Chapter 652: Rookie

Chapter 652: Chapter 652: Rookie

Shen Hao was standing on the wall of the Advanced Scout Camp when he saw Cheng Jinhou’s army passing ahead. Unlike the bleak despair of half a month ago after their narrow escape, now Cheng Jinhou’s soldiers were once again at full strength, each one brimming with spirit and an overflowing sense of might.

This is what’s called military prestige and morale. The major credit for the grand victory in Jianchuan goes to the Upper Military Camp under Cheng Jinhou; it was this force that fought most of the battles.

After enough victories and hard-fought battles, the army’s aura would naturally show itself—a suppression to the enemy, and a tremendous boost to their own side’s spirit.

To put it simply: the soldiers’ morale was higher than ever.

Many times, when it comes to bloody fighting, it all depends on this morale. If they pressed down with momentum, their chances of winning increased by at least twenty percent. To survive, you had to have spirit.

The so-called "Tiger Troops" refers exactly to this momentum.

Wu Kai also left Shimen Military Camp along with Cheng Jinhou’s army. Half a month of recuperation had healed most of Wu Kai’s external wounds; as long as he took care from here on out, he’d be fine. Before leaving, he made a special point to say goodbye to Shen Hao, and said that after the war he would treat Shen Hao to a drink in Fengri City.

As for those few Elixirs taken on credit, Wu Kai didn’t mention them at all.

But other than taking Wu Kai, whose position was already part of the Upper Military Camp in Jianchuan, Cheng Jinhou said nothing about Shen Hao’s stay or departure. This meant that unless a new order came from the Daoxing Chief’s Office, Shen Hao would continue staying at Stone Gate.

Because of his connections in the army, Shen Hao had gotten used to using the various bits of intelligence he gathered to simulate military strategy. Now, with all this exposure, he was no longer a total outsider—he’d picked up a thing or two. Every now and then he would even head over to the Advanced Scout Camp to discuss with Zhang Qian and Gan Lin.

"With Cheng Jinhou leading his troops forward, building a new camp a full eighty li ahead of us, it means Central Army wants to fight the enemy with their own tactics! The Barbarian Race loves playing with salients, don’t they? Now we can do it too. Let’s see how the Barbarians respond."

"How else can they respond? I bet they’ve already noticed. Once we fortify this salient, the rest of their territory becomes extremely vulnerable, under constant threat. In fact, the soldiers they now keep in Jianchuan are already half-encircled, don’t you think?"

The advance of Cheng Jinhou’s force was the Jingjiu Dynasty’s firmest counterattack to date, and confirmed everyone’s earlier suspicions: Zuo Yuliang had truly kicked off the counter-offensive. Once the salient at Jianchuan thrust toward the Barbarians, the offense and defense were basically swapped.

"But why build a new military camp? If it’s to target the Barbarians across from Jianchuan, wouldn’t simple field camps and attacking in place of defense do the trick?" Shen Hao pointed at the Jianchuan region map on the table and raised his question. In his view, there was no need to construct a new camp at all. Just set up simple camps, with Stone Gate as a huge support in the rear. No need to fear anything. And without a camp, the force would be more flexible, better for outflanking and blocking the Barbarians opposite Jianchuan.

At the same time, Shen Hao knew that although he was no longer an amateur, he was still nothing compared to the likes of Zuo Yuliang. Even Zhang Qian and Gan Lin were way ahead of him in military matters. He asked mostly to find out what he’d missed about the purpose and benefits of setting up Cheng Jinhou’s new camp.

"Simple field camps? Ha! Brother, that’s a typical... well, a typical ’rookie’ idea. It’s simple: Cheng Jinhou built the new camp eighty li up precisely for pressure! To force the Barbarian Race to confront a steel thorn jabbed deep into their flesh. They’ll have to withdraw forces from White Head Gorge and Hu Zhu Yuan to deal with this salient at Jianchuan." Gan Lin laughed heartily as he explained.

Zhang Qian, next to him, added: "It isn’t only pressure—it also wrecks the Barbarians’ balanced deployments along the Jianchuan, White Head Gorge, and Hu Zhu Yuan front all at once."

And just think, having an enemy camp suddenly appear in their own territory would greatly unsettle the Barbarian civilians in the rear. Their higher-ups aren’t as ’easy to talk to’ as our Jingjiu court, you know?"

Are the Jingjiu leaders really ’easy to talk to’? Shen Hao didn’t think so. He believed the dynasty’s high morale came down mostly to the Emperor’s attitude and skillful means—once the ministers were suppressed, only then did they unite. Of course, that wasn’t something he could say openly to either Zhang or Gan.

After the explanations from the two, Shen Hao understood much more. He thought for a moment, then said, "So Jianchuan will soon be the fiercest fighting on the whole front line again, won’t it?"

"Most likely, yeah. But the rest will depend on Marshal Zuo’s deployment. In fact, the terrain here at Jianchuan isn’t suitable for a massive battle, just tens of thousands at most—more war of attrition, wearing each other down. Unless we completely punch through Jianchuan, it’s not as strategically valuable as White Head Gorge in the middle."

"Why is that?"

"Because the land behind White Head Gorge opens into plains. According to the old maps, it’s one of the few areas the Barbarians have left that’s still good for large-scale agriculture—you could call it their ’granary.’ Beyond White Head Gorge is Sangbi Hill, where the Red-eyed Wolf Race is now said to fly the Frost Moon Banner—a heavy symbol. Now imagine if we break through White Head Gorge..."

Shen Hao got it. The salient at Jianchuan was like tossing a stone into a pond, casting out ripples of reaction. As for what Zuo Yuliang would do next—it all depended on the Barbarian’s coming response. Maybe that’s the meaning of countering move with move?

"But you probably won’t be on the front line for much longer," Zhang Qian remarked, taking a sip of tea and shifting the topic. Mostly, he didn’t have much interest in discussing military affairs with a rookie like Shen Hao.

Shen Hao, a rookie to his core, didn’t notice at all—he was even pleased at his own rapid progress in military matters. Suddenly being told this by Zhang Qian surprised him. He asked, "Why do you say that, Brother Zhang?"

"Because you don’t belong to the Border Army’s combat organization. From what you said before, you were only temporarily assigned to fill in numbers, mainly because of your Cultivation and the skill of your three elite guards. Now that Cheng Jinhou’s main force is here, the Central and Lower Military Camps of Jianchuan will be moving, too. The danger at Stone Gate is basically resolved, so it’s time for you to withdraw.

Also, that ’first aid unit’ you put together for General Pan is working great—definitely a major innovation. General Pan will surely report to Marshal Zuo. When you return, you’ll probably get official orders from Marshal Zuo. So, you’d better have your plans for the first aid unit finalized in the next couple of days."