Chapter 601: The Decisive Battle! Dalun Ruozans Plan! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Dalun Ruozan?”
Wang Chong was inwardly shocked. It had been quite a few days since he had last seen the Ü-Tsang Great Minister. There was a saying that went, 'Visitors do not come with good intentions and those with good intentions do not visit.' For Dalun Ruozan to walk out at this moment could not mean anything good.
”Great Minister, don't come if you've only come to speak pleasantries.”
Wang Chong chose to speak first, his voice resounding through the surroundings.
”Young Master, long time no see.”
Dalun Ruozan had a leisurely look on his face, beaming as he slowly waved his feather fan.
Wang Chong felt his heart give a fierce thump as he saw the look on Dalun Ruozan's face. For someone to be so easygoing after the heavy casualties inflicted in this battle was definitely strange.
”Great Minister is in a rather good mood!” Wang Chong said emotionlessly.
”Haha, Young Master also spent these last few days very peacefully!”
Dalun Ruozan was all smiles, his expression growing more and more relaxed.
”I truly wish to hide nothing from you. Today, this minister has come to tell Young Master one thing.”
”Oh?”
A pensive look appeared on Wang Chong's face.
”Great Minister is truly in a carefree and leisurely mood!”
”Haha, Young Master, do not misunderstand. This minister actually quite admires Young Master.”
The happiness on Dalun Ruozan's face grew increasingly evident, but the feather fan in his hand was waving ever more slowly.
”Whether it's Lion City or this city of steel, Young Master's foresight and talent truly leave a deep impression. I see that Young Master came prepared, but this minister wishes to ask, has Young Master prepared enough water?”
With this final question, Dalun Ruozan put away his fan and grinned.
Bzzt!
Wang Chong's pupils constricted as his complexion paled.
And the distant Dalun Ruozan had already retreated, leaving behind only a sonorous laughter that echoed through the battlefield.
On the summit, Wang Chong stood unmoving, a grim expression on his face. Gentle breezes caressed his body, all of them ice-cold.
Old Eagle walked out from the rear and anxiously asked, ”Young Master, what's wrong?”
He discovered it!
This was the only thought left in Wang Chong's mind.
There was one massive flaw in Wang Chong's plan, and one that he could never fill no matter what he did: water. Rainfall was scarce in the southwest, and a torrential rain like the one from a few days ago was extremely rare.
But the food and water of nearly one hundred thousand soldiers was a problem that had to be addressed.
A water source was different from steel walls. Wang Chong could transport steel walls, but he couldn't transport a water source. And in order to deal with the Tibetans and Mengshe Zhao, Wang Chong had chosen this mountain as the site of the decisive battle, but this made it even more difficult for Wang Chong to obtain a source of water.
He could not address this deficiency no matter what he did.
Wang Chong had done his utmost to conceal this flaw, but in the end, Dalun Ruozan had still managed to realize it!
Standing under the banner, Wang Chong suddenly ordered, ”Call Sir Zhang Shouzhi over.”
”Young Master.”
Zhang Shouzhi arrived faster than he had expected, bowing to Wang Chong's back. Zhang Shouzhi's complexion was still pale, but his condition had still much improved after being forced into sleep.
In addition, Wang Chong had given him pills that could strengthen his body and supplement his vitality, which had also proved useful.
After a long period of silence, Wang Chong said, ”Sir Zhang, how much water do we still have left? How much did Xu Qiqin prepare for us, and how long can the army last with it?”
”Lady Xu has already done her best to prepare for us a large number of water bags. But water is a very special thing and cannot be transported like armaments. In addition, we arrived here in advance and, as Young Master ordered, dug out many water-storing pools on the summit. We managed to collect a good deal of water from that downpour.
”In addition, Young Master had us arrive here in advance, and we managed to excavate a water source nearby, prepared before the battle. Thus, our water situation is actually rather decent.
”In addition, we stole quite a few water bags from the Mengshe Zhao camp in the night raid.
”However, the amount of water consumed by eighty to ninety thousand soldiers is no small sum. No matter how much water we could have stored up, it would still be a cup of water being used to put out a burning cart, utterly insufficient,” Zhang Shouzhi explained.
Only he and Wang Chong knew the water situation for this army of ninety thousand, with everyone else unaware. This was for the express purpose of avoiding a panic. Water was not like food. Although it seemed insignificant, one had to use water every day.
One had to use it to make food, and drink it every day, as did the horses.
Without ample supplies of water, the army would encounter difficulties even more fatal than a lack of provisions. Crucially, by choosing this mountain as the site of the decisive battle, Wang Chong had foreordained that water would always be an innate and irreparable flaw.
He could have one or the other, but not both.
Dalun Ruozan had seized upon his lethal weakness.