Catching Monsters

Chapter 638 Take care
These four generals were considered Wang Longzhi's confidants and were of the same rank as Li Dongwang.

Xiao Min'er was also by her side.

After arriving at the room on one side of the main hall, Wang Longzhi glanced at Xiao Min'er first, and then Xiao Min'er instructed the four generals: "Gentlemen, you will need to lead your soldiers to these locations to ambush them."

After speaking, Xiao Min'er took out a map of the three southwestern provinces and pointed to a place called Luoyan Town.

Luoyan Town is a necessary stop on the way from Sanmenxia to Chongshan County.

The entire town is situated in a basin, and if a large army were to enter this area, it could be surrounded.

The four experienced generals quickly saw the problem. One of them then spoke up, "Miss Min'er, if the enemy were to enter Luoyan Town, it would indeed be a good place for an ambush. But do you think they would fall for it so easily?"

“You four don’t need to worry about that.” Xiao Min’er smiled. “You all should not let any word out. We will set off in about three days.”

"If Xu Xiaogang leads his troops into this area, he must be killed!"

"Yes."

The four nodded repeatedly.

After the four generals left to prepare, Xiao Min'er and Wang Longzhi also prepared for the ambush.

Soon, news came from the front that after Xu Xiaogang occupied the Sanmen Pass, he made no move to continue a large-scale invasion. Instead, he kept sending troops to garrison the Sanmen Pass.

Inside the reception room, Wang Longzhi, with a worried expression, said in a deep voice, "Xu Xiaogang isn't planning to take any rash steps."

Wang Longzhi could understand this, as there were considerable risks involved in taking such a risky approach.

He stood before the map, frowning, and said, "If Xu Xiaogang were to continue attacking the other passes now..."

"Was this also within your expectations, Min'er?"

Xiao Min'er wasn't surprised. She nodded and said, "I've thought about it."

"But it doesn't matter, we just need to force Xu Xiaogang to attack us as soon as possible."

“Give him a reason to attack us immediately.”

“For example?” Wang Longzhi turned to look at Xiao Min’er beside her.

Xiao Min'er said in an icy voice, "Issue a mandatory conscription order to expand the army."

Upon hearing this, Wang Longzhi's expression changed. He knew that the size of the army was indeed very important.

But quality is even more important.

Indeed, there are many able-bodied men in the three southwestern provinces. By forcibly conscripting them, a large army can be assembled in a short period of time.

But these troops, in terms of both discipline and combat effectiveness, are probably not even as good as bandits.

More importantly.

If all eligible men are forcibly conscripted into the army, agriculture in various regions will be neglected.

With spring just around the corner, if this is done, grain production in the three southwestern provinces may be significantly reduced next year, and the famine next year alone could kill countless people.

This is tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Xiao Min'er saw through Wang Longzhi's thoughts and said, "If we don't completely defeat Xu Xiaogang, we won't have to go hungry next year."

Wang Longzhi said in a deep voice, "But the people of the three southwestern provinces are likely to suffer."

“Wang Longzhi, as long as we enforce conscription here, Xu Xiaogang will never be willing to delay for several months and let us prepare and train this army.”

"Although the population of the three southwestern provinces is not as large as that of the wealthy provinces, it is not a problem to gather another 300,000 to 400,000 people."

Wang Longzhi clenched his fist: "But these 300,000 people are all important laborers. Spring is coming soon. Without these laborers, next year's grain..."

Xiao Min'er raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Long Zhi, you have never rejected my strategy before. This time, you absolutely cannot do it either, otherwise, the Three Gates Pass will be lost for nothing."

She grabbed Wang Longzhi's wrist: "Now is not the time to consider the overall situation. As long as we defeat Xu Xiaogang and conquer the three southwestern provinces, the grain we collect can be used to supply the three southwestern provinces."

Wang Longzhi shook his head. Things were not that simple. Even if he successfully conquered the three southwestern provinces, the grain collected from outside would probably only be enough to support his large army.

Next year, no, not even until next year, famine in the three southwestern provinces will likely claim countless lives.

"Those who achieve great things do not concern themselves with trifles. Longzhi!"

“No need!” Wang Longzhi took a deep breath: “I will not issue such an order.”

"I seized the world partly for you, Min'er, and to avenge you."

“On the other hand, it is indeed because the court is rife with corruption, and the people are suffering terribly. I want to change all of this.” Wang Longzhi took a deep breath and said, “Min’er, we can talk about other things, but if we really do this, the people of the three provinces will suffer because of me.” “What do you want to do?” Xiao Min’er’s face darkened.

Wang Longzhi took a deep breath, gripped his sword, and said in a deep voice, "I'm going to issue a challenge to Xu Xiaogang, and we'll fight in one place."

"If I lose, my army will surrender to him!"

“I should die by his hand too.”

“If he loses, I will kill him, which will achieve your strategic objective in the same way.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Min'er immediately became anxious: "Foolish! What kind of commander goes to the battlefield personally? Long Zhi..."

Wang Longzhi's expression was resolute, as if he had made up his mind.

Xiao Min'er knew him too well. She knew that he was indecisive and that he was probably suffering because of the great war, which had caused great hardship in the southwest.

In fact, ever since the last time he flooded the Zhenchi army in order to defeat them, Wang Longzhi's conscience had been tormented.

Countless people along the way suffered from floods, resulting in the destruction of their homes and the loss of their lives.

Wang Longzhi quickly and solemnly wrote a letter and had it sent to Xu Xiaogang's camp.

Xiao Min'er sat beside Wang Longzhi. After seeing the letter sent out, the anger on her face gradually disappeared. Instead, she hugged Wang Longzhi tightly from behind in the study.

“Longzhi, I’m sorry. It’s my fault that you’ve gone down this path. Otherwise, with your abilities and virtues, you would never have ended up in this state.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Longzhi gently patted Xiao Min'er's hand and said with a smile, "Min'er, don't worry. I have been leading troops for many years. Even on the front lines, I will definitely be able to defeat Xu Xiaogang!"

"Even if he dies, it's for the best. At least the world won't be thrown into chaos anymore. It's not necessarily a bad thing."

Xiao Min'er's eyes lit up slightly, and she asked, "What if Xu Xiaogang is unwilling to fight?"

"If he is unwilling to fight to the death, then listen to me and issue a mandatory conscription order. Xu Xiaogang will definitely attack then, which will also be considered a decisive battle, right?"

After hearing Xiao Min'er's words, Wang Longzhi was at a loss for words. He remained silent for a long time before nodding slightly.

……

"War letter?"

At the Sanmen Pass, Xu Xiaogang, who was busy arranging things, was stunned when he saw the letter sent by Chongshan County.

He frowned, picked up the letter, and opened it to read. It was a letter written by Wang Longzhi himself, and the gist of it was that when the two sides went to war, it was the people in various places who ultimately suffered.

Xu Xiaogang was to have a decisive battle in ten days, with the location to be chosen by Xu Xiaogang.

Both sides led their troops to fight to the death.

Xu Xiaogang touched his hair and quickly summoned all the soldiers, including Ye Xiuyuan, Shan Tiangang and others who had come with him, to discuss the matter.

"Could it be that Wang Longzhi has been listening to too many storytelling tales? Two armies facing off, a decisive battle?"

"Why should we fight a decisive battle? We have a steady stream of reinforcements. They're practically starving. If we fight them, we'll suffer a huge loss."

“That makes sense. In my opinion, there must be a conspiracy behind this. General Xu, we must not fall for it.”

Many of the generals present shared their opinions, while Xu Xiaogang looked at Ye Xiuyuan beside him.

Even someone as intelligent as Ye Xiuyuan frowned at this moment. He glanced at the map and said, "Something's not right. Has Wang Longzhi gone mad? Or is it that their food reserves have been reduced to only enough for ten days, leaving them with no choice but to launch such a decisive battle?"

"But if that's the case, we only need to stall for ten days..."

Even Ye Xiuyuan was momentarily confused, unable to fathom Wang Longzhi's thoughts.

Xu Xiaogang then asked, "Mr. Ye, do you have any suggestions on this? Should I accept the challenge or not?"

Ye Xiuyuan gave a wry smile and slowly said, "In my opinion, we should ignore this challenge. As long as we advance steadily and don't rush, this rebel army is almost certain to lose."

Moreover, the intention behind this challenge is still unclear.

Xu Xiaogang nodded: "Burn this challenge letter; this matter must not be publicized."

If the enemy issues a challenge and we don't accept it, it won't sound good if word gets out.

At this moment, Ye Xiuyuan walked to a corner of the hall, holding three copper coins in his hand and tossing them around. The three copper coins rolled several times before landing on the ground.

After glancing at them, Ye Xiuyuan quickly put away the three copper coins: "General Xu, we have taken care of helping you break through the pass, and we will return to the capital first. Take care."

(End of this chapter)