Jiuxi

Chapter 754: 752 [Feint to the East and Attack in the West]

Even if Wu Yanshu saw the true state of mind of his generals, it seemed that he could not blame them for it.

The thorn in his heart resurfaced, reminding him that even he, the commander-in-chief, had missed the opportunity to make a military decision yesterday because he was afraid of Lu Chen.

The generals in the tent might not realize it at that time, and only thought that the commander was heartbroken over the heavy losses of Guyuk's tribe. However, after a night, they would naturally come to their senses.

Considering that the Qi army suddenly stopped after winning, everyone understood that Lu Chen was not completely sure, or that the reinforcements he brought could not gain an overwhelming advantage. The Jingzhou army in Taikang City lining up outside the city was just a psychological deterrent, forcing Wu Yanshu to choose the most conservative strategy.

There is no need to elaborate on the final result. The root of all this is Wu Yanshu's indecision.

Lu Chen's military tactics are unpredictable. Even the Prince of Changshan was defeated by him, and Wu Yan, the governor, was unable to resist him. If the commander-in-chief is like this, we can only be more cautious.

This is the truest portrayal of the mood of the generals in the tent at this moment.

Wu Yanshu pretended not to notice the generals' behavior, put the battle list aside, and said calmly, "Your worries are not unreasonable, but there is one thing I don't understand. If Lu Chen sent the battle list for other purposes, then what can he do in this matter? Not to mention the stupid talk of raiding our army camp in advance. There are 100,000 troops here, and cavalry scouts are constantly on the move day and night. Even if Lu Chen has great ability, how can he approach our army camp quietly?"

The general who had made this strange statement earlier could not help but lower his head in shame.

Guiyou looked around and thought quickly in his mind.

Although the soldiers who died yesterday were basically his subordinates, he did not harbor any resentment towards Wuyan Shu. On the one hand, it was because the fate of the two had long been shared, and on the other hand, as an eyewitness to the war, Guiyou could fully understand Wuyan Shu's caution.

After the main force of the Qi army arrived, they quickly launched a strong attack on Guyuk's troops from three directions. The violent offensive made it almost breathless. Guyuk had no doubt that if Wuyan Shu decided to fight, the fierce momentum of the Qi army could directly break through the formation of Jing's army.

So he didn't think Wu Yanshu's decision was wrong.

Of course, he could only keep these thoughts to himself. Seeing that everyone was still silent, he cleared his throat and said, "Stay behind. Could this be Lu Chen's delaying tactic?"

Wu Yanshu said: "Why not tell me in detail."

Guiyou seemed to have opened his mind instantly, and his thoughts gradually became clear: "This time Lu Chen used a trick, pretending to approach Nanjing but actually leading his troops to Jingzhou, but he must have taken a long detour. The journey is so long that it is impossible for his troops to make the same progress, so some must be fast and some must be slow. Perhaps the Qi army is temporarily short of manpower, so Lu Chen used this method to delay our army, secretly waiting for all the troops to be in place, and then fighting a decisive battle with our army."

Wu Yanshu pondered in silence.

Seeing that the two men's minds were focused on the battle situation, the other generals gradually felt ashamed.

Although Lu Chen is a powerful enemy, it is wrong to be afraid before the battle. As a Jinglian noble, how can I lose my courage?
Ni Panggu shook off the fear in his heart and asked first: "How many troops can Lu Chen mobilize?"

Gui You said, counting on his fingers, "This is easy. You can figure it out by calculating. According to the information we got before the war, the two governors' offices in Dingzhou and Jingzhou of Southern Qi each had 120,000 to 30,000 soldiers. Han Zhongjie brought 30,000 to 40,000 Beijing troops, and there were 40,000 to 50,000 Huaizhou troops. Now the Huaizhou troops should be in the southwest of Jingzhou, resisting the army under the command of our Lord Nanyong. After more than half a year of fierce fighting, Liu Shouguang only has 40,000 to 50,000 people near Taikang, and as for Lu Chen's troops..."

He paused and said cautiously, "He must have left enough troops to defend Dingzhou, right? Whether it is Yaoshan Pass or Dingfeng Road, there must be at least 20,000 to 30,000 people guarding it, which means that Lu Chen will not transfer more than 80,000 troops from Dingzhou."

After hearing his rambling words, the generals not only did not feel annoyed, but their restless emotions gradually subsided.

At this time, Guiyou also reacted and said with a little surprise: "Stay behind. It seems that Lu Chen can only mobilize 120,000 to 130,000 people at most."

This time, Wuyan Shu led an army of nearly 200,000 troops to the south. Before yesterday, in addition to the 120,000 troops in Taikang area, he deployed 20,000 troops in the east, and the remaining nearly 40,000 troops were in the west, guarding the cities that had been captured in the past half year and continuing to threaten Yongqiu.

In short, before Lu Chen led his troops to arrive yesterday, the main force of the Jing army had lost less than 20,000 soldiers on the western front.

Guyu's calculations enlightened the generals. They had more than enough strength to fight. If Wuyan Shu could make up his mind and transfer all the garrisons on the east and west fronts to Taikang, then the battle would be between 180,000 and 120,000. Wouldn't the extra 60,000 troops be able to decide the outcome?

Sensing the generals' sudden expectant gazes, Wu Yanshu felt very complicated.

It is certainly a good thing not to be afraid of fighting, but the problem is that these people still think too simply.

In order not to dampen everyone's morale, Wu Yanshu said tactfully: "War has never been a game of simply comparing military strength. Throughout history, there have been many examples of the weak defeating the strong and the few defeating the many. You all need to remember this truth."

Guyu immediately responded, "I will keep it in mind."

Just as Wu Yanshu was about to continue, a trusted confidant suddenly rushed in from outside the tent and saluted, saying, "Reporting to the guard, the scouts reported that a detachment of Qi troops left Taikang City and headed southwest to Bai County."

"Bai County?"

Wu Yanshu frowned slightly, then stood up and walked to the sand table, slowly saying: "Whether it is sending someone to deliver a war declaration or dispatching troops to attack Bai County first, Lu Chen's two actions are both very common choices at this moment. But these two things combined together seem a bit strange."

The generals understood after thinking about it carefully.

If Lu Chen wanted to fight a decisive battle east of Taikang, he would not divide his troops at this time. Bai County is important, but it is not impossible for the Qi army to retake it later.

If Lu Chen just wanted to recapture the lost city and didn't want to fight a decisive battle with Jing's army, then why would he bother?
It is obviously an unrealistic fantasy to think that a sharp-worded war declaration can confuse the generals of Jing Army, because the strength of the two armies is already exposed and it is impossible to conceal it.

Just like Lu Chen tried to mobilize troops to retake Bai County at this moment, Wu Yanshu would soon receive the news. The cavalry scouts of both sides had already spread throughout the Taikang area, and any movement would be detected by the other side.

The mood of the Jing army generals went up and down, from fear to elation, and finally seemed to fall into a fog where one could not see one's hand in front of one's face.

But Wu Yanshu's eyes gradually became sharper, as if he had grasped the mysterious thread, and he said in a deep voice: "Guiyou, your speculation is very likely the truth."

Guiyou was startled for a moment, then a hint of joy appeared between his eyebrows.

Wu Yanshu looked around at everyone and continued, "Lu Chen is good at creating confusion. The greater significance of this letter of war is to further shake our army's morale and put us into unnecessary entanglements. He knows that the news of the attack on Bai County cannot be hidden from us, so he wants us to believe that the letter of war is just a feint and he just wants to recapture the city that was captured by our army. At the same time, he will gather as many troops as possible in Taikang, and then launch a strong attack when our army is unable to cope with it, just like the method he used at Yaoshan Pass."

General A Gu suddenly realized, "That's right. At the beginning, this man deliberately boasted outside Yaoshan Pass, saying that he would break through the pass within ten days. In the end, there was no progress for more than half a month, and he became a laughing stock among our soldiers guarding the pass. He used this to lower the guard of the defenders, and finally broke through the pass with a full-scale attack and won a great victory."

Wu Yanshu nodded and said, "That's it."

Guiyou said, "Stay here, can our army take advantage of the situation, gather troops in secret, and kill him by surprise?"

Wu Yanshu thought for a while, and finally said calmly: "You should try your best to boost the morale of your troops. Whether we fight or retreat in the end, our army must be fully prepared."

All the generals responded in unison.

After they retreated, Guiyou approached and said, "Stay here, maybe this is our army's chance."

He was obviously unwilling to accept yesterday's defeat. After all, he had been going smoothly before that. He fought his way from Xinping all the way to Jingzhou, and was invincible across hundreds of miles.

Wu Yanshu turned around, picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said slowly, "Don't worry, we need enough patience now, or we should wait a while."

"wait?"

"Wait until the soldiers are properly adjusted and the troops on the western front are rotated and joined, then let them quietly rush to the vicinity of Taikang. I have decided to compete with Lu Chen here, so some unimportant cities on the western front must be abandoned."

Wu Yanshu's expression was stern, revealing a bit of murderous aura: "Also, wait until Nan Yong makes a big fuss in the southwest of Jingzhou. He has been eager for military merits in recent years, and the Chemugun clan has been suppressed for too long. There is no need for Your Majesty to spur them on. They will definitely fight hard to prove their own value. I don't believe that Lu Chen can keep them out by relying on the weaker Huaizhou wing army. As long as Nan Yong can play a role, Lu Chen will definitely be unable to take care of both ends!"

Guiyou said with admiration: "So that's how it is. It's wise to stay!"

Wu Yanshu laughed at himself and said, "Now it's just you and me, there's no need to say these words. If I were really wise, how could I be frightened by Lu Chen's feint? I just hope that the three armies will fight to the death and avenge our previous humiliation."

He put down the teacup, walked out of the tent, and looked towards the southwest.

……

Thousands of miles away, south of Hengjiang River.

Yunling, the border between Da Qi and Shazhou.

Amidst the lush green, a large number of soldiers advanced slowly. They were all wearing the standard leather armor of the Qi army.

According to the agreement between Lu Chen and Luo Yaozong, the Qi army could not easily cross the Yunling Mountains, but at this moment these soldiers were actually led by people from Shazhou.

Among them, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old was particularly eye-catching.

He is Luo Hengshan, the son of Luo Yaozong, the lord of Shazhou.

In less than two days, Luo Hengshan became familiar with the Qi army soldiers around him.

"Brother Luo, how long will it take to cross Yunling?"

A Qi army captain asked with a smile.

"It will be soon. One hour at most."

Luo Hengshan's answer was brief and to the point. He turned his head to look at the soldiers from the Chengzhou Governor's Office of Qi State and suddenly asked, "Brother Liu, are you afraid of death on the battlefield?"

"I might have been afraid before, but this time it's Lord Lu's order. I have to complete the mission regardless of whether I'm afraid or not."

The captain surnamed Liu was very calm and asked again, "Are you afraid of death?"

"I?"

The young man looked up at the familiar scenery to the west and said proudly, "My father said that in order to defend their hometown, the people of Shazhou will fight to the death, even if facing the most brutal enemy, until the last drop of blood is shed."

"This time I will also go to the battlefield to kill the enemy. Killing one will cover my losses, and killing two will be a profit!"

Amid the green mountains and clear waters, the boy's clear voice is a little immature, but it has gradually revealed its might.

(End of this chapter)