Chapter 1493: The Weakness of a Powerful Opponent

Chapter 1478: The Weakness of a Powerful Opponent

He Lingchuan was not surprised at all by Jin Tao Nation's choice. It lacked the ability to play both sides between the two major powers, and ultimately had to pick a side.

Although Dragon City and Yuheng City now appeared very strong, everyone knew that Beiga was the most powerful nation in the world. Jin Tao Nation truly lacked the courage and confidence to refuse Beiga, especially since Beiga's army had already entered Jin Tao Nation.

Although this army was there to destroy Yuheng City, if Jin Tao Nation was disobedient, Beiga would certainly not mind giving it a small lesson.

He Lingchuan could understand Jin Tao Nation's predicament, but that didn't mean he wouldn't make things difficult for them.

So, as soon as He Lingchuan turned around, he assigned Xin Yi an important task: to blow up the transfer depots at Jin Tao Nation's front line!

Xiluo was practically impoverished, barely managing to gather over twenty thousand people to conquer the Mao River Plain, and most of their provisions were supplied by Jin Tao Nation.

Jin Tao Nation collected food from its own territory and sent it to transfer depots behind the front line for Xiluo Nation to use.

He Lingchuan then set his sights on these transfer depots.

You wanted to remain neutral, but you wouldn't listen, right? Then I'll personally cut off your food supply!

In fact, it wasn't just the Xiluo army's rear transfer depots; He Lingchuan also ordered spies operating within Jin Tao Nation to simultaneously set fire to several of Jin Tao Nation's large granaries!

Of course, the transfer depots presented the greatest difficulty for the operation, so He Lingchuan asked Xin Yi to personally handle it.

He had some suspicions about this person's identity, but given Xin Yi's power, he was indeed the best candidate for this mission.

Xin Yi had been staying by He Lingchuan and Wen Daolun's side, learning about both military command and city governance, enjoying himself greatly. When He Lingchuan gave him this task, Xin Yi didn't hesitate and immediately agreed.

He Lingchuan could tell that Xin Yi was eager to use his skills.

It's difficult for a coward to pretend to have backbone; and it's not easy for a capable person to pretend to be incompetent.

Xin Yi had probably come to terms with this and no longer concealed certain aspects of himself. For instance, he had sparred with He Lingchuan twice in the training ground; although both times were friendly matches where they stopped short of causing harm, He Lingchuan clearly knew that Xin Yi had not used his full strength!

At He Lingchuan's current level, he could throw Meng Shan out in five moves. Yet, when facing Xin Yi, he still found him unfathomable, unable to gauge his true depth.

Utilizing talent to its fullest, there was nothing wrong with sending Xin Yi to blow up the transfer depots.

If, unfortunately, he sacrificed himself, it would be a significant loss for Yuheng City and Mount Ling. How can there be a war without casualties?

So many brave men from Yuheng City and Dragon City had shed their blood on the battlefield; why should someone from Mount Ling not be able to shed a few drops of their noble blood?

Xin Yi seemed oblivious to the danger, enthusiastically recounting the process of blowing up the transfer depots.

Contrary to common perception, a granary isn't just a large warehouse standing on the ground. The transfer depot occupied a considerable area and consisted of seven granaries, each separated by more than fifteen zhang, due to safety requirements for fire, theft, flooding, and moisture.

Therefore, to maximize the destruction of the enemy's provisions, Xin Yi had to blow up as many granaries as possible within a short period.

He blew up five in total.

This was truly difficult, and he had ignited 'true fire,' which was not as easily extinguished as ordinary flames.

Of the two granaries not hit, one was right next to the main tent, making it inconvenient for him to act; the other was completely empty, containing no grain at all.

So, with Xin Yi's trip to the other side of the river, the Xiluo army was left with only one granary of provisions.

Upon seeing Xin Yi, everyone in the camp praised him profusely. While pleased, Xin Yi also asked He Lingchuan:

“Just blowing up a few granaries, does it really have such a big effect?”

“Yes, absolutely!” He Lingchuan said with a serious expression. “Mr. Xin, do you know why I asked for your help at this particular moment?”

Xin Yi, always modest, replied, “I'd like to hear the details.”

“The Beiga army has already reached Jin Tao Nation and will arrive here within two days. According to reports from our scouts, their numbers are estimated to be between thirteen thousand and sixteen thousand men.” He Lingchuan said gravely, “Beiga's deployment speed is faster than we anticipated.”

“So?”

“Their rapid march indicates that their supplies are very light.”

Xin Yi let out an 'oh' sound and asked, “They're carrying very little of their own provisions?”

“The journey from Beiga to Jin Tao Nation's front line is long, and this force was dispatched ahead of schedule, so their march was somewhat rushed.” Beiga's original strategy was likely to use the Xiluo army to harass Yuheng City, then, once the northern front of Dragon City opened, they would send a mixed force of Beiga and Xiluo troops to jointly invade the Mao River Plain.

However, He Lingchuan led the Tiger Wing Army to Yuheng City and inflicted heavy losses on the Xiluo army, nearly causing them to flee in disarray. Plans couldn't keep up with changes, so Beiga had to send its own army ahead of schedule to stabilize the situation.

“There's a reason Beiga didn't send them earlier,” He Lingchuan said with a smile, uttering two words: “Food supplies.”

As a military commander, he was not only responsible for victory and defeat but also for feeding tens of thousands of people, making him exceptionally sensitive to logistical supply.

“Oh?” Xin Yi thought for a moment, then exclaimed, “Oh—!”

Being intelligent, he quickly grasped the implication: “It seems General He intends to exploit this vulnerability later on.”

“Mr. Xin can infer the rest.” This fellow is truly no ordinary person.

“However, this means Beiga's pressure will first fall upon Yuheng City and the Xiluo army.” This seemed somewhat different from Xin Yi's initial understanding.

Shouldn't the main battlefield be on Dragon City's northwestern front? Who would be foolish enough to provoke Beiga first?

“It's better than it falling on General Hong and Commander Zhong,” He Lingchuan stated seriously. “They've already borne too much!”

Xin Yi looked at him, slightly moved.

To dare bear such a heavy responsibility alone, Dragon City truly has such a formidable young general!

The two walked in silence, gazing across the water at the opposite bank. The chaos Xin Yi and his group had caused earlier was now concealed by the deep night.

But He Lingchuan always felt that someone on the opposite bank was silently observing and assessing them as well.

Xin Yi suddenly said, “When I set fire to the transfer depots, before I left, I saw the Xiluo army arrive, clustered around a young woman. She commanded with composure and even employed a divine ability. For her age, possessing such cultivation is truly remarkable.”

The young woman appearing in the army could only be Lu Wushuang.

At this time, Qingyang was not yet thirty years old.

“You actually saw her! That must be the new army supervisor, and she will also be our next opponent.” He Lingchuan chuckled, “If we can find a way to kill her, this front line will be much easier to fight.”

Xin Yi wondered, “Why? She's only the Xiluo army's supervisor.”

She's not the Beiga army's, after all.

He Lingchuan could only say vaguely, “I just have a feeling this woman is extraordinary.”

He couldn't very well say that she would later become a national grand tutor and had participated in the destruction of Dragon City.

Xin Yi exclaimed, “Oh, if I had known, I would have tried to kill her then.”

This fellow spoke with quite some arrogance. He Lingchuan glanced at him and said, “I think you'll see her again soon. When you do, don't hold back.”