Chapter 79: Carnage
Liu Zhixian had enlisted in his youth and earned Jiang Yu's trust, ranking among the notable generals of Southern Chen.
Hundred Blades Pass served as Great Liang's southern gateway. Though Southern Chen and Great Liang had never clashed before, since Luodu changed hands and Changlian Wang and his son perished—with Wen Yu's fate remaining unknown—they had prepared for the worst. Southern Chen's generals had repeatedly strategized how to breach Hundred Blades Pass.
Now, facing the sand table, Liu Zhixian recalled the long-debated tactics within the army, his initial panic gradually fading. He lifted his head, his gaze sinister as he stared at Xiao Li. "Our Southern Chen forces are camped on both sides of Hundred Blades Pass Gorge. We'll encircle but not attack immediately. Scouts will investigate the watch schedules of the pass's battlements and beacon towers. On a moonlit night, we'll dispatch three thousand vanguard troops to assault the battlements head-on. Another two thousand soldiers, divided into twenty squads of a hundred each, will span thirty li to the left and right of Hundred Blades Pass's gate, attacking twenty beacon towers!"
Upon hearing this, Fan Yuan and Chen Wei exchanged glances, both seeing the dire implications in each other's eyes.
The enemy's strategy bore traces of the tactics they had used to capture Tao County. It appeared to be a feint—using the frontal assault at the gate as a decoy to draw the bulk of their forces, creating opportunities for the twenty squads.
In reality, however, every one of these twenty-one points was a genuine assault!
A hundred-strong squad might seem undermanned, but they only needed to confront the dozen or so Great Liang soldiers stationed at each beacon tower. Even if patrols of over a hundred men covered every ten li along the Great Wall, they would be stretched thin if neighboring beacon towers were simultaneously attacked. Once a single beacon tower fell, the adjacent ones would quickly succumb under the pressure of the enemy's hundred-strong squads. Soldiers swarming from the beacon towers would then converge on Hundred Blades Pass's gate, subjecting its defenses to a three-sided assault.
Southern Chen was leveraging its numerical superiority to expand this strategy beyond their capacity to defend.
As a seasoned commander, Fan Yuan understood the implications better than anyone. He had initially believed that with Hundred Blades Pass's natural defenses, Pingzhou's ten thousand troops could hold off Southern Chen—and that if they ultimately failed, it would be due to attrition warfare. That was why he had seen burning the enemy's supplies as their only chance when Xiao Li proposed it.
But now, it seemed they might not even survive this initial assault!
Their only hope lay not in reacting after the enemy mobilized, but in striking first—destroying their supplies while they were still encamped in the mountains.
Realizing this, Fan Yuan's facial muscles twitched violently. He lowered his voice, seething, "These Southern Chen rats are using our Tao County tactics against Pingzhou!"
Chen Wei also saw little chance of victory, but as a former regional governor, he remained calmer than Fan Yuan.
Watching as the Southern Chen attendant replaced the flags at all twenty beacon towers on both sides of Hundred Blades Pass's Great Wall, and the martial general facing Xiao Li flashed a provocative smile, Chen Wei rapidly contemplated countermeasures.He turned to look at Wen Yu and Li Yao, considering whether to first order a mid-session break so they could privately discuss a plan to protect Pingzhou's interests to the greatest extent possible in case of defeat in the sandbox deduction, before continuing the exercise.
However, he saw that both Wen Yu and Li Yao were thoughtfully gazing at the sandbox, showing no signs of being flustered by Southern Chen's relentless tactics.
Over on the other side, the Liu-named general from Southern Chen smugly urged Xiao Li: "Our Southern Chen has already attacked. How does the esteemed Liang general intend to defend? Care to speak up?"
Xiao Li's gaze remained fixed on the Great Wall undulating with the mountain terrain on the sandbox, paying him no mind.
Liu Zhixian continued his sarcastic remarks: "Could it be that you only possess brute courage but actually know nothing about military strategy, hence the difficulty? Someone personally appointed by the esteemed Liang princess shouldn't be like this..."
He paused here, sneering: "But the young general is still quite young, understandable, quite understandable!"
He turned his head, mockingly looking at the grim-faced Liang officials, his gaze finally settling on Fan Yuan: "Perhaps we should replace him with a veteran general?"
Fan Yuan's eyes blazed with anger. Had he not witnessed Xiao Li's capabilities and remembered they were in the council hall, maintaining a shred of rationality, he might have truly taken the bait and stepped forward.
Seeing the situation becoming increasingly unfavorable for them, Chen Wei discreetly moved to the rear, summoned a nearby guard, whispered some instructions. The guard glanced toward the sandbox, nodded, then headed toward Wen Yu.
Zhao Bai stood beside Wen Yu. When the guard approached, she leaned in to hear what was said, glanced at the sandbox, and was about to relay it to Wen Yu when a cold voice came from the sandbox area: "The Great Liang dispatches three thousand soldiers from the Central Army Camp to firmly guard the gates of Hundred Blades Pass. Use catapults to launch fire oil jars, have archers strike them, then use fire arrows to attack the Chen troops assaulting below the walls."
Looking sideways, they saw Xiao Li with both hands braced on the sandbox edge, slowly raising his head to look at the Southern Chen martial general opposing him.
Liu Zhixian was clearly stunned by Xiao Li's counterattack, his provocative smile frozen at the corner of his mouth, appearing rather ridiculous at this moment.
Jiang Yu and Fang Mingda were also startled by this unprecedented tactic, lifting their heads in surprise.
The Liang officials who had thought defeat was certain were even more astonished upon hearing this plan, whispering and discussing among themselves: "Marvelous! Truly marvelous! The oil ignites upon contact with fire. When the earthen jars shatter, whether the spilled oil falls to the ground or onto the Chen troops below the walls, once the fire arrows are released, everything will burst into flames!"
"This plan serves two purposes: first, it can burn some Chen troops, making them panic in the fire and disrupting their morale. Second, with intense flames below the walls, the Chen army loses their advantage of hiding in the darkness. Our archers shooting from the battlements would be no different than in broad daylight!"
Wen Yu, seated in the main position, also slightly raised her eyes. Xiao Li's solution to break the deadlock surprised her as well.
She had previously been studying the terrain outside Hundred Blades Pass, considering how to repel those Chen troops attacking from the beacon towers.
Hundred Blades Pass derived its name from the two flanking mountains towering like blades. The mountain range stretched over a hundred li, with the pass gates situated at the summit of these mountains. The canyon cleaving through the frontal mountains served as the only vital passage connecting Southern Chen and Great Liang.Therefore, even if the surprise-attacking Chen army managed to storm the beacon towers on the Great Wall, what awaited them beyond it was an endless expanse of old forests and wildlands. If the army wanted to invade Pingzhou, they could only take the main road through the pass. The sole purpose of the twenty raiding squads storming the beacon towers was to attack the city gates from both flanks of the Great Wall.
The three thousand troops launching the frontal assault held only the advantages of surprise and the cover of darkness—nothing else was in their favor.
Southern Chen was employing the same tactics they had used to capture Tao County. However, Tao County could be surrounded on all four sides by its walls. They had used a feint to draw away part of the defending forces from the southern gate, allowing Xiao Li to find the opportune moment to storm the city. Outside Hundred Blades Pass, there was only this single strategic point, and all of Pingzhou’s defensive forces could be concentrated here.
As long as the gate tower was not attacked from both flanks of the Great Wall, the three thousand Chen troops launching the frontal assault on Hundred Blades Pass posed little threat.
Thus, in Wen Yu’s view, the greatest threat in Southern Chen’s siege was the two thousand troops advancing from the beacon towers.
To break the deadlock, they needed to dispatch troops to advance from both the gate tower of Hundred Blades Pass and the beacon towers not yet occupied by the Chen army, trapping the Southern Chen reinforcements attempting to reach the gate tower on the Great Wall in a pincer attack.
In this battle, they had been caught off guard, and casualties and losses were inevitable. However, compared to Southern Chen, they were undoubtedly the victors.
Xiao Li’s strategy, however, directly and significantly weakened Southern Chen’s frontal assault, minimized casualties among the defending soldiers, and boosted the morale of Pingzhou’s troops. The defense at the city gates would only become more impregnable, making it far easier to repel the Southern Chen reinforcements attacking from both flanks.
From his initial proposal to hijack the Xu family’s cargo ships to his current adept command of troops, Wen Yu felt a faint sense of puzzlement.
—Had he truly never studied military strategy before, given how rapidly he had progressed?
But if he had, given his past circumstances, where could he have learned such tactics?
Perhaps because her gaze lingered on Xiao Li a little too long, he seemed to sense it and looked up, meeting her eyes. He noticed her staring thoughtfully at him.
In front of the civil and military officials and the Southern Chen envoy, he dared not reveal even a hint of emotion. He simply withdrew his gaze, pointed his long staff at the beacon towers flanking the gate tower of Hundred Blades Pass, and continued addressing Liu Zhixian: “These are the highest beacon towers on either side of Hundred Blades Pass. The main Southern Chen force has already been repelled. I need only dispatch five hundred soldiers each to seize these two beacon towers, station archers there, and send additional troops to flank them from behind. The Chen forces on both wings can then be completely annihilated here.”
On the sandbox, the Southern Chen banners that Jiang Yu had just placed moments earlier were now pulled out one by one by Xiao Li and tossed to the edge of the sandbox.
Someone among the Liang officials was the first to shout, “Well done!”
This round of offense and defense had come to an end.
The others also broke into smiles, with some even wiping away the cold sweat from their earlier tension with their sleeves.
Although it was merely a sandbox deduction, everyone understood that the real battle would likely unfold in a similar manner, which was why they had all been on edge when the situation at Hundred Blades Pass seemed unfavorable.
Li Yao stroked his beard on the dais and praised, “This young man is teachable.”
Wen Yu withdrew her gaze from Xiao Li and remained silent, turning instead to Zhao Bai. “Do you have something to report?”
Zhao Bai cleared his throat softly. “Earlier, Minister Chen Wei was concerned that General Xiao might not be able to break the deadlock and asked if you wanted to call for a temporary intermission.”Wen Yu's gaze swept over the three from Southern Chen and said, "Let Southern Chen make the proposal first."
Zhao Bai followed her line of sight.
Liu Zhixian's face was extremely grim, while Fang Mingda forced a smile and cupped his hands toward Wen Yu, saying, "Liang truly has an abundance of talent. This young General Xiao's strategies are extraordinary. Even I, a civil official with no military expertise, found this sandbox deduction thoroughly exhilarating. It's just that the two generals have exerted considerable mental effort and expended much breath. Why not take some tea and allow for the next round of deduction later?"
Wen Yu replied, "As the envoy suggests."
Fang Mingda cupped his hands in gratitude to Wen Yu, then led Jiang Yu and Liu Zhi, following the guiding maid, to the tea room exclusively arranged for their Southern Chen delegation.
Anyone with discernment could see that Southern Chen was likely convening to discuss their next strategy for attacking the city.
Fan Yuan stared at their retreating backs, let out a disdainful snort, stepped forward and gave Xiao Li's shoulder a hearty slap, grinning broadly as he praised, "Well done, lad! You didn't bring shame to our Great Liang!"
The strategists and military comrades also gathered around, praising his city defense plan as truly brilliant.
When Xiao Li finally extricated himself from the socializing, he instinctively glanced toward the main seat, only to find that Wen Yu, Li Yao, and Zhao Bai were no longer in the outer hall.
Inner chamber of the council hall.
Wen Yu propped her elbow on the table, staring absently at the white steam rising from her teacup. Li Yao, seated across from her, set down his own cup and asked, "My lady, you seem preoccupied?"
Wen Yu snapped out of her reverie, collecting her thoughts as she said, "Southern Chen's first assault was already so perilous. I'm somewhat concerned their subsequent attacks might also be this unpredictable."
Li Yao responded, "No matter how perilous, didn't your capable subordinate manage to turn danger into safety?"
Wen Yu fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "Sir, throughout history, have military geniuses inherently understood the art of deception?"
Li Yao lifted his eyelids to glance at her and pointedly remarked, "What you really want to ask about is that Xiao boy under your command, isn't it? Do you recall that I previously asked you if he was from Yongcheng?"
Wen Yu nodded.
Li Yao's bony fingers held the teacup as his gaze turned profound. "The ferocity in his military tactics resembles Qin Yi's, which is why I asked. But Bai Qi of the pre-Qin era was also a fierce general, and countless later students of his strategies share similarities. This young man is quick-witted. I heard from Li Xun that he seems to have memorized numerous essential military principles by rote, and now he's gradually mastering their application. As for innate talent—in all three hundred sixty trades of this world, which doesn't require some degree of talent and insight?"
He looked at Wen Yu and said, "Having such a commander under your command is a good thing."
When the second round of sandbox deduction began, Liu Zhixian excused himself citing a hand ailment, letting Jiang Yu—who was disguised as an attendant—take his place in the match. He claimed he had already conveyed the siege tactics to the other and would supervise from the sidelines.
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Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated with nutrient solutions from 2024-03-04 23:59:45 to 2024-03-07 22:41:37~Thank you to the little angels who irrigated with nutrient solution: Xiao Wu, Nan Ye's Cat 20 bottles; Xiang Qingyue 12 bottles; Rice Ball 10 bottles; Won't Be Hungry After Eating Full 5 bottles; Whale Doesn't Eat Cilantro 4 bottles; Lam 3 bottles; Pickled Fish's Glasses Frame, Coffee Bean 2 bottles; 65140677, Treat You to Lettuce, Li Zi Talks Books, kfpy_L, Pisces' Little Heng, Simple, Stella, Xiao Wang Doesn't Like Salad, Crying Miserably 1 bottle;
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