Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2161 Li Yue Divides His Troops to Attack Xuanyuan, Breaking Waves Launches First Battle Against Qingnan

At this stage, the Song Dynasty was far inferior to the Han Dynasty, the Wu Dynasty, and the Tuoba tribe in terms of national strength and military power.

If these two families were allowed in, the Great Han would at most have to give up attacking the Great Yan. If they defended with all their might, they could still hold out.

Yes, if that's really the case, with three tigers around, where would the Song Dynasty have any room to develop?

Therefore, in Sima Chou's view, it was fortunate that neither of these two families could go all out at this time; on the contrary, if the other side went all out, it would not be a good thing for them.

The current situation, where there is a certain amount of force to be exerted and a certain degree of restraint on the Han forces, but not to the point where they can actually invade, is just right for the Song Dynasty.

Moreover, if we place our hopes on these two families, what can the Great Song Dynasty gain in this battle?
The other strategists were thinking about how to protect their ally.

But Sima Chou was thinking about how to fight for their own interests!

In fact, if their own interests are sufficient, and the overall gains even outweigh the losses from losing this ally, then what's the point of abandoning this ally?
"Ding, Sima Chou's Poisonous Strategist skill activated."

Poison Master: Ruthless and vicious, cunning and calculating. Those who devise ruthless and unparalleled schemes have a chance to awaken this ability, and the specific effects vary depending on the individual.

Effect 1: When scheming against others, it reduces their intelligence value by 1 to 6 points, depending on their intelligence value. It can only affect one person at a time.

Effect 2: Unbridled Schemes - Increases Intelligence by 1-2 points when devising strategies.

Effect three: When being schemed against by others, one will automatically become vigilant, and one's own intelligence will increase by the same amount as the other party's intelligence.

Note: Effect 2 and Effect 3 cannot be activated simultaneously.

Effect 4: When targeting other forces and successfully scheming against them, if the ruler of the opposing force develops a psychological trauma towards you, you can inflict psychological trauma on the opposing force's ruler, permanently reducing their intelligence by 1-3 points.

Note: This skill can be used on the same person multiple times, but the permanent reduction in stats for each person cannot exceed 3 points.

Sima Chou, one of the three leaders of the Northern faction of the Xin Dynasty in the original historical trajectory, was not yet a powerful strategist, but had joined the Zhao Song Dynasty.

After all, the Sima family was located within the Guanzhong region, which at that time was under the control of the Song Dynasty. Furthermore, the Song Dynasty's national policies were quite favorable to those who entered officialdom.

Therefore, it was natural that many people from prominent families would serve in the Song Dynasty.

To put it bluntly, most of those who can become officials this year come from aristocratic families.

As fellow wielders of the Poison Master skill, Sima Chou and Jia Xu share four skill effects, the first three of which are virtually identical, with the only difference being the effect of the last skill.

Jia Xu's attack was a ban, while Sima Chou's was a permanent weakening.

There is no absolute superiority or inferiority between the two; each has its own uses.

"Ding! Sima Chou's Poisonous Strategist skill effect two activated: Scheming and Planning. When devising strategies, it increases intelligence by 1-2 points. Sima Chou's intelligence +2, base intelligence 98, current intelligence rises to 100."

Sima Chou: Command 44, Martial Prowess 45, Intelligence 98, Politics 92, Charisma 85.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it would be better to do it this way, and then this way!"

"If this plan succeeds, it will put the Han Dynasty at risk!"

"It might even turn the tide for the Yan Dynasty!"

"Furthermore, if everything goes smoothly, our dynasty can also gain several more prefectures! It's a win-win situation!"

Sima Chou slowly revealed his thoughts, but this caused a moment of silence among those below.

“Zimo, if His Majesty uses your plan, wouldn’t that affect our lord’s reputation?” Zhao Pu asked with slight hesitation.

The plan isn't bad; if it succeeds, it would indeed achieve multiple goals at once. However, it's rather underhanded.

"If we follow this plan, who will dare to sincerely ally with our Great Song Dynasty in the future?"

"Your Majesty, this plan must be carefully considered!"

Han Chongming disagreed with using such a plan, even if it succeeded in the end, the consequences would be too great.

In particular, Han Chongming still has some moral bottom line.

Or rather, most strategists do have a certain moral bottom line, it's just that it's relatively low.

"If we don't do this, how can we deal with the Han Dynasty!"

"It's just a matter of weighing the pros and cons!"

After saying that, Sima Chou and Sima Zimo simply shut up.

He was merely an advisor, only responsible for giving Zhao Kuangyin advice; whether or not Zhao Kuangyin ultimately adopted his suggestions was not his concern.

Our two families have been friends for generations!

"Your plan is truly perplexing, leaving me in a difficult position!" Zhao Kuangyin feigned a troubled expression.

However, everyone knew that Zhao Kuangyin's inclination was already evident in his expression of reluctance rather than outright refusal.

As for the so-called long-standing friendship, just listen to that nonsense!
The Wang and Zhao families have been on good terms for generations, but now they're about to clash with each other, swords against swords and guns against guns.

However, although everyone knew Zhao Kuangyin's purpose in saying this, no one responded. Didn't they notice that Sima Chou and Sima Zimo, who came up with this idea, were already lost in thought at this moment?

If they were to act so enthusiastically about such a despicable idea at this time, wouldn't they be willing to give up their reputation?

Of those present, apart from Xie Guanying who didn't care much about this, the rest still wanted to leave behind a good reputation.

"Enough! Guan Ying, you and Lou Qing should go together!"

With no one willing to step forward, Zhao Kuangyin had no choice but to appoint his own generals, specifically entrusting the matter to Xie Guanying and Lou Huan, the Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Song Dynasty in charge of diplomacy.

If Sima Chou's proposed strategy were actually used, it would indeed be bad for his reputation, and it would be difficult for him to make true allies in the future, as the other party would likely be wary of him.

But that happened later!
At the very least, the priority now is to ensure the survival of the Great Yan Dynasty—not to save the Great Yan, but to save ourselves. If the Great Yan is gone, within the former territory of the Great Cang, the Great Song Dynasty will have to face the Great Han Dynasty alone.

"Issue the order to mobilize troops from the three routes of Guandong, Guansai, and Yangxi, raising an army of 200,000!"

"I will personally lead the expedition and have a good talk with that Wang Pengfei!"

Even if everything goes smoothly for Xie Guanying and Lou Huan's trip, it will still take three or four months. And they can't just let those 100,000 troops garrison under Liang Pass and swagger around.

Moreover, if his 200,000-strong army could defeat Wang Yu head-on at Liang Pass, he might be able to attempt to advance into Henan Province while most of the Han's field forces were on a westward expedition.

The Song Dynasty at that time controlled four regions: Guanzhong, Guandong, Yangxi, and Hexi, and had an army of 600,000. However, a full third of these 600,000 were new recruits who had been in service for less than six months.

In addition, a certain number of troops were also stationed in Guandong and Yangxi to consolidate the border defenses. As for Hexi, the troops there dared not move lightly, to prevent the Han army from launching a sudden counterattack.

As for the Da Wu and Tuoba tribes, their capitals and royal courts are far from the ancient Cang lands, and it would take some time for news to reach them.

………………

Meanwhile, the Han army split into two groups and launched the war against Yan.

The first route, led by Yue Fei, consisted of 150,000 elite Tiger Warriors, 100,000 Iron Lions, and 100,000 Liejing Legion troops. In addition, 50,000 troops from Yannan and Hebei were mobilized, along with a Black Cavalry force, bringing the total to over 400,000 soldiers. They marched from northern Qinghai to southern Qinghai.

The second route, led by Li Jing as the main general, comprised 150,000 Manxiong Army soldiers, 50,000 Feiyu Army soldiers, and 50,000 Central Imperial Guards, totaling 250,000 troops, and advanced eastward from Guangyin to Heyang.

Xuanyuan Huang had four territories, and in fact, considering everything, the conditions in his four territories were much better than those in Zhao Kuangyin's four territories.

However, due to some previous problems, the national strength of the Great Yan was actually weaker than that of the Great Song.

The current Great Yan Dynasty is actually weaker than the Zhao Song Dynasty in terms of overall military strength, with a total of 500,000 soldiers nationwide.

However, like the Song Dynasty, the Great Yan had about 200,000 soldiers, who were new recruits who had been in the army for more than half a year.

Although the Han Dynasty also has a large number of new recruits, they are mainly concentrated in the Central Imperial Guard. Moreover, in terms of training intensity over the past six months, the new recruits of the Han Dynasty are incomparable to those of the Song and Yan Dynasties.

Although Xuanyuan Huang used the Nangong family to once again extend goodwill to the aristocratic families and vigorously win them over, this has only been going on for almost a year.

A year might be enough time for many powerful families to change their attitude towards the Great Yan, but it's absolutely impossible for them to support the Great Yan in the same way they supported the Eastern Cang or the Zhao Song in the past.

Or rather, this thing will never happen.

After all, the Great Yan Dynasty originated from the Celestial Masters sect, which meant that for at least three generations, the Great Yan Dynasty would never grant aristocratic families the same policies that the Eastern Cang or the Zhao Song Dynasty had.

Moreover, the time span of three generations is considered the shortest.

Three generations or even longer, by then, the current ruling class of the Great Yan would have developed into aristocratic families, giving the Great Yan the foundation to implement policies that favored these families, just as the Eastern Cang and Zhao Song dynasties did.

Before this, Xuanyuan Huang could extend his goodwill to the aristocratic families and win over some of them, but the benefits he offered to them were limited. If he went too far, the existing beneficiaries of the Great Yan would become restless.

However, many aristocratic families have softened their attitude towards Xuanyuan Huang.

If given time, the Great Yan Dynasty will indeed enter a phase of relatively rapid development, and its development potential will surpass that of the Great Song Dynasty in the near future.

Therefore, Wang Yu launched the war against Yan so quickly.

In the Heyang region of the Great Yan, the civil officials were mainly Da Chang (Da Chang), one of the six ministers of the Yellow Emperor, while the military generals were Da Hong, the number one general of the Great Yan.

In Qingnan Road, the civil officials were mainly local talents like Lin Jing, while the military generals were the equally renowned Shi Le, a great general of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Furthermore, considering that Yue Fei's army was clearly much stronger than the other two armies of the Han Dynasty, Xuanyuan Huang was preparing to personally set off to Qingnan to take command.

As for the East Sea base camp, Xuanyuan Huang entrusted the responsibility of overseeing the country to Crown Prince Xuanyuan Xuanxiao.

Although Xuanyuan Huang has left the East Sea, as long as Qingnan remains intact, the East Sea will not be in any danger.

After all, including the navy, he still left 100,000 troops here. However, apart from the navy, the rest of the troops were mainly new recruits, with only a small number of veterans.

Xuanyuan Huang's actions were all to guard against the Great Han Fierce Whale Legion.

He had already learned that in addition to the Yanbei Navy and the Tianhe Navy, the Great Han Fierce Whale Legion had added a Wave-Breaking Army, which was a waterborne infantry force.

This means that the Great Han Fierce Whale Legion has the ability to operate independently and open up a new front.

Therefore, he left behind a total of 100,000 troops, including the navy, to guard against the Han Dynasty. After all, the Tokaido is a coastal province with numerous ports and a highly developed maritime trade system.

Otherwise, during the Daisaku era, the Tokaido Navy would not have been stationed in the Tokaido.

In places like this, which are located by the sea and have many crossings, the biggest fear is a surprise attack from across the sea if the troops are depleted.

Just as Xuanyuan Huang entrusted Crown Prince Xuanyuan Xuanxiao to oversee the East Sea, while he himself went to Qingnan to take charge, the great battle of Qingnan was about to break out.

After all, Yue Fei certainly couldn't wait until Xuanyuan Huang arrived before starting the river-crossing operation!
With an army of 400,000, Yue Fei couldn't possibly land them all in one place; doing so would be a waste of the advantage of having so many troops.

Leaving aside the 100,000-strong Fierce Whale Legion, he divided his 300,000-strong infantry and cavalry into three routes and launched a beach landing at three ferry crossings along the coast.

Yue Fei, on the other hand, led 100,000 troops, 30,000 Tianhe naval soldiers, and 40,000 Polang soldiers to conduct a landing operation at the largest ferry crossing along the coast.

As for the remaining Yanbei navy of the Fierce Whale Legion, they naturally had to assist the remaining two armies in the landing operation. Without warships to transport them, were they supposed to swim across?

"General Fu, an army is raised for a thousand days, but used for only one. The Polang Army has spent a huge amount of money in the past six months!"

"The Breaking Waves Army dares to take on this first battle!"

On a warship of the Tianhe Navy, Yue Fei gazed at the heavily fortified camps along the distant shore and directly named Fu Youde.

Although Fu Youde's Breaking Waves Army was part of the navy's organization, it was not a traditional navy, but rather a naval land force.

At the very least, most of the Breaking Waves Army soldiers wouldn't be able to swim if they fell into the water.

However, this force can at least ensure that after a long period of rough seas, they can still maintain stable combat effectiveness immediately upon landing.

Furthermore, although they lack the ability to go ashore, their combat effectiveness will not decrease when engaging in close-quarters combat on warships.

The only problem is that this army has been formed for a short time and is essentially a new force.

During the massive military expansion of the Han Dynasty last year, apart from the Central Imperial Guard, the Fierce Whale Legion had the most new recruits.

Yue Fei entrusted this first battle to Fu Youde in order to personally observe the combat effectiveness of this new army and to judge whether the enemy had the ability to open up a new naval front.

(End of this chapter)