Chapter 96 - Strategist Against Strategist

The day before Xue Qiming and Xue Niang arrived in Yuanyang.

"What a splendid Ruen Dynasty! What a formidable Qi Zongbi!" Yelü Jiejia said, holding the letter. His expression was dark and foreboding. "I underestimated this External Prime Minister of the Ruen Dynasty. His methods are quite ruthless, but..."

Yelü Jiejia flicked the letter, looked at the messenger standing below, and asked, "Is the source of this information reliable?"

"The person is an informant from the Qihuang Society, planted in the Ruen Dynasty, who has operated in the Tianjin prefecture for many years... he shouldn’t be wrong."

The one addressing King Yelü looked young and was dressed in ordinary clothing. It was unclear what identity he had used to gain an audience in the palace.

Yelü Jiejia nodded and pondered for a moment.

"Then, in your opinion, what should we do next?"

The young man smiled slightly, confidence radiating from his eyes. "Let’s turn the tables on them."

"Oh?" Yelü Jiejia gave him a sidelong glance. "What do you mean by turning the tables?"

The young man gestured toward the letter in Yelü Jiejia's hand.

"The letter says that the Ruen Dynasty is plotting a trap for our army at the Gobi border. If we were unaware, we might send troops to guard this hard-won border city, playing right into the hands of the Ruen Dynasty. Their trap would succeed and the consequences would be unimaginable. They might indeed swallow us whole."

Yelü Jiejia narrowed his eyes and nodded.

A gleam of brilliance flashed in the young man's eyes as he spoke confidently. "But since we already understand what the Ruen Dynasty intends to do, they can no longer dictate the course of the war. The fewer people who know about this matter, the better.

"If we feign ignorance and continue to attack their border, the Ruen Dynasty will inevitably act as planned.

"They will relinquish the border city for us after they stage a defeat. When they think we've fallen for their trap, we will abandon these cities and retreat instead."

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Yelü Jiejia's eyes shot open. "Oh? Not defending?"

The young man nodded confidently. "That's right, there's no need to defend. According to their original plan, they expect us to fortify ourselves after taking the border city, and then they will mobilize all their forces to besiege us.

"The border cities in the Gobi are easy to attack but hard to defend. If we defend to the death, we will surely suffer a major defeat, and at that point, we will be unable to safely retreat."

Yelü Jiejia tapped his fingers unconsciously on the edge of the bed.

"If we don't defend, are we just going to abandon those border cities? The stalemate between Ruen and Qiang has lasted so many years because of the Gobi. If we simply let this opportunity slip away, then what was the point of doing all this?"

The young man seemed to have anticipated Yelü Jiejia’s question, and he smiled silently.

"I only said there's no need to defend, not that we won't attack. As I mentioned, the fewer people who know about this matter, the better. After all, our soldiers won't know that the Ruen Dynasty already planned to sacrifice those cities.

"When we first take their border, the morale of our soldiers will surely soar. Taking advantage of the moral boost the Ruen Dynasty has given us for free, we will directly advance westward, abandoning these useless border cities.

"The west is the quickest way out of the Gobi, and there lies an important border town of the Ruen Dynasty, Yanchi Pass. At that time, the Ruen Dynasty will think we have fallen for their trap and will rush to gather troops at the border city to eliminate us, completely clueless to the fact that we have already retreated westward and brushed past them.

"For this reason, Yanchi Pass will definitely be poorly defended, akin to an empty city. Capturing Yanchi Pass will be even easier than capturing the three previous cities. Moreover, as a major border town outside of the Gobi, its internal supplies will be sufficient for us to resupply.

"Once we take this city, we will have driven a nail into the Ruen Dynasty's greatest weakness. If the Ruen Dynasty reacts just a little slower, we can continue to invade deeper into their territory and catch them off guard. At that time...

heh heh

."

The young man stopped there with a wide grin. What would happen next was already self-evident.

"Good!" Yelü Jiejia clapped heavily on the edge of the bed, looking appreciatively at the young man below. "Kou Qiuren you are magnificent! What a genius strategist, Kou Gu'en! You alone could support half of my Northern Qiang territory..."

The young man smiled slightly, shaking his head. "I don't dare to take such credit, Your Majesty."

Yelü Jiejia stood up from the bed and paced back and forth. After a while, he raised his head again.

"We must not delay. I will give the orders now to start mobilizing troops and prepare for battle."

The young man smiled slightly. "Excellent."

***

Ruen Dynasty, northwest of the capital, the Heavenly Diviniation Shrine.

In the same seven-story building, the figure whose disheveled hair made him resemble a wraith, sat in the shadows.

"The report has already reached Northern Qiang." A stout man stood respectfully in front of the shadowed figure.

"

Mm

..." The person in the shadows sat beside a wooden table. He held a book on military stratagems and nodded noncommittally. "Were there any suspicions?"

The stout man momentarily recalled and then answered, "There shouldn't be any. I've been in the Qihuang Society for five years, so no one would suspect me."

The person in the shadows nodded again.

"That's good. With the news delivered, Northern Qiang has that so-called genius strategist, so it's impossible for them to retreat from our challenge. If he doesn't even understand how to turn the tables, he's not worthy of the title genius strategist,

heh.

"

The stout man stood silently with his hands against his sides, not daring to speak.

The person in the shadows glanced this way and then said, "Alright, you can go back now."

The stout man bowed slightly and went downstairs.

The person in the shadows continued to read the military book, and apart from the occasional sound of flipping pages, he seemed like a statue.

A sudden voice came from a corner of the top floor. "Will your plans be of use?"

The person in the shadows remained unfazed, clearly having known of this person's presence beforehand. He replied, "Why would I do something useless?"

Footsteps approached, and a figure emerged from the corner, dressed in all black and carrying a lustrous black umbrella on his back... It was Ah San.

"Even if you inform Northern Qiang of the Ruen Dynasty's plans, what then? How can you be sure they will follow the path you've set?" Ah San asked in a low voice.

The person in the shadows turned a page in the book. "That's why you are nothing but a brute. At most you can kill ten, a hundred, or a thousand men, while I am a strategist... I slay millions."

Ah San snorted coldly. "What do you mean? Speak plainly."

"Talking to people like you is exhausting." The person in the shadows sighed. "That supposed genius strategist Kou Gu'en is a military strategist just like me. Moreover, in terms of cunning, he is far inferior to me. I know exactly what he will think."

After a moment of silence, Ah San said, "I hope your confidence isn't coming from nowhere."

"Rest assured, at least for now our goals align. I won’t do anything to harm our interests." The person in the shadows smiled, his voice hoarse. "Things are about to get chaotic. With a great war between the two nations, Northern Qiang is already strong and well-equipped, plus they have Kou Gu'en backing them. The Ruen Dynasty is unlikely to survive for more than a few years. You will soon have the results you seek."

Ah San chuckled coldly. "Let’s hope so."