Chapter 20 - Bet
Time went by like water. Gu Hai left Chen Taiji far away and stood upon the city walls for approximately an incense stick worth of time!
Naturally, Gu Hai was not in a daze; he was deliberating on how to fight this battle, and what he was going to do after winning…
"I disagree! How can you allow some unknown person to lead us in the war? Your Highness Crown Prince, only your highness can convince this Old Niu. Let this scholar go to h.e.l.l!" From the supreme commander mansion on the High Pa.s.s came a crude and violent voice which interrupted Gu Hai"s train of thoughts.
When Gu Hai heard this, he couldn"t help but slightly frown. Naturally, he knew some people in the army of Chen Kingdom would refuse to accept him who was an outside person. But he had not expected that someone would so quickly leap out to resist him!
After all, it was Chen Kingdom"s Crown Prince, Chen Taiji"s decision. In Gu Hai"s opinion, someone should not so quickly dare to question Chen Taiji"s decision. As long as Gu Hai was given some time, he was sure he could make everyone here believe in him!
However, after he carefully gave it a thought, he realized that not much information was known about him, not even one person here knew his capability. Naturally, he could not convince the public. Even if Chen Taiji was supporting him, it was still impossible for others to believe in him. If they encounter some hot head who could not be reasoned with, a conflict was bound to erupt!
When Gu Hai left for the campaign, he did some investigation along the way and had some basic understanding on the important commanders of Chen Kingdom. From the hoa.r.s.e and wild voice and in addition to the one referring himself as Old Niu, Gu Hai had already realized who it was — it was the commander guarding the High Pa.s.s, Niu Baicheng.
Before the start of the war, Niu Baicheng used to be the general of the High Pa.s.s who had been guarding the High Pa.s.s for twenty years already. In these twenty years, the High Pa.s.s had an air-tight defense. Not one enemy was able to break the defense of High Pa.s.s. Furthermore, Niu Baicheng with just a-hundred-thousand soldiers of High Pa.s.s had resisted Yan Kingdom army of three-hundred-thousand soldiers for half a month. This was enough to prove that Niu Baicheng was a general with an extraordinary ability to command!
Gu Hai turned around and looked far away at the row of people who seems to be coming toward him. Naturally, in the forefront was Chen Taiji. He had the n.o.blest ident.i.ty here, not a single person could walk in front of him. And just right behind Chen Taiji was an eight feet tall middle-aged man. The middle-aged man had a robust body and wore a full black armor.
Naturally, this fellow was Niu Baicheng!
"Your Highness Crown Prince, as you can see, he is just an ordinary person without a trace of any cultivation. If you say he can play Weiqi, this Old Niu will believe you, but if you say he can lead the troops to war, Old Niu absolutely can"t believe it!" Niu Baicheng closely followed Chen Taiji; when looking at Gu Hai, the expression in his eyes was full of disdain. Obviously, he didn"t have an ounce of trust on Gu Hai!
"Shut up!" Chen Taiji reprimanded him, "What do you know of Mister Gu"s talent? I believe Mister Gu can absolutely solve the crisis of High Pa.s.s!"
Niu Baicheng was reprimanded by Chen Taiji. Suddenly, he dared not continue to speak again. However, he still had a look of disdain along with a little anger flaring in his eyes when looking at Gu Hai.
Gu Hai looking at aggrieved Niu Baicheng, slightly smiled, "General Niu, are you still not going to accept this Gu? Or does General Niu have some suggestion to solve the crisis of High Pa.s.s? If the general has some way, this Gu will immediately take his leave!"
"Humph!" Niu Baicheng snorted. If he had some way, he simply wouldn"t need to wait for the aid from Royal Capital Chen. He had already been defending the High Pa.s.s for half a month, the defense which had not broken was already the best of his ability!
"This General has no way. However, do you have the ability to resolve the crisis of High Pa.s.s? What the h.e.l.l is Tunnel Warfare, or Sparrow Warfare? It is just a fairy tale. I agree that the Sparrow Warfare may have some effect, but what could the Tunnel Warfare do? You don"t think that Yan army is a like a fish in a barrel so that you can catch them in one giant net!" Niu Baicheng angrily said, "This general even suspects whether you are sent by the Yan army as an undercover or not!"
"Oh!" Gu Hai sluggishly said, "Whether this Gu is an undercover agent or not, I think your Highness Crown Prince can clearly judge this. However, if General Niu means to say that my strategy is just a fairy tale, that this Gu is just a worthless person. If general thinks so, then how about we make a bet. If this Gu wins, I hope General Niu can cooperate with this Gu in the battle, if this Gu loses, I will immediately leave the High Pa.s.s!"
Gu Hai was naturally clear, even if he had the ability to win the war, first what he must do was to make everyone believe him; otherwise, no one would coordinate with him. Even if he was a heaven-sent genius, he would be powerless to turn the tables!
Furthermore, General Niu Baicheng had been defending the High Pa.s.s for twenty years, his reputation in the High Pa.s.s was already unmatched. If he could make General Niu Baicheng coordinate with him, he must put the most important thing in this bet!
"Bet?" Niu Baicheng was slightly surprised, but soon he was surprisingly a little excited, "You want to bet? This Old Niu will welcome everything!"
Every personnel in High Pa.s.s knew that their General Niu Baicheng didn"t have any good hobbies like others. He liked to gamble with others, and no matter how they bet, most of the time he would win in contrast to his loss!
Chen Taiji swept a glance at Gu Hai and Niu Baicheng, his lips slightly quivered as if he wanted to say something, however, on a second note, he decided to keep quiet. He acquiesced to this bet!
Gu Hai chuckled, "Then the duration of the bet is ten days. Within these ten days, I will completely reverse the current situation using my method!"
Gu Hai"s voice was very light yet his tone was full of confidence!
"Alright!" Niu Baicheng replied in a heavy tone, "If after ten days the high pa.s.s does not continue to defend pa.s.sively like today, then you win. I further request your highness Crown Prince to act as a witness!"
Chen Taiji took half-a-step and solemnly said, "The bet is set. However, if I may, I ask Mister Gu and General Niu to not get angry over the result. Now, the kingdom is facing a crisis, only by unity and cooperation could we win this war. That"s why even if Mister Gu could not complete the condition, I further request Mister Gu to continue to remain here and give us your advice!"
Although Chen Taiji was only the Crown Prince, in reality, he was already the true man behind the Chen Kingdom. Naturally, he was proficient in the way of the King. In any case, he would not let this advisor, Gu Hai so easily leave!
"This Gu will willingly obey Crown Prince"s order!" Gu Hai said in a calm voice, then without further ado, he retreated!
Niu Baicheng unhappily glanced at Gu Hai. However, he didn"t speak anything. He could not dare to so openly oppose the Crown Prince"s decision!
"Alright!" Chen Taiji laughed and said, "From today, Mister Gu"s command is equivalent to my command. The two-hundred-thousand soldiers of High Pa.s.s must fully cooperate, only then we could resolve the current crisis as early as possible and recover our beloved motherland."
"We will obey with all our efforts!"
The group of people standing behind Chen Taiji respectfully said. Even if they didn"t believe Gu Hai, they would still respectfully reply. Of course, the object of their respect was Chen Taiji!
"Alright!" Gu Hai said in a solemn one, "I will draw a map and you will send soldiers to dig the tunnels according to the map!"
If workers had to be good at their job, they must first sharpen their equipment. If they wanted to execute tunnel warfare, naturally, they must first dig tunnels. In just an incense worth of time, Gu Hai had swept through the map of High Pa.s.s and its surrounding. He already well-thought-out where to dig the tunnels; he just needed to draw it out and they could promptly start!