520 Uncertainty (1/2)
Since the Central Plain and Norland were both working hard to win the Dragon King's support, Gu Shenwei decided to ask Prime Minister Zhong Heng and Left General Dugu Xian to debate on behalf of the two great powers and to summon several high-ranking military officials to hear this head-to-head debate.
Dugu Xian and Zhong Heng were surprised to hear the Dragon King's request. Their first reaction was to reject it, but they finally assured the Dragon King that they were absolutely loyal to him and had no ulterior motives on behalf of the other countries.
Although they both appeared quite reluctant, Gu Shenwei still insisted on them having a debate. ”This has nothing to do with your position on this question. It's just that I can't force my troops to join either of the great powers without giving them a reasonable explanation. They have to know the reason,” he said.
Zhong Heng and Dugu Xian refused repeatedly, but upon seeing that the Dragon King was adamant about it, they reluntantly agreed. However, in front of the high-ranking military generals, the two men went head-to-head and were not friendly to each other at all.
Zhong Heng was the minister, so the obligation to speak first was on him. ”Why should we ally with the Central Plain? The most important issue is not with the Central Plain, but whether Norland will easily give up his current ally, Golden Roc Fort. News just came that a great number of cavalrymen from Norland were heading toward Golden Roc Fort to assemble, clearly in order to support the Supreme King till the end. Negotiating with the Dragon Army seems like a stalling tactic that would not cost them anything. As long as Norland and Golden Roc Fort are still friends, the Dragon Army can only rely on the strength of the Central Plain,” he argued.
”Striking an alliance with the Central Plain gives another advantage. Since the Central Plain and the Western Region are separated far apart by the Gobi Desert, a big army would not be able to cross the border, and no more than 10,000 troops would be able to be stationed there. The Dragon Army would easily be able to fend it off. As for Norland, it borders the Western Region and already controls all the crucial roads leading east to Jade City. Ten thousand Norland cavalrymen can enter the Western Region at any time, and this should be the Dragon King's greatest concern. As the saying goes, friends living far apart will have fewer conflicts, those living near each other will have greater conflicts, and a friend living close by must be defeated,” Zhong Heng continued.
Dugu Xian felt somewhat irritated by Zhong Heng's words. It was not that he was eager to speak up for Norland, but that he did not want to be seen as a simpleton who did not understand simple logic. So he stood up, took a deep breath, and started to explain his reasons.
”You must remember that the Dragon King once made an alliance with the Central Plain. And what did this ally do to us? When the Dragon King was fighting against Golden Roc Fort alone in the Xiaoyao Lake region, the Central Plain didn't provide us with any manpower or resources. It ditched us without any consideration. That's the Central Plain's modus operandi -- in the Western Region, where the various countries constantly seek to sabotage each other, it secretly sows dissension and urges fights between countries. It always tries to reap the most benefits at the lowest cost. Is it worth making such an ally?” Dugu Xian countered.
Zhong Heng appeared much calmer than the Left General. While Dugu Xian was taking a breath, he quickly interjected, ”Norland expressed its intentions of forming an alliance with the Dragon King when Golden Roc Fort had just lost a battle. How different is that alliance from the Central Plain? The powerful countries are all like that — blaming them is useless.”
Dugu Xian stared angrily at the Prime Minister. He was not used to debating, so just kept repeating his original ideas. ”Befriending countries from afar and attacking those that are nearby is a good strategy, but a big country can only do that if it's dealing with weaker and smaller countries than itself. Compared to our neighboring country, Norland, we are a very small country. How can we use this strategy when dealing with Norland? More importantly, once we're in danger, allies from distant lands can't offer us help in time. By the time they came to our rescue, we'd have already been destroyed by our enemies. Let's face the reality that Norland has already occupied most of the Western Region. The forces of the Central Plain have diminished to only a few countries in the eastern part of the region. If we make an alliance with the Central Plain now, Norland will treat us as its enemy. Once it's detemined to eliminate us, we're doomed. We can't resist such a powerful country, even if the Central Plain sends all of its garrison troops in the Western Region to help us. Not to mention that the Central Plain would never do such a thing, anyway,” he said.
Zhong Heng smiled and shook his head. ”The Left General thinks that the troops from Norland are too numerous and too powerful for us to provoke. The truth is, in the eyes of Norland, the biggest enemy is not the Dragon Army, but will always be the Central Plain. The heroes of the Central Plain are aplenty, and even if a great number can't be moved to the Western Region, they'd still be able to launch an attack on Norland's border outside of the Western Region. Eighty to ninety percent of Norland's cavalrymen are confronting the Central Plain along the borders, so only a small number of them could be deployed to the Western Region. After we establish an alliance with the Central Plain, we can work together with them to launch a two-front war against Norland. Once Norland is defeated, we'll be safe forever,” he explained.
”The prime minister has just mentioned forming distant alliances and attacking neighboring countries. He seems to have forgotten that Norland knows this trick, as well. If I were the General of Norland, I would never fight a war on two fronts. I would retreat from the fight with the Central Plain for a while to focus on conquering the Western Region. I'd just need about a month to seize the region, and once I dominated it, I'd have more power and advantages to defeat the Central Plain,” Dugu Xian replied.
The high-ranking military generals listened intently to the Prime Minister and the Left General's debate. Sometimes, they felt as if they were being persuaded by one of them, but most of the time they couldn't decide who was right. Eventually, a few of them could not help but think of a third idea.
Commander Long Xiaoshi stood up and glanced around with his only eye, indicating that he had something to say. He was the tribal chief of the Danduo Peak, and one of his eyes had been taken by the giant red-crowned roc. In the battle of the seaside slope, his left shoulder had been seriously injured and still needed to be bandaged.
”You say that this country is strong, while he is of the opinion that the other is. The Golden Roc Army used to be described as invincible. Wasn't it defeated by the Dragon King? We fought on the battlefield, not caring about losing our lives. We didn't do that to flatter ourselves before our new master,” said Long Xiaoshi.
The commanders who were swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain nodded their heads. Because of this battle, their confidence had increased. They felt that Dugu Xian and Zhong Heng were overestimating the enemies' strength.
Zhong Heng strongly disapproved of Long Xiaoshi's views, but since he did not know military affairs as well as Dugu Xian did, he was happy to oblige to him. In the blink of an eye, the two transformed from debate opponents to allies.
”Old Commander Long, have you ever fought against the cavalry of Norland?” asked Dugu Xian.
There were several men in the tent who could be referred to as Commander Long or Vice Commander Long. In order to differentiate them, a word was usually added in front of their titles. ”Old Commander Long” meant Long Xiaoshi. Other than ”Old”, there was also big, small, black, white, left, right, et cetera.
”No,” Long Xiaoshi said proudly. ”That's the luck of the cavalry from Norland. Even if they were iron horses, I would've been able to cut them in two,” he boasted.
Because of the Dragon King, Dugu Xian was respectful toward the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, so he did not rebut him immediately. Instead, he slowly said, ”The heavy sword of Old Commander Long is something that I admire very much. However, if the other party used bow and arrows like the female archers of the Land of Fragrance, how would you fend them off with a heavy sword?”
”The female archers did not occupy the land with their skills. If I were to meet them, I would retreat to level land and bait them into going down the mountain. Then, I would rush towards them and slaughter them with my heavy sword,” Long Xiaoshi said.
Dugu Xian smiled and nodded his head, expressing his assent and said, ”That is where the problem lies. Norland uses its cavalry as its main force. In contrast with the female archers of the Land of Fragrance, they have horses that allow for easy advance and retreat. They wouldn't be stuck in a single place, let alone make any contact with the enemy.”
”How is it possible to fight without any contact? Is it a fight of endurance to see who would collapse out of physical exhaustion from the chase?” asked Long Xiaoshi.
The cavalry of Norland was famous, but most people only saw its success because of its reputation, not the effort that it had put in. After all, Norland had won every fight it had ever fought, and as for the tactics that it used, they were hardly scrutinized by anyone.