520 Uncertainty (2/2)
Amongst the people in the tent, only Dugu Xian had served for both Norland and the Central Plain. As he was the only one here who understood the strengths and weaknesses of both parties, he decided to use a metaphor to illustrate the problem.
”Have you ever hunted in the snow mountains, Old Commander Long?” asked Dugu Xian.
”Of course. That is the daily work of the men of the Great Snowmountain,” replied Long Xiaoshi.
”With a sword or a bow?” asked Dugu Xian.
”With... a bow most of the times, and a sword at other times, when the prey falls into a trap and tries to resist,” he said.
”Why don't you use a sword during ordinary times?” pressed Dugu Xian.
Long Xiaoshi creased his eyebrows and found these questions to be irrelevant to the topic at hand. ”Because beasts will be beasts. They're extremely alert and not easy to get close to. Moreover, they always struggle in their final dying hours. During that time, they may accidentally hurt the hunter. Are you suggesting that I am a beast and the cavalry of Norland is a hunter?” said Long Xiaoshi.
Old Commander Long got a little angry and drew his sword out of habit, but put it halfway back. ”The Left General is a good man, and he's one-armed. He's in the same boat as me. I can't bully him,” the commander thought.
Dugu Xian said, ”I am full of respect towards the swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain, but I'm just trying to say that your hunting techniques resemble the strategies used by Norland in their battles. The boys in that country follow their fathers into hunts as soon as they've learned to draw a bow. They go hunting on an even larger scale when they're older. That's how they develop their battle tactics.”
Dugu Xian took a few steps forward and stopped directly in front of Long Xiaoshi. ”We've all seen the cavalry of Golden Roc Fort. They hold pikes and rush toward their enemies in a group. Then, they turn around and rush forward again. However, the strategies of Norland's cavalry is different. The army does not rush in front of you immediately, but comes at you from an angle. Their bodies face you indirectly, which allows them to not only maintain a distance, but also to draw their bows more easily,” he said.
”The principle of Norland's cavalry is not to rush into the crowd, but to turn at an angle within twenty steps of the enemy so if the enemy has archers, the distance will be increased. They surround you from three angles, leaving only one exit and using a rain of arrows to scare their enemies away. As soon as their enemies are scared off and trying to escape through the only exit, they run parallel to the enemy and fire their arrows, still maintaining a distance. In short, all of their strategies are the same as hunting strategies, only carried out on a larger scale,” continued Dugu Xian.
Everyone knew what Dugu Xian meant now. The Dragon Army was skilled at close-range combat. Facing the riding skills of Norland, they were limited in their abilities.
”We can defend the city,” A vice commander said, putting forth his own idea.
”If there was only the cavalry of Norland to consider, this might be a good idea. However, Norland is the eader of the north and controls many countries. Attacking the city would not require a cavalry from its own country,” replied Dugu Xian.
”Then how does the Central Plain fight Norland? I heard the Central Plain has been victorious in many battles,” asked the Vice Commander.
”Firstly, the Central Plain has many horses. It uses the cavalry to assault Norland's encampment frequently, wiping out the whole army before Norland has a chance to get ready. Secondly, the Central Plain has a lot of manpower. Once its army conquers an area, it builds a city on it and sends people to fill it. It only stops advancing when the land is barren and no longer arable. Look at us. We don't have nearly as many horses or people,” Dugu Xian explained.
Zhong Heng was a man from the Central Plain. He quickly added, ”Not only that, but the Central Plain trains a wide variety of soldiers — infantry, cavalry, archers and engineering troops. They're well-equipped and not lacking in anything. As such, the troops of the Central Plain are good at close-range battles, long-range attacks, charging, and raiding. Not a single skill is lacking.”
After hearing Dugu Xian and Zhong Heng explain the tactics of Norland and the Central Plain, the people in the tent fell quiet. Even after banding together, it seemed that the countries in the Western Region would still be unable to confront a large country.
The topic returned to its original issue: Out of the two parties, with whom should the Dragon Army side?
The debate lasted for the whole day. Not only did Dugu Xian and Zhong Heng hold onto their own opinions, but the other generals had their own inclinations, too. They clamoured among each other and could not reach an agreement.
Gu Shenwei had not interfered in anything from the start. He had not started this debate to achieve unity. As the Dragon King, the final decision laid with him. However, through the quarrels, he could find out everyone's thoughts while letting everyone know the opinions of others. The most important thing was to recognise the current situation and not become overconfident just because of a recent victory.
In the evening, Gu Shenwei concluded the debate, saying he would announce his decision the next morning.
Judging from the scene, the ones who preferred to ally with Norland and the ones who wanted the Central Plain as their ally could not convince each other. No one knew what the Dragon King really thought.
On top of this, an unexpected guest had secretly come to the Xiaoyao Lake region, bringing uncertainty to the debate between Norland and the Central Plain. Gu Shenwei never expected this visitor, and this person had even evaded the surveillance of Xiaoyi's intelligence.