In the following days, Zhao Huan sent Yue Fei to attack seven or eight times in succession. Each time, Yue Fei penetrated to within ten miles of Lihongzhou City and launched rapid attacks on the Xia army from the surrounding area.
After striking, they left quickly.
The Shenwu Army's strong organizational discipline made it highly mobile, and coupled with its powerful offensive capabilities, it left the surrounding Xia army completely disoriented.
A few days later, the Xia army also began to figure out the Song army's tactics, began to retreat to Hongzhou City with its main force, and began to guard against Song army's sneak attacks.
The scouts reported that the Xia army had occupied Hongzhou City, but its main force was stationed on the high ground outside the city, a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
On this day, Zhao Huan, Zhong Shidao, and Zong Ze were studying strategic maps in the military camp.
The emperor stared at it for a long time, until the meat soup next to him had gone cold.
Attacking Hongzhou City now would be unwise, not because Hongzhou is so impregnable, but because the main force of the Xia army outside the city is effectively containing the attacking forces.
This battle cannot be fought in the conventional way.
Now that Yue Fei has launched an attack, he can no longer find the scattered Xia army. If he wants to fight again, he should directly attack the main force of the Xia army.
"My two esteemed ministers, what is the next course of action?"
Zong Ze said, "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that we can take a detour and attack Longzhou!"
Zhao Huan's heart stirred; this plan suited him perfectly, and he had also been considering it.
Zhong Shidao said, "This place is still 150 miles away from Longzhou. Once we penetrate deep into Longzhou and are separated from our main force, Li Ganshun can send troops from Hongzhou to join forces with the Xia army attacking Longzhou to attack our vanguard and cut off our main force's support to the vanguard."
Zhao Huan nodded. He realized that at this point, all he could do was nod, as an outsider.
He felt that Zong Ze's words made sense, and he also felt that Zhong Shidao's words made sense.
Zong Ze said, "It takes about one night to get from here to Longzhou. If our vanguard arrives in Longzhou and launches a surprise attack on the Xia army, it will take about three and a half hours for the Xia army scouts to report to the Xia lord in Hongzhou. Before the Xia lord receives the news, our army can pretend to attack Hongzhou City to attract the Xia army's attention and make the Xia lord hesitate to act."
Zhao Huan nodded repeatedly as he listened.
Zong Ze continued, "The forwards need to finish this quickly!"
Zhong Shidao frowned, his brows already gray, and said in a calm voice, "That would be feasible, but once the vanguard arrives, they must end the battle within an hour and withdraw. Otherwise, once Lord Xia realizes what's happening, they will be surrounded."
Zhao Huan said, "Isn't an hour too short?"
"Your Majesty, we only have one hour. If the situation changes, Zhang Shen of Fuyan Road can be sent to support the vanguard."
Zhao Huan was overjoyed and said, "That's excellent."
The emperor then asked, "Who will accomplish this task?"
Zong Ze said, "Right now, Pengju is the most suitable."
Zhong Shidao said, "Zhao Dian, the commander of the Third Army of Qin Feng Army, and Wang Si, the commander of the Second Army of Huanqing Road, are very suitable."
Zhong Shidao's meaning was also very clear: Your Majesty, the credit should not be monopolized by one army.
Some generals already harbored resentment, feeling that the Divine Martial Army belonged to the Central Imperial Guard faction and that the Emperor favored them greatly.
Both are loyal to the emperor and love their country, but they are treated differently. Over time, this will lead to instability in the army and weaken its fighting power.
Zhao Huan understood Zhong Shidao's concerns. Although the army emphasizes absolute execution, people are still people, and as long as they are people, they will have selfish desires and ideas.
As the top leader, if you want to lead a large group, you must consider the overall situation and should not show favoritism.
However, Zhao Huan was still uncertain. In the history he knew, there were few reliable generals in the Song army. It wasn't just civil officials who failed at crucial moments; military generals were also capable of betraying their people without batting an eye.
If this detour raid fails, not only will the Xia ruler send troops to intercept the vanguard's retreat, but it will also suppress the morale that the Song army has just gained, making the subsequent battles very difficult.
Historically, the Song army launched several campaigns against the Xia dynasty, but problems always arose at the most crucial moments.
This time, there absolutely cannot be any problems.
The border troops were actually very strong in combat. For example, Wang Si and Zhang Shen were elites in the Western Army, but Zhao Huan was still worried.
The emperor said, "General Zhong, the overall situation is of utmost importance."
Zhong Shidao didn't say anything more.
Zhao Huan said, "If that's the case, then let Yue Fei's Divine Martial Army continue as the vanguard, taking a detour to attack Longzhou!"
Yue Fei was looking at a map in his own military camp when Wang Kuian invited him to the emperor's central military camp.
Zhao Huan recounted his discussion with Zhong Shidao and Zong Ze.
"Minister Yue, whether our Great Song Dynasty can annihilate the Xia bandits in this battle depends on you!"
Yue Fei felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders, but his upright and resolute character remained unchanged as he said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, this humble general will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust!"
As darkness fell, the snowfield grew even more silent.
A cavalry unit set off from the military camp and headed east.
Everyone was used to it; the Shenwu Army's cavalry regiment had been going out all the time lately, and everyone had gotten used to it.
No one knew that the Shenwu Army's mission this time was not to harass the enemy, but to launch a surprise attack from a detour.
Xia ruler Li Ganshun and Xia army marshal Renduo Chuqing also guessed that Zhao Huan sent Yue Fei to launch a shallow attack to lull them into a false sense of security. Once they truly believed that Yue Fei was only making shallow attacks, Yue Fei would inevitably launch a deep attack.
Therefore, the Xia army in Hongzhou City held firm day and night, and made arrangements on the left and right flanks and rear, so as not to give Zhao Huan any chance to launch a surprise attack.
But they didn't expect that Zhao Huan's deep attack would not target Hongzhou City, but would instead penetrate directly into Longzhou.
This was even more reckless than Zhang Jie's deep penetration into Tiandu Mountain back then. At least Zhang Jie's army could return without hindrance after penetrating Tiandu Mountain, while Yue Fei's return could be intercepted by Xia Zhu's main force at any time.
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