Jiuxi

Chapter 650 648 [The Target of Wu Yan Shu]

From June 17th of the seventh year of Dajing Tiande, the thousand-year-old Heluo City became Nanjing City.

Today's Nanjing Road is connected to Henan Road in the north and Weinan Road in the west. It includes most of the territory of the former Yan State's capital area and Jiangbei Road. It is centered on Heluo City and has seven prefectures and forty-eight counties.

The area here is not small, and is similar to Dingzhou of the Great Qi Dynasty. There are more than 150,000 Jing troops stationed here, including 40,000 light cavalry, 3,000 heavy cavalry, and the rest are elite infantry.

These 150,000 Jing troops had two powerful enemies. One was the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office of the Great Qi in the southeast, and the other was the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office of the Great Qi that built a defense line around Yongqiu in the south.

As the commander-in-chief of the Jing army, Wu Yanshu, the governor of Nanjing, Dajing, was obviously under great pressure, but he did not show any anxiety. Since he took office more than three months ago, he has been reorganizing the military in an orderly manner and using various means to boost the morale of the Jing army which had been low due to the defeat in Yongqiu.

In the meeting hall of the Liushou Mansion, Wu Yanshu stood beside the sand table, quietly observing the terrain at the border between Jing and Qi.

Standing next to him was a Jinglian nobleman, the former deputy commander of the Loyal Army and current deputy envoy of Nanjing Road, Pucha, who was in charge of 40,000 cavalry in the territory. As for the 3,000 heavy cavalry that had the power to destroy the battlefield, they were naturally led by Wuyan Shu himself.

Pucha followed Wu Yanshu's line of sight and said respectfully, "Sir, we just received a secret report from the border that Lu Chen has arrived in Ruyin City."

Wu Yanshu looked calm and said calmly, "What do you think of the series of changes in the Southern Qi border army?"

Pucha couldn't help but think of the Battle of Luwu Mountain.

That was the worst defeat he had ever experienced since he joined the army. No matter how long it had been, he still remembered it vividly, especially the tacit cooperation between Xiao Wangzhi and Lu Chen on the battlefield, which always made him feel resentful.

He thought for a moment and said, "Xiao Wangzhi was transferred back to the capital by the Emperor of Qi, but Lu Chen took over his position. Southern Qi's strength in Dingzhou on the eastern front is not weaker than before. But on the western front of Jingzhou, with Li Tianrun retiring due to illness, Liu Shouguang is obviously a level weaker than him."

"Jingzhou..."

Wu Yanshu raised his eyebrows slightly and asked meaningfully, "Go and cause trouble for Liu Shouguang?"

Pu Cha was unable to figure out his superior's thoughts for a moment, so he said cautiously: "According to the intelligence we have so far, Southern Qi has transferred most of its capable generals and soldiers to Dingzhou, and has also sent Lu Chen to take charge as the county lord. It is obvious that they want the Dingzhou army to attack and the Jingzhou army to defend. Judging from the strength comparison of these two military governorates, it should be easier for our army to choose Jingzhou as the target."

Wu Yanshu did not comment, and then asked: "Does Lu Chen have a grudge against Liu Shouguang?"

Pucha was slightly startled, then he reacted and couldn't help feeling a little ashamed.

Lu Chen and Liu Shouguang certainly had no grudge against each other, and the Dingzhou Army and the Jingzhou Army were not enemies who would never have any contact with each other. On the contrary, judging from the wars in the past few years, the two military governorates had close contacts and helped each other.

The elite troops under Xiao Wangzhi once helped the Jingzhou Army seize nearly half of the territory of the original Moyang Road, and the Jingzhou Army also rushed thousands of miles to support the Lei Ze Plain, not to mention the Battle of Yongqiu more than half a year ago, which was a victory achieved through the concerted efforts of the various armies of the Southern Qi Dynasty.

If the Jing army wanted to repeat the same trick, Lu Chen would probably have led his troops westward to Nanjing before they made any progress in Jingzhou.

Thinking of this, Pucha said with shame: "I am stupid, please forgive me, sir."

"That's too harsh. There's no crime or righteousness in private conversations."

Wu Yanshu waved his hand, walked back to the main seat and sat down, motioning Pucha to take a seat, and then said: "Your Majesty has been paying close attention to the situation on Nanjing Road in the past few months, and has vaguely revealed some hope of turning the situation around. Although I have made some amends, if we want to fully boost the morale of the army, we must ultimately focus on the battlefield."

Pucha nodded and said, "Indeed."

"But I think it is not appropriate to start a war, at least not within this year. I have already reported the reason to Your Majesty."

Wu Yanxu spoke in a calm tone, with deep eyes: "I called you here today because I want to talk to you about the problems in the army."

Pucha quickly put on a serious posture and said, "Please speak, sir."

Wu Yanshu said slowly: "I know what the cavalry generals under your command think. Most of them think that the Qi army is not invincible. Some generals are very angry about the defeats in the past one or two years. They want to fight the Qi army again in close combat to wash away the shame of those defeats, right?"

Pucha hesitated for a moment, looked at the other person's clear eyes, and finally answered honestly: "Yes, sir."

"It's not that this idea is wrong, but it underestimates the enemy." Wu Yanshu frowned slightly and said, "I don't know since when, our Dajing soldiers have developed a habit of always thinking about achieving success in one battle, completely destroying the enemy in one battle, or winning a fair victory on the front battlefield."

Pucha's heart moved, and he gradually understood the deep meaning of the words of the adult who stayed behind.

Although Wu Yanshu was not as famous as Qing Yugong, Pucha, as the deputy commander of the Loyalty Army Cavalry and a trusted minister of Emperor Jing, was quite familiar with the situation in the Great Jing Army and naturally knew that Wu Yanshu was no ordinary person. Two years ago, during the Battle of Ping Zhao, the army was initially commanded by the Northern Court Marshal Sagai, but after encountering several setbacks, Emperor Jing asked Qing Yugong to replace Sagai and ordered Wu Yanshu to lead an army to attack the flank.

The two armies advanced side by side, competing with each other, and swept through Zhao territory like a hot knife through butter.

When it comes to the achievement of destroying Zhao, Qing Yugong undoubtedly ranks first, followed by the usually calm Wu Yanshu.

"Your Excellency is saying that our army should adjust its strategy?"

Pucha asked cautiously.

Wu Yanshu nodded and said, "Although only thirty or forty years have passed, many people in the army seem to have forgotten why the Jinglian tribe rose to prominence. Looking back to the past, we Jinglian people had only a hundred sets of armor and only a few thousand soldiers, but we were able to sweep across the northern grasslands and withstand the pressure from the Qi Dynasty's border troops. We developed step by step. What did we rely on?"

Pucha's eyes lit up, and he said with a little excitement: "The art of hunting!"

Wu Yanshu said with relief: "That's right, we use the hunting method to tire out the enemy and find opportunities for victory. War is never static, and we should adapt to the circumstances. At the beginning, it only took us twelve days to capture this city, and the Southern Qi army was defeated. The soldiers could be proud and proud. Now the times have changed, and the strength of the Qi army is getting stronger day by day. If our army continues to remain unchanged, even if we have a few more head-on decisive battles, the hope of winning is still slim."

Pucha felt that the fog had been cleared away, and he was filled with excitement.

The so-called hunting skills refer to the two basic combat methods that the Jinglian people learned through hunting under the initial harsh living conditions. Later, they further evolved into tactical ideas and became the foundation for the Jinglian people to rise among the many nomadic tribes in the north.

Generally speaking, this tactic is very suitable for a situation where the enemy is strong and we are weak. It mainly relies on harassment, lure, ambush and large-scale roundabout maneuvers. The focus is on inflicting heavy damage on the enemy at a very small cost. It is like a group of patient hunters who try every means to tire the prey and eventually kill it with one blow.

Twenty-five years ago, the Jinglian people relied on this tactical thinking to make the border troops of the Da Qi suffer terribly. They could not catch the Jing army at all, and did not dare to pursue them with a small force. In the end, they could only be trapped in the fortified city and watch the Jing army plundering everywhere.

However, as Jing's army arrived at Heluo and almost destroyed Da Qi, their combat power and morale reached their peak. Their mentality changed, and they gradually got used to defeating the enemy through the labor-saving means of a frontal decisive battle.

After all, Pu Cha was a son of a general and had a profound family background. At this moment, he had completely understood Wu Yanshu's intention and could not help but praise him: "Your Excellency is indeed insightful. I admire you very much."

Wu Yanshu looked calm and smiled, "You need to explain clearly to the cavalry commanders below, and let them get rid of their arrogance. They need to learn to adapt and not be like before, unable to move when they see the Qi army, thinking that the other side is a group of weak lambs."

"Yes, my lord."

Pucha bowed his head and agreed, then asked, "So our army will still attack Southern Qi Dingzhou next?"

Wu Yanshu stood up again and walked to the sand table, saying slowly: "I have studied Lu Chen's life experience. He is bold and careful, and often does surprising things. This time when he takes office in Dingzhou, it will definitely not be quiet, and there will definitely be some unexpected arrangements."

Pucha stood up and walked over, frowning and asking, "Will the Emperor of Southern Qi support his hasty northern expedition?"

"According to common sense, the Emperor of Southern Qi would definitely not do this. After all, the money in their treasury cannot support continuous wars. On the contrary, if our dynasty does not want to watch them recuperate and accumulate strength, the only way is to take the initiative to provoke a war and force them to be unable to continue."

Wu Yanshu looked at the sand table and said calmly, "As you said just now, our army will most likely pick on the weak, that is, point the spearhead at Jingzhou. Lu Chen is not the kind of person who will sit and wait for death. He only needs to slightly show his intention to move westward, and our main force will have to be on high alert. In this way, he will be able to eliminate the possible danger facing Jingzhou, which is also an opportunity that our army can take advantage of."

Pucha understood. He looked at the two place names on the sand table, namely Teng County and Qingliu Pass, and said thoughtfully: "In this case, our army can set a trap for the enemy."

"The scale and intensity of this battle must be controlled. We only need to inflict some pain on Southern Qi and boost our army's morale. This will also lay the groundwork for a full-scale battle in the future."

Wu Yanshu had obviously thought deeply about this, and he had communicated with Emperor Jing many times during this period.

Pucha was in awe and asked respectfully, "Sir, what is the real goal of our army?"

Wu Yanshu smiled slightly and said leisurely: "Southern Qi has no shortage of brave infantrymen. Even if we kill a group of them, we can quickly replenish them. So it doesn't make much sense. If we want to take action, we have to hit them where they are weak."

Pucha subconsciously said: "Southern Qi cavalry?"

"To be precise, it was the Feiyu Army that originally belonged to the Jingzhou Military Governor's Office of Southern Qi."

Wu Yanshu's face showed a hint of murderous intent, and he said word by word: "Let the hunt for this famous Southern Qi cavalry be the clarion call for our dynasty's counterattack."

(End of this chapter)