Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 502 What is Yuwen Tao waiting for? Taking the initiative.
The entire southern foothills region is bordered by Mount Mo'ao to the northeast, the Xing River to the south, and the Shuanglong Mountain cliffs to the west. Therefore, the total land area of ​​the nine towns on the southern foothills is not actually very large.

For example, Longgu Town, the smallest, has four districts and a total area of ​​over 7000 square kilometers; while Jinshan Town, the largest, has nine districts and a total area of ​​only 12000 square kilometers, and the remaining towns have a total area of ​​about 10000 square kilometers.

Of course, this was before the Great Xia moved east and replaced Ba Shang.

Before the Great Xia Dynasty expanded eastward, its total territory already covered more than 20000 square kilometers. After expanding eastward, it captured the north bank of the Xinghe River, occupied Hongmen, took Ba Shang, and now successively annexed the three towns of Muyin, Jiangxia, and Chuishan. Roughly estimated, its total territory is now at least 60000 square kilometers.

If a territory is small, then there's no point in talking about strategic depth.

10000 square kilometers, in fact, is roughly a territory of 100 kilometers in length and width. The actual territory of the nine towns is of course not exactly that exact, but the difference is not too great.

Take Jinshan Town, the largest town in terms of area, as an example. Its territory is roughly elongated from east to west, and a large part of it is embedded in the inner side of Mo'ao Mountain. Therefore, its east-west depth is the largest among the nine towns, but even the largest is only about 180 kilometers.

…………

December 28th, the twelfth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, first half of the night.

Jinshan Town, Xiyuan Camp, Main Building

"Reporting to the Commander, not only Xiyuan, but also the Bingfeng, Hanzhao, and Qinggu camps are all deserted. Jinshan Town has withdrawn all personnel and supplies from the four locations to the pass. The pass camp now has 30,000 troops assembled and is building fortifications. Shangguan Ning should not retreat any further. It seems that, as the Commander predicted, our first battle with Jinshan will be at the pass camp!"

Yuwen Tao sat in the main seat. Upon hearing Hou Quan's report below, he immediately turned his head to look at the map of Jinshan Town behind him, a smile appearing on his face.

Jinshan County is long and narrow from east to west. Its nine districts are roughly divided into two parts: the eastern part has four districts: Lin'ao, Qingcang, Mutai, and Aikou; the western part has five districts: Bingfeng, Hanzhao, Qinggu, Xiyuan, and Yinhegu.

Jinshan Town is located in the east, at the junction of Qingcang and Aikou Daying.

"More than half of Jinshan Town's territory extends into the interior of Mo'ao Mountain. The key to its territorial expansion is this pass camp. This pass is a small fault zone in Mo'ao Mountain. Although it is eleven kilometers long, it is only a little over a hundred meters wide. It is already difficult for a large army to deploy its forces here. In addition, Jinshan Town has been pacifying this place for many years and has even set up a city here. I estimate that it will be more difficult to break through this place than to break through Jinshan Town itself!"

Upon hearing Yuwen Tao's words, Hou Quan showed no surprise. This was because after the right wing army captured the entire Yinhe Valley yesterday, Yuwen Tao immediately took him and Yuwen Yong to the top of the pass camp for observation.

"The terrain is secondary. The key is that Jinshan Town is located to the east of this pass. Once a battle breaks out, it will be extremely convenient for military supplies and reinforcements. As long as the people of Jinshan Town aren't stupid, they will withdraw all the personnel from the four western camps to this pass. You'll see!"

Recalling what Yuwen Tao said above the pass yesterday, Hou Quan was filled with admiration. He then cupped his hands and said, "Since the commander has already guessed that Jinshan Town would make such a deployment, then the strategy to defeat the enemy must already be in his mind."

Yuwen Tao smiled and shook his head, saying, "Don't try to trick me into telling you. You'll know when the time is right."

Hou Quan's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, and a glint of light immediately appeared in his eyes.

Yesterday, after leaving Yinhe Valley, Yuwen Tao made the decision to split his troops into two groups. He had guessed at the time that the commander-in-chief must have some plans that he hadn't told them, and now it seems that he was right.

Yuwen Tao naturally didn't care what Hou Quan was thinking. He turned his head directly to look at Yuwen Yong, the general of the Second Battalion of the Jinyang Allied Army below, and asked in a low voice, "Have all the food pills been distributed?"

Yuwen Yong immediately stood up and nodded in reply: "Reporting to the commander, the military food supply in Jinyang City is 4 million pills. Yesterday at the Yinhe Valley camp, Qiu Sizheng delivered another 6 million pills, bringing the total to 10 million pills. We have a total of 50,000 troops in Jinyang, and each of them has been issued 200 pills. They have already been instructed to keep them on their person for future use and not to use them for the time being."

The soldiers' current rations consist of game meat reserves from Jinyang. This expedition nearly emptied the city of all its game meat; it should last for three months.

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Tao's expression brightened slightly.

The Bing Shi Wan (兵食丸) is made by the craftsmen department in imitation of the Qing Shi Wan (青食丸) of Dajue Temple. Its main ingredient is the flesh and blood of a kind of aquatic cold beast in the Qinghepu waters. As the name suggests, its main function is to replace the beast meat to maintain the human body's needs. A small one can be enough to last a day.

In the eighth year of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Craftsmen Department developed military food pills, which were immediately designated as war reserve materials. Large quantities were then refined and stored. As for their purpose, it can be seen from the name given to them by Mu Dong.

"The meat reserves in Jinyang are enough for three months, plus 200 ration pills per soldier. My 50,000-strong army on the right flank will not have to worry about food for at least ten months. Yesterday, I dispatched 10,000 troops to advance into Wuchuan East Valley, and Luoyuan's central army has 30,000 troops stationed at Fushan. The three towns in the north will likely be misled by the news, thinking that we are about to open up the supply line. By the time they realize what's happening, it will be too late..."

Yuwen Tao looked at the mountain pass camp on the map, then his gaze slowly moved to its east side, finally settling on Jinshan Town, his eyes growing cold.

"We've rested for an hour, which is about right. Notify the army to set off immediately and head towards the Aikou camp. The distance from here to the Aikou camp is about 60 kilometers. We'll have to pass through Hanzhao and Qinggu along the way. I'll give you six hours."

Hou Quan was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, but then he understood what was going on. He immediately bowed and said in a deep voice, "Your subordinate obeys!"

Hou Quan currently holds three positions: Commander-in-Chief of the Great Xia Dragon Martial Army, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Jinyang Allied Army, and General of the First Battalion of the Jinyang Allied Army.

Under normal circumstances, the one in charge of the Jinyang Allied Forces would naturally be the Allied Forces Commander Xiang Fuhai, but since Yuwen Tao personally came to Jinyang to take charge last year, Xiang Fuhai has already stepped down to the second line.

The marshals of the four armies that led the Northern Expedition of the Great Xia were all handpicked by Lady Li Xuanling. Yuwen Tao, as the marshal of the right army, naturally became the supreme commander of the 50,000 allied troops in Jinyang.

After receiving the order, Hou Quan left the main hall and quickly notified Yuwen Yong and the other seven battalion generals.

"The army moves out!"

After resting for an hour at the Xiyuan camp, the 40,000-strong army immediately began to prepare their armor and weapons. In less than half an hour, they were all ready. Then, at Yuwen Tao's command, they began to slowly advance eastward.

Looking down at the deserted Xiyuan camp, Yuwen Tao shook his head slightly.

Similar to the Yinhe Valley area, when the army arrived at the Xiyuan camp in the first half of the night, the garrison of Jinshan Town had already withdrawn. Not only the garrison, but also all the supplies in the treasury were taken away cleanly. Apart from a few scattered civilians, there was almost nothing in the entire camp.

"Avoiding battle, delaying, hoping to wait for our supplies to run out—naive! If we weren't fully prepared, would we be so arrogant as to launch a simultaneous attack on you from four directions? These five northern garrisons are utterly ridiculous; it's a miracle they have two major warlords supporting them from behind..."

Yuwen Tao shook his head repeatedly. Watching the army slowly advance, he took the lead and flew ahead to scout the way.

He is indeed the commander-in-chief, but he is also one of the few Xianyang-level soldiers in the army. In order to ensure the safety of the army, Xianyang-level soldiers are required to act as scouts, and even he, the commander-in-chief, is no exception.

Of course, besides Yuwen Tao, Hou Quan, the current deputy commander of the Jinyang Allied Forces, is also of the Xianyang rank and will serve as a scout for the vanguard.

However, Hou Quan was not at the front of the army, but on its right flank. He hovered high above the right side, watching the army's marching speed below, his eyes filled with curiosity and speculation.

"60 kilometers, taking 6 hours to walk, what are they waiting for?"

The Great Xia Dynasty placed great emphasis on marching speed from the very beginning of its army's formation.

Taking the Longwu Army as an example, when all members first broke through to the Cold Resistance level, their marching speed was 50 kilometers per hour. After several years of training, their maximum speed was 70 kilometers per hour.

Of course, that was when the army was around 1,000 men. Two years ago, with the expansion and reform of the army, the Longwu Army was promoted to the eighth-level legion. After the army expanded to 5,000 men, the marching speed slowed down. However, with a little training, it can still maintain a speed of about 50 kilometers per hour.

Things are different now. Currently, 40,000 Allied troops have set off from the Western Yuan. The Longwu Army is only one battalion of the Allied forces. However, even with 40,000 Allied troops, their marching speed can reach about 30 kilometers per hour. This data was obtained when the Allied forces were stationed in Jinyang City.

Yuwen Tao gave them six hours to cover a distance of just over 60 kilometers.

Jinshan Town has already amassed a large force at the pass, clearly intending to defend it. There is no possibility of a sneak attack from any direction, so Yuwen Tao has no need to give them so much time.

Therefore, there is only one possibility: Yuwen Tao did it on purpose!

He deliberately made them slow down; what was he waiting for...?

Based on yesterday's splitting of forces, Hou Quan seemed to have grasped something, but due to the lack of information, he still couldn't figure it out.

"Although the Great Xia is powerful, Madam is being far too arrogant. With four armies fighting simultaneously, if one of them encounters a problem, it could cause chaos across the entire front..."

Hou Quan thought of the military order he received in Jinyang and suddenly let out a sigh. But before he could finish his sigh, he seemed to suddenly realize something, his expression froze, and then his pupils were filled with light.

"I see... I see... I understand now!"

........................

What Hou Quan understood, no one knew.

However, Long Mingyuan, the lord of Longgu Town, was in an extremely cheerful mood at this moment.

“Yuancheng’s rear army is watching Yangqu, and Luoyuan’s central army in Muyin Town only has 40,000 men in total. Currently, 30,000 troops are stationed at Fushan, and only 10,000 troops are stationed in Muyin Town. Therefore, my Longgu is now the one under the least pressure among the five northern towns…”

Long Mingyuan stared at the map on the table, his pupils bright. Li Yangtian, the military commander beside him, nodded emphatically upon hearing his words: "Lord, we currently have a total of 19,000 troops at our disposal. We can either support Yangqu to the southeast or threaten Muyin to the north."

"Attack on Muyin Town is definitely out of the question, but we can coordinate with Wuchuan Town to launch a pincer attack on Luo Yuan's 30,000 troops left in Fushan. If we can wipe out his 30,000 troops in one fell swoop, then Great Xia will no longer pose any threat in the central region. At that time, we might even be able to take Muyin Town..."

Hearing Li Yangtian's words, Long Mingyuan's face was full of interest, but there was still some hesitation between his brows. He asked in a deep voice, "Isn't it inappropriate to take the initiative? Yang Zun hasn't given the order, and we only have this many people at our disposal. What if something goes wrong..."

"My lord, it is precisely because we have so few men that we must fight with all our might. Before the battle even began in Beishuo, we lost the Dongchuan camp. Jinshan fared even worse, as the four western territories were directly released. Why did the two towns retreat so easily? It's because the Xia army is too powerful, and they dare not confront them head-on."

Yuwen Tao's right wing army dispatched 10,000 troops, and Luo Yuan's central wing army dispatched 30,000 troops, for a total of 40,000 troops, all pressing towards Donggu. Wuchuan has already deployed heavy troops to guard it. None of the three northern towns have been able to escape unscathed, let alone us, whose military strength is far inferior..."

Li Yangtian paused for a moment, then continued in a deep voice, "Luo Yuan and Yuwen Tao clearly don't take my Dragon Valley seriously. They think that as long as they take East Valley, their supply line will be completely open. They would never have expected us to send troops at this time."

Upon hearing these words, Long Mingyuan's expression of interest deepened.

Based on the current movements of the four Xia armies, it's not hard to see their intention to secure supply lines. As for Li Yangtian's statement that the Great Xia clearly doesn't take Dragon Valley seriously, the reason is simple—

The current territory of the Great Xia Dynasty encompasses the three towns of Muyin, Chuishan, and Jiangxia.

Although Muyin belongs to the territory of Daxia, it only surrendered last year, and Muyin's strength is already very weak. The town's treasury will not be very full, and it is impossible to support the three routes of Daxia army in the north. Therefore, Daxia's military supplies must be transferred from Xia City.

The fastest route to transport supplies from Xiacheng to the north is to start from Chuishan Town, pass through Yangqu, Longgu, and Muyin towns, and then go to the Wuchuan Donggu jurisdiction. Once the supplies arrive in Donggu, they can be transported north to the Dongchuan Allied Army in Xiachuan and east to support Yuwen Tao's Jinyang Allied Army. This supply line will then be completely open.

This explains why Yuwen Tao and Luo Yuan's two armies, one advancing towards Donggu and the northern towns, immediately revealed their intentions.

The most important thing about this fastest military supply line is, of course, to occupy the Donggu camp in Wuchuan, but at the same time, it is also necessary to open up the two towns of Yangqu and Longgu.

Yangqu Town has been surrounded by Yuan Cheng's 40,000-strong army. This was the news that Li Yangtian, who had just returned from Yangqu Town, told him personally.

Xia Chuan's left-wing army is attacking Beishuo, Yuwen Tao's right-wing army is attacking Jinshan, Luo Yuan's central army is attacking Wuchuan Donggu, and Yuan Cheng's rear army is attacking Yangqu Town. In other words, all four armies of the Great Xia now have clear objectives, except for Longgu Town, which is currently not under any threat.

If we have to talk about a threat, then it's only the 10,000 troops that Luo Yuan left behind in Muyin Town. But those 10,000 troops are clearly there to defend against Longgu. They're not going to take the initiative and come to attack them.

On the one hand, Longgu Town faced no threats and was the least stressed of the five towns; on the other hand, as Li Yangtian said, the Great Xia clearly did not take Longgu seriously, believing that as long as they dealt with Yangqu and Wuchuan Towns, they could easily deal with Longgu.

"Hmph, arrogant!"

Long Mingyuan was, after all, a town lord. Once he understood this, he realized that he was being looked down upon by the Great Xia. His temper immediately flared up, and he couldn't help but snort coldly. Then he carefully considered Li Yangtian's suggestion.

Taking the initiative, heading south could relieve the siege of Yangqu Town; heading north could allow them to launch a pincer attack with Wuchuan. Even if they didn't completely annihilate the 30,000 troops of Fushan, defeating Luoyuan's central army would still inflict a heavy blow on the Great Xia.

Both of these factors could shatter the Great Xia's hopes of establishing a military supply line.

"19000 people, have all the Cold-Resistant level troops in the town been called? Can we gather more troops? Or, should we call on those at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yangtian's expression brightened. The fact that Long Mingyuan could ask this question clearly meant that he had accepted his proposal and decided to take the initiative. However, he felt that he had too few troops and wanted to gather more men.

“Of course there are those at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, and quite a few at that. The town currently has over 7 people, but I don’t think it’s advisable to mobilize them. First, we’re going to aid someone else, and incorporating these people at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm into the army would severely slow down our march. Second, it’s definitely not feasible to leave no one in the town. I think it’s not advisable to move all 19000 people. Regardless of which side we’re supporting, 15000 is enough. Leave 4000 people in the town for emergencies…”

After listening to Li Yangtian's explanation, Long Mingyuan immediately understood. After thinking for a moment, he nodded emphatically and looked at him with a hint of gratitude.

"Yang Tian, ​​you're so thoughtful. I was so foolish!"

What is the greatest wealth of the five northern towns?
There are five towns!

I was so pleased with myself that I forgot about this matter.

If all 18000 cold-resistant level troops are transferred away, and the town has problems, then the entire Dragon Valley Town will be doomed!

"Since that's the case, let's not waste any more time. Yang Tian, ​​quickly detach 15000 troops from the city and personally lead them north to advance on Fushan. Wuchuan Town will understand the meaning immediately. I, the lord, want to see how Luo Yuan will respond then..."

Long Mingyuan turned his head to look at the map behind him, his eyes slightly cold.

Luo Yuan's central army totaled 40,000 men. 30,000 were stationed at Fushan, clearly to attack the Wuchuan Donggu camp, while the remaining 10,000 were left to guard the town.

With his 15,000 troops advancing towards Fushan, Luo Yuan was attacked from both sides. He could either lead 30,000 troops to retreat to the town or send out 10,000 troops from the town to fight them. Choosing the former would be slightly better, at most he would not be able to break through the Great Xia's military supply line. If he chose the latter, as long as he and Qin Feng had enough tacit understanding, they might be able to defeat Luo Yuan's central army in one fell swoop.

"Alright, lord, I will make the arrangements immediately. Since we are going out to provide reinforcements and may have to fight against the Xia army, we will send out all our elite troops. My 1000 Iron Caltrops and 13000 Garrison Troops will all be sent out. As for the rest, we will have to draw them from the hunting party!"

Upon hearing this, Long Mingyuan's expression darkened slightly.

Of the 19000 Cold-resistant soldiers currently in Dragon Valley, only 14000 are regular soldiers. The remaining 5000 are temporarily drawn from hunting teams. The town's armor and weapons reserves are sufficient, but these 5000 have not undergone systematic training, and their combat strength is definitely not comparable to that of a normal army.

Considering the importance of the town, Long Mingyuan shook his head and said, "It's already quite good that we can take the initiative to go north to provide reinforcements. The main force in this battle will definitely be Wuchuan, so there's no need for this. You can leave the Iron Caltrops Army here, along with 3000 Zhenyu Army soldiers, and send another 15000 men out..."

Seeing Li Yangtian's hesitant expression, Long Mingyuan continued, "Zhencheng is our foundation and cannot be lost. Go and make the arrangements."

"Well... alright, I obey!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yangtian nodded helplessly, cupped his hands, and withdrew.

Although Longgu Town's overall strength is not as great as the three northern towns, it has its own trump card: the 1000 Iron Caltrop Army.

More than thirty years ago, Longgu Town accidentally obtained a secret method for forging armor called caltrop armor. The caltrop armor forged using that method was covered with a ring of thumb-length iron spikes. The spikes were not only tough and sharp, but could also extend, retract, and rotate with the soldiers' movements.

Armor was originally used for defense, but with the addition of these special iron spikes, caltrop armor immediately became an indispensable weapon on the battlefield.

Of course, the requirements for forging this caltrop armor were also ridiculously high.

Since the armor, including the attached iron spikes, must all be of the thousand-fold forging grade, and it also requires many kinds of precious materials, as well as the craftsman's skills, and even after gathering all of these, there is still a certain chance of failure, which is quite frightening.

For these reasons, although Longgu Town has possessed this forging secret method for three or four years, it has only successfully forged a little over a thousand sets of iron caltrop armor. In addition, this iron caltrop armor is no ordinary armor. Soldiers cannot simply wear it; they must undergo corresponding training, which can take anywhere from one to several years to master. This has resulted in the iron caltrop army's numbers remaining at around 1000 men.

Generally speaking, the elite troops of a town are always led by the lord, or at the very least by the lord's relatives. However, Longgu Town broke this convention, and the commander of the Iron Caltrop Army was none other than the military leader Li Yangtian.

There are also some malicious speculations about this in various towns.

For example, there are rumors that the Long clan of Longgu and the Li clan are at odds, or that Li Yangtian is not convinced by Long Mingyuan. Some even go so far as to say that the true lord of Longgu Town is actually Li Yangtian, and Long Mingyuan is just a puppet he pushed out...

However, these malicious speculations gradually dissipated with the years of stability in Longgu Town. Everyone believed that the two had a harmonious relationship and trusted each other, which was why Lord Long Mingyuan was confident enough to hand over the Iron Caltrop Army to Li Yangtian.

Li Yangtian's military power was not limited to the Iron Caltrops Army. As the army commander, he nominally controlled all the troops in the entire Longgu Town, and the 13,000 town guards under him were all under his command.

Of course, with the recent start of the war, even the newly recruited 5000 Cold Resistance-level soldiers were also placed under his command.

After leaving the lord's main hall, Li Yangtian went directly to the military camp, summoned all eighteen commanders together, and quickly announced the lord's orders.

"The lord has ordered that 1000 Ironclad Troops and 3000 Garrison Troops remain to guard the town, while the remaining 15000 will all follow me north to reinforce Wuchuan. Anyone who wants to stay behind can speak now."

Upon hearing this, the eighteen commanders below looked at each other for a while, and then after a long time, none of them spoke.

"If you're not going to speak, then I'll call on the roll..."

Seeing that everyone wanted to leave the city and confront the Xia army head-on, Li Yangtian showed a satisfied expression, as if he was very pleased with his military achievements. He then looked around at everyone and said, "Zihe, Ziqing, and Zichu, you three will each lead a thousand men to stay and guard the city!"

Upon hearing this, the three people below the hall immediately showed signs of anxiety, clearly wanting to refuse, but they were silenced by Li Yangtian's words.

"The safety of the town is of utmost importance. Why do you think the lord would leave the Iron Rapier Army behind? All three of your armies were personally trained by my commander, and your combat strength is among the best of all the armies. Only by having you stay behind can we ensure the town's absolute safety. Enough with the nonsense, take the order and prepare to go to the city gate to relieve the garrison!"

(End of this chapter)