824 Allied Forces (1/2)
The Dragon King returned with only Liman and Han Fen behind him. There was not a single soldier of the Naihang Tribe, nor any distant sound of clapping horse hoofs.
Disappointment could be clearly seen on the faces of the soldiers. They were not cowards, but they felt that they suffered a heavy loss. They had been expecting the 100,000 cavalrymen of the Naihang Tribe to show up, but their absence was foreboding.
”200,000!” a veteran yelled loudly.
Gu Shenwei reined his horse back.
”Luoluo has 200,000 men and they'll be here in seven or eight days,” the veteran explained. During the Dragon King's absence, the news had become more accurate and detailed as more information came in.
”What should we do?” the soldiers asked all at once. They had heard that the counselor and the young king had convinced all the generals to fight, and now, everybody was waiting for the Dragon King's decision.
”We fight,” Gu Shenwei uttered, enunciating the words one by one.
There was total silence at the camp gate. Nobody opposed his decision, but nobody cheered either.
Liman then loudly declared, ”The 100,000 cavalrymen of the Naihang Tribe is advancing eastwards. If we don't act soon, we'll be left behind.”
”The Dragon King got the Naihang Tribe back?” a soldier asked excitedly.
”The Naihang Tribe will be our vanguards, and they'll hold Luoluo's army back,” replied Gu Shenwei.
The air was filled with cheers. Before Gu Shenwei reached the main tent, the message had already spread through the whole army camp and it had turned into a simplified version with just a few words: The Naihang Tribe is in.
Shulitu and Fang Wenshi took the lead, and all of the generals followed them along in standing outside the tent to welcome the Dragon King back. As they all stared at him with an intent look, Gu Shenwei said from horseback, ”General Zhe Su and his men have already departed for Thousand Horsemen Pass. Today, Shulitu's army will rest and reorganize. We set out tomorrow morning. Long Fanyun, go to the Xiaowan Kingdom and order the 20,000 members of the Dragon Army to come and join our main force right away.”
There was no need to even ask what the Dragon King's decision was. Originally, some generals had been prepared to try to reason with the Dragon King about why they should retreat. But when faced with the man himself, none of them took the lead, and after a certain amount of time had passed, they found that any objections would now be inopportune.
”Prepare for war!” Fang Wenshi shouted, breaking the silence of the generals. ”Everybody, prepare for war!”
All the generals followed the order. The issue that they had previously argued so intensely about had become insignificant under the Dragon King's presence. This scene was engraved into Duodun's mind and he finally began to understand why the Second Consort valued the Dragon King so greatly.
”Azheba,” Duodun yelled, gathering the crowd's attention before they scattered. ”Return to Heaven's Pass immediately. Order 10,000 of the troops to stay and hold the fort, and for the other 60,000 come here as soon as possible. Order Mo Chu to command the army himself.”
”Yes.” Azheba remounted his horse and left the camp just a short while later than Long Fanyun.
The confidence of the entire army was drastically boosted. With their army almost 300,000 strong, they would have absolute numerical superiority and victory would be certain. In their eyes, Luoluo had turned from a formidable enemy into a dumbass who was sending them a free victory as a gift.
But in the tent, when the Dragon King, Fang Wenshi, Shulitu, Duodun and Liman were the only ones present, Luoluo was still ”formidable.”
Duodun didn't trust people easily, and he was the first to ask, ”Is the Naihang Tribe really going to fight Luoluo?”
Gu Shenwei didn't speak and let Liman to answer this question.
”The Naihang Tribe went to go negotiate with Luoluo,” Liman revealed.
Duodun's heart immediately sank and he looked at Liman with a severe look. If he knew this, he might not have mobilized his army in Heaven's Pass.
Liman hurriedly explained, ”My father won't ally with Luoluo right away. He'll negotiate with him first, and then stand by and watch us fight. Whoever gains the upper hand will also gain his support.”
This was just slightly better than betrayal. Their 300,000 troops had been reduced to 180,000 motley soldiers, and now Luoluo's troops clearly outnumbered them.
Duodun said nothing else. Now that he had given the order, he had no choice but to fight. Yet he had to keep his 60,000 cavalrymen as healthy as possible, no matter the cost.
”We have to fight this war. If the battle doesn't take place north of Heavenly Mountain, Luoluo will no doubt go through Thousand Horsemen Pass and then attack Heaven's Pass from both the front and the back.”
”I have already explained it to the troops,” Fang Wenshi said impassively. When he realized that his previous impromptu idea had converged with that of the Dragon King, he felt very self-satisfied.
Gu Shenwei took the hint and changed topics immediately. ”Luoluo has come a long way and he doesn't have enough provisions and livestock to take a protracted engagement. I expect that he will have to retreat before winter sets in.”
”We can just confront him without fighting him,” Fang Wenshi advised. ”Not only will this cause the enemy's deployment to fall into disarrangement, but it will also enhance our own troops' morale.”
Liman nodded to show his approval, but it was mainly to convince Prince Duodun. ”The Naihang Tribe has changed the direction of their march after meeting with the Dragon King. When Luoluo learns of this, he probably won't agree to my father's negotiation request. So, in his eyes, we will still have 300,000 men at our disposal. This is also another piece of leverage that we can use.”
Duodun's army had been combined together with Shulitu's. If he lost this army, he would never have enough strength to contend for the throne, so he weighed his options for a while before saying, ”All right. Then let's face him head on. But our army lacks a unified command network, so I suggest selecting a Commander-in-chief first.”
”The Dragon King's our best choice,” Fang Wenshi immediately made his recommendation.
Duodun smiled and replied, ”Has the Dragon King ever been in command of such a large army? It's not just an army of thousands, much less a saber or a sword. And of course, Shulitu and I are not qualified either.”
Fang Wenshi was just about to rebut Duodun when Gu Shenwei stopped him. ”Prince Duodun's right. We need a true leader. Do you two princes have any recommendations?”
To be on the safe side, Shulitu didn't answer. But Duodun merely thought for a while before saying, ”There's no need to hurry. Maybe we should hold a meeting and consult the generals as well.”
”Tomorrow night, then.” Gu Shenwei didn't want to make a rash decision either. ”We'll select a Commander-in-chief after setting camp.”
Things went well, but as soon as Duodun and Liman left the tent, Fang Wenshi immediately said, ”Duodun still has designs on the crown. We can't give the position of Commander-in-chief to anyone from his side.”
Shulitu certainly understood this. ”I think that Duodun's probably going to recommend Liman. He is Zhe Su's son, and has served King Rizhu and fought a lot of wars for him. Besides his young age, he has every qualification to be the Commander-in-chief of this unified army.”