Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2336 The Plan to Reduce and Increase the Number of Stoves

In the sixth year of Yuanshi (7th month), at the beginning.

After Feng Yi led an army of 100,000 south to Dali, Xue Rengui and Li Jing integrated a small number of surrendered soldiers and replenished their forces.

With a force of 300,000, boasting a million soldiers, they marched proudly across Tianmen Pass and into the last piece of land that the Song Dynasty could control.

Zhao Kuangyin knew that his army was small. Although he had 150,000 troops, it was absolutely unrealistic to defend the entire Guanzhong Plain.

Throughout the Kansai region, there are hundreds of cities and towns of all sizes.

If we want to defend the entire country, even if we only defend the most important dozens of cities, how many troops can be stationed in each city if the 150,000 troops are spread out?

On the other hand, the Han army, with its two armies combined, numbered a full 400,000. If it were to adopt a full-scale defensive strategy and rapidly disperse its troops, it would only end up being defeated one by one without any chance to fight back!
Fifteen hundred thousand troops—this number may sound like a lot, but with the gates of Kansai Province already opened, it would be impossible to defend the entire Kansai region effectively.

Therefore, Zhao Kuangyin could only choose to defend the most important cities from beginning to end.

Zhao Kuangyin first appointed Zhong Shidao as general, leading 30,000 troops to garrison Qiannan City in order to block Bai Qi's 100,000-strong army.

Qiannan City was the most important town in the southern part of Guanzhong, located at a crucial transportation hub. This city was one that Bai Qi's army could not bypass.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Bai Qi's troops really can't take a detour, but if they bypass this city, Zhong Shidao can send troops to attack Bai Qi's rear at any time.

In addition, Zhao Kuangyin appointed Zhao She as general, leading 60,000 troops to garrison Wen County.

After passing Wen County, the next prefecture is the one where the capital, Kaifeng, is located.

This place is the last line of defense for the capital city of Kaifeng.

At this time, Zhao Kuangyin led the remaining tens of thousands of troops to personally oversee Kaifeng, taking advantage of the fact that the Han army had not yet attacked to make arrangements for his affairs after his death.

At this point, the fate of the Song Dynasty was sealed, and as its emperor, he could not and would not avoid it.

With the nation defeated and its people destroyed, as the emperor of the Song Dynasty, he should naturally share the fate of his country. What fear should a true man have of execution?

However, his brothers and sons are not obligated to follow his example and avoid the issue.

Therefore, he needed to make arrangements for his brother and his son during this last period of time.

At the foot of Qiannan City, facing this formidable city defended by the famous Song general Zhong Shidao, Bai Qi did not rashly launch a full-scale attack. Instead, he personally led a few riders to silently inspect the city's defenses.

"A fortified city, a capable general." Leading a group of men to survey the city, Bai Qi uttered these four words calmly before returning to his own camp.

After a brief week of inspection, Bai Qi had already given up on the idea of ​​a direct attack.

The Guanxi Road was once located at the forefront of Da Cang and Da Wu, but Tianmen Pass, such a formidable pass, was located behind the Guanxi Road.

This vast region has no natural defenses facing the Great Wu. The entire Guanzhong Plain is surrounded by mountains on three sides, but the side facing the Great Wu to the west is not.

Therefore, the Zhao family of Zhenxi built a multi-city defense system over generations, and these key cities were concentrated in various strategic transportation locations, guarding important passes. These cities were not large in scale, as larger cities would be more difficult to defend, but the city walls and defense systems had been specially reinforced.

Moreover, the cities are well-equipped with facilities such as ordinary clean water and warehouses for storing grain and other supplies, ensuring that even if these cities are surrounded, they can be defended for a long time.

This is the current situation in Qiannan City.

In a city like this, any general, unless they've lost their mind, wouldn't fight to the death.

It was precisely because of the city's strong defenses that Bai Qi knew that a direct assault would inevitably result in heavy losses. Therefore, he chose to divide his forces, leaving Zhao Yun to lead 30,000 troops to build extensive fortifications, dig trenches, and plant flags around Qiannan City, creating the illusion of a long-term siege.

Each day, the Han army only launched probing attacks with small groups of troops, with sparse arrows and weak war drums, as if the main force had already been preoccupied with other matters.

The remaining 70,000 troops had already quietly left without anyone noticing.

Zhong Shidao was a seasoned veteran of many battles and was initially prepared for battle, but seeing the Han army's offensive faltering, doubts began to grow in his heart.

Although Bai Qi has not been famous for long, whether it was breaking through Liang Pass, or besieging and intercepting Zhao Changfeng, or later in Dali under the moon, he always showed great strength and unstoppable momentum, which is definitely not the dragging thing he is now.

Scouts kept reporting that the smoke from the Han army camp was gradually decreasing. At first, it was the smoke from the cooking fires of 100,000 soldiers, but after a few days it became 80,000, then 50,000, and then 30,000. All signs indicated that Bai Qi's main force seemed to have really disappeared.

"Could it be... that they are taking a detour to attack Wen County, intending to join forces with Xue Rengui to attack Zhao She?"

Zhong Shidao was on high alert, but he dared not leave the city easily, fearing that he would fall into Bai Qi's trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain.

Unable to make a decision, Zhong Shidao could only order his scouts to continuously expand the search area, especially towards Wen County. He even dispatched the Imperial City Guard to help them investigate the whereabouts of Bai Qi's troops.

Sure enough, after a few days of investigation, they finally found traces of the large group of people on their way to Wen County.

Following these clues, they unsurprisingly discovered Bai Qi's large camp. Judging from the smoke rising from the camp, it was a force of nearly 70,000 to 80,000 men.

Upon receiving this news, Zhong Shidao felt much more at ease.

"As expected! Bai Qi is cunning; he actually intends to abandon Qiannan and join forces to attack General Zhao She! If Wen County is lost, the capital will be in danger!"

"At this moment, their main camp is empty, which is a golden opportunity to break through their flank, cut off one of their arms, and then return to reinforce Wen County. By launching a surprise attack on their rear, we may be able to turn the tide of the battle!"

Having thought this through, Zhong Shidao no longer hesitated and made a decisive move, mobilizing all 30,000 troops stationed in Qiannan City, leaving only a thousand or so old, weak, and disabled soldiers to defend the city.

That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high, making it the perfect opportunity to raid the camp.

Thirty thousand elite Song soldiers, their mouths gagged and their horses' hooves wrapped in cloth, silently slipped out of the city gates under the cover of night, surging like an undercurrent towards the sprawling Han army camps outside the city.

"Soldiers, the battle is won tonight! Follow me and kill!" Zhong Shidao drew his longsword, which flashed coldly in the darkness, and shouted sharply.

"kill!"

The 30,000 Song soldiers, who had been gathering strength for a long time, burst forth like a flood bursting its banks, roaring as they crashed into the Han army camp.