"here!"
He pointed to a slightly gentle slope on the side of the camp, "Add a hidden trench and cover it with straw mats and loose soil. If the enemy attacks from here, let them experience the pain of sinking into the ground."
"Yes, sir!" The captain in charge of this section of defense, sweat beading on his forehead, quickly wrote it down.
"The views between the watchtowers overlap, and there are also blind spots."
Yang Yan's gaze, sharp as a hawk's, swept across the numerous watchtowers standing in the distance. "Adjust the positions of the No. 3 and No. 7 arrow towers. What I want is a seamless connection, leaving no blind spots."
"In addition, night sentries must report to the central command every half hour using a light signal, and the code is changed daily."
"Yes, Commander!" the scout battalion captain replied sternly.
Finally, he climbed to the center of the defensive line, which was also the highest newly built arrow tower.
The wood was still new, exuding the scent of pine resin.
He refused the help of his personal guards and walked alone to the creaking top platform, holding onto the cold, rough parapet, and gazing into the distance to the north.
My vision suddenly opened up, but my mood grew heavier.
In the distance, where heaven and earth meet, lies a disturbingly murky expanse.
The intelligence scroll, obtained by the scouts with their blood, was tucked into his pocket:
Wuzhu's main force, the army that had annihilated 140,000 of his comrades, had already broken camp in Daming Prefecture.
Eighty thousand elite troops, along with tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers and servants, moved like a slow-moving swarm of locusts covering the earth, pressing southward with an aura of annihilation.
Their vanguard scouts, those ghosts that come and go like the wind, have already appeared within a hundred miles, lurking like wolves, engaging in a silent battle and probing with the Fengtian Army scouts on the periphery.
In the wind, one could almost faintly smell the mingled scents of blood and rust from the north.
"Soon..."
Yang Yan's mutterings were almost blown away by the wind, and only he himself could hear them.
Could this hastily constructed defensive line, with its 150,000 soldiers, truly withstand Wuzhu's thunderous attack, a strike fueled by the momentum of a great victory?
Can the Great Feng warship, which has only been at sea for less than a year, find a glimmer of hope for survival in the city of Xiangzhou, with half of the country under its control?
The immense pressure, like Mount Tai, weighed heavily on his shoulders.
But his upright figure did not sway in the slightest; only his unfathomable eyes reflected the vast north, burning with a cold and resolute determination.
......
Meanwhile, in Daizhou.
Inside Zhao Muyun's study, honeycomb briquettes were burning brightly, creating a world apart from the bitter cold outside the window.
Having just finished listening to Shen Qian's detailed report, Zhao Muyun walked to the huge map of mountains and rivers, his gaze fixed on the location of Xiangzhou.
"Eighty thousand elite troops, mobilized in full force... This time, Wuzhu is launching an all-out attack."
Zhao Muyun's voice was low and unreadable.
He stretched out his finger and traced a possible attack route for Wuzhu. "The defensive line built by Yang Yan has become a tough nut for him to crack."
"Grand Commander, our bluff seems to have worked."
Shen Qian added, "The Northern Barbarians have intensified their surveillance of us, and the number of scouts has increased by nearly 50%. It seems that Wuzhu is more inclined to believe the news that we are about to launch an attack."
Zhao Muyun smiled coldly: "As long as he is distracted by his defenses, that will be enough. Every bit of pressure Yang Yan can feel will be reduced."
He turned around and looked sharply at Wu Shangzhi, who was standing to the side, and Xi Sheng and Guo Luo, who had just been summoned. "Xiao Wu, your flanking force can be more active, but remember, it's still the same old 'crying wolf' trick. Never get entangled with the enemy!"
"I want Wuzhu to think that we are ready to attack Youzhou or harass their rear at any time, but he doesn't know when we will actually make our move!"
"Understood, Your Majesty!" Wu Shangzhi clasped his hands in a fist salute, his eyes gleaming with a warlike light. "I will make sure those Tartars can't sleep soundly!"
"Captain Xi, Captain Guo!" Zhao Muyun turned his gaze to the two men. "We don't have much time left. I don't care what methods you use, half a month, at most half a month!"
"I want to see an army that has regained its fighting spirit, is fully equipped, and is ready to be put into battle at any time."
"Once we get results from Yinzhou, we'll have more options."
Guo Luo calmly replied, "Grand Commander, rest assured, the cavalry training is 70% complete. The new recruits are growing rapidly after seeing blood. The heavy cavalry has been replenished to 1,000 riders and is undergoing intensive training."
Xi Sheng replied in a deep voice, "The weapons and equipment of the Mo Dao Battalion are being worked on day and night. In another ten days, the shortage will be filled!"
Zhao Muyun nodded, his gaze returning to the map as if trying to pierce through the thin silk to see the fierce battle about to erupt beneath Xiangzhou City.
"Yang Yan, I've set the stage for you and relieved some of the pressure. Now, it all depends on whether your defense can withstand Wuzhu's onslaught..."
Right now!
In the dead of winter, the Hebei Plain is filled only with the howling wind and the biting cold.
Wuzhu's 80,000 elite Northern Di troops, like a black iron torrent, finally arrived thirty miles north of Xiangzhou.
The endless camps stretched as far as the eye could see, and even from this distance, the sounds of men shouting and horses neighing could be faintly heard, carrying a chilling sense of oppression.
Inside the central command tent, Wuzhu removed his heavy golden chainmail and listened attentively to the scouts' report.
He was a robust man with a rugged face and sharp, eagle-like eyes, but at this moment his brows were slightly furrowed.
"Yang Yan?"
He pondered the name, his tone tinged with seriousness, "Li Jingang finally managed to bring him out. This man's approach to warfare is quite different from Ma Zongliang's."
He walked to the makeshift sand table and looked at the Fengtian Army's defensive fortifications marked on it.
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