My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Even seemingly invincible rattan armor soldiers could be defeated by Xiao He by discovering their weaknesses.

Although this elephant cavalry is more imposing, what if it also harbors a fatal flaw?
If Xiao He truly sees through their scheme and finds a way to break it, the defeat of the war elephants would be one thing, but if Meng Quan's remaining main force were to perish along with the elephant cavalry, there would be no chance of recovery.

After Lü Kai's reminder, Meng Quan felt a chill run down his spine. His mind, which had been clouded by victory, instantly cleared, and a sense of vigilance surged up like a tide.

The bold words that Ugo had spoken back then now clearly appeared before Meng Quan's eyes.

When he first saw the rattan armor soldiers, Na Wuge arrogantly patted his chest and declared that his rattan armor soldiers were indestructible and invincible, and that no matter how the Han army attacked them, they could not do anything about it.

But the result?

Xiao He used a simple trick and in the blink of an eye, he annihilated the so-called invincible rattan armor soldiers, leaving no trace of their bodies.

Now, Guhan looks exactly like Ugo back then.

That undisguised confidence made Meng Quan feel uneasy, and his worries grew stronger.

"Yes, Brother Guhan, are these elephant troops truly without any weaknesses?"

Suppressing his unease, Meng Quan asked.

Gu Han burst into laughter upon hearing this, his laughter filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"Are you Han Chinese?"

He glanced sideways at Lü Kai, his tone revealing a hint of contempt.

Lu Kai was slightly taken aback, but before he could speak, Meng Quan explained:
"He was originally a minister of the Shu Kingdom, but after the fall of Shu, he had nowhere else to turn but to join our Southern Barbarians."

"No wonder."

Gu Han scoffed, his tone becoming increasingly sarcastic:

"Your country was destroyed because of your own incompetence. Do you even deserve to be compared to my elephant cavalry?"

"Then tell me, what are the weaknesses of my elephant cavalry?"

After his sarcastic remark, Guhan pointed out of the city.

As dusk fell, hundreds of war elephants stood proudly, their iron armor gleaming coldly in the setting sun. Their massive bodies were as imposing as small mountains, inspiring awe in those who beheld them.

Lu Kai was speechless for a moment.

He was well aware of the reasons for the annihilation of the rattan armor soldiers.

Those rattan armors were all soaked in oil, making them tough but vulnerable to fire. Xiao He took advantage of this to set fire to defeat the enemy.

However, these war elephants were all covered in heavy iron armor, so fire attacks were naturally ineffective.

It is enormous in size and resistant to the impact of floods.

As for the swords, spears, arrows, and halberds commonly used by the Han army, they would probably not even leave a scratch on the iron armor; at most, they would only scratch it.

Lu Kai pondered repeatedly, searching through all the military strategies and tactics in his mind, but he couldn't find a single solution.

If he can't figure it out, do you think Xiao He can?

Lu Kai remained silent for a long time, but ultimately failed to come up with a solution.

This elephant cavalry seems to be an invincible force.

Gu Jianlu remained silent, growing increasingly smug.

"Wherever my elephant cavalry goes, the Han army can only offer their necks for slaughter, being crushed to death!"

Seeing this, Meng Quan's last trace of worry vanished completely, and he was overjoyed. He turned to Lü Kai and said:
"Lu Qing, you're overthinking it. If even you can't come up with a solution, Xiao He will definitely have no way to deal with these elephant soldiers either."

Lu Kai opened his mouth, wanting to persuade him again, but seeing Meng Quan's confident expression and Gu Han's disdainful look, he swallowed his words and could only smile awkwardly.

"Alright, Brother Guhan, the fate of defeating the Han dogs and recapturing Nanli City rests entirely on your shoulders!"

Meng Quan picked up his wine bowl and said loudly.

"Come on, drink!"

Gu Han laughed loudly and clinked bowls with Meng Quan.

...

At dusk, in the Han army camp.

More than 100,000 Han soldiers surged down into the depths of the jungle like a long dragon.

Wei Yan sat high on his warhorse, his eyes filled with confidence in defeating the enemy. A few days earlier, the Han army had besieged the capital of the Southern Barbarians, only to learn that Meng Quan had already abandoned the city and fled.

Wei Yan captured the royal city without lifting a finger. Although the palaces in the city had been burned down by Meng Quan's order, it was of little consequence.

Importantly, Nanli City was the capital of the Southern Barbarians. Meng Quan's abandonment without a fight showed that he had already given up resistance and his spirit had collapsed.

How can an army with a demoralized mind fight again?

As for supplies, even without the military supplies in Nanli City, the Han Dynasty, with its strong national power, can be self-sufficient.

Therefore, Wei Yan only allowed his army to rest for three days before ordering them to continue the pursuit.

As darkness fell, Wei Yan ordered the army to set up camp.

The camp had barely been set up and the main tent had just been pitched when Zhang Bao strode into it.

"General, our spies report that Meng Ze has led an elephant corps and has joined up with Meng Quan. They are heading towards Nanli City!"

Elephant troops!

These two words resounded like thunder in the tent.

The strategists and generals on either side of the tent all changed their expressions abruptly, exchanging glances filled with shock and disbelief.

They had never heard of such a type of soldier before.

First came the rattan armor soldiers, now there are elephant troops?

The southern barbarians certainly had a knack for coming up with all sorts of tricks.

Wei Yan frowned, his gaze falling on Xiao He, who sat at the head of the tent, and asked in a deep voice:
"Grand Marshal, have you ever heard of elephant cavalry?"

Xiao He remained calm, lightly tapping his fingertips on the table, and slowly began to speak:
“The southern jungles are vast, and there are many tribes that tame giant beasts. It is not unusual for them to train elephants into a fighting army.”

Wei Yan suddenly realized, and then his brows furrowed even more:
"But I've heard that elephants have thick hides that ordinary swords and arrows can't penetrate. How can we defeat such fierce elephant soldiers?"

Although he had never seen elephant troops in battle, he knew how formidable this army was based solely on the legends of elephants' power.

Now that Meng Quan has transferred the elephant corps, he can't help but feel apprehensive.

The generals in the tent nodded in agreement, clearly sharing the same concerns as Wei Yan. Their eyes were all focused on Xiao He, hoping he could offer a strategy to defeat the enemy.

"Using elephants to fight elephants."

Xiao He spoke casually, without a trace of worry, yet his lighthearted words caused an uproar in the tent.

Everyone looked completely bewildered.

The southern barbarians had elephant troops, but the Han army had always relied mainly on infantry and cavalry, and there was no record of them keeping elephants in their army.

The generals looked at each other, puzzled. Wei Yan frowned and pressed for an answer:
"What do you mean by that, Grand Marshal? Where did our army get elephant cavalry?"

"Wen Chang, have you forgotten? Our army already has a secret elephant corps."

Xiao He offered a casual reminder.

Wei Yan was taken aback, his thoughts racing, and past trivial matters flashed through his mind. Suddenly, he shuddered and finally remembered something.

Before the conquest of Shu, Xiao He had specially submitted a memorial to the emperor, requesting that elephants be secretly purchased from various parts of the south.

At the time, he was full of doubts and did not understand why Xiao He would do such a useless thing. After all, elephants are heavy and cannot be used in ordinary battles.

Xiao He claimed that he had a clever use for it. Liu Bei, seeing this, assumed it was just Xiao He's personal preference and did not ask any further questions. He then allocated money and silk from the national treasury and allowed Xiao He to secretly purchase elephants from the south.

After that incident, he was busy with military affairs and forgot about it, never inquiring about it again.

Only when Xiao He mentioned it today did Wei Yan suddenly realize that Xiao He's purchase of the elephants back then was actually a well-planned move, not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Grand Marshal, what exactly is going on?"

"Actually, my purchase of the elephant was not due to personal preference."

Xiao He slowly rose, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the tent, and revealed the secret in a deep voice:

"I had long anticipated that the southern barbarians might rely on elephant troops, so I secretly formed an elephant corps for my army in the south."

"This legion has been training diligently for three years. The soldiers and elephants work together seamlessly and are quite formidable in combat."

"In this campaign to pacify the southern barbarians, I have already transferred this legion to Yizhou to await orders. Judging by the time, our elephant cavalry should be not far from here."

"Meng Quan wants to use elephants to attack, so we will use elephants to defeat him, turning their own methods against them." (End of Chapter)