Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 205: Defeat More with Less
Manshan County. When Zhao Yifu arrived in this county, he realized how bad the situation was here.

Why? Because the Manshan Camp that was supposed to be stationed here was no longer there, and the county magistrate, chief clerk, and other high-ranking officials were also nowhere to be found.

When he arrived, an old official tremblingly handed over a yellow book from ten years ago, completing the handover...

Faced with this situation, Zhao Yifu understood without hesitation that Manshan County had been abandoned.

The Manshan Camp, which was supposed to be stationed here, fled without a fight, taking with it officials such as the county magistrate and the chief clerk.

The young and energetic Yang Zaixuan said angrily, "Xiangyang is still fighting a fierce battle with the northerners, and these termites actually escaped!"

"If I find out, I'll make them pay!"

Zhao Yifu laughed and said, "What's the big deal? It's better if they run away... I was originally worried that the situation here would be complicated and difficult to handle."

"But now...haha, who else in Manshan County can contradict me?"

Yang Zaixuan felt that this seemed to be the case, but they didn’t have much support, right?
He was a warrior, so he considered military affairs first.

He hurried to the county warehouse to check, then came back with a bitter face and said, "Sir, there is nothing left in the warehouse. They took everything away when they left."

Zhao Yifu was packing up his things and preparing for his residence at the county government office at this time. He had expected this after hearing it.

He said, "That's easy, just wait..."

As he spoke, he pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and spread it out in front of Yang Zaixuan...

I saw that the entire Manshan County and its surrounding terrain had been drawn out, and even all the villages and households were recorded on it.

More importantly, the names of each household are even marked on it.

Zhao Yifu drew three red circles on the map and said, "If we raid these three wealthy families, we'll have money and food."

Yang Zaixuan's face twitched, and he thought to himself, is it so direct?

But he said nothing, just nodded and was about to leave.

However, Zhao Yifu stopped him again: "Wait."

Yang Zaixuan stopped and looked over in confusion.

Zhao Yifu asked, "Do you know what excuse we can use to raid their house?"

Yang Zaixuan was confused. If they were going to confiscate the house, what other reason was needed?
Zhao Yifu said angrily, "If you go to confiscate the house like this, you will give people a bad name. You must find a good reason before you act, so that you can act with dignity."

"And now we are facing the Northern Dynasty's front. You should know what excuse I have for you, right?"

Yang Zaixuan suddenly realized, "They are collaborating with the enemy!"

Zhao Yifu said, "Words are not enough. You have to find evidence while you're raiding the house. Do you understand?"

Yang Zaixuan really understood this time, and he said, "Okay, sir, I'll go right away."

With that, he took his men and went there in a hurry.

Afterwards, Zhao Yifu no longer worried about this matter. After all, these three families were really collaborating with the enemy.

As for Yang Shen, you should know that this kind of thing is not too simple. He can even clearly explain what evidence the three families have of colluding with the enemy.

But there is no need for that. It is a good opportunity to test the ability of this subordinate to do things.

But speaking of my men...

Zhao Yi Fu took out some refining materials and a set of iron armor that he had saved, and then started refining it with pure Yang fire.

He has been doing similar things for the past month, and now there is only some finishing work left, so he will try to finish it as soon as possible.

Come to think of it, he felt that he was now much more efficient at rubbing things with his hands.

You can rub pills, magic weapons and armor, almost anything can be rubbed by hand.

This seemed to be a gradual change that occurred after he became a Yang Shen. However, he had been practicing the Crane Claw technique for many years, and his hand skills were the strongest, so he didn't find it too strange.

These three families were all wealthy families in Manshan County, and Yang Zaixuan arrested them all in less than a day.

But he was very smart. He did not rush to search the houses, but first searched for evidence of the three families colluding with the enemy... Sure enough, he found many letters between them and northern officials and generals in the study or some secret rooms of their master.

They kept these letters as proof of their future "change of employers", but now they naturally became evidence of their collaboration with the enemy.

There was nothing more to say, so he started to search the houses directly. At the same time, he did not forget to arrange soldiers with loud voices at the door of each house to explain the reasons, so that all the surrounding neighbors would understand what was going on and would not cause panic.

This move was enough to make Zhao Yifu take notice of him. This subordinate was considered quite capable.

However, they had too few people, so Zhao Yifu asked Xiao Huzi to lead the cats to help search the house and check the accounts.

In fact, he didn't care how much he could copy, as long as it was enough.

After two days, Manshan County was completely under control.

In any case, no gentry in the county dared to resist, for fear of following in the footsteps of those three families.

At this moment, the mustachioed figure rushed back and said, "My Lord, there are enemy troops fifty miles away, about three thousand strong, and they are coming this way!"

Zhao Yifu nodded, then waved his sleeves, and two hundred sets of gleaming iron armor were thrown to the ground.

This is somewhat similar to the heavy infantry armor of the Daxu standard, but it looks a lot lighter.

This is indeed the case. This armor is quite light, but its defense is stronger than that of infantry armor.

It is forged by Zhao Yifu by hand, so the quality is absolutely no problem.

"Distribute them to the brothers. Change into the clothes and get used to them. We are ready to fight."

Infantry armor is the most sophisticated iron armor of Da Xu, and its appearance on the battlefield can often determine the outcome of the battle.

However, because the armor is quite heavy and places high demands on the soldiers, only the elite among the elite in the Da Xu army are qualified to use it.

Even now, when military equipment is relaxed, new equipment is rarely produced for local soldiers because of the high cost of infantry armor.

Only a military officer would dare to do the method of Zhao Yifu, which is to rub the iron armor with his hands. Otherwise, privately casting armor would be a serious crime.

Then he called Yang Zaixuan and threw him a silver spear with a red tassel.

"Here you go, practice until you're proficient. Don't show your fear on the battlefield."

Yang Zaixuan took the red-tasseled silver spear and felt it was extremely suitable for his hand. He swung it with great force, and the bright gun body reflected a dazzling light.

Wow, it even has 'magic attack'!
"What a gun!"

Yang Zaixuan was extremely surprised.

Zhao Yifu then gave him a set of silver armor and said, "This is yours. From now on, you will have silver armor and a silver spear... and you must also have a white horse."

He was a little worried. This was not going to be easy.

Yang Zaixuan seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.

Zhao Yifu suddenly raised his fist and said, "Yes, it's fine as long as it's captured on the battlefield. With an army of 300,000 strong in the Northern Dynasty, there will always be a white horse suitable for you to ride."

Yang Zaixuan hesitated and said, "But sir, isn't my attire a bit too conspicuous?"

He seemed worried that his son would be targeted.

Zhao Yifu patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I have specially treated your silver armor. Ordinary crossbows, swords and spears cannot penetrate it. Plus, with your martial arts skills, you don't have to worry about being hit by a volley of arrows even if you are alone."

Yang Zaixuan was confused. He still felt that if he went to the battlefield dressed like this, he would be the biggest target and would probably die miserably.

But Zhao Yifu didn't think so. Yang Zaixuan, who had been dealt with simply by him, was so handsome and brave enough. He would definitely attract the attention of that arrogant sister, right?
Second uncle is always worried that his daughter won't be able to get married, and Zhao Yifu is really worried about his second uncle's family.

"No, Bai Ma can't wait, we have to arrange it as soon as possible."

Yang Zaixuan said, "Sir, let's talk about this later. I still have to go and arrange the city defenses."

Zhao Yifu said, "With only 3,000 men, how can we arrange for city defense?"

"Have everyone put on their armor and march out of the city to fight!"

Yang Zaixuan felt his scalp tingling when he heard this. Isn’t this too reckless?
He said, "Sir, what military strategy will you use in this battle?"

Zhao Yifu said: "Without military strategy, we can only attack."

"Just a bunch of lightly armored foot soldiers, kill them all!"

When Yang Zaixuan heard what Zhao Yifu said, he was also inspired.

"Okay, I'll follow your orders, sir!"

As he said this, he went to reorganize the soldiers.

All the soldiers changed into the infantry armor specially made by Zhao Yifu, and an armored army was formed.

There are only two hundred people. With Zhao Yifu's production capacity of making armor alone, how difficult is it to make three thousand sets?
And with three thousand sets of armor, we can just rebel!
By the evening of that day, the Northern Dynasty army came into sight.

They did not camp outside the city, but hurried to Manshan County, and it seemed that they were planning to stay in the city overnight.

Zhao Yifu stood on the top of the city wall and looked for a while. Suddenly he said, "I've changed my mind. Let them enter the city and we'll set up an ambush."

Yang Zaixuan was quite surprised. He said that it might be too late to prepare now?
Zhao Yifu said, "Line up on the street behind the gate. Shoot them with arrows in the first round, but remember not to shoot the horses. They have a hundred cavalry charging in the front."

Yang Zaixuan was puzzled after listening for a while. It turned out that his own master was still thinking about the other party's warhorse.

However, he didn't have much of an opinion at that time, so he just followed whatever Zhao Yifu said.

He quickly arranged for his men to line up on the street behind the city gate.

Then the city gate was ajar...

The soldiers of the Northern Dynasty probably thought that this was already an empty city, so they rushed over on horseback, broke open the city gate, and then rushed in in a rush.

Perhaps for them, running ahead will give them the opportunity to compete for the biggest "fat meat".

But unfortunately, when they realized that there was an army array in front of them, it was too late to stop. Arrows were fired at their heads, knocking the cavalrymen off their horses one by one.

However, there were always archers with poor shooting skills who injured or killed the war horses, and this scene made Zhao Yifu feel distressed.

But there's no way, this is a battlefield, not everything you wish for will come true.

There was one man in this cavalry who looked very brave. He rushed to the front and kept shouting, with weapons dancing around him, but no arrows could hit him.

Upon seeing this, Yang Zaixuan immediately rushed forward and fired a shot, which was so fast and sharp that it knocked the man down.

He stepped forward, grabbed the yellow horse ridden by the Northern Dynasty general, and then he led his men to charge forward.

Yang Zaixuan also showed his temper, thoroughly implemented Zhao Yifu's will, and rushed forward.

The two thousand men were originally planning to pass through the city gate, but were counterattacked by a group of infantrymen.

It was impossible to form a new formation, and the soldiers were in a panic at first, but after discovering that their commander was dead, a group of soldiers frantically urged the surrounding soldiers to continue the attack.

This was determined by the cruel military system of the Northern Dynasties. The one who commanded so many soldiers must be a Liaohu noble. Once a Liaohu noble died, his soldiers had to be buried with him, otherwise his entire family would suffer.

However, these three thousand people, namely the one hundred cavalrymen and five hundred combat soldiers in the lead, were equipped with complete armor. The remaining soldiers were obviously local civilians temporarily recruited. They were given a sword and a shield and sent to the front line to fight in cloth clothes.

To put it bluntly, these people are just cannon fodder.

It is obvious that Liao Hu would only equip his personal guards with complete weapons.

Originally, this would definitely be a fierce battle.

But who could have thought that their commanding general would die as soon as he came up?

With no leader and their formation in disarray, defeat was inevitable.

Yang Zaixuan immediately saw the Liaohu soldiers who were constantly urging the surrounding soldiers to attack.

Then he charged into the battle alone.

The two hundred Fenglin militiamen behind him followed without hesitation, wearing solid armor to serve as flank guards for Yang Zaixuan.

In the chaos of the army, no one knew who was the first to lay down their weapons and choose to surrender.

Immediately, a group of people surrendered.

Even the Liaohu soldiers who had fought desperately finally lost their courage and chose to retreat in disgrace.

There was no way. Yang Zaixuan's charge was too strong and they could not organize any effective resistance.

Some surrendered, others fled, and Yang Zaixuan was about to hunt them down...

But Zhao Yifu's voice came from behind: "Zaixuan, there is no need to surrender. Just drive them out, drive them out of my Manshan County."

Yang Zaixuan understood what he said and then started to drive them away.

Not long after, these people were driven out of Manshan County, leaving behind a pile of scattered corpses.

Zhao Yifu sent his cats to clean up the battlefield, while he himself sat on the top of the city wall and pretended to paint.

Well, it's not really pretentious. Doesn't he have to give a 'live broadcast' to his pen pal?

[Excellent fight! Two hundred to three thousand, just this matchup ratio alone shows the aura of a famous general.]

Zhao Yifu replied modestly: [Not at all, it's all thanks to the hard work of my subordinates.]

Ying Cong: [Don't get me wrong, I'm talking about Yang Zaixuan... He's truly a god-given general!]

What do you think about me marrying my daughter to him?

Zhao Yifu immediately snorted coldly, "No, your daughter's small frame is no match for Zaixuan. My sister Xiangyu and him are truly a perfect match."

Ying Cong: [How ridiculous! Is my daughter from the royal family unworthy of a general?]

Zhao Yifu said: [It's not that they're not good enough, but from the perspective of bloodline inheritance, my sister is just right for him.]

[After all, your daughter is delicate, and the child she gives birth to may not inherit the same physique as his father.]

[And my sister is so powerful, if we add the two together, maybe the next generation will be even stronger!]

Ying Cong: [How ridiculous... But, are you planning to train a general? ]

Zhao Yifu said: [Let's give it a try. After all, I hope someone can continue to protect this country after me.]

Ying Cong: [Why do you always manage to convince me with words like this... Hateful.]

Zhao Yifu: [If your daughter is worried about getting married, why not take a look at my third brother?]

Zhao Yifu thought of his good-for-nothing third brother again, and decided that if he failed in his cultivation, he would arrange a way for him to become a royal consort.

Ying Cong said angrily: [Your third brother Zhao Yian is a naughty boy. I will not marry my daughter to him!]

The two seemed to have fallen out.

But Zhao Yifu raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a relaxed smile.

And Ying Cong, who seemed to be responding angrily, was actually laughing while writing these vicious words.

Zhao Yifu continued, "Alright, I'm done arguing with you. I need to go and count the spoils. This time we've gained quite a bit, and at least we can stabilize the rear of Xiangyang."

He ended the chat, and his spirit left his body and circled around the battlefield. He already knew what the gains were this time.

There was not much food and fodder, but there were quite a few supplies such as arrows and weapons. Of course, the most important thing was that they found many horse-drawn carriages to transport the supplies.

This army obviously wanted to plunder Manshan County, and even brought their own carriages and horses.

Now all these have become Zhao Yifu's property.

Oh, and we ended up with 37 war horses.

Even though we had warned people to be careful and leave more war horses before the battle, unfortunately most of them were still killed or injured.

Half a day later, Yang Zaixuan came back.

He said with some worry: "Sir, if we let so many people escape, won't it attract more Liao soldiers?"

Zhao Yifu said, "What are you afraid of? More will just help relieve the pressure on my Master Zhou."

"Prepare for the city defense... Oh, and didn't you confiscate those three great families? Let the men in those families also participate in the defense of the city, so they can redeem themselves for their crimes."

"Also, have someone deal with the horse carcasses. They're prime rations, don't waste them."

Zhao Yifu began to explain things, giving Yang Zaixuan many items to carry out, which felt like cramming.

However, Yang Zaixuan showed strong execution ability at this time. He completed everything Zhao Yifu asked him to do, showing extraordinary talent.

What made Zhao Yifu feel even more incredible was that after he finished his work, this guy came to him and said, "Sir, I understand!"

Zhao Yifu asked, "What do you understand?"

Yang Zaixuan said, "I understand why you only drove back the defeated troops."

Zhao Yifu asked, "Why?"

Yang Zaixuan: "Because of the Liaohu military system, when a Liaohu nobleman who led troops to battle died, all the soldiers he led had to be buried with him."

"While this punishment is certainly cruel, it can force soldiers to fight to the death."

"But there are too many defeated troops this time!"

"Of the three thousand enemy soldiers, at least two thousand retreated. Are they planning to slaughter all of them?"

"If the law doesn't punish the masses, then Liao Nation's military system will be shaken. If they ruthlessly execute them... that would certainly be a deterrent for a while, but what if they fail once, twice, or even more times?"

"I'm afraid that sooner or later this method will backfire on its master!"

After hearing this, Zhao Yifu felt that what this kid said made sense.

Then he laughed and said, "You have a point, but I will teach you a way to win every battle against the Liao army."

Yang Zaixuan asked in surprise, "What method?"

Zhao Yifu said: "Just charge directly at their noble commanders!"

Just... still be reckless.

But Yang Zaixuan understood this time. He said, "I see... If the nobles are brave, they will naturally be strong soldiers who have fought many battles. But if the nobles leading the troops are cowards, doesn't that mean that no matter how many people there are, this army has the chance of being defeated in one blow?"

Yang Zaixuan finally came to his senses. He understood why Zhao Yifu had asked him to face 3,000 enemies head-on. Because... given sufficient military strength, this might be the best way to deal with the Liao army.

The narrow road meets the brave to win!

Yang Zaixuan said respectfully, "Sir, I am grateful for your guidance."

Zhao Yifu waved his hand and said, "Go and get busy. I'm afraid there will be a series of battles coming up. Let the soldiers have a good rest."

"I'll take care of the wounded later."

The Fenglin soldiers were not completely unscathed, but because they were fully armored, only sixteen of them suffered injuries of varying severity.

Yang Zaixuan took the order and left. He was actually quite tired, but his burning desire to achieve great things made him full of strength.

As for Zhao Yifu, he actually never doubted whether he could gain a foothold in Manshan County.

What he was thinking about more at this time was how to deal with the changes that might come at any time.

"Anyway, let's deal with the 'death' here first."

He lightly flicked the Netherworld Messenger Token worn on his waist, and the gates of hell that were invisible to mortals quietly opened.

Letting the dead return to the underworld might be a way to prepare for a rainy day.

(End of this chapter)