Jiuxi

Chapter 708 Chapter 706 [The Ferocity in the Shadows]

Where do soldiers come from?

This is a very real problem.

According to the information Lu Chen had, Wu Yanshu had a total of 150,000 to 160,000 soldiers under his command. Although the number was difficult to be precise, there would not be too much discrepancy. On the contrary, Wu Yanshu also had a relatively clear understanding of the strength of the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office.

These hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses may seem like a lot, but Wu Yanshu needs to deal with two border military governorships of the Great Qi, so dividing the troops for defense is inevitable.

In other words, facing the fierce offensive of the Western Army of the Great Qi, Wuyan Shu could only mobilize 80,000 to 90,000 troops at most. If he wanted to achieve a surprise victory, he had to rely on reinforcements.

However, mobilizing a large army is no joke, and it is even more impossible to conceal it completely. Just as Yang Jingxuan told Lu Chen before, the Jing Army cavalry stationed in and outside Heluo City disappeared. Lu Chen immediately judged that Wu Yanshu was making a desperate attempt and quietly transferred all the cavalry to the southern border, intending to swallow up the entire Feiyu Army in one swoop.

Therefore, Lu Chen was able to decisively lead his troops to provide assistance and save more than half of the Feiyu Army at the critical moment.

If Wu Yanshu wanted to let the Western Army of Da Qi penetrate deep into the territory this time and then mobilize heavy troops to carry out counter-encirclement, it would be impossible for him to conjure up an army of more than 100,000 out of thin air.

Once Emperor Jing transferred troops from the heartland of Jing State, such a large-scale mobilization would definitely not be able to completely cover up the traces, and the army would move very slowly. By the time the Jing army's reinforcements arrived in the southwest of Heluo, the Qi army would definitely be able to withdraw in time.

Lu Chen stood up and walked to the map, looking at the situation on the western front in silence.

Huo Zhen walked up to him and said cautiously, "Sir, I have a guess in my mind, but I don't know if it is appropriate."

Lu Chen said: "Just say it."

Compared with other trusted aides around Lu Chen, Huo Zhen has a more obvious advantage, that is, he has practical experience in leading troops. He has had many head-on confrontations with the Jing army on the battlefield. Moreover, he has followed Li Tianrun for many years, and has a keener judgment of war through what he has seen and heard.

He said slowly: "On the surface, Wu Yanshu's troops are very scarce, and it is difficult for him to take care of both the east and the west. But when it comes to the local battlefield, he still has the ability to build a temple in a snail shell."

Lu Chen turned his head and glanced at him, then asked, "Are you trying to say that Wu Yanshu is deliberately setting up a false front, pretending to be in the east but actually in the west?"

Huo Zhen said admiringly: "From the last time when the Jing army's cavalry came out in full force to ambush the Feiyu army, we can see that Wu Yanshu is bold and careful, and has absolute control over his troops. The situation in Dingzhou is different from that in Jingzhou. Due to the restrictions of the dangerous terrain, our army and the Jing army are mainly confronting each other in two places, one is Dingfeng Road in the north, and the other is Qingliu Pass in the west. When our army takes a defensive position, as long as we firmly control these two routes, the Jing army will not be able to advance directly. Vice versa, if our army wants to launch an attack, we can only choose these two routes."

At this moment, other staff members in the hall also reacted one after another.

Huang Xianfeng pondered and said, "General Huo, does Wu Yanshu really have such courage? If he withdraws most of the garrison troops on the eastern front and uses this method to deal with our western army, it can indeed achieve the effect of catching the enemy by surprise, but this is too much of an underestimation of our master. Does he think that the master does not have the courage to lead the army to attack?"

Huo Zhen's speculation was actually very simple. Under the premise that the situation in Jing State was in turmoil, Wu Yanshu would not be able to get support from reinforcements in a short period of time, so he might play a trick.

On the surface, the Jing army would divide its troops and garrison two fronts, but in reality, Wu Yanshu would only leave a small number of elite troops to guard against the Qi army in Dingzhou, and move the main force to the southwest of Heluo. When the Qi army in the west was advancing rapidly, he would create a clever time difference, form a temporary balance of forces, and thus seek a chance of victory.

But just as Huang Xianfeng said, if Wu Yanshu really did this, Lu Chen could lead his troops forward, storm Yaoshan Pass and then march westward to take Heluo, repeating the feat of a few years ago.

By that time, Wu Yanshu will be in a dilemma.

Huo Zhen looked up at Lu Chen and said cautiously, "Perhaps... Wu Yanshu has already calculated that the Lord cannot go to battle."

This time everyone was silent.

The emperor has already issued an imperial decree, ordering Han Zhongjie and Liu Shouguang to lead troops to the north, while Lu Chen and the Dingzhou Governor's Office are mainly responsible for deterring and restraining the Jing army.

In the eyes of most people, the emperor was sympathetic to Lu Chen, because Lu Chen opposed the hasty Northern Expedition at this time. The emperor not only did not blame him, but praised him warmly and gave the Dingzhou Military Governor's Office a relatively easy task.

But how could the staff around Lu Chen not know that the emperor was determined not to let Lu Chen achieve success and take advantage of the God-given opportunity of the civil strife in Jing State to help Han Zhongjie and Liu Shouguang establish their prestige as soon as possible, so that they would be qualified to counter Lu Chen's position in the army.

In other words, if Lu Chen rashly led his troops into battle without the emperor's permission, there would be great risks even if he could win.

The argument that a general is not bound by the emperor's orders when away from the court is meaningless. If it is an actual battle, Lu Chen can certainly decide the strategy based on the battle situation. However, if he does not inform the court and decides on whether to start a war without authorization, such an action will be regarded as a rebellious heart and a disregard for the emperor.

Although Liu Yuan was already over 40 years old, his temperament was not as reserved as Chen Xun. He immediately said in a serious tone, "In an emergency, we must make decisions based on our discretion. Besides, the border is far away from the capital, so how can we ask for instructions every time? As the commander-in-chief of the border army, if you don't even have the power to make decisions on the spot, then isn't this Grand Commander just a formality?"

Chen Xun reminded him, "Lord Bingyuan, don't mention this. If it gets out, where will you put me?" Liu Yuan frowned and said, "In this case, you might as well report it to His Majesty in advance."

Chen Xun secretly sighed, and seeing that the hall was full of Lu Chen's confidants, he said sincerely: "Whether Wu Yanshu is deliberately creating confusion is just our guess, and there is no real evidence. Before, the Duke clearly opposed the Northern Expedition, so His Majesty ordered the Western Route Army to launch an attack, and did not let the Duke lead the troops to help. His intention is self-evident. The current war situation is favorable to our dynasty. The Western Route Army has captured several cities in a row. The situation is very good. Wu Yanshu seems to have no power to resist. Now you ask the Duke to request to go to war. How will the court and the people view the Duke?"

Liu Yuan couldn't help but remain silent.

He was good at general affairs and had extensive knowledge, but when it came to his understanding of human nature and the intrigues of the court, he was obviously not as good as Chen Xun, who came from a prominent family.

Furthermore, because of his upright character, he only considered the safety of the border, unlike Chen Xun who was thoughtful.

However, he was not a stubborn person. After listening to Chen Xun's statement, he realized that the suggestion was very embarrassing for Lu Chen, so he simply kept silent.

Chen Xun's concerns were reasonable. Under the premise that everything was just speculation, if Lu Chen suddenly changed his attitude and requested to go into battle when the Western Route Army gained the upper hand, it would undoubtedly be seen by many people as an attempt to steal military merit.

In the silence, Lu Chen said calmly: "De Zun's concerns are reasonable, but I don't care about other people's opinions. If Wu Yanshu really withdraws troops from the east, as long as I can recapture Heluo and severely damage the Jing army, even if everyone in the world thinks that I, Lu Chen, am a greedy villain, so what?"

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but stand in awe.

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes and continued, "The reason why I hesitated is that although Wu Yanshu is bold and careful, he is not an arrogant fool. Otherwise, he would not be qualified to gain the trust of Emperor Jing, let alone take over the big mess left by Qing Yugong. Put yourself in his shoes. If I were Wu Yanshu, I would not pin my hopes on the stupidity of my opponent. Wu Yanshu must have studied my life and should know that I would never be indecisive. So how dare he set up a false defense line on the eastern front?"

Neither left nor right, could Wu Yanshu really conjure up hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers and generals out of thin air?
Huo Zhen looked at the border line on the map, and suddenly an idea came to his mind. He said slowly: "My Lord, Wu Yanshu does not need to withdraw all the troops on the eastern front. He only needs to send troops to guard Yaoshan Pass to stop the Dingzhou army's advance."

Huang Xianfeng asked in confusion: "Just Yaoshan Pass? Then what about Dingfeng Road in the north?"

Lu Chen took over the conversation and said calmly: "If the Jing army has reinforcements, they can come from the southeast of Henan Road to defend Dingfeng Road in a short time, which is much shorter than their long journey to the southwest of Heluo. The difference between the two is huge."

Huo Zhen bowed his head and said, "My Lord, you are wise and I admire you very much."

The others also came to their senses.

If this battle can be compared to a chessboard, the Jing army wants to slay the dragon, and the target is of course the Western Army of Da Qi. In the specific process, if Wu Yanshu wants to gather enough troops, he must leave the eastern pass empty.

In the previous analysis, Lu Chen had confirmed one thing. Even if Emperor Jing could resolve the internal troubles and mobilize reinforcements to rush to the battlefield in the southwest of Heluo, this method would hardly be surprising. However, if it was just to help Wu Yanshu fill the gaps in the northeastern defense line, it could be done in terms of time.

This is another level of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Although he gradually figured out Jing Jun's intention, Lu Chen's expression remained tense. He walked back to the case and said in a deep voice, "What I am most worried about now is not that Wu Yanshu is setting up a puzzle, but that he has no intention of doing so at all."

Everyone looked puzzled.

Lu Chen said slowly: "Perhaps Wu Yanshu had no intention of mobilizing troops on the eastern front from the beginning. He guessed that I would not sit idly by and watch this battle, and tried to lure me into taking the initiative. In other words, the real target of the Jing army's eastern front troops and possible reinforcements is still me. Even if I don't care about the world's evaluation and forget the emperor's will, what awaits me is a big net that has already been laid."

At this moment, even Huo Zhen was a little confused and asked, "Sir, how will Wu Yanshu deal with our Western Army?"

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then frowned and said, "Perhaps, Wu Yanshu can defeat the Western Route Army with only 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers and horses."

This sentence shocked everyone.

Han Zhongjie comes from a family of generals with a profound academic background, and Liu Shouguang is a veteran in the battlefield. How could they be easily defeated by Wu Yanshu even though they had superior military strength?

Lu Chen sat back, looked at Chen Xun and said, "De Zun, please help me draft a reply letter to inform Marquis Yongyi and Governor Liu, asking them to pay attention to the pace of the march and slow down the offensive appropriately."

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Chen Xun responded with a serious expression.

Lu Chen whispered to himself: "I just hope they don't think I'm meddling and jealous."

(End of this chapter)