Chapter 227: Zhao Cheng’s Flaw
In Xiang Prefecture where Donghua Commandery is located, a newly formed corps of four thousand men was marching along the main road. Wen Siting held a grass stalk in his mouth, rode on horseback, and led his platoon of thirty men ahead to clear the way.
His troops were not all from laborer backgrounds; there were also some local disciples conscripted in Donghua Commandery. They had undergone firearm training a few months earlier and were assigned to the military. The composition of these local disciples was similar to Wen Siting’s situation before he pledged loyalty to Xuan Chong.
They were all ruffians from the countryside in recent years, grabbed by the baojia with a single roster list.
For example, the personal soldier youth to Wen Siting’s left, named Zhang Hai; he was tall and sturdy with a dark face, and he honestly explained why he was grabbed to serve as a soldier.
Zhang Hai: “My family sells pork. Normally, my father could talk to the villagers; I wandered around the countryside without issue—who wouldn’t buy pork from my family? But my old man didn’t buy a rank bond to save money, and as a result, he was reported by the village.”
Zhang Hai still spoke with lingering fear: “That baojia was ruthless, gathering eight men with guns and clubs to block the door, forcefully accusing me of not engaging in production in the village, so I had no choice but to join the brothers in the army.”
Wen Siting smiled; the manpower those baojia used to grab people were all out-of-town laborers; of course, they were grabbing across regions. A year ago, he had also led his men to another village to grab.
Xuan Chong had said in front of Wen Siting: “Grabbing able-bodied men is one of the projects that demonstrates our Zhen State’s superior ability over other states; grab precisely without affecting village production; grab effectively so they don’t starve to death upon arrival; grab with conscience, educate them well upon arrival so they can be put to use.”
Those grabbed weren’t just Zhang Hai; there was also one named Guan Shan; this red-faced man was a wandering knight who had fled from the east to Chong Land, and he had settled peacefully for two years, but he had never been registered in the household census; as a result, when the census was checked this year, he tried to flee but was blocked.
Guan Shan: “I wouldn’t dare resist; the general’s mansion laws are strict.”
Wen Siting: “You’re smart; when baozhang can’t suppress unruly villagers with batons, troops with sabers and spears have to be dispatched to round them up; at that time in the army, they’d tattoo your back—if you’d chosen that, it wouldn’t have been dignified.”
…”Testing the waters”…
Wen Siting’s troops were now maintaining combat formation, indicating they were marching in an area where an encounter battle might occur.
On the fifth day of marching, Wen Siting received a scout’s alert. There was a group of unidentified people two li away from the side wing of their main army.
Wen Siting immediately had Guan and Zhang open the drawn map; he glanced at it: “Where did this group of enemies come from?” Then he looked at the route map and thought of a possibility—that Ji Prefecture (Yan Family) had intervened in the warfare.
Wen Siting sensed something and shouted: “The enemy is nearby—form up immediately!”
The two thousand vanguard troops formed ranks on the road, dust rose in the distance, and rustling sounds emerged from the shrubbery along the surrounding roads.
The captains under Wen Siting cracked their horse whips to divide the square formation, and the firearm soldiers lined up in preparation.
However, the things that burst out from the shrubbery horrified the army—it was a group of wild boars weighing three hundred kilograms each, as tall as youths. The wild boars had rock-like skin, and their glowing red eyes were clearly cursed.
Wen Siting mounted the Winged Tiger and soared into the air from the main formation, looking down from above to assess the situation.
Before flying up, he shouted to his surrounding soldiers: “Hold steady—the enemy is mere petty tricksters!”
As the wild boars charged, the countryside soldiers immediately tensed; these newly trained countryside soldiers had previously practiced thrusting at straw dummies, at most stabbing bound fat pigs—facing such monsters in their first battle, they panicked for a moment.
Crackling sounds rang out; as they were all green recruits, they completely forgot their drill field training. The firearms did not stop the wild boar herd.
Although the spear bearers formed dense ranks, trembling under pressure, they couldn’t exert their full trained cultivation; several in the front row failed to steady their horse stance and were pushed back.
…View zooms to local…
In the front ranks on the east side, Guan Shan saw Zhang Hai still lowering his head to load bullets into the firearm; due to the sudden incident, on the formation ground, brothers shouted one after another: “I haven’t finished loading!”
Guan Shan immediately pulled the trigger first, firing at the wild boar charging straight at him; with a muffled bang, the huge recoil knocked him down, and the ramrod in the gun barrel shot out, flying fully five meters and embedding directly into this rock boar’s eye socket; this nearly four-hundred-kilogram monster fell just like that.
Guan Shan climbed up with Zhang Hai’s help and dragging, still shaken. Right after, he received Wen Siting’s order: form dense ranks.
Beside Guan Shan, the originally somewhat scattered troops, seeing this largest rock boar taken down by gunfire, had their morale greatly boosted and steadied their formation.
Meanwhile, Wen Siting rode the Winged Tiger and dove toward the densest cluster of rock boars. The Winged Tiger let out a roar toward the ground boars that made their back bristles tremble; the red madness in the rock boars’ eyes immediately vanished, and at the center of the most furious roar, three boars flipped over with legs in the air and died.
After the time of three incense sticks, this ambush by dozens of rock boars was thus annihilated, and Wen Siting left troops to butcher the pork.
Then he took part of the troops to pursue the enemies two li away; they eventually caught up and confirmed they were people sent by Ji Prefecture, and obtained key intelligence: Ji Prefecture had sent (claimed) twenty thousand troops to assist.
…A third party wants in on the game…
Late May, Zhao Cheng, who was hesitating over procuring food and grass, learned that a Ji Prefecture envoy had come to visit.
In the palace, this direct scion of the Yan Family, after meeting Zhao Cheng, expressed willingness to join forces with the Hao Army against Zhen State. Zhao Cheng had a servant take him aside to rest.
In the study, after Zhao Cheng opened the southern map and glanced at it, his brows furrowed. He suddenly smiled: “Oh, this is a good exception.” Then he circled the claimed twenty thousand troops sent by Ji Prefecture on the map.
Zhao Cheng knew that the troops Xuan Chong had dispatched to Donghua Commandery line were newly trained, playing “one pawn a day.”
But if other vassal lords truly treated this route of troops as a mere “pawn,” they would be mistaken.
The Yan Family thought their speculation was very clever, but they were wrong!
In Zhao Cheng’s eyes, the troops sent by Ji Prefecture were now chess pieces: the standoff between him and Wu Fei was prematurely broken by an outsider; originally in the standoff, Wu Fei wouldn’t fight all-out, focusing first on forcing him back; the few troops in Xiang Prefecture were small “pawns” crossing the river. After Ji Prefecture joined the war, it would force Zhen to move over the “chariot, horse, cannon,” entering the Xiang Prefecture and Ji Prefecture line.
The Ji Prefecture troops were actually not skilled in battle; their participation now was purely to fish in troubled waters and swallow Xiang Prefecture; hoping that he (Hao Army) would eliminate the detachment sent by Xuan Chong (Wen Siting). Then as “allied forces,” share the fruits of victory.
But Zhao Cheng was very clear now that Xuan Chong had four to five armies (each army at least five thousand) prepared along the Donghua Commandery line, guarding against his side—more than enough to annihilate the Ji Prefecture troops.
…Serving the dish…
After carefully confirming the Xiang Prefecture line situation on the sand table, Zhao Cheng immediately ordered: “Have Wang Yushan’s troops withdraw thirty li—no active attacks permitted, just hold the formation.”
The surrounding advisors were stunned and asked why not converge with the Ji Prefecture allied troops to annihilate the Zhen State troops here?
Zhao Cheng: “What use is it for our main army to wipe out this one detachment of his (Xuan Chong’s)? That’s a labor corps formed less than three months ago—he can assemble a dozen more such troops anytime.”
Zhao Cheng pointed to his own troops; under Xiang Prefecture’s terrain, the Wu Family Army could go downstream along the river for easy grain transport; while he had to transport grain from the north across mountain passes.
Zhao Cheng pointed again to the massive reserve forces of Zhen State behind Xiang Prefecture.
Zhao Cheng: “Even if we annihilate this detachment, our army still can’t break in. It’s better to let them come out.” Then Zhao Cheng placed chess pieces on the map.
Just like in the legendary “Zhenlong Chess Game where placing one chess piece oneself opens the board,” Zhao Cheng said: “Cooperating with Ji Prefecture, we won’t take a single city—it’s just fulfilling the Yan Family’s plans. But what if Ji Prefecture is taken by the Chong Army?”
Zhao Cheng hoped Xuan Chong would concentrate reserve forces toward Ji Prefecture, creating a strategic gap—an opening to strike into Xuan Chong’s heartland.
The Hao Army was critically short on food and grass and must forage on Xuan Chong’s territory to resolve it.
Given the current Hao-Zhen standoff, Hao State’s food and grass was increasingly consumed until depleted, with insufficient troop mobility; in the future, this situation was highly prone to a major annihilation battle.
Zhao Cheng planned to target one of Xuan Chong’s gaps, leading troops to charge into Xuan Chong’s territory for a decisive battle; this way, even if driven out later, it could still wreak havoc on Xuan Chong’s lands. Given Xuan Chong’s personality, he would arrange the “bird’s nest” properly before going to battle.
At that time, even if Zhao Cheng’s corps ultimately retreated from Wu Xiao Que’s territory with two-thirds losses; such a retreat could still secure a favorable defeat, or even a draw.
…Planning and execution…
Zhao Cheng’s orders were conveyed to Wang Yushan; but unbeknownst to him, his rapid expansion in recent years, with numerous noble family talents joining, had brought many drawbacks. And Zhao Cheng’s mental power and energy had reached their limits these years, failing to timely notice the mixed quality among the scholars pledging loyalty to him.
Wang Yushan was one of the talents who had just joined him in recent years. Zhao Cheng did not fully know his situation. Wang Yushan did not withdraw ninety li but instead merged with the Ji Prefecture troops, preparing to pincers Wen Siting’s detachment.
Later when Xuan Chong reviewed the battle, confirming Wang Yushan had received Zhao Cheng’s clear orders, he remarked: “Ma Su reborn!”
May 20th, Xuan Chong’s staff department, as usual, consolidated messages from all routes. Among them, it was confirmed that the Hao Army in northern Xiang Prefecture was increasing mobilization scale from the north, preparing to join the southern battlefield.
Xuan Chong smiled, as the battle situation suddenly became clear, thus activating “Pawn advances to fifth file.”
This move was in the north. Six thousand troops north of Zhenzhou were mobilized and handed to a general named Chu Xiang, to cooperate with Su Ming in opening the Yongzhou battlefield, and if necessary, take Xingzhou!
As for the south, Xuan Chong ordered four divisions including Wen Siting to prepare defenses and not move.
…Kicking the lame man’s bad leg hard…
Xuan Chong sat in his seat with a full smile looking at the sand table; Wu Lu asked: “Father, why suddenly take Xingzhou now?”
Xuan Chong looked at his son who didn’t disdain asking basic questions, and said to Wu Rui beside him: “You explain to him.” (This was to have Wu Rui show his level, and remind Wu Lu that the half-baked military strategist strategies he grasped from reading a few military treatises were amateurish to professionals.)
Wu Rui said: “Young Lord, our overall operational strategy is arranged around the weakness in Hao State’s supply chain. Our army has always been uncertain of Hao State’s main attack direction; externally dispatched spies obtained very little information on Zhao Cheng’s food and grass across various directions.”
Wu Lu nodded; the “espionage” work externally was under the Ministry of Commerce, and he was taking over that aspect. Zhao Cheng had deployed numerous granaries in various places, some real, some fake.
Wu Rui: “Due to Hao Army’s extreme scarcity of food and grass, their large-scale corps mobility is restricted—accurately, they can only maintain one large-scale corps’ strike capability. In the past, we kept guessing where this route was—north? Or south?”
Wu Rui placed the stick on the sand table across Yongzhou, Xiang Prefecture, and even Xia Prefecture in three directions.
Wu Rui: “Unable to judge Zhao Cheng’s main force mobility direction, our various routes adopted conservative strategies.”
At this point, Wu Rui said: “Our great Zhen, due to recent new water conservancy facilities and military reclamation, has abundant food and grass; Lord now has preparations on each battle line that can actually maintain large-scale mobility simultaneously; personally, I think our current deployments on each line are somewhat conservative, but Lord’s strategy is the steadiest.”
Xuan Chong tapped: “Just introduce, don’t digress.”
Wu Rui ended his extra words and continued: “But on the 16th, Hao Army’s this route of troops (Wang Yushan) moved; we detected signs of him mobilizing large amounts of food and grass from nearby warehouses. And immediately after, Hao Army in nearby other areas also mobilized because of his movement.”
Wu Rui looked at Xuan Chong: “We still don’t know why Zhao Cheng exposed this flaw. But now from food and grass preparations, we can confirm Hao Army’s large-scale offensive is on the southern route—that is, other routes lack large-scale offensive capability and can only passively defend against our infiltration offensives.”
Wu Lu suddenly understood; no wonder before the war, Xuan Chong had him repeatedly verify Zhao Cheng’s grain information in various regions.
Wu Lu excitedly said: “So as long as we maintain strategic defense on the Xiang Prefecture direction, we can sweep the other battle lines.”
Xuan Chong stood up: “Xiang Prefecture strategic plan unchanged; existing corps in Xia Prefecture and Yongzhou assemble, activate offensive plan.”
“Yes!” Young and excited voices responded one by one in the conference room.
Xuan Chong was also very excited: to settle Zhao Cheng with one move. This was the ultimate proof of his achievements after thirty years of transmigration to this world and cultivating as a military strategist.
Xuan Chong’s eyes were fixed on the south. Wu Lu followed Xuan Chong’s gaze and asked: “Father, are you worried about something in Xiang Prefecture?”
Beside him, Wu Rui said: “The decisive battle should be in this direction.”
Xuan Chong glanced at Wu Rui; Wu Rui paused, feeling he had been impolite to interject.
Xuan Chong said to Wu Rui: “You’re absolutely right, but you understand—to hide your edge well, so you can deliver the key strike to your opponent. Penalty: practice silent meditation for one hour.”
Xuan Chong said to Wu Lu: “Large-scale offensive combat preparations need five days; once Zhao Cheng confirms his exposure, he will act ahead. He will proactively come for a decisive battle with us.”
…Experts clash with no room for half a mistake…
On Yuhuazhou’s side, Zhao Cheng suddenly smashed the jade ruyi. He shouted: “Stupid, too stupid!”
This was the first time he lost composure, shouting out loud. To be honest, even if pushed step by step by Xuan Chong into strategic desperation and then elbowed to death on the battlefield in troop deployment, he wouldn’t be like this; but the current situation was: Wang Yushan had presumptuously altered the combat orders.
And this self-initiated action exposed the strategic secret he had painstakingly concealed.
Zhao Cheng was furious: how did such a person get under his command, and why had he entrusted him with heavy responsibility??
