The King of Pingnan always clearly distinguished between rewards and punishments for his soldiers, and was never stingy with his praise for them. However, regarding his son-in-law's performance at the moment, he tried hard to suppress the urge to smile, and tried to keep a straight face to ask for everyone's opinions.
"What do you think? Is General Zuo's plan feasible?"
General Shang stared at the map and nodded unconsciously: "Well, I think it's feasible."
The counselors and the other generals nodded repeatedly, clasping their fists and saying in unison, "It's feasible!"
Ding Youtian smiled slightly, pointed at the Qujing City marker on the map, looked at the Cavalry General and said, "When the King of Yue leads his people out of the depression, you can lead your 30,000 troops to take the east gate of Qujing. Here..."
He pointed at the north gate of Qujing and looked at the General of Chariots and Cavalry. "General, lead your 30,000 troops to attack the north gate. This will prevent them from taking care of both ends. Quickly capture Qujing before reinforcements from the neighboring counties arrive."
After making some arrangements, he looked at Jian Ning and pointed to a high ground on the map. "Madam, lead the two county yamen runners and the city defense soldiers, a total of 500 people, to assist General Wen in capturing the north gate with artillery fire. If reinforcements arrive early, turn the artillery fire to block them."
The King of Pingnan sat upright in the commander-in-chief's seat. After Ding Youtian finished speaking, his fierce eyes slowly swept across the faces of the generals and he said, "I have been a soldier for half a lifetime, and apart from the former Prime Minister of the South, this is the first time I have seen anyone march so boldly and yet so comprehensively. If the generals have no objection, they will receive the military orders and proceed according to the plan.
"This deployment, my king, has shown that all units can coordinate with each other. Therefore, you generals, rest assured, slay the enemy leaders and annihilate them completely! All of you generals are the best in the army, most of you have experienced countless battles. Needless to say, my king knows that now is a golden opportunity for you to achieve great deeds and serve the court. I hope that all of you will achieve great feats, fight bravely, and spread the good news soon!"
All the generals responded in unison, took their military orders and strode away.
Jian Ning also obeyed the order and led a team of 500 people to the waiting point. After selecting a place to set up the artillery, she flicked her cloak, and a howitzer appeared out of thin air. The officials of the two counties and the city defense soldiers of Xing'an County were no strangers to this. They had learned from Jian Ning and Ding Youtian during their practice with firearms and ammunition that all of this was a gift from the spirit Yang Dali.
Ding Youtian also told them that the spirits, like the gods in heaven, rarely mingle in the mortal world and are hard to come by. Therefore, in their minds, the spirits are equivalent to the gods in heaven. If gods can fly on clouds, what else can't they do?
So there was no shock. All they had was endless envy, hoping that they could have the same adventure as Jian Ning and Ding Youtian, and one day they could meet a great immortal from the spiritual race who would bestow them with some supreme magic power and magic tools.
All the troops of the Dayan Army sneaked into the ambush site at night and lay in ambush. At this time, the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces, who had been defeated and retreated to Qujing County, were going to raid the camp in the middle of the night. They slept until the early morning to cook cattle and sheep, thinking that they had enough food and drink to avenge their previous defeat. However, they did not know that countless eyes were watching their every move in the dark night.
In the royal tent, the King of Yue, whose campaign had failed and whose eldest son had been robbed of a chicken feather, had a face so gloomy that thick ink could be squeezed out. He had longed for this attack on the Central Plains for over a decade, but he had never dreamed that the Five Poison Formation would be broken by the Dayan Army on the first day.
Even if it was broken, when the two armies started fighting, he still fantasized that he could use the guns and cannons they made to blow up the 300,000-strong army of the Dayan Army. He was confident that he could enter Xing'an County tonight. Who knew that the Dayan Army actually had more powerful artillery.
He couldn't help but think of Pei Xiyuan's advice before he set out. Although the troops he led in this attack on the Central Plains were all his own, and almost all of them were out in full force, they were still the troops of the Yue Kingdom. Pei Xiyuan still reminded him not to be arrogant and to be wary of Princess An Ning of Yan Dynasty. He specifically told him that Jian Ning was in possession of a secret hidden weapon.
I was careless.
The King of Yue pinched his chin lightly and regretted it secretly. When Pei Xiyuan told him, he scolded him, saying that he was boosting others' morale but destroying his own prestige. No matter how powerful the hidden weapon was, could it be stronger than a gun or a cannon?
After suffering a setback in the first battle and losing his eldest son, the King of Yue was eager to take back Jishui County. On the one hand, he wanted to avenge his eldest son, and on the other hand, he wanted to prevent Pei Xiyuan and other people in the court from laughing at him.
Glancing at the hourglass on the table, he picked up the wine bowl in front of him with annoyance and drank it all in one gulp.
The old wizard sitting on his left, who could turn beans into soldiers, looked at him silently, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
At this moment, the voice of the sentinel sounded outside the king's tent: "Report!"
The outpost reported that the Yan army had been spotted in a depression on Yaji Mountain, thirty miles away. The King of Yue raised his eyelids and glanced at the outpost. Before he could speak, the old wizard jumped up in surprise and asked, "Have you taken a good look? How many people are there?"
"Three or four people."
Hearing that there were only three or four people, the old wizard sat down again and turned to look at the King of Yue. "I think these are the outposts of the Yan army coming to spy on our movements. They must be on guard. It's not a good time to raid the camp tonight. Be careful not to fall into their trap!"
The old wizard had originally disapproved of the surprise attack on the Yan army camp, and took the opportunity to dissuade them again.
The King of Yue waved his hand and said coldly, "It's just past midnight, and we're only thirty miles away. It's not unusual for soldiers to come out hunting game. They're not necessarily sentinels trying to spy on our military. Besides, they'll be asleep by mid-August, so there's no need to worry."
"The southern barbarians have always been cunning, and they must..." Before the old wizard could finish his words, the King of Yue raised his thick eyebrows impatiently and interrupted him, "Stop talking. Victory and defeat are common in the military. I think you, old wizard, are scared by the defeat you suffered. No matter how cunning the fox is, it can't escape the hunter's grasp."
"It's not that I underestimate the Southern soldiers. No matter how brave that old scoundrel, the Pingnan King, is nearly sixty years old. Stealing camps and seizing strongholds is a tactic favored by Southern barbarians. My Great Yue Kingdom has always fought openly. How could they have imagined that I would use their usual tactics now? This is the perfect opportunity to catch them off guard. I will personally chop off Su Xiaoer's head to comfort my son's spirit in heaven!"
"Your Highness, please think twice. Being able to break the Five Poison Formation shows that he has capable people under his command. We must not take it lightly."
"Humph, southerners love to study formations. Perhaps someone in the camp happens to know the Five Poison Formation. It wouldn't be surprising."
When the old wizard was about to persuade him again, another outpost came to report that among the people active in the depression, there was one who was suspected to be Su Muyun. He was still wearing the silver armor he had worn in the battle yesterday. It seemed that he was leading a few soldiers to search for eels in the depression.
"Did you see it clearly?" The King of Yue slammed the table and stood up, the gloom in his eyes disappeared, and his voice trembled with excitement.
"I didn't see him very clearly, only his height and armor looked like him." The sentry replied honestly.
"Go explore again, explore again, go quickly!" The King of Yue was so excited that his nose was shining. He paced back and forth a few steps, rubbing his hands together, and couldn't help muttering: "God is really helping me!"
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