Preparing to assault the city.

Su Lie thought to himself: There is no need for you gentlemen to continue testing this general.

If the Dragon Cavalry intended to attack, would they have waited until now?

Upon hearing Su Lie's words, Li Jing turned to Qibi Heli and said, "General Qibi has also been observing here for many days. Why not let the General lead his men to spearhead the attack?"

Li Jing’s remark was far from mere politeness.

Qibi Heli was a prominent general of the Liangzhou army.

For him to accompany the Dragon Cavalry in waiting idly here for half a month was already a manifestation of utmost goodwill.

It would be completely unreasonable not to let him participate in this operation.

Qibi Heli replied, "My subordinates are few in number and have yet to fully integrate with the main army. It would be better for other generals to lead the assault, while this general assists from the sidelines."

Qibi Heli had thought the matter through very clearly. Every other general present held a higher rank than he did.

Attacking the enemy here was hardly a supreme military achievement.

Why should he foolishly contend for the credit of the vanguard?

Li Daliang, the Governor of Liangzhou who stood nearby, also chimed in, "Since our numbers currently outnumber theirs, it is best for the main force to launch a direct and forceful assault."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "In that case, let General Yuchi lead the main attack, with General Qibi assisting from the flank."

Since it was merely a minor skirmish, there was naturally no need to dispatch so many senior commanders all at once.

Consequently, Yuchi Jingde became the first among them to take the plunge.

Yet, even though the enemy was completely unprepared, Li Jing still ordered the army to launch a surprise attack in the dead of night.

In this way, unnecessary casualties could be completely averted.

As the night grew deep and quiet, Yuchi Jingde, who had long been growing impatient, issued an order.

More than six thousand cavalrymen surged toward the enemy camp like arrows loosed from a taut bow.

The utterly unprepared enemy troops had no time to organize any defense before the Tang army breached their camp.

The sentries stationed on the outer perimeter scurried about in panic, seeking places to hide.

Yurts were set ablaze by torches, and the soldiers who had been sleeping inside were forced to rush out without even having time to properly dress themselves.

These men were cut down in confusion, completely devoid of time to closely observe the enemy before them.

This was a completely one-sided massacre.

The enemy force of over five thousand men, along with their camp followers, were swiftly cut down and slaughtered.

The Dragon Cavalry led by Su Lie were given no opportunity to play a role.

They could only suppress their intense battle fury and watch helplessly from the periphery of the camp.

Deputy General Zhang Lei complained to Su Lie, "General, our Dragon Cavalry was doing so well. Why did we have to wait for the main army to arrive and snatch our glory?"

Su Lie consoled him, "There are numerous generals in the army; you and I must leave some opportunities for others."

Zhang Lei retorted, "Now that the main force has arrived, the competition for limited rewards will likely be fierce. Won't we lose any further chance to establish merits?"

Su Lie said, "There is no need to worry on that account. Grand General Li is our commander-in-chief after all; how could he not look after us in secret?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lei nodded.

Then, with a puzzled expression, he asked, "With so many troops in the main army, why not divide our forces to occupy various regions of Tuyuhun instead of all rushing here?"

Su Lie explained, "Xihai is the most important pastureland for the Tuyuhun people, and the Qinghai horses raised here are urgently needed warhorses for our Great Tang. Therefore..."

Su Lie stopped there and said no more.

Yet Zhang Lei had already figured out the underlying reason.

This region concentrated the most valuable resources within Tuyuhun.

As long as the Great Tang could secure this place first, there would be no need to rush for other territories.

When the time came, they would only need to dispatch a single army to slowly clean up the rest.

While the two men were chatting idly, the battle inside the camp came to an end.

Before long, Li Jing sent someone to instruct the two of them to recall their troops.

Following the conclusion of this battle, Li Jing decided to await the arrival of the main army here.

By then, if the enemy still showed no signs of sallying forth from the city, he would lead the entire army to launch a direct siege.

In truth, given the current military strength of the Great Tang, they could have easily launched a surprise attack while the enemy was off guard.

However, that approach would inevitably leave some loose ends.

Once an enemy managed to escape, it would immediately alert Fuyun, the King of Tuyuhun, to the arrival of the Tang army.

At that point, he would likely take his people and flee.

Should such a situation arise, the subsequent campaign against Tuyuhun would become rather difficult to conduct.

A full five days later, the reinforcing main army finally arrived at the location.

Even so, the enemy still showed no movement of coming out of the city.

Li Jing decided to wait no longer, and once again summoned his generals to devise a tactical strategy.

Great General Xue Wanjun spoke up, "Commander, our Great Tang possesses an army of one hundred thousand; we might as well simply encircle the city and launch a direct, forceful assault."

Yuchi Jingde said, "The enemy still has a force of twenty thousand stationed a hundred miles away from the city. If they discover us, it might prompt them to flee, which would make subsequent operations rather difficult."

Su Lie suggested, "Commander, we can divide our forces into two routes: one to attack the city a hundred miles away, and the other to simultaneously deal with the enemy in the distance."

Cheng Yaojin intervened, "Moving from here onward, apart from passing through the city, the roads elsewhere are extremely rugged, and the movement of a large army will likely be rather inconvenient."

Su Lie proposed, "Perhaps the Dragon Cavalry can sneak in under the cover of night to open the city gates for us. When the time comes, the main army can charge in swiftly, which might achieve miraculous results."

Yuchi Jingde remarked, "If too many troops participate in the assault on the city, we will surely be discovered by the enemy. By then, before our forces can complete the encirclement, the enemy will likely abandon the city and run."

Su Lie said, "The enemy's nighttime defenses are bound to be lax; the main army can take advantage of this opportunity to move closer."

Li Jing stated, "Since the interior of the city is unsuitable for cavalry charges, we might as well use the cavalry to seal off the outside of the city, while the infantry takes charge of assaulting the inside."

The generals exchanged glances and agreed that this method was feasible.

Infantrymen moved with light footsteps and were less likely to be detected by the enemy, allowing them to approach the city as closely as possible.

Meanwhile, the cavalry was fast enough to rapidly surround the city just as the battle commenced.

Once the strategy was agreed upon, the Dragon Cavalry immediately dispatched scouts to monitor the enemy's movements at all times.

The main army followed closely behind, advancing rapidly toward the city.

A distance of a hundred miles might seem short, but marching through pathless hilly terrain meant the speed of advancement could hardly be fast.

The army of one hundred thousand men, burdened with logistical supplies, took a full five days to finally reach a location some ten miles away from the city.

Upon reaching this point, the main army had to simply pitch camp and await the arrival of night before taking the next step.

The scouts of the Dragon Cavalry selected an elevated vantage point to carefully observe the distribution of the enemy sentries.

They needed to find a defensive blind spot to prepare for the night raid.

This time, Su Lie intended to dispatch all his men on foot to approach the city.

They needed to swiftly eliminate the guards at the city gates and open them.

Since the attacking main army could not get too close, they would also be responsible for holding off the enemy's organized counterattacks after opening the gates.

This mission could be described as immensely arduous, as no one could predict how many men the enemy would muster for their counter-offensive.

As the shadows of night descended, the warriors of the Dragon Cavalry initiated their operation.

They needed to approach the city a step ahead of time in order to await the optimal moment.