Chapter 237: Incompetents In Charge
On July 10, Wu Zaixing blocked the Zhenhao Group northeast of Xia Prefecture and launched the largest annihilation battle in the Chong-Hao conflict.
The 30,000 Hao Army soldiers gathered in chaotic disarray on the Jia Riverbank, attempting to prepare for a “back-to-the-river battle.”
However, this back-to-the-river was truly “back,” their combat power was truly “water”; and the “battle”? It didn’t exist.
When lines of Chong Army riflemen and crossbowmen formed shooting lines and deployed across the ground, the bullet rain fell on the Hao Army group like real raindrops, causing the already crammed-together Hao Army to pile up even more in chaos.
Hao Army dragon horse knights and some Tai Yue Luan tried to break the stalemate, but they were suppressed by Guiche arriving from the sky, ultimately kicked to the ground by Guiche, then dying under the forest of arrows and bullet rain.
The two armies were 200 meters apart; the Hao Army scattered and clustered on the riverbank was like a piece of meat stuck to the cutting board, plastered to the Jia River edge. At this point, the Chong Army could achieve complete victory by pressing forward, but they still followed the military drill manual to conduct the strike.
The Chong Army found several cuttable points on both sides of the Hao Army and bombarded them with concentrated cannon fire; and regiment after regiment advanced on this breakpoint, shooting with firearms and crossbow bolts. Soon, the Hao Army “sausage” turned into “-一-“, with the left and right segments separated.
After separation, the Chong Army pounced like jackals, tigers, and leopards, swallowing the “sausage” segments cut from the Hao Army in one bite!
At this point, the Hao Army from top to bottom understood: “Our main army can’t even save itself, let alone those troops of several hundred or thousand isolated after being cut off!” Thus, morale began to collapse like an avalanche.
On the river beach, those unwilling to jump into the river knelt down one after another, begging for mercy; a few indignant Hao Army generals, after killing a few people, were pinned to the ground by others.
Speaking of this scene, even Zhao Cheng would have to sigh that the Chong Army’s tactics were “watertight,” carved from the same mold as Wu Xiao Que.
In the end, the Hao Army mutinied on the riverbank. Batch after batch of Hao Army soldiers surrendered in droves under the shouts of “Surrender, there’s steamed buns to eat!” from the Hao Army captives who had surrendered to the Chong Army first and rode over. These Hao Army captives included a considerable portion who settled in Xia Prefecture; as for the rest, they were soldiers from other prefectures of Da Yao, not real Hao Tatars. The real Hao Tatars had already been wiped out in the north by Su Ming with the Dragon Slaying Decree.
Of course, before being beaten into surrendering, Zhen Hao had fled.
Wu Zaixing rode his Winged Tiger leading the army to arrive at the Jia Riverbank, looking at the ice boat formed by a block of ice frozen on the river surface in the center due to magic.
This ice boat with a diameter of thirty meters was made with support from a certain sect.
This was created by 99 cultivators from local noble families, who performed a blood sacrifice before the killing intent arrived; borrowing the power of the Evil Moon, they completed the “River Crossing Ghost Boat,” saving Zhen Hao’s life at the critical moment.
Wu Zaixing looked at the densely packed crowd on it, with at least a hundred people standing; more Hao Army soldiers wanted to climb onto the ice surface, but were kicked flying back by Zhen Hao’s personal soldiers, sending these ignorant people back.
Although too far to hear the voices, he could roughly guess the conversation over there: “Set sail, set sail!” “Elder, I’m xxx, let me up!” “Get lost, don’t know you!” (fierce kick), water splashing.
Wu Zaixing watched this human tragedy and said sympathetically: “Tsk tsk, how can so many people stand there? Cannon crew, thin them out for me, remember to keep the trajectory as flat as possible, don’t shatter the ice surface!”
Kind-hearted Wu Zaixing had a smile on his face.
The flag signal troops quickly relayed the order, and soon the cannon fire rang out.
The captives who surrendered on the riverbank knelt on the ground in terror, watching the trajectories pass overhead; after confirming it wasn’t aimed at them, they turned to see nearly two-thirds of the people on the ice surface toppled and cleared by the obliquely entering cannonballs; they felt fortunate for surrendering early.
After two rounds of cannon fire, Wu Zaixing confirmed only fifty people remained on the ice block and ordered the cannon fire to stop.
Non-commissioned Officer: “General, one more round and we can send them all into the river to feed the fish!”
Wu Zaixing shook his head: “Enough, let them go back.”
…Fools can live…
Last night, after reporting to Xuan Chong using the Thousand Mile Mirror, Wu Zaixing informed the supreme commander that the Xia Prefecture campaign was about to end.
Xuan Chong asked Wu Zaixing a question: What about this Zhen Hao?
Wu Zaixing thought for a moment: “Zhen Hao has the ability to command troops, but the most he can control is 20,000 soldiers; beyond that limit, it just gets more and more chaotic.”
Xuan Chong: “If he luckily escapes and you face him again, what odds do you have of defeating him once more?”
Wu Zaixing: “Ten out of ten.”
Xuan Chong: “Reason.”
Wu Zaixing: “My staff officer group has meticulously summarized his decision-making and system weaknesses in this campaign, with nineteen methods to counter him; we’ve only used three so far. His side’s talents are all ‘ants gathering at honey’; not only can they not solve his inherent problems, his entire system will be hard-pressed not to have issues next.”
The allusion “ants gathering at honey” means a large number of people temporarily gather for short-term interests; once the honey is gone, they disperse.
As long as Zhen Hao has fame, profit, and status, talents will gather around him like ants moving house, working together; but now after one battle collapse, the talents from noble families’ attitude toward him is “till the fields in Heluo, not seeking fame among the vassal lords” (not to mention, after the defeat, Wu Zaixing specifically used cannon fire to bombard the ice boat, killing many of Zhen Hao’s advisors).
After interrogating captives, the Xia Prefecture staff officer group learned: Zhen Hao’s advisors had been with him for no more than three years and originally lacked “campaign staff analysis” ability; after the great defeat, they just pushed blame on each other, even more incapable.
Thus, Xuan Chong nodded: “Then, let him go in an appropriate situation.”
Wu Zaixing paused: “Alright.”
Xuan Chong then told Wu Zaixing his reasoning: With the Xia Prefecture campaign ending, reclamation work would consume massive resources; military operations needed to slow down, or excessive occupation would cause instability at the grassroots level.
And this Zhen Hao, though incompetent in combat, was backed by several Central Plains noble families; coinciding with Zhao Cheng’s side having fled and lacking prestige, such an incompetent person, as long as he doesn’t die, will remain in position.
In the upcoming situation, Xuan Chong needed various voices to emerge within the Zhao Cheng Group.
Xuan Chong’s exact words: “I need people like Zhen Hao to keep teaming up with Zhao Cheng.”
Speaking of which, Wang Yushan was also released back east by Xuan Chong; all those who dragged Zhao Cheng down in this campaign were let go.
The various situations in Zhao Cheng’s campaign this time were a case of “even the wisest have oversights.” His forces had expanded too quickly these years, with too many personnel. Not only did time not allow him to meticulously train talents for dispatch like Wu Fei; in atmosphere, he also had to maintain a broad “recruiting the wise and welcoming talents” approach, impossible to overly enforce discipline.
Now, with these defeated generals returning, Zhao Cheng has no more chance to reorganize.
Over these dozen years, Xuan Chong has always targeted Zhao Cheng’s weaknesses. Previously it was his insufficient food and grass, in the future it will be his disunited hearts.
Being able to achieve “united hearts” is a very magical ability; Liu Bang was a master at it. Shi Le: “If I had met the High Emperor, I would serve him facing north, competing with Han and Peng in whipping my horse to be first; if I met Guangwu, I would race neck-and-neck in the Central Plains; who would win the deer is unknown.”
Shi Le couldn’t figure out how Liu Bang integrated his band of rogues (Pei County clique) and the nobles of the Six States (Zhang Liang), countryside Confucian scholars (Li Shiji), and the down-and-out military noble Han Xin.
Xuan Chong naturally didn’t have Liu Bang’s methods, but he had ways to apply negative buffs to Zhao Cheng, and very insidious ones.
…Blood-colored Jia River…
On July 13, Zhen Hao returned east with more than twenty cavalry. Upon arriving at Lin City, a Noble Family immediately sent him a Tiger Tally and offered advice.
In the advice offered to Zhen Hao, they suggested “drawing” troops from two prefectures to stabilize the Heluo situation. These two prefectures were Yuhuazhou and Ning Prefecture.
Zhen Hao was puzzled by this, because the commander of Yuhuazhou was Zhao Shanhe, and the commander of Ning Prefecture was Wei Heng; these two men, one was considered Zhao Cheng’s close kin confidant, the other Zhao Cheng’s old subordinate. Although he had the Tiger Tally, would these two really lead their armies to obey him?
Advisors from noble families and great clans, experienced in household intrigues, began to offer advice as follows.
Advisor: “My lord, what is currently most important to you?”
Zhen Hao: “The Chong Army’s blade edge is strong and prosperous; the most urgent task is naturally how to resist the enemy.”
The blue-clad advisor shook his head: “My lord, you are wrong. What is most important to you is to ensure no loss east of the Jia River.”
Zhen Hao: “Ah? How is this different from the strategy to resist the enemy?”
Advisor: “Of course it is different. Under Heaven today, only two men have the ambition to seize the throne: first is Duke Zhao, second is Prince Bo from the North; however, Prince Bo is stubborn and self-willed, not good at controlling people. When his younger brother was still alive, there were no mistakes; but now ruling alone, everyone is wary of each other due to conflicting interests. And Duke Zhao—”
The advisor sighed here: “He had no power at the start, missed the timing when the wind was favorable. In his undertaking, he is trapped by terrain (referring to his current territory being in the center Under Heaven), but of course more importantly, why was Fei born when Cheng was born?”
At this time, scholars Under Heaven had already seen clearly that Xuan Chong’s emergence had interrupted Zhao Cheng’s possibility of unifying Under Heaven.
Zhen Hao grasped the key point and asked: “You say that one in the West has no ambition to seize Under Heaven?”
As the advisor nodded, Zhen Hao was greatly stunned. A year ago, he thought Zhao Cheng could unify Under Heaven by gathering the strongest troops; but after clashing with the Chong Army ten days ago, he realized the strongest troops Under Heaven were in the West. And possessing such a strong army, yet no ambition to seize Under Heaven? This left Zhen Hao baffled.
Zhen Hao even grumbled: “If you do not want to fight for Under Heaven, why train such a strong army to block our Great Undertaking?”
Amid Zhen Hao’s doubts, the advisor revealed Xuan Chong’s strategic layout.
Advisor: “The Chong Army is strong at present, but its lord is engaged in reform matters, going against the cultural momentum Under Heaven. My lord, you need only know that the Chen lord will nibble away bit by bit, not swallow in great gulps.”
Subtext: In the current battle, after Zhen Hao’s force is defeated, the Zhen State will only swallow east of the Jia River.
But if all of Zhao Cheng’s territories are involved, with various armies dragged in; even if the Chong Army achieves total victory, it cannot swallow all of Zhao Cheng’s territories!
In other words, if all troops under Zhao Cheng are defeated, and Xuan Chong can pick any piece of meat at will; the land east of the Jia River may not be the Chong Army’s first priority.
But if troops in Zhao Cheng’s other territories remain unmoved! The Zhen State has only one ready dish on the table, and Xuan Chong’s chopsticks can only pick the meat east of the Jia River.
This advisor beside Zhen Hao could make such a precise judgment.
Because, several days ago when noble families from various places urged Xuan Chong to harbor ambitions for Under Heaven, Xuan Chong replied: “My virtue is thin, I can only benefit the people under my rule; the hunger Under Heaven will be resolved by the great talents Under Heaven. Gentlemen of thick morality, please go first.” The momentum Under Heaven was thus set.
This had nothing to do with “arrogance.” Even if Wu Xiao Que hated noble families, he still treated those who migrated to Lingnan with utmost courtesy. The current Zhen State repeatedly ignores scholars Under Heaven, which really means the scholars are useless to Wu Xiao Que!
Zhen Hao paced in thought; he understood something, but certain shackles in his heart could not be let go.
The advisor was not anxious, because Zhen Hao would figure it out.
Currently, the Hao Army shows signs of total collapse; to survive amid defeated troops, one does not need to run faster than the enemy, just faster than one’s comrades. And currently, for Zhen Hao to keep his side going, he does not need to turn defeat into victory, just drag in all other factions under Zhao Cheng to clash with the Chong Army.
Narration: If Zhao Cheng were still “mid-lane” directing the overall situation, not jungleing, Zhen Hao could not pull off any tricky maneuvers. But with Wu Rui’s emergence, Zhao Cheng’s best of the thirty-six stratagems is to flee. And the Chong Army side is preparing to “lock Zhao Cheng in the jungle.”
The overall situation in the North could only be handled by Zhen Hao.
Zhen Hao took a deep breath; as blue and purple lights flashed in his pupils, selfish desire ultimately prevailed, and the traditional concept in his heart of a scholar dying for his confidant was altered.
He, as a great general controlling one prefecture, sitting on this stage of shifting winds and clouds, was unwilling to step down just like this after one failure!
Zhen Hao examined the seal, then gripped it tightly. In his heart, he had already decided: he must desperately hold onto everything he had now!
After picking up the Tiger Tally that nominally could command the various prefectures, Zhen Hao said to the advisor: “Please teach me, Mister.”
…Dark schemes in a small room, decisions over a thousand li…
Advisor: “First step, my lord must appear rallied, showing defeat but not discouraged. Actively demonstrate your role locally; this way, even if Duke Zhao wants to punish you, he will refrain due to ‘not dismantling bricks and tiles from a dangerous wall.’ (Local allusion, similar to throwing a rat to avoid breaking the vase).”
Thus, Zhen Hao began conscripting rural braves in three nearby places in Xia Prefecture. And allowed various places to form militias, putting on the posture of “decisive battle to the death when the Chong Army comes.”
In fact, local noble families and great clans had already prepared to conscript rural braves, just waiting for this order.
Note: This order was purely for Zhen Hao’s self-preservation, dragging in local nationalists to protect himself; in reality, he had no ability to coordinate troops from the landlord stratum locally. If millions of troops could be conjured easily through policy, Zhao Cheng would have done it long ago.
In Jiuyang Commandery, the largest local noble family, the Wang family, gathered their clansmen and announced the formation of rural brave militias. Some clansmen were puzzled, but soon as bandits rampaged in the countryside, the Wang family formed a militia of over a thousand.
Immediately after, the Wang family militia clashed with the Li family militia (the Jiuyang Commandery Li family had stayed in Yao Capital for a while and returned). Both militias got into several brawls while fighting over women in brothels.
According to the strategy set by Zhen Hao’s advisors, hastily forming these rural troops was to guard against the Chong Army advancing east.
Advisor: “Second step, although Zhao Shanhe of Yuhuazhou is loyal, he lacks counsel. Now with Duke Zhao’s main army trapped in the Southern Region, my lord should use the Tiger Tally to order him (Zhao Shanhe) to the Southern Front to rescue Duke Zhao from dire straits.”
Plain talk: Zhao Shanhe has low culture, birds of a feather flock together, few advisors around him, all brutish types.
Advisor’s scheme: Just write a letter questioning Zhao Shanhe, “You always claim to be Zhao Cheng’s diehard loyalist; now Duke Zhao is in trouble, with troops in hand, are you truly willing to show loyalty?”
If Zhao Shanhe has scruples, suspect his loyalty. (Similar to 21st-century internet rhetoric, readily expelling dissenters from x membership).
The advisor continued: Wei Heng of Ning Prefecture has seniority, but lacks ability, and is greedy by nature.
Plain talk: Wei Heng is a big smart aleck, thinks highly of his own capabilities. With such seniority, if he really had talent, in this Great War, Zhao Cheng would not have sidelined him.
Because Wei Heng’s character is greedy, sees small gains and forgets danger, extremely easy to lure! (Zhao Cheng worried this guy would be tricked to death on the battlefield by Wu Xiao Que, but Zhao Cheng did not calculate that before he himself died, his own people would start tricking him).
The advisor had Zhen Hao write a letter to him, first praising Wei Heng’s great talent, saying he (Zhen Hao) was far inferior. Then stating facts: currently the Xia Prefecture battle is a great defeat, he retreated to east of the river, preparing to recruit local heroes for a decisive death battle with the Chong Army, determined to trap the Chong Army east of the river. If Wei Heng moves troops now, he can certainly achieve great feats.
Of course, what would really hook Wei Heng was that scouts had already discovered the Zhen State using a million shi of grain in Xia Prefecture, preparing to replace relief with work.
Now, for the Great War, Zhao Cheng has drawn from grain stores everywhere, shortages everywhere. Since Wei Heng is not on the field, while drinking with his subordinate “big smart alecks,” he often boasts about himself.
At this time, after throwing this intelligence to Wei Heng, Wei Heng would surely be moved and organize a wave of westward attacks, attempting to “seize grain to sustain the army, resolving the dilemma on both fronts.”
As Zhen Hao adopted these two schemes, his letters, combined with the tiger tally transfer orders, were sent to these two “problematic colleagues” in the two prefectures. In this way, the three prefectures including Yuhuazhou were all thrown into chaos.
…Later generations named this scheme “Chaos in the Army”…
First was Wei Heng; after receiving Zhen Hao’s plea for help combined with flattery letter, he became elated. As a general sidelined by Zhao Cheng, he had always wanted to find an opportunity to prove himself.
Of course, he also kept a little caution, yes, he had some caution but not much.
It is worth mentioning that, compared to Xuan Chong’s side with its “school” training mechanism where talents are like waves of the Yangtze River pushing forward endlessly, even the most excellent previous senior could not guarantee suppressing the newcomers.
But on Zhao Cheng’s side, the talent pool was already “all the heroes under heaven gathered in the net,” all capable ones had become advisors, and those remaining at the lower levels were just country bumpkins.
These local strongmen running militias in the countryside also had ambition, but their character, vision, and quality were far inferior. When Zhao Cheng gathered elites as his advisor group, they were part of the ones being output information to.
Just like the situation in the thatched cottages in the countryside, the thatched cottages only allowed a few talented people to speak, while the rest just listened. (And in Xuan Chong’s era, some “highly educated” people were the same; they expected all major events to be commented on only by themselves these cultured people, while others just accepted instruction.)
So these squires left in the countryside were actually no different from those “guys in the communication groups who hear the wind as rain and are too lazy to verify.”
These country bumpkins were trapped in information cocoons. They were major users of the many new items exported from Zhen State. They only knew that Chong Land was wealthy and were quite envious; but they did not yet understand the strength of the Chong Army.
Now the situation under heaven was changing too quickly; after Xuan Chong smashed Zhao Cheng’s group of famous scholars.
When the country bumpkins climbed to high positions, they still did not know where their weaknesses lay? They only felt that they had not used enough power, and as long as they themselves became “mages,” they could turn defeat into victory.
So on the twenty-third of July, under Wei Heng’s command, they felt that their side’s situation was excellent—how could they possibly lose?
Moreover, the Chong Army in Xia Prefecture was now lax, while their own side had sufficient troops, so they should take a gamble! Furthermore, Zhen Hao’s side was also stirring up trouble, and the noble families of his advisors began creating momentum, claiming: Zhen State was implementing tyranny in Xia Prefecture; this vanguard force of tens of thousands from the Great Hao, as long as they attacked, the “Xia Prefecture people” would welcome them with food and drink.
In the Chong Army occupied areas, there were indeed “Xia Prefecture people” who wanted to welcome the Hao Army with food and drink. These were all the native noble families of Xia Prefecture.
The noble families of Xia Prefecture were undergoing an unprecedented purge; Wu Juwang, this giant civil minister of Zhen State, was setting up a “meat grinder” to smash the local strongmen to pieces.
Wu Juwang’s strict orders: Do not give the noble families a single grain. To borrow grain, it must be according to the number of adult males. The men borrowing grain must be randomly assigned to production teams, the production teams cannot stay local, and within a year they must farm across four counties. Finally, land distribution is done by drawing lots.
Facing such a deadly blow, the noble families knew that if this continued, they would completely lose power in their native land.
These noble families believed they knew where the granaries were; they sent letters to friends in the east saying: “There is grain, attack and there will be grain!”
So Wei Heng believed: As long as they started fighting, grain would not be lacking.
The Xia Prefecture noble families, now starving and on the verge of collapse, believed that Xuan Chong had “abandoned them.” They felt they could completely be “unrighteous,” hoping that one day they could form a “return to hometown group.”
Wei Heng had been tricked, whereas Zhen Hao would not believe that “his own second wave of rural army” could really smoothly fight back.
Zhen Hao continuously instructed his subordinate advisors to write letters urging Wei Heng’s side to “join forces,” with content including but not limited to.
1: Wu Zhen is on the verge of destruction, brothers hurry up and act, unifying under heaven is just these last few waves of military merit! Standing still would be too foolish!
2: Attacking now can earn the great merit of sealing a border region! By the time Great General Zhao Cheng resolves Wu Yuanchang’s main force in Zhenzhou and turns to gun down the south, we brothers will only get the merit of brigadier generals!
Because Zhen Hao acted too obsequiously, there were still a few people in Yuhuazhou and Ning Prefecture who were not fooled! They began advising their commanders to wait, but the commanders of these two prefectures ultimately believed it.
After all! This was using half the realm to suppress a corner; losing would be extremely unwilling.
…Turning the scheme against them, feeding them the merit on a plate…
On the twenty-seventh of July, Wei Heng led eight thousand cavalry to the Sha Prefecture area, attempting to strike Xia Prefecture.
But in terms of mobility, the Hao Army’s proud light cavalry strike was like a little brother. Wei Heng had just exited the mountain pass when he was surrounded—Wu Zaixing gloated: “Doesn’t he know about my Great Chong intelligence network?”
Note: After organizing into production teams, the local people were all Chong Army people.
However, Wu Zaixing did not wipe out Wei Heng at once, but turned the scheme against him. Through spies, he learned that Wei Heng had come to fight after receiving Zhen Hao’s tiger tally transfer order, and also learned that Zhen Hao’s side was shouting about a “decisive battle” with him and was very arrogant.
Wu Zaixing was also frustrated; the general staff had not approved his plan to cross the river east to pursue.
Wu Zaixing: “I can’t go over, but if I lure you out, isn’t that fine? You used the tiger tally to lure them out, but you yourself stay put—isn’t that wrong?”
Thus, amid rounds of pleas for aid in Sha Prefecture. Zhen Hao, who had relied on the rural nationalists to drag Wei Heng into the water, under the urging of the noble families below, also had to enter the fray himself again.
Actually, Zhen Hao had no choice; conflicts among his subordinate rural militias were increasing, and he had no grain left either. So when the great war began and it seemed “he had a chance,” he couldn’t suppress the contradictions and bide his time!
…Second
On the fifth of August, Zhen Hao, who had “returned with a vengeance,” led his own troops and headed east with his head down. Trying to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao!
On the sixth, east of the Jia River. Armies from all routes (countryside) gathered, flags bright and clear. After discovering the river was still shallow, they directly crossed the river.
But after these tens of thousands of militia crossed the river in chaotic disarray, Chong Army appeared from the northwest and south three directions around them. Then, under the bombardment of cannonballs and ballistae, the militia huddled together on the riverbank. But immediately after, white waves appeared upstream. After tens of thousands of militia trampled each other, killing over a thousand, they turned into bandits and fled toward various places under Zhao Cheng’s command.
Zhen Hao watched this scene and, in a daze, picked up the sword, but it was seized by someone, and he fled.
Among the many captives from the Hao Army in the Chong Army, there was no sense of “Do not dismantle houses even if freezing to death” regarding the disheveled appearance of these “cannon fodder” during their defeat.
These “old Hao Army” troops gloated and mocked: your regular army couldn’t even defeat the Chong Army, and you lot—these wastes who bully the countryside—are “foxes who put on tiger skins, still getting beaten by black bears.”
Unlike the propaganda tone from the Hao Army side’s noble families, over the past month, several thousand people have fled from east of the river as refugees. After they signed up, Xuan Chong ordered to select a few particularly tragic examples, compile their experiences into operas, and have them sung.
Those who were originally captives from Xia Prefecture all knew clearly that the noble families were not as benevolent as they claimed. Speaking of which, in the year of great disaster, who did not make a living by oppressing the common people? These captives came to Xia Prefecture and joined the reclamation teams, only then did they realize that Duke Zhen here truly provided disaster relief to every single person, every elderly, child, woman, and infant.
In comparison, the noble families everywhere, when coping with great disasters, turning the heterodox branches into roadside frozen corpses was standard procedure.
For hundreds of years, it has always been this way, to the point that even these scholars who have read extensively never realize there’s anything wrong with doing so! Even if there are scholars among these heterodox paths.——Some plays also say this: “A young man goes out for the imperial examination, and after passing it and returning, he finds his wife (or old mother) starved to death at home.”
Among the Hao Army soldiers who surrendered, there were some disciples from poor families. Now they began to feel that the Chong Army was truly different from the vassal lords under heaven.
Thus, he took the initiative to start promoting policies for Xuan Chong and also helped describe the situation of Later Hao.
These people were few in number, but they broke a fatal gap in the “local strongmen” who were as solid as a copper wall.
After August 6th, the last regular troops under Zhen Hao were all squandered by him. He was given a good lesson by Wu Zaixing, and his subordinates became like frightened birds.
As for the militia he organized, after this incident, “they had no courage to confront the Chong Army, but they had the courage to bully the locals, and it was great!” This planted the seeds of corruption for the area west of Hedong in the following years.
…Time goes back to the end of July, Zhao Shanhe of Yuhuazhou also began to wipe out the engine…
On July 25th, the General Staff received intelligence and discovered that Zhao Shanhe’s troops in Yuhuazhou had begun moving south; a B-class division was immediately mobilized north to intercept! As for whether this B-class division could stop them?!
The Staff Department felt there was no problem. In the frontline great war, the A-class divisions of the Chong State had already flattened one wave of Zhao Cheng’s elites; now it was time to hit Zhao Cheng’s second-line troops. Meanwhile, the A-class division group on Xuan Chong’s side would rest for a while, letting the B-class take the front first!
Because from the current strategic perspective, the Hao Army’s front line had collapsed, with reserve troops in chaotic mobilization; meanwhile, their own B-class belonged to “phased defense” and still held an advantage.
The perspective shifts to Kuo Tian Ridge, where a Chong Army unit was infiltrating through this area.
“Do not dismantle houses even if freezing to death, do not rob grain even if starving to death!” Accompanied by loud chants of the slogan, Wen Siting’s troops marched while shouting it loudly.
The slogan was shouted very properly, to the point that the militia soldiers who a month ago were still wearing their helmets crookedly, dragging broken water canteens, and acting sloppily, now deliberately maintained military discipline when passing through inhabited areas.
Wen Siting received the news: the Staff Department confirmed that the Hao State’s reserve troops had moved (mainly referring to Zhao Shanhe). The higher command (Xuan Chong) ordered them to choke off Zhao Cheng’s windpipe and prevent this fresh Hao State force from joining the front line. Therefore, the Staff Department dispatched three regiments including Wen Siting’s, totaling 12,000 troops, immediately to the northeast direction to block Zhao Shanhe’s corps from moving south.
Xuan Chong’s General Staff held Zhao Shanhe in contempt; but if Zhao Shanhe moved south and Zhao Cheng received such a fresh force, that would be troublesome.
General Staff. Wu Rui looked at the strategic planning formulated by Xuan Chong and asked: “Surround a point to strike reinforcements?”
Regarding Zhen Hao’s act of brushing up merits for Wu Zaixing, Wu Rui showed a feeling of displeasure like “seeing a brother driving a Land Rover.” Now Xuan Chong’s strategy still gave the “merit-making” opportunity to Wu Zaixing.
Wu Rui silently persuaded himself in his heart: “I don’t care, we’re all brothers, all brothers, all damn good brothers.”
However, Xuan Chong did not send Wu Rui to deal with Zhao Shanhe, but instead transferred him back to Xiang Prefecture to prepare for a military operation entering Ji Prefecture via waterways. — Xuan Chong: No need to use a “bull knife” to kill a “chicken” like Zhao Shanhe right now.
Back to the present, Wen Siting, who had crossed Kuo Tian Ridge, was adjusting in place, but soon encountered a “visit” from a Hao Army unit.
This unit came from the southern Ji Prefecture and, on the strategic map, was the one Zhao Cheng left at “Bei Xie Jing” to guard the road junction.
Through staff analysis, Wen Siting estimated the enemy numbered no more than a thousand, but included quite a few cavalry. Wen Siting ordered the vehicle barricades connected into one piece, with hemp ropes already lowered between the vehicles.
The bayonets of pure firearm troops could not withstand the impact of various monsters like oxen, snakes, ghosts, spirits, and more in this world; therefore, the drill manual emphasized fortification construction, and whenever roads allowed, war chariots were to accompany as much as possible; in battle, vehicles formed the front to create a formation.
Before the enemy charged, connect the ropes to the vehicles and stake them to the ground; when enemy impact units approached, suddenly pull up the ropes to block in front, operating just like tripwires for horses.
Wen Siting observed wolf smoke in the distance through kite people in the sky, then began notifying the troops to prepare, load gunpowder, and fill bullets.
In Wen Siting’s unit, each firearm soldier had ten copper-shell bullets; compared to the more common and cheaper paper cartridges, the spirit patterns pressed onto the copper-shell projectiles provided stronger range and armor-piercing ability.
This was equipment only current elite troops possessed.
Wen Siting completed defensive preparations and further confirmed the scouting battalion’s intelligence. Per Chong Army drill manual standards, maintain detection as much as possible before engagement.
Three dragon horse cavalry flew in front of the Chong Army position. After completing flag signal exchange, Wen Siting rode ahead to rendezvous with these messengers, then returned to the position.
Wen Siting said to his subordinates: “The enemy should be the troops Zhao Cheng left at Bei Xie Jing to guard the gate; seeing no cannons in our formation, they charged over.”
Zhang Hai: “Big brother, if you need our melee team to go up, just say the word.”
Wen Siting: “No rush, hold the position first and shoot them one volley.”
Wen Siting looked at the sky. A cloud was drifting in the sky at that moment.
A few minutes later, Zhao Cheng’s cavalry unit left here arrived. These over 700 light-armored riders, half carrying bows, upon seeing Wen Siting’s formation, immediately drew bow and arrow to shoot at the vehicle formation. Clusters of ox-leg-length arrows, empowered by spirit patterns, flew over 150 paces. The front-row vehicles of the Chong Army were pierced, and many men were shot down to the ground.
At the same time, the Chong Army in the vehicle formation counterattacked with hand cannons.
Amid the mutual shooting between both sides, a group of “monsters” composed of stone mill disks from the Hao Army rolled over; these were “beast” troops, and the bamboo stakes inserted in the ground were destroyed. The vehicle formation was about to be breached, but fortunately, pre-battle scouting had revealed the situation, so everyone had dug a trench in front of the vehicle formation, and the millstone monsters fell into the pit and couldn’t climb out.
At that moment, Wen Siting released fireworks, and a long cry appeared in the sky. That air force unit’s “breath-concealment” state ended.
Three Guiche flew over, accompanied by a group of heavy-armored air cavalry; leading them was Wu Ling, riding a griffin, bringing 21 griffin and Winged Tiger mixed air cavalry.
Note: Guiche with bulging bellies are in bombing state, while flat-bellied ones are in air combat state. Currently, under the cover of griffin knights with no lack of air combat ability, these three Guiche were used for area denial.
Since Wen Siting was lightly equipped for infiltrating the North without bringing cannons, Wu Ling was ordered to bring air monster cavalry to support Wen Siting.
A flame from the Guiche’s aerial breath washed the ground battlefield.
Griffin cavalry dived from behind the enemy army; this cavalry unit Zhao Cheng left to guard Bei Xie Jing suffered heavy losses and fell from their mounts one after another, ultimately with all 400 Hao Army cavalry annihilated.
Wu Ling met Wen Siting and immediately saluted, indicating that from now on he would follow General Wen’s orders. — In the entire Southern Expedition Great War, Wen Siting was an old officer; although Wu Ling was from the Wu Family disciples, Wen Siting was his old superior.
Wen Siting smiled broadly, while his soldiers looked eagerly at their chief, amazed that he had such great face to obtain the power of the guard corps.
Wen Siting opened the map and began assigning troops for the upcoming blockade against Zhao Shanhe; as for the tactical system lacking cannons, Wu Ling said the logistics team was on the way with a batch of flame ballistae en route. As long as they held this key high ground for five days, Wen Siting’s artillery group would be restored.
