My Cultivation Starting from Archery

Chen Sansi led the troops away, and after another fifty li, stopped at a crossroads on an official road in the wilderness.

"Xu..."

It slipped out so naturally that he found it hard to correct himself: "Bring me the map."

"Who has a map? Quickly!"

Zhao Kang and the others searched but there was no sound for a long time.

"My lord, I have one."

Xia Cong was well-prepared; he presented the map immediately, respectfully unfolding it in front of Chen Sansi: "I have some humble thoughts, I wonder if I should speak?"

On the journey, he could tell the general wanted to call out for Mr. Wo Long, the esteemed Xu, showing that the general lacked a right-hand man. He was ready to step in, hoping to learn more by the general's side in the future, and become a trusted lineage.

Chen Sansi looked at the map, without raising his head, he responded: "Speak freely."

"Thank you, my lord!"

Xia Cong bowed deeply: "I believe that even if we release the surrendered soldiers, direct persuasion will still be ineffective. We must use force before virtue, take down a city first, and then lead by action."

"Hm, the thought process is not wrong."

Chen Sansi glanced at him: "Continue."

Encouraged, Xia Cong eagerly shared the analysis he had prepared in his mind: "Inside Zhao Tong Prefecture, there are still eight thousand soldiers defending, among them two thousand are local garrison troops and six thousand from Elite Camp Soldiers called from other places. With the help of the civilians, a direct assault on Zhaotong is definitely not feasible."

"Therefore, I believe we should first attack Songlin Prefecture, which is closer to Zhaotong. The enemy's defense there is not strong, they've already been under siege for a long time. If we add three thousand of the Xuanjia Army to launch a fierce attack, there is a significant chance of taking it by force. Once Songlin Prefecture falls, it will naturally shake the morale in Zhao Tong Prefecture, then we can persuade them to surrender."

"No, it's nowhere near enough."

Chen Sansi rejected the idea: "Not to mention how great a cost that would be, time is not something we can afford to waste, moreover, do you know why we must capture Zhao Tong Prefecture within two months?"

"Besides the need for more troops to concentrate on attacking Yong Yue Prefecture, I think..." Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

Xia Cong felt like he was taking an exam, answering seriously: "In two months, reinforcements from Qing Country could likely arrive, conservatively estimated at over fifty thousand. The best place to stop them would be twenty li outside Green Ridge Mountain, but that requires bypassing Zhaotong. If Zhaotong is not captured, it means leaving a knife behind on our flank, ready to strike at any moment."

"If you put it that way..."

"Our situation seems not as optimistic as we thought!"

His expression grew grave, "If the Qing Country reinforcements reach outside Green Ridge Mountain and we can't deploy enough soldiers to stop them, it means we may have to give up the attack on Yong Yue Prefecture and choose another city to defend."

"In such a scenario, the situation would shift from the Great Sheng Dynasty besieging the enemy to a stalemate between the two forces."

"The deadlocked situation that Qing Country has in Lai State could all come back to life."

"And if we add the reinforcements from Nan Xu Country that might appear outside Hu Lao at any time..."

"All of the Great Sheng Dynasty's efforts in Lai State could be wasted, reclaiming the territory of the three states could become a pipe dream."

To the side.

The other two Thousand Captains of the Xuanjia Army, Xiao Zheng, and You Jike, also listened with serious expressions.

"You few are still clear-headed."

Chen Sansi continued: "So, what we have to do is race against time, time is the essence of opportunity, the faster we deal with the soldiers and horses in each city, and gather the dispersed forces of our Great Sheng Dynasty, the better prepared we will be to face the upcoming changes."

"The fastest way to capture a city is to make the Enemy Army open its gates and surrender. If fighting breaks out, even with the smallest city, it will cost us a lot of time and troops. On a front of nearly a thousand li with so many cities, we simply cannot afford the accumulated time."

"One Songlin is not enough, one Zhaotong is not enough."

"What I want, aside from Yong Yue Prefecture, is for all thirty-six prefectures within the territory of Lai State to surrender at the sight of my forces!"

All thirty-six prefectures surrendering at the sight!

Xia Cong and the others exchanged looks, seemingly finding it hard to believe.

Moreover, on the military order.

They were only required to deal with Zhaotong Prefecture; was it really necessary to go this far?

Xiao Zheng expressed his doubt: "My lord, if I may be bold, isn't the difficulty a bit too great?"

"Yes, my lord, it's not that I doubt you, just..."

You Jike added: "Persuading one or two key cities to surrender is already an exceedingly difficult task, let alone convincing all thirty-six prefectures. It's almost... impossible, isn't it?"

"Hmph! Making a fuss over nothing!"

Zhu Tong scornfully said: "Even I understand, do this first, then that, and it'll work out!"

"Old Zhu, stop causing trouble."

Zhuang Yi pulled him aside: "Just listen to the general's speech, and you know nothing!"

But the brothers from Po Yang were unfazed, as they had no doubt their general could achieve the strategic goals he had declared.

"You Jike, there's one thing you got wrong."

Chen Sansi's gaze remained fixed on the map: "Sometimes, the difficulty of persuading many cities in a state to submit is far less than persuading just one or two cities; this is called momentum."

"Some say that in war, deceit is key, others say authority is key, and still others say that the most important thing is to ensure a stable position for oneself, awaiting the enemy's defeat. But I say—"

He paused for emphasis, each word he spoke ringing out like a deep ringing bell: "In war, momentum is everything!"