69novels Chapter 851 When truth is false, falsehood is also true!
Chapter 851 When truth is false, falsehood is also true!
Gao Yao was so angry that he paced back and forth, his finger trembling as he pointed at Xiao He. "But what about you? You're so good! Not only did you not contribute to my cause, but you're actually trying to cut off my support! You're sending all the men and horses who can still move, especially my most precious personal soldiers and horses?! And you're sending them right into the Chu army's encirclement?! You... you think I'm not dying fast enough?! Are you afraid that I won't be able to survive Yangping Pass?!"
He stopped abruptly, his eyes gleaming coldly. Filled with suspicion and murderous intent, he questioned word by word, "Xiao He! If it weren't for your long service to me and your immense contributions, I would have convicted you of treason right now! Tell me! What are your real intentions?"
If it weren't for Xiao He, a loyal old official whom he had personally promoted, Gao Yao would have almost believed that this old man was a spy sent by the Chu army to give him a final blow! This strategy sounded absolutely absurd, tantamount to suicide! This was not a retreat, it was clearly a surrender because the defenders were too numerous!
Gao Yao's questioning reverberated like thunder. The thick murderous aura, accumulated over days of bloody battles and nearly condensed into a substance, instantly overwhelmed Xiao He like an icy tide! Xiao He felt his breath catch, as if an invisible hand were clutching his heart. Cold sweat instantly soaked his temples, and his face turned a pale white. He had been with Gao Yao for a long time and knew that while the king was usually majestic, he was not so violent and irritable. Gao Yao's state at this moment was a manifestation of being pushed to the limit!
After days of being trapped in the Shura Field, his nerves were on edge. Every swing of his sword was a test of life and death, and every decision weighed on the shoulders of thousands of lives. In this state, even the most resilient nerves would be strained to their limits. Gao Yao's martial prowess was indeed divine, but his spirit was ultimately mortal. By this point, he was exhausted. His mind was like a rusted gear, sluggish, and his temper was a powder keg that could ignite at any moment!
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Allow me to report in detail!" Xiao He suppressed the terrifying pressure that threatened to bring him to his knees. His voice trembled slightly, but his words were remarkably clear. He had to seize this last chance to convince Gao Yao. "The key to a deceptive attack is to confuse the real with the fake! To convince Xiang Yu that our main reinforcements have arrived, simply donning armor and posturing on the city walls is far from enough! This will only arouse his suspicion, not conviction!"
He took a deep breath and stared directly into Gao Yao's eyes, which were burning with anger. "The key lies in tonight's action! Your Majesty, think about it. If our army had not received powerful reinforcements and was not so confident, how could we dare to take the initiative to allocate precious troops, especially elite cavalry, to break out of the pass when we were already in danger and our forces were stretched to the limit? This is completely illogical!"
"Night is the best cover!" Xiao He emphasized. "While the Chu army suffered heavy losses today from the 'Heavenly Thunder' and is still in shock, the camp is in chaos and their vigilance must be relaxed! We will select three hundred of our most elite personal soldiers, add one thousand county soldiers wearing the Third Legion's signature armor, and bring all the war horses within the pass! Remember, all of them! Even if there are only thirteen thousand men, the number of war horses must far exceed the number of people!"
"Your Majesty, think about this!" Xiao He's eyes gleamed with an almost frenzied glint. "In the night, the sound of hooves thundered, torches twinkled, and figures loomed! The Chu army's scouts, looking from afar, could only see a vast mass of cavalry charging through the pass in the chaos! They couldn't discern the exact number, so they could only estimate based on the overwhelming momentum, the dense hoofbeats, and the sheer number of horses. We want them to come up with a staggering figure, like... five thousand cavalry!"
"We don't want to completely wipe out the intercepting Chu army. That's impossible! What we need to do is let the Chu army discover this powerful cavalry unit has broken through, but be unable to completely destroy it or completely determine its strength. All we can do is leave behind a large number of tracks of galloping horses and trampling! These tracks are the best evidence for Xiang Yu! Let him guess, let him doubt, let him be puzzled!"
As Xiao He spoke, the raging rage in Gao Yao's eyes seemed to be thrown into a block of ice, instantly solidifying before dissipating. His mind, rigidified by extreme fatigue and stress, seemed to have been pried open.
"Your Majesty," Xiao He noticed Gao Yao's expression shift slightly, and immediately posed the most crucial question. "As you said before, if you were Xiang Yu, and at the critical moment of breaking through Yangping Pass, you suddenly discovered that the defenders, who should have been trapped in the isolated city and on the verge of collapse, had proactively split up their forces and sent 5,000 elite cavalry to break out from behind you...what would you think?"
Gao Yao's brows were still furrowed, but the confusion and anger in his eyes had been replaced by a deep thought. He subconsciously stroked the cold hilt of his sword and continued to follow Xiao He's train of thought:
"Five thousand cavalrymen... this is definitely a force that cannot be ignored! Especially when the main force of my army is attacking the city with all its might, leaving the rear relatively empty!" Gao Yao's voice deepened with a hint of realization. "If I were Xiang Yu, my first reaction would definitely not be joy, but a huge sense of threat and doubt! I would immediately think: Is Gao Yao crazy? He can hardly hold the city himself, why is he dividing his troops? Unless... unless his reinforcements have arrived! These five thousand cavalrymen are not trying to break out and escape, but are fearlessly attacking. Their target could be my camp, my food supply, or even trying to get around and attack me from behind with the reinforcements from Xianyang?!"
Gao Yao suddenly raised his head, his eyes gleaming with brilliance. "Be careful not to attack the city with a single blow! Xiang Yu will surely not dare to unleash his entire army on the siege like he did before! He must at least leave a considerable portion of his troops behind to guard the main camp and the food supply route, wary of any possible attack from this elusive 5,000 cavalry! Otherwise, if the main camp is lost and the food and fodder are cut off, his army of tens of thousands will collapse without a fight!"
"That's exactly what's going on, Your Majesty!" Xiao He practically stood up in excitement. "That's the essence of this plan! We'll use 1,300 soldiers and all their horses to create the illusion of a 5,000-horse cavalry breakout in the night! The goal isn't to send them into battle, but to make them the sword of Damocles hanging over Xiang Yu's head! Use them to hold him back! Using these 1,300 men, we can prevent Xiang Yu from devoting at least 10,000 of his elite troops to the siege! Is this a worthwhile deal?"
"Not only that!" Xiao He struck while the iron was hot. "Given Xiang Yu's suspicious personality, he'll definitely be pondering: Why would the king dare to do this? Why would he divide his troops when they seem to be facing certain death? The most likely reason behind this illogical division is that his reinforcements have indeed arrived! Yangping Pass is no longer an isolated fortress. The king is confident! These 5,000 cavalrymen may just be the vanguard of the reinforcements, sent to disrupt the Chu army's rear and look for an opportunity to fight!"