Thief Emperor

Chapter 700 Making dumplings!
As the main force of Li Yun's troops approached quickly, Zhang Xiu soon felt the pressure.

His two captain camps were defeated by the Jiangdong Army in less than an hour, and the Jiangdong Army continued to advance.

At this time, the sun had risen high. Zhang Xiu picked up the telescope and looked at the battlefield in front of him. He then spat on the ground, cursed, and called a captain under him, ordering him to send two more captain battalions to support him!

"The people at the front must be the elite among the elite of the Jiangdong Army. As long as we defeat them, the Jiangdong Army that follows will be nothing but chickens and dogs. Charge on!"

The Shuofang Army had gained confidence after suppressing the rebellion in the Central Plains a few years ago. Now no one believed that the Jiangdong Army could match their own in field combat capabilities. Therefore, after hearing Zhang Xiu's words, the captain immediately obeyed the order and led his troops to meet the Jiangdong Army head-on. Zhang Xiu went all the way back to the central army, where he saw Wei Yao playing with a telescope.

Today, with the maturity of the technology of the Jinling workshop, telescopes have been installed on a large scale in the Jiangdong Army. This scale of installation will certainly greatly improve the Jiangdong Army's intelligence capabilities and battlefield insight capabilities, but it has also inevitably caused a big problem.

That is, it will be captured by the enemy.

Although the number of captured weapons is not too large so far, it is enough for Wei Yao to get one.

In comparison, the father and son of the Xiao family of Fanyang, who spent a large amount of money to buy twenty telescopes from Li Yun, can be said to have been made the biggest suckers.

"Major General."

Zhang Xiu strode forward, only glanced at the telescope in Wei Yao's hand, then looked up at Wei Yao, lowered his head slightly and said: "Major General, these Jiangdong troops are not simple."

He said in a deep voice: "In a head-on confrontation, they just lack some experience, but their actual combat power is not inferior to ours at all."

"According to the scouts' report, there are more than 10,000 Jiangdong troops in Yuzhou, and there are reinforcements from several nearby states. They will be able to support us in a few days at most."

At this point, Zhang Xiu began to express his own opinion. He slowly said, "In my opinion, Zheng Can's letter for help was a trap set by the Jiangdong Army. Now that we have seen the quality of the Jiangdong Army, Major General, we can retreat."

Wei Yao looked up at Zhang Xiu and said with a smile: "Don't worry, we can leave anytime we want. It doesn't matter if we fight for a day or two. If we run away as soon as we meet, we will lose face when we return to my father, and..."

Wei Yao paused and continued, "Everyone in the world is watching."

Among all the forces in the world today, it is no exaggeration to say that Li Yun is definitely the best in terms of size. The number of troops under his command even exceeds that of the Shuofang Army.

The combat effectiveness previously demonstrated by the Shuofang Army was too strong, so the opening battle of this Central Plains War attracted special attention.

Wei Yao whispered, "My father said that the nobles in the Central Plains and other places are all watching this war. The winner of this first battle will be able to attract those nobles to join the battle."

He laughed at himself and said, "This is what those scholars call a virtuous person will have many supporters."

“It’s just sitting on the fence.”

Zhang Xiu frowned slightly when he heard this. He whispered, "Major General, this is the battlefield of the Jiangdong Army after all. They may have made some arrangements. It is not appropriate to fight here for the first time. We can retreat appropriately and then set the battlefield in Chenzhou or Xuzhou, which will be much more appropriate."

Wei Yao laughed and was about to speak when a captain from the Shuofang Army came running over with an iron can in his hand. He bowed his head and said to Wei Yao, "Major General, we found Jiangdong's thunder bomb on the battlefield!"

Wei Yao was in high spirits, and quickly reached out to take it. After taking it in his hand and looking at it, he frowned and said, "How powerful can such an iron can be?"

The captain bowed his head and said, "Major General, this was thrown into our army by the enemy. The other thunder bombs all exploded, but this one didn't. It must be..."

"There must be some problem."

"It is precisely because it was not blown up that we were able to bring it to the Major General."

"it is good!"

Wei Yao clapped his hands and said with a smile: "After we take this thing back, we can have the craftsmen disassemble it and make a replica."

He looked at the captain.

"Well done. I'll give you credit. Go back to the battlefield and see if you can get a few more. It would be best if you can get a few that can be blown up. Blow them up for me!"

"Yes!"

The captain bowed his head and said, "I obey your command!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Wei Yao looked at Zhang Xiu who was hesitant to speak, and said casually: "Uncle Zhang, don't worry, I'm not the kind of fool who doesn't listen to advice. The situation in Yuzhou is under my control, and there will be no problems."

He chuckled and said, "I heard that Li Yun is extremely brave and powerful. He often goes to the battlefield in person and is unstoppable. Uncle Zhang, have you seen him on the battlefield?"

Zhang Xiu shook his head slightly and said, "No."

He paused and added, "Li Yun is now the King of Wu. Even though he proclaimed himself the King of Wu, he has indeed occupied the land of Wu. In fact, his territory is far more than just Wu. Such a person is already of noble status."

"It's unlikely that I will personally go into battle again."

Wei Yao groaned, said it was a pity, and then said: "A man like Li Yun who can start from scratch must be very capable. If we can subdue him in the future, my father's great cause will be accomplished."

Zhang Xiu lowered his head slightly and said nothing. Wei Yao looked at him and continued, "Uncle Zhang, even if we retreat immediately at this time, the enemy will hold on to us tightly and we will suffer even greater losses."

He looked up at the sky, and then said, "It's almost noon now. Let's send out our best troops and fight them for a whole day to let them know that the Shuofang Army will only advance and not retreat!"

"Wait until dark."

Wei Yao whispered, "As soon as it gets dark, we will retreat immediately. They will not be able to react in time."

Zhang Xiu's eyes lit up, then he looked up at Wei Yao and said with a smile: "Young General is wise."

"General, I will go to the frontline now to command the battle and meet these Jiangdong troops. By the way..."

"Give the Major General some more and bring back some thunder bombs to show off!"

Wei Yao laughed, holding the telescope and nodded, "Okay, I'll find a high place and use this new gadget to see if I can see Prince Li on the battlefield!"

At this moment, as Li Yun's influence expanded, even opponents like Wei Yao subconsciously recognized his identity as the King of Wu.

Even though Wei Yao's word "Prince" was somewhat mocking, Li Yun's influence could no longer be ignored by anyone.

…………

In a blink of an eye, it’s afternoon.

On the front battlefield, Li Yun couldn't help but charge for a while, killing two or three Shuofang soldiers, then retreated to the central army, summoned Chen Da and other generals, asked about the situation on each battlefield, and then called Su Zhan and asked, "Did General Zhao reply?"

Su Zhan lowered his head and said, "My Lord, General Zhao has already replied to the letter, but General Zhao is on the flank of the Shuofang Army and is now circling behind them, and..."

"General Zhao said that he only has 5,000 troops and it is unlikely that he can block all the retreat routes of the Shuofang Army."

Li Yun chuckled and said, "It is impossible to annihilate them all. I have never thought about annihilating them all. It is enough to eat up most of them."

"Let Jiusi tell Zhao Cheng that Meng Qing is also heading in his direction. As long as his troops meet the main force of the Shuofang Army, he must delay them for at least a day and a night!"

"Other armies will soon be here to provide support."

At this time, Li was in a good mood.

Even, there is a sense of high spirits.

Because before this, he actually did not have the qualifications to have a specific and intuitive understanding of the military level of that era, so his understanding of the specific level of the Shuofang Army and the specific level of his own side was somewhat vague.

But now, after a whole day of fighting, he had a clear idea in his mind.

His own Jiangdong Army, at least the veterans in the Jiangdong Army, were not afraid of the Shuofang Army.

The only weakness is probably the cavalry, which is several levels behind the Shuofang Army.

Apart from the shortcomings of the cavalry, the Jiangdong Army no longer has any obvious shortcomings in other aspects, especially in morale, which is overwhelming the opponent.

Su Zhan responded and immediately went to coordinate with the Nine Departments.

Just like that, another hour or so passed and the sky gradually darkened.

Chen Da, who was in charge of the frontline command, trotted all the way to Li Yun, bowed his head and clasped his fists to Li Yun: "Master, Shuofang Army..."

"Looks like he's going to run!"

Li Yun was startled when he heard this, then smiled and said, "What do you mean?"

"At sunset, they launched a sudden and fierce attack, forcing our army to retreat. After they had distanced themselves from our army, they began to retreat again."

Chen Da grinned and said, "This is clearly a plan to run."

Li Yun lowered his head and calculated for a while, then closed his eyes. A map of Yuzhou appeared in his mind. He thought for a moment, then opened his eyes and said, "Once the Shuofang Army retreats, you will lead your troops to follow them, but remember, don't chase too hastily."

"Don't let them run too fast."

Li Yun looked at Chen Da and whispered, "By tomorrow night, if they haven't left Yuzhou, our army will be able to complete the encirclement."

Chen Da bowed his head deeply.

"I will obey your orders!"

(End of this chapter)