Chapter 365: Analyzing the Circumstances! (2/2)

Shrugging casually, Wang Chong replied, ”Alright.”

On the other hand, unlike the others, Zhao Yatong assessed Wang Chong with interest as a peculiar gleam shone in her eyes. There was probably no one in the capital who hadn't heard of this talented son of the Wang Clan.

Before meeting Wang Chong in face, Zhao Yatong had heard many things about him. But more often than not, rumors were blown out of proportion as the stories were exaggerated as they went from person to person.

Thus, Zhao Yatong paid the rumors little heed at the start.

However, after meeting him in person, she realized that Wang Chong was far more interesting than she had thought. What Wuhai Army and We Tadra Khongluo; if it had been anyone else, she would have thought that the person was spouting nonsense.

But coming from Wang Chong... for some reason, she felt inclined to believe him.

Unaware of Zhao Yatong's thoughts, Wang Chong went on to ask about the details of the Tibetan army, and Zhao Yatong answered them patiently.

”Right, when I was clashing with those Tibetan soldiers, there was something peculiar that I noticed about them. In truth, there were many chances for them to break out of our encirclement, but they chose to limit their actions around a certain mountain. Or to be more exact, their actions have always been limited around that mountain, as if they were guarding it.

”If not for that, we wouldn't have been able to deploy so many men over a period of time and conduct operations against them again and again. Also, there were also several opportunities for them to wipe us out entirely after our forces were defeated. If they had pursued us after our loss, I doubt that even the guards stationed at this resting point would have been able to save us. But yet, they allowed such ideal opportunities to slip past their fingers. I feel that there's something very questionable about that.

”To choose neither to escape nor to attack, I really can't tell what they are up to,” Zhao Yatong said with a deep frown.

The more she fought with those Tibetans, the more doubts she harbored about them. Even as a recruit who hadn't come into contact with deeper military strategies and secrets, she could also tell that there was something very queer about the situation.

Each army should have a purpose in their actions, but this one seemed to be only acting on their whims.

”You're thinking too far into it. It's not that they are unwilling to retreat or attack, but that they are incapable of doing either of them. You are overestimating them.” Hearing Zhao Yatong's words, Wang Chong chuckled, thinking nothing of them.

Zhao Yatong might have perceived the Tibetan army to be an incredibly powerful existence that couldn't be defeated, but that was probably an illusion deriving from her lack of knowledge about them.

An army that had ventured deep into an enemy's territory was bound to be killed. All they could do was to struggle to their dying breath, but their chances of survival were practically nil.

Just as how Zhao Yatong had little understanding of them, the Tibetan soldiers also had little understanding of what they were facing, so it was inevitable that they would hesitate from leaving advantageous ground to pursue their enemies, especially since they were lacking vital intelligence to ensure that it wasn't a trap.

It wasn't that Wang Chong was underestimating the Tibetan army, but this was simply how things were.

”Ah!” Zhao Yatong stared at Wang Chong in astonishment. She had only raised those questions to voice the doubts she had been harboring about them, and she hadn't expected Wang Chong to have an answer to them.

”Wang Chong, is there something you know about this matter?” Bai Siling, Xu Gan, and Huang Yongtu were also surprised by those words.

Judging from Zhao Yatong's description, this seemed to be an extraordinarily powerful Tibetan army, but Wang Chong's response seemed to be telling a different story.

”You all were too reckless. Do you know the reason why you lost to 300 Tibetan soldiers despite having 800 Great Tang military veterans on your side? It's not because they are too strong or because we are too weak, but that you should have never allowed the battlefield to be near the mountains!”

”Ah?”

”There is a huge disparity in the geographical terrain of Ü-Tsang and Great Tang. Accustomed to clashing with the armies of Great Tang by the border of the highlands, their cavalrymen are skilled at maneuvering in the area. As a result, they have developed a formation that allows them to exploit the advantages of steep, mountainous terrain. Thus, as long as they are in mountainous terrain, they will be able to bring out 240% of their fighting prowess.

”Even when Geshu Han's famed Great Dipper Army went to encounter the Tibetans, they would try their best to avoid clashing with the Tibetans by mountainous terrain. They would either drag them down to Longxi or charge deep into the Ü-Tsang's highlands and cross hands with them up there.

”To attempt to fight against the Tibetans while they hold the upper ground is no different from handing our lives to them. That is suicide!” Wang Chong pointed out the reason for their group's crushing defeat.

It was foolish for them to think that they could defeat a group of cavalrymen while holding the lower ground. It was no wonder why they lost five hundred cavalrymen to the Tibetans.

In the history of Great Tang, despite the incredible generals who had emerged over the generations, none of them had fared well clashing against the Tibetans on steep terrain.

Even if they managed to subdue the Tibetans on such grounds, they would often have to pay a heavy price for their victory.

In Wang Chong's view, the commanding officer behind this operation was a complete fool. It was understandable that the person might not have a clear understanding of the proficiencies of the Tibetan soldiers, but nevertheless, placing one's troops in a disadvantageous position was definitely not the mark of a qualified commander.