At 100 years old, he joined the army in place of his granddaughter, and became a national war god.

The next morning.

After a night of rest, the smoke of battle had not yet cleared outside the pass, and the land still bore the mottled bloodstains of yesterday's bloody battle. The layers of corpses had been cleared away by the Yan army overnight, leaving only broken armor, broken arrows, and collapsed equipment scattered all over the ground, silently telling the story of the ferocity of yesterday's first round of attack and defense.

The deathly silence lasted only a few hours.

A desolate yet powerful siege horn suddenly shattered the tranquility of the morning!

"Waaaaah!!"

The long, drawn-out horn rang out across the fields, shaking the mountains and rivers, instantly shattering the tranquility inside and outside Duanyun Pass.

The Yan army camp, which had been silent all night, suddenly erupted into a frenzy once again!

The dark mass of Yan soldiers marched out once more, their steps treading on the cool morning frost, shields raised and swords drawn, ladders erected and carts pushed, replicating yesterday's siege formation.

Rows of siege ladders were carried on the shoulders of soldiers, and the heavy siege engines were once again in place. Five thousand archers on both sides were arrayed with their bows drawn, and the cold arrows reflected the morning light, exuding a chilling aura.

A deafening battle cry erupted as tens of thousands of Yan soldiers roared in unison, their voices surging towards the towering Duanyun Pass city tower!

A new round of siege warfare has begun on schedule!

After a night of rest, the soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty on the city wall were already on high alert and ready for battle.

Last night, Xiao Yunche issued an order that the entire army should take turns resting, repairing equipment, and replenishing supplies, and no one dared to slack off in the slightest.

Before dawn, all the soldiers had already donned their armor and climbed the city walls, gripping their weapons tightly, their eyes fixed intently on the Yan army camp outside the pass, awaiting the enemy's attack.

The moment the Yan army launched another offensive, the defenders on the city walls responded instantly, and a new round of fierce battle to defend the city gates officially began!

Arrows whistled through the air, boulders crashed down, and the killing intent of swords and spears filled the sky and earth.

At Duanyun Pass, the flames of war reignited, and the smoke of battle once again filled the entire land.

Xiao Yunche stood in the center of the city tower, his posture upright and his eyes sharp as an eagle's, quietly overlooking the battlefield situation below, taking in every movement and every detail of the Yan army.

But after observing him for only a moment, the expression between his brows quietly became serious, and a strong sense of unease and vigilance rose in his heart.

Today's Yan army's offensive appears to be powerful and imposing, with its battle formations neat and complete, just like yesterday's fierce attack. However, the underlying spirit and morale are completely different.

In yesterday's first attack on the city, the Yan soldiers fought bravely and relentlessly, their eyes red with fury as they charged forward. Even with corpses strewn across the battlefield, they fought on relentlessly, demonstrating a resolute and fierce attack aimed at breaching the city gates and flattening the defenses.

Today's Yan army, though seemingly charging swiftly and forming a disciplined formation, actually lacks offensive drive. The soldiers are hesitant to charge, and their fighting strength is severely insufficient. Many merely make a show of sprinting a few steps before deliberately slowing down to avoid being counterattacked from the city walls, showing no courage to fight to the death.

Everyone seemed to be deliberately going through the motions of conquering the city, rather than genuinely trying to break through!

Xiao Yunche's eyes were deep and his thoughts were racing. He instantly understood the enemy's strange intentions.

Exhaust and wear down the enemy!

After Murong Di's crushing defeat yesterday, he indeed abandoned the inferior strategy of brute force and instead adopted a subtle and vicious plan to wear down the enemy!

The enemy's attack, though seemingly fierce, was actually a feint.

They did not seek to capture the city in one battle, nor did they seek to kill or wound the defenders. Their only aim was to launch attacks day after day, round after round, relentlessly, forcing the soldiers on the city walls to be constantly on high alert and ready to fight. This would continuously deplete the defenders' physical strength, energy, and patience, and also deplete the city walls' scarce heavy defensive supplies such as logs, boulders, and oil.

When the defending troops are exhausted, lacking supplies, and lax in their defenses, that will be the moment for the Yan army to launch a full-scale attack and break through the pass in one fell swoop!

Having grasped the key point, Xiao Yunche felt a chill run down his spine, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Insidious and vicious!

Both Murong Di and Gongsun Yu are meticulous people, and they both want to wear down the city's defending army, which has natural defenses, with minimal cost!

He stood quietly atop the city wall, deliberately holding his breath and silently observing the battle situation.

As expected, everything went exactly as he predicted.

This seemingly overwhelming siege offensive lasted for less than half an hour!

Before the defenders on the city walls could launch a full-scale counterattack and inflict heavy casualties on the enemy, and before the siege could reach its climax, a bugle call to retreat suddenly sounded from the Yan army camp below!

"Sound the retreat! Retreat!"

The urgent order to retreat spread across the battlefield. The Yan soldiers, who had just been feigning a fierce attack, turned around and retreated without hesitation like a tide. They quickly withdrew from the attack and defense area, abandoned all siege equipment, and retreated back to their own camp in an orderly manner, without the slightest reluctance to fight.

The siege, which started with great fanfare, ended abruptly and in a rather anticlimactic manner!

As the Yan army retreated rapidly, bursts of cheerful cheers and laughter erupted from the city tower of Duanyun Pass.

After two great victories, the morale of the defending soldiers was high. Seeing the Yan army so easily defeated, everyone was smug and their vigilance completely relaxed.

"Hahaha! The swallow dog has been driven back again!"

"I thought they were going to be really fierce today, but it turns out it was all just a bluff!"

"With such meager skills, you dare to dream of breaching my Broken Cloud Pass? Utterly delusional!"

"We lost two thousand men yesterday, and they're even more vulnerable today! No matter how many rounds they come at us, we'll still drive them back!"

"These Yan people are nothing but paper tigers! If they dare to invade again, we'll smash them to pieces with stones!"

The soldiers raised their arms and shouted, their laughter was hearty, and their fighting spirit was high. They were all immersed in the joy of defeating the enemy, thinking that the Yan army had lost its fighting spirit and was already afraid of the enemy. They were completely unaware of the great danger hidden behind the battle.

Amidst the city's cheers and clamor, Xiao Yunche stood alone, his aura heavy and cold, his face devoid of any smile, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, his unease growing stronger.

Something's not right, something's really not right.

Throughout history, the worst thing in a siege is to frequently return empty-handed.

Any strong army that suffers repeated defeats in its offensives will inevitably experience a sharp drop in morale, and the intervals between offensives will inevitably lengthen.

However, the Yan army did not lose morale. Instead, they advanced and retreated in an orderly manner and maintained their formation. They retreated precisely at each point after each attack, without being greedy for battle, without fighting head-on, and without wasting their main force. Everything was too deliberate and too orderly!

This is not a retreat at all, but a precise tactical probing and attrition!

"Your Highness."

A steady footstep came from behind. Shen Luotang quickly walked to Xiao Yunche's side, her gaze fixed on the Yan army camp outside the pass, her brows furrowed with solemnity and doubt. She spoke in a deep voice:

"The Yan army's offensive today is suspicious in many ways."

"Their momentum was overwhelming, yet they showed no will to fight to the death. Their attack was short and their retreat was hasty. Their advance and retreat were too orderly, unlike a typical defeat and rout. There must be a conspiracy behind this."

Shen Luotang, who had been observing the battle situation, had also seen through the abnormality beneath the surface of the battle.

Xiao Yunche nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the distance: "You noticed it too."

"Murong Di is using a strategy of exhausting the enemy with a wheel attack." Xiao Yunche's voice was clear and cold, each word distinct and hitting the nail on the head: "He is pretending to launch a series of fierce attacks, but in reality, he is not fighting, killing, or launching a direct assault. He is only trying to force our army to be on high alert at all times and to fight with all his men, so as to exhaust the physical strength of our soldiers, wear down our morale and patience, and deplete the defensive equipment on our city walls."

"They don't seek to capture the city today, nor do they seek victory tomorrow; they only seek to wear us down."

Shen Luotang's expression turned serious: "Then how should we deal with this now?"

"No rush." ​​Xiao Yunche raised his hand slightly, his gaze calm and resolute. "Let's wait and see his next attack to confirm my judgment."

The two stood quietly atop the city wall, their gazes fixed intently on the area beyond the pass, awaiting the enemy's next attack.

Sure enough, it was less than half an incense stick's time!

Outside the pass, the second bugle call to attack the city suddenly sounded again from the Yan army camp!

"Waaaaah!!"

The bugle sounds again, and the war drums beat once more!

The Yan soldiers, who had just retreated to their camp for a short rest, donned their armor once again and charged into battle in formation. With the same formation and the same momentum, they launched another fierce attack on Duanyun Pass!

The offensive still appeared fierce and devastating, and the battle cries still echoed throughout the land, but the underlying weakness and perfunctoriness were still clearly visible.

At this point, all doubts have been completely confirmed!

Murong Di's strategy of exhausting the enemy with a wheel of troops has been completely confirmed!

"All troops, listen to my command!"

When the time was ripe, Xiao Yunche no longer hesitated and immediately issued a stern military order. His voice resounded throughout the entire city and clearly reached the ears of every soldier!

"The enemy is employing a strategy of using rolling wheels to wear us down, feigning a fierce attack but intending to exhaust us! I hereby order: from this moment forward, all soldiers defending the city must abandon their boulders and logs, and use only arrows to defend against the enemy!"

"All heavy siege equipment, including massive stones, rolling logs, and oil grenades, should be stored away and kept on standby. They must not be used arbitrarily! Our arrow reserves are sufficient to deal with any feint attacks; there is no need to waste heavy weaponry!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood and composed themselves, obeying military orders.

For a time, the defenders on the city wall changed their tactics, no longer throwing boulders or rolling down huge logs, but relying solely on bows and arrows to sweep the enemy from their high ground.

A barrage of arrows rained down precisely, suppressing the Yan army's charge from outside the pass. This effectively repelled the enemy, defended the city, and preserved the scarce heavy defensive supplies to the greatest extent possible.

The battle situation instantly became calm and under control.

As expected, this round of feigned attack by the Yan army lasted only half an hour before they sounded the retreat and hastily withdrew once again.

The soldiers on the city wall had figured out the enemy's tactics and no longer cheered wildly. Although they still managed to repel the enemy, everyone was aware of the situation and restrained their underestimation of the enemy, waiting for the next instruction.

"Generals Zhou Lin, proceed to the city tower immediately for a meeting!"

Xiao Yunche gave the order in a deep voice.

In a short while, all the generals guarding the city gathered on the city tower, stood in formation, and awaited military orders.

Xiao Yunche stood in front of everyone, his gaze sweeping over them, and he analyzed the battle situation in a deep voice: "Gentlemen, the enemy has abandoned brute force and has switched to a tactic of constantly wearing down the enemy with a relentless attack."

"The battles are fought in batches, combining feints and real attacks. Each round is a deliberate attempt to wear down our forces. We do not fight with our main force or seek to capture the city. Our goal is simply to exhaust our troops, deplete our equipment, and demoralize our soldiers."

"Their purpose was extremely malicious, to keep our army on high alert day and night without rest, to exhaust our strength and become complacent in countless repeated battles to defend the city, and to launch a thunderous general offensive when our supplies were scarce and we were exhausted, so that we could break through the pass in one fell swoop."

"I order you all to adjust your defenses immediately!"

"The soldiers will take turns on duty, alternating between defending the city and resting!"

"When the enemy launches a full-scale attack, our army will defend against them with all its might."

"Once the enemy launches a feigned attack to deplete our forces, we will withdraw and defend, using only arrows to hold them off, conserving our strength and heavy weaponry, and wasting not a single ounce of combat power or a single piece of supplies!"

"Remember! Avoid arrogance and impatience. Do not underestimate the enemy or become complacent because of their repeated defeats. Remain vigilant at all times and await the enemy's true final offensive!"

His words were clear, logical, and to the point, instantly enlightening all the generals.

Everyone suddenly understood, all their doubts resolved, and they all respectfully bowed, saying, "Your Highness, we will obey your orders!"

Previously, everyone thought that the Yan army was weak and had suffered repeated defeats, and they had become complacent and careless. Now they realized that the enemy had a sinister plot and the situation was far more dangerous than it appeared!

From then on, the garrison at Duanyun Pass completely changed its tactics and calmly dealt with the enemy's relentless attacks.

The entire army operates in shifts, balancing work and rest, allowing for flexible scheduling.

The Yan army launched wave after wave of feint attacks, but the Daqian defenders calmly defended themselves, conserving their energy and avoiding damage to heavy weapons, easily repelling each offensive.

The entire day passed in the blink of an eye.

From dawn to afternoon, within just a few hours, the Yan army launched more than ten sieges, one after another, without interruption.

However, each time, they were easily repelled by the well-prepared Daqian garrison.

The Yan army launched campaigns time and again, but each time it failed to achieve anything, wasting manpower and time. Not only did it fail to deplete the strength and resources of the Daqian garrison, but it also repeatedly made futile trips back and forth, causing the soldiers' fatigue to rise sharply and the morale of the army to grow restless and exhausted.

The Daqian defenders on the city wall remained as steady as Mount Tai, advancing and retreating with measured steps and composure, and the battle situation was completely under Xiao Yunche's firm control.

……

Inside the main camp of the Yan army outside the pass, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Several Yan army generals, their faces grave, strode into the tent, knelt on one knee in unison, and bowed to their commander-in-chief, Murong Di, to report on the battle situation.

"Report to the commander! Something terrible has happened!"

"Our strategy of exhausting the enemy with rolling wheels has been completely seen through by Xiao Yunche! Since the third round of feint attacks, the Daqian defenders on the city walls have stopped using heavy weapons such as rolling logs, boulders, and oil, and have only used bows and arrows to defend themselves!"

"Our army launched more than ten rounds of attacks, but apart from losing several hundred soldiers, we failed to deplete the enemy's heavy supplies, let alone wear down their defenders. The enemy soldiers rested and regrouped in shifts, responding calmly. Our strategy has failed!"

Every word was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, making the oppressive atmosphere inside the tent even more heavy.

The white-robed strategist Gongsun Yu, sitting upright to the side, frowned deeply, his expression extremely solemn. After a long silence, he slowly spoke, his voice filled with deep helplessness and regret:

"Commander, Xiao Yunche is exceptionally talented, meticulous, insightful in his understanding of the battle situation, and has a flawless strategy."

"Our carefully planned strategy to wear down the enemy was completely seen through and easily countered by him in a short period of time."

"Now that our strategy has been exposed and the enemy is prepared, continuing to launch a series of feint attacks is meaningless and will only waste our troops and demoralize our forces, resulting in more harm than good."

"This plan is completely unworkable."

Murong Di sat upright in his command seat, his armor cold and menacing, his face ashen, his eyes swirling with raging fury and extreme frustration.

He clenched his fists tightly, his chest burning with rage, his heart filled with resentment and frustration!

His meticulously planned and seemingly foolproof strategy of exhausting the enemy, which consumed countless troops and resources, was ultimately easily seen through and perfectly countered by the young Xiao Yunche!

Hundreds of elite soldiers lost their lives in vain, wasting an entire day, and achieving nothing!

The Duanyun Pass before them was truly like an impregnable fortress, a natural barrier that stood in the way of the army and could not be shaken in the slightest!

A direct attack won't work, exhausting the enemy won't work, wearing down the enemy is useless, and probing the enemy yields no results!

Murong Di frowned, his heart filled with deep confusion and anxiety.

Duan Yun Pass is characterized by its steep mountains, strong city defenses, steady garrison, and wise general!

A direct, head-on attack will result in heavy losses!

The enemy was exhausted by the sheer force of the wheels, and their scheme was foiled!

Delaying and stalemate is just a waste of resources!

All his tactics failed, and for a moment he was completely at a loss, not knowing how to break through this impregnable southern border pass!

Inside the vast command tent, there was an eerie silence; everyone's face was solemn, and no one dared to speak.

Just when Murong Di was at his wit's end, trapped in a desperate situation, and filled with anxiety!

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent. A messenger captain rushed into the tent, his expression excited, and knelt down to report urgently:

"General, this is incredibly good news!"

"The Nanzhao Kingdom's elite elephant corps has arrived at the front lines, ordered to assist our army in breaching Duanyun Pass!"

"Elephant army! The Nanzhao elephant army has arrived!!"

boom!

One sentence, like a thunderclap, resounded throughout the tent!

The atmosphere that had been one of despair and suffocation was instantly and completely shattered!

Gongsun Yu, who had been sitting helplessly to the side, suddenly brightened up upon hearing this. The gloom that had been building up all day vanished, and his face burst into extreme joy. He stood up abruptly and laughed loudly with excitement!

"Great! That's fantastic!!"

"Heaven helps our Yan army! Heaven helps the general!!"

He strode forward, his expression extremely excited, and bowed to Murong Yudi, offering his congratulations in a hurried voice:

"General! The Nanzhao elephant army has been fighting in the mountainous regions of southern China for years, breaking through mountains and passes, attacking fortified cities, and is invincible! Warhorses fear them, infantry avoid them, and city gates are no match for them!"

"Ordinary siege weapons, bricks, stones, and arrows cannot harm the giant war elephants in the slightest! With this elephant army assisting us, fortifications can be breached and strongholds can be destroyed! What can a mere Duanyun Pass, seemingly impregnable, do?"

"With the elephant cavalry charging head-on, ramming the city gates, and flattening the defenses, our army can then follow up in a large-scale advance! Breaking through Duanyun Pass will be a swift and decisive victory!"

In dire straits, reinforcements arrive, breaking the deadlock and turning the dead end into a new one!

The impregnable pass and the intractable defensive stalemate of the city were completely reversed with the arrival of the Nanzhao elephant army!