backlash will eventually come. Do you understand?"

He raised a hand and patted Shao Pingbo on the shoulder.

Gao Pin already knew what had happened in the capital, so both his tone and the gesture carried deeper meaning.

Shao Pingbo remained calm. "If doing so can end the wars beneath Heaven sooner and return peace to the world, then I am willing to bear that backlash."

Gao Pin said, "Perhaps you have your own reasoning, but I am commander of an army. To send several hundred thousand soldiers deliberately to their deaths—Gao cannot do it!"

Shao Pingbo fell silent.

He had indeed come intending to discuss the plan with Gao Pin.

But once he heard the Grand Marshal's strategy and learned Gao Pin already had what he considered a method for defeating the enemy, Shao Pingbo knew the odds of persuading him were low.

He tried anyway.

And sure enough, the answer was refusal.

If the commander-in-chief did not agree, going to Taishu Xiong would be useless as well.

This path would not work.

Shao Pingbo had no intention of giving up easily.

He would return and think of another way to eliminate Huyan Wuhen.

Just then, someone entered from outside to report. "Grand Marshal, personnel from Blackwater Terrace have sent word. A message from the capital has arrived for Lord Shao!"

The capital?

Gao Pin's eyes flickered.

His hand, still resting on Shao Pingbo's shoulder, dropped away.

He smiled. "Little brother, you have one weakness. You have never established yourself in a court."

"I, on the other hand, have seen too many people and too many affairs in court. I have seen every bizarre thing imaginable."

"So there are some matters you should not take too much to heart. Understand?"

Their ranks differed by quite a distance, yet Gao Pin had repeatedly addressed him as "little brother." That alone showed the nature of Gao Pin's attitude toward Shao Pingbo.

He genuinely appreciated the younger man.

At the very least, Shao Pingbo had spent enormous effort working to make Jin's military campaign proceed smoothly.

Whether from personal feeling or simple reason, Gao Pin did not wish to see this little brother suffer some mishap.

[End of Chapter 1228]