Chapter 937 - 104: Battle of Wits and Courage, First Clash

It must be said, Genghis Khan’s strategy this time is indeed thorough.

——The changes in Kyushu today are far beyond what Kyushu in the original history was.

With a strong economy and a complete trade system, the roads between places, although far from comparable to modern ones, are not what they were in the original history.

And this has determined the feasibility of Genghis Khan’s strategy.

As long as all these prerequisites can be met smoothly, his strategies will definitely be the biggest upheaval!

...

Dingzhou State.

——Gu Yan received the news that Genghis Khan had already rushed to the frontline at the first instance, but he was unaware of the various strategies formulated by Genghis Khan.

This is also one of the biggest changes in the current prairie tribes.

Genghis Khan deserves to be a powerful ruler.

He has turned the entire prairie into an ironclad unity, making it difficult for the Gu Clan to penetrate.

And this actually severed one of the Gu Clan’s killer moves.

That is attacking the psyche!

Inside the main hall of the headquarters, charcoal braziers dispelled the chill of late autumn.

On the wall hung a large map of the Hebei western route and parts of the Southern Desert, densely marked with red and black ink to indicate enemy and our positions, troop deployments, supply routes, and known areas of Mongolian cavalry activity.

Gu Yan, not wearing armor, sat in the main seat in regular attire, showing no signs of fatigue from long journeys, only a focus.

To his left and right sat seven or eight generals.

Among them, the most conspicuous was the young general sitting first on the left, with a resolute face and bright eyes—Yue Lei.

Although he only commanded a battalion of cavalry, due to his family background and courage, he was relied upon by Gu Yan as an aide.

In addition, there was the Dingzhou defense commander Zhang Jue, the reinforcements commander Liu Qi from Zhending Prefecture, and major generals from the court.

"Everyone," Gu Yan looked at them solemnly and spoke, "The scouts have confirmed that Genghis Khan arrived at the Zhlemme camp three days ago with unknown numbers of troops, but the momentum is immense."

"The presence of the enemy chief means the prior harassment and probing have ended."

"What follows will surely be a more intense and thorough offensive."

Zhang Jue clasped his fists and said, "General, the presence of Genghis Khan is certainly intimidating."

"But I believe it also presents an opportunity!"

"The enemy chief is far from his base, his army hanging in the north of our territory."

"Our Dingzhou, Zhending, and Hejian defenses have been reorganized for months now, and are incomparable to before."

"’Though firearms are few, they can still intimidate the enemy."

"Why not take advantage of his unsettled position and exhaustion, select elite troops to proactively strike, and attack his vanguard to boost our army’s prestige?"

"We can’t just let him linger at our doorstep forever!"

His words echoed the sentiments of many generals, even Yue Lei nodded slightly in agreement.

This reflects the current state of the Great Song’s soldiers.

Although they suffered losses previously.

They also do not believe that the Mongolian Army is strong, only that they caught them off guard.

This stems from their confidence in Kyushu’s strength.

And now with Gu Yan having arrived, this confidence has evidently reached a certain level, with almost all the generals harboring thoughts of engaging in battle.

Seeing Gu Yan not replying, Liu Qi pondered and said, "General Zhang’s words are not without merit."

"Genghis Khan came from afar, his army’s supply line longer, and unfamiliar with our border geography compared to us."

"If we just hold firm, letting him choose the battlefield and timing may make us passive."

"With the general’s presence, our army’s morale is high, maybe we should consider making a risky move, coordinating elite cavalry with the chariot units to go out to battle."

Gu Yan listened quietly, not immediately refuting.

The enhancement of attributes brings not only specific knowledge but also a transcendent strategic vision and the ability to think empathetically.

He never underestimated Genghis Khan.

Not for any other reason.

But because of ancestral spirits.

A foe that can awaken ancestral spirits, how could Gu Yan underestimate?

And at the moment, his first thought was to empathize with Genghis Khan’s perspective, starting to consider what exactly he would do.

"The generals’ eagerness for battle is deeply understood by me. Passively enduring attacks is indeed not a long-term plan." Gu Yan said slowly, but then his tone shifted, "However, if I were Genghis Khan, knowing our defense line is reinforced and firearms are troublesome, simply confronting head-on would only increase casualties, so what would I do?"

He stood up, went to the map, first pressed heavily on Dingzhou, then sketched from Zhending to the west, Hejian to the east, and finally stopped at the blue region representing the Bohai Sea.

"What is the greatest advantage of prairie cavalry?"

"Not the bravery in fortification attacks, but the mobility advantage, the rapid sweeping!"

"Given the current situation——"

"If the generals were seated in Genghis Khan’s position, what would they do?"

Without waiting for them to speak, Gu Yan answered his own question: If I were him, I would definitely not waste the main force in entangling with our chariot and crossbow formations upfront."

Yue Lei’s gaze sharpened: "General means..."

"He will expand the battlefield..."

Gu Yan’s finger quickly drew a big circle on the map behind Song Army’s defense line, especially the east coastal region, "Look here!"

"Our main forces are gathered on the Dingzhou, Zhending, Hejian line, but behind our main forces, the benefits of salt from Cangzhou, supply from sea transport, nodes for inland transfer, and even the recently pacified villages, are all related to our lifeline, but also relatively weak in defense!"

His gaze swept across the generals: "If Genghis Khan dispatches one or several elite cavalry units, traveling light and fast, bypassing our frontline defense, burning our saltworks, disrupting our grain routes, raiding our villages... then how will our army respond?"

"If we split forces to rescue, the frontline defense will be empty;"

"If we hold firm and don’t move, the rear will be ravaged, the army’s morale will surely falter, and we will be short of supplies!"

This analysis, like cold water splashed into a charcoal brazier, instantly calmed the previously eager generals, leaving a chill on their backs.