Chapter 902: Concealing the Truth
"But all this is premised on the southern reinforcements being able to arrive north in time."
Di Shuangcheng looked at Shi Changan and said, "If something goes wrong, the troops that have been sent out will be difficult to return. After Luoyan Pass is breached, the entire northwest will be like a no-man's land for Beiling. Even if reinforcements from the south arrive, it will be of no use."
Without the pass blocking the way, Beiling will advance straight ahead and the entire northwest will become a purgatory.
Shi Changan nodded: "This is what I want to say. Dividing the troops will definitely be dangerous, but not dividing the troops may not be safe either."
"Xiahou Ling has always been cunning. He knows that Wei will gather its forces north without Southern Qi to hold it back. He will definitely find a way to make a desperate move. If we don't split our forces, he will have a chance to break through our northwest border. But if we do, he will definitely lead a large army to attack."
"Beiling seems to be taking a crazy risk now, but in fact it has put us in a dilemma."
After hearing Shi Chang'an's words, the joy that the war with Southern Qi had ended completely disappeared from the people present.
They naturally wanted to keep Beiling and did not want to be so passive, but no one dared to take the risk of accidents after dividing the troops. If something went wrong at Luoyan Pass, the northwest would become a purgatory, and the lives of tens of millions of people would be at the mercy of the barbarians.
They will become sinners of the entire Wei Dynasty.
The room was cold and silent, no one spoke, even Zhan Meng just stood quietly by and didn't say anything to urge them.
After a long while, Di Shuangcheng raised his head and asked, "Zhan Meng, are you sure that General Yin has led his troops north?"
"I'm sure," Zhan Meng said. "When I arrived in the northwest, my general had already set out with his army. Fearing an attack along the way that would delay reinforcements, the army split into two routes, one by land and the other by water. The general's deputy general, Ping Qian, led a vanguard of 30,000 men north by boat, while the general led the rest of the troops on a quick overland march."
"If we count from the day we set out, we should arrive in about ten days. Even if we factor in any unexpected delays along the way, we should arrive within half a month."
"good."
After Di Shuangcheng understood what he said, he looked directly at the others: "You all heard it too, what do you think?"
Marquis Wenxin frowned. "Luoyan Pass has ample weapons and provisions, and the terrain is advantageous, but the wall at the pass is too long, and there are many Beiling troops outside the pass. We can't leave too few people to defend it. We'll need at least 40,000 to 50,000 people, and it will be difficult to defend."
Hang Li, standing nearby, also frowned. "During the two months of fighting Beiling, both the Zhen'an Army and the Longting Guards have suffered casualties. We also need to retain patrols throughout the city, plus the fifty thousand remaining to garrison Luoyan Pass. This leaves us with less than a hundred and fifty thousand troops to spare."
"Beiling has sent out nearly 100,000 cavalrymen. I'm afraid we can't handle them."
The veteran who spoke first hesitated for a moment before saying, "Besides, most of us are infantrymen, and our mobility and adaptability are not as good as theirs. The Beiling cavalry are scattered across several locations, so it's impossible to capture them all in one fell swoop. Moreover, if we split up, Beiling will get the news no matter how well we conceal it. Once Xiahou Ling spreads the word, the cavalry will definitely withdraw early. By the time we arrive, I'm afraid the opportunity will be lost."
"General Wang is right."
Another person echoed, "Those cavalrymen come and go without a trace. Once we split our forces out, Luoyan Pass will be weakened. If those people get the news and return, how will Luoyan Pass be able to defend itself?"
He always felt that this was too risky. Their military strength was already inferior to Beiling's, and they were divided into two parts. If something went wrong, it would be a catastrophic disaster.
Upon hearing this, Di Shuangcheng pursed his lips, his face full of hesitation.
Shi Changan, listening to the chatter in the room, said leisurely, "What if we just split up our forces but don't rush to those places?"
Everyone else fell silent. Wen Xinhou looked at him and asked, "What does Mr. Shi mean?"
Shi Chang'an pointed to the center of the sand table and said, "Linping, Hexin, Changyan, and even where the Beiling cavalry has been spotted, are all some distance from Luoyan Pass. Even to Linping, the closest, it would take three days for infantry to travel via the shortcut around Jishan. Not to mention Hexin and Changyan. As General Wang said, by the time our men arrive, the flowers will be cold."
"The Beiling cavalry comes and goes like the wind, and those elite soldiers are all fierce. It's simply unrealistic to use our people to chase them. They might even kill us. Rather than such a futile effort, it's better to catch them in a trap."
Everyone in the room looked at Shi Changan.
Shi Chang'an pointed at the sand table and said, "Luoyan Pass is here. To the north is Jishan. The Jishan Mountains stretch from east to west, separating Beiling from Dawei. And here is Fengjiang. Unless people from Beiling take the official roads opened inside the pass, if they want to reach Linping and other places from outside the pass, they can only go through these two places."
"Pingtou Valley, and Sibei Road."
He pointed to the confluence of the rivers. "Sibei Road is where Jishan and Fengjiang meet. The riverbanks are steep and the waterways are rugged. Even with ships traveling, it's extremely dangerous. Beiling doesn't have the conditions and can't take the risk. They can only go through Pingtou Valley."
"The terrain of Pingtou Valley is very unique. From here to here, it's open and flat, but there are two narrow sections. The mountains are extremely high and connected to Jishan, just like the head and tail of a gourd, which just separates the two sections into the front and back hinterlands..."
Di Shuangcheng's eyes lit up, and before Shi Changan could finish, he blurted out, "Mr. Shi, what you're saying is that we can set up ambushes at these two locations. As long as we can trap the people from Beiling, they'll be trapped?"
"good."
Shi Changan nodded: "It would be too difficult for us to chase them, but it would be very easy for them to come back for support."
"Pingtou Valley is a perfect place for an ambush. Taking advantage of the terrain, we can set up an ambush ahead of time. As long as we're well prepared, 50,000 to 60,000 men can trap those cavalrymen. Even if we can't capture them all, we can at least kill more than half of them. Since Xiahou Ling wants to plot against us, why can't we use his tactics against us?"
"We can split our forces into two groups. As we just said, we can send one group to pretend to reinforce Linping and other places, while the other group will stay to guard Luoyan Pass. As long as Xiahou Ling believes that we are being tricked by him and sends the main force away, he will definitely take the opportunity to lead his troops to attack Luoyan Pass."
Marquis Wenxin understood Shi Changan's meaning and clapped his hands suddenly:
"We'll show the enemy weakness, using a combination of false and real tactics. As long as we can deceive Xiahou Ling and convince him, we won't just be able to trap the Beiling people who are coming to support us, but we might even be able to inflict heavy losses on the Beiling army outside the pass."
On the surface, they sent 150,000 troops to Linping and other places, but in fact they only needed to leave 50,000 troops to go to Jishan and set up an ambush in Pingtou Valley.
Xiahou Ling thought that the troops in Luoyan Pass were insufficient and would definitely attack with all his strength.
By then...
When Wen Xinhou and others thought of this, their eyes lit up.
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