Chen Ping's Sword

Cui Boyu gazed complexly at the distant three thousand heavy cavalry phalanx sitting as still as a mountain.

Toward that person, he harbored slight resentment, and slight fear, but mostly a heart and eyes full of admiration.

Perhaps, possibly, if the Cui Family exhausts its wealth and goes all out, following him might not be a bad choice.

If one day...

Before Cui Boyu could figure it out, Cui Huchen coldly laughed, "So, you are not Ji Changlie; you truly don’t understand what he is thinking.

This person, for small gains, forgets life. He undertakes big matters, yet treasures his own life. In his actions, he is suspicious and fickle. I discovered this person’s character flaw early on, which is why I placed my bet on his son, Xuan Ge, and didn’t have high hopes for him."

Cui Huchen’s eyes shone brightly, as if seeing through mountains, penetrating the gorge to view Ji Changlie, who led over a hundred thousand soldiers. He murmured, "Throughout history, those who achieve great things either gamble utterly or don’t gamble at all. One must have the realization of perishing family and life. Ji Changlie, at critical moments, is never reliable. He only abandons important things while pursuing unimportant ones like false fame..."

The old man’s voice seemed to drift in the air, ethereal: "Just like this time, he not only abandoned his own daughter, but also the people of the Three Prefectures, even forsaking his renown for battle prowess, just for a chance to gain it all at once.

Yet, although he decided to observe the tigers from the mountain and laugh last, he couldn’t resist intervening when he saw an opportunity midway, overturning everything from before.

Ideas change daily, self-proclaimed wisdom above all, with the realm seemingly within his grasp. He never considered that many things don’t always develop as he wishes.

Therefore, the more he sees banners like a forest on the mountain, the more he suspects it’s my illusory array, believing as long as he breaks through One-Slash Gorge, he can secure a complete victory, annihilating King Ping’s cavalry."

"Is it so?" Cui Boyu pondered carefully.

Reflecting on King Jinghai Ji Changlie’s character, he found it indeed so.

The person not only holds himself in too high regard, but is extremely suspicious.

Moreover, he harbors ambitions mismatched to his capabilities.

This is evident from how he meticulously withdrew all the Three Prefectures’ elite forces, leaving a million civilians to wail under the Beizhou Hu Cavalry’s blades.

This person does not refuse to resist the Hu People, but he clearly understands that no matter how many soldiers he commands, he can’t win.

Since he can’t win, why waste troops?

Even if it meant fighting to the death with thousands of Wolf Riders, his own troops would be crippled, and all ambitions would go down the drain.

In his eyes, such a losing proposition is unthinkable.

Therefore, withdrawing the elites became inevitable.

He even sidelined his daughter’s happiness just to smooth relations with Beizhou, trying not to draw their attention...

Everything was to preserve strength.

But what is he preserving strength for?

Of course, it’s to fully capture Jiangnan, a goal Ji Changlie never gave up.

Once he knew through secret spies and carrier pigeons about the fierce battle in Wenyuan Valley and its outcome, he couldn’t resist trying to take advantage amidst the struggle between the clam and the crane.

Considering this, if someone tells him there’s an ambush on the mountain, that charging out means certain death, and he should refrain from ambushing King Ping’s war-weary army, would he listen? Would he believe it?

"He would certainly think this is our deceptive tactic, showcasing ability as inability, inability as ability... The more conspicuous it is, the more it reveals our fatigue and weakness.

Thus, not only will he not retreat, but he will accelerate his attack, going all in."

Cui Boyu, upon understanding everything, replied firmly.

Simultaneously, he held deep respect for King Ping’s foresight.

The other party unexpectedly foresaw that King Jinghai would not stay put, and early on, moved the Xingqing Prefecture’s defense of a hundred thousand foot and cavalry to lay an ambush in the Hungry Tiger Ridge area.

Seeing all follow-up actions before the battle even began.

So, has he foreseen that Xingqing Prefecture is now defenseless, and should someone seize the city while their forces are outside and unable to return quickly, what would be the course of action?

...

"This deceptive tactic is but a minor art. That small thief is war-weary, hence placed an illusory array, hoping to scare us off; that is the extent of his abilities."

Ji Changlie, riding on a White Jade Dragon Horse, in Golden Armor and Golden Helmet, with a Red Cloak fluttering in the wind, pointed the right sword of his Twin Swords forward, laughing heartily: "The terrain of Hungry Tiger Ridge is low, even if the gorge is narrow, how many troops can really be ambushed? Even if there are rolling stones and wooden stakes, how many soldiers could be injured?"

One cannot blame Ji Changlie for his confidence.

Because, in this world, everyone practices martial arts, especially elite knights, who are adept at the art of Man and Horse Unity.

In marching, although not like walking on flat ground while crossing mountains and ridges, a small ambush has relatively minor impact on a large army.

The real threats are always skilled generals and military arrays.

When array techniques reach an extremely high realm, feats like defeating many with few, or a hundred cavalry raiding a camp, become trivial matters.

At One-Line Blade Gorge, from afar, movements on the mountain can be seen, birds startled into flight, banners faintly visible, even a fool can see it’s extremely dangerous here.

But precisely because a fool can see it, Ji Changlie won’t believe it.

"Sons, advance with me; if we win this battle, half of Jiangnan will be ours, and Beizhou Hu Cavalry won’t head south anytime soon. In seizing the opportunity, Heaven’s will aligns with me."