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Chapter 203 Know Yourself and Your Enemy, and You Will Never Be Defeated

Xiliang.

The Xiliang army camp.

In the big tent.

Jia Xu, Zhang Liao, Zhou Zhan (King of the Mountain), and Dong Jun sat in their respective tents.

Jia Xu held a decree that had just been delivered by the Eastern Depot in his hand, his face solemn.

"Mr. Jia, what did His Majesty's decree say?"

Seeing Jia Xu's solemn expression as he looked at the imperial edict, King Zhou Zhan of Kao Shan couldn't help but ask.

Jia Xu looked up at Prince Zhou Zhan and said in a deep voice, "The Southern Barbarians have breached the South Gate Pass. His Majesty has ordered the Prince to return to the Southern Frontier as soon as possible."

"Furthermore, Yanmen Pass was also breached by the Northern Di, Marquis Weiwu was killed in battle, and Gao Shun was seriously wounded."

"Take a look!"

With a solemn expression, Jia Xu handed the imperial decree to Zhou Zhan, the Prince of Kao Shan.

what?
Did the Southern Barbarians breach the South Gate Pass?

Did Marquis Weiwu die in battle on the northern frontier?
Jia Xu's words caused the expressions of Zhou Zhan and the other two, including the Prince of Kao Shan, to change simultaneously.

Prince Zhou Zhan of Kao Shan hurriedly took the imperial edict from Jia Xu's hand and began to read it.

After Zhou Zhan finished reading the contents of the decree, he slammed his hand on the wooden chair next to him, his face turning ashen.

The Nanmen Pass was breached by the Nanman, something Zhou Zhan had not anticipated.

What Zhou Zhan least expected was that the South Gate Pass was breached because his adopted son, Zhou Er, betrayed him and colluded with the southern barbarians to break through the pass from within.

Zhou Zhan could hardly believe it was real.

Tuesday is his godson.

How could she betray him, betray the Zhennan Army, and collude with foreign enemies?

Zhang Liao and Dong Jun also took turns reading the contents of the imperial edict.

After reading the contents of the imperial decree, both of them had solemn expressions.

The South Gate Pass was breached, the Yanmen Pass was breached, and now the Yumen Pass of Xiliang has also been captured by the Western Rong.

It can be said that three of the four border passes of the Great Zhou have been breached by foreign tribes.

This is no small matter.

Without the formidable pass as a barrier, it would be very difficult for the soldiers of the Great Zhou to withstand the invasion of the foreign tribes.

After calming his anger, King Zhou Zhan of Kao Shan said to Jia Xu, "Mr. Jia, the matter in Xiliang has been resolved."

"The South Gate has been breached. Your Majesty, I hereby order you to return to the Southern Frontier immediately."

"Then I will not linger any longer. The rest of the affairs in Xiliang will depend on Mr. Jia and General Zhang."

As Zhou Zhan spoke, he glanced at Zhang Liao.

The imperial decree from Zhou Chen has officially appointed Zhang Liao as the General Who Guards the West, meaning that Zhang Liao will now be in command of the great war against the foreign tribes in Xiliang.

However, with Jia Xu as his strategist and Cao Zhengchun as the head of the Eastern Depot, Zhou Zhan, the Prince of Kaoshan, was not worried at all about the upcoming battles in Xiliang.

In the past few days, King Zhou Zhan of Kao Shan has already witnessed Zhang Liao's abilities.

He was skilled in commanding troops and managing military defenses, making him a rare military talent.

As for Jia Xu, that cunning strategist, needless to say.

With these two working together to fight against the Western Rong, the Western Rong will not be able to gain any advantage.

Jia Xu and Zhang Liao nodded; "Your Highness, rest assured, we will do our best to exterminate these barbarian tribes."

"However, Your Highness should be wary of a surprise attack by the Southern Barbarian priests after you return to the Southern Frontier."

Jia Xu reminded Zhou Zhan, the Prince of Kao Shan.

With the surprise attack from the advisors of the Western Rong and Northern Di kingdoms, Jia Xu had to warn King Zhou Zhan to be wary of a surprise attack from the Southern Man priests.

"This king knows."

King Zhou Zhan of Kao Shan rose, bid farewell to Jia Xu and the others, and left the main tent.

With the fall of Nanmen Pass, the situation in southern Xinjiang was critical, and King Zhou Zhan of Kaoshan was deeply worried.

They dared not delay even a moment longer.

After King Zhou Zhan left, the atmosphere inside the tent became heavy.

Zhang Liao glanced at Jia Xu and Dong Jun; “Mr. Jia, General Dong, you have both read His Majesty’s decree.”

"His Majesty does not mean that we should stop the Western Rong army, but that we should annihilate the Western Rong army."

"Then our previous defensive setup is no longer viable."

Zhang Liao raised an eyebrow and said.

Previously, after learning that the Western Rong had breached Yumen Pass, Zhang Liao and Jia Xu held an emergency meeting to mobilize the Xiliang army, set up defenses, and resist the Western Rong's invasion.

However, the decree that Zhou Chen has now sent is not to order them to resist, but to annihilate these alien armies.

Then their strategy will have to change.

Dong Jun nodded; "With the fall of Yumen Pass, the Xiliang army suffered heavy losses. Of the 300,000 Xiliang soldiers, only 200,000 remain."

"The Western Rong army is roughly equal in strength to ours."

"But with the same number of troops, in a head-on battle, I estimate that my Xiliang army would have a hard time defeating the Xirong."

Dong Jun said in a deep voice.

It's not that Commander Dong is trying to demoralize others or diminish his own prestige.

The Western Rong tribes were indeed very strong, especially their cavalry, which were far superior to the Xiliang army.

In a direct confrontation with equal forces, the Xiliang army estimated that the likelihood of defeat was greater than the likelihood of victory.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao's expression turned solemn.

The strength of the alien race is undeniable.

Otherwise, the Great Zhou Dynasty would not have been able to station hundreds of thousands of troops on the four borders to guard against foreign tribes.

However, to say that the alien races were truly powerful enough to conquer the Central Plains would be an exaggeration.

In a battle between two sides, many factors determine the outcome.

There are many battles in which the weak defeat the strong, and the few defeat the many.

With over 200,000 Xiliang troops at his disposal, Zhang Liao was confident he could fight the Xirong.

Zhang Liao looked at Jia Xu; "Mr. Jia, do you have any good ideas for dealing with the Western Rong army?"

Dong Jun also looked at Jia Xu, knowing how formidable this seemingly unremarkable man was.

The fact that the Marquis of Xiliang was able to be captured and the Xiliang army was able to be taken over with little fighting was all due to this person.

Jia Xu pondered for a moment and said, "The defenses we've set up must be maintained. We can't let the Western Rong plunder Xiliang at will."

"But if we want to defeat the Western Rong army, the chances of winning in a direct confrontation are uncertain. We should try to defeat them by strategy."

"Let's wait for Eunuch Cao's news first! We'll make arrangements after we find out the specific situation of the Western Rong army."

Know yourself and the enemy, a hundred battles will never end.

Only by understanding and figuring out the opponent's situation can you defeat them with a plan.

This is a principle that Jia Xu always understood.

If you don't even know the enemy's situation, you can blindly come up with a plan.

It's okay if it doesn't work, but what's worrying is that it might bring unexpected negative consequences.

Zhang Liao and Dong Jun both knew that Jia Xu was right when they heard his words.

They still don't know much about the specific situation of the Western Rong army.

Therefore, it is impossible to devise a plan that is both self-evident and based on the enemy's knowledge.

"No need to wait any longer, I have already brought you news of the Western Rong army."

No sooner had Jia Xu finished speaking than Cao Zhengchun walked into the main tent from outside.

"These are some pieces of information that the Imperial Guards have gathered about the Western Rong army. Take a look at them first."

"As for the specific situation within the Western Rong army, I will explain it to you in detail after you have read these messages."

After Cao Zhengchun entered the main tent, he directly handed some information to Jia Xu and Zhang Liao.

(End of this chapter)