Inside the study, the three modern, highly precise maps made by piecing together dozens of sheets of paper were still spread flat across the wide long table.
The crimson hidden transport route on the map was like a venomous snake lying dormant beneath Beidi, its fangs clamped tightly around three military strongholds.
Xia Lanshi looked at the map, took a deep breath, and forced himself to pull away from his emotions, quickly returning to his usual state of mind.
Since the original intelligence had only revealed the surface, they had to tear everything down and start over.
“His Highness is right. The situation has changed. We can no longer let Beidi lead us by the nose.”
His fingertip traced the three lost territories on the map.
“Shield, heart, pulse… That was my previous assessment. But now, with the complete data Xiao brought back, we have to redefine the functions of these three military strongholds.”
He raised his eyes and looked at Pei Yi. “General Pei, from the perspective of a battlefield commander, what are the functions of these three strongholds in your eyes now?”
Pei Yi straightened his back.
Although that hidden transport route had shocked him, once the discussion turned to concrete tactics, his instincts as the defender of the Northern Border immediately became razor-sharp. He strode to the map, his fingertip moving between the three strongholds.
“Duanyun Fort.”
Pei Yi’s finger landed on the fortress. “Two enormous granaries and a secret passage. This is no longer merely a logistics center. It is the ‘heart’ of the entire war system. As long as this heart keeps beating, provisions can continuously be transported to the front lines.”
His fingertip moved toward Baishui Pass.
“Baishui Pass. A newly added barbican has doubled its defenses. It is still the ‘shield,’ but this shield is now not only protecting Beidi’s border defenses; it is also firmly blocking the only route we must pass through to attack Beidi.”
Finally, his finger landed heavily on Yanqi Ferry.
“Yanqi Ferry. A cavalry assembly area hidden in a bend of the river, heavy warships, and bridge materials that can be assembled at any time. This place is not the ‘pulse’ responsible for transportation at all. It is the ‘claws’ and ‘fangs’ that Beidi can use at any moment to project troops toward our Linbei City!”
“And that red line…” Pei Yi’s voice dropped low. “It is the lifeline that fuses the heart, shield, and fangs into one.”
Xia Lanshi nodded. Pei Yi’s definition was extremely precise.
“So,” he looked at Xiao Yuan, “we cannot determine the order of attack based on the political value of the cities themselves or their old military reputations. We have to break with convention.”
Pei Yi’s brows drew tightly together.
As a commander who had fought with real swords and spears on the Northern Border for years, his military instincts immediately returned.
His fingertip landed heavily on the position representing the “shield.”
“If that is the case,” Pei Yi said as he looked at the map, proposing the first concrete military plan from the perspective of a battlefield commander, “I recommend attacking Baishui Pass first.”
Everyone’s eyes gathered on him.
“There are two reasons.”
Pei Yi analyzed it methodically. “First, Baishui Pass has the strongest defenses, but its terrain is the most rugged, which actually makes it easier for our army to conceal its movements. Second, there is the ‘extremely narrow plank road’ mentioned in Xiao’s intelligence.”
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
“Beidi would never imagine that we have already figured out this route. If we send an elite death squad skilled in rock climbing and have them follow the plank road to sneak around to the side and rear of the pass… this shield may not be impossible to break from within.”
“Moreover,” Pei Yi looked at Xiao Yuan, “Your Highness, Baishui Pass is the gateway to the territories we are reclaiming. As long as we take Baishui Pass, we can cut off the passage on Beidi’s southern side and seize the initiative. Once the shield is broken, Beidi will lose its southern barrier.”
After hearing Pei Yi’s analysis, Su Muchen secretly nodded. It certainly sounded like a surprise attack capable of achieving victory through the unexpected.
“No.”
Xia Lanshi slowly shook his head, his tone cold.
“General Pei, that is precisely the path Beidi most wants us to take.”
Pei Yi was immediately stunned. “What insight does Chief Secretary Xia have?”
“That plank road is extremely narrow. Horses cannot pass through it, and a large army cannot travel along it.”
Xia Lanshi’s fingertip hovered over the terrain around Baishui Pass.
“This means that even if the death squad successfully infiltrates, they will have no reinforcements whatsoever. And Baishui Pass has a substantial garrison. Once the surprise attack is blocked, this elite force will be trapped in a dead end.”
“More importantly,” Xia Lanshi raised his eyes, “as we just said, Beidi already knows that we will attack the three lost territories. So could this plank road, which happens to allow us to circle around to the side and rear, be too much like a ‘bait’ deliberately left behind to lure us into sending our elite troops to their deaths?”
Pei Yi’s expression stiffened.
Xia Lanshi’s concern was not without reason.
In intelligence warfare, the most deadly traps were often disguised as the most tempting weaknesses.
“Once we launch a frontal assault on Baishui Pass and the battle becomes locked in a stalemate…”
Xia Lanshi’s fingertip drew a startling arc across the map.
“Within a single day, the main cavalry force at Yanqi Ferry can follow the hidden transport route and reach Baishui Pass’s flank and rear. At that point, we will be trapped between enemies in front and behind. Attacking Baishui Pass would be the same as voluntarily stepping into Beidi’s most familiar hunting ground.”
The study fell into a brief silence.
At this moment, the strategy was completely overturned.
“If they are waiting for us to attack Baishui Pass…”
Chi Banyue, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke. Her voice was gentle, yet carried a chilling coldness.
“Then let them believe that we really intend to attack Baishui Pass.”
Xia Lanshi’s brows lifted slightly as he looked at Chi Banyue.
This was precisely going with the flow.
“You mean…” Pei Yi hesitated.
“False military orders.”
Chi Banyue’s pace of speech was unhurried, every word striking home.
“Deliberately let the merchant caravans spread word outside the pass that provisions are being transported westward; have some scouts expose their movements around Baishui Pass, creating the false appearance that they are surveying the defensive lines; have the hidden agents of the Listening Snow Pavilion spread intelligence that Dasheng is preparing to launch a frontal assault on Baishui Pass.”
She smiled brightly at Xiao Yuan.
“We can even deliberately let Beidi’s informants in the capital intercept a military report mentioning a ‘surprise attack via the plank road,’ with its authenticity impossible to determine. We need to give Beidi an answer they are already willing to believe—make them certain that the emperor is forcing His Highness Prince Su to fight a decisive battle as quickly as possible, leaving Your Highness with no choice but to launch a frontal assault on the gateway in order to survive.”
It was a vicious psychological strategy filled with truth and falsehood, enough to make the enemy commander suspicious of everything.
Pei Yi listened, dumbfounded.
This was practically a game of manipulating human nature.
A trace of approval flashed through Xiao Yuan’s eyes, but he did not immediately give his judgment. Instead, he looked at Xiao.
Xiao was the only “variable” in this meeting.
“Useless.”
Xiao casually tossed out two words, instantly shattering the exquisite trap Chi Banyue had constructed.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Xiao stared at the modern map, his expression frighteningly cold.
“Beidi doesn’t need to know which stronghold we will attack first. Because no matter which one we attack, the other two can provide support within a single day.”
“No matter how ingenious the false intelligence is, it cannot conceal one fact: we only have eighteen thousand men.”
Xiao calmly and ruthlessly pointed it out.
“Eighteen thousand men. Forget launching a frontal assault on Baishui Pass—even keeping it pinned down will be difficult. The Beidi commanders are not fools. They only need to look at the troop movements in Linbei City to know whether we have the ability to fight on two or three fronts.”
He looked at Xiao Yuan and delivered the core judgment.
“The best lie is to take something real and push it one step in the wrong direction. But right now, even our actual trump cards are under Beidi’s eyes.”
Because of Xiao’s blunt words, the atmosphere fell into a brief stagnation.
Xiao’s judgment was extremely precise. He was not simply someone who had received modern military education.
He was someone who had witnessed death countless times and knew just how stubborn Beidi’s tactical system was.
Any clever trick would appear pale and powerless before an absolute disparity in strength and a perfect defensive system.
Just as everyone once again fell into an impasse, Su Muchen suddenly cut in with a practical question—one that no military commander would have considered first.
“Let me confirm one thing first.”
Su Muchen spoke somewhat uncertainly, looking at Xiao Yuan and Xia Lanshi.
“If you follow the strategy we just discussed and actually cut off that red transport route, what will Beidi do?”
Everyone froze for a moment. They had not expected Su Muchen to ask this at such a time.
Xia Lanshi thought briefly before answering, “Naturally, they will panic and try to repair it, or move troops over land.”
“Then will they run out of food?”
Su Muchen pressed on.
“Duanyun Fort can probably store enough grain for half a year. Baishui Pass and Yanqi Ferry should each have several months of reserves as well.” Pei Yi frowned as he answered. “The effect of cutting off the supply line may not appear immediately in the short term. But we do not have much time to drag this out with the enemy.”
“Exactly.”
Su Muchen’s voice was clear and gentle, yet carried the absolute calmness of a physician dissecting flesh and blood.
“Since cutting off the transport route cannot make them run out of food immediately, nor can it prevent them from sending support over land, then the true purpose of attacking this route is actually to make them ‘not know what has gone wrong,’ and use that to create enormous ‘medical and logistical pressure.’”
Everyone looked at Su Muchen, somewhat unable to follow his train of thought.
This physician, whom everyone regarded as a “military outsider,” had chosen an exceptionally sharp point of entry.
“As a doctor, I know better than anyone the burden this system places on the human body.”
Su Muchen pointed at the crimson transport route.
“This route can move the main army within a single day. That means high-intensity forced marches. The strain on the soldiers’ physical strength, the wear on the horses, the deterioration of the equipment, and the demand for provisions and medicines are all enormous.”
Su Muchen raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and presented a “logistical and medical” perspective.
“What you need to do is not cut off the head directly, but create ‘chronic suffocation.’ Since we cannot defeat this giant beast head-on, then make it sick.”
He laid out his idea in an orderly fashion.
“Carry out small-scale sabotage of the transport route. Do not destroy it all at once. Instead, delay the supply carts, make a section of the secret passage suddenly collapse, make a bridge that horses can cross unable to bear the weight of heavy carts. At the same time—”
“Create large numbers of ‘wounded soldiers.’ Do not kill them. Injure them.”
A coldness completely at odds with his identity flashed through Su Muchen’s eyes.
“A dead soldier only needs to be buried where he falls. But a wounded soldier needs medicinal alcohol, gauze, military physicians, food, tents, and at least two healthy soldiers to care for him. We need to make Beidi’s medical and logistical reserves collapse within a short period of time. Make them so busy repairing one problem after another that they personally drag this perfect war system into ruin.”
After hearing Su Muchen’s plan, Xia Lanshi and Chi Banyue exchanged a glance, and both saw the shock in the other’s eyes.
This physician, who usually appeared refined and gentle, could be every bit as ruthless as they were once he turned vicious.
Chronic suffocation… was indeed a more desperate method than simply cutting off the head.
Xia Lanshi could not help laughing.
“I thought Doctor Su devoted himself to saving lives, filled with the benevolence of a physician. I never imagined that when it comes to slowly torturing someone to death, your methods would be so formidable.”
Su Muchen naturally understood the hidden meaning in his words. His tone remained calm.
“I simply understand better than you what circumstances cause the human body to hurt, become sick, and collapse.”
Xiao remained silent for a moment. A barely perceptible smile flashed through his eyes.
He had only been gone for a few days, yet Su Muchen had actually taken the initiative to become Xiao Yuan’s military adviser, and could always come up with ways to break the deadlock that even he could not predict.
Xiao immediately gathered his thoughts and added, “This is one method. In addition, Beidi depends on the grasslands. Warhorses are their heart and pride. As long as we make their horses unusable, the threat posed by their cavalry will naturally be reduced.”
Su Muchen’s eyes lit up, and several ideas targeting the horses quickly surfaced in his mind.
Xiao Yuan listened to everyone’s military simulations.
The intelligence war, the logistics war, the breaking of the shield… These scattered pieces finally melted together in his mind, forging themselves into a blade capable of cutting through the chaos.
He slowly raised his head. In his eyes, dark as a secluded night, the aura of killing condensed into the most absolute determination.
“Now that we understand their system…”
Xiao Yuan placed both hands against the edge of the table, his voice stern as iron, carrying an oppressive force that allowed no objection.
“I ask you this: with only eighteen thousand men in your hands, how will you kill these three beasts that know how to support one another at the same time within three months?”
This was not a question.
It was a military order.
“Do not attack the cities.”
Xiao Yuan’s finger landed on the crimson lifeline connecting the three strongholds on the map, and he delivered his verdict.
“I want to dismantle this formation that allows them to support one another. First, cut their pulse!”
His finger pointed directly at the left side of the map.
“The true first target—Duanyun Fort. But do not attack the fortress. Attack its grain. Destroy the granaries and cut off the secret passage. As long as they panic and move their troops, their hidden defensive deployment will be exposed without exception.”
He looked at Pei Yi.
“Pei Yi.”
“This subordinate is here!”
Pei Yi immediately straightened his back.
“Baishui Pass is yours. Do not attack the fortress, but loudly construct equipment and gather provisions outside the pass. Let the scouts deliberately expose themselves to the garrison’s sight. Even if that plank road is bait, you must take everyone and act out the appearance of ‘we fell for it.’”
Xiao Yuan’s gaze was deep.
“I want the garrison at Baishui Pass to not dare look anywhere else from the very first day. Nail this shield firmly in place!”
Pei Yi froze for a moment, then immediately understood.
This was containment.
Using Baishui Pass’s powerful defenses as a giant magnet to firmly draw in Beidi’s main defensive forces.
“This subordinate accepts the order!”
Pei Yi answered loudly, his fighting spirit surging.
If they could not launch a frontal assault, then they would turn this shield into Beidi’s own shackles.
Xiao Yuan looked at Chi Banyue.
“Banyue.”
Chi Banyue lowered her head and listened for his orders.
“Your task is to release the intelligence Beidi most wants to believe.”
Xiao Yuan’s fingertip swept across the map.
“I want you to release an answer that Beidi will completely believe.”
“The information you spread is that the Dasheng army on the Northern Border has unstable morale, that the capital troops and the Northern Border army are engaged in severe internal conflict, that provisions are in short supply, and that Prince Su has no choice but to fight a decisive battle quickly.”
Xiao Yuan gave a cold laugh.
“Make Beidi believe that even if we attack all three military strongholds, we are already at the end of our strength. Give them the illusion that ‘as long as they hold the three strongholds and wait for Dasheng to exhaust itself internally, they can win.’”
“Understood.”
A glint flashed through Chi Banyue’s eyes.
This was precisely her area of expertise.
Beside them, Xia Lanshi tapped the last stretch of water on the map with his finger.
“If Baishui Pass is used for containment and Duanyun Fort is hit through its grain, then the one we truly cannot allow to move freely is Yanqi Ferry.”
Yanqi Ferry was the projection center. It was the pulse.
As long as it could freely deploy troops, it could rescue Duanyun Fort if it ran out of grain and protect Baishui Pass if it came under pressure.
Therefore, Yanqi Ferry absolutely could not be the first target to attack, but from the very first day of the war, it had to be rendered completely immobile.
“I want it unable to move from the very first day.”
“I understand,” Xia Lanshi replied. “Since we want chronic suffocation, then we will first lock its throat.”
Listening to this interconnected strategy, Xiao stared at the map and suddenly spoke, exposing the most essential value of the strategy in a single sentence.
“Their true weakness is not these three military strongholds.”
Xiao raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping across everyone.
“It is the fact that they believe these three places can support one another.”
As long as the connections were severed and the three fortresses were turned back into three isolated cities, then—
No matter how much grain Duanyun Fort had, it would be useless because it could not be transported out.
No matter how strong Baishui Pass was, it would be useless because no one would go and engage it head-on.
No matter how many troops Yanqi Ferry had, they would be useless because it would not know whom to rescue.
Because they would no longer be able to save one another.
At this point, the entirely new battle plan was finally complete.
After everything had been arranged, Xiao Yuan turned to Su Muchen.
“Military Adviser Su, the medical and wounded-soldier evacuation plans for the three front lines are yours. I need to know where to establish temporary medical stations, where to conduct rapid withdrawals, and what medicines to prepare. While we make Beidi suffocate, we absolutely cannot allow our own logistics to collapse first.”
Su Muchen nodded, then solemnly made a request.
“If you are planning to stretch the battle lines out and use chronic suffocation, I need to know in advance where the first truly large-scale bloodshed will break out.”
Xiao Yuan looked deeply at him, his tone carrying an unquestionable certainty and understanding between them.
“I will tell you.”
At this moment, Xiao took the initiative to request an assignment.
“Your Highness, give me forty-eight men.”
Xiao Yuan raised his eyes to look at him.
“Within one month, I will train them into forty-eight blades capable of surviving and returning on their own.”
Xiao stated it calmly.
“Choose them from Linbei City, the various garrisons, and Your Highness’s personal guards. Divide them into six squads and equip them with specialized gear.”
His eyes, cold as a deep pool, looked at Xiao Yuan.
“Use them to sever the enemy’s nerves.”
Xiao Yuan agreed without hesitation.
“Approved. Chief Secretary Xia, General Pei, and Banyue will draw up the list. Mr. Liuchu will personally select the men. Effective immediately, appoint Mr. Liuchu as the training officer for these forty-eight men.”
“Since they are waiting for me to attack their cities, then I will dismantle their ability to support one another.”
“I want this venomous snake…”
Xiao Yuan’s finger drew a heavy circle around the transport route.
“…to become a completely ‘useless snake.’”
Just as everyone thought this completely rebuilt strategic meeting had finally concluded and was preparing to receive their respective orders and set to work—
Xia Lanshi suddenly spoke.
“There are two more matters.”
He pulled a confidential report from his sleeve and gently placed it on the long table.
This was not something Xiao had brought back. It was news that the Listening Snow Pavilion and the covert agents he had planted in the capital had risked their lives to send back.
“This is an emergency report received today from the capital.”
Xia Lanshi’s voice was cold, without the slightest trace of warmth.
“In the capital, they have already begun spreading the news that ‘Prince Su has received an imperial decree to reclaim the lost territories of the Northern Border within three months.’”