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The Gu Family Army had been preparing for the siege since yesterday, but apart from Gu Changqing and a few others, nobody knew exactly which city they were planning to attack.
According to the reconnaissance report from the Gu Family Army scouts, the State of Chen's army anticipated that Gu Changqing would launch the initial attack on Beiyang City.
At this moment, Ye City had started to send reinforcements to Beiyang City.
"That's good. The 30,000 troops in Lingguan City are not a match for us." The right deputy commander in the tent said, "Moreover, Beiyang City is farther from Lingguan City compared to Ye City. If the State of Chen's forces are indeed heading towards Beiyang City, even if they realize their mistake and attempt to turn back to reinforce Lingguan City, they might not make it in time."
Gu Changqing looked at the cities on the sand table, calculating the distances between them in his mind.
Beiyang City, Lingguan City, Yuegu City, and Ye City conveniently occupied the four cardinal directions: north, south, west, and east.
Beiyang City was situated in the north, facing Lingguan City in the south, and the distance between them was considerable.
However, Beiyang City wasn't that far from Yuegu City to its west.
If they realized that they had been deceived, their first action wouldn't be to reinforce Lingguan City but rather to lead an attack on Yuegu City.
After expressing their respective analyses, the left and right deputy commanders disagreed on how many troops to deploy.
The right deputy commander said, "Let's use all our forces and swiftly eliminate them. Then we’ll rush back. Perhaps we’ll arrive not much later than the State of Chen's army."
The left deputy commander countered, "Yuegu City is 80 miles from Lingguan City and also 80 miles from Beiyang City. Once we attack Lingguan City, Beiyang City will receive a messenger pigeon. How long will the siege take? By the time we turn back, it might be too late."
The right deputy commander fervently said, "Then we fight another battle! Retake Yuegu City!"
The left deputy commander solemnly remarked, "But the civilians in the city will suffer from the war, and the wounded and defending soldiers will face slaughter."
The right deputy commander fell silent.
Though his fighting style was aggressive, he wasn't entirely dismissive of the lives of civilians and border soldiers.
Gu Changqing remained silent.
Today, he inquired about the terrain of this area from Advisor Hu and Prefect Cheng at the Prefect's Mansion.
He learned that the distance from Yuegu City to Beiyang City and Lingguan City was indeed the same. However, in comparison to Yuegu City, Lingguan City was situated at a higher altitude while Beiyang City was lower.
Their return journey involved descending the mountain, whereas the State of Chen's army coming in involved ascending, resulting in different speeds.
As long as they could attack Lingguan City swiftly enough, they would encounter the State of Chen's army outside Yuegu City.
So now, Gu Changqing had two choices——either mobilize all forces, quickly capture Lingguan City, then rush back to confront the State of Chen's army, or leave a portion of troops in Yuegu City and engage in battles on both sides simultaneously.
The second option raised the question of how many troops the State of Chen's army would deploy.
Would it be 30,000 or 50,000?
Ultimately, Gu Changqing chose to leave some forces behind in Yuegu City. After all, soldiers traveling back and forth would diminish their combat effectiveness and increase casualties.
It was better to have both cities simultaneously engage in battle.
The soldiers in Yuegu City could rest while waiting, and although they might not have numerical superiority, their combat effectiveness would likely be superior.
Gu Changqing paused and said, "Moreover, we might not necessarily lack numerical advantage. Both Beiyang City and Ye City need soldiers for defense. They also fear that if we capture Lingguan City, we might immediately attack Beiyang City or Ye City. Currently, the combined forces in these two cities total 80,000. Each city needs at least 20,000 troops, so the maximum forces they can deploy are 40,000."
After discussing with Tang Yueshan and his grandfather, all three agreed to leave 30,000 Gu Family soldiers to face the State of Chen's army, while the rest would accompany Gu Changqing to attack Lingguan City.
In times of war, there would always be injuries, so a physician traveling with them was essential.
Actually, among this medical team, many skilled physicians came from civilian backgrounds. However, amidst the dangers of war, Gu Changqing chose only twenty from the court's medical officers.
Gu Jiao was part of the team but not as a physician. She had to notify the plague patients in the stockaded village to evacuate.
Even though she initially told Little Shitou that she would only have someone relay the message, and then Little Shitou would lead people to evacuate.
But how could Gu Jiao allow a group of sick people to flee in the ice and snow?
It could cost lives.
Gu Chengfeng was recently officially appointed to the Gu Family Army, and he felt as excited as if there were ten thousand ants crawling inside him. He tossed and turned in bed, occasionally bursting into silly laughter, waking Tang Yueshan up.
From the first time Tang Yueshan had been frightened, he had now grown quite accustomed to his antics.
This kid’s got a screw loose. He would have spasms at least seven or eight times a day.
Gu Chengfeng was so preoccupied with the impending attack on Lingguan City that he couldn't even focus on dinner. He felt that he was now a part of the Gu Family Army, so he couldn't just sit back.
He had to join the fight!
He decisively removed the bandage from his arm, intending to stride out, but Physician Song intercepted him before he could take a single step outside.
Physician Song sternly said, "Young Miss Gu said no one is allowed out of this room!"
"I'm not afraid of you! You want to give me an injection? Come on, bring it on!" Gu Chengfeng directly offered his rear to him.
Physician Song remained expressionless and replied, "I'll deduct a bottle of hair tonic from your supplies."
Gu Chengfeng felt like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning!
He was so busy with the recent war that he had completely forgotten about the hair tonic!
Gu Chengfeng, who feared nothing—not even injections—finally relented for a bottle of hair tonic...
After dinner, Gu Changqing led the Gu Family Army to set out. The left deputy commander and 30,000 soldiers remained in Yuegu City.
The wind and snow were swirling, and the road was treacherous.
After a night-long trek, the Gu Family Army finally arrived near Lingguan City.
At this time, heavy snow was still falling, and the troops found shelter in a mountain forest.
Gu Changqing ordered them to set up camp and rest where they were.
Lingguan City lay to the east of the mountain, while they positioned themselves on the west, concealed by thick snow and wind. Even if they started a fire, it wouldn't be noticed.
Gu Jiao was ready to find Little Shitou.
The brother and sister had discussed the details of this matter earlier. Considering the bigger picture, they agreed that Gu Changqing couldn't leave the group before the major battle. However, he had his dark guards accompanying him, and he handed over all six of them to Gu Jiao.
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