The Noble Woman's Guide On How to Tease One's Husband

Untitled Part 26

Chapter 121 – Going into War

According to historical records, the north-west border of Chu Country was subjected to a sudden attack when the little prince was half a year old. The three cities that were initially offered by the Qiuci kingdom as tribute were all seized back while the common people were massacred and at the same time, starving refugees swarmed over the land amid the bloodbath.

When the urgent war report was sent back to Wangdu, Chu Jinglan hurtled the jade seal on the spot.

"B*stard! A trifle small kingdom actually has the audacity to rampage as such! We will definitely demand back those thousands of lives from Quici!"

Several people present hastily spoke, "Your Majesty, please calm down!"

Even so, they themselves could not swallow this anger too — how could such a small kingdom in the Western Region have the nerve to scrap the treaty and attack the cities? It was savage to the extreme to have even killed so many people in Chu Country! If they don't reciprocate, where will the prestige of the glorious Great Chu Country be? And where will justice and righteousness be?

At this moment, Ye Huaili and Chu Zhenghe both cupped their hands and stepped forward to speak in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, this Minister requested to go into war!"

Though Chu Jinglan was still angry, he did not agree to their request immediately. Instead, he turned his head to stare steadily at the city defense map on the imperial table. After a while, he suddenly asked, "Yuanshu, how's the preparation of the army provisions and weaponry?"

Bowing slightly, Pei Yuanshu said, "Report to Your Majesty, this Minister has transferred some from Lingnan, which is enough to sustain 100,000 troops for the time being."

"That's enough." The thin blade-like narrowed eyes of Chu Zhenghe were full of undisguised killing intent, "Quici thought we had just experienced the civil war and inevitably had undermined our constitution. With only 150,000 troops, they dare to flood Qinyang Pass with blood. Once the strong cavalry of my Great Chu rides out, they must be taught to come with no return!"

Yet Ye Huaili said, "It's better to outflank them. They have already occupied three cities and seized a large quantity of provisions. They have plenty of time to dawdle with us. We have to think of an ingenious method as we can't confront force with force."

The national treasury is empty and to use the various resources in hand really need meticulous planning as well as strict budgeting.

As his words touched the crucial point, Chu Jinglan cast him an appreciative look and then said, "In recent years, Quici has made a lot of money by virtue of the Silk Road and has greatly improved its armaments and armed forces. It is no longer vulnerable like those years, thus you all must not be careless. In Our opinion, if we want to win, the only way is to sneak attack separately and break through at the same time."

"Your Majesty's meaning is ... "

"The three cities are not far apart. With the troops evenly deployed, we can form a horizontal solidarity force. Any attack on one of the cities will attract reinforcements from the other. Since the number of our forces are small, the consequences will be inconceivable if we are being flanked. Thus, it will be better to attack at the same time. This way, the disparity in strength is within control with no fear of attacks from behind."

After pondering for a moment, Chu Zhenghe said, "What the Imperial Brother said is right. As the saying goes, maintain the status quo to cope with whatever changes. We have to be the one in control of the situation and mustn't let them have a chance to take the lead."

"But even after the segregation of this Minister and Junwang, there is still one city without a lead attack. Your Majesty, you are not planning to ... "

Ye Huaili feared Chu Jinglan would speak out the words — personally lead troops into battle, that he forgot the etiquette of being a minister and just looked at him while holding his breath. Yet he smiled evidently and spoke slowly, "Imperial Uncle has forgotten. Many young talents have been selected during the spring imperial examination. Top Scholar Wu, Wei Tang are both excelled in martial arts and well-read in military books, who perhaps can be of use."

Yes, how could he have forgotten this. The royal court has now recruited a lot of fresh blood and it is no longer without any personnel available like the previous year when Chu Jinglan first took over.

Ye Huaili lowered his head and said, "It's this Minister's slip-up."

"No matter." Chu Jinglan waved his hand and said to both of them, "But after all, they don't have much actual combat experience and it is the first time to lead the troops. You both must guide them strictly to avoid any setback."