Zhou Lan’s sowhat pale face broke into a smile as she said, "Actually, it’s possible to bypass nghe Mountain. Not only that, aside from nghe Mountain Pass, there’s another path that can cross over nghe Mountain!"
Yang Zhenshan was taken aback, exclaiming, "Really?"
"Of course!" Zhou Lan said with a smile.
Yang Zhenshan asked, "Where can we cross?"
Zhou Lan told the maid beside her, "Go bring the chest from under the bookshelf in my study!"
The maid bowed and went to fetch the chest from the study.
Zhou Lan continued to explain to Yang Zhenshan: "Over the years, I’ve sent many people to nghe Mountain, even establishing a small settlent nearby!"
"Wait! What do you an by ’small settlent’?" Yang Zhenshan asked, puzzled.
With a sly smile, Zhou Lan said: "It ans selecting more than a hundred soldiers to disguise as mbers of the Hu Clan and entering the Wuliang Hu Clan’s territory from the snowfields. They are now settled in a gorge in the northern part of nghe Mountain!"
Yang Zhenshan was astonished, he hadn’t thought such a strategy was possible!
"Wouldn’t they be exposed?"
Zhou Lan replied, "Not likely, because to the north of the Wuliang Hu Clan there are countless little-known settlents; these could be said to be part of the Wuliang Hu Clan or belong to the Hu Clan from the snowfields."
"Many of the Wuliang Hu Clan actually co from the snowfields, and there’s no clear boundary between their territory and the snowfields. It’s common for mbers of the Hu Clan from the snowfields to wander into Wuliang Hu Clan territory."
"The Wuliang Hu Clan doesn’t concern themselves with these small settlents. As long as they don’t infringe on the larger settlent’s territory, no one cares about their origins or identities!"
Yang Zhenshan began to sweat, "I never thought this was possible!"
It wasn’t so surprising he hadn’t considered settling a small tribe within Wuliang Hu Clan territory, given that during his ti in Chongshan Town, he hadn’t begun infiltration efforts against the Wuliang Hu Clan, whereas Zhou Lan had started to gather intelligence on the Wuliang Hu Clan in her second year there.
As they were talking, the maid brought in the wooden chest.
Yang Zhenshan opened the chest to find an extrely detailed map of nghe Mountain.
Zhou Lan, weak in body, could only sit on a soft couch and explained: "It’s not difficult to bypass nghe Mountain. You can go around through the snowfields to the north. During sumr and autumn, the snowfields aren’t very cold, which is sufficient for tens of thousands of soldiers to bypass."
"However, taking this route ans traveling over two thousand li, and though the path is not difficult to traverse, the distance is far. If moving with a large army, provisions along the way would cost quite a bit."
"Apart from going around to the north, it is also possible to bypass on the south side, following the Tu Wusheng River southward, roughly bypassing a hundred li north of Beiyuan Town to Dasheng City!"
"But that area belongs to the territory of the Tatar Tribe, and it’s more appropriate to say you’d have to fight your way through than simply bypass it. Also, the Tatar Tribe has built many forts there, and the difficulty of breaking through is not much less than passing through nghe Mountain Pass."
"The shortcut I’m talking about is located a hundred li north of nghe Mountain Pass, where one can cross nghe Mountain through a narrow gorge and cliffside. The downside is that it’s difficult terrain—practically no roads at all. Both people and horses can make it through, but you can’t carry a large amount of provisions."
Yang Zhenshan found the small path Zhou Lan had ntioned on the map and felt a headache looking at the route—it was winding, probably a thousand li long.
Passing here was actually not easier than going around the snowfields.
Zhou Lan continued, "If you take this route, you can launch a surprise attack on the Chi Ci Tribe settlent. Although it’s impossible to capture the fortresses inside nghe Mountain Pass, it’s enough to throw the Chi Ci Tribe’s lands into complete chaos."
The Chi Ci Tribe has more than one settlent; as a large group, the Chi Ci Tribe has a population of more than one hundred thousand, with over a dozen settlents, large and small.
Additionally, many small to mid-sized settlents are affiliated with the Chi Ci Tribe.
"Originally, my plan was for us to initiate the attack and the Wuliang Royal Court to defend. This way, we could split into four armies: one to engage the main force of the Wuliang Royal Court at nghe Mountain Pass, and the remaining three to circumvent or take the small paths through nghe Mountain."
"But now that the Wuliang Hu Clan has launched an offensive, they must have sealed off the southern part of nghe Mountain, leaving us only the option to bypass from the north."
Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, "I see, these two paths are enough. Leave the rest to , and you just focus on recuperating!"
A rough plan had already begun to take shape in his mind. Although it was not yet perfect, he felt it should be feasible.
Neither of them ntioned the Wula Tribe, because, in truth, they didn’t consider the Wula Tribe worthy of attention.
While the Wula Tribe is touted as one of the eight major tribes of the Wuliang Royal Court, in reality, both King Liang’s tribe and the Wula Tribe are just there to make up the numbers.
Cui Liang’s King Liang tribe had only been established in recent years. Although Wu Tuo had given him many smaller settlents, these were actually quite poor and didn’t possess much strength in themselves.
The Wula Tribe was sowhat better; originally a branch of the East Sea Hu Clan, they pledged allegiance to the Wuliang Royal Court after the East Sea Hu Clan’s collapse. However, compared to the other six tribes, the Wula Tribe was much weaker.
The Wula Tribe’s current territory is on the eastern side of nghe Mountain, and they were rely fodder for Wu Tuo, buying ti.
Wu Tuo didn’t hold high expectations for the Wula Tribe; in his view, if the Wula Tribe could delay the army from Chongshan Town for ten days to half a month, that would be enough.
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