Similarly, behind Fanzhou City and the entire northeast of Donglin State are all standard plain areas.
If Ji Wan could capture the natural pass of Fanzhou, and then use the terrain to station troops there, using Fanzhou as a gateway, he would be able to tear through the defenses of all the cities in the northeastern region of Donglin State.
Inside the city, Chief Fanzhou had already ordered his men to gather all the death row prisoners in the city with a serious expression.
"I now give you two choices. Either return to prison now and await execution tomorrow! Or, tomorrow evening, launch a night raid with the Fanzhou soldiers to draw out the main force of Ji Wan, the traitor! If you can complete your mission, your death sentence will be pardoned."
The death row prisoners standing below were startled, and some of those who reacted quickly raised their hands.
Heroes emerge in troubled times! Who doesn’t want to give it a try?
I'm going to die anyway. Instead of being put on a high platform and slaughtered like an animal, I might as well go out and try my luck. Wouldn't it be even better if I could find a chance to escape?
The Chief Secretary had already sent out scouts to ask for help when Ji Wan's manifesto was issued. If the time estimate is correct, the people should have arrived in Chuzhou.
Although there had been a severe drought and the grain harvest this year was not much, Fanzhou had an excellent geographical location and the grain grown by many farmers and tenants in previous years was definitely enough for them to survive until reinforcements arrived.
"Everyone knows about the traitor Ji Wan and the Tongcheng bandits. There's been no food every year. After a year of severe drought, if there's any surplus, it's just that the people are impoverished and their finances are depleted. Your Excellency, there's no need to worry too much."
The legal advisor sat on the right side of the Chief Secretary and spoke. Now the Chief Secretary was the most powerful person in the whole city. As the closest person to him, he had been living a very comfortable life in recent days.
The county magistrate beside the chief secretary immediately spoke up, flattering him, "Yes, Lord Chief Secretary, according to your previous arrangements, the rebels would surely be driven to flight before they could even reach the city gates!"
Because both sides and the back were their own territories, the Chief Secretary Wu Run placed most of his troops near the north gate out of concern.
Thinking that he could get rid of the person the empress dowager wanted to get rid of soon, Wu Run felt excited and felt that his promotion was just around the corner.
It is generally acknowledged that Ji Wan's Qingshi Province has no food. Wu Run naturally knows this as well. They can withstand the consumption, but the other side cannot. Besides, if this plan really succeeds, then Ji Wan will not only be his defeated opponent!
Moreover, not counting the soldiers guarding the outer city, there were a total of 30,000 soldiers in the city who came to support from Fanzhou. It would be easy to defeat Ji Wan's 20,000 men.
It has to be said that there is a huge gap in the number of people on both sides. Ji Wan has only 40,000 soldiers in the three cities of the entire Qingshi Province, while there are 30,000 people in just this Shicheng city.
Ji Wan's recruitment efforts had begun to show results, and now the number of soldiers guarding the borders in the entire Qingshi State was approaching 40,000.
But Ji Wan left Gu Huafeng and Yan Peinan with 20,000 soldiers to garrison Qingshizhou, and also told them to pay more attention to the edge of the [realm].
He brought a group of advisers, selected only 20,000 elite soldiers, and rushed to Fanzhou Shicheng, the closest city to Qingshizhou, with food and fodder overnight.
The difference in the number of people is huge!
Although because of Ji Wan's training methods and various welfare benefits, all of her subordinates are elite soldiers who are willing to contribute.
What's more, the sergeants, squad leaders, squad leaders, captains, captains, and captains were all carefully selected by Jin Lie and Cui Min after observing the military exercises.
But the gap in numbers is not so easy to fill. If there are 10,000 people, a spit from each person can drown one person.
The weather in early November was so cold both morning and night that people were shivering. Ji Wan was considerate of the advisers and soldiers behind him, so he asked the engineers to build tents and other defensive fortifications as soon as possible.
Cui Min asked Jin Lie to send out a vanguard army first, launching a small-scale blitzkrieg in the dark, and ambushing a wave of patrolling soldiers guarding the stone city.
For this very reason, the city's chief official, upon hearing the news, was trembling with rage. Caught off guard, he grew even more furious at Ji Wan, the arrogant traitor. In his fervor, he felt his plan was perfect. He was just waiting to defeat Ji Wan to boost his own morale.
Ji Wan sent out this part of the vanguard army in preparation for the large force that would arrive later, and also to attract attention, delay time, and facilitate the engineers to arrange defensive fortifications and siege works.
Only when the large-scale siege equipment and chariots arrive at the battlefield will it be time to give the real order to attack the city!
In order to prevent reinforcements from other prefectures and counties in Fanzhou from arriving quickly, Ji Wan discussed with his advisers and decided to fight a quick battle.
Fighting a war of attrition would take a year or two, and Ji Wan simply couldn't afford the food he had on hand.
Don't forget, this great drought destroyed every city equally. Not only Ji Wan's Qingshizhou, but also today's Fanzhou Stone City.
There is no accumulation of grain in Qingshi State, so Ji Wan basically has to use most of the grain to fight this battle. If it is not ended as soon as possible, then the grain planting plan for the whole year will be in vain.
But Shicheng is different. They have a lot of food accumulated over the years. Although it cannot support tens of thousands of soldiers for a year or two, they can still afford to fight a temporary war of attrition with Ji Wan.
In addition, Fanzhou and Chuzhou will continue to support the battlefield in the future.
Therefore, the counselors agreed that the battle could be fought, but the duration must not exceed half a month. After all, Fanzhou and Chuzhou were only half a month's journey apart.
Both sides were ready to strike a fatal blow to the other.
Ji Wan was doing his daily routine of asking the soldiers about their mental states.
"Your Highness, don't worry too much. The soldiers are in good spirits recently, but they are just a little tired."
Pan Zhuo and Jiang Jian were arranged by Ji Wan to serve as political commissars among the soldiers, and were called from time to time to help the soldiers resolve their psychological problems.
Jin Lie was very puzzled by this. He knew that soldiers' emotions would fluctuate greatly during wartime, but what did it matter? "After the city gates are broken open, just let them kill to their heart's content and vent their anger."
Rubbing his brows in pain, Ji Wan sighed, "Jin Lie, why did I conquer Fanzhou?"
Jin Lie also scratched his head and thought for a while: "To occupy the natural barrier and then station troops? Then expand the territory."
Newly promoted strategist Cao Ke calmly shook his head, "General Jin, His Highness is from Donglin. Taking this city is only one way to expand our territory. The most important thing is to pave the way for the development of Qingshi Province!"
What Cao Ke meant was that Ji Wan went to war and attacked Fanzhou just for that position, which was like family members fighting against one's own family.
If all the people in the city died, Ji Wan's reputation among the people of Donglin Kingdom would definitely be bad. Without the support of the people, how could he compete for the position?
He spoke tactfully, but Jin Lie was not a fool. He was confused just now, but after the truth was made clear, he nodded in understanding.
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