Chapter Fourteen: Tactics of Winning and Losing Ultimately
"It seems we have no choice but to ask you all to step in again."
"Please speak freely, my lord. We are ready to advance at any time." Yang Xiao nodded confidently to Zhong Li'an and leaned forward to listen.
"The governor of Qingzhou sent me a challenge today, saying he wants to avenge the loss of Yanzhou's city." Zhongli An picked up a letter from the table and looked up at the two men. "But for generations, Qingzhou and Yanzhou have never had any dealings. On the contrary, the governor of Qingzhou and the governor of Xuzhou have a very close personal relationship. So in my opinion, this trip is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface."
Yang Xiao pondered for a moment, "If we see through this plan and remain inactive, although we can save our soldiers from a bitter battle, wouldn't that also mean missing an opportunity to capture Qingzhou?"
“Lingyu is absolutely right,” Zhongli An nodded approvingly. “So we accept this challenge. But we can’t let Qingzhou have our way too much in the subsequent fighting.”
Bai Ming pondered for a long time, then looked up at Zhong Li'an and said, "Qingzhou is very close to Jizhou. If we attack Qingzhou with all our might, Xuzhou will definitely take advantage of the weakness in Yanzhou to seize Yanzhou and then cooperate with Qingzhou to attack our army from both sides."
"To conquer these two prefectures, we must first take Langya." Yang Xiao gestured the terrain on the table. "If we can capture this prefecture, we can sever the connection between the two prefectures."
Seeing this, Zhong Li'an hung the map on the wall again, and the sheepskin scroll was suddenly displayed in front of everyone.
Bai Ming stood up and looked at the map. "If we attack Langya directly, we will be attacked from both sides by Qing and Xu provinces. If that happens, won't our army be attacked from both sides and find it difficult to win?"
“Only by getting involved can we control the situation,” Yang Xiao stared at the map and pondered for a moment. “Therefore, we must first follow Qingzhou’s wishes and fight them in Jizhou.”
"Then how do we take Langya?" Zhongli An stroked his chin, frowning as he looked at the diagram.
Bai Ming raised his hand and gestured on the map, "Why don't we send troops to Jizhou and Yanzhou at the same time and attack Qingzhou and Langya directly?"
"Wouldn't that situation be chaotic and disorderly?" Yang Xiao frowned and shook her head, closed her eyes and thought for a moment, then clenched her fist as if she had suddenly thought of something, and looked at the two people beside her, "How about we use a feint to attack him from the east while striking from the west?"
"A feint to the east while attacking in the west?" Zhong Li'an turned to look at Yang Xiao, waiting for her to continue.
Yang Xiao nodded and pointed to the map. "We will first follow Qingzhou's wishes and engage them in battle at Qinghe, but we only need to make a brief appearance, feign defeat and maneuver to create a strong impression. Then another force will attack Langya directly. After they cut off the connection between the two prefectures, the Qinghe army will launch a full-scale attack. In this way, Qingzhou can be obtained."
Zhong Li'an pondered Yang Xiao's words, then nodded slightly. "This plan is feasible. We can send Yu De to guard Qinghe, while the two of you go to attack Langya and then head north to meet up with Yu De." He turned to look at Yang Xiao. "In this way, our army has a very high chance of winning. What a brilliant move to put yourself in the game."
Bai Ming nodded and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhong Li'an, "Then we'll step back and prepare..."
"Wait a minute, no rush." Zhong Li'an smiled and raised his hand to stop Bai Ming. "Judging from the time, the porridge that Mu Fei is making should be ready soon. Why don't we have lunch first and then make the preparations?"
"That's wonderful," Yang Xiao said with a smile, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "Then thank you for your hospitality, my lord."
Zhongli An waved his hand, "No need to be so polite, please sit down." He invited the two to sit down, brewed another pot of tea, and sighed helplessly, "It seems that the disadvantage of not having a strategist has already become apparent, with only three people coming up with a plan."
"Does the lord mean to seek the assistance of some civil officials?" Bai Ming asked, holding his teacup.
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao sat up straight, and a familiar figure flashed through her mind. She opened her mouth, but then kept the words to herself, quietly gazing at Zhong Li'an beside her.
Zhong Li'an chuckled and shook his head. "There's no rush. Leave these matters to me. A few days ago, a capable person sent word to me, but I haven't had a chance to meet him yet. If this person proves unsuitable, we can find someone else later."
“Very well,” Yang Xiao nodded and took a sip of hot tea. “Then we shall await good news from our lord.”
The group of people inside were chatting when they heard a knock on the door.
"My lord, Generals!" Mu Fei's voice came from under the door, "The porridge is ready, but I don't have the hands to open the door right now..."
Yang Xiao smiled upon hearing this and quickly stood up, saying, "Please sit down, I'll go meet him."
The door creaked open, revealing Mu Fei carrying a full plate of porridge and locust flower noodles. The rising steam immediately blurred Mu Fei's face, and the billowing steam, along with the sweet scent of locust flowers, flooded into the room, adding a touch of warmth to the otherwise imposing central military tent.
-
The three of them ate while discussing tactics for the first battle. After lunch, Yang Xiao, carrying Zhong Li'an's message, went to the training ground to discuss countermeasures with Zhong Li Shuo.
The scorching sun beat down on the earth. According to Zhong Lishuo's soldiers, their general loved to go out and practice darts at noon every day, saying that he was training his accuracy and his eyesight.
Hearing the soldier's words, Yang Xiao spurred his horse toward the drill ground. The sun was so bright it made him squint, and he instinctively shielded his eyes with his hand as he looked ahead.
Just as the soldiers said, Zhongli Shuo was riding his black horse and throwing darts one after another on the training ground.
Yang Xiao immediately became interested. Ignoring the scorching sun overhead, she spurred her horse and trotted toward Zhong Lishuo, then quietly stopped behind him and watched with great interest.
Zhong Lishuo frowned and stared intently at the target, a dart in his hand. Then, with a slight twist of his waist, the dart flew straight out of his arm like an arrow, hitting the bullseye with a "snap".
"Great!" Yang Xiao clapped her hands and cheered, which startled Zhong Lishuo, who was completely focused on the game.
"Who?" Zhongli Shuo suddenly pulled the reins back, and the black horse also took two steps back with its master. After seeing who it was, Zhongli Shuo breathed a sigh of relief, "Lingyu, it's you. You scared me."
Yang Xiao was also startled by Zhong Lishuo's reaction. She shook her head helplessly and smiled, "How can you be scared?"
"I'm a person too, okay?" Zhong Lishuo smiled and glanced at Yang Xiao. "Besides, you've been standing silently behind me. If you suddenly shout, who wouldn't be scared?"
"Alright, alright, it's my fault, it's my fault," Yang Xiao said with a compromise and a smile. She then looked at the dartboard and raised her chin. "I didn't expect you to know how to play darts." She nodded approvingly. "You flew quite well."
"Of course, it's always good to have more skills." Zhong Lishuo laughed, tilted his head back, and then took out a dart and handed it to Yang Xiao. "How about it, why don't you give it a try?"
"I don't practice things that kids play with." Yang Xiao took the dart and teased, smiling at Zhong Lishuo. He was about to say something when Yang Xiao waved her hand to interrupt him, "Hey, alright, stop fooling around. You know about the challenge from the Governor of Qingzhou, right?"
“Of course,” Zhongli Shuo also composed himself and nodded. “Your brother called you here just now for this matter, right? So, what tactics do you plan to use to attack the enemy?”
Yang Xiao sat on the saddle bridge and recounted the entire discussion that had taken place in the tent to Zhongli Shuo. In short, Zhongli Shuo was to fight at Qinghe according to the tactics written in the book; while she and Bai Ming would launch a night raid on Langya to cut off the connection between Qing and Xu provinces, and then join forces to take Qing province.
However, unlike usual, in this battle, Zhongli Shuo can only lose, not win.
He had to feign defeat to prevent Xuzhou from sending troops to help. Once Yang Xiaobai had secured Langya and cut off the reinforcements' route, he could then take Qingzhou in one fell swoop.
Upon hearing this, Zhong Lishuo froze on the spot.
Although this feint attack tactic sounds reasonable, for someone as impulsive as him, the term "feigned defeat" is far too unrealistic.
Why lose a battle you can win? Zhong Lishuo struggled with his conscience for a long time before he could barely convince himself to accept defeat.
Although his goal is to be invincible, for the sake of the bigger picture, he'll accept defeat once.
"Feigned defeat"... If it's "feigned," how can it still be considered a defeat?
By the way, feigning defeat doesn't count as a defeat.
After calming himself down, Zhong Lishuo tossed his head cheerfully at Yang Xiao, "That's fine, at least after feigning defeat we can fight again with all our might. But..." Having calmed himself down, he began to worry about Yang Xiao and Bai Ming, "When you attacked Langya, weren't you afraid that Xuzhou would send troops to obstruct you?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao smiled and nodded at Zhong Lishuo, "That depends on our speed."
"Speed is of the essence in war," Zhongli Shuo repeated with a smile. "You were quick in your last advance; are you planning to burn down their granaries again this time?"
"I'm really impressed with you," Yang Xiao said with a helpless smile, waving his hand. "If I order the granaries, what will the people eat? Besides, our lord just solved the granary problem in Yanzhou, and now he has to go and manage the granaries in Xuzhou."
Zhongli Shuo couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, "Then let's forget it, otherwise brother will really be fighting with the granary."
"In short, you don't need to worry about Langya," Yang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, raised her hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sun, and yawned deeply. "Xuzhou is not close to Jizhou. In this battle, we have mobilized almost all of our forces. As far as Xuzhou is concerned, Qingzhou is probably not at the point where we have to risk our lives to save it."
“Bingzhou is right next to Jizhou, and the city is empty. Won’t something go wrong?” Zhongli Shuo frowned upon hearing this.
Yang Xiao smiled and shook her head, rubbing her eyes. "Is your thinking comprehensive or not? Although Bingzhou is adjacent to Jizhou, Empress Xiao has just usurped the throne, and the court is not stable. Although the military strength is not weak, the people's hearts are not united, and there is no usable army. If we go to attack Qingzhou, it will give them a sigh of relief."
“That’s true,” Zhongli Shuo laughed heartily as he walked towards the camp. Then, looking at Yang Xiao, who seemed a little sleepy, he said with a smile, “You haven’t been in Bingzhou for very long, have you? Why are you so sleepy after lunch, just like Zhang Ping under your command?”
"What is all this about?" Yang Xiao waved her hand with a smile, leading the horse and walking with Zhong Lishuo. "Isn't it normal to feel sleepy after a meal? But Zhang Ping is really something else. He never misses a night's sleep, yet he can still be so sleepy. The key is that even when he's so sleepy, he can still work very well without making a single mistake."
Zhongli Shuo smiled upon hearing this, "It's really hard on him. His story has almost spread throughout the entire Ji Province."
"Hmm?" Yang Xiao looked at Zhong Lishuo curiously. "How did the rumor spread?"
Zhongli Shuo thought for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud, "I was telling you that you had a talented subordinate who was half asleep when you kicked him awake and set fire to the granary. He then rode on horseback, sleeping and setting the granary on fire at the same time, without even opening his eyes."
"Haha, good, these rumors are really something," Yang Xiao laughed and shook his head. "One is that the lord climbed a tree to pick locust flowers, and the other is that Zhang Ping sleepwalked and checked the granary. They're really something. It's fine if they spread some interesting stories, but just don't let them sow discord among the generals or pass on the wrong military orders."
"Oh, that's all in the future. Why worry about it now?" Zhongli Shuo waved his hand dismissively with a smile. "The duel is scheduled for a tight schedule. I can rest for a couple more days. You and Zhao Qing should be setting off tonight, right?"
Yang Xiao nodded. "Yes, we have to leave tonight. But to be honest, this battle is really tough."
"Forget all that, just fight! How can you and Zhao Qing not win together?" Zhong Lishuo laughed and nodded at Yang Xiao. "If all else fails, I'll come south to support you after I conquer Qingzhou!"
Yang Xiao tossed the dart that Zhong Lishuo had just handed her into the air, caught it steadily, and laughed, "Who will catch whom is still uncertain. I'm not going to chat with you anymore, I'm going back to camp to regroup." With that, she mounted her horse and threw the dart to Zhong Lishuo.
Zhong Lishuo caught the dart and laughed, "Wait for my good news later."
Yang Xiao smiled, tilted his head back, and tugged on the reins. The red-tailed fox excitedly reared up and trotted towards the camp.
-
Although Xiao Yan's power is newly established and its foundation is unstable, it is not as Yang Xiao claimed, that she has no usable troops at all. The governor of Bingzhou has already submitted to her, and there are also quite a few men in Chang'an, Sizhou. However, whether their hearts are united is another matter.
News of Yang Xiaoyong's decisive military campaign and great victory had already reached her ears. By this time, she had seen off Yang Song, who refused to obey even unto death, countless times.
She leaned against the table and sighed deeply, shaking her head at her attendant Lu Qi beside her.
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