Chapter 123 Yunya Chen Liangyu has run out of tricks.
In the dead of winter, laborers dragged supply wagons carrying grain northward. The wagons were covered with mats secured by ropes and coated with tung oil to protect them from rain and snow. Three people made up one wagon: two pushed from behind, and one carried it on his shoulder with a hemp rope. Several grain wagons bearing the official seals wound their way along the official road.
The centurion escorting this route carried a small flag on his back, clasped his hands together to his mouth, breathed out a puff of hot air, and hurriedly rubbed his hands back and forth.
He cracked his whip in the air, "Hurry up! The front lines are waiting. Delaying military operations will cost you your head!"
The supply routes were scattered, and their team hadn't been allocated mules or horses, relying solely on manpower. After the centurion's shout, the convoy picked up speed slightly, and the laborers pulling the carts began to pant even more heavily.
The wheels rolled over the frozen ground, thud! Crack!
Suzhou, the desolate plain north of Dingbei City.
As the bugle sounded, the army swept across the barren grasslands, and the battle flags bearing the character "Chen" fluttered in the swirling sand.
The Eagle-Headed Army's heavily armored cavalry, carrying shields, led the charge, followed by various armored vehicles advancing in parallel, with infantry formations trailing behind.
The eagle head perched on Chen Liangyu's shoulder armor held its head high, and the lines of the eagle wing helmet extended along the bridge of his nose to his chin, revealing his clear and sharp eyes beneath the visor.
In the morning light, the iron bridle of the jade lion gleamed coldly.
Jingming, Lin Yin, and Yue Zhengyang each rode their warhorses closely behind Chen Liangyu.
Lin Yin spurred his horse forward to catch up with Chen Liangyu, saying, "Commander, isn't this a bit too ostentatious?"
Chen Liangyu glanced at her, his eyes warning her of her lax military discipline.
Lin Yin hurriedly withdrew his horse and said, "Marching like this makes us an easy target and makes us vulnerable to interception by the Yong army."
"I'm afraid the Yong army won't come to intercept us."
“Yunya is an important border fortress in Beiyongding. Zhai Ji will definitely garrison it with a large force. We don’t even know how many soldiers are in the town. The general guarding the town is Zhai Ji’s trusted general, Helian Wei. The grain depot of 100,000 troops was burned. Helian Wei would love to take your head and claim credit to make amends. If we march in such a conspicuous manner, wouldn’t we just be making Helian Wei a live target?”
Chen Liangyu said, "If Helian Wei cannot defend Yunya, in your opinion, who will Zhai Ji send to defend it?"
Lin Yin fell into thought.
Yue Zhengyang's gaze remained fixed on the direction of the Yunya City Wall ahead, and he blurted out: "Bu Ren, Bu Ren, the Marquis of Beiyong Town."
Jingming said, "Good lad, you guessed right. I guessed it was him too."
Yue Zhengyang said, "In the archery competition at the South Garden Horse Ranch on Wanhe Street, I was distracted and lost to Bu Ren's son, Bu Qijun, by one arrow. If we meet in this battle, I will have a real contest with him."
Chen Liangyu's dark cloak billowed behind him, and he raised an eyebrow, "I, the commander, will personally lead the army to defend Yunya to the death."
Lin Yin said, "He's the emperor now, his status is different. What if he didn't show up?"
"Then let's force him to come out!"
Yunya Military Town is surrounded by mountains and backed by Jingzhe Lake. Twenty miles to the north is the lakeside grassland of Beiyong.
That's a treasure trove.
Lakes of all sizes are scattered throughout the area, with abundant water resources, lush grass, and plentiful crops. Zhai Ji stationed his troops ahead, but Chen Liangyu had long coveted the pastureland and cloud-covered cliffs east of Jingzhe Lake.
The terrain was difficult to attack, but we had no choice but to attack.
Correspondingly, these two places were difficult to defend, and Zhai Ji had no choice but to defend them.
Just past noon, the northwest wind suddenly intensified.
The Eagle Head Army suddenly and orderly reined in their horses and stopped. Beneath their feet lay a barren, yellow wasteland. As they crossed the winding boundary of the sandy and stony land a few miles ahead, a rain of arrows from the Cloud Cliff City Wall would soon descend upon them.
The Eagle Head Army parted to make way for the middle of the two columns, and Chen Liangyu rode his horse to the very front of the army, his commander's armor gleaming coldly.
The white mane and black cloak of the jade lion rose and fell, exuding immense power.
"Lin Yin!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I order you to use Youzhou as a route to outflank and encircle the eastern flank of Yunya! Messenger, convey my order that Youzhou Sima Chai Chong do his utmost to reinforce the Yunhui army!"
"Yes!" Lin Yin said, "Commander, if I achieve a great victory and capture Zhai Ji alive, can I have him?"
"I'm still thinking about it."
"With the siege imminent, we must boost morale. The man surnamed Zhai is quite handsome, but in a few years he will be old. How can he be the husband of the chieftain of Bogong Ridge then? He has three palaces and six courtyards, and I, too, wish to enjoy the bliss of having multiple wives."
Jingming laughed at her, saying, "I thought you were obsessed to the point of death, but it turns out you were just lustful."
Lin Yin turned the reins and said to Chen Liangyu, "When you've agreed, ladies!"
The Yunhui army responded in unison: "Here!"
"Follow me and we'll outflank the eastern flank of Yunya!"
A force of five thousand men emerged from the eastern flank of the main army, clad in light silver armor with red tassels on their helmets, and charged eastward with Lin Yin's warhorse.
"Jingming!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"You will lead three thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry to attack the east of the lake. The terrain of the grasslands east of the lake is unfavorable to our army. If the battle becomes unfavorable, order Duan Xuchi, the Sima of Wuzhou, to provide support. Do not advance rashly and linger in battle!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
With a flick of his long spear, Jingming unleashed the Eagle-Headed Army, three thousand riders wielding hook-and-sickle spears and short swords with eagle and cloud patterns at their waists, bursting forth like arrows released from a bow. Following them, twenty thousand infantrymen formed a square formation, their boots clattering on the ground, and raced towards Jingzhe Lake.
Yue Zhengyang secretly rubbed his hands together; the armor was icy cold, yet it made his blood boil. "Teacher, what about me?"
"You come with me."
It seemed that he was only allowed to observe the battle with the army, and there was no intention to send him into battle. Yue Zhengyang lowered his head.
"The rest of you, listen to my command!"
Chen Liangyu raised the tiger tally high and turned the jade lion horse head to face the army behind him.
"Slay three Yong army soldiers and you'll be promoted one rank; capture a Yong army sixth-rank general and you'll be promoted three ranks! Capture the Northern Yong Emperor Zhai Ji alive and you'll be ennobled and appointed a general, bringing blessings to your descendants! Follow me to conquer Yunya and the entire army will be richly rewarded!"
Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison: "Take down Yunya! Take down Yunya! Take down Yunya!"
The mountains and the earth were all roaring.
Chen Liangyu gave the order: "Form ranks!"
The remaining Eagle Head Army horses kicked up dust, and the heavily armored cavalry square moved like a chain. Heavy infantrymen held long shields and formed a shield wall. Spearmen were in squads of five. Archers and crossbowmen were hidden in the formation. The crossbows were coated with wax to prevent freezing. In the middle were oxen pulling grain carts covered with felt. The battering rams moved behind.
Banners obscured the sun.
Dozens of torches soaked in oil were simultaneously thrown into the oxcart covered with tarpaulin. The flames leaped up and instantly merged into a blazing inferno. The oxcart charged toward the west gate of Yunya Military Town. In an instant, thousands of arrows rained down from the Yunya city walls, severing the ropes binding the oxcart with tarpaulin. Only then did the Yunya defenders realize that beneath the tarpaulin was not grain or fodder, but bundles of hay and firewood.
Startled, the cattle stopped running towards the cliff and began charging wildly in all directions.
Standing atop the western gate tower of Yunya, Helian Wei looked at the chaotic herd of cattle outside the city and sneered, "Beasts are beasts, devoid of human nature. Chen Liangyu actually dares to expect beasts to obey her orders to attack the city. Don't get caught in her own trap and disrupt their own Lin Army's formation."
At this moment, the wooden planks at the bottom of the oxcart suddenly opened downwards, and bundles of firewood were laid out in several lines along the direction the ox was charging. The oil tarpaulin dripped flammable oil droplets onto the bundles of firewood and ignited them.
Outside the city, it was engulfed in flames once again.
The fire was still far from Yunya and couldn't reach the city. The city guards laughed as they watched Niu Hongtang rushing around in the flames below.
"Besides fire attacks, Chen Liangyu had no other skills?"
"Lin Jun is planning to rely on one trick to succeed everywhere."
...
Helian Wei, who had come down from the watchtower at some point, quietly stood behind the still mocking guards and rebuked them: "Even if she has no other skills, you have all fallen into her hands several times! All of you, be on your guard! Anyone who dares to underestimate her will be executed on the spot!"
He looked up at the sky and said, "A blizzard is coming."
Seeing the fire break out, Chen Liangyu ordered, "Crossbows, move forward to cover the cavalry charge!"
The ballista's rollers turned, and the soldiers pushed it forward with lightning speed. The light cavalry vanguard was covered in mud.
"Release the arrows!"
Arrows rained down on both sides.
Yan Nian revised the crossbow's draft paper several times. This batch of repeating crossbows could fire five arrows in a row, with domineering power and a longer range. A series of crisp sounds came from mid-air as countless arrows from Yunya broke in mid-air. Immediately afterward, screams of pain rose and fell from the crenellations of Yunya's city walls.
The vanguard light cavalry, covered in mud like clay figures and horses, faced the raging fire and a hail of arrows, using the flames as cover to weave and advance through the narrow gaps in the escape routes.
The high temperature was still scalding hot even through the wet mud, and the thick smoke was choking.
The cattle, not knowing where to dodge, instinctively charged into the trenches of the defending troops outside Yunya City. The Yong soldiers lying in ambush inside the trenches were caught off guard and suffered many injuries from being butted and trampled by the cattle. The trenches were thrown into chaos, and before they could regroup, Chen Liangyu's vanguard was already upon them. The Yong soldiers had no choice but to grit their teeth and fight the cavalry with their swords.
Through the telescope, the western city wall of Yunya was clearly visible to Chen Liangyu. The blue bricks of the wall were white and frosty, caused by water seeping out and freezing from inside the wall.
This detail was discovered by an experienced old scout.
The city wall was built with a rammed earth and brick structure, with limestone as the foundation, rammed earth as the core, and blue bricks as the outer shell. The wall absorbs water in winter and then freezes, making it exceptionally strong.
As far as the telescope could see, dark clouds were gathering over the wastelands and lakes.
A blizzard is sure to arrive within two days.
Helian Wei had already ordered his soldiers to pour water onto the city walls, bucket after bucket of ice water, hoping to use the blizzard to freeze the walls into an ice shell, both to reinforce them and to prevent the enemy from using ladders to scale the walls.
The ambush troops outside Yunya City in Beiyong were no match for the light cavalry with long spears and were quickly defeated and wiped out. Yunya military town never sent reinforcements again.
Helian Wei remained unmoved.
This is strange.
Few rulers would stand idly by and watch their soldiers be killed or captured. Unless, of course, they are unable to send reinforcements or rescue them. The ambush troops in the trenches are elite soldiers selected from the army, who are already prepared to die rather than return, lying in wait outside the city.
We shall live to drink the blood of our enemies, and die to defend our land.
The brave and valiant man made Chen Liangyu feel a little regretful.
The next moment, she concluded: "The food supply in Yunya City has run out."
Since Helian Wei did not come out to fight, Chen Liangyu judged that Yunya's food supplies would not last more than a day, and that the Yong army was already defending the city on an empty stomach.
"Yue Zhengyang!"
Yue Zhengyang, who was already beside her, quickly said, "Teacher."
Chen Liangyu asked, "Do you know Bu Ren, the Marquis of Beiyong Town, do you know which grain route Bu Ren usually uses to transport supplies?"
Yue Zhengyang said, "I know. The fastest route to transport grain from the capital of Beiyong is to go through the Shanhu tribes to the Jingzhe Lake area."
“There is more than one grain route, and this route is not the safest. However, Bei Yong has just lost the Yunya granary and is eager to replenish its grain supplies, so it will definitely take this route.”
Chen Liangyu said, "That's right."
The Shanhu were originally a small, insignificant tribe on the grasslands. In recent years, internal strife on the grasslands led to the conquest of other smaller tribes by Ximano, Kuirong, and Qiudi. The Shanhu, located on the edge of the grasslands, were powerless to resist the Ximano tribe's annexation. Their tribal leader led his people to seek refuge with Beiyong. Beiyong built cities and established counties in the former Shanhu settlements, registering the Shanhu people in the household register. During wartime, soldiers were conscripted from the Shanhu to transport provisions.
Yue Zhengyang understood, and his blood boiled. "Students, lead the troops to cut off their supply lines!"
Chen Liangyu understood the young man's eagerness to make a name for himself and patiently taught him: "The courage of a common man should not be taken lightly."
"The student acknowledges his or her mistake."
"The Shanhu tribe now lives among the Beiyong people. Their city is located in the heart of Beiyong. It would take less than twenty days to travel from here to the grasslands and attack Shanhu County. Before you can cut off their supply lines, Beiyong's supplies and reinforcements will have already arrived in the southern border."
"In your opinion, teacher, should we just leave this grain route unattended?"
"Wait for the right opportunity. When the time comes, it will be your time to shine."
Yue Zhengyang clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, and said happily, "Yes!"
With a pure and bright heart, Chen Liangyu felt a little regretful that her elder brother's only daughter was trapped inside the palace walls and could not come to see the fire of Yunya Military Town and the water of Jingzhe Lake in person.
How could the children of military families be content with a life of ease in a remote corner?
Chen Huai'an should have joined the army and entered the military camp.
Author's Note: [Chen Huai'an]: The female lead makes her first appearance in "A Trace 2".
Two chapters today, thank you for reading!
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