NOVEL NEXT Chapter 188: Open Strategy
A mile due north, there stood a mountain.
Not tall—just over two hundred meters in height—it wasn't particularly impressive, nor was it insignificant.
But now, that mountain had vanished without a trace. The ground had opened to reveal a gaping hole, with countless fragments of stone scattered across the land or tumbling into the suddenly formed abyss.
The earth had fissured, and the numerous plants all around had lost their foundation, either shattered into pieces or blasted away by the force, their whereabouts unknown.
"It's as if a natural disaster ravaged through here."
Xu Tiecheng murmured to himself after examining the charts in his hand.
To Chen Fei, the spectacle was less shocking and more a cause for wild joy, as the emergence of such a powerful weapon was partly his doing. He had contributed to this disaster-like scene with his own strength.
"With the Hidden Dragon present, the Lang Man are nothing but chickens and dogs." Chen Fei joyfully exclaimed.
Xu Tiecheng was brought back to reality by his exclamations, echoing him, "Indeed, indeed. Even Jashu's 150,000-strong army couldn't withstand such formidable power. As long as those in the Divinity Realm do not interfere, this entire army would fall at the border."
"But..."
Xu Tiecheng suddenly furrowed his brow, his face showing signs of difficulty, "The Jashu army has chosen to attack Kuocang Pass in unison, getting them to switch their attack to Feiyun Pass—which commands a natural advantage—is a significant challenge."
Although Kuocang Pass was more massive than Feiyun Pass, it wasn't situated in a perilous position like Feiyun Pass, and the land behind it was flat and open. Once the Jashu army broke through Kuocang Pass, they could march straight in and attack the Divine Capital City of Northern Zhou.
The grassland people might lack civilized education, but that didn't mean they were foolish.
On the contrary, the grassland people, with the Golden Wolf as their totem, possessed cunning minds. Those who considered them fools were the true fools.
"This matter does not require General Xu's concern."
Joining the conversation were the White-haired Daoist with an air of Daoist energy about him and Gu Chen, who had always been the leader of the Daoists at Feiyun Pass.
"Greetings, Daoist Qingyu," Xu Tiecheng said with due etiquette.
"No need for formalities," Qingyu dismissed with a wave of his hand.
Xu Tiecheng straightened up and curiously asked, "May I ask what master plan you have, Daoist, to persuade the Jashu army to abandon Kuocang Pass and head towards Feiyun Pass?"
"It's nothing ingenious," Qingyu replied with a light chuckle, "it's simply that they will have no choice but to come here."
Gu Chen added, "Hasn't the General noticed that the normally humid air of Feiyun Pass has been growing as damp as a coastal region's air over the past few months?"
"You mean..." Xu Tiecheng was still somewhat perplexed.
Feiyun Pass had already become eerily Yin Qi-infused, feeling like a lair of ghosts even during broad daylight. Considering the change in the dampness of the air, someone like Xu Tiecheng, already accustomed to the atmosphere of the location, didn't pay it any mind to deeply ponder its significance.
With the mystic Daoist presence at Feiyun Pass, changes were always to be expected.
Gu Chen simply smiled, "In the past several months, I have led the brethren of the Water Department and the Earth Department to carve out water channels deep beneath the ground, diverting all the underground rivers we've discovered.
At the same time, we have continually collected moisture from the air. By now, there should have been nearly two months without rain on the grassland, and even some of the shallower streams have completely dried up."
"So what you're suggesting is..." Xu Tiecheng's eyes brightened, "that there is now a severe drought on the grassland, and they lack water?"
"In less than a month, a good number of people will have died of thirst," Gu Chen said with a faint smile.
"I see. If we let slip the news of water here, the Jashu army will have to redirect their attack to this location—a pure stroke of open strategy."
Xu Tiecheng, being a renowned general in the military, naturally knew what had to be done. When it came to military campaigns, Qingyu did not possess half of Xu Tiecheng's skills.
As for the strategy of withholding the news to sustain a severe drought on the grassland, leading to the extinction of a species, none present mentioned it.
To push the enemy to such a state was to drive them to desperation, risking the start of an all-out war.
Even if the Jashu's Divinity Realm warrior were foolish enough not to notice the activities of Gu Chen and others, they would still besiege Northern Zhou with all their might. It was only by capturing Northern Zhou that they could escape the drought-stricken grassland.
"There's no need to worry about leaking the news," Qingyu said, "Using the Hidden Dragon to assault the mountain has already caused a significant surge in the water vapor content of that area. There should already be capable individuals within the Jashu army who have sensed the anomaly here."
Choosing the north wasn't just to test the might of the Hidden Dragon; it was also to make the anomaly at Feiyun Pass known to the Jashu army.
Once they realized that there was an abundance of water, they would have no choice but to launch an offensive in this direction. Just thinking about the daily water requirements of an army of 150,000, not to mention the signs of severe drought already on the grassland, it was likely that the soldiers' water supply was insufficient.
"At this moment, the Jashu army of 150,000 should be preparing to march towards this region."
Thirty miles outside of Kuocang Pass.
Countless tents formed into orderly squares, arrayed in the field.
This was where the Jashu army was stationed. Naturally, Jashu, the supposed bastard son of the current Golden Wolf Khan, was also here.
Jashu, the son of the former Golden Wolf Han Court leader Jia Bailie.
Jia Bailie and the current Golden Wolf Khan became blood brothers under the witness of Eternal Heaven some thirty years ago. However, Jia Bailie met an untimely, needless death just over three decades ago, leaving behind a heap of wives and children.
The grassland people believe in the supremacy of the strong, and the weak do not deserve kingship. The son of a Khan is not guaranteed future kingship.
Clearly, Jia Bailie's sons lacked sufficient strength to be seen as kings, and could only watch as the title of Khan was seized by Jia Bailie's brother.
After the current Khan took power, one by one, Jia Bailie's sons met with mysterious deaths, and their wives remarried.
Only Jia Bailie's principal wife, referred to by the grassland people as "E-shi," along with a few other women, stayed with the daughters of Jia Bailie.
Then, a year and a half after Jia Bailie's death, Jashu was born.
A pregnancy lasting a year and a half was an extraordinary talent, a rare genius seen only once in a thousand years, a king foreordained by Heaven...
Well, these were all rumors, of course. People within the Golden Wolf Han Court were more inclined to believe that Jashu was the seed sown by some benevolent soul.
And the Golden Wolf Khan's obvious favor toward Jashu made everyone quietly smile, sensing they knew who the kindhearted soul was.
Now that Jashu was in command of a 150,000-strong army, everyone became even more certain of this benevolent person's identity.
At this moment, Jashu, the son of the former Khan, resided in the most significant tent in the middle of the military camp. Before him was the Shaman sent by the Han Court before they embarked on their campaign.
Shamanism was once the largest faith of the grassland, and even as the Great Snow Mountain Secret Sect rose to prominence, the Shamans' status within the Han Court remained high.
Now, the stooped old Shaman, his body draped with myriad bizarre bones, unidentified teeth, and strange stone amulets, had crucial information to impart to Jashu.