Chapter 314 Self-interest First

Chapter 314 Self-interest First

These Tatar nobles had not forgotten the tricks they had played on those small and medium-sized tribes. At that time, they treated those people as expendable resources, and although those people chose to swallow their anger for the sake of their own interests, they still harbored resentment towards them.

If they were to use the same old tricks again at this point, those people, realizing they had no hope of entering the pass, would no longer be as easy to talk to as before.

If those people unite and rebel, their southern expedition will become a complete joke.

While objectively speaking, they could choose to use the subordinates of those in the tent as cannon fodder, the problem is that once someone brings up this idea, that person will definitely become the target of a united attack by others.

In order to maintain their status and privileges, none of the people who are qualified to sit here would agree to let their elite soldiers become cannon fodder.

After all, the Tatars are not a place where your tribe can benefit from your sacrifices.

Even the current Tatar royal family did not become a royal family because of the contributions their ancestors made to the Tatars, but because of the rich heritage and elite troops of their tribe.

All Tatars know that once the Tatar royal family declines, the large tribes that have always had close ties with them and have intermarried with them will seize the opportunity to try to take their place.

Although who can ultimately achieve it depends on their own abilities, this ambition is something that all the leaders of the major tribes have, generation after generation.

To ensure the status and interests of their tribes, these Tatar nobles who were qualified to enter the command tent would never allow their tribesmen to suffer major casualties.

The Tatar commander was well aware of this, because not only did others think this way, but he himself did as well.

Therefore, he simply informed everyone of the changes in the situation, rather than immediately proposing effective countermeasures.

Even so, his military tent was quickly and completely drowned out by the noise.

Two of the four tribes that had fled after the three tribes were sitting here, but they were keeping their eyes down and sitting quietly with their heads lowered.

The other Tatar nobles who did not take action, including those who had noticed the unusual movements of the seven tribes, were quite calm at this moment. After all, they were not kept in the dark, but had chosen to wait and see for the time being.

Meanwhile, the Tatar nobles who were completely unaware of the situation were in a rather unpleasant mood. On the one hand, they felt betrayed, and on the other hand, they couldn't help but worry that falling behind one step at a time would lead to falling behind every step at a time.

Don't be fooled by their reluctance to pay the price; when it comes to reaping the benefits, they all rush to do so.

Right now they're thinking, these cunning guys are leaving us the tough nuts to crack while they go and attack the small passes that don't have that evil stuff. Isn't this obviously forcing us to draw their fire while they take the opportunity to storm in and plunder?

If such a good thing had happened to them, they would naturally be very happy. But now, they had made a mistake and been tricked by those who ran away early. How could they not be furious?

These guys, used to being high and mighty, naturally wouldn't just swallow their pride and suffer in silence because they weren't smart enough or thought things through. They unanimously chose to fiercely condemn the guy who ran away.

The Tatar commander's tent quickly turned into a chaotic marketplace due to their loud voices.

But the Tatar commander did not speak up to stop them. He rubbed his temples and looked back and forth at the Tatar nobles who had remained silent.

He knew that those noisy guys were completely unreliable; with their brains, he should be thanking his lucky stars if they didn't cause him more trouble.

On the contrary, the group that remained quiet and silent, whether they chose to wait and see or had already arranged for their subordinates to quietly follow suit, must have already given it considerable thought.

The Tatar commander did not expect them to come up with a foolproof plan to solve all the problems existing in the Tatar army at that time.

He only hoped that these people would cooperate with him temporarily to stabilize the situation, considering that the outcome of this war was closely related to their own vital interests.

As long as the situation remains under control and the unrest does not spread to the entire army, he will at least not be convicted and imprisoned for his poor performance in battle.

Yes, the Tatar commander no longer expected to gain any advantage or merit in this battle.

For some unknown reason, the Great Wei had some incredible luck that year. First, their traditional weapons were improved, and then they suddenly created a new type of weapon that was particularly effective against their Tatar soldiers.

Not only is the war dragging on for a long time, but the Tatars are also suffering a major setback just when they were about to see the light at the end of the tunnel, so their morale is low and everyone is preoccupied with their own thoughts.

They couldn't deal with the new weapons, and while they wanted to gather intelligence, their spies had all been lured out, so they couldn't achieve any results in a short time.

Every day the army is stationed here, it will consume a day's worth of provisions. Most importantly, they must also be wary of the Wei soldiers taking advantage of their low morale and disorganization to launch a surprise attack on the camp with those new weapons.

After letting those brainless guys rant and vent their frustration and anger for a while, the Tatar commander finally steered the conversation back on track.

In a tense atmosphere, the group discussed the matter back and forth for about two hours before finally coming up with a general strategy.

The strategy was actually quite simple: leave a portion of the troops to draw the main force of the Wei border army at the three major passes, and then have the other portion quietly break camp to attack the smaller passes and garrisons with fewer troops and weaker defenses.

It didn't take them too long to decide on this basic strategy, because no one was willing to retreat in such a disgraceful manner.

Just like a gambler who has already bet half of their fortune, they will never be willing to leave the gambling table until they recoup their losses or even win big.

What caused them to argue for a long time was not the formulation of a strategy, but the execution of the strategy: who should stay behind to draw fire and bear the risks, and who should attack the smaller passes and garrisons with fewer troops and weaker defenses, seizing the golden opportunity to be the first to enter the pass and burn, kill, and plunder.

The Tatar commander and a few clear-headed Tatar nobles emphasized that it was not necessarily true that those who stayed behind were in danger, while those who went to attack other passes and garrisons were necessarily safe.

After all, the high-ranking generals of the Great Wei were not stupid; what the Tatars could think of, the other side could naturally think of as well.