Start with a red name

The plan was completed without any setbacks, but the Dong Guan and his ministers, gathered together, showed no sign of joy.

From Dong Guan to his trusted advisors, everyone had furrowed brows and looked preoccupied.

Even before they arrived, news of the "Black Wind Army" setting up camp there and the various changes that had occurred in the surrounding area as a result had already reached their ears.

Their slow pace was due to learning from past lessons: before targeting the enemy, they first ensured their own invincibility.

We will never reveal any flaws again.

By abandoning the main force and using the speed of the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry, they could quickly close the distance between the enemy and themselves.

However, for these cavalry, the lack of stable and sufficient logistical support was their fatal weakness.

If it were a different enemy, Dong Guan and his ministers might still be confident that they could win in one battle with their hundreds of thousands of iron cavalry, and would not worry about the slightest hidden danger.

However, according to the deductions of Dong Guanjun and his ministers, even if they looked across the entire land, the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry, which was confident that it was "invincible", had lost 70,000 cavalrymen to the "Black Wind Army" in less than two months.

Based on this, the "Black Wind Army" built up a formidable cavalry force of 30,000 to 40,000 men from scratch!
Such a tragic experience was enough to make Dong Guan and his ministers put away all their arrogance and contempt.

After much painful reflection, they established a basic principle for their next actions.

—No longer seeking to quickly annihilate or wipe out the enemy, but instead ensuring that every action minimizes one's own vulnerabilities.

That situation, where our own deployment allows the enemy to take advantage of an opening and quickly "dismember" us, must never happen again!

Therefore, even though they knew that the "Black Wind Army" was only three or four hundred miles away, with the speed of the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry, they could catch up quickly as long as they made up their minds.

However, Dong Guan and his ministers suppressed their restless emotions. Apart from sending out some Xuan You riders to act as scouts, they had no intention of "attacking the enemy by surprise" or giving them a good beating.

Even the scouts and sentries they sent out behaved exceptionally well. If they encountered any scouts from the "Black Wind Army" who tried to stop them, they would simply detour and avoid them, showing no intention of getting entangled with them.

Since Dong Guan trained the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry, they have never been so obedient.

But it was precisely because of them that a continuous stream of information was transmitted to Dong Guan and his ministers.

In addition, Dong Guan's decades-long rule had given him an extremely deep-rooted popular base in this land.

Nothing the Black Wind Army did in that day and night escaped their notice.

The Black Wind Army halted its advance in the wilderness more than 20 miles west of Siyebao and began to build a permanent camp.

The camp was enormous, bordering a mountain range to the north, which served as a natural barrier, effectively cutting off any possibility of an attack from the north.

They had encompassed a foreign tribe to the west, securing ample water resources, displaying an arrogant attitude as if they were just waiting for them to launch a full-scale attack.

In addition, two other messages also attracted their close attention.

First, taking advantage of the gap before they arrived, the "Black Wind Army" dispatched over ten thousand cavalry to carry out a highly efficient "cleanup" of the area east of the camp.

They eventually plowed out a "no man's land" that was more than 50 miles wide from east to west and more than 200 miles long from north to south.

The sand people living in this area were either abducted or driven away, either to the south, or to the east, and some even went west in a daze... In short, they refused to stay in one place and wait to die.

All usable water sources of any significant size within this area have been polluted and damaged.

The scope of the impact extends far beyond this.

According to the scouts, the "infection" from these fleeing people inevitably affected the sand people who were further away and outside the range of the "Black Wind Army's" iron cavalry.

Then, almost without exception, these sand people, upon hearing the devastating news, joined the fleeing crowd.

According to the latest reports, the area indirectly affected has exceeded the area directly cleared by the "Black Wind Army" cavalry.

This means that their plan to obtain some supplies and available manpower nearby has completely failed.

This news alone left Dong Guanjun and his ministers speechless.

None of them expected that falling behind by just one day would turn the situation so unfavorable for them.

The price of choosing conservatism and stability came so quickly.

But if this news only left them speechless, the second piece of news that came back horrified them.

While the Black Wind Army was busy building its camp, it also dispatched thousands of cavalry, with the cooperation of a large number of foreign troops, to deal a swift and decisive blow to the militia in the west who were following Dong Guan's orders to organize forces to search for and kill the tribesmen hiding in the wilderness.

Intense and precise.

Wherever the iron cavalry passed, the militia had only two fates.

Or die.

Either lower it.

With the strong intervention of the "Black Wind Army," the fighting that Dong Guan had just instigated quickly cooled down.

If that were all, it wouldn't be enough to make Dong Guan and his ministers pale with fright.

They saw the ambition behind this operation!

"Now, the situation is quite clear."

"The 'Black Wind Army' is at the forefront, facing our military might directly. Before this obstacle is cleared, they can only create some small-scale, insignificant chaos, and cannot send more troops to intervene further west!"

"Although the Black Wind Army only dispatched a few thousand iron cavalry, without our intervention, they are an invincible force."

With the cooperation of those 'filthy bastards,' it won't be long before Youzhou, west of the 'Black Wind Army' camp, falls completely into their hands!

With just this one move, most of Youzhou will change hands!
Just thinking about it made Dong Guan and his ministers' hearts pound uncontrollably.

If this comes true, it means that their decades of hard work will all be in vain.

The key point is that, according to their calculations, this is almost a certainty for the "Black Wind Army".

Unless they immediately launch a fierce attack on the enemy camp and quickly crush it, and then immediately march westward, it will be difficult to break this deadlock.

During this period, some people also offered some new "problem-solving ideas".

One person suggested that a portion of the cavalry be sent to bypass the area from the north.

Bypassing the mountain range that stretches for four or five hundred miles, then swooping south, they intervened in the changing situation in western Youzhou, offsetting the advantage brought by the enemy's iron cavalry, stabilizing the sand tribe settlements, and strengthening their confidence in continuing the resistance.

If enough troops are dispatched, they can also attack the "Black Wind Army" camp from the rear. With their cooperation, they can immediately form a pincer movement against the "Black Wind Army".

Before Dong Guan could reply, someone offered a rebuttal.

The reasons were very valid, and Dong Guan, who was initially somewhat tempted by the suggestion, resolutely rejected it after careful consideration.

"From the beginning until now, we have lost 70,000 cavalrymen!"

Isn't this lesson profound enough?
"Isn't that enough...? Does it hurt?!"

"In terms of troop strength, we certainly still have a huge advantage."

However, we must also recognize that the 'Black Wind Army' possesses unparalleled acumen in seizing opportunities!

"Don't take any chances."

If we divide our forces, we must be prepared for heavy losses, or even complete annihilation, against them!

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

The Black Wind Army's past achievements make it impossible for anyone to definitively refute this claim. And no one dares to say, "This won't happen."

While they still hold a numerical advantage, it is no longer as absolute as it was a month ago.

If you send 10,000 or 20,000, or even 30,000 troops, you're just delivering food to others!

However, if more of it were to be divided, this area would be severely weakened, and it might even endanger Dong Guan's safety.

Considering this, the already unsure crowd dared not agree to the proposal.

Even the person who proposed this "solution" fell silent after a moment of shock.

Soon, someone borrowed this idea slightly and proposed a completely different new solution.

"Now, we have taken full advantage of the waterways."

After capturing Xuanqinghai, we also seized a large number of ships.

"Now, these forces are basically idle, which is a great pity."

"The Hang River in the south runs through the entire Youzhou."

We cannot divide our forces here, nor can we intervene by advancing westward by land.

Why not try a different approach and move those naval forces westward along the Hang River... We can land and intervene anywhere we want.

Similarly, they could quickly retreat into the Hang River to escape the pursuit of enemy cavalry.

"...Back then, when the 'Black Wind Army' first entered Xuanqing Sea, they cut off the 'throat waterway' and gained the advantage of waterways. How much suffering did we endure?"
Now, it's a matter of tit for tat, and it's being used against the 'Black Wind Army'.

Dong Guan's face once again showed a look of excitement.

The others also fell into deep thought.

After a while, Dong Guan looked at the strategist he favored most beside him and asked:
"Shaohe, what do you think?"

Seeing this, the others showed different expressions, some puzzled, some displeased, some jealous...

Zhang Shaohe, who is not yet forty years old, can be considered a "young achiever" in this group.

Zhang Shaohe did not answer immediately, but continued to ponder for a while before looking up at Dong Guan and saying in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, there is nothing wrong with this strategy itself."

But if you really want my opinion, I will refuse.

The person who proposed this strategy immediately showed a look of resentment on his face.

Dong Guan raised his eyebrows, looking puzzled, and asked directly what was going on, his tone subtly turning colder.

"Why?"

Zhang Shaohe seemed oblivious, his face calm, and said softly:
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the strategy we devised on the western shore of Xuanqing Sea before we launched our pursuit, after much painful reflection?"

Dong Guan's gaze sharpened.

The others also changed color upon hearing this seemingly casual remark.

Some were a little slow to react, but there was no stupid person present. After a moment's thought, they all suddenly realized what was happening and their expressions changed.

After asking the question, Zhang Shao paused for a moment, and after everyone had thought it through, he spoke again softly:

"Your Majesty, we are all disturbed by the Black Wind Army's attempt to sever Youzhou."

The strategy that had just been decided was also shaken!

"...Previously, we suffered a series of defeats."

This is certainly related to the fact that the 'Black Wind Army' often acts unexpectedly and always manages to seize excellent opportunities.

But I think the most important reason is that we have been being led by the nose by the other party.

We possess strength far exceeding that of our opponents, yet we lack our own rhythm.

Everything we do is within the other party's plan!
That……"

At this point, Zhang Shaohe looked around at everyone and reminded them:

"...Have you all considered that this is actually another 'Mysterious Azure Sea' designed by the other party?"

Whether it's the cavalry splitting up and bypassing from the north, or the navy clearing the way and using the Hang River to harass everywhere... although the land and sea routes are different, one thing is similar: our attention has once again been firmly drawn to the enemy.

We've fallen into their pre-set rhythm once again!

Everyone else paled.

Dong Guan remained silent, feeling as if a huge boulder was lodged in his heart.

Countless replays of the entire Xuan Qinghai campaign show that he personally led his army, advancing triumphantly and achieving victory after victory, not only killing tens of thousands of enemies but also subjugating Xuan Qinghai.

The victory was immense, and the results were glorious.

But the excruciating pain was absolutely genuine.

Dong Guan was well aware that, despite being in charge of the operation, he was being led by the nose and manipulated by others throughout the entire process.

So, is this territory that he is unwilling to give up under any circumstances another "Xuanqing Sea"?

While Dong Guan was still pondering and struggling with his thoughts, someone next to him directly picked a fight:

"We can't just stand by and watch them carve out most of Youzhou, can we?"

Everyone else nodded.

We can't just pretend not to see the Black Wind Army just because they've already made a move here, and let them easily take Youzhou away in order to avoid being led by the nose, can we?
At this point, even if you know there's a trap inside, you still have to jump in without hesitation.

As for the outcome, it's nothing more than a matter of each side calculating their own moves, and the brave one will win when they meet on a narrow path!

Zhang Shaohe looked at the other party and retorted sharply, "When did I say I would hand over Youzhou to them so easily?"

As he spoke, he looked at Dong Guan and said:

"Your Majesty, don't be intimidated by their swift and decisive actions. Even without our timely intervention, how could they have conquered such a vast territory and a massive population in just a few days?"
"Let alone three to five days, it might not even be possible to complete it in three to five months!"

"Surface wrinkles are easy to remove, but the hidden turmoil is the biggest obstacle!"

Zhang Shaohe looked at Dong Guan and said earnestly, "You should understand this best!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Guan nodded slowly.

That's the truth.

His gaze softened slightly as he looked at Zhang Shaohe and asked:
"So what do you think we should do next?"

"...Also, I think Li Jian is right. We have so many idle naval forces; it's a waste to just leave them there. Even if they're completely wiped out, they'll still have some value, right?"

Zhang Shaohe shook his head: "The navy can't be left idle; there are very important things for them to do!"

"What is it?" Dong Guan asked. (End of Chapter)