Turing Tuo’s tenacity, or rather obstinacy, truly surpassed Suo Lun’s imagination by far.
After receiving a slap from Suo Lun, he still showed no intention of backing down and insisted on marching towards Tianlang Pass.
The aerial raid last night, though it didn’t cause significant casualties for Turing Tuo, was at least a huge warning.
It warned Turing Tuo that Suo Lun had gunpowder at his disposal, which could change the dynamics of the war. Although Turing Tuo had an army of two hundred thousand, it was hard to tell who would fall once the battle started.
Yet Turing Tuo still had no intention of retreating.
Facing Turing Tuo’s stubbornness, Suo Lun and the others had to hold another meeting.
The topic of discussion was whether they should fight and whether they could actually win.
After many simulations, the result remained the same: if they truly went to battle, the chances of victory were around forty to fifty percent.
Moreover, even if they won, the victory would be pyrrhic and would greatly disadvantage the subsequent annexation of the Southeast Province.
This was because the quantity of gunpowder was simply insufficient, and Tianlang Pass was rather narrow, preventing the deployment of things like the Super-Giant Stone Projectors.
The only thing that could be effective was fire oil warfare!
With an astronomical amount of fire oil, an army of over fifty thousand should be able to hold Tianlang Pass. However, if Turing Tuo were to switch his attack to the northern Wind Thunder Fortress, or if they were hit from two fronts, it would be very difficult to win, and the chances of victory would plummet.
Suddenly, Yan Nai’er said, "Husband, should we pull some strings with Turing Chen?"
Her words were very cryptic, but Suo Lun understood the meaning behind them.
After being captured, Turing Chen had been tampered with by Suo Lun. Now, like Zhi Li, he was unable to attain an erection.
However, Turing Chen could recover, as long as Suo Lun cleared certain meridians in his body and supplemented it with some medicines, he could quickly regain his virility.
Nai’er’s suggestion was to make a trade, restoring Turing Chen to his virility in exchange for Turing Tuo’s withdrawal.
Suo Lun closed his eyes and then shook his head, "No, we cannot make a move on Turing Chen, this chess piece, just yet."
Then he slammed the table and said, "Fight! Since Turing Tuo is so willfully obstinate, let’s fight!"
Yan Yan said, "But if we really go to war, it could be quite disadvantageous for us, especially since Turing Tuo could attack Tianlang Pass or the Wind Thunder Fortress defense line. Once he is determined to cross the river, our defenses on the east bank of the Tianshui River might not hold."
Suo Lun said, "We have tried everything to make Turing Tuo withdraw his troops, but this has only exposed our psychological threshold to them, making them underestimate and think us weak and vulnerable. Even one or two aerial raids won’t change that. Let’s just have a battle, a great battle, and seriously cripple Turing Tuo, so that he will have no choice but to withdraw."
Hurting Turing Tuo badly and then forcing him to withdraw was Suo Lun’s new strategy!
After Suo Lun made his decision, everyone present immediately unified their will to change strategies and hurt Turing Tuo severely!
The Griffon air raids had indeed caused considerable casualties to Turing Tuo, but this made his army of two hundred thousand march almost frantically, covering a distance of over two hundred miles in just two days.
Then, the two hundred thousand troops encamped five miles from Tianlang Pass.
Just like Zhi Wei previously, Turing Tuo dispersed all thirty thousand cavalry to avoid another incident of startled horses causing chaos in the camp.
Moreover, after setting up the camp, the first thing his army did was to dig trenches.
In just two days, they turned the surrounding area for dozens of miles into a pocked landscape, and most of the soldiers hid inside these trenches.
As a result, Suo Lun’s aerial bombardment tactic had become largely ineffective.
Because bombing from several hundred meters high is imprecise, throwing a gunpowder packet into a trench is harder than winning the lottery.
Therefore, Suo Lun stopped the aerial bombardment with gunpowder and switched to dropping barrels of fire oil instead. Although it caused some casualties, it was indeed insignificant for an army of two hundred thousand.
In the air, Suo Lun looked down at the Turing Tuo’s camp, with deep trenches crisscrossing everywhere, and middle to high-ranking officers taking shelter in underground bunkers.
The entire campsite, like a hedgehog covered in spikes, seemed impenetrable and impossible to attack via stealth.
Turing Tuo was indeed much more formidable than Zhi Wei!
At least Turing Tuo’s camp was secure without any gaps, leaving virtually no chance for a sneak attack.
After resting for two days, Turing Tuo made a decisive move and pushed his army close to Tianlang Pass, preparing to siege.
The thunderous war drums sounded again.
Tianlang Pass was very different from the Fenglei Fort Defense Line, being much narrower with just over a mile of wall length. The height was considerable, over a dozen meters, and the thickness was also sufficient.
But the entire wall was solid, with no Covered Positions or shooting ports.
At most, only three to four thousand troops could be stationed on the wall, with no room for many Super-Giant Stone Projectors or large crossbows. Compared to the Fenglei Fort Defense Line, it was difficult to utilize the space effectively.
So Suo Lun made a decisive call, opting not to place any Super-Giant Stone Projectors but only a few dozen medium-sized ones instead.
The entire wall was defended solely by soldiers.
Now, the only effective tactic available was the fire oil attack. To hurt Turing Tuo severely, Suo Lun had devised a ruthless plan.
A few days before the arrival of Turing Tuo’s army, he had ordered several thousand soldiers to spill fire oil on the ground in front of Tianlang Pass.
On a stretch of land over a hundred meters long and nearly a kilometer wide, several million kilograms of fire oil had been poured, forming a thick layer.