Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 613 - 569: Fending Off the Tujue Outside the National Gate

Chapter 613: Chapter 569: Fending Off the Tujue Outside the National Gate

"What!?"

At that moment, within the Imperial Court of Great Sui, Kaihuang looked at the Red Level intelligence that had just arrived from the Lingwu Army, and his complexion changed completely.

All the civil and military officials present were silent after hearing the intelligence Zhang San had brought back.

Previously, except for the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Household and the Ministry of Works all thought that the Tujue would not attack, but now, not only were the Tujue planning to attack, but they were also on the verge of launching a full-scale war.

Kaihuang looked again at the other documents Zhang San had sent back and tossed the jointly signed memorial aside, glancing coldly over the gathered civil and military officials.

"The Tujue is about to divide their forces into five armies to attack our Great Sui! My esteemed subjects, do you have any good strategies?"

Immediately, a person from the Ministry of War stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty Kaihuang, I suggest that since the Tujue are dispatching five armies to attack our Great Sui, we should also deploy five armies to resist them. As long as we block them, once winter arrives with its biting cold, they will have no choice but to withdraw their troops! In this battle, victory is guaranteed for Great Sui!"

Kaihuang looked at the official from the Ministry of Punishment who had stepped forward like he was looking at a fool and asked, "Where would you propose we gather these five armies for Great Sui?"

Hearing this, everyone fell silent.

The northern borders of Great Sui, from west to east, include Longyou Path, Longyun Path, Jin River Path, and Longwang Path.

Longyou Path is an area of frequent battles, though heavily fortified, it is mainly against the Demon Clan of All Things Path and the countries of the Western Regions that border Longyou Path.

Longyou Path indeed has large armies, but it is unable to attend to the north; any troops it could send would barely manage to hold the line.

According to the message transmitted by Zhang San, Longyou Path was likely under attack from two of Tujue’s armies.

Longyun Path and Jin River Path do have quite a few troops, but even combined, they probably are not a match for the Tujue, and it would be necessary for the Imperial Court to dispatch reinforcements from other regions to stand a chance of stopping the central Tujue army personally led by Khan Sharlobi.

As for Longwang Path, it likely also faced battle against two armies.

At that moment, another person stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty Kaihuang, your humble servant suggests letting the frontier armies try to hold back the Tujue’s four surrounding armies first. Then Great Sui can concentrate its elite forces to fiercely attack the central Tujue army."

"Leading them personally is the Tujue’s Great Khan Sharlobi. If we can crush his troops, the other four armies, once they get the news, would definitely retreat immediately."

Kaihuang snorted coldly, picked up Zhang San’s memorial, and said, "Your ideas don’t come close to Zhang San’s! Zhang San proposed that the court sends troops to reinforce Longyun Path and Jin River Path, especially Longyun Path, because Mei Fei is there, and previously, his unilateral deployment of troops was the excuse the Tujue used, so they will certainly attack Longyun Path vehemently."

"Then Zhang San said he has a method that could, at the very least, ensure the retreat of three out of the four Tujue armies attacking from the left and right. Thus, as long as Longyun Path and Jin River Path can hold the Tujue armies at the Great Wall, preventing them from advancing south, he can persuade at least three other armies to retreat, causing the entire Tujue army to lose heart and be forced to withdraw!"

Many people frowned upon hearing this.

Although everyone admitted that Zhang San was exceptionally capable and highly valued by those of Legalism,

a battlefield is still a battlefield, quite different from the scenarios Zhang San had experienced before.

One man driving back three armies?

On what basis would you drive them back?

On the strength of your word alone?

Everyone shook their heads, knowing that Kaihuang was too disappointed, saying openly that everyone’s ideas were worse than Zhang San’s flawed plan.

In the end, after much discussion among the senior officials, Kaihuang, feeling helpless, had no option but to dismiss the court.

Although the court was dismissed, he kept several of Great Sui’s key officials behind.

"This war, being a full-scale war initiated by the Tujue, leaves Great Sui with no choice but to fight. The key issue now is how to fight! My esteemed subjects, do you have any good strategies?"

After Kaihuang spoke, the senior officials looked at each other, none having any promising ideas.

Kaihuang glanced at Wen Chudao and said, "Wen Chudao, you are now the Minister of War, with the entire Ministry of War under your control, what do you think should be our strategy in this battle?"

Wen Chudao said, "The Tujue are known for their fierceness, and a head-on collision with them would surely be to our disadvantage. But with their five armies advancing fiercely, the best strategy would be defensive, leveraging our strengths against their weaknesses, keeping them all out of our gates."

Kaihuang seemed to understand Wen Chudao’s thoughts.

"Do you mean to suggest a defense on all five fronts?"

Wen Chudao smiled and said, "Yes, but not only that. Since we now have this intelligence, but the Tujue have not yet officially attacked, this means we still have time to prepare. Starting now, we should conscript laborers to head to the northern borders to massively repair the Great Wall, ensuring the fortification of Great Sui’s Great Wall."

"Additionally, sending more troops to all defense areas and especially gathering a large army near the Capital Region Road so that we can send reinforcements wherever a threat emerges."

"Your Majesty, to speak bluntly, with Great Sui’s military force directly confronting the Tujue’s degree, ten thousand against ten thousand, we stand no chance."

"Not to mention the possibility that Tujue’s forces may outnumber ours."

"Therefore, our best approach would be to leverage the Great Wall for defense and if we can just last till winter, we win!"

Upon hearing this, Kaihuang sighed helplessly.

Although he didn’t want to stick to defense, he wanted to penetrate the enemy sharply and deeply like a dagger.

But he knew better, that this was nearly impossible to achieve.

Although Great Sui’s military strength was formidable, it was still somewhat inferior to that of the Tujue.

Therefore, defense was indeed the best strategy.

"Any other ideas, dear subjects?"

Although many did not particularly like Wen Chudao, finding him somewhat sinister,

they had to admit that in terms of military command, Wen Chudao was indeed an expert.

Thus, the entire Capital Region Road resembled a blooming flower, with countless orders spreading like pollen, reaching every corner of Great Sui, continuously mobilizing funds and conscripted laborers all headed north.

At that moment, Mei Fei, who had not yet received Kaihuang’s orders, had just received the news from the Lingwu Army saying that the Tujue were about to attack, and the Lingwu Army hoped he would immediately lead the Shuofang Army to start fortifying their section of the Great Wall in the Shuofang defense area.

Mei Fei was recently hit by a great personal tragedy.

His biological son had died.

His own son had died.

Even his own daughter had died.

Even his own wife had smashed her head dead on the carriage sent by Kaihuang’s envoy.

He was forced to apologize and bribe the Kaihuang envoy just to ensure the matter was kept quiet.

At that moment, the detestable Changsun Bubai actually sent someone to deliver a message, even ordering him to guard the area around the Great Wall.

Who did he think he was?

Giving me orders now?

Although Mei Fei was very displeased, Mei Fei was no fool.

He knew that although Changsun Bubai was not on good terms with him, Changsun Bubai was no fool; he had not made any mistakes over the years.

Although he wanted to catch Changsun Bubai in a wrongdoing, for all these years, Changsun Bubai had not made any error that could be grasped.

This was also why the Lingwu Army had been able to maintain their own station for so many years.

It was because Mei Fei simply could not find a single fault with Changsun Bubai, thus he couldn’t take down Changsun Bubai and incorporate the Lingwu Army.

Therefore, when Changsun Bubai sent someone to inform him that the Tujue were coming to attack, it meant they were definitely coming.

Mei Fei immediately gave the order, calling together all the generals for a meeting.

At that time, all the generals felt very unsettled.

For one thing, everyone was aware of the disgraceful events recently happening in Mei Fei’s home.

His wife had stolen two men to bear Mei Fei two sons.

Then, by mistake thinking his real children were not his, he accidentally caused the death of his own children.

This affair was known almost by everyone in the camp.

It was only because no one from the Shuofang Army had recently left the area that the matter had not quickly spread to Spring Breeze Town or reached the ears of some Martial Artists.

And then it would swiftly become known throughout the entire northern Longyun Path about Mei Fei’s embarrassing situation.

"The Tujue are going to attack soon, and this time their army might bring considerable numbers. Gentlemen, what are your thoughts?"

Upon hearing this, all the generals became excited.

After all, most of the officers who had been following Mei Fei were part of the Radical Faction.

Their principle was ’hitting the Tujue feels good for a while, keep hitting the Tujue feels good always!’

And as part of the Great Sui’s Shuofang Army, what they wanted was just to enjoy themselves!

"Grand Commander-in-Chief, do we even have to say? Naturally, whatever you ask us to do, we will do!"

After the officer who stepped out said this, he burst out laughing.

Even the rest of the generals joined him in the laughter.

Several already seemed to be sharpening their knives in anticipation.

Especially since Mei Wu had died and Wang Lihui had been imprisoned by Mei Fei, the army was exactly in need of fierce warriors; it was indeed a godsent opportunity for them to distinguish themselves!

Mei Fei smiled and nodded, saying, "Since you all want to follow my command, then I will order a full retreat. Let’s first pull back to Shuozhou City behind us."

The moment they heard this, the generals, who had just been excited and enthusiastic, become completely silent.

Everyone was confused, very confused.

Why retreat?

A young officer couldn’t help but ask, "Grand Commander-in-Chief, shouldn’t we push north and use the Great Wall as a fortification to hold off the Tujue, and then attack them when they are tired? Did you, perhaps, misspeak just now? Ha...haha..."

The young officer hadn’t finished speaking when he noticed Mei Fei’s icy stare, forcing him to let out an awkward laugh.

"Do you know how many breaches there are in the Great Wall due to its dilapidation over the years?"

"Do you know how much manpower and resources are needed to repair the Great Wall and fortifications, not to mention the excessively long time it requires?"

In fact, many of those present were aware.

Because most of the funds originally sent by Kaihuang to repair the Great Wall had been embezzled by Mei Fei.

So, normally, the Great Sui’s Great Wall would be able to repel an invasion by the Tujue.

But the reality was that the section of the Great Wall controlled by the Lingwu Army had indeed been effective.

But on the Shuofang Army’s side, it was nothing more than broken walls and ruins.

"Grand Commander-in-Chief, if our own soldiers were to repair the Great Wall, wouldn’t that enable us to hold off the Tujue?"

An old general stood up and asked.

Everyone knew, though no one spoke it aloud, that if the Lingwu Army went to the Great Wall and the Shuofang Army did not, not only would the entire defense line of the Great Wall collapse, but more importantly, the Lingwu Army might be sandwiched from both sides and all die on the fringes of the Great Wall.

Moreover, if the Shuofang Army retreated, it wouldn’t just be Spring Breeze Town at risk — a large number of neighboring villages and towns would be destroyed by the hands of the Tujue.

"Do our soldiers not need to prepare for war? Do those large holes in the Great Wall due to years of neglect seem like something a few men can quickly mend?"

"Remember, I, Mei Fei, am the Grand Commander-in-Chief of Longyun Path. What I say is the rule! Retreat, all of Shuofang Army!"