Feint to the south, strike to the north

Pindalipha's proposal made Bayinnaung's eyes light up, but they soon dimmed again.

"I am just afraid of falling for the Han people's schemes again; if that happens, not only will we fail to provide reinforcements, but we will also suffer heavy losses."

Ever since he suffered a setback last time, Pindalipha had been reviewing the situation repeatedly after returning.

At this moment, he was full of confidence and leaned into Bayinnaung's ear.

"Your Highness, we can do this and that, and we will surely ensure those Han people never return."

Bayinnaung simulated the plan in his mind and also felt that Pindalipha's method was good; his expression instantly shifted from gloomy to bright.

"Then let's do it this way; the defensive arrangements for each region will be left to you to adjust."

Having gained his master's trust again, Pindalipha was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed respectfully.

"I will definitely not fail Your Highness's expectations."

The troop movements on the Toungoo side naturally could not escape the eyes and ears sent by Liu Rengui. The news soon reached Vientiane and was delivered to Gao Yuan's desk.

Gao Yuan glanced at the intelligence and handed it back to Liu Rengui.

"Zhengze, what do you think?"

"I believe the toungoo people intend to rely on a small number of troops to block our army's advance, and then mobilize their main force to engage us in a decisive battle, hoping to swallow our main force in one fell swoop."

"Heh, that is just their wishful thinking."

Gao Yuan said this as he walked to the map, pondered carefully for a while, and then proposed his own plan.

"I think we should do this: I will lead the Personal Guards Cavalry and the laborers to make a grand show, pretending to be the main force moving south to feign an attack on Phetchabun, while you lead the main force to quickly move north and capture Nan Province."

"My Lord, absolutely not!"

Liu Rengui was shocked and hurriedly stopped Gao Yuan from continuing.

"The Personal Guards Cavalry only has three hundred men, and the laborers have no combat capability. If they face the Toungoo main force..."

Gao Yuan stopped Liu Rengui.

"I am just going there to make a show of force; I won't actually clash head-on with the toungoo people. Besides, if I take the Cavalry and want to run, I doubt they can keep me."

"But My Lord, as the saying goes, a person of great wealth does not sit under a crumbling hall. It is better to be safe than sorry. It would be better to let me..."

"I am afraid Bayinnaung already knows I have arrived in Vientiane. If I do not appear in the south, do you think he will fall for it?"

Even though he was ten thousand times unwilling, Liu Rengui had to admit that what Gao Yuan said made sense. He could only helplessly agree, though he insisted on assigning another one hundred cavalrymen to Gao Yuan in the end.

Then, Gao Yuan selected one thousand physically fit laborers and, flying a large number of banners, marched openly toward the south.

To deceive the toungoo people, he referred to a strategy devised by Li Ru during the Three Kingdoms period: marching grandly into the city during the day, having people sneak out at night, and then entering the city again the next day.

Meanwhile, in the north, the main army traveled by night and hid by day, bypassing cities to camp outside them.

After so much preparation, the toungoo people were indeed deceived, and Pindalipha couldn't wait to pass this news to Bayinnaung.

"Are you sure it is Gao Yuan? Could it be a feint?"

"The spies under This humble general saw Gao Yuan with their own eyes. He also brought a beautiful woman and his Personal Guards Cavalry. Furthermore, according to the spies' report, the Han people have already assembled over ten thousand troops."

"Hahaha, good, good, good! Once Gao Yuan is captured alive, I will make him watch with his own eyes as I toy with his woman."

As for Gao Yuan, Bayinnaung had long hated him to the bone. Before the battle had even begun, he had already thought of how to humiliate Gao Yuan to avenge the two previous major defeats.

"Pass down the order: the army is to assemble and head to Phetchabun. Be careful to travel by night and hide by day, and do not let any information leak. This time, I will annihilate his elite Beiwei Army."

"Understood!"

Upon receiving the order, the fifty-thousand-strong Toungoo army began to assemble from various places, lying in ambush in hidden locations, waiting for the fish to take the bait.

It was a pity that this was truly just wishful thinking.

Upon receiving the news sent by Gao Yuan, and learning that the Toungoo main force had already gone to Phetchabun, Liu Rengui's army finally moved, and their movement was like a thunderbolt.

With four divisions of the Beiwei Army—nearly ten thousand elites—leading the vanguard, the toungoo people, whose defenses were empty, could not resist at all. In just ten days, they lost more than half of the land in Nan Province.

Only then did Bayinnaung wake up from his dream, gnashing his teeth as he pounded the desk in front of him.

"I've been tricked, I've been tricked again! These cunning Han people!"

Pindalipha immediately stepped forward to request to fight.

"Your Highness, This humble general is willing to lead troops to reinforce Nan Province and will definitely repel the Han people and recover the lost territory."

After the initial fury passed, Bayinnaung's head immediately cooled down.

"No, this place is over a hundred miles from Nan Province. By the time we arrive, I suspect Nan Province will already be lost, and it would be easy to be ambushed by the Han people."

"Your Highness, are we not going to save Nan Province then?"

"No, don't the Han people like to 'besiege a point to strike at reinforcements'? We will use that trick too."

As he said this, he pointed to a small city on the map—the very same small city where Gao Yuan was currently located.

"As long as we surround Gao Yuan, I do not believe Liu Rengui will not come to the rescue. At that time, we can wait for them in comfort..."

Everyone understood and immediately began to flatter him, which made Bayinnaung feel very satisfied.

In this small city of Phitsanulok, Gao Yuan was sitting under the shade of a tree, leisurely reading a military manual, when a soldier ran in quickly.

"Reporting to the Commandery Duke, urgent military intelligence from Phetchabun."

Gao Yuan opened the intelligence, glanced at it, and revealed a smug smile.

"It seems this Bayinnaung is not stupid; he even knows how to use the 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao' tactic. It is a pity he encountered me."

Putting away the secret letter in his hand, Gao Yuan stood up from the recliner, and his lazy demeanor was swept away.

"Pass down the order: all Cavalry must immediately prepare to set out with me. This time, I am going to give these Toungoo dogs a good run. Order the city guards to close the gates tightly; no one is allowed to enter or leave."

"Understood!"

Gao Yuan knew that Bayinnaung's target was him, so as long as he left, the toungoo people would naturally follow, and they would not get hung up on this small city that had no strategic or tactical significance.

That afternoon, Gao Yuan led four hundred cavalrymen and rode grandly out of the city; this, naturally, was seen by the spies.

However, when the spies wanted to leave the city to report the situation, they found that the city gates were under martial law; no one was allowed in or out, which made them anxious.

It was only after waiting until nightfall that these spies were able to escape the city with the connivance of the Xuanjia Army, and they relayed this news to Pindalipha.

Pindalipha hurriedly found Bayinnaung, who had already gone to sleep.

"Your Highness, do you think we should capture this city or pursue Gao Yuan?"

Bayinnaung rolled his eyes at Pindalipha.

"If we capture this city, will Liu Rengui retreat?"

Pindalipha shook his head honestly.

"This city is in a remote location and is not a place our army must pass through. Even if it is lost, the Han people will not come to rescue it."

"Since you know this, does Gao Yuan not know it? Pass down the order for the army to change course. I am going to set a net to catch Gao Yuan, this cunning fox."

"Understood!"

In the following days, Gao Yuan led his Cavalry around, leading the toungoo people by the nose all over Phitsanulok.

A distance of fifty miles—this distance was very subtle. Infantry could catch up in a day or two of full-speed pursuit, but Gao Yuan happened to have only Cavalry with him.

Several times, they dispersed their forces, trying to encircle him, but Gao Yuan always jumped out of the encirclement just as it was about to close, riding off into the distance.

Occasionally, he would even take advantage of the toungoo people's carelessness to launch a small raid with his Cavalry, killing or wounding a few dozen men before disengaging; he never lingered in battle.

This situation drove Bayinnaung to the point of madness. After ten days of this, he finally gave up.

"This Gao Yuan is like a fish in the mud. Pass down the order: stop the pursuit. The army will rest for two days and then turn around to attack the Phitsanulok provincial capital."

Pindalipha and a group of deputy generals had long been exhausted by the ordeal. Now that they saw Bayinnaung had finally given up, they let out a long sigh of relief.