Vol 9 Chapter 94 (2/2)

“Hai, that thing that you just mentioned about not knowing anything that is going on in Xinye is a real headache~” Cao Ren whined as she frowned.

“May I ask what is the matter?” I asked as I was with the troops the past 2 days and did not know what they were talking about.

“The one in charge of Xinye’s city defences is a subordinate of Liu Biao’s.”

“Liu Biao’s… Subordinate?” I asked, feeling suspicious.

Why is there a subordinate of Liu Biao’s appearing in Xinye city after what happened to Liu Bei? Logically speaking, Liu Bei’s subordinates should have severed all relations with Liu Biao after what happened to Liu Bei. A strong sense of unease pierced my heart and I felt like there was something very wrong and something we were overlooking here.

“There’s nothing to be surprised about.” Just then, Shen Pei smiled as though there was nothing amiss, “If it’s Liu Bei, it should be a very easy thing to recruit a couple of Jing state retainers with his personal charisma after all.”

“Eh? Really?” Cao Ren, who had not interacted much with Liu Bei, seemed very surprised. I do not want to agree with what Shen Pei said but it sounds about right. More than a few of the Jing state generals are more capable than Liu Biao after all and there was this Gan Ning fellow who even deserted and joined Jiangdong.

… But is that explanation really good enough… I keep getting the feeling that we are missing something here.

“Well then, we’ve discussed a fair bit now but how should we be fighting our next battle?” Just then, Lu Xiang spoke up irritatedly as she raised her hand and frowned.

It was clear that Lu Xiang was impatient. This cannot be helped. Under present circ.u.mstances, her desire for battle will undoubtedly be stronger than all of us, with me being a close second.

“Un, we’ve covered everything we needed to.” I added on after Lu Xiang, “We should be thinking about the deployment for the next battle.”

“Un un.” Cao Ren nodded and looked ahead as she folded her arms across her chest, looking very serious.

I do not know if Cao Ren already has something in mind. Normally, other generals should wait for the commanding officer to speak up first but I am the sort who speaks her mind. And so I did.

“Presently, our strength is roughly equal to the enemy’s. Therefore, I believe we should refrain from attacking for now.” I said as I swept my gaze about everyone, “Given our numbers, I’m afraid it will be nigh impossible to take the city. If we try to force it, we will find it difficult to prevail given that we lack manpower and familiarity with the terrain and battlefield.”

“Eh?” Lu Xiang let out a surprised gasp just as I finished, “So we’re not attacking?”

It was clear that Lu Xiang had been suppressing her hatred the past few days and it is likely that she was hoping to vent it out on the battlefield so when she heard what I said, she became downcast.

But I cannot disregard the big picture just because of Lu Xiang’s feelings.

“I know Lord Lu Xiang wants to do battle but adopting a wait-and-see approach for now is the best course of action.” I said softly and looked at Lu Xiang. She was frowning but did not have any intention of flaring it up it seems.

Sensing that i could push my recommendation further, I continued, “Now that the other side’s feudal lord is still missing, their mental and emotional states could turn for the worse in the matter of days. They might split up or they might even lose it and come to attack us instead. In a 1-to-1 siege battle, the defending side will have an absolute advantage.”

“But the probability of them attacking us is very low.” Shen Pei said as she frowned.

“It’s just a hypothesis.” I shrugged, “And just as we are in the dark about their strength, so are they about ours. Therefore, it is not that unlikely that they won’t attack.”

“Un…” Shen Pei nodded and began to fidget the sleeve she placed in front of her mouth a bit as she sank into thought. After a while, she nodded, “Un, yes. I believe that what you said makes sense.”

“Wu…”

Well, that’s all I had to say. I wondered if I ought to end things off by re-emphasising my point but when I looked at Lu Xiang’s troubled expression, I decided against it.

After all, the one deciding what course of action to take is not me.

<script>