Chapter 1 Ye Tao's Doubts

Ye Tao found it odd. "Does the enemy intend to exhaust the Tianxuan Army by attacking the supply lines? If so, why not let Qiu Haohui bring the Tianxuan Army back?"

Tan Xiaopei chuckled and said, "Because he's in a location that's even more troublesome for the enemy. It's currently a stalemate. They can't do anything about Qiu Haohui. He's holding three towns with 20,000 heavy infantry, 10,000 combat infantry, a battalion of archers, and a few thousand cavalry. The position is extremely crucial. Those are the three towns of Heng'an, Daning, and Taifeng. The Northern Liao side has tried several times, but they can't chew through him, so they had to focus on the supply lines."

Ye Tao roughly imagined the positions of these three places in his mind. He really wasn't familiar with the terrain of Northern Liao. Aside from a few major cities, he rarely remembered specific locations, at most he was only familiar with the section of the border between Northern Liao and Yunzhou. He was a bit puzzled.

Tan Xiaopei shrugged and explained, "By firmly holding these three towns, if they could seize them, they would almost cut off Hengzhou from the rest of Northern Liao. The entirety of Hengzhou is in the mountains behind him. Although Hengzhou isn't particularly wealthy, Northern Liao has always cared a lot about its territory and will never easily let go. Not to mention that Hengzhou has a copper mine and two iron mines with average production and quality."

When Tan Xiaopei said this, Ye Tao understood. He nodded and said, "I'll go take a look at Heng'an."

"Is there a need? I just came back from there. I personally arranged the protection for the supplies," Tan Xiaopei said with a smile. He wasn't really comfortable with Ye Tao going to the front lines. During the battle in Zhenzhou, Ye Tao charged ahead for a long time. Hearing about it afterward, it sounded quite dangerous, and open field battles are different from being pinned down in a city and enduring attacks.

"I'll take the airship squadron. If it gets colder and the north wind gets stronger, the airship squadron might not have as many opportunities to play a role. While we can, I'll go break this stalemate."

Ye Tao was very confident, and Tan Xiaopei quickly understood Ye Tao's intention. The means of airship bombing might soon be deciphered, or at least, some countermeasures would be developed to reduce the effectiveness of the bombing. After all, everyone understood the characteristics of the Yunzhou army. Unless absolutely necessary, Ye Tao was unwilling to let his subordinates risk their lives. The airship squadron, this expensive and precise super weapon, was even more so. They were absolutely unwilling to descend to too low an altitude to fight. However, every time the airship squadron appeared on a new battlefield, the psychological pressure and fear it caused the enemy was real and incomparable. The soldiers stationed at Zhenning Pass could be considered the elite troops that the Xue family had trained for many years. In Dongping, where generals didn't specialize in soldiers, the Xue family had controlled the defense of Zhenning Pass for three generations, adding up to almost fifty years, so they naturally had their own unique methods. Even these elite soldiers were terrified...

"Alright, but rest for a night, then meet with Xue Yuan. I'll have Xue Yuan lead the elite cavalry from Zhenning Pass in a supporting maneuver... You find a way to disrupt the enemy's formation. Then, Xue Yuan's route and Zou Shuangwen leading a few battalions of the Blood Kirin Army on another route will counterattack. And I, along with Zhuo Xianchen, will lead a unit of the Imperial Guards to block the forces trying to rush out of Hengzhou. Hehe, it's much more satisfying to suffocate Hengzhou from the inside, letting them surrender after they run out of ammunition and food, than to bombard it with a large army." Tan Xiaopei immediately made more comprehensive arrangements. This kind of random, powerful tactical skill and grasp of the battle situation were Tan Xiaopei's greatest strengths.

"Xue Yuan?" Ye Tao vaguely remembered the name, but the impression was already very faint.

"Don't you remember the first time you met Xin'er in Yicheng?" Tan Xiaopei said with an understanding smile.

Ye Tao was stunned. He had never had much interaction with a character like Xue Yuan, and he wouldn't deliberately remember such a person, such a young and arrogant person and his grudges. Xue Yuan couldn't hinder him, that was very clear.

"This..." Ye Tao scratched his head embarrassedly.

Tan Xiaopei suggested, "Xue Yuan's temperament has changed greatly over the years, he's much more steady and grounded. This time, when he heard you were coming, he specifically requested to see you, hoping to apologize to you in person for what happened back then, and not leave any gap between the two of you... If he wasn't so capable, I might not be playing peacemaker. Actually, it's not a big deal. But I'm planning to appoint him as the Governor of Hengzhou and General of Zhenning Pass, his father, Xue Qian, has been thinking about retiring for many years, and this time he was almost overworked and fell ill. I feel bad for Old Xue, that I have exhausted him to this extent."

Ye Tao chuckled and said, "It's really not a big grudge with Xue Yuan, Your Majesty is overthinking it. I'll go find Xue Yuan."

Although it was against the rules for Ye Tao to take the initiative to find Xue Yuan with his current status, it would further show Ye Tao's sincerity.

After staying in Zhenning Pass for a day, allowing the airship crew to rest well, and resupplying the airships, Ye Tao's group flew straight to Daning. Daning was currently where Qiu Haohui's command post was located. Qiu Haohui had not had it easy these years. Starting from the military chess competition, he entered the Blood Kirin Army, and then worked his way up from the Blood Kirin Army and the Imperial Guards, unbelievably becoming a prominent figure in the Dongping military, commanding the elite Tianxuan Army. From the son of a merchant to a famous general, it had only taken him less than ten years. And precisely because Qiu Haohui had experience serving in both the Blood Kirin Army and the Imperial Guards, this time when he was firmly pinned down on the front lines enduring the pressure, the rear was very actively protecting his supply lines, constantly trying to find opportunities to attack the Northern Liao's raiding forces. The mutual annihilation was becoming increasingly brutal.

Qiu Haohui was extremely pleased by Ye Tao's arrival. His process of getting to know Ye Tao was the process of his own rise in the army. Qiu Haohui was able to be where he was today because Ye Tao created the magical game of military chess back then. Qiu Haohui always felt a bit lucky. It was fortunate that it was a few years ago. If it were now, with the military chess competitions in Dongping taking place year after year, the level would be getting higher and higher. Purely in terms of military chess, the current Qiu Haohui was no match for many of his subordinates. But Qiu Haohui didn't care so much, because he knew that he was a qualified general.

"Chief Manager Ye... it's been a long time..." Qiu Haohui tightly grasped Ye Tao's hand, extremely excited.

"You're calling me Chief Manager Ye too?" Ye Tao said teasingly.

"Hehe, then what do you want me to call you? There was a time when I called you Little Ye, right? If I called you that now, someone would impeach me in the blink of an eye," Qiu Haohui said with a chuckle, not taking it to heart.

"What's there to be afraid of," Ye Tao said, walking shoulder to shoulder with Qiu Haohui, entering the courtyard where Qiu Haohui's command post was located.

Qiu Haohui's command post always had one characteristic, that it was very similar to the courtyard of his own home. The command post of the Tianxuan Army's headquarters was the same way. When he was outside, although he couldn't have everything as he wished, he would always find something that was as similar as possible. The courtyard in Qiu Haohui's house was a standard style courtyard, so it wasn't too difficult to find. However, for this kind of courtyard to accommodate the entire command structure of the Tianxuan Army, as well as a series of officers and liaison officers from the jointly cooperating forces, it was a bit crowded.

Qiu Haohui's interest in the airships that Ye Tao brought wasn't on the surface. He privately asked Ye Tao about the functions and characteristics of the airships, and then fell into deep thought. "Bombing from the air, the accuracy is very limited, right? And the lethality isn't strong, right?" Qiu Haohui was too familiar with military affairs after all, and quickly understood the current airships' weaknesses.

"Yes, so there's a battle plan that can fully leverage the strengths of our several armies." Ye Tao then explained Tan Xiaopei's ideas in detail. After listening to what Ye Tao relayed, Qiu Haohui was silent for a while, then suddenly slapped his thigh and said loudly, "That's right, why didn't I think of that?"

In Tan Xiaopei's plan, the Tianxuan Army was to be used as the first force to launch a counterattack, pushing back the enemy forces in front of the three towns, and then cooperating with the Blood Kirin Army and the garrison of Zhenning Pass to squeeze and encircle the enemy. Throughout the process, the airship squadron would provide them with reconnaissance and ground support. And when the three sides advanced together, squeezing the enemy into a small enough area, the airship squadron's large-scale bombing would be very effective.

"Old Qiu... you're too honest." Ye Tao chuckled. "Your tactical style is very different from everyone else's. Heavy infantry requires perfect details, stability, and groundedness. Everyone now regards you as the leader of heavy infantry units, so they will naturally pay attention to your personality and abilities in this regard. However, you have influenced the style of the heavy infantry, and the characteristics of the heavy infantry have also influenced your traits. This isn't a problem with your tactical ability, but a problem with your tactical style. You're the leader of the heavy infantry, you're an honest person. That's why His Majesty is so confident in just throwing the three towns to you."

Ye Tao's words were very insightful. Qiu Haohui thought about it carefully and said, "Well, that makes sense. But that's good too, let the higher-ups know what I can do well, and that's enough."

Ye Tao was also extremely fond of Qiu Haohui's attitude. Ye Tao knew that in the current situation, it would be very difficult for the Tianxuan Army to quickly switch to counterattack operations. It basically meant that the entire army had to undergo a huge tactical transformation, from city defense to field attack. And it was obviously more difficult for the Tianxuan Army, which was mostly heavy infantry, to make this kind of tactical movement than for other types of troops.

Qiu Haohui thought for a moment and said, "Little Ye, give me half an hour of high-intensity support tomorrow afternoon, and I'll launch a counterattack tomorrow."

Ye Tao was stunned. "Really? Can you? Isn't that rushing it?"

"The Tianxuan Army is always ready for anything..." Qiu Haohui smiled proudly. "That's how I was in the Blood Kirin Army back then, wasn't it?" Speaking of this, Qiu Haohui's eyes immediately glanced at the cloisonné heavy infantry armor on the side of the room. He was going to gloriously wear this armor to the battlefield again. Thinking of this, he became excited.