Vol 9 Chapter 95 (1/2)
VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 95: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS A TEMPORARY RESPITE BEFORE THE NEXT BATTLE (10)
Li Dian POV
I s.h.i.+fted my gaze to Cao Ren and saw that she had not moved since then and still had a strained expression on as she sank into silence. Of the people I know, Cao Ren is one of the calmest and most pragmatic, which is why I believe she should have come to the same conclusion as I have.
“Lord Li Dian, I’ve come to a decision.” After a while, Cao Ren said as she sighed and moved her left arm to the back and supported herself. Her expression seemed rather melancholic.
“… Yes, may I ask what Lord Cao Ren intends to do?”
Presently, the 2 others and I are sitting upright as we await Cao Ren’s verdict.
In the next instant, Cao Ren flashed her signature smile and looked at us as she nodded, “I think that we should mount an attack with all our forces.”
“*Pa*! Eh?!” A very disgraceful yelp and a very rude slap on the table filled the air. By the time I regained my senses and tried to see who it was, I found that the one who did it was myself.
“Ah… Ah, un.” I returned my hands to my lap and sat properly before speaking in a serious tone as befits the venue, “Dare I ask, Lord Cao Ren, was there any flaw in my proposition before?”
Cao Ren smiled as she shook her head, “None at all. But for this battle, we must be the instigators as before.”
“Why?” I frowned, feeling very puzzled and troubled, and asked further, “Please give me a reason. Does Lord Cao Ren intend on fighting the enemy to the bitter end?”
“… To put it simply, yes.”
“Wu!”
“Eh?” I heard a weird sound and looked up but this time, it was Shen Pei who made a weird noise, albeit softer and less rowdy than I was.
“Why do we have to go that far…” Shen Pei continued as her frown grew tighter and her expression became stormy.
“Because we are the vanguard.” Cao Ren said definitively, her smile fading away as she did so, leaving behind a stern expression. When she finished, she looked at the 3 of us.
“As the vanguard, our primary objective is to attack. We don’t need to score smas.h.i.+ng victory after victory but we need to keep attacking.” She looked at me as she said so before continuing, “When the main body arrives, what are we to do then?”
“Be that as it may, if we are to attack this time, under present circ.u.mstances where our strength is equal, we will be at an absolute disadvantage if the enemy chooses to defend the city.”
“Lord Li Dian, Xinye city’s walls are neither thick nor tall enough. Even if they choose to remain in the city, we just need to destroy the walls.” Xao Ren said as she confidently smoothened the creases on her s.h.i.+rt, “And we can always hara.s.s them to no end from outside the city. This will have significant psychological impact and exert tremendous pressure on both the generals and the commoners.”
“But…” I said as I lowered my head. There was a lot more I had to say but I found it difficult to voice the objections in my heart.
“I feel that what Lord Cao Ren said is a lot more acceptable.” Lu Xiang sat upright as she nodded.
“Lu Xiang…” Well, it’s no surprise that Lu Xiang is in agreement so long as she is able to join the battlefield.
I can more or less understand what Cao Ren is saying but from my perspective, I am unable to agree with it. It’s not like what she says does not make sense, applying pressure is far more useful than waiting for the other side to attack after all.
And that is the whole point of the vanguard to begin with. But the risk is too great and the probability that we might be completely wiped out is not low at all.
“…” I stayed silent as I had no way of fully countering her argument.
“… Well then, if there are no objections, we’ll go with this for now.” Cao Ren nodded and did not give me any time to speak or think, “Shen Pei, Lu Xiang, I need you both to go to our troops and give the order to be ready to move out at any time. As for the details on our formation, tactics and logistics arrangements, we will leave that for later.”
“Ah, yes…”
“Understood~”