Chapter 1586 - 498: Ice Abyss Provisions, Beishuo Deployment, Xia Army Movements (2)
Chapter 1586: Chapter 498: Ice Abyss Provisions, Beishuo Deployment, Xia Army Movements (2)
As Yang Zhun spoke, five soldiers inside the hall had already carried out a large map, which depicted the entirety of the Three Northern Towns.
The Three Northern Towns, if we were to arrange simply from north to south, are Beishuo, Wuchuan, and Jinshan. But in reality, the territories of the Three Towns do not align like that.
Of the Three Towns, Jinshan has the largest territory, with nine districts in total, predominantly to the east, with much of it extending into the inner side of Moao Mountain;
Sandwiched between them is Wuchuan, the smallest in land area among the Three Towns, with only six districts. The easternmost East Valley District connects southbound to Muyin Floating Mountain, and eastwardly to the Jinshan Town Yinhe Valley;
Next is Beishuo, with territory size ranking in the middle among the Three Towns. To the south, Kuling and Jingxi respectively border Wuchuan Town’s East Valley and Huayang districts.
As soon as the map was set out, blending with what Yang Zhun had just conveyed, many inside the hall caught on to the implication, faces slightly tense.
"Just now, Lord Chu Qinghe spoke, and the Central Army from Luo Yuan’s Muyin Town is already stationed at Fushan, numbering thirty thousand soldiers. It appears they’re set to coordinate with Yuwen Dao’s ten thousand troops on the right flank, to first seize Wuchuan East Valley. Once united, they could head north and directly take Kuling..."
Having governed Beishuo for many years, Yang Jian certainly has an impressive overall strategic view. After speaking, he walked to the map’s edge, pointing to the position of East River Camp to the north and continued: "Mu Longhe’s ten thousand troops have already seized this location. He’s not making any moves temporarily, likely awaiting follow-up forces. Xia Chuan’s next step should be continuing south to attack Bai Mu, responding to the coordination from Luo Yuan and Yuwen Dao from the south, while simultaneously threatening Kuling.
Straight to the town—though not likely yet—but as long as they break through East Valley, Kuling, Bai Mu, and East River, henceforward Muyin’s supplies could continuously move through East Valley, either aiding Xia Chuan’s forces northward, or supporting Yuwen Dao’s forces eastward..."
After Yang Jian’s explanation, even those unfamiliar grasped the situation.
Why did Yang Jian become so furiously astonished by Great Xia’s rash initiation of war?
The core reason lies in Yang Jian’s awareness that although Great Xia’s sixty-thousand elite Xia Army is exceptionally strong, they have an exceedingly fatal flaw—their military supplies reserve cannot compare with the Three Major Towns.
Warfare isn’t just about blindly sacrificing oneself. Weapons, war armor, Dan Medicine, including the most crucial, food—all must be adequately provided.
No matter how strong Great Xia is, with how resource-rich it might be, they cannot change the fact that East River City and Jinyang have only been established in two years; no amount of investment can compete with the supplies of the Three Major Towns.
The food storage at Ice Abyss is inherently precious; once such large-scale warfare begins, all collection and hunting must halt, pivoting to relying on stockpile.
Ice Abyss’s rules dictate that food reserves won’t be overly abundant, especially important staple food like beast meat—for instance, Beishuo has been managed over many years, once the town’s hunting fully stops, the beast meat reserves in town might only suffice for up to six months.
Yang Jian already stated, even in extreme situations, East River City’s beast meat reserves are at most enough for two months. By all accounts, in just over two years, Great Xia enabling East River City’s treasury to be so full is actually astounding.
But no matter how impressive, it’s futile!
Relying on this two-month food reserve, East River City’s thirty-thousand elite Xia Army, along with the temporarily assembled thirty-thousand Cold Resistance Level, aiming to seize Beishuo is pure fantasy.
Moreover, food is just one aspect; can weapons be replaced promptly, can war armor be repaired timely, are there enough Dan Medicine for injuries and battlefield usage... all these logistical material concerns can ultimately dictate battlefield victory or defeat.
Beishuo Town is positioned here, but Great Xia only possesses the East River City managed for over two years—what grounds do they have?
The most critical factor determining war outcomes is logistics; on this singular point, Beishuo stands unyielded.
In troop comparison, Great Xia has thirty thousand elites, plus a provisional assembled thirty thousand mixed soldiers; Beishuo has twenty thousand elite Beishuo Army, plus fifty thousand provisional assembled mixed soldiers. Offering a hard comparison, Beishuo indeed doesn’t match up but won’t be utterly crushed.
Of course, Great Xia isn’t limited to merely the sixty-thousand troops at East River in the Northern Land; Yuwen Dao also gathered fifty thousand troops at Jinyang—totaling up is one hundred and ten thousand troops.
The issue being, it’s not just Beishuo alone against Great Xia.
Last night, Chu Renjie and Chu Qinghe, who ventured separately to Yangqu and Dragon Valley, had already brought back Cao Qianyang and Long Mingyuan’s messages. At present, Great Xia faces not only Beishuo but the entire Five Northern Towns Alliance Army.
The Five Towns Alliance Army adds up to a total of 240,000, even if facing the whole Great Xia, there’s no fear, much less against the mere 110,000 troops of the Northern Land.
"Indulging in dreams of opening the supply line is wishful thinking..."
Yang Zhun finally spoke, clearly endorsing his third brother Yang Jian’s previous assessment; he paused momentarily before looking up and speaking in a deep voice: "Yielding the East River Camp to them is unavoidable, but Bai Mu can’t be conceded anymore. Third brother, you lead ten thousand elite Beishuo troops and ten thousand Defensive Army immediately to reinforce Bai Mu, alongside Bai Mu’s existing five thousand troops, totaling 25,000 men—it should be no trouble to hold against Xia Chuan’s initial assault, right?"
"Don’t worry, elder brother, unless I die, Great Xia would never dream of touching Bai Mu."
Yang Jian almost without hesitation provided his answer.
The defenders differ from the attackers; when city defenses are sufficiently strong, a tenfold to twentyfold troop disparity can still lead to formidable resistance.
Of course, Bai Mu Camp is merely a small city with less than two kilometers in side length, not as robust as a town fortress. Yet even so, he remains confident.