Chapter 1257 – Choosing which General to Send

The Tibetan Plateau had many high mountains and rivers, and the landscape was dangerous and quick changing, uneven and complicated. The world’s tallest mountain Mount Everest and the Jinsha River that was 1503 meters above sea level were within its borders.

There were many mountains and boundless plains.

The rolling rivers wrapped around the mountains, twisting and turning; green grass grew all across around the canyons while strong and furry cows could be seen everywhere; the lake was like the blue sky as the light shone onto it. The water was so clear that you could see the bottom of the lake.

The mountain peaks were covered in white snow, while the foot of the mountains were warm like spring.

In the middle portion of the Tibetan plateau, north of the Himalayas mountain range sat the Tibet imperial city, Lhasa. The Lhasa river flowed past here and into the famous Yarlung Tsangpo River.

Before the capital was shifted, Lhasa City was situated in the wilderness. After Songtsen Gampo shifted over, he built the palace, temples, and used the rivers to settle the rough shape of the city. The Jokhang was built during this period.

Although the Lhasa City in the 8th month was covered in dark clouds, it was still tranquil.

Around the 25th day, the four armies of Great Xia reached the Tibetan border. The first obstacle ahead of them was not the Ashoka army but the cruel weather.

The armies of the four countries had never fought on high plains. After stepping into Tibet, they would more or less feel headaches, lose sleep, feel exhaustion, and have difficulty breathing…

Every single one of these aspects could be a battlefield killer.

Luckily, they had strong bodies, and their morale was really high. As such, their reactions were not too intense. If not, they would have lost this battle before it even began.

All of the Great Xia armies that stepped into Tibet would have to rest up on the spot for two days and adapt before setting off. As such, the four armies established a transitional camp at the border.

The two million troops were like flowing water, never stopping.

Seeing this, the spirited Ashoka Dynasty army started their attack on the Great Xia Army, giving rise to the first wave of battles at the border.

The Great Xia Army was still acclimating to the high plains. However, before they even had a chance to adjust, they were faced with the head on attacks of the enemy. Unavoidably, they panicked, and the number of casualties started to rise.

When the Ashoka Dynasty army saw that, they chased the win; they wanted to settle this war in one battle and force the Great Xia Army out. They sent out troops to disturb the transitional camps of the Great Xia Army.

The confident Great Xia Army suffered an early loss.

Seeing this situation, the northwest warzone command center ordered the four armies to use the transitional camps as their frontline base to stabilize themselves. They could not carelessly proceed and would only be allowed to counterattack after they had adapted to the climate.

Great Xia’s actions were undoubtedly a sign of weakness in the eyes of the Ashoka Dynasty army. As such, they grew even more arrogant, bragging and mocking Great Xia a distance from the Great Xia camp.

However, this only caused the northwest warzone command center to reinforce their orders and strictly warned the soldiers to not go out to fight.

…

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

9th month, 1st day, Shu Lands Province, Chengdu, northwest warzone headquarters.

Advisor Xun Yu walked into Li Jing’s room with the recently submitted battle report in hand. He said with worry, “Commander, the emotions of the soldiers are running high, and the generals are going to be unable to suppress them.”

When Li Jing heard that, he raised his head and asked, “Which is the worst?”

“Right wing.” Xun Yu answered.

The right wing was composed of the 500 thousand Qin army led by Wang Jian.

When Li Jing heard that, he smiled and said, “What a group of warriors. Luckily, general Wang Jian is capable and calm. Otherwise, they would have exploded, right?”

Xun Yu could not reply to that.

Everyone knew that when Ouyang Shuo was sending them off, the praise he gave to the Qin army made all of their blood boil; their killing intent had risen to the maximum.

Now that they had faced an early setback, the Qin army naturally could not accept it.

Luckily, Wang Jian was there. He had been through countless wars. He was intelligent and not rash, valiant with many strategies.

When Li Jing saw Xun Yu’s reaction, he did not continue and instead asked, “Currently, how many troops have adapted, and how much grain and resources have arrived at the frontlines?”

Xun Yu replied, “A total of 350 thousand in total can fight; the current resources can last for half a month.”

“Half a month.” Li Jing contemplated before he sighed, “The grain transportation is still a little too slow.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it, the path is too difficult, and we can only use horses and even manual labor to transport the grain. To get such results is already amazing.” Xun Yu explained, “Thousands of civilians have already been killed or injured. If it were not for his majesty making an appearance, those Provincial Governors would already be voicing their unhappiness. After all, it is currently the crucial period of the second rice sowing season.”

“No matter how difficult it is, we cannot relax. I’ll personally write a letter to his majesty.” Li Jing looked determined, and his tone was firm. He knew that this battle would be decided not on their reaction to the weather but on their grain.

Grain was the lifeline of the army, and they could not take it lightly.

Xun Yu nodded. Naturally, he had no objection to the commander’s decision. Not only was the commander the northwest warzone commander, but he was also one of the three part-time ministers in the Grand Council; the emperor trusted him greatly.

“Although it can only last for half a month, it’s basically enough. If we drag on any longer, things might change. It will also affect morale and would be detrimental to the upcoming war.” Xun Yu voiced his thoughts.

Li Jing nodded. He knew that these two million troops were not Great Xia’s proper army after all. They were not trained in the same way and were not taught their military discipline.

If the enemy continued to provoke them, things might really get out of hand.

“Since that is the case, let them strike when the opportunity arises. It’s time to give the enemy a bloody lesson to let them know that Great Xia cannot be bullied.” Li Jing made up his mind.

“Ok, I’ll send the order!” Xun Yu heaved a sigh of relief.

…

Along with the order from the command center being given, the four armies sprang into action.

Xihai Province, right wing camp.

The middle-aged Wang Jian looked at the order before confidently hollering, “Men!”

“Present!”

“Gather the generals for a meeting!”

“Yes, marshal!”

In less than 10 minutes, the Legion General level generals had all gathered. During this period of time, the army had remained on the defensive and did not attack, making the generals feel a lot of pent up frustration. When they learned that the marshal was calling them for a meeting, they rushed over at their fastest speed.

Standing at the front was the young Wang Ben, who asked excitedly, “Father, are we attacking?”

Wang Jian pressed down his hands, and the tent instantly became quiet. He said solemnly, “We have orders from the command center. We will turn from defense to attack, fighting when we see an opportunity. We need to make use of the enemy’s overconfidence to crush them. We have one week to take down one enemy city to act as out frontline base.”

As he said that, Wang Jian looked around and asked, “Who dares to be the vanguard to lead the troops to take down Anduo City?”

Anduo City was a county-level city and the closest city. Based on the reports from the scouts, the Ashoka Dynasty had 40 thousand troops stationed there, so they could not be underestimated.

“Father, I am willing!”

Wang Ben was the first to speak. When the other generals saw that, none of them made a noise.

A tiger would not beget a dog son. Wang Ben’s authority in the army was only below his father’s. He had true ability, and his great fame and merit did not come solely from his father.

The army was used to calling him the young commander.

When Wang Jian saw that, he nodded his head. They had to win the first battle, and sending Wang Jian gave him the most confidence, so he said, “Since that’s the case, you will lead 70 thousand men to take down Anduo City within five days.”

The time limit given to them was seven days, and Wang Jian naturally had higher demands.

However, who would have expected Wang Ben to be even more confident and pumped up, “Three days is enough!”

“There are no jokes in the army.” Wang Jian did not wish to see his son act big and fail.

Wang Ben was confident and said, “I am willing to give a military proclamation!” He was determined to take down the first blood and be the first out of the four armies to take down a city to show the strength of the Qin army.

“Okay, I’ll give you three days!”

Wang Jian did not say anymore. Since he had given a military proclamation, he would have to answer to military law if he failed.

“Thank you, father!”

Wang Ben cupped his fists and backed offf to a side.

Wang Jian once again looked around and said, “The rest of you immediately prepare for battle and prepare to assist.”

“Yes, commander!”

The generals all replied in unison. Currently, their blood was boiling with excitement.

“Go prepare!”

Wang Jian waved his hand as the generals all left.

In less than an hour, Wang Ben had selected his forces, taking three days of grain and resources before leaving the camp and heading to the frontlines.

The war of Tibet had officially begun.

Not only the right wing, but also the left army, the middle protector army, and the middle army charged out of their camps. They brought with them pent up anger and the determination to get the first blood of this war.

The army that grabbed it would attract the most attention.