vrcanaries Chapter 479 What kind of soldiers did you bring?
Chapter 479 What kind of soldiers did you bring?
His brow furrowed suddenly, and he raised his hand to cover his chest.
"Young Master?" Zhao Sheng, who was standing guard nearby, noticed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward. "What's wrong?"
Xie Yanli remained silent.
His gaze fell upon the swirling snow outside the tent.
Is she crying?
He missed her very much.
-
The following night.
Night had fallen, and Xie Yanli and Meng Ze sat facing each other in the military tent. On the sand table was a major city of Liang, Cangling Pass.
This pass guards the mountain road, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.
Li Wuyang personally stationed himself here, intending to use this stronghold to block the advance of the Great Jin army and disrupt the supply lines at the front.
Meng Ze stared at the sand table for a long time. "Cangling Pass has three layers of traps, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we attack it head-on, we will inevitably suffer heavy casualties."
Xie Yanli replied, "We are not attacking the city, but the people."
Meng Ze looked up. "You want to kill him?"
“Yes.” Xie Yanli’s eyes were as cold as ice. “The war is currently at a stalemate. If we continue fighting, it will be very disadvantageous to the Great Jin. If Li Wuyang dies, the Great Liang will be leaderless, and the war situation will naturally reverse.”
When he said this, his voice was low and heavy, carrying an extreme sense of exhaustion.
The war started last September, and it's already May now; it's been almost a year.
The troops traversed several states, and while there were victories, each one was won with bloodshed.
After a battle every three days, a minor victory was followed by another round of siege.
He had a limited number of capable generals under his command, and the casualties of his soldiers were gradually accumulating. Every troop deployment felt like pulling bones and scraping tendons.
Although the front lines have won many battles, the strength of the Great Jin Dynasty... has become depleted.
The court was weak, the people were exhausted, and the army was weary.
Xie Yanli knew that the longer this battle went on, the more dangerous it would become.
With the strength of the Great Jin Dynasty, it was impossible for it to swallow up the Great Liang Dynasty.
If this drags on any longer, the Great Jin Dynasty will truly be dragged to its death.
“I know what you mean…” Meng Ze shook his head. “Li Wuyang is always cautious. Killing him is not an easy task.”
Xie Yanli looked at the map quietly for a long time before saying, "If he stays in the capital of Daliang, we will naturally be powerless to do anything about him."
"But his personal command of the campaign means we have a chance."
"No one is absolutely safe as long as he is on the battlefield."
"Although he is cautious, he is also arrogant. As a new emperor, he personally led the army but suffered defeat after defeat. He must be very frustrated and waiting to turn the tide."
"That's the flaw."
Meng Ze's gaze darkened slightly. "You're going to set a trap to lure him out?"
"Give it a try," Xie Yanli said softly.
There is no other way.
His voice was soft, like snow falling on armor in winter.
Too many people have died this winter.
Snow is the mountain's shroud; those soldiers who died on the battlefield will never return home...
He didn't want any more Jin soldiers to die.
Rear Camp of Jinling Pass.
After listening to his subordinate's report, Li Wuyang slowly raised his eyes.
"What did you say? Xie Yanli...is sick?"
"Yes, I have learned that the current commander-in-chief of the Great Jin Dynasty has been replaced by Xie Jingchun. Xie Yanli has not appeared on the front lines since he was seriously injured."
"Heh." Li Wuyang sneered, "He's quite confident, handing this battle over directly to his son?"
"Perhaps, they want to give Xie Jingchun military merit. The Xie family is currently at the height of its power. If Xie Jingchun can gain another merit in this battle, he could be promoted to general and even inherit his father's position."
Li Wuyang's tone became even more sarcastic, "Xie Yanli does trust his son."
“This Xie Jingchun… is indeed quite capable,” the general said. “He has won several battles brilliantly, and he is both brave and resourceful. He is not an opponent to be underestimated.”
Mentioning this reminded Li Wuyang of the time Xie Jingchun tricked her in Linyuan City, and anger flared up in her heart. She glared at him and said, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"
The general immediately knelt down in a panic, trembling as he said, "This humble general knows his mistake! This humble general knows his mistake!"
"Get out!"
Li Wuyang picked up the teacup beside her and smashed it at him.
The teacup shattered on the ground with a crash, shards of porcelain scattering everywhere.
The scalding hot tea splashed all over the soldier.
But he dared not utter a sound, and hurriedly kowtowed before getting up and stumbling out of the tent.
"Xie Jingchun..." Li Wuyang gritted his teeth and whispered, his eyes filled with malice.
"You little brat dare to scheme against me... I will make you pay with your blood sooner or later!"
Cangling Pass, Commander's Tent
Li Wuyang, dressed in a black battle robe, sat in the center of the tent.
He stared intently at the topographical map on the table.
Four days have passed, and the Jin army remains as still as still water outside the pass, making no offensive whatsoever.
This silence is more unsettling than a real battle.
What do they want to do?
He didn't believe Xie Jingchun would be a coward who stood still and waited for fate.
Just as his thoughts were churning, a lieutenant hurriedly lifted the curtain and entered, kneeling before the tent.
"Your Majesty! The Jin army, the Jin army... they're attacking!"
Li Wuyang suddenly stood up. "When did you raise an army? What formation did you use?"
The lieutenant stammered, "It was late in the morning when the enemy suddenly launched an attack from the northwest. They set up a formation, but we couldn't understand the formation. We only knew that it seemed to be changing around a... strange pattern."
"Each column of soldiers appeared to be well-organized and orderly in their movements..."
Li Wuyang's face darkened as he listened. "What do you mean? What kind of formation is it? You're the commander, and you can't even figure out the enemy's formation?"
"It's because I'm incompetent!" The lieutenant was pale and kowtowed repeatedly.
"The enemy's formation was different from the common fish scale, arrowhead, and long snake formations. The troops were arranged in a circle, as if they were surrounding some kind of pattern, but they were constantly changing. It was not a single formation, but rather like some kind of mechanism was turning."
"Despite their dispersed forces, they were able to quickly encircle our defensive line!"
He spoke haltingly, his words becoming increasingly unreliable, until even he himself found them absurd.
But that formation was truly a strange formation he had never seen before.
Li Wuyang's face turned ashen as he stared at the deputy general for a long time before slamming his hand on the table.
"Useless! You can't even explain a formation properly, what kind of troops are you leading?!"
"This subordinate deserves death!"
Li Wuyang's face was ashen, and the atmosphere in the tent was tense.
He sat for a moment, but finally couldn't hold back any longer and shouted again, "Summon Wang Cheng, take the light cavalry scouts, and go to the front line to keep an eye on the Jin army's formation!"
"This time, I want you to see it for yourself, and then draw their battle formation diagram!"
"Here!"
Wang Cheng accepted the order and left in a hurry.
Before an incense stick had burned, Wang Cheng returned to the main tent, looking travel-worn, and knelt down to report.
"Your Majesty, the Jin army did not send out its main force, but only two detachments to launch a feint attack. However, their formations changed extremely quickly, as if several formations were constantly connecting and overlapping."
"Your subordinate... Your subordinate still can't figure out what kind of formation they used."