Chapter 194
Jizhou, Guangyang
On the reviewing platform, Wang Lang stood in armor and holding a sword.
The three hundred thousand strong troops looked up at him. This was their military advisor and the general who would lead them to attack Youzhou!
As for Wang Lang, looking at the rows of soldiers standing upright below, he felt a surge of heroic spirit in his heart.
He drew his sword and pointed it to the northeast, "Move out the camp and march towards Houcheng!" Suihua, which was originally at his fingertips, finally became Houcheng!
The soldiers below shouted in unison, "March into Houcheng, Daliang will win!"
If the members of Yichun City Lord's Mansion were here, they would definitely jump up and shout, "Oh my god! Lord Yao is so mighty! Lord Yao is so powerful! Wang Lang has indeed attacked Houcheng!"
Wang Lang was predicted by Lord Yao. Now the imperial court's 300,000 troops will be completely defeated by them.
When Wang Lang led his army to march forward, Youzhou was carrying out a double-grained war.
Although Youzhou was about to face war, fighting was the duty of the soldiers, and the common people loved and supported the army. They couldn't help much in the war at this time, but they could do their jobs well, and that was the greatest help.
Although Youzhou suffered flooding in the first half of the year, thanks to the foresight of the officials at the government office and their careful handling of the situation, the majority of the crops were saved. Only a small portion was drowned or rotted. Later, under the government's guidance, some late spring varieties were replanted. Combined with Youzhou's long-standing commitment to scientific farming practices, the summer harvest was relatively good.
Compared with other places that have also suffered from floods, the situation is much better and the people are very content.
If the summer grain harvest made them feel satisfied, then the sweet potato harvest made them feel surprised.
The families lucky enough to be assigned sweet potato vines and cuttings were beaming as they dug the potatoes. It was their first experience witnessing the high yields of sweet potatoes. These potatoes were packed in clumps, each containing several, the largest weighing a pound, the smallest weighing over two ounces. A single mu of land yielded 300 to 400 pounds of sweet potatoes! Furthermore, the sweet potato leaves and vines are edible: the tender parts can be eaten by humans, while the older parts can be used to feed livestock.
Sweet potatoes are delicious. They are sweet and crunchy when eaten raw, and soft and chewy when cooked. Unfortunately, these sweet potatoes dug from the ground have to be saved for seeds, so you can't eat too many of them. You can only taste the ones that were accidentally dug up.
In June of that year, all the people in Youzhou knew about sweet potatoes, a magical crop that could produce up to three to four thousand kilograms per mu, and many people witnessed with their own eyes how high the yield was.
Then, under the arrangement and deployment of the government, each household was allocated a portion of sweet potato vines for planting. Every household looked at their sweet potato fields with a smile full of hope.
The imperial army of 300,000 men set out on the expedition, and everyone was watching closely to see whether this battle would succeed or fail.
The Yichun Legion landed in Jiaozhou to attack the Nanman. After losing two counties, the Nanman had completely recovered. In addition, the two armies were now almost mortal enemies. The war in Jiaozhou was in a stalemate, and Xing Changfeng could not withdraw troops to support.
The Huo family army was far away in the northern border of Liangzhou, and also sent troops to attack the southeast of Liangzhou, attempting to tie down part of the court's military forces in Liangzhou. They also had to guard against the Western Rong and could not send troops to directly support Youzhou.
Now, Youzhou is isolated and helpless, with only about 150,000 troops left to fight alone. It doesn't know how to deal with the imperial army that is like a sharp blade?
Xuzhou
The Prince of Ruyin repeatedly studied the map of Youzhou. "Military Advisor, how do you think Wang Lang will fight this battle?"
The imperial court attacked Youzhou, with Suihua and Houcheng as two exposed gateways. Wang Lang had three options for advancing: either divide his forces and attack Suihua and Houcheng separately, or mobilize an entire army of 300,000 to attack the same point, either Suihua or Houcheng.
Like Yao Chunnuan, Sima Xian believed Wang Lang would not split his forces. Now it depended on whether Wang Lang decided to attack Suihua or Houcheng. As for where he would choose to attack, he couldn't predict.
Upon hearing the judgment of his own military advisor, the King of Ruyin was surprised, "Three hundred thousand troops attacking a small county?" The King of Ruyin, like the generals in Yichun who had heard that Wang Lang did not divide his troops, found it incredible.
However, there are advantages to not dividing the troops. As long as they are properly arranged, there is no need to worry about ambushes on the road.
"Do you think Youzhou can withstand this wave of offensive from the imperial court?" This battle is related to their attitude towards the Yichun forces in the future, so King Ruyin wants to hear the military advisor's opinion, and it would be best if they can make some preparations in advance.
"Let's wait and see. It's hard to say." If it were a more common force, such as the King of Annan, Sima Xian would have already concluded that they couldn't withstand the imperial court's offensive. But facing the imperial court's 300,000 troops was Yichun, a Yichun that often defied expectations. So, it was hard to say.
Sima Xian finally said, "Prepare for both scenarios." If the imperial court prevailed, they would proactively contact Yichun, extend an olive branch, and discuss cooperation. If the imperial court lost, well, then they really would have to be prepared to play second fiddle.
Western Rong
The Khan of Xirong was also paying attention to the battle between the imperial court and Yichun.
"Alida, prepare for battle. If Yichun is defeated this time, we will march south and let our cavalry crush the Central Plains!"
"Don't worry, Khan. The men of the tribe are all ready and eager to fight, just waiting for your order."
"I hope the Daliang court won't let me down."
His subordinates were puzzled. "Great Khan, in this battle, are you on the side of the Daliang court? Do you hope the Daliang court will win?"
This is very strange. The Khan's thinking is different from before. In the past, when rebellions appeared in Daliang, the Khan always sided with the rebels, hoping that the rebels would become stronger and last longer, thereby causing Daliang to suffer internal friction. Why is the Khan siding with the court this time?
The Khan of the Western Rong said, "Haven't you noticed yet? This rebel army in Yichun, Youzhou, is different from all the previous rebels. They are extremely hostile to us foreigners and are very annoying. This Yichun army is like a thick armor, protecting the soft hinterland of the Chinese land. The Chinese can fight to the death within the borders of Daliang, but they won't allow us to take advantage. This is evident from Jiaozhou. It wasn't long after the Nanman occupied Jiaozhou that the Yichun City Lord's Mansion sent its main army to attack the Nanman."
"The positions of the Yichun faction and the Daliang court have been reversed. As long as the Yichun faction remains, it will never allow outsiders like us to encroach upon the land of China. You see, even when the Huo family army attacked the southeastern part of Liang Province to tie down the imperial forces, they still left half of their troops in the northern border to guard against us."
After hearing what their Khan said, the generals of the Western Rong tribe finally understood as if a fog had been cleared, and realized that the Yichun forces were indeed unfriendly to them.
The Western Rong Khan nodded inwardly, observing the thoughtful expressions of his followers. This was why he hoped to use the Daliang court to tear apart the Yichun Legion's armor. Compared to the Yichun forces, the Daliang court was much easier to deal with.
The Southern Barbarian leader was also deeply wary of the Yichun forces. He shared the same sentiment as the Western Rong Khan: the Yichun army was too powerful against foreigners and ethnic minorities, even more so than the Daliang court. While the Daliang court maintained a respect for the demeanor and etiquette of a great nation, the Yichun forces held no such aloofness. They prioritized violence against violence, employing brutal tactics against invading aliens. This was undoubtedly a sentiment deeply felt by the Northern Barbarians, who were driven back to their homeland last year.
The strong attitude and methods reminded the foreign tribes such as Xirong and Nanman of some unpleasant history of their ancestors, such as whoever offends the Han Dynasty will be punished even if they are far away. It is simply a nightmare!
They certainly do not want China to be dominated by such a powerful force in the future, and they do not want the Yichun forces to replace Daliang.
After learning that the Daliang court's 300,000 troops were already on their way, the Southern Barbarian leader Ageli ordered his troops, "We must launch a fierce attack during this period. We can't let the Yichun Legion have a chance to breathe! We can't let them send their forces back to support Youzhou!"
"As long as we can hold out for this while and the imperial court wins, the Yichun Legion will be like a lost dog! When the imperial court seizes the opportunity and comes to quell the rebellion, we will act together with the imperial court. With the two sides attacking each other, we will completely wipe out the Yichun Legion!"
******
When 300,000 regular troops in battle uniforms and armor set out on the expedition, their flags covered the sky and their momentum was overwhelming.
The 300,000-strong army marched for several days and everything was calm.
As the army got closer to Houcheng, the atmosphere in the army became more and more serious.
At this time, the subordinate reported to Wang Lang, "Military Advisor, our leading troops are about to enter the dense forest."
Into the dense forest? For no apparent reason, Wang Lang's heart skipped a beat, and he felt strangely uneasy. Could there be an ambush? As the thought struck him, he immediately laughed, realizing he was overthinking it. He had sent scouts to explore this route no fewer than three times, especially those with several sections suitable for ambush. This section of dense forest was one of them, and each time the scouts reported back, no ambush was found.
Wang Lang took a deep breath and said, "March according to the plan, stretch the team, and enter the secret forest." This is also one of the ways to prevent an ambush.
The Yichun soldiers, who were on duty in the secret area, looked at the scouts searching not far away and kept complaining in their hearts, "Master Yao's ex-husband is really suspicious. The scouts come in waves. They were still building secret fortifications at the time. When a group of scouts was sent in to investigate, they secretly avoided it."
Just as the first group had finished their investigation and were about to relax, the enemy suddenly struck back. Fortunately, their leader had been prepared for this and had not given them the order to relax. Without orders, they could only maintain a state of alert and secrecy, which is why they were not discovered by the enemy.
Some criticized his paranoia, while others admired his caution. Wang Lang was no fool. He stretched his army so far that it would be difficult for ordinary people to ambush him, and the ambush would be ineffective. However, his opponent was our Yichun, so no matter how long he stretched his front, it would be useless.
Chirp——
A long eagle cry sounded first.
The sensitive Wang Lang subconsciously pulled the reins and looked up at the sky suddenly.
The moment the engineers who were assigned the blasting task heard the signal, they lit the fuses and detonated the explosives that had been ambushed previously.
Boom—boom—boom—
There were loud noises, like bolts from the blue, and rocks on both sides rolled down.
When the accident happened, the first ones to react were the horses under them. The horses were frightened and ran away without caring about anything.
Wang Lang reacted quickly and jumped off his horse immediately. Then his subordinates protected him and hid aside to avoid being pushed into the crowd.
The ambushed imperial troops were initially shocked. They had never seen anything like this before. The mountains on either side shook. Terrified, the soldiers abandoned their armor and weapons, urinating and fleeing for their lives. Military orders and orders from their superiors were completely forgotten. Their only thought was to escape! Escape! Who's standing in their way? Get out of my way!
As they fled, the soldiers cried out, "The mountain god is angry!"
"I told you we can't fight this war! Well, now the world is punishing us. The mountain god is angry. Woo woo woo—"
"Grandpa Mountain God, spare my life!"
"Who pushed your grandpa!"
"Help me up!"
“Don’t step on me!”
"Help!"
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