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Chapter 117: The Brave Wins When Two Meet on a Narrow Road (4K)

The end of May in the second year of Xian De.

Li Yi, the commander of the cavalry in front of the palace, and Zan Jurun, the envoy of the Ministry of Guests, led 3,500 cavalry and infantry of the imperial army and arrived at Fengxiang Prefecture.

This attack on Shu was the same as the first one, still an unethical surprise attack.

Therefore, the Later Zhou Dynasty did not declare war with great fanfare, nor did it threaten the Shu Kingdom by shouting about the number of 50,000 or 100,000 troops.

After the army that attacked Shu for the first time withdrew from Shu, a small part of them was stationed at Sanguan to monitor the movements of the Shu army, while the main force returned to Fengxiang Prefecture for rest and recuperation.

Therefore, Li Yi and Zan Jurun met Wang Jing and Xiang Xun in Fengxiang Prefecture.

The four of them met together first. They were the commander-in-chief Wang Jing, the deputy commander Li Yi, the military supervisor Xiang Xun, and Zan Jurun, who was in charge of logistics. They were the main persons in charge of this Western Expedition.

Li Yi and Xiang Xun had a good relationship in private, and he also became familiar with Zan Jurun during the march. The only person he had never dealt with was Wang Jing, the governor of Fengxiang. After meeting him, he only exchanged a few polite words.

The army to attack Shu was basically assembled, but preparations before the war were essential. Wang Jing then summoned all the generals in Fengxiang to discuss military affairs.

The reinforcements this time were not only the imperial guards led by Li Yi, but also the governor of Zhangyi, who was stationed in the north of Fengxiang Town. He also sent more than 2,000 garrison troops to join the battle. The leader of the troops was a military commander named Guo Zi Chong.

In addition, more than a thousand troops from the Yongxing Army, which governed Jingzhao Prefecture, also arrived to garrison.

However, Li Yi had doubts about the choice of general to lead the troops stationed in Yongxing, because he learned from Xiang Xun that the general's name was Pan Mei.

When mentioning this name, many people in later generations who do not know history may feel unfamiliar with it, but those who have watched the TV series "The Yang Family Generals" will probably have a deep impression of the villain Pan Renmei in it.

The prototype of this character is Pan Mei, a famous general of the Northern Song Dynasty who took the blame during the Yongxi Northern Expedition and was blamed by the world for killing Yang Ye.

Li Yi asked Xiang Xun about the other party's background and finally confirmed that this general named Pan Mei should be the one in history.

However, now that the war is about to begin, Li Yi has no intention of trying to get close to him... Besides, in history, Pan Mei's status only began to rise after the establishment of the Song Dynasty. Naturally, he is still far behind Li Yi now.

……

In the hall of Fengxiang Prefecture, Wang Jing sat in the upper seat. Although he was nearly seventy years old and his hair and beard were mostly white, he was in good spirits and his complexion was quite healthy and rosy.

It is said that Wang Jing was born in poverty in his early years, became a bandit, and almost died at the hands of government troops.

Later, he was recruited by Wang Tan, a general of the Later Liang Dynasty, and joined him to guard Weitai and fight against Li Cunxu, the Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, along the banks of the Yellow River.

When Zhuangzong attacked Bianliang, Wang Jing led his army to surrender and was reused by Li Cunxu.

When the Khitan conquered the Later Jin Dynasty, Wang Jing, who was then the governor of the Henghai Army, was forcibly transferred to another place.

But on the way he heard that Emperor Taizong of Liao, Yelü Deguang, had died in Luancheng, so he led his men through a shortcut back to the Henghai Army's base. With only a few hundred people, he attacked the city gate and drove away the Khitan defenders.

To be honest, Wang Jing can be considered a true veteran of five dynasties. He has fought for the emperors of Liang, Tang, Jin, Han and Zhou.

As a senior commander, he naturally has plenty of experience in battle and must have his own understanding of how to fight.

Li Yi couldn't understand why the first attack on Shu ended in such an inglorious defeat.

However, no matter what, Li Yi can only win this time and not lose. He does not expect to rely on Wang Jing to help him win. He just hopes that he will not be like Fu Yanqing during the Battle of Xinkou, who was hesitant when he got old and gave blind commands from behind, hindering his team.

After all, Wang Jing is nominally the main general in this battle. If he insists on giving orders to Li Yi by force, it will indeed cause Li Yi a lot of trouble.

After all the generals had gathered, Wang Jing took a quick look around. Without putting on airs, he smiled and said, "You have come a long way and should have rested first. However, the matter of attacking Shu is urgent, so I have summoned you all to discuss matters. I hope you will forgive me."

Everyone present said they dared not to hear this.

Wang Jing, in a polite gesture, nodded, his smile faded, and he said thoughtfully, "During the previous attack on Shu, our Fengxiang garrison lost over a thousand men, and the civilian laborers and servants responsible for transporting food and fodder also lost another thousand or two, either killed or captured."

"The casualties are still within an acceptable range... The most worrying thing is the previous battle, which has made Shu Kingdom wary. According to reports from the front lines near Huanghua Valley, eight camps, including Huangniu, have been recaptured by the Shu army and heavily guarded. The forts south of Huanghua Valley have also been fortified."

"Also, there are signs of military activity at the northern entrance to the Yellow Flower Valley. I imagine there are Shu troops stationed there as well... If we attack from Chencang Road again this time, I'm afraid it will be quite difficult."

"Whatever you think about this, feel free to share it."

However, after Wang Jing finished speaking, no one spoke immediately. Instead, everyone turned their eyes to Li Yi who was sitting at the upper left.

Even Xiang Xun looked at Li Yi with interest.

Li Yi hurriedly said, "Your Excellency has been on the battlefield for many years. Your experience in fighting is far beyond the reach of my subordinates. I will follow your arrangements in everything."

He was naturally aware of everyone's reactions. Firstly, he was the deputy general in the attack on Shu, and everyone was waiting for him to speak first.

Secondly, he had signed a military order with the emperor to capture the four states of Qin and Feng within two months. Although people did not say it out loud, they must have doubts in their hearts and wanted to hear what he had to say.

However, Wang Jing was clearly dissatisfied with Li Yi's answer. He frowned slightly and said, "I heard that Li Du Yuhou had submitted a proposal to the emperor regarding the attack on Shu and even issued a military order. If I were to arrange everything, I would not be able to bear the responsibility."

It seems that Wang Jing also seemed to have some complaints about Li Yi in his heart. He specifically mentioned the military order, and there seemed to be some unhappiness in his words.

But if you think about it carefully, it's no wonder that he would be a little unhappy. He was beaten back by the Shu army during his first attack on Shu. As a veteran of several dynasties, Wang Jing must have felt aggrieved.

But Li Yi "shamelessly" said that Qin and Feng were the two most beautiful women in the world. Isn't this indirectly saying that he is old and useless?
Li Yi had originally been merely being polite, but since Wang Jing had spoken so clearly, he decided to speak frankly, "I do have some simple ideas. I believe Cheng and Jie states are not the focus of this battle. As long as we capture Qin and Feng, Cheng and Jie will naturally be within our grasp."

"But if we want to attack Qin and Feng, as long as we take Fengzhou, the rest will be easy... Qinzhou is too far to the north. Our army only needs to send a small number of troops to intercept and contain it at the northwest crossing of the Wei River."

"So our army's focus is Fengzhou. Once we capture Fengzhou, we can head north to block Shu from sending reinforcements to Qinzhou, isolating it and forcing Qinzhou to surrender. Heading west, we can drive directly to Chengzhou and Jiezhou. These two cities have few soldiers. Our army only needs to advance south from Fengzhou, control the Jialing Valley and cut off their retreat, and we will naturally be able to take them without a fight."

Li Yi paused at this point to let everyone digest the information first. What he said now was just the general direction. He also had a plan on how to fight, but he wanted to see what others said first.

Wang Jing nodded in praise, "Marquis Li Duyu said it very well. It coincides with what I said. It really is true that the young are to be feared."

His attitude towards Li Yi changed immediately. If you want to be respected these days, you naturally need to show your real ability. Li Yi's words hit the key points of attacking the four states of Qin, Feng and Feng.

As a veteran, Wang Jing could naturally think of it, but the prerequisite was rich experience in battle formations and a detailed understanding of the terrain.

Otherwise, the army would have no idea where to attack and where to defend. This is not something that can be discussed on paper by just taking a mobile phone and opening a map in the future.

Li Yi said modestly, "Your Excellency, your compliment is too great."

"Marquis Li Duyu's considerations are indeed very thorough, without any omissions."

Wang Jing nodded slightly and said no more. He turned and continued, "It's just that after the last attack on Shu, Shu has become wary. I heard that last month they sent Prime Minister Wang Zhaoyuan to Qin and Feng to deploy troops. If we attack Qin and Feng again this time, advancing through Chencang Road will be very difficult."

"I wonder what Li Du Yuhou has in mind? Where should we march from in this battle?"

Li Yi had already prepared a plan for this. He pulled out a few sheets of paper he had prepared in advance and stepped forward to hand them to Wang Jing. "This is the march route map I drew when I came from Tokyo. Please review it, Your Highness."

Wang Jing took it and scanned it carefully, and found that the paper was drawn in a way he had never seen before. The terrain of the entire Qin, Feng and four states, as well as the marching routes of various military units, were drawn on it.

He wondered, "This topographic map is quite interesting, but what are these strange words?"

Li Yi was stunned, then he remembered that no one could understand contour lines and scales nowadays... He was only thinking about the war and overlooked this matter.

In fact, the topographic map he drew used the drawing method of later maps. He used the impression of later geographical atlases in his mind and the Qin and Feng maps of this era as reference to hand-draw this combat march route himself.

There was no time to explain these things right now, so Li Yi simply said, "Since ancient times, there have been only four main roads to cross the Qinling Mountains and enter Shu."

"One is to take the old Chencang Road out of Sanguan, the second is to take the Ziwu Road through the Ziwu Valley, the third is to take the Tangluo Road through the Tangshui River Valley, and the fourth is to take the Baoxia Road along the Baoxia River."

Li Yi paused, and seeing that everyone was listening quietly, he continued, "The Ziwu Road and Tangluo Road are too far from Fengxiang. Although the Baoxia Road can be turned south from Sanguan, it is a long detour, and the middle and later sections are also difficult to travel, making the march quite difficult."

"If the Shu army takes advantage of our rest and waits for us to attack, the risk we will have to bear is simply not worth it. It is very likely that we will be unable to resist before the battle even begins."

"We are not planning a large-scale invasion of Shu this time. The imperial court cannot afford to spend too much money to maintain logistics. Taking the Baoxiade Road is naturally the worst option."

"In my opinion, if we want to attack Fengzhou, the Chencang Road is our only option, but the key is to fight and win quickly. If we are blocked and delayed, the terrain will restrict our stationing and transporting food, making it extremely inconvenient."

"Although the old Chencang Road is now guarded by the Shu army, fighting is a matter of courage and strength. With the Imperial Guards I brought as the main vanguard, advancing all the way forward will not be a problem."

As for the route and strategy for attacking Shu, it all comes down to the same thing.

After all, the geographical limitations of Shu are there, and no matter how well you fight, you cannot escape the fundamentals. The most important thing is the will and combat effectiveness of the army.

Otherwise, if you can't win, everything will be just talk.

Fortunately, Li Yi had the foresight of later generations, and with the successful historical experience of the Later Zhou Dynasty attacking Shu and the Northern Song Dynasty destroying the Later Shu, no one could find any fault with the suggestions he put forward.

It can even be said that no one present, including veteran Wang Jing, could come up with a better plan than his.

As expected, after everyone thought about it, their eyes changed when they looked at Li Yi. This young general was indeed brave and resourceful. Not only was he brave in charging into battle, he was also good at planning the battle situation.

Wang Jing nodded and said, "When the Tang army conquered King Yan of Shu, they also marched south directly from Chencang Road. This is an experience we can learn from. Although our army failed in its last attack on Shu, this time with the elite imperial guards brought by Li Du Yuhou, perhaps things will be different..."

But he hesitated as he spoke, "But back then, King Yan of Shu was incompetent and unprepared to face the Tang army. But now Shu is on guard and is continuously sending reinforcements to Qin and Feng. I think it's better to be cautious."

Li Yi had no choice but to continue, "The Shu army's first line of defense is nothing more than the eight military camps in front. As long as we can quickly capture them, and then suddenly attack and capture Huanghua Valley, and then hold the valley entrances on both sides and gain a foothold, we can directly threaten Weiwu City."

At this point, he recalled the last time the Later Zhou army attacked Shu, and was defeated at the foot of Weiwu City. To dispel Wang Jing's concerns, he said decisively: "The battle to attack Weiwu City will be handed over to my subordinates when the time comes. Your Majesty, just let the people defend Huanghua Valley."

Wang Jing glanced at Xiang Xun and said hesitantly, "Li Du Yuhou's method is a bit hasty and risky. Seeking quick success and instant benefits is a taboo in military strategy."

His action was quite meaningful. As the commander-in-chief of the field camp, Xiang Xun was sent by the emperor to monitor the army. Wang Jing's action was self-evident. It was to show Xiang Xun that this idea had nothing to do with him.

Li Yi was speechless. It seemed that Wang Jing was just like Fu Yanqing. He no longer had enough courage as he got older. He was afraid that he, as the commander-in-chief, should bear a great responsibility for the failure of the last attack on Shu.

However, Li Yi had no time to waste. He had already signed a military order with the emperor, and he wanted to win the attack on Shu more quickly than anyone else.

Li Yi advised, "Although Shu is on guard, transporting grain from its hinterland to Qin and Feng is no less difficult than it is for our dynasty. I believe the longer we delay, the more prepared the Shu army will become. We should fight quickly and decisively."

"If we can capture Weiwu City as soon as possible, we can seize the Shu army's stored food and fodder, thereby reducing our logistical pressure. The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous the situation will be."

Seeing Wang Jing remain silent, Li Yi steeled himself and said through gritted teeth, "I will lead the Imperial Guards' vanguard troops to clear the way ahead. Your Excellency only needs to lead the troops in the rear to provide support... As for the issue of food and fodder."

"The vanguard troops will carry three days' worth of supplies, and then Your Majesty will have the logistics department provide half a month's worth of food and fodder. I will definitely be able to lead the army to capture Weiwu City and use the Shu army's stored food and fodder without wasting a single inch of food in the rear."

Wang Jing's eyebrows raised slightly: "Is Li Du Yuhou signing a military order in front of me?"

Li Yi sighed in his heart. He had already issued a military order once, so it didn't matter if there was one more. After all, he wouldn't be afraid of the itch if there were too many lice.

He immediately said decisively: "If we fail to capture Weiwu City within half a month, and anything goes wrong, it will have nothing to do with you, my lord. I will apologize to the emperor!"

(End of this chapter)