Chapter 357 - 165: Three Thousand, Breaking One Hundred Thousand!_4

Soon, a young official from Qing Country arrived at the camp, repeatedly explaining that it was all a misunderstanding.

"A misunderstanding?!"

"Do you realize how much loss this has caused us because one person, King Tang Li Gong, failed to report it? The Mystical Phenomenon General attained Great Success, my General Peng!!!"

Fan Shuzhen roared, "Go and ask Li Gong right now! If he doesn’t give a reasonable explanation, I’m not fighting this battle anymore!"

...

Yong Yue Prefecture.

"What?!"

"The third Mystical Phenomenon?"

"Two men, in front of a hundred thousand troops, killed General Peng Yunheng of Nan Xu, then shot nearly a thousand people before fleeing with great strides?"

"Deng Feng?!"

"Is it Deng Feng?!"

After seeing the battle report from Hu Lao Pass.

King Tang Li Gong’s hands trembled, "Deng Feng, he didn’t commit suicide? He, he defected?!"

"How is that possible?"

Liu Huanrong incredulously said, "General Deng’s family has been loyal for six generations, how could he betray the country?"

"He too is one who fears death and pretends, all this loyalty and righteousness, all just an act!"

Li Gong had never felt such anger before.

It took him a long while to calm himself down, "Can’t we just attack the city directly? Why, why, knowing that Chen Sansi and Fang Qingyun are full of tricks, do we still keep giving them chances!"

"The subordinate understands their thinking..."

Liu Huanrong helplessly said, "Nan Xu is here to make a fortune, not to die, so their hesitation is understandable."

"Attack the city, let a hundred thousand troops rush in, even if two or three thousand die, so what! I’ve given them my only son, why don’t they trust me, why?!"

Li Gong racked his brains, "Bring me the map, tell them that if they can really take down Hu Lao Pass, and if we can later take over the entire eastern region of Sheng Country, we only want Qian Province and Niao State, all the rest will be theirs, don’t hesitate any longer, if they hesitate again, I won’t fight anymore!"

"I’ll break through directly, I don’t want Yong Yue Prefecture anymore!"

"I don’t want the three states either!"

"Let their hundred thousand troops fight the Sheng people themselves! They can’t even dispatch a Martial Saint, just wait for a crushing defeat, and die!"

He had been fighting battles at the border all his life.

Never had he felt this kind of disgust before.

There were so many allied troops, but they...

just wouldn’t advance!

Sticking to their own even in times of ally distress, immovable as a mountain!

Disgusting!

Just like eating flies!

As disgusting as that Meng Quji!

...

Nanxu Camp.

"Bastard!"

"Li Gong even dares to talk tough in return!"

Fan Shuzhen slapped the secret letter, "He’s threatening us, saying he’ll run away and simply give up on the three states if we continue to delay. Clearly, it was he who first concealed the military intelligence, causing us continuous losses, strategist, tell me, what should we do?"

Ran Jingxuan, with his eyes closed, recalled the content of the letter, "It seems, Li Gong isn’t lying."

"Yes, yes."

The son of Li Gong hastily said, "My father sent me here to help, isn’t that enough sincerity?"

"Then there’s only one possibility..."

Ran Jingxuan made a judgment, "Li Gong also fell for a scheme, he was also misled, mistaken to believe that there were only three thousand troops inside Hu Lao Pass, this was deliberately done by Fang Qingyun, it’s what he’s best at."

"Oh?"

You Jingzhi hastily inquired, "Then in your opinion, strategist, how many troops are actually inside Hu Lao Pass?"

"What about the scouts?"

Ran Jingxuan, nicknamed "Lingsuan" asked, "Have you gathered intelligence according to my instructions during these days?"

"General! Yes!"

The subordinate answered, "People in Hu Lao Pass go to Pianye River to graze horses, leaving at 5 a.m. and returning at 6 p.m., the number of people herding is numerous, hard to count precisely, but it looks to be at least two thousand."

"Just for herding horses there are two thousand people?"

You Jingzhi was astonished, "Isn’t that a sign of many troops? Could it be a bluff?"

The scout reaffirmed, absolutely true.

"The area around Pianye River has a wide field of vision, you can see clearly across the river, of course, the generals’ judgment surpasses mine, why not take a look yourselves."

"Hmm."

Ran Jingxuan set off immediately.

After suffering great losses twice, they dared not be careless any longer.

Direct observation lasted a full five days.

The number of herders indeed exceeded two thousand.

"Could it be..."

Fan Shuzhen said, "There really are thirty thousand men?"

"Not likely."

Ran Jingxuan pondered, "If there were really thirty thousand men, Li Gong would certainly know, but it’s definitely not just three thousand either, I estimate, inside Hu Lao Pass, there are fifteen thousand troops, three Mystical Phenomenon Generals, plus the Heavenly Book and possibly Fang Qingyun who knows the Immortal Law, that’s their true military strength."

"Fifteen thousand..."

Fan Shuzhen caressed his weapon, "Hu Lao Pass is not easy to attack! If we really attack full force, we might need to lose forty thousand troops just to take it in a short time, forty thousand, it’s too great a loss."

"But Lord Eight..."

Ran Jingxuan patiently provided a perspective, "You can’t capture Hu Lao without breaking the pass, and securing Lingzhou would be difficult without it, once Li Gong truly retreats, if Sheng armies move southward through Hu Lao Pass, we might have made a trip in vain."

"So what you mean is, we should attack?"

Fan Shuzhen, eager for great power, needed his own territory, and Lingzhou was undoubtedly the best place, moreover, taking down Hu Lao Pass could provide even more opportunities, but the loss was also too great...

These hundred thousand men.

Were his very foundation, losing nearly half at once, it might take five to ten years to recover.

"Lord Eight!"

Ran Jingxuan saw his thoughts, "He who wishes to achieve great things, must not hesitate? In one word, if you want Lingzhou or even more, you must be willing to pay the price, if you hesitate looking ahead and behind, you’ll end up with nothing."

"Then let’s attack!"

Fan Shuzhen decided resolutely, "But what about my fourteenth brother?"