Online Game: Me, with Unparalleled Comprehension

"Can I post a quest?" Wu Feng looked at Li Hu. "I'm currently the Governor of Yingzhou, but I'm not sure if the system gives me the authority to post quests. Players usually accept quests from NPCs, so am I considered an NPC or a player?"

Li Hu paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and shook his head: "I'm not too sure about that either. The research group hasn't mentioned it."

Wu Feng frowned.

If he can't directly issue missions, then attracting players will be difficult.

He can't exactly go to each player one by one and say, "I'll give you money, and you'll help me defend the city," can he?

That would be too inefficient, and players might not trust him anyway.

Li Hu thought for a moment and said, "You can have Mu Lingyun and his group post the quests. They're NPCs, recognized by the system. Give them money and have them issue recruitment notices in the name of the government. Players can come once they accept the quests."

Wu Feng's eyes lit up after hearing this. This idea will work.

Mu Lingyun, Zhang Heng, Qian Wencai, and the others are all NPCs, and the system recognizes their identities.

Let them issue tasks in the name of the Yingzhou government to recruit players to defend the city. Players who accept the tasks will receive rewards, and the system will automatically settle the accounts.

All he needs to do is allocate the money and supplies.

"Okay." Wu Feng nodded. "I'll have Zhang Heng handle this later."

Li Hu nodded and continued, "We can also organize the players. Our group of fifty-odd people has some connections in the player community. It's hard to find solo players, but we can contact some of the smaller teams and guilds."

Wu Feng hummed in agreement.

With Li Hu and his team organizing things, and the government issuing tasks, they're taking a two-pronged approach, and they're sure to win over a lot of players.

Li Hu turned to another page of the paper, on which was written a line of text: "Estimated Scale of the First Wave of Attacks".

He pointed to the line of text, his tone becoming serious: "The research team's analysis suggests that if the Liao Kingdom sends troops to attack, the first wave will not consist of too many people."

"Why?" Wu Feng asked.

Li Hu said, "The Liao Kingdom doesn't completely centralize military power. Its troops are scattered across various prefectures and cities, each with its own defense zone. To mobilize troops, one must first request permission from the imperial court. Only after the court issues an edict can troops be mobilized from various regions. This entire process takes at least ten to fifteen days to complete."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, the Liao Kingdom has to weigh its options. If they transfer troops from one city, that city's defenses will weaken. If other forces nearby take the opportunity to attack, they will lose the city. Therefore, it's impossible for them to deploy all their troops to fight us."

After listening, Wu Feng nodded.

This is exactly what he expected.

The Liao Dynasty was not a monolithic entity; the troops in each city and prefecture had their own uses, and it was impossible to mobilize them all to attack Yingzhou.

"So for the first wave of attack," Li Hu said, tapping his finger twice on the paper, "the research team estimates that the Liao Kingdom can only send no more than 20,000 troops. And they won't be elite soldiers; they'll most likely be a ragtag army cobbled together from several nearby cities."

Wu Feng's lips curled up slightly.

Twenty thousand ragtag troops.

With the players he currently has and the upcoming arrivals, he should have no problem gathering 30,000 to 40,000 players.

The defending side already had the advantage, and with its forces not inferior to the enemy's, this battle was going to be a long one.

"What if we win the first wave?" Wu Feng asked.

Li Hu said, "If we wipe out the first wave of vanguard troops, the Liao Kingdom will think twice before sending troops to attack again."

He paused, then explained, "The Liao Kingdom isn't stupid. Sending 20,000 troops and having them all wiped out will make them think about how many troops we actually have and what our strength is. Sending more troops wouldn't be a matter of 20,000; it might have to be double, or even more. But deploying more troops would take longer and come at a greater cost."

Wu Feng nodded.

War is all about attrition.

If the Liao Kingdom loses 20,000 men in its first attack, the court will have to seriously reconsider organizing a second attack.

The discussions dragged on and on, and time was stretched out.

The longer it drags on, the faster his side develops.

By the time the Liao army truly pressed in, his strength was no longer what it was then.

"Moreover," Li Hu added, "the Liao Kingdom doesn't completely centralize military power. The generals who command troops each have their own agendas, and none of them want to send their troops out to be cannon fodder. When the court issues an order to mobilize troops, the lower-ups will outwardly comply but inwardly resist, dragging their feet and wasting a lot of time."

After listening, Wu Feng picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and put the glass down.

It is easy to conquer a city, but difficult to defend it.

He had heard that phrase countless times.

The more cities you have, the more troops you need to garrison them.

The Liao Kingdom occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, including dozens of cities of varying sizes, and troops had to be stationed in each city to defend it.

If troops are redeployed, new problems could easily arise.

Other forces might take the opportunity to attack, bandits might cause trouble, and the people might rebel.

Therefore, they will not easily transfer all their troops.

Every city must maintain a basic defensive force; only a portion of it can be deployed to fight others.

"So," Wu Feng said calmly, "after we get through the first wave of attacks, the Liao Kingdom will have to think twice about the second wave."

Li Hu nodded: "That's right. They lost the first wave, so they need to think about whether it's worth fighting again. They lost 20,000 men fighting in Yingzhou, and all they got in return was a medium-sized city. They have to calculate whether it's worth it."

Wu Feng leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice.

Li Hu's analysis was similar to what he had thought.

The Liao Kingdom's first wave of attacks won't be too strong; once they get through it, the subsequent pressure will be much less.

However, we must not let our guard down.

The Liao Dynasty was, after all, a large country. If it was determined to fight, it could easily muster 100,000 to 200,000 troops.

The question is whether they are willing to pay that price.

"There's one more thing," Li Hu said, putting the paper away and tucking it into his pocket. "The research team suggested that we take over the surrounding counties before the Liao Kingdom attacks."

Wu Feng nodded.

He's already thinking about it.

The surrounding counties are still under the control of the Liao Dynasty, but there are not many troops stationed there, only a few hundred people in each county.

It's not difficult to take it down.

The key is how to defend it after it's captured.

Each time a county is occupied, troops must be stationed there, thus dispersing the military force.

But if we don't fight, we won't be able to get the resources from those counties, and we won't be able to attract talent.

"Let's take a few with lots of resources first," Wu Feng said. "Choose those close to Yingzhou with few troops stationed there. After we've taken them and looted their resources, we'll leave without leaving any troops to garrison them."

Li Hu thought for a moment and nodded: "That works. Let's get the resources first and develop the area. Once we're strong enough, we can consider long-term occupation."

The two then discussed a few more details—when to make the move, which counties to attack, and how many men to bring.

After we finished talking, most of the dishes on the table had gone cold.

Wu Feng picked up his wine glass, clinked it with Li Hu's, and the two drank it down in one gulp.

"Then it's settled," Wu Feng said. "You keep an eye on the Liao Kingdom's movements and notify me immediately if there's any news. I'll arrange for people to prepare for the city's defense and also take a look at the surrounding counties."

Li Hu nodded, stood up, and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Alright. I'll be going now."

Wu Feng also stood up and nodded.

Li Hu turned and walked out of the front hall, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

Wu Feng sat down again, picked up his chopsticks, and swept the remaining dishes off the table.

After finishing his meal, he wiped his mouth with a cloth, stood up, and walked out of the front hall.

Walk through the short corridor, across the front yard, and into the back yard.

The courtyard was quiet; everyone had already gone to bed.

Wu Feng went into his room, closed the door, and sat cross-legged on the bed.

Take a deep breath and close your eyes.

With a slight thought, the Nine Yang True Qi in his dantian surged and flowed slowly along his meridians.

The warm, vital energy flowed through my limbs and bones like golden streams.

At the edge of the field of vision, a pale gold system notification steadily popped up—

[Nine Yang Divine Skill Proficiency +336]