Chapter 988: Chapter 948: There’s Definitely a Conspiracy

Precisely because of this, as far as Lin was concerned, he had absolutely no intention of sparing any attention for these old fogeys’ emotions for the time being.

More importantly, he had to see as clearly as possible whether these old fogeys actually had any real ability, or, put bluntly, just how useless they were.

If they really were the kind of rotten mud that couldn’t be molded into a wall, then there was no need for him to protect them; he could simply strip them all out in one go.

Especially now, when his thunderous methods were making everyone fearful amid this storm, and he was deliberately showing a sharp, ruthless side, he had nothing to worry about.

He could crush them at will, manipulate them as he pleased.

This could be said to be the moment of his "new king sets three fires," when no one dared jump out and provoke his ire. Had they not seen him dismiss all those deeply rooted old officials, and no one dared say a word?

Of course, saying all this now was perhaps a bit premature.

For the moment, just speaking of Leng Yu’s side—after hearing the issues raised by Minister Wu, she immediately turned her gaze to him:

"Then I must ask Minister Wu: if what they are using is not a strategy of siege and encirclement, then why is it that in these fifteen days, they have not suffered the slightest loss?

Moreover, one could say our two armies have been locked in confrontation the entire time. Why is that?

If it is not a feint, then why have they not launched an assault on the city?

More importantly, as Minister Wu said earlier, our city garrison numbers over ten thousand men, whereas the enemy has fielded more than a hundred thousand this time.

With such a gap, if the enemy were truly to commit even a tenth more of their total strength to a full-scale assault, then I would like to ask Minister Wu: do we have any chance of victory?"

This question struck directly at the crux of the matter, leaving Minister Wu momentarily speechless.

Just as Leng Yu had said: if the enemy’s 110,000-strong army concentrated on one point and launched a fierce assault, then even if this city had more than ten thousand garrison troops and ample grain as backing, the result would still inevitably be its fall.

After all, the figure of 110,000 troops was right there; even if the garrison numbered fifty thousand, there would still be absolutely no chance of victory.

Especially since the enemy also had many cavalry, which meant the garrison had not the slightest possibility of breaking out.

More importantly, if the enemy truly adopted a human-wave tactic, the ten thousand garrison troops in the city would never be able to hold; let alone fifteen days, even lasting ten days would already be a rather remarkable display of combat strength.

And do not forget: if ten thousand garrison troops had to face an army of 110,000, then those ten thousand defenders would have virtually no fighting spirit left.

Even if they were afraid, they would be so terrified that they’d throw down their weapons; by then their courage would have been scared clean out of them.

Under such circumstances, how could there still be any combat effectiveness to speak of?

One could say that the enemy’s 110,000 troops would shatter this city with sheer crushing force.

On this point, almost everyone understood in their hearts: aside from the Capital City, no other city could withstand the impact of a 100,000-strong army.

As long as the enemy steeled their resolve, then even a city like Luoyang would have no chance at all.

Yet, under such circumstances, the enemy had not chosen to use all their strength to take one city, but instead had split their forces for multiple simultaneous operations. The implication behind this was practically self-evident.

And this line of reasoning immediately received everyone’s approval. All present suddenly saw the light; just as Leng Yu had said, they had been utterly puzzled in their hearts, not knowing what tactic the enemy was playing at.

Why not concentrate all their forces to attack a single city?

If they used 110,000 troops to take one city and then occupied it, they could completely reorganize on the spot.

After resting for a period, they could then use their full strength to attack the next city. Proceeding like that would be the proper way.

But the way they were acting now—taking a swing here and a chop there—it was hard enough to maintain sufficient combat power, let alone talk about capturing any city at all.

For the time being, Leng Yu’s explanation had won everyone’s assent.

When they turned their eyes back to Minister Wu, their gazes were already full of questions, as though wordlessly asking whether the minister had anything more to say.

At this moment, Minister Wu’s face had gone quite pale.

He had not expected Leng Yu to see through the matter so clearly.

At the same time, the things he himself had never been able to figure out suddenly became clear after Leng Yu’s reminder.

It was at this very moment that he began to waver in his own assumptions. Could it be that these moves were really just feints?

Could it be that all ten of these cities were being attacked only as a diversion?

But then, what exactly was the enemy’s true objective?

Seeing that she had convinced everyone, Leng Yu once again turned her gaze to Lin Yi. Her eyes were filled with steely resolve as she spoke to him:

"Your Majesty, in light of everything just discussed above, this subject believes that the enemy is merely feigning an attack on those ten cities. As for their true goal, this humble subject believes it is just as I said before: their final target is the Capital City.

And the reason I am so certain begins with Shanhai Pass. That city at Shanhai Pass was never very large to begin with; one could say that taking it would require only a few thousand troops.

Especially given the terrain of Shanhai Pass: its primary defensive orientation is against Zhao Country.

And from ancient times, our relations with Zhao Country have been exceedingly friendly. Precisely because of this, we have never stationed many troops at Shanhai Pass.

Yet this time, Yan Country directly dispatched ten thousand cavalry to attack Shanhai Pass, and not only did they successfully take the city, they did not let a single person escape, not a single scrap of information leak out.

This, I believe, needs no explanation for Your Majesty to understand.

But why would they do this?

Why would they send over ten thousand cavalry against a small Shanhai Pass that could clearly be taken with just a few thousand men?

This cannot help but give one pause.

Furthermore, they acted with such decisiveness that I imagine the reason Shanhai Pass was struck so swiftly and by so many must have been that the enemy feared we might leak the news and thus wanted a battle of swift decision.

They wanted to seal off all information there. And I recall that the Yan Country general said one thing at the time: that there must be no unforeseen complications.

From that alone, one can hear that the attack on Shanhai Pass was anything but simple. There must be a monstrous conspiracy hidden within."

[To be continued....]