Mythical Three Kingdoms

During Zhuge Liang’s journey to Onion Ridge, Li Jue’s territory was once again troubled by bandits for reasons unknown. Li Jue personally led troops to pursue them but ended up catching nothing but a shamaness, whom he naturally brought back due to his own faith in such matters.

This time, unlike before, the bandits had no intention of confronting Li Jue directly in battle. Instead, they ran everywhere, slipping away, causing Li Jue considerable frustration, yet he had no effective means to address it, given they were genuine elite troops who were also exceptionally fast.

"These damn bandits, if I catch them, I’d definitely cut them all down!" Li Jue sat on a stone platform, a long spear thrust into the ground before him. "A bunch of trash who don’t even dare face us directly, yet dare to call themselves the Empire’s elite."

In reality, Fuward was purposely irritating Li Jue, as he couldn’t find any valuable targets within Li Jue’s jurisdiction. Even though the bandits ran everywhere around Onion Ridge, they posed no real harm to Li Jue. Yet they did manage to annoy him significantly.

"Are you saying these bandits are the elite troops of another empire?" Sheni Pei asked curiously, leaning on a cane. Recently, their Yuan Family’s elite troops had also begun to climb the Great Snow Mountain with some difficulty, though having gained significant improvement.

"Of course, such a military corps is something small countries can’t possibly maintain. They can’t beat us, yet their irritating tactic of running everywhere within my territory is troublesome," Li Jue fumed, although admitting no damage had been done, still feeling embarrassed.

"Who runs faster, you or them?" Sheni Pei asked, frowning. He had noticed recently that the Xiliang Iron Cavalry seemed to be somewhat short-legged.

"They run faster; their elite talent must include high-speed movement," Li Jue pondered before responding.

"Well, is there anything in your jurisdiction worth destroying?" Sheni Pei continued.

"Impossible, the only thing worthy of destruction would be the city behind us, but could they really come here?" Li Jue scoffed, "If they dare show up before me, I’ll definitely kill them this time."

"Since there’s nothing of value worth destroying, why are you so furious?" Sheni Pei asked curiously. For him, dealing with fast cavalry was manageable, as long as their combat power wasn’t too high, and they weren’t aggressively seeking death – there were many ways to handle them.

"A defeated army still dares to provoke me; such trash should be exterminated," Li Jue was filled with rage.

"Which country do they belong to?" Sheni Pei asked calmly, "Kushan?"

"Yes, it can only be that country," Li Jue nodded, "I’ve known for a long time that this bunch is no good."

"Since they’re from the Southern," Sheni Pei quietly remarked, thinking it might be a good opportunity for practice, recalling the map.

"Hmm, it’s all plains; it seems they can escape in any direction, making them difficult to ambush. With insufficient troops, it’s impossible to completely annihilate them," Sheni Pei considered briefly. "But teaching them a lesson is doable."

Sheni Pei began explaining to Li Jue how to force Fuward into an ambush, somewhat like catching a normal army in the psychological trap of not wanting to lose troops during retreat. Since Fuward’s Camel Riders weren’t much faster than the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, their forces would inevitably need to move laterally for dozens of miles to evade.

Thus, only two armies would be needed to drive the Camel Riders laterally for a hundred miles or so. At that point, whether they stumble into a trap like Li Mu’s plateau tunnels or directly into an ambush circle, their extensive lateral movement could ensure they crash into the ambush.

"No, although I once said we fought them to a one-to-seven ratio, that doesn’t mean they are weak. To say accurately, if they hadn’t underestimated our capabilities, we couldn’t have achieved such results," Li Jue said, feeling somewhat helpless, noticing Sheni Pei’s reaction surprisingly mirrored the shamaness’s words exactly.

After thoroughly explaining Fuward’s Camel Riders to Sheni Pei, Li Jue concluded that without Xiliang Iron Cavalry resorting to unfair tricks, a ratio of one to three was more plausible. If embroiled in a prolonged fight, the losses of Xiliang Iron Cavalry would increase over time.

"Oh, they are that strong; we’ll need to find another approach," Sheni Pei said without embarrassment. Strategic tactics have many alternatives. "Since this way won’t work, let’s reverse our thinking. Attack where the enemy must defend; we only need to protect this single point, whereas their harassment implies a vacant rear."

"Right, I’ve been too focused on how to thrash this bunch of bastards: take out their base entirely, wait at their headquarters for their return, that’s a great tactic; why not join me," Li Jue rejoiced at the proposal, perceiving it as more reliable than the previous one – yet another panel mentioned it.

"Thank you for the kind offer, but I currently have no intention of leaving," Sheni Pei said naturally.

"Besides, this strategy’s significant flaw lies in the difficulty of clearing the enemy’s rear and the value of doing so, as you mentioned their strength lies with their corps. Without pinning down the army, eliminating active forces renders those places worthless," Sheni Pei began self-deprecating.

After speaking, Sheni Pei waved and left. He had other methods, such as using a beacon tower to lure, splitting forces to trick opponents into vulnerabilities, or creating more valuable target points. Since the opponent was strong, alternative methods were available, but Li Jue’s words discouraged Sheni Pei from elaborating.

"Forget about this bunch of bastards for now. If not for waiting on my house’s think tank, I’d have led the troops south ages ago," Li Jue said irritably. Sheni Pei merely glanced at Li Jue without speaking, unwilling to inform him that even leading troops south would yield nothing.

Sheni Pei could dismiss other words humorously. But just that one statement – even if Li Jue was blunt, merely expressing appreciation for his advice – did not make Sheni Pei feel delighted.

"Report!" A soldier from the Xiliang Iron Cavalry rode a horse furiously over, making Li Jue excitedly leap up, completely forgetting the shamaness’s words and comparisons with Sheni Pei, knowing the one he anticipated was arriving.

"Is it our think tank coming?" Li Jue laughed loudly, saying that the longer he stayed with Sheni Pei, the more he felt his own intellectual deficiencies, though he picked up the shamaness himself, preferring the trustworthiness of his own counsel!