The prince is more stable

Chapter 558 The troops arrive outside the city
How would it feel if a camp with 60,000 troops suddenly became empty?
Anyway, Zhao Xiaoqian didn't feel lost, he was in a very happy mood.

The camp was empty and the space was large, so we had fun to our heart's content.

A Cuju game was being held on the training ground beside the Juma River.

Cuju is a universal sport these days. No matter the rich or the common people, this sport is considered fashionable. As long as there is an open space and a Cuju ball, a competition can be organized at any time.

Zhao Xiaoqian is not a football fan. In fact, in his previous life, he didn't even understand the "offside" rules. In the entire 90 minutes, the only thing that made people excited was the moment when the goal was scored.

In his previous life, he was briefly fascinated by football, but unfortunately, he made a mistake that would lead to his eternal regret. He fell in love with the wrong person and spent a lot of money on football lottery.

After seeing the Chinese national football team's dismal performance time and time again, he quit football completely in anger and never watched it again. He was worried that he would be the only one to embarrass the national football team and make those bastards even more arrogant.

Cuju is not a sport that only appeared in the Song Dynasty. In fact, its origin is very ancient, dating back to ancient times. Legend has it that this sport was created by Emperor Huangdi.

According to the Silk Manuscripts of the Warring States Period, after Huangdi killed Chiyou, he "filled his stomach with balls and ordered people to hold them, and those who hit the balls most times were rewarded."

Simply put, our Chinese ancestor Huangdi made parts of Chiyou's body into a ball for people to kick.

He is a tough guy, worthy of being the ancestor of the fighting nation.

The Cuju playing field was larger than the standard football field of later generations, being 120 zhang long and 80 zhang wide. Each side had 12 or 16 players, with clear division of labor among the players, and each person had a specific position and title.

Such as ball head, smart ball, straight clamp, head clamp, left and right pole net, etc., just like the captain, winger, and defender in later football.

At this moment, a Cuju game was going on fiercely on the training ground of Longwei Camp.

A formal Cuju match involves not only players but also referees.

The referee was waving a small flag and running in both directions. The players were all selected from the two thousand soldiers who stayed behind in the camp.

Zhao Xiaoqian stood on the sidelines, yelling and shouting without any manners, pointing at the nose of a certain incompetent player and cursing loudly. He looked more excited than the players on the field, a typical British hooligan fan.

The referee passed by Zhao Xiaoqian several times, looking at him with hesitation, as if he wanted to penalize him as an outsider, but he didn't dare to, so he had to ignore him and swallow his anger.

Zhao Xiaoqian doesn't care about anything else. If he is not happy with the game, he should curse. I am not only a fan, but also a member of the atmosphere group.

Halfway through the game, the team Zhao Xiaoqian supported was a bit sluggish. When a player controlled the ball and shot, but missed Feng Liuyan, the furious Zhao Xiaoqian finally couldn't stand it anymore.

He didn't care about being a spectator. He stood up and rushed to the center of the field, pointing at the player who had just missed the goal and yelling, "Fuck you, you son of a bitch! You, you! Get over here!"

The player ran up to him tremblingly, and Zhao Xiaoqian kicked him. The player did not dare to fight back, but just covered his head and took the beating silently.

After being hit a few times, the player found that His Royal Highness the Prince seemed to be unable to calm down for the time being, so he turned around and ran. Zhao Xiaoqian was so angry that he chased him fiercely, and from time to time he jumped into the air and gave him a flying kick.

"You're so fucking crazy that you can play like this? The Chinese national football team has traveled through time, right? How dare this kind of shit play on the field? I can bring a dog and it can play better than you!" Zhao Xiaoqian cursed, swearing and joking.

The rest of the players on the field stood there in a daze. No one, including the referee, dared to move, let alone step forward to stop the fight. They could only watch blankly as Zhao Xiaoqian chased the disappointing player all over the field.

After chasing for an unknown amount of time, Zhao Xiaoqian's strength was almost exhausted, and General Xu, who was watching the game outside the field, pulled him down with a frown on his face.

Zhao Xiaoqian was dragged away by General Xu unwillingly, still cursing his mother in dirty words.

When the two returned to the outside of the field, General Xu was shocked. In his mind, Zhao Xiaoqian was both civil and military. He was not only the commander-in-chief of an army with thousands of troops, but also the world-famous Zhao Banque. General Xu always regarded him as equal to himself, the top scholar.

No one would have expected that this legendary figure, who was both civil and military, would be so irritable and curse so vulgarly while watching a Cuju match.

Split, right?

"Okay, okay, calm down, it's just a game, why do you have to take it so seriously? I see those soldiers have tried their best..." General Xu comforted.

Zhao Xiaoqian snorted and said, "What's the point of trying? You all look listless and drained of energy by women. This match is purely for me to watch. You're taking me for a fool..."

Zhao Xiaoqian grew increasingly angry as he spoke. He suddenly stood up and ran to the sidelines, shouting, "Give me back the money I spent on lottery tickets in my previous life!"

As soon as he finished speaking, General Xu grabbed him tightly, and the two of them pushed and shoved each other as they left the arena.

After returning to the office, Zhao Xiaoqian was still upset and kept swearing.

General Xu gave a wry smile, "Zi'an is the most... well, the most relaxed coach I've ever met."

"Speaking of which, 60,000 soldiers were sent out to fight against the Liao army, and you, the commander-in-chief, weren't worried at all. Instead, you were so concerned about a Cuju match. What were you thinking?"

Zhao Xiaoqian calmed down and asked in confusion, "What do I think?"

"You don't seem to have ever worried about the outcome of this war. Are you so confident in your soldiers?" General Xu asked doubtfully.

Zhao Xiaoqian uttered an "oh" and said, "The orders have been issued, and the strategy and tactics have been communicated to the generals. It's up to them to execute them. I'm the commander-in-chief, responsible for strategy and tactics. The generals will handle the specific details and make decisions on the spot. Why should I worry about that?" "Besides, the army set out yesterday and should have marched hundreds of miles by now. Even if I were to change the orders at the last minute, it would be too late. Why worry? We'll just wait here for the results."

General Xu was stunned. Although he was a scholar, he had read military strategies and tactics. The command style of an army commander could be diverse, but he had never seen or heard of a commander like Zhao Xiaoqian.

Seeing General Xu's puzzled expression, Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Mr. Chongyuan, relax. My leadership is different from others. I must be strict in commanding the troops, but I must know how to delegate power on the battlefield. The generals under my command are not stupid. They know how to deal with war."

Zhao Xiaoqian emphasized his tone and said, "I trust them, so I can calmly wait for the results. They will not let me down and will definitely bring me news of victory."

General Xu couldn't help but ask, "What if one of my generals is defeated accidentally?"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "If we lose, we lose. No one is an invincible general. Learn from your mistakes and try again next time. I will take the blame for the defeat... But don't let me take the blame all the time, otherwise I will be unhappy."

General Xu sighed, "Zi'an's military leadership is unique. No wonder your soldiers are so devoted to you. No wonder you've never lost a single battle against the Liao army. I now understand why."

Zhao Xiaoqian remained calm, but General Xu was still a little uneasy. He frowned and asked, "I wonder when we can expect victory?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Chong Yuan. It will take at least three to five days, and at most half a month. The army just set out yesterday, so it's still early. I have nothing to do anyway, so why don't I accompany Mr. Chong Yuan to Zhending City for a few days?"

General Xu said dissatisfiedly, "You are really too careless! I will not go. I will wait here for the soldiers to return victoriously."

Zhao Xiaoqian smacked his lips. He had originally planned to return to Zhending City to see the three girls, Niao Niao, but now that General Xu refused to leave, he felt embarrassed to leave General Xu in the camp.

…………

Yanyun is fifty miles south of Xijin Prefecture.

After a day and night of forced march, Zhong Jianzhong led his 20,000 Dragon Guard Camp soldiers and set up camp 50 miles outside Xijin Prefecture.

During this expedition, Zhong Jianzhong had no intention of hiding his tracks. As Zhao Xiaoqian said, the enemy scouts had already seen every move of the 20,000 soldiers and it was impossible to hide it from anyone.

Since you can't hide it, then don't hide it. Just be open and aboveboard.

So Zhong Jianzhong led 20,000 soldiers, crossed the Juma River to the north, and marched towards Xijin Prefecture in a swagger. Not only was he not low-key, he also burned, killed, and looted along the way. Before the war officially started, the soldiers had inexplicably made a small amount of unexpected wealth.

When they were still more than a hundred miles away from Xijin Prefecture, the Longwei Camp finally discovered the traces of the Liao army scouts.

At Zhong Jianzhong's command, the vanguard soldiers pressed forward and began to hunt down the Liao army scouts.

The troops marched at their own pace, but gunshots were heard from all directions. The Song army had the advantage in weapons and showed no mercy to the fleeing Liao army scouts.

As long as the Liao army scouts were discovered, they would be shot. The Liao army scouts were far away and could not get close to the Song army no matter whether they were charging towards them or fleeing. They could only become targets of slaughter.

The Song army marched leisurely all the way, chasing and killing the Liao army scouts all the way.

Before the two armies officially started fighting, the morale of the Liao army scouts had already collapsed.

When the combat power and weapons of both sides are not equal, and when one's own side becomes the target of unilateral slaughter for no apparent reason, the so-called military morale is difficult to maintain, and there is no other choice but to flee in fear of the battle.

When the Song army arrived fifty miles outside Xijin Prefecture, it was already the evening of the next day.

Zhong Jianzhong ordered to set up camp and sent out scouts to find out the movements of the main force of the Liao army.

Late at night, the soldiers were all asleep in the tents, but Zhong Jianzhong did not rest. He summoned all his generals to discuss matters in the tent.

In the dim candlelight, Zhong Jianzhong's face flickered. His expression was calm and steady, and his eyes reflected the flickering candlelight, like two stars guiding hope.

"Scouts just reported that 40,000 Liao troops have been stationed outside Xijin City. There has been no unusual behavior for the time being. The enemy is camping on the plains and is heavily guarded. If our army wants to launch a surprise attack, it is unlikely to succeed." Zhong Jianzhong said in a deep voice.

A general said cautiously, "If the surprise attack fails, why not use the tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open? We can divide our forces to surround the east, west, and south, leaving the north open, and form a semi-encirclement of the Liao army."

"Our army is equipped with firearms and can strike the enemy from 400 paces away. With a three-sided encirclement, the enemy won't be able to get close even if they resist. At most, five volleys will send them fleeing north in panic..."

Zhong Jianzhong nodded and looked at the general who was speaking with a pleasant expression: "Can you take a beating?"

The general was stunned: "Huh?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhong Jianzhong slapped him hard on the back of the head with a big slap, and then threw one big slap after another at him.

"Have you lost your mind? Didn't you listen to a single word His Highness told you? What's the purpose of this battle? It's not to crush the Liao army, but to annihilate them! Do you understand? Not a single one can escape! His Highness said that the purpose of this battle is to annihilate the Liao army's effective strength!"

"'Encircle three, leave one'! You're the only one who's read the Art of War, right? I don't know how to encircle three, leave one's way? If you let the north go, the enemy will all flee. What's the point of us coming all this way here for?"

"Pig brain!"

(End of this chapter)