Honglou: This bastard is too persuasive.

Chapter 640: Baekje Imperial Guards Set Out

After a night of reconnaissance, the reconnaissance teams returned to the camp one after another and reported the intelligence they had collected to General Hong.

"General, Jia Changsheng's army has built many trenches and barriers outside the city, and the city walls are covered with archers and catapults, and the defense is extremely tight. Their main force is stationed in the northeast of the city, and the defense in the southwest seems to be relatively weak, but I suspect this may be a trap they set deliberately." A captain of a reconnaissance team reported in detail.

After hearing this, General Hong fell into deep thought. He knew very well that this was a tough battle and he could not be careless at all.

"Pass the order down, the entire army will rest for a day and recuperate. At the same time, let the craftsmen prepare the siege equipment. Tomorrow we will launch a tentative attack on the enemy and find out their strength first." General Hong finally made a decision.

The next morning, as soon as the sun shone on the earth, the Imperial Guards began to move. General Hong personally led a vanguard and launched a tentative attack on Jia Changsheng's camp.

The soldiers of the vanguard shouted and rushed towards the enemy, and the sound of killing was heard everywhere. Jia Changsheng's army responded quickly, and the archers on the city wall fired thousands of arrows at the guards like raindrops. Seeing this, General Hong immediately ordered the soldiers to raise their shields and form a shield wall to resist the enemy's rain of arrows.

"Charge! Break through their defense line!" General Hong waved the spear in his hand and shouted loudly.

The soldiers of the vanguard bravely moved forward and engaged in fierce close combat with the enemy. However, Jia Changsheng's army defended tenaciously, the attack of the imperial guards was repeatedly frustrated, and the casualties of the soldiers continued to increase.

"General, the enemy's defense is too strong. If we attack like this, we will suffer heavy losses!" A deputy general ran to General Hong and shouted.

General Hong gritted his teeth and said, "Retreat!"

The vanguard quickly evacuated the battlefield and returned to the camp. Although this exploratory attack did not achieve any substantial results, General Hong also learned a lot about the enemy's combat methods and defensive characteristics.

After returning to the camp, General Hong summoned all the generals to discuss the next battle plan.

"Today's attack has shown us the strength of the enemy, but we cannot retreat because of this. We must adjust our tactics and find the enemy's weaknesses," said General Hong with a serious expression.

After a heated discussion, everyone finally decided on a new battle plan: take advantage of the night and send an elite force to bypass the enemy's rear, raid their food camp, and cut off their supply lines; at the same time, the main force pretends to attack from the front to attract the enemy's attention, and then launch a full-scale attack after the enemy's rear is in chaos.

As night fell, an elite force personally selected by General Hong quietly left the camp and headed for the enemy's rear. They followed a hidden path through the mountains and forests, avoiding enemy patrols and approaching the grain camp.

At this time, the main force lit a large number of bonfires in the camp to create an illusion of an impending large-scale attack. Jia Changsheng's army was indeed attracted and strengthened its frontal defense.

Under the cover of night, the elite troops successfully arrived at the grain camp. They quickly took action and launched a fierce battle with the enemy guarding the grain camp. After a hard fight, they successfully burned the enemy's grain reserves. For a time, the flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the entire night sky.

"General, the grain camp in the rear is on fire!" someone in Jia Changsheng's army exclaimed.

After hearing this, Jia Changsheng's face changed drastically: "Oh no, we've fallen into the enemy's trap! Return for help immediately!"

Just as Jia Changsheng's army was coming back to help, General Hong led the main force to launch a fierce attack from the front. The morale of the soldiers of the Imperial Guard was high, and they rushed towards the enemy like tigers, engaging in a fierce melee with the enemy.

On the battlefield, the flashing of swords and the deafening shouts of killing were heard. The soldiers of the Imperial Guards gradually gained the upper hand with their high morale and tenacious fighting spirit. However, Jia Changsheng's army began to show signs of defeat because the food and grass in the rear were burned and the morale of the army was in chaos.

"Soldiers, pursue the victory and don't give the enemy a chance to breathe!" General Hong shouted loudly, leading the soldiers in pursuit.

Jia Changsheng's army was defeated and eventually had to abandon the camp and flee. The Imperial Guards pursued them all the way, recovered some of the lost territory, and achieved an initial victory in this battle.

However, General Hong was not carried away by victory. He knew that Jia Changsheng would never give up, and the next battle would be more intense and cruel.

"Pass the order down, clean up the battlefield, treat the wounded, and strengthen the fortifications. At the same time, send out scouts to closely monitor the enemy's movements and be ready for new battles at any time." General Hong arranged the follow-up work in an orderly manner.

In the following days, the Imperial Guards and Jia Changsheng's army fought many fierce battles on the western border. Both sides won and lost, and the war fell into a stalemate. However, the Imperial Guards always held their positions and stubbornly resisted Jia Changsheng's attacks, providing a solid barrier for Baekje's security.

In Jia Changsheng's central army tent, the atmosphere was solemn and serious. A huge military map was spread out in the center of the tent, with detailed markings of Baekje's topography and the deployment of the two armies. Jia Changsheng sat on the main seat, frowning, staring at the map deeply, and did not say a word for a long time. The generals and counselors stood on both sides, also with solemn expressions. They knew that the appearance of the Baekje Royal Guards this time had added a huge variable to the originally smooth journey westward.

Finally, Jia Changsheng raised his head, glanced at everyone, and slowly said: "Everyone, I believe you have all heard that Baekje sent their guards to deal with our attack. Although our army has not suffered major losses in the past few days of confrontation with them, it is obvious that the strength of this guard should not be underestimated. I gathered everyone today to hear your opinions. How should we deal with this powerful enemy?"

The tent fell into a brief silence. After a moment, a burly, bearded general stood up. This man was Zhao Yong, a fierce general under Jia Changsheng. He clasped his hands together, saluted Jia Changsheng, and said in a loud voice: "General, I think that although the Baekje Guards are strong, they are not invincible. Their advantages are that they are well-equipped and well-trained, but our army has been fighting all the way, with high morale and rich combat experience. In my opinion, we can adopt a wheel tactic, attacking them in turns, making them exhausted, and then defeat them in one fell swoop when they reveal a flaw!"

Jia Changsheng nodded slightly, but did not express his opinion immediately. Instead, he looked at the counselor Li Feng standing beside him. Li Feng stroked his beard and said after thinking for a moment: "General Zhao's words make sense, but the wheel tactics may make our army tired, and it is easy for the enemy to see through and plot against us. As far as I know, the Baekje Guards have a strict organization and unified command. Their weakness may be their lack of flexibility. We might as well try to send out multiple small elite troops to harass and raid them from different directions, disrupt their deployment, and make it impossible for them to take care of each other, and then find an opportunity to deal a fatal blow."

Li Feng's words caused a murmur among the crowd, while Jia Changsheng fell into deeper thought. At this time, another general, Wang Meng, stood up and said, "General, I think we still need to pay attention to the collection of intelligence. Knowing ourselves and the enemy, we can fight a hundred battles without danger. We need to further understand the key information such as the distribution of the guards' forces, the characteristics of their generals, and their logistic supply lines. Only in this way can we be targeted and formulate more effective combat strategies."

Jia Changsheng's eyes flashed with admiration: "General Wang Meng is right. Intelligence is of vital importance. I'll leave this matter to you. Be sure to send our most capable spies to go deep behind enemy lines to obtain detailed and accurate intelligence."

"I obey your command!" Wang Meng took the order and left.

Then, counselor Sun Wen put forward his own point of view: "General, from a psychological perspective, the Baekje Royal Guards must be carrying the mission of defending their country, and their morale must be very high. We can spread some rumors, such as that there is civil unrest in Baekje, or that we have formed an alliance with other forces and are about to encircle Baekje, etc., to shake their morale and make them worry."

Jia Changsheng frowned slightly: "Although this plan may disrupt the enemy's morale, we must act with caution. If the enemy discovers it, it will be counterproductive. However, we can prepare it first and decide whether to implement it depending on the situation."

Everyone was talking at once, the discussion was very heated, and various strategies and ideas kept emerging. Jia Changsheng listened quietly, and gradually came up with a rough response plan in his mind.

"Everyone, your suggestions are very valuable. The Baekje Guards are indeed a strong opponent, but we also have our advantages and opportunities." Jia Changsheng stood up, walked to the map, pointed to several locations on it and said, "We can first follow what Li Feng said and send out a small group of elite troops to carry out harassment raids, while strengthening intelligence collection on them. General Zhao Yong, you select the most elite soldiers in our army and form several commandos to be responsible for raid missions. During the operation, pay attention to observe the enemy's reaction and look for their weaknesses and flaws."

"I understand!" Zhao Yong said as he accepted the order.

"In addition, our main force cannot sit idle. We must continue to strengthen our fortifications and consolidate our positions to prevent a sudden large-scale attack by the Baekje Royal Guards. At the same time, we must pay close attention to the surrounding situation to prevent Baekje from dispatching reinforcements from other places or adopting outflanking tactics." Jia Changsheng continued.

Li Feng, the strategist, added: "General, we also need to consider the issue of logistics. As the war continues, the consumption of supplies will increase, and we must ensure an adequate supply of food and weapons. Can we mobilize more supplies from the rear, or find some reliable sources of supply locally?"

Jia Changsheng nodded and said, "I will take care of this matter. Logistics supply is the lifeline of war, and there must be no mistakes."

After a detailed discussion and deployment, everyone had a clear direction and mission in mind. Jia Changsheng looked at the generals and counselors and said firmly: "Everyone, this battle with the Baekje Guards is related to whether we can smoothly advance westward and achieve our great cause. This will be an arduous battle, but I believe that as long as we unite and give full play to our wisdom and courage, we will be able to defeat the enemy!"

"We are willing to serve the general and win the battle!" Everyone shouted in unison, and their voices echoed throughout the camp, full of determination and fighting spirit.

In the following days, Jia Changsheng's army began to act according to the established plan. Small groups of elite troops frequently harassed and raided the Baekje Guards, sometimes attacking their patrols and sometimes destroying their siege equipment, making it difficult for the Baekje Guards to defend themselves, and they had to devote a lot of energy to deal with these raids.

The spies sent by General Wang Meng also sent back some important intelligence, which gave Jia Changsheng a deeper understanding of the situation of the Baekje Imperial Guard. Based on this intelligence, Jia Changsheng further adjusted his combat strategy and gradually took the initiative on the battlefield.

Although the Baekje guards still resisted tenaciously, under Jia Changsheng's careful planning and command, their advantages were gradually weakened and their flaws began to emerge. A crucial battle to determine the outcome is about to begin on this land.

In the spacious but depressing tent of the Baekje Royal Guard, the candlelight flickered, and the light and shadow danced on the faces of the generals, reflecting their solemn expressions. General Hong, the commander of the Royal Guard, sat on the main seat, his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles white, and his eyes revealed deep worry and determination.

General Hong was the first to break the silence, his voice low but powerful: "Everyone, after the battle with Jia Changsheng in the past few days, I believe everyone has clearly realized the severity of the situation we are facing. Jia Changsheng's army is cunning and changeable, and his tactics are flexible, which has caused us a lot of trouble. Now, we must discuss an effective response plan, otherwise, Baekje will be in danger!"

A young general stood up suddenly, clasped his hands together, and said excitedly: "General, I think that Jia Changsheng only relied on some unorthodox tactics to gain the upper hand temporarily. We are the Baekje Royal Guards, well-equipped and well-trained, so why should we be afraid? In my opinion, we will gather all our forces tomorrow and fight him head-on. We will definitely kill him without a single piece of armor left!"

General Hong shook his head slightly and said solemnly: "General Li, don't be impulsive. Jia Changsheng was able to capture several cities in a short period of time. He is definitely not an ordinary person. A head-on decisive battle can certainly demonstrate the courage of our army, but if we don't think carefully and attack blindly, we may fall into his trap and put our army in an irretrievable situation."

At this time, an experienced veteran slowly stood up, stroked his beard, and said: "General, what you said is very true. In my opinion, Jia Changsheng's army is good at surprise attacks and harassment tactics. We might as well take advantage of their tactics. Strengthen the fortifications of the camp, set up multiple layers of traps and secret sentries, and lure them to come for a surprise attack. Then, we will set up an ambush in the dark, and when they enter the encirclement, we will annihilate them in one fell swoop and dampen their spirit."

(End of this chapter)