Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 314 - 228 Sacrifice

Chapter 314: Chapter 228 Sacrifice

"I have no doubts about your words."

Xu Yuan offered a slight smile, "Li Qingyan, now serving as the Commander within Northern Border City, indeed needs to stabilize the troops’ morale, so many things cannot be openly discussed."

He paused,

then softly asked,

"Has Li Qingyan arranged for scouts to investigate those Barbarian Tribes’ armies outside the city?"

Without any hesitation, Yuan Hao replied,

"The heavy snow obscures the view. Right after the explosion to the south of the city, Prince Wu Yuan immediately dispatched two teams of flying scouts for reconnaissance."

"What was the result?" asked Xu Yuan.

"The losses were heavy, only three of the one hundred flying scouts returned..."

"Commander Yuan."

Xu Yuan raised his hand to interrupt, "I’m not interested in the casualties. My question is about how many members of the Barbarian Tribes’ armies are outside the city."

Yuan Hao was slightly stunned, feeling inexplicably intimidated.

It wasn’t that he thought Xu Yuan was cold-blooded, but he wondered if this Third Young Master was seeking to interfere with the military’s decision-making.

With this in mind, Yuan Hao still truthfully responded,

"A rough estimate, probably upwards of four hundred thousand...."

"Wait."

Xu Yuan interrupted again,

"With the heavy snow obscuring the view, is it possible that these four hundred thousand could be decoys, like straw men?"

Yuan Hao’s mouth twitched as he replied with a bow,

"Although the visibility is impeded, the Demonic Beasts that the flying scouts ride use their cries for reconnaissance, confirming they are all real people."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan glanced subtly at Lou Ji standing behind him, wanting to verify this point through her.

After their eyes met, Lou Ji sent a telepathic message with a smile,

"Not necessarily. The shamans of the Barbarian Tribes have methods to obstruct, and Zong Qingsheng almost suffered a great loss because of this... hmm, this is what he conveyed to me through the Tianxun Crystal Orb."

Xu Yuan nodded noncommittally after listening.

Seeing the exchange between the two, Yuan Hao cautiously countered,

"Third Young Master, may I know why you are asking this?"

Xu Yuan looked at him, understanding the implications, and replied with a slight smile,

"Don’t worry, I’m not going to be someone who gives amateurish orders to professionals; I’m just asking.

"But since these Barbarian Tribes’ armies are indeed real, and nearly an hour has passed by now, why haven’t they attacked the city?"

Seeing his chance, Yuan Hao answered in a low voice,

"Third Young Master, preparations for an assault after a long march require considerable setup. The troops need to rest, equipment needs to be prepared, and encirclement takes time.

"Moreover, the Barbarian Tribes are currently forming battle lines to encircle Northern Border City from the two sides, likely planning to intercept Sect reinforcements coming from the south before launching an assault on the city."

"..."

A classic military tactic: encirclement and interception.

Xu Yuan sighed inwardly and deliberately asked,

"So, in that case, the Sects sticking around in Houting County three hundred Li away were inadvertently correct? With that distance of three hundred Li... even with the roads blocked by heavy snow, those elite troops should be able to reach here within two to three days, right?"

The expression on Yuan Hao’s face turned slightly stiff as he replied in a low voice,

"Third Young Master, the Communication Crystal in Houting County was destroyed during the last fall. Prince Wu Yuan reclaimed Houting County but did not have the chance to re-engrave the crystal; we could only send messengers."

"However, even if the message arrives, the heavy snow north of Northern Border City has reduced visibility to a point where one cannot see more than fifteen feet ahead; rash reinforcement could likely be intercepted by the Barbarian Tribes at the waist, which would cause the army formation to collapse on the spot."

After listening intently, Xu Yuan nodded lightly,

"I see... You may go now."

Relief washed over Yuan Hao as he bowed and hurriedly left.

At that moment, Xu Yuan’s voice suddenly came from behind him,

"Yuan Hao, I want you to have the Black Scale Army launch a probing attack on those Barbarian outside the city."

"....."

Yuan Hao felt his heart sink upon hearing this command and remained silent.

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes,

"Why no response?"

Yuan Hao solemnly said,

"Third Young Master, this is suicide."

Xu Yuan’s heartbeat quickened slightly as he enunciated each word,

"Commander Yuan, this is a military order."

Yuan Hao took a deep breath:

"A general in the field, military orders..."

"Brother!"

Xu Yuan’s tone dropped slightly cold as Lou Ji jovially locked him in with her will.

Under the pressure, Yuan Hao momentarily faltered, ultimately unable to bear the burden and knelt on the ground. After remaining silent for a few breaths, he gritted his teeth and said:

"A general in the field, must obey military orders."

With those words, the pressure dissipated.

Xu Yuan stood up from the desk and walked over to Yuan Hao, looking down at him:

"We’re old acquaintances who have worked together before, I know why you’re rejecting my military order.

"Ha... You think I issue orders rashly, an amateur directing experts, leading to needless sacrifices."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan patted Yuan Hao’s shoulder, his voice heavy:

"Commander Yuan, you’re not standing at a high enough position yet, what you see is just a tiny part of the whole. I can assure you, their sacrifice is necessary."

"..."

Yuan Hao seemed like he wanted to say something more, but ultimately only asked:

"If Prince Wu Yuan asks about this matter, how should I respond?"

Now that Li Qingyan was in command of the Northern Border City, moving the troops rashly would surely be questioned.

"Hmm... You just say,"

Seeing his reaction, Xu Yuan stood straight, chuckled softly, and said:

"... this is an order from the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s person in charge in the Northern Frontier."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Hao briskly gave a fist-and-palm salute and then turned to walk out of the chamber.

"Thud—"

As the door closed,

Xu Yuan walked back behind the desk and lazily leaned against the chair back, rubbing his temples forcefully.

"Changtian..."

Lou Ji suddenly asked in a soft voice:

"Why didn’t you just tell Yuan Hao the reason just now?"

"What reason?"

"The Barbarian Tribes have methods to shield their rites from flying scouts’ surveillance."

"Heh..."

Xu Yuan chuckled softly, looking back and counter-asking:

"Sister, you must have known about this for quite some time, why didn’t you tell them this critical military intelligence?"

"...."

They locked gazes, speechless.

"Giggle..."

Lou Ji smiled enchantingly, stepped forward and sat down sideways on the desk, smiling at Xu Yuan: "Our dear Changtian is as cautious as I am~"

The reason was simple, the Tianxun Crystal Orb.

It’s the utmost secret within the secrets of the Prime Minister’s Mansion. In this mode of warfare where a Cultivator needs to send messages once leaving the city, the Tianxun Crystal Orb is the trump card of trump cards.

There are many clever people in the world. Zong Qingsheng in the depths of the Northern Frontier’s snowfields made this mistake, and they got the message here. Sooner or later, someone would deduce that the Prime Minister’s Mansion possessed some mobile communication method.

Lou Ji crossed her arms and asked with a light laugh:

"Then... can I ask you why you’re doing all this?"

Xu Yuan’s smile faded, and he said seriously:

"Of course, it’s because I fear the Barbarian Strange King might employ a tactic like secretly crossing the Chen Cang, as Yuan Hao also said, if the Barbarian Tribes take advantage of the natural disaster and blizzard to cut us off, the army formation can easily collapse."

"If the Barbarian Tribes split their forces in two, one route circling south of the Northern Border City and the other continuing to hover near Lord Hou and Master Zong. If I rashly order Master Zong and his forces to rejoin us, then we would truly be in a mess."

"We must probe the real situation of those Barbarian Tribes outside the city, but if too few people go, we won’t be able to reveal anything."

Lou Ji’s brow furrowed slightly:

"Do you need to be so hasty? If the Barbarian Tribes really have pushed all their tribes forward, at least half won’t make it back from this probing mission."

Xu Yuan looked down at his hands, remained quiet for a long moment, then said:

"The Barbarian Tribes traveling for supplies will inevitably be low on supplies as well. Once they start besieging the city, naturally we’ll be able to spot the weak points."

Saying this, Xu Yuan lifted his gaze:

"But what we need now is to fight for every second."

"Once it’s confirmed that all the Barbarian Tribes’ main forces have circled around to the Northern Border City, you must immediately notify Master Zong to move south!"