"Dalun Ruozan?"
Wang Chong was inwardly surprised. It had been several days since he had seen this Ouzan Prime Minister. As the saying went, those who came did not come with good intentions. For Dalun Ruozan to come out at this time could not have been anything good.
"Prime Minister, I trust you have been well since we last met!"
Wang Chong spoke first, his voice rumbling in all directions.
"Young Master, it's been a long time."
Dalun Ruozan leisurely waved the feather fan in his hand, a smile on his face.
Seeing Dalun Ruozan's expression, Wang Chong's heart thumped. There was definitely something strange about this man who could still smile and look so calm after suffering so many casualties.
"Prime Minister seems to be in a good mood!"
Wang Chong said calmly.
"Haha, Young Master has been very comfortable these last few days!"
Dalun Ruozan said with a smile, his expression even more relaxed.
"To tell you the truth, this minister has come today to tell Young Master something."
"Oh?"
Wang Chong had a pensive look on his face.
"Prime Minister is truly in a leisurely mood!"
"Haha, Young Master, don't misunderstand. This minister actually admires Young Master."
The smile on Dalun Ruozan's face grew wider and wider, the fan in his hand growing slower and slower.
"Whether it's Lion City or this City of Steel, Young Master's vision and talent have left a deep impression. I can see that Young Master has come prepared. But this minister would like to ask, has Young Master prepared enough water?"
With these last words, Dalun Ruozan put away his feather fan and began to laugh heartily.
Buzz.
Wang Chong's pupils constricted, his expression suddenly changing.
In the distance, Dalun Ruozan withdrew his troops and vanished once more, leaving only his laughter echoing throughout the battlefield.
At the summit of the mountain, Wang Chong was motionless, his expression extremely grave. A gentle breeze blew past, but his body felt incredibly cold.
"What's wrong, young master?"
The Eagle walked over from behind and asked with concern.
He found out!
This was the only thought left in Wang Chong's mind.
There was a huge flaw in all of Wang Chong's plans, and it couldn't be fixed no matter what, and that was the water source. There was very little precipitation in the southwest, and a torrential downpour like the one before was already extremely rare.
However, the daily necessities of nearly a hundred thousand men and horses had to be solved.
However, water was different from steel. Wang Chong could not transport water like steel. Moreover, in order to deal with Ouzan and Mengshe Zhao, Wang Chong had chosen to fight in the mountains, which made it even more difficult for Wang Chong to obtain water.
This was something that could never be remedied.
Wang Chong had been trying his best to hide this, but in the end, Dalun Ruozan still found out!
"Call Mr. Zhang Shouzhi over.
Under the flagpole, Wang Chong suddenly spoke.
"Young Master."
Zhang Shouzhi had arrived much faster than expected. Behind Wang Chong, Zhang Shouzhi respectfully bowed. Zhang Shouzhi's face was still pale, but after the Eagle had struck his sleeping acupoint, his complexion was much better.
In addition, Wang Chong had given him some pills that could strengthen his body and revitalize his blood. In the end, they had still had some effect.
"Senior Zhang, how much water do we have left? How much has Xu Yi-qin prepared for us, and how much longer can the army last? "
Wang Chong said after a long silence.
"Lady Xu has already been very attentive and prepared a large number of water bags for us. However, water is a very special thing and cannot be transported like ordnance. In addition, when we arrived here early, according to Young Master's orders, we dug many reservoirs on the summit. We also received quite a bit of the torrential rain.
"In addition, Young Master had us arrive early and dig a water source nearby so that we could prepare for the battle. So, our water supply is actually quite good.
"In addition, in the previous night attack, we also looted many water bags from Mengshe Zhao's people.
"However, the daily water consumption of 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers is not a small number. No matter how much water we have stored, it is ultimately not enough."
Zhang Shouzhi said.
Only he and Wang Chong knew about the water supply of 80,000 to 90,000 soldiers. No one else knew at all. It was to avoid the possible panic that might be caused. Water was different from food. It seemed inconspicuous, but it had to be used every day.
Cooking, daily drinking, and warhorses were all indispensable.
Without sufficient water, the army would have problems, and it was even more fatal than food. The key was that Wang Chong had chosen to fight on the mountain, which meant that the problem of water supply was destined to be a natural defect that could not be remedied.
This was fish and bear's paw, they could not have their cake and eat it too.
Dalun Ruozan had hit his Achilles' heel.
"Tell me, how many days can we last."
Wang Chong said calmly.
"Ten, … twelve days!"
Zhang Shouzhi said.
"Just how long?"
Wang Chong frowned as he spoke once more.
"Ten days, no, nine days at most!"
Zhang Shouzhi hesitated, clenched his teeth, and finally told the truth.
Whoosh!
The expressions of The Eagle, Chen Shusun, the guards on the mountain peak, and the messengers all changed. Earlier, when Dalun Ruozan had come out to talk to Wang Chong, they had already sensed that something was wrong.
But now that they only had nine days' worth of drinking water, they realized that the situation was far more serious than they had imagined.
In an instant, the atmosphere on the mountain peak became incredibly heavy.
But the entire mountain peak was silent. Everyone kept their mouths shut, not daring to utter a single word.
"So, after nine days, they will launch a large-scale attack?"
The Eagle said worriedly.
"There's no need for nine days. Five days, six days at most, and they will launch their attack. Dalun Ruozan will not wait until we run out of water to attack. "
Wang Chong said gravely.
Dalun Ruozan would not wait that long, and neither would Gelofeng. In five days, the army would immediately experience an obvious water shortage. The warhorses and their daily drinking water supply would all experience an obvious change.
If they had not known beforehand, the army would not have had any problems. But Dalun Ruozan clearly knew this, which was why he had specially met with him.
And on the sixth day, the situation would worsen, and morale would be shaken. The warhorses' drinking water, the soldiers' drinking water, would rapidly decrease. Everyone could sense this change.
But Wang Chong had no choice but to do so.
Because once they changed their strategy, they would consume a large amount of water. Given Dalun Ruozan's style, he would definitely change his strategy and delay it until the seventh day. Or if he discovered that Wang Chong had continued to do so, the Annam Protectorate's water supply would be depleted much faster, and they would not be able to last until the ninth day.
Once the army ran out of water, only death awaited them.
"Young Master, why don't we start a water restriction now? Perhaps we can still last until the twelfth day. "
Zhang Shouzhi probed.
"No need!"
Wang Chong said without hesitation.
"If we change our strategy now, morale will drop. Dalun Ruozan will immediately launch his attack in less than five days. Also, don't forget why we're here. "
Old Eagle and even Chen Shusun trembled in shock as they reacted.
Wang Chong had told them before that a war had two aspects: tactics and strategy. In terms of tactics, their goal was to hold back the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang army and hold them down.
As for strategy …
The outcome of a war would not be decided by just one or two battles. For Wang Chong, there was another factor that would decide the outcome of this war of the southwest: the Imperial Court!
I wonder if Big Uncle and The King of Song have made any moves?
Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
The Tang Dynasty truly had declined. The people longed for peace, and the long years of peace had caused the Tang Dynasty to gradually lose its initial drive. Wang Chong was sure that the Tang Dynasty was currently surrounded by other powers that were restless and full of hidden dangers.
The Turks, Goguryeo, Arabia, Charax Spasinu, and the kingdoms of the Western Regions — past and potential enemies of the Tang Dynasty — were working with the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang armies to restrain the Tang Dynasty's forces.
But the Tang Dynasty was still the Tang Dynasty. It had accumulated over one hundred years.
Wang Chong was confident that as long as he could delay the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang army for a while, the Imperial Court would eventually send reinforcements.
… …
"How is it?"
Outside Ouzan's tent, everyone was gathered. Dalun Ruozan and Gelofeng were at the front, Huoshu Huizang and Duan Gequan at the back, and then the other generals. Nearby, the mountain where the Tang Dynasty had set up camp looked like a massive beast from prehistoric times.
But everyone's gazes followed Dalun Ruozan to the smoke curling up from the summit.
Every day, the commanders of both sides would punctually appear at the three meals of the Tang army to observe. This had already become a marvel for the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang army.
"The amount of smoke hasn't decreased in the slightest compared to yesterday. The Tang people still haven't controlled their water usage! "
Fengjiayi added.
He had been a hostage in the capital of the Tang Dynasty and had lived there for some time. He had dabbled in the art of war, Confucianism, and many other things. Thus, he had a little understanding of how to judge the temperature of a stove.
"This is the brilliance of that son of the Wang Clan!"
Dalun Ruozan sighed. Putting aside their respective standpoints, Dalun Ruozan actually felt a great deal of admiration and praise for Wang Chong. This was definitely a formidable foe. If he was allowed to fully mature, not even Dalun Ruozan knew how much he would grow.
But it was precisely for this reason that Dalun Ruozan could not allow him to leave alive.
"The Great Tang army is already beginning to doubt my words. If he starts to control the water usage right now, the water will last a little longer, but the army will probably begin to panic. And the longer it goes on, the worse it will get. This will be much worse than not controlling the water usage. "
"But will this be of any use?"
Crown Prince Fengjiayi asked.
"Of course not."
Dalun Ruozan roared with laughter.
"No matter what he does, it's useless. This is his Achilles' heel. No matter how smart he is, he can't do anything about it."
"Your Majesty, the moment you've been waiting for has come. In seven days at most, we will launch our all-out attack."
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