Chapter 1397: Seize the Initiative

"Ah!" After a long silence inside the tent, Luo Zhao raised his face and let out a deep sigh. "The greater trend is lost!"

Huyan Wuhen had not withdrawn without informing him. He had left Luo Zhao's side to face the Jin army alone, telling the Qin army to watch for an opportunity to fight Jin in a decisive battle.

But Jin's army was enormous. Qin had barely over two million troops, and its grain supply was already so tight that one day's provisions had to be stretched across two. How were they supposed to fight a decisive battle?

Still, Luo Zhao knew Huyan Wuhen had run out of choices as well. Huyan Ding's defeat had dealt the war effort a fatal blow, and the wavering hearts within Qi had already collapsed.

If Huyan Wuhen did not lead his troops back to overawe the country, the rebellious sentiment in the rear would spread like wildfire. Gu Yuanda would easily build an immense momentum, and more and more rebel forces would flock to him. Once Gu Yuanda threw the rear into chaos or seized control of it, the logistical supply lines of both Qin's and Qi's main armies would be severed.

Without grain, several million troops would face defeat without even fighting. Then everything would truly be over.

Huyan Wuhen was making one desperate effort before the situation completely collapsed, while he still had some grain left in his hands.

With Huyan Wuhen suddenly gone, Xiaoyue Pavilion panicked and cursed him furiously for betraying his word and abandoning his allies.

Luo Zhao could only explain the stakes again and again while redeploying Qin's forces in preparation for a formal battle with Jin. In doing so, he was also cooperating with Huyan Wuhen.

If Jin seized the opportunity to attack, Luo Zhao had to tie down its main force and buy Huyan Wuhen time to purge the turmoil within Qi.

Although Luo Zhao knew the greater trend no longer favored them, he still had to do everything he could. Was Huyan Wuhen not doing the same, trying with all his strength to turn back the raging tide?

...

At Jin's frontline command center, Gao Pin sat in a courtyard before a map, reading the latest intelligence. He repeatedly gave cold snorts. "He clearly knows the Qi court has already lost the people's hearts, yet Huyan Wuhen still refuses to give up and dreams of a trapped beast's final struggle! If matters have reached this point and I still cannot defeat you, then I might as well go home and farm!"

The Qiyun Sect elder beside him was delighted to see him so confident of victory. Those were exactly the kinds of words he liked hearing, and he immediately clapped his hands and burst into laughter.

Some words were merely words. Gao Pin understood perfectly well that Huyan Wuhen's sudden move had created no small amount of trouble for him.

Originally, Jin had intended to help Gu Yuanda build enough momentum to completely destroy the logistical supply lines of the Qi and Qin armies, subduing the enemy without battle. Now that Huyan Wuhen had acted this way, Gu Yuanda would probably find it difficult to gather that momentum. Everyone inside Qi who had been itching to make a move had been frightened back into place by Huyan Wuhen.

And with Huyan Wuhen withdrawing across the entire front, Gao Pin faced a dilemma: advance or not?

If his army drove too deep and could not withdraw in time, he might end up fighting Huyan Wuhen in a decisive battle on the grasslands. That would probably be exactly what Huyan Wuhen wanted. In such a battle, who would ultimately win was genuinely uncertain, and that was precisely the situation Gao Pin had tried to avoid from the beginning.

From the outset, he had made Huyan Wuhen understand clearly that he would not play that kind of game with him.

When one already possessed an overwhelming advantage, why create a situation where killing a thousand enemies cost eight hundred of one's own? Gao Pin had no desire to see that.

As commander of Jin's armies, he had to answer to Jin, and he had to answer to Jin's sons who were fighting beneath his banners. The correct choice was to preserve his own country's strength to the greatest extent possible while still defeating the enemy.

Only by preserving Jin's national strength as much as possible could the country recover quickly after occupying Qi and Wei.

Gao Pin rose and paced for a long time. Then he stood before the map in silence, sinking into prolonged thought.

A full half-hour passed before he turned and slowly said, "Transmit my military order. Tell Gu Yuanda that the walls of the Qi capital are thick and high, well suited for defense, and we also have agents inside. He is to seize the Qi capital as quickly as possible, then hold it. He has three hundred thousand troops. That is enough to defend for a while. Tell him he must hold until our army arrives to reinforce him!"

Originally, Gu Yuanda had been meant to seize the Qi capital and then sweep outward in every direction, building momentum and severing the logistical supply lines of the Qi and Qin armies. But now, considering that Huyan Wuhen was coming back to crush Gu Yuanda and that Gu Yuanda could never stop him, Gao Pin changed the plan.

"Yes!" The messenger accepted the order and left.

The Qiyun Sect elder was somewhat worried. "With only three hundred thousand troops defending the city, Gu Yuanda may not be able to hold for long. Can our reinforcements arrive in time?"

Gao Pin said indifferently, "Whether he can hold or not, he has to hold! I never expected him to hold, and I never intended to reinforce him. I only need him to delay things and buy time for our main army. Whether he can survive the defense depends on his own ability and fortune."

"Ah!" The Qiyun Sect elder was badly startled. "If you force him into a dead end, aren't you afraid he'll switch sides again?"

"Switch sides?" Gao Pin asked. "How is he supposed to do that? He's already come this far, and he killed Huyan Wuhen's son. He has no road back. Once he enters the Qi capital, he will have no choice except to defend it to the death."

So Gu Yuanda was being treated as an expendable piece. The Qiyun Sect elder nodded faintly, understanding Gao Pin's meaning.

Gao Pin suddenly called out, "Blackwater Terrace!"

Someone outside immediately relayed the summons. Before long, the local Blackwater Terrace officer strode inside and cupped his hands. "This subordinate awaits orders!"

Gao Pin said, "Pass down the order. Blackwater Terrace is to mobilize every person we have turned and do everything possible to assist Gu Yuanda in taking the Qi capital as quickly as possible. Anyone who slacks off will face military law. Execute them!"

"Yes!" The man accepted the order.

Gao Pin continued, "Also send word to Blackwater Terrace headquarters. Order them to use every resource available to establish contact with Xiaoyue Pavilion. Spare no cost in persuading Xiaoyue Pavilion to surrender."

"This..." The man hesitated. "Grand Marshal, I'm afraid persuading them to surrender will be difficult."

"You don't need to worry about that," Gao Pin said. "Tell Blackwater Terrace that my army will cooperate and create an opportunity for them to press the surrender. Go."

"Yes!" The man accepted the order and departed.

Once he was gone, the Qiyun Sect elder asked, "Xiaoyue Pavilion holds a massive army in its hands. Why would they surrender?"

Gao Pin gave a low, cold laugh. "Huyan Wuhen ignores me, so I'll ignore him. We'll deal with them one at a time. First, we mass our forces against Qin. Xiaoyue Pavilion is nothing more than a pack of assassins who put on costumes and swaggered onto the stage. The fact that Wei's Three Great Sects could turn to us already tells you the true depth of Xiaoyue Pavilion. Elder, just watch. We don't even need to fight the Qin army. All we need to do is surround them with overwhelming force. Under threats, inducements, coercion, and pressure, Xiaoyue Pavilion will yield. When the time comes, I'll give them two roads. First, surrender. Second, I'll open Xiping Pass and let the Qin army return to Qin. Xiaoyue Pavilion will certainly choose one of the two. If Qin surrenders, we'll disband its formations and mix the troops into our own army for the final battle against Qi. If they choose to return to Qin, then let them go. That will also keep Yan and Han from picking up their bargains too easily. The day Gu Yuanda enters the Qi capital will be the day my army moves against Qin!"

...

In the Hall of Martial Valor in Nanzhou's provincial capital, Meng Shanming sat in his wheelchair staring at the map and sighed. "Gao Pin holds every advantage. He has the people's hearts and too many cards available to him. Huyan Wuhen is struggling from a position of weakness and has fallen into passivity at every turn. Against Gao Pin's steady advance as he gradually builds momentum, I fear there is no way to turn things around."

Shang Chaozong slowly shook his head. "Qi won't last much longer. It seems to have reached the end."

Meng Shanming said, "Your Highness, you may contact Han. The forces of Yan and Han can begin assembling and moving. We need to seize Qin's territory first and prepare to join hands against Jin. Jin has become too powerful for any single state to oppose easily."

Shang Chaozong hesitated. "Move now? Qin's army is still confronting Jin. If we act now, I'm afraid it will damage Qin's military morale and hurt its ability to resist Jin."

Meng Shanming waved a hand and pointed at the map. "Huyan Wuhen's army has already been withdrawing for more than two days and is far enough away, yet Gao Pin's army still hasn't moved. He shows no intention of seizing an easy advantage. With chaos spreading throughout Qi's interior, Jin has already achieved its purpose. Gao Pin will never simply sit by while Huyan Wuhen uses military force to purge the country. If Gao Pin isn't moving now, why not? Gao Pin possesses every advantage, and the traces of a strategy like Jin Jue's—steady advance and secure fighting—are obvious. He has no need to rush forward now, and he will not let Huyan Wuhen lead him by the nose. The Qin army is directly before him, and he has to deal with it. Until Qin is resolved, he cannot close the final net around Qi with peace of mind. So the reason Gao Pin is not moving yet is obvious. He is waiting for Huyan Wuhen to go farther, and farther still. Once Huyan Wuhen is too far away to reinforce Qin in the short term, Gao Pin will strike. Your Highness, Gao Pin possesses overwhelming advantages and is advancing steadily. He has no need to take risks. If he moves against Qin, he will do so only when he can crush it with absolute superiority. The grasslands are open. There are not many tricks available in battle there. So he will not choose a bloody clash with Qin. Qin still has two million troops, and Luo Zhao is no ordinary commander. The price of a bloody battle would be too high. I am certain Gao Pin will use encirclement and harassment instead. So long as he severs Qin's already insufficient supply line, the Qin army will not last long."

Shang Chaozong slowly said, "Huyan Wuhen will probably see the same thing once he looks back. But he has no choice. If he doesn't purge Qi's interior and his army's supply line is severed, he loses all the same."

Meng Shanming said, "Against Qin, meeting force with force is the inferior strategy; attacking the heart is superior. Gao Pin understands that perfectly well. A cornered beast will still fight, and when it does, it fights for its life. Gao Pin seeks stability and does not want to pay too heavy a price, so he will avoid that. Most likely he intends to force Xiaoyue Pavilion to submit. Xiaoyue Pavilion clawed its way up by scheming through the cracks, accustomed to living in the gutters. It lacks true confidence. It will yield."

Shang Chaozong narrowed his eyes at the map. "In other words, when the time comes, Qin's army will have only two roads: surrender, or..." His gaze suddenly fixed on Xiping Pass. "Gao Pin may very well let the Qin army return to Qin and use it to obstruct Yan and Han when our armies march west. He might even give Qin a batch of grain and let Qin wear us down!"

"Exactly!" Meng Shanming said. "That is why we must move first. We have to cut off Qin's option of returning home and force it to face two different choices: either surrender to Jin, or fight Jin to the death. In short, we need to seize the initiative. If we wait until the situation becomes clear and the Qin army is already returning, then begin assembling troops and making preparations, we'll probably be too late. Once news spreads that Qin's army is returning, the resistance of the troops left behind in Qin will inevitably strengthen, which will hinder our seizure of Qin's territory. And once the Qin army lays down its weapons and starts back, it will have no choice. Gao Pin will force it through Xiping Pass. Jin's conquest of Qi is already a foregone conclusion; whether Qin's army helps him afterward is unimportant. So he will certainly force Qin to honor the arrangement and return to its own lands, then hand its weapons back—or even gift it a batch of grain—sending a major problem our way."

[End of Chapter 1397]