Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 294 A clever strategy
Zhang Lin is a general of both wisdom and courage. If we can kill him, it will be like cutting off the arm of General Gao Pian.

This is obvious.

This is not an easy task to accomplish.

Song Hao was killed by Zhang Lin with a single whip, his troops scattered, and the other troops were also filled with fear.

In order to block the ambush troops from other directions, Zhang Lin had to leave men to intercept them. The ambush troops from all directions took advantage of the situation to launch a fierce attack, killing and capturing some soldiers and generals.

With Song Hao's troops routed, a huge gap instantly appeared in the blockade of Zhang Lin's forces, making it impossible to intercept them any longer. The generals all felt that it was better not to pursue a desperate enemy and to withdraw while they were ahead.

Zhang Lin is a ruthless character. If you keep fighting to the death, you might accidentally lose your life like Song Hao did, which would be a huge loss.

In this way, the encirclement of Zhang Lin's troops became loose in the front and tight in the back.

In the previous attack on Song Hao's troops, Zhang Lin took the lead and charged ahead. After Song Hao was killed in battle and his troops scattered, the area became deserted.

The commander-in-chief takes the lead, which may involve charging into battle or fleeing, and the two can be switched seamlessly.

Seeing that Zhang Lin's vanguard had already broken out of the grass army camp and stepped into the valley.

Zhu Wen calculated the distance between himself and Zhang Lin, and then assessed the overall situation based on the lights.

Each of the ambushers that rushed over carried lanterns or torches.

A night raid is not an easy task.

Most soldiers don't get to eat much meat all year round.

Eating too little meat can make it difficult to see at night. In severe cases, it can be so dark at night that you can't see your hand in front of your face, a condition commonly known as "night blindness."

Those who can maintain order while walking at night are already elite troops.

During night raids, fires must not be lit to avoid alerting the enemy. However, when engaging in battle, someone still needs to light a light, otherwise soldiers may easily lose their way and turn on each other.

The generals were unwilling to pursue relentlessly for this reason. Lighting was difficult on the mountain path, and a pursuit would easily disrupt their own ranks.

Zhang Lin's Wudang Flying Army was fed large amounts of fish and meat by Gao Pian, and they were also regularly given pig liver and sheep liver to improve their eyesight. As a result, they were not only strong and healthy, but they could also see much more clearly at night than ordinary soldiers.

They underwent specialized night combat training, enabling them to maintain their formation by not only visually but also by sound at night, in addition to their ability to locate enemy positions.

Zhu Wen only brought two hundred elite troops to reinforce the area. These soldiers were certainly capable of seeing things at night. However, in terms of night fighting and mountain warfare capabilities, they were no match for Zhang Lin's Wudang Flying Army.

If there are too many people, they won't be able to get here so quickly.

If Zhu Wen hastily rushed to intercept Zhang Lin, and his men failed him, it would be tantamount to handing himself over to the enemy.

If it were Senior Brother Meng Kai, doing this would greatly increase his chances of winning. Meng Kai's martial prowess is such that he could easily surround two hundred enemies single-handedly.

Meng Kai also rushed over upon hearing the news, but his position wasn't ideal.

Because Zhang Lin killed Song Hao with such speed, Song Hao's troops were completely routed. The various camps that were surrounding and killing Zhang Lin were caught off guard, and their coordination went awry.

Meng Kai's troops were blocked by a friendly force and could not rush to the battle to kill the enemy.

This is a very common occurrence in war. The so-called "fighting with fewer troops" often involves utilizing terrain and positioning to avoid engaging more enemies.

Otherwise, as the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands, so how can everyone fight against several people?
Zhu Wen's position would be perfect to fill the gap left by Song Hao's routed troops, allowing him to intercept and kill Zhang Lin ahead of him. It would be a great pity to miss this opportunity.

Zhu Wen led his warriors into the darkness, looking down from the mountain ridge at Zhang Lin's troops on the mountain path.

As expected of the elite troops trained by Gao Pian, they maintained considerable order even while fleeing.

"If only we had laid out rolling logs and boulders beforehand," Ge Congzhou sighed beside Zhu Wen. "After smashing them, we could have fired a volley of crossbow bolts, and the Wudang Flying Army would have been at our mercy."

Even the most elite team will be thrown into chaos if they are hit by rolling logs and boulders in the dark.

Zhu Wen chuckled, "We don't know when Zhang Lin will attack, how can we prepare so much?" Ge Congzhou scratched his head, immediately at a loss.

Two hundred men are far too few, and their night and mountain warfare capabilities are no match for the Wudang Flying Army. Even if they charged in from the high ground, the risks would be far too great.

But he thought to himself that Zhu Wen would not fight an unprepared battle; the fact that he dared to outmaneuver Zhang Lin meant he must have something to rely on.

"Kid, guess my plan," Zhu Wen said with a meaningful smile.

Zhu Wen did not inform Ge Congzhou of his plan before the battle, not because he distrusted him, but because he thought the young man was a promising talent and hoped that he could guess his strategy.

Otherwise, Zhu Wen would not have brought Ge Congzhou into the interception team this time.

Ge Congzhou's mind raced.

Some people like to keep things a secret and create suspense, always saying "guess" without giving any clues for reasoning, which is very annoying.

But Zhu Wen was not that kind of person.

Zhu Wen had Ge Congzhou guess, so there must be some clues to follow. Only in this way could he effectively cultivate Ge's abilities.

Ge Congzhou suddenly realized that Zhu Wen's route was clearly heading straight for the mountain ridge outside the camp in order to intercept Zhang Lin's advance.

Based on the overall layout of the camp, if Zhang Lin's attack on Huang Chao's main tent failed and he successfully broke through, the direction would actually be fixed.

Zhu Wen clearly intended for Zhang Lin to break out successfully, intercepting him directly outside the camp. If Zhang Lin had been wiped out inside the camp, Zhu Wen wouldn't have needed to intervene.

Why didn't Huang Chao lay an ambush of troops on the mountain ridge beforehand?

We don’t know exactly when the enemy will arrive. Does this force lie in wait on the mountain ridge every night?

Zhu Wen then said, "Here's another hint: think about what delicious food you've eaten recently."

Ge Congzhou suddenly remembered that a few days ago, Zhu Wen had some soldiers wear bamboo masks, coarse linen narrow-sleeved shirts, cowhide gloves and tall boots, and bring back some wild honey from the mountains, saying that he would improve the brothers' meals.

However, with many wounded and sick soldiers needing rest, sending healthy soldiers to search for wild honey all over the mountains and fields, expending a lot of energy, does not seem like a rational decision at first glance.

With Zhu Wen's intelligence, he must have had a deeper meaning.

Having come this far, Ge Congzhou immediately understood.

"You brought back not only wild bee nests, but also hornet nests, didn't you?"

Wasps don't produce honey, but it's not difficult to find wasp nests in the mountains; there are even more of them than wild nests.

Seeing Zhu Wen's approving gaze, Ge Congzhou continued, "But throwing the beehive down might not only fail to harm the enemy, but also result in being bitten by them..."

"Recently, Zhu Du has even had people collect sesame oil, presumably with this in mind."

Zhu Wen smiled with great satisfaction and patted Ge Congzhou on the shoulder: "Good lad, you will definitely grow into a famous general who surpasses your grandfather!"

The soldiers drew their bows and nocked arrows, and the cloth soaked in sesame oil on the arrow fletching burst into flames.

The use of rockets was certainly not for fire attacks. The Wudang Flying Army was not wearing rattan armor, and even if they were, it wouldn't be so easily ignited.

But as the rain of fire rained down on the enemy, a cloud of buzzing black mist suddenly rose into the night sky.

Attracted by the light, clumps of black mist rushed towards Zhang Lin's troops below.

Not only moths are attracted to fire, but many insects are also drawn to the light of fire.

Heart-wrenching screams soon echoed from the enemy ranks...

(End of this chapter)