klisemfg Chapter 375: Expedition to the Grassland
Chapter 375: Expedition to the Grassland
Three days later in the morning, Shen Changgong's carriage arrived at the military camp outside the city and the army was ready. The Tianyu Army and the Changning Army followed Shen Changgong to fight this time.
The Zhennan Army was also on its way north.
Shen Changgong held a swearing-in ceremony to let the soldiers understand what they were fighting for this time: their land was being invaded and their brothers were being massacred.
The soldiers of the Yan army were all arrogant. A series of victories had made them extremely confident. They always thought they were the ones who beat others, but this time they were beaten.
A group of barbarians riding horses and eating grass actually dared to kill our people?
court death!
As a result, the soldiers, with high morale and angry emotions, clamored for revenge.
Then, the main force started to set off.
In the carriage sat Shen Changgong, Gongsun Wan'er, Tu Queling and Yu Huatian.
On the small table in front of Shen Changgong was a map showing the current territory of Yan State.
They need to first enter Fenglu County from Jingji County, then turn northwest and enter Ziyang County, and then go north to Zhangbei County on the border.
The place where the attack took place was on the border line to the north of Zhangbei County.
Shen Changgong pointed to the location of the attacked Huangtu Fort and said,
"Based on the intelligence that has been continuously transmitted from the north, we have also received detailed intelligence.
The enemy troops who attacked Huangtu Fort had as many as 10,000 people. After killing all the people in Huangtu Fort, they looted everything inside and demolished the earthen wall on the north side.
However, after they killed our Huangtubao soldiers, they did not march straight in to massacre our people, nor did they launch attacks on other locations. Instead, they deployed their troops in the southern part of the grassland and moved their tribe to this area.
Their behavior seems more like a provocation to see how we react.
In the past few days, I have carefully thought about Wang Khan's intentions and put myself in his perspective. Perhaps he is not clear now whether we, Dayan, are strong or weak, nor does he know what our attitude towards them is.
So he is testing us. If we are weak, he will have an idea in his mind and will come south to attack us.
If we act tough, they will retreat and wait and see. After our main forces have all moved south, they will attack us and take advantage of the situation.
Therefore, for the sake of stability in the rear, we must fight this time, and we must defeat them and severely damage their vitality.
Most importantly, that very capable Wang Khan must die!"
Yu Huatian looked at the map and said with some confusion,
"Why would they move their entire tribe south? Are they planning to conquer more territory and then migrate directly?
If not, it would be too dangerous. Once the frontline army is defeated, the elderly, weak, women and children in the rear would have no chance to resist or escape. Wouldn't this be a disaster for the entire clan?"
Gongsun Wan'er immediately explained,
"They have no choice. It's just the beginning of summer, and the south is warmer with plenty of water and grass, making it suitable for grazing. The north is drier, and not much grass has grown yet.
The grassland people live near water and grass, and this season is in the south.
When Qiyan Huihe wanted to fight, he had to concentrate his forces and draw men from various tribes. However, the young and strong men were worried that their tribes would be attacked by other tribes if they left, so they brought their tribes with them. They could only arrange the tribes together and go to a more distant place to graze, and then come back after they were done.
"I see, then I understand."
Yu Huatian nodded and said,
“Your Highness, when engaging in battle with the enemy, although they are few in number, they are all cavalry. If we pursue them, I’m afraid we won’t be able to catch up. The enemy can fight, retreat, or harass us, which is very disadvantageous to us.
Even if we have 50,000 Zhennan troops, wearing heavy armor, our speed will definitely not be as fast as those light cavalry. What's more, those grassland peoples grew up on horseback and are more adept at riding and shooting.
I have an idea. Since their tribe is very close to us, we can first surround their tribe and force them to come over and fight us."
"Besiege the enemy and attack the reinforcements? That's a good idea. Otherwise, we can't catch up with the cavalry even with our cannons. They're so far away, and it would be troublesome for us to come back after we've left. This is a good strategy.
It's you who can come up with a strategy against the enemy based on such insignificant intelligence. You are indeed the wisest commander of Dayan."
Shen Changgong expressed his approval of Yu Huatian's plan.
Yu Huatian blushed slightly, smiled shyly, and said,
"Your Highness, you are too kind. Great Yan is full of talented people. You, the Southern King, General Guan, and Chen Qing are all a hundred times better than me."
Looking back, Bai Meisheng smiled, and the Sixth Palace had no color.
It is absolutely correct to use it to describe the transformation into an immortal.
Gongsun Wan'er and Tu Que Ling both curled their lips at the sight. A man was actually more handsome than them. It was really against the will of Heaven.
Shen Changgong put away the map and suddenly asked,
"Yuhuatian, how old are you this year?"
"Your Majesty, I am twenty-four years old this year."
"Twenty-four years old, very young indeed."
Shen Changgong thought of the champion marquis Huo Qubing, who started leading troops to fight at the age of eighteen, trampled on Qilian Mountains, conquered the Wolf's Lair, and forced the Mobei royal court to flee in panic.
They are all young and promising generals.
"Yu Huatian, if you can destroy Wang Ting and kill Wang Khan this time, I will make you the Marquis of Champion. How do you do that?"
"Marquis of Champion? Bravest of all three armies? How can such a lowly general be worthy of this title?"
"Whether you can handle it or not depends on your performance this time, but you must remember that killing the enemy is always your secondary mission. Your first mission is to protect yourself and avoid getting sick or injured.
You are too weak, I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
Yuhuatian smiled.
"Well, you're already 24, why haven't you gotten married yet? There are many people in the countryside who marry their wives at the age of 15 or 16. You're a great marshal and a marquis, how can you not get married?
Or is it that you, Marshal, are too proud and arrogant to find any woman you like?"
"It's true that I haven't met anyone I particularly like. I value relationships more. I will only marry if two people are in love. If not, I would rather remain single for the rest of my life."
"You still have to get married and have children. You are the only one left in your Yu family. If you don't have children, do you think your father, at such an old age, will have to take a concubine to continue the family line?"
After hearing what Shen Changgong said, Yu Huatian shook his head and said,
"The prince's thinking is too feudal. People don't live to get married and have children. What's more important is dreams and doing what you like.
If I could lead troops to battle every day and realize my value, wouldn’t that be better than getting married and having children?
A person's value is not determined by whether he has no offspring."
Shen Changgong was stunned when he heard this. How could a time traveler like him be called a feudal thinker by an ancient native?