War breaks out

Fawang's seemingly impulsive behavior this time was, in fact, a deeply calculated move.

If he could marry the beauty through sheer pressure and take over Menge and West City in the process, that would naturally be ideal.

If not, he would start a war to flex his muscles to the surrounding nations, showing the strength of Lan Xang to Toungoo, Tonkin, and Ayutthaya.

In passing, he could also weaken the power of the third prince, Khon Kham, to smooth the path for the eldest prince, Wu Hean.

Unlike Khon Kham's maternal clan, which controlled the most prosperous capital, Vientiane, Wu Hean's maternal clan belonged to the southern nobility, with territories in Chaiyaphum, Nong Khai, and other areas.

Fawang relied on the Vientiane nobility to establish his kingdom, but after ascending the throne, they were the ones he feared most and wanted to weaken and balance.

This was just like Yang Jian and Zhu Ba in original history; after taking power, the ones they most wanted to weaken were the powerful families and the Huaixi meritorious nobles.

Khon Kham was no fool either and naturally knew his own situation, so he only sent scouts to investigate while the main army's movements were extremely sluggish.

This indirectly gave Gao Yuan's side a significant amount of preparation time.

Five days later, the army set out at dawn, but military supplies and provisions continued to be transported over the following days.

With two thousand soldiers, over one thousand eight hundred laborers, and several hundred pack horses, this contingent appeared quite formidable.

Covering over a hundred miles, it took Gao Yuan a full seven or eight days to reach Menge City.

Huo Jun led men to the city gates to greet him, bringing along information from the front lines.

“Welcome, My Lord. This is the military report from the front; please review it.”

“Zhongmiao, you have worked hard.”

Gao Yuan patted Huo Jun on the shoulder, took the military report, scanned it, and then asked in confusion,

“Only scouts?”

“This humble general has already sent men to re-examine the front lines; it is indeed only scouts. There haven't even been any small-scale skirmishes.”

Gao Yuan thought for a moment but couldn't figure out why, so he could only put away the report.

“Let's enter the city first. The army will camp outside and rest for two days before setting out.”

“Understood!”

Since the Lan Xang people were making no moves for now and the two passes were already defended by troops, Gao Yuan saw no need to exhaust his army with a long expedition. He would let the soldiers rest well before moving out.

Under Huo Jun's guidance, Gao Yuan arrived at the former Menge Pacification Commissioners Office, which had been converted into the City Defense Forces government office.

Sitting down in the main hall, Huo Jun began to report his achievements.

“After receiving My Lord's military order, This humble general conscripted as many local able-bodied men as possible. However, because it is still the spring plowing season, I only managed to gather over a thousand people.”

Gao Yuan nodded; he also knew the difficulty of conscripting laborers during this season.

“There are still large amounts of military supplies and food in Dehong. Send people to transport them as soon as possible.”

“Understood!”

Thus, because of Khon Kham's hesitation, Gao Yuan was given time to leisurely allocate resources.

Relying on the nearly three thousand laborers and thousand pack horses conscripted from both Locations, a large amount of supplies were gathered in Menge City and then transported again to the frontline camp guarded by Xia Luqi.

After resting in Menge for five days, Gao Yuan set out once more, planning to set up his headquarters at the frontline camp so he could respond to the battlefield situation at any time.

On the other side, Khon Kham's stalling tactics finally reached their limit.

Fawang discovered his third prince's little scheme and sent three messengers in a row to reprimand Khon Kham, stating clearly that if he did not attack, someone would be sent to take over his military authority.

To prevent his power from falling into other hands and to give his father no excuses, Khon Kham gritted his teeth and prepared to stake everything on a single throw.

The Lan Xang army abandoned its lethargic state, advancing twenty miles toward both passes in a single day. This news quickly reached Gao Yuan.

With the situation changing, Gao Yuan didn't bother to wonder why the Lan Xang people had been dragging their feet. After reading the intelligence, he immediately began making arrangements.

“Zhongmiao, take five hundred troops to West Pass. Remember, bring plenty of bows and crossbows to hold your ground firmly. The victory or defeat of this battle depends on how long you can hold out.”

“Rest assured, My Lord. This humble general will hold until the very last soldier.”

Huo Jun left behind this bold declaration, took the command token, and withdrew.

The strategy Gao Yuan adopted this time was one his ancestors had used against the United States: Hold the west and strike the east, concentrating forces to hit the Lan Xang troops attacking East Pass.

The reason was simple: according to intelligence, only five thousand men were attacking East Pass, and their military appearance suggested they were clearly not the Lan Xang main force.

As Mr. Lu Xun once said, pick the soft persimmons to squeeze. Since the east was the weak link of the Lan Xang people, he would naturally strike there first.

With a single command, the army immediately began to mobilize. Only a hundred men and the laborers remained at this camp to transport military supplies and food to various Locations.

The camp was only a day's journey from the two passes. Gao Yuan hadn't expected the Lan Xang people to begin their siege before he even arrived.

By the time he reached East Pass, it was already dusk, and the Lan Xang attack had just receded.

The brigade commander defending the city reported some not-so-good news:

Although only a dozen or so were injured on the first day of the defense and enemy casualties exceeded three hundred, more than half of the defensive supplies had been used.

Furthermore, before retreating, the Lan Xang people had specifically carried away many of the rolling logs and stones and dragged away the corpses, leaving the defenders with no way to recycle them.

Although Gao Yuan's plan was to counterattack, the prerequisite was to first exhaust the enemy through the siege, only striking to break them once they were weary.

“Bang Jie, take the soldiers to the nearby mountains to cut wood and collect stones. At the same time, scout for any small paths that might lead behind the enemy.”

“Understood!”

To prevent the soldiers from becoming overly fatigued, Gao Yuan only sent out five hundred men each day to collect supplies. This led to a shortage of defensive materials, which ran out by the third day.

This wasn't due to a lack of preparation by Huo Jun; it was simply that the pass was too small to store much.

Although the Lan Xang people had lost nearly a thousand men in three days of sieging, they had not yet shown signs of exhaustion. This was still short of Gao Yuan's goal.

Though he was reluctant, he could only have the City Defense Forces engage in hand-to-hand combat next.

Of course, Gao Yuan didn't just sit idle. He had Xia Luqi lead a group of officers to organize an elite squad specifically to plug any gaps in the defense.

On the fourth day, the most brutal battle of offense and defense began. Facing the enemy's charge, after splashing prepared boiling water and wounding dozens, the soldiers raised their weapons, ready to face the enemy climbing the walls.

A man clearly dressed as a Lan Xang grassroots officer was the first to scale the wooden walls.

However, before he could celebrate, Xia Luqi's broadsword came crashing down upon him.

In great shock, the Lan Xang officer hurriedly raised his shield to block, but the immense force pinned him directly to the ground.

Before he could get up, several spears pierced his body, leaving behind a corpse that died with eyes open in unwilling resentment.

With the addition of Xia Luqi's elite squad, the defense became much easier. Those Lan Xang people who finally managed to climb up all became souls under the blade.

In the afternoon, Gao Yuan organized a second squad, this time led personally by himself as the commander-in-chief.

Although his strength was only B-, he was still the peak combat power in the city besides Xia Luqi. Bullying these short-statured Lan Xang people was more than enough for him.

After a day of hard fighting, by the time the Lan Xang people sounded the retreat at dusk, Gao Yuan was covered in blood like a bloody man.

Though exhausted, the day's results were glorious. In one day, the Lan Xang people had left behind over four hundred corpses and more than three hundred wounded prisoners.

Xia Luqi, who had rested for half the day, was currently leading men to inspect the wounds of these prisoners.

For those severely wounded who clearly had no value left, he naturally delivered the finishing blow without hesitation.

But those with light injuries were all to be kept. These were all labor power; wouldn't it be great to take them back as captives?