Chapter 122: Besiege a Point to Reinforce the Aid

After entering the city, Xiao Ding first had Magistrate Kou summon a physician to treat Yu Feng’s internal injuries.

Magistrate Kou and Commander Cao did not look down on Xiao Ding simply because he held no official rank. His prowess in commanding the battle was evident; people with such talent would sooner or later be put to important use by the imperial court. Having spent their lives navigating officialdom, they could easily see that.

Commander Cao admitted to himself that if he had been the one leading troops outside the city today, he would not have had the nerve to launch a surprise attack on the Hu camp.

To assault a camp of twenty thousand with a cavalry force of only five thousand? That required immense self-confidence and audacity. Having served in the military for twenty years, Commander Cao had rarely seen a general with such courage and boldness, and he genuinely admired Xiao Ding from the bottom of his heart.

In this great battle, Xiao Ding’s troops had seized over a thousand horses, nearly two thousand sets of weaponry and leather armor each, and over ten thousand arrows. Had the fire in the camp not destroyed so many supplies, they might have captured even more.

Xiao Ding’s cavalry had killed at least seven or eight thousand of the enemy, though they had suffered losses of seven or eight hundred men themselves. Fortunately, with over a thousand horses captured, they could replenish their cavalry ranks.

Chibugou led his remnants back to Tuhe Town in disgrace to face the First Prince, Li Daocheng. As he recounted what had transpired, Li Daocheng was so infuriated he nearly fell backward. He slammed the table and roared, "Useless! Useless! A pack of useless fools! Twenty thousand men routed by five thousand cavalry—can you even fight? Someone, drag Chibugou out and execute him!"

"Wait, First Prince!" Mao Yanshun, the strategist sitting to the side, spoke up again. "Please, do not let your anger get the better of you! While Chibugou is at fault, his crime is not one that warrants death."

"Strategist, do not plead for him. This incompetent fool calls himself a famous general of the Great Xia, yet he could not even take a small county town and let five thousand men decimate his twenty thousand. Does he have the face to see me? Chibugou, do you know how many major plans you have ruined for me?"

"I am guilty, I am guilty! Please, First Prince, punish me!" Chibugou knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your guilt is worthless! Do you realize that because you failed to take Xinquan County, I cannot bypass it to advance on Yongzhou City? Do you have any idea how much you have delayed the military campaign? Can you bear the responsibility?" The more Li Daocheng spoke, the angrier he became. He grabbed a porcelain cup from the tea table and smashed it on the ground, making Chibugou shudder in fear.

"First Prince, calm yourself! This matter cannot be blamed entirely on Chibugou. That man named Tian Xiaoding is far too cunning; he exploited a gap in Chibugou’s defense, which gave the local garrison the upper hand."

"But, Strategist, because of the failure of these two fools, our pre-arranged plans have been shattered! What should we do next?" Li Daocheng glared fiercely at Chibugou before turning to Mao Yanshun.

"It does not matter that Xinquan was not taken. Our previous plan has actually half-succeeded," Mao Yanshun said lightly.

"How is it a half-success?" Li Daocheng did not catch on immediately.

"Was our original strategy not one of dividing and devouring? The reason we sought to attack Xinquan was to force them to disperse their forces! Where did the reinforcements for Xinquan come from? They were drawn from Dingbian and Pubian. Now, we only need to concentrate our forces and wipe out these three pockets of resistance."

"That’s right! Strategist, now that you put it that way, I understand. They now have fifteen thousand troops in Dingbian, fifteen thousand in Pubian, and ten thousand in Xinquan. That will be much easier to handle. If that still doesn't work, we can target another empty county to lure them into sending reinforcements, making it even easier to deal with them!" Li Daocheng actually grinned at this thought.

"There are no more empty cities nearby worth attacking. Other counties are too far away. Splitting their forces into these three locations is sufficient. We need only concentrate our strength and focus on the weakest point, such as Xinquan, which has only ten thousand men. If Xinquan cannot hold out, they will surely call for help from the other two cities. If reinforcements are sent from Dingbian or Pubian, we will set an ambush halfway and intercept them. This is the strategy of 'besieging a point to strike at reinforcements,'" Mao Yanshun said slowly, stroking his beard.

"A brilliant plan! The Strategist is truly a master! It just so happens that this Tian Xiaoding is in Xinquan; I must capture him to avenge my fallen generals." Li Daocheng clapped his hands repeatedly, praising Mao Yanshun's superior intellect.

After praising Mao Yanshun, Li Daocheng turned back to look coldly at Chibugou. "Chibugou, I will give you one more chance to redeem yourself. Assemble another twenty thousand troops and attack Xinquan. This time, you must not make a single mistake!"

"Yes! I accept the order!" Chibugou kowtowed several times before turning to leave.

Li Daocheng continued shouting, "Borduo, hear my command!"

"I am here!" A tall, burly man stepped forward and bowed.

"I order you to lead ten thousand men to Pubian to support Zhang Yuanpu and Zhang Wangrong. Watch the city day and night; if any troops attempt to leave, find a way to set an ambush and intercept them. Do not fail," Li Daocheng commanded.

"I understand!" Borduo bowed and departed.

"Kanleguo, hear my command!"

"I am here!" A man with a thick, bristly beard stepped forward.

"I order you to lead ten thousand men to Dingbian to support Balatian, Han Qianhu, and the Yeli brothers. Keep watch on the city, and if any troops emerge, intercept them. Do not let them aid Xinquan. Do you understand?"

"I understand!" Kanleguo turned and left.

"Shu Tianxiu, hear my command!"

"I am here!" A pale-faced, slender man stepped forward.

"I order you to lead ten thousand men to Xinquan to support Chibugou. If you discover any outside reinforcements, find a way to intercept them; do not let them enter the city. Understand?"

"I understand!" Shu Tianxiu accepted the order and left.

With the troops divided and orders issued, Li Daocheng finally let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at the strategist Mao Yanshun and shouted, "Someone, bring me a new tea cup!"

Back in Xinquan, Xiao Ding was in the guest room provided by Magistrate Kou, using his spiritual energy to help Yu Feng treat his internal injuries. Yu Feng had been wounded protecting him, so he was determined to do everything in his power to heal him.

Although the physician had already prescribed plenty of medicine for internal injuries, Yu Feng’s condition was severe. Fearing he might not pull through, Xiao Ding had him moved to his own quarters to personally circulate his spiritual energy for the healing process.

An hour later, Xiao Ding was drenched in sweat, but Yu Feng finally regained consciousness.

He opened his eyes, saw Xiao Ding in front of him, and whispered, "Boss, are you alright?" before closing his eyes again.

Xiao Ding patted his shoulder and said, "I am fine. Rest easy and focus on healing."

He picked up the bowl of medicine nearby, filled a spoon, blew on it, and brought it to Yu Feng’s lips. "Open up, drink your medicine first." Yu Feng had been unconscious until now and unable to take his medicine.

Yu Feng obediently parted his lips slightly, and Xiao Ding fed him the decoction.

After swallowing, Yu Feng said, "Thank you, Boss."