For two days, Xiao Yunlong stayed indoors, cultivating the Three Thousand Divine Kingdom Arts in seclusion.
Although the jade pendant was not large, its quality was exceptionally high, and the spiritual energy contained within was very pure. After completely refining the jade pendant, the number of divine kingdoms within Xiao Yunlong's body increased from one hundred and twenty-two to one hundred and forty!
Xiao Yunlong's strength undoubtedly increased and even surged once again.
On the eastern front, at Wancheng, Northeast Tiger Zhang Qingyun had also personally arrived at this strategically important city. However, he did not act rashly, but was quietly waiting and observing.
During these two days, the main forces of the three northern desert allied armies had finally entered Jiacheng Pass successively.
Immediately, the commander issued an order to divide the army into two. The vanguard army, Zha Hada, led 250,000 troops to attack the eastern front, while the commander, Bruzaga, personally led 300,000 troops straight to Pingcheng on the western front.
"King Xiao Bei, this commander is determined to utterly defeat you this time and pull you, the God of War of Longguo, down from your pedestal!"
Commander Bruzaga gritted his teeth and snorted coldly, then waved his hand. The army immediately set off, majestically leaving Jiacheng Pass.
At the same time, intelligence from both the eastern and western fronts obtained this frontline information.
Li Jiuxiao, who was responsible for investigating and collecting intelligence, immediately went to the inner courtyard's secret chamber upon learning of this, intending to report.
As soon as he arrived at the secret chamber, Xiao Yunlong happened to emerge from his closed-door cultivation, pushing the door open.
"Master, you are out of seclusion. It's just in time. The three northern desert allied armies have just set off from Jiacheng Pass!" Li Jiuxiao said quickly.
"Who is leading them, and what is the specific deployment of the three allied armies on the eastern and western fronts?" Xiao Yunlong asked as he walked.
Li Jiuxiao replied, "The commander is Bruzaga of the Snow Wolf Kingdom, and the vanguard general is Zha Hada. Regarding the specific deployment of the three allied armies, our western front is led by Commander Bruzaga himself with 300,000 troops, while the eastern front is led by Zha Hada with a total of 250,000 troops!"
Xiao Yunlong nodded and said indifferently, "It's about as I expected. Notify everyone to come to the assembly hall immediately. I have mission deployments!"
"Yes!" Li Jiuxiao then quickly departed.
Xiao Yunlong slowly paced towards the front courtyard. When he arrived at the assembly hall, the four great generals and Jun Bufan, Tang Bowen, and others were already waiting there.
"You are all aware of the situation on the front lines, so I will not repeat it. Vermilion Bird and Chu Tiange, heed my command!" Xiao Yunlong suddenly said loudly.
The summoned Vermilion Bird, Nangong Qingzhu, and the acting flag master of the Right Yellow Banner, Chu Tiange, immediately stepped forward.
Xiao Yunlong continued, "General Vermilion Bird, lead the two thousand Dragon Blood Guards, and Chu Tiange, lead your subordinate troops. I order you two to defend Pingcheng here!"
"For us to defend Pingcheng, Master, this..." Nangong Qingzhu was taken aback, and even Chu Tiange looked astonished.
"What, is there a problem?" Xiao Yunlong retorted.
Nangong Qingzhu cupped his fists and said, "It's no problem for us to lead our troops to defend, but I am confused. Don't we still have 200,000 troops? Moreover, with just my and Chu Tiange's forces, it might be a bit difficult to resist the enemy's 300,000 troops."
Chu Tiange also said, "Yes, Master. It's not that we are shirking responsibility, but the disparity in troop numbers is too great, and we may not be able to fulfill the task..."
Xiao Yunlong immediately waved his hand and said sternly, "The remaining 200,000 troops have other uses for me. You should know very well that in warfare, pure defense is not my style. As the saying goes, the best defense is offense!"
Everyone present immediately understood that their master intended to use the 200,000 troops for a proactive attack.
"Two thousand Dragon Blood Guards, the elite of the elite, plus fifty thousand soldiers from the Right Yellow Banner to defend Pingcheng. Two days. I only need you to hold for two days. Can you do it?"
Xiao Yunlong said solemnly, his stern gaze fixed on the two.
Nangong Qingzhu immediately said, "If it's just to hold for two days, it's absolutely no problem. I guarantee that no enemy will enter Pingcheng within these two days!"
"I have no problem either. We will defend the city, and we have two thousand elite Dragon Blood Guards. If we can't hold for two days, then I don't need to be the acting flag master!"
Chu Tiange said with his chest puffed out, his voice firm and resonant.
"Very good. As long as you can hold Pingcheng for two days, it will count as a merit for you. After it's over, Chu Tiange, I will promote you directly to Flag Master of the Right Yellow Banner!" Xiao Yunlong said.
"Thank you, Master. Your subordinate guarantees to complete the mission. Unless the enemy steps over my corpse, I will not let a single enemy in!"
Chu Tiange said with high morale, and the four deputy generals behind him also looked excited.
Xiao Yunlong then turned to the other three great generals and said, "Three great generals, heed my command. I order you to each lead a force of sixty thousand troops and immediately proceed secretly to the border town of Tamu. You must arrive before dawn!"
"Yes!" Although the three great generals did not understand why their master had deployed them in this manner, they did not ask. After all, as generals, they often only needed to obey.
Then, the three great generals immediately took action. Under the cover of night, each led a force of sixty thousand troops and secretly marched north.
Of course, it was extremely difficult for such a large army to remain completely hidden from enemy intelligence reconnaissance.
To divert attention, Xiao Yunlong personally led the remaining twenty thousand soldiers from the main gate and headed directly towards Yumu City to the northeast.
Yumu City was located northeast of Pingcheng, and the distance between them was not far. Strictly speaking, Yumu City was a subordinate city of Pingcheng, and they could mutually support and respond to each other. If one of the cities was attacked, the defending troops stationed in the other city could flank the enemy.
As Xiao Yunlong had predicted, the enemy commander Bruzaga's attention was almost entirely focused on him, and he was negligent and overlooked the movements of the other three great generals and 180,000 troops.
"Hmph, well done, King Zhenbei of Longguo. Leading a large army to station in Yumu City is nothing more than wanting to support Pingcheng in a pincer movement. Do you really think this commander can't see through it? Honestly, this is a good plan, but how could I let you have your way!"
Commander Bruzaga of the three allied armies snorted coldly, then waved his hand and said, "Stanjia, heed my command. I order you to lead fifty thousand troops and station them along the Yumu River, three hundred miles west of Yumu City. Understand your mission: it is to prevent the enemy forces in Yumu City from advancing west to rescue Pingcheng. If even one enemy soldier successfully crosses the river, I will hold you accountable!"
"Yes, Commander. With the Yumu River as a natural barrier, not even a fly can fly over!"
The subordinate general named Stanjia cupped his fists, accepted the order, and then led his 50,000 troops towards the northwest.
The commander Bruzaga continued to charge directly towards Pingcheng in the southwest.
Soon, Zhang Qingyun, who was far away at the strategic stronghold of Wancheng on the eastern front, also learned of the situation through secret agents. Upon learning that Xiao Yunlong had personally led his army to station in Yumu City as a support, he could not help but frown, appearing to be in deep thought.
The generals below could not help but laugh, "It seems this King Xiao Bei is nothing special. Leading his army to station in Yumu City as a support is also a method, but there is a Yumu River three hundred miles west of Yumu City. If I were the enemy, I would only need to send thirty thousand soldiers to firmly hold this natural barrier, the Yumu River, and the troops stationed in Yumu City would have no hope of rushing to Pingcheng!"
The burly, bearded general could not help but chuckle, "I said long ago that the fellow named Xiao is just superficial. He could still show off when he had the old King Bei backing him. Now that he's on the battlefield, he's revealed his true colors!"
"Who can say otherwise? Dividing troops to station in Yumu City as support, while it looks clever, is actually extremely foolish. It would be better to gather all forces to defend Pingcheng. His actions can only accelerate the fall of Pingcheng. It seems that in this competition, our Tiger King is destined to win!"
"Of course!" The generals below could not help but laugh proudly.
Zhang Qingyun, sitting in the main seat, frowned and muttered to himself, "No, Xiao Bei Wang's move should not be that simple. After all, he was once known as the God of War of Longguo. Stationing in Yumu City as support is obvious to any discerning person, and he shouldn't be so foolish. However, what is his true intention in doing this, I can't figure it out for a moment..."
Saying this, Zhang Qingyun shook his head repeatedly.
The burly, bearded general saw this and said, "Tiger King, why should we bother with the fellow named Xiao? As long as we ensure that Wancheng is not lost and eliminate the invading enemy, we will be in an invincible position!"
"That's true. Why bother paying too much attention to others? Calculating the time, the 250,000 enemy troops on the eastern front should also be arriving tomorrow. Everyone, prepare for battle!"
Zhang Qingyun smiled at this, casting aside his jumbled thoughts.
As it turned out, neither the enemy commander nor Northeast Tiger Zhang Qingyun, nor even his subordinate generals, could discern Xiao Yunlong's true intention.
As Zhang Qingyun said, if Xiao Yunlong was merely stationing troops in Yumu City as a pincer support, then he would be unworthy of being the God of War of Longguo.
After leading twenty thousand soldiers to Yumu City and ordering all soldiers to stand by, Xiao Yunlong took a few elite guards and headed north overnight.
"Yunlong, I originally thought you were stationing troops in Yumu City to support Pingcheng, but now you are heading north overnight. What is your true intention?"
Liu Ruyan, sitting beside him, asked with great confusion.
Xiao Yunlong smiled slightly and said, "Allow me to keep you in suspense for now. You will know when we reach Tamu Town."
"Alright!" Liu Ruyan pouted dejectedly.
The vehicles sped along and finally arrived at Tamu Town before dawn. At this time, the armies led by Zhuge Wushuang, Li Jiuxiao, and Tu Fu had also successfully arrived.
As soon as he entered the main tent, Tu Fu could not help but ask immediately, "Master, the thirty-five thousand allied forces of the three northern desert countries are attacking Pingcheng. Why are we not defending Pingcheng properly but running here overnight?"
Xiao Yunlong did not answer directly but looked at the other two generals and asked, "What do you think? This is already a border town, and to the north is the territory of the Snow Wolf Kingdom in the north. What do you think I am going to do next?"
"I've been thinking about it all the way here, but I can't figure it out!" Zhuge Wushuang shook his head.
Li Jiuxiao pondered and said, "Before we set off, Master, you said a sentence: the best defense is offense. Therefore, I guess that Master's night march to Tamu Town is to attack the Snow Wolf Kingdom from the rear, turning a passive situation into an active one. But I can't figure out which city to attack."
Xiao Yunlong smiled with satisfaction, "General Azure Dragon, you truly live up to the praise of the old King Bei. You indeed have some strategy!"
He paused here and then continued, "I believe you have all heard of Sun Tzu's Art of War, the strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao. This time, we choose to go around the rear, turn a passive situation into an active one, and directly attack the Snow Wolf Kingdom. The purpose is to force Bruzaga's 300,000 troops to return to reinforce, thus resolving the siege of Pingcheng!"
"Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao? So that's how it is. No wonder Master asked Vermilion Bird and Chu Tiange to hold on for two days. The best defense is offense, turning a passive situation into an active one. This plan is brilliant!"
Pan Chaofeng and others heard this and praised repeatedly.
Li Jiuxiao quickly asked, "Master, which city are we attacking this time?"
Xiao Yunlong pointed to the map and said sternly, "Aselentze City. This is the eastern resource hub of the Snow Wolf Kingdom. Once we launch our offensive, the Snow Wolf Kingdom will surely panic, and Bruzaga's 350,000 troops will definitely come back to reinforce!"