Chapter 984 A Master Strategist!
A military genius!
Upon hearing these four words, the entire court was in an uproar. Only then did everyone realize that the King of Qin's military report was a victory report!
Someone asked impatiently, "Minister Dong, what exactly is going on at the front!"
Dong Yue then explained it clearly.
It turned out that Yuwen Ye led his troops eastward, but instead of rushing directly to Cijian as planned, he crossed Cijian and went south along the Yi River, directly attacking Yique Pass, which was south of Luoyang and was heavily fortified with 30,000 troops. Tan Chong, the general guarding Yique Pass, was a spineless coward with little strength. After suffering a defeat in battle, he immediately surrendered to the King of Qin.
Yuwen Ye, who had occupied Yique Pass, rested his troops but did not turn back to rescue Cijian. Instead, he sent another force north to attack Luoyang!
The fall of Yique Pass had already alarmed Liang Shide, so when he heard that someone was going to attack Luoyang, he immediately closed the city gates and ordered the troops at Dagu Pass in the southeast and Mengjin Pass in the northeast of Luoyang to be redeployed. As soon as these two forces returned, the garrison in Luoyang would attack from three sides, which would be enough to defeat Yuwen Ye's army!
However, these two passes were some far from Luoyang and some close, and the troops sent out traveled by mountain roads and waterways at different speeds.
Finally, the 10,000 troops from Dagu Pass arrived first.
Before reinforcements arrived at Luoyang, just as they were preparing to cross the Yi River, Yuwen Ye's main force stationed at Yique Pass suddenly attacked, turning around and encircling the force that was feigning an attack on Luoyang, annihilating all the reinforcements at Dagu Pass!
At the same time, the message sent by Yuwen Ye to Cijian finally arrived.
Upon receiving his order, Shen Tu Tai led a portion of his troops who were holding Cijian to suddenly flank out and intercept the 5,000 troops coming south from Mengjin Pass. This group was slow-moving and their morale was already low. Moreover, they had already heard about Yuwen Ye's annihilation of the reinforcements from Dagu Pass before they arrived, which further shook their morale. So when they saw Shen Tu Tai's troops charging out, they didn't even bother to see who was leading the troops or how many troops the enemy had, and they collapsed immediately.
After this group was defeated, Shen Tu Tai's two thousand men merged with Yuwen Ye's main force and marched eastward, breaking through Dagu Pass.
They then persuaded the garrison commander of Huanyuan Pass, east of Dagu Pass, to surrender.
At this point, all three major passes along the southern route to Luoyang had been breached.
As for Mengjin Pass, north of Luoyang, after losing 5,000 troops, and hearing that Yuwen Ye and Shentu Tai were joining forces to continue north, the main force of the pass either fled or ran away, leaving less than half of the troops to guard the pass. Like frightened birds, they were almost no longer a force to be reckoned with. Yanshi Pass, south of Mengjin Pass, also closed its gates after hearing these battle reports, and no matter how Liang Shide issued orders, it no longer responded, nor did it send any troops.
Upon hearing this detailed battle report, the ministers in the court were so excited that their faces turned red. Several old generals even laughed heartily, repeatedly exclaiming, "Good, good, good!"
"Truly a master strategist!"
"With a sage general like the King of Qin in our Great Sheng Dynasty, why should we worry about unrest in the world?!"
"His Highness the King of Qin truly deserves to be called the Supreme General of Heavenly Strategy!"
Upon hearing these words, Yuwen Yuan trembled with excitement. Since ascending the throne, he had almost bid farewell to his military career. Even in the last Battle of Longmen, although he personally went to the front line, his original intention was only to persuade Jiang Chongen to surrender, not to actually use troops. However, the feelings of a military general in his heart could not be erased by status or time.
Even just looking at those few lines in the military report, he could picture the clash of swords and the soldiers fighting bloody battles!
Moreover, Yuwen Ye was indeed a brilliant strategist.
He only led 30,000 troops. Even if he directly rushed to Cijian and joined forces with Yuwen Cheng's remaining troops, it would be difficult to fight against the large number of garrison troops in Luoyang and the eight passes. Moreover, if he really rescued Cijian first, during this period, no matter if the garrison generals of Luoyang or the other passes sent troops to attack, they would only be besieged and eventually defeated.
Unexpectedly, he divided his troops and cleverly used the time difference in dispatching troops from various passes. He also brought out Shen Tu Tai's surprise force. Whether dealing with Yique Pass or Dagu Pass, he always had superior forces and concentrated his attacks to defeat these cities one by one. Such a level of troop deployment is difficult to achieve even on a map or paper!
What else could it be but a heavenly general!?
At this moment, all the previous grudges in his heart were successfully washed away, and Yuwen Yuan laughed and said, "The Prince of Qin is a capable fighter!"
Upon hearing this, the officials in the court were overjoyed and echoed him, saying, "Indeed, as long as His Highness Prince Qin takes action, why worry about not being able to take Dongdu?"
"With His Highness Prince Qin here, His Majesty can rest easy!"
"Let's wait for the King of Qin's next good news!"
Just as the court was filled with jubilation, Yuwen Qian, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked, "Then, what about the Prince of Qi?"
The moment those two words were uttered, the once bustling Taiji Hall fell silent again. Everyone finally came to their senses—Yuwen Ye's initial mission was to rush to Cijian and rescue Prince Qi; but instead of rushing to Cijian, he had also transferred Shen Tu Tai and two thousand troops from Cijian. As a result, Prince Qi, who was holding Cijian, had even fewer troops at his disposal, making his situation even more dangerous!
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yuan hurriedly picked up the battle report and read it over from top to bottom. Indeed, there was not a single word mentioning Cijian and Yuwen Cheng again.
Therefore, in this battle, Yuwen Ye completely abandoned Yuwen Cheng?
Yuwen Yuan's brows slowly furrowed.
He too was a man who had fought his way through countless battles. While Yuwen Ye's tactics were indeed formidable, there was a serious problem: he had completely abandoned Cijian, and even more so, the Prince of Qi, Yuwen Cheng, in Cijian. When Yuwen Ye was rampaging around Luoyang, cooperating seamlessly with Shen Tu Tai, Liang Shide could not possibly remain completely oblivious. He might have tried to avoid Yuwen Ye's main force, but having already suffered a defeat, Yuwen Cheng, who had retreated to Cijian, was Liang Shide's best target. Moreover, Shen Tu Tai had taken two thousand men with him, so Yuwen Cheng's remaining forces were likely minimal.
Even if Yuwen Yuan himself were in Liang Shide's position, he would still send troops to launch a fierce attack on Cijian.
Taking Cijian and capturing Yuwen Cheng would be a serious blow to the Dasheng Dynasty. It's even possible that he might use the life of the Prince of Qi to blackmail Yuwen Yuan and the Dasheng Dynasty.
In other words, Yuwen Cheng must have had a very difficult time during this period!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com