"Reporting!"
Suddenly, an order interrupted Wang Chong's train of thought.
"Young Master, the army has sent word that another seventeen soldiers have fainted while on sentry duty. This is already the twelfth wave today. The brothers in the army have already sent them to the doctors for treatment."
The officer reporting the order respectfully kneeled at the base of the hill, facing the tall banner.
Wang Chong's heart sank, but he quickly regained his composure.
"I understand. In the future, you can deal with these matters on your own. There's no need to report them to me. "
"Yes, Young Master."
The messenger retreated respectfully.
"Chong-er, this is how war is. Where there is victory, there is defeat. Where there is war, there is death. This is unavoidable. The current state is already rather good. The benevolent do not control wealth, the compassionate do not command soldiers. As a commander, you shouldn't be grieving over the deaths of your subordinates. Instead, you should be thinking about how to lead the army to victory, how to avoid even greater casualties.
"This is the true path of a general!"
A long sigh, accompanied by heavy footsteps, came from behind. At some point, Wang Yan, dressed in martial attire, had walked up from behind with a grave expression.
"Father, I know. But it's still unavoidable! "
Wang Chong replied.
In this battle, whether it was his father, Xianyu Zhongtong, or the entire army of the southwest, everyone could only see Dalun Ruozan and Gelofeng.
To them, this was a battle that could not be any more normal.
But to Wang Chong, this was not the only thing he saw.
'A dike of one thousand li can collapse because of an ant hole.' The fate of the massive empire that was the Tang Dynasty depended on this battle. The Tang Dynasty could not afford to lose this war of the southwest, nor could it afford to lose.
Because this war involved the future of the entire Tang Dynasty.
"Young Master has a benevolent heart. It is all thanks to Young Master that we were able to reach this step. Right now, the casualties of the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang army are even greater than ours. As for what will happen in the future, Xianyu … doesn't really care.
Another voice came from the dark night. Xianyu Zhongtong walked unhurriedly from another direction and finally sat down on the left side of Wang Chong.
"Young Master, are you looking for us?"
"Chong-er, if you have something to say, just say it."
Wang Yan also walked over.
As the commander-in-chief of the army, the two of them could not easily leave the camp. However, if it was Wang Chong's intention, everything would be different. In fact, the two of them had been here for a while. Seeing that Wang Chong was sitting there in deep thought, neither of them disturbed him.
"You really have grown up!"
Wang Yan glanced at the flagpole and saw Wang Chong, who had clearly lost a lot of weight. He sighed in his heart, feeling very gratified. From that unfilial son who had caused him so much worry to now, for the sake of the Tang Dynasty, for the people of the Central Plains, for the people of the southwest, he had traveled a great distance to reinforce them, even putting himself in danger … Wang Chong had changed significantly.
Even now, Wang Yan still didn't really understand how Wang Chong had suddenly become so skilled in the art of war. But at this moment, none of this was important. Wang Yan's heart was filled with the pride and pride of a father.
"Father, Lord Xianyu, we don't have much time. In a few days at the latest, Ouzan and Mengshe Zhao will begin their operation. This time, Ouzan will not leave any leeway. This might be the final decisive battle between us and Ouzan and Mengshe Zhao. "
Without any pleasantries, Wang Chong looked at the strongest pillar of the Tang Dynasty in the southwest and got straight to the point.
With these words, the mood around the banner instantly became extremely grave.
Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong also had grave expressions on their faces when this matter concerned the safety of sixty thousand soldiers and countless civilians in the southwest.
"Young Master, if you have anything to say, please speak. If Xianyu needs my cooperation, I will definitely do my best to cooperate!"
Xianyu Zhongtong solemnly said.
In the defeat of the southwest, he was the greatest criminal and had to bear the greatest responsibility. From a certain perspective, everything Wang Chong was doing was helping him.
At the side, Wang Yan also nodded.
Whoosh!
Wang Chong waved a hand in front of him, gathering dust and dirt from all around him. When he moved his hand away, a miniature model immediately appeared at the base of the banner.
As the actual commander of the Tang army, the situation on the battlefield was now deeply engraved in his mind.
"In the current situation, we've already returned to the same starting line as Ouzan and Mengshe Zhao. We're currently facing a lack of water, and Dalun Ruozan isn't doing any better than us. And in terms of soldiers … although we've lost forty percent of our soldiers, only sixty-thousand-some, Ouzan only has three hundred thousand soldiers left. Their advantage is getting weaker and weaker.
"The crux of everything is no longer the strength of the Mengshe – Ü-Tsang army …"
As Wang Chong spoke, he slowly swept his gaze over the two Tang Dynasty commanders at his side.
【
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"Young Master means …"
Xianyu Zhongtong slightly creased his brow, a hint of confusion in his eyes. Wang Chong's strategic thinking far surpassed his own. Not even Protector-General Zhangchou would have been able to do any better.
Thus, at certain times, unless Wang Chong explicitly said so, it would be very difficult for others to keep up with his leaping thoughts.
Wang Chong said nothing more, instead taking out four stones and placing them on the miniature model one after another, each one representing the positions of Ouzan and Mengshe Zhao armies.
"Huoshu Huizang, Gelofeng, Duan Gequan, and Dalun Ruozan … Dalun Ruozan is the civil minister, so our true problem is Ouzan and Mengshe Zhao's three Great Generals!"
As Wang Chong spoke, he placed down the stone representing Dalun Ruozan and then brought it back up.
Dalun Ruozan knew martial arts, but just like Wang Chong, his greater threat lay in his intelligence and strategy, not his martial arts. The greatest threat to the Tang Dynasty was still Huoshu Huizang, Gelofeng, and Duan Gequan, these three supreme experts.
"Young Master Wang, I understand what you mean."
Xianyu Zhongtong frowned.
"In the current situation, Huoshu Huizang has General Wang Yan's Mighty Miracle God, and I can use the Vajra God to deal with Duan Gequan. As for Gelofeng … as the ruler of the Mengshe Zhao Empire, he won't easily enter the fray. Thus, we won't have too many problems for the time being. "
"Just because he won't enter the fray doesn't mean that he won't!"
Wang Chong said.
Xianyu Zhongtong was instantly speechless.
Wang Chong was right. Gelofeng didn't enter the fray because the situation wasn't serious enough for him to enter the fray. Once he did enter the fray, the Annam Protectorate wouldn't be able to withstand him at all!
— — If the Tang Dynasty hadn't developed a set of unparalleled and effective formation techniques from Taizong's era to the current Holy Emperor's era, such as the "Mighty Miracle God Formation" and the "Vajra God Formation", they could rely on their advantage in numbers to defeat the strong and counteract a single powerful individual.
"If we don't solve this problem, we'll always be on the defensive, waiting for Dalun Ruozan to attack. And we'll never be able to get out of this predicament. "
Wang Chong said in a low voice.
Hearing Wang Chong's words, Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong's eyes lit up. The Annam Protectorate's top-notch fighting force couldn't compare to Ouzan and Mengshe Zhao. This point was clear and without a doubt.
Thus, from the start, their strategy was to stall for time and wait for the imperial court's reinforcements.
But from Wang Chong's words, it was clearly not the case.
"Young Master, you mean … Is there any other way?"
Xianyu Zhongtong was skeptical as he probed.
He had no doubt that Wang Chong was very skilled in the art of war. But if Wang Chong could even intervene in a battle between top-notch fighting forces, Wang Chong really didn't dare to believe it.
Wang Yan didn't say anything, but his eyes were also filled with doubt.
"Father, you've fought with Huoshu Huizang. What do you think of him?"
Wang Chong didn't say it directly but asked a question instead.
"Huoshu Huizang is very powerful. His golden Buddha avatar is very powerful and has a strong defense. I gathered fifty to sixty top-notch generals and used the Mighty Miracle God avatar, but I still couldn't suppress him."
Wang Yan said thoughtfully.
Although the Tang dynasty had a lot of people, it was still just one country. It couldn't possibly fight against all the foreign countries in the world at the same time. This was like fighting against the world alone. Thus, formations like the Mighty Miracle God and the Vajra God to gather the power of the army to fight against the top-notch fighting force of the other side became very necessary.
In fact, this was the result of countless experts of the Tang dynasty thinking and researching together.
Wang Yan was also bestowed with the Mighty Miracle God because he was born in a family of generals and ministers and was the son of Duke Jiu of the Tang dynasty.
"Father, if you fight with Huoshu Huizang again, aim at his organs or Jingfu acupoint."
In the darkness, Wang Chong's eyes glistened as he suddenly spoke.
"Oh?"
Wang Yan stared at Wang Chong in surprise.
"Chong-er, where did you hear this from?"
Huoshu Huizang was an Ouzan Great General, and this was the first time even Wang Yan had seen the Vairocana Golden Body Mantra. Even an old general like Wang Yan didn't know about the weaknesses in the armpit or Jingfu acupoints. This was only the first time Wang Chong had come to the southwest, so Wang Yan had no idea how he knew.
"Father knows that when your child was messing around outside, I learned a little of the Ouzan language, so I became very close to some of the Ouzan people in the capital. Your child also accidentally heard that the martial arts in the Great Snow Mountain Temple are mostly in the armpit or Jingfu acupoint. If Father fights with Huoshu Huizang again, there is no harm in giving it a try. Perhaps you will gain an unexpected harvest. "
Wang Chong sincerely said.
Wang Chong naturally did not associate with any of the Ouzan people in the capital. If the scions of noble clans were to get too close to these 'barbarians', they would very easily be ostracized by others.
But in order to convince his father, Wang Chong could only say this.
There were eight major schools of martial arts in the Great Snow Mountain Temple, and their weaknesses would naturally not be concentrated in the armpit or Jingfu acupoint. In the battle two days ago, although Wang Chong had not fought with Huoshu Huizang, he had already gained a basic understanding of his martial arts.
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