The more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became.
Zhao Muyun's military tactics are always unpredictable. Is he really going to abandon the near for the far this time?
"General, I am willing to lead my 30,000 troops to reinforce Yanshi!" Li Bao volunteered. "We will surely block Zhao Muyun south of the Luo River!"
Ma Zongliang shook his head: "No. If you are transferred east, the left flank of Yishuichuan will be vulnerable. What if Zhao Muyun is using a feint attack..."
Before he could finish speaking, another scout rushed in with a report: "Report! Thirty li south of Yishui River, Yin army cavalry has been spotted! About six thousand men, carrying Dangxiang and Qiang Rong banners, are burning down the post stations along the grain route!"
"Dangxiang, Qiangrong?" Li Biao exclaimed in surprise. "Are they the foreign cavalry that Zhao Muyun subdued in Liangzhou?"
"It must be Zhao Muyun who sent them to harass the supply lines." Li Bao gritted his teeth. "General, send me to wipe out these barbarians!"
Ma Zongliang raised his hand to stop him, a look of doubt flashing in his eyes: "Wait... a main force has appeared in Yanshi, and foreign cavalry has appeared south of the Yi River... Could it be that Zhao Muyun's main force from the Western Regions has returned?"
"That force was Zhao Muyun's absolute elite, with a thousand heavy cavalry, as well as those who could use firearms, long-range bows and crossbows, and the Mo Dao, which could counter cavalry."
His expression was grave as he paced back and forth in the tent, then suddenly stopped:
"Send orders to send out more scouts. I need to know exactly how many enemy troops Yanshi has, how many cavalry are south of the Yi River, and—what's the current situation of his Dengzhou camp!"
Two hours later, the scouts began to report back.
"Across the river from Yanshi, the camp indeed numbered 30,000, with hundreds of cooking fires and a forest of flags."
"There are about six thousand foreign cavalrymen in the south of the Yi River. Each man rides two horses and gallops back and forth, raising clouds of dust that obscure the sun, making it difficult to confirm their true number."
"The Dengzhou camp... seems to be empty. The camp is still there, but there is little smoke from the chimneys, and many fewer flags."
Ma Zongliang's expression kept changing.
Three pieces of information, three directions—Zhao Muyun's forces seem to be scattered in various places...
"Is he dividing his forces?" Li Biao asked doubtfully. "Even if he has 90,000 troops, if he divides them into three locations, each location will only have 30,000 troops. This is a major taboo in military strategy."
“Unless…” Ma Zongliang suddenly realized something, “Unless he didn’t divide his forces at all! The attack on Yanshi was a bluff, the harassment south of the Yi River was a feint, and the real main force…”
He pointed heavily at the sand table: "He's still in Dengzhou! He's waiting, waiting for us to divide our forces to rescue Yanshi, waiting for us to be exhausted from running around!"
Li Bao asked in confusion, "But wasn't the Dengzhou camp empty?"
"An empty camp ruse!" Ma Zongliang sneered. "Zhao Muyun is adept at this tactic. The camp in Yanshi is probably just a bluff; their actual strength is less than ten thousand. As for the foreign cavalry, six thousand men, each with three horses, galloping back and forth, make it look like an army of tens of thousands..."
The more he thought about it, the more confident he became: "Zhao Muyun is gambling, betting that I will divide my forces to rescue Yanshi. Once I divide my forces, the strength of Yishuichuan will be weakened, and his main force can then attack from Dengzhou and take Yishuichuan directly! What a feint attack!"
Li Biao nodded: "The commander's analysis makes sense. So, what do we do now..."
"Hold your troops still," Ma Zongliang said decisively. "Order Zhang Nan to hold Yanshi and not to engage in battle. Also, order the cavalry to strengthen patrols and guard against Zhao Muyun's sneak attacks. As for those northwestern barbarians... ignore them. They can burn a few post stations, but that won't affect the overall situation."
He sat back down in the main seat, his eyes gleaming with confidence: "Zhao Muyun, you want me to divide my forces? I won't! Two hundred thousand troops will be firmly stationed at Yishuichuan, let's see if you dare to come!"
......
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