Right now.
In Yunzhong City, Xue Rengui had already learned of the Xianbei people's movements from scouts and was assembling a large army.
The cavalry battalion has 3,000 men, the spear battalion has 5,000 men, the Doyan Three Guards have 2,000 men, and the Three Thousand Battalion has 3,000 men.
There are also 2,000 Xuanjia cavalry, which constitute the entire force of the Xianbei people participating in the battle in Yunzhongyun.
Xue Rengui was appointed commander-in-chief, Zhang Liao and Liu Du were appointed deputy commanders, and Shen Lian, a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was appointed as the chief of the intelligence department.
Meanwhile, Li Su and Pugu Huaiyu led 2,000 archers and 2,000 Doyan guards to Wuyuan County to join forces with Zhou Qing, a cavalry captain under Xue Rengui stationed in Xi'anyang, and his 1,000 cavalrymen.
In addition, there are civilian women, who serve as auxiliary troops to provide services to the main combat troops.
It was mainly to serve these 2,000 Xuanjia cavalry.
A single Xuanjia cavalryman needs at least three auxiliary soldiers to ensure their normal marching and combat operations.
Wearing such heavy armor, it took two people to help him mount the horse.
These laborers were recruited from among the 100,000 able-bodied men that Liu Wei had assigned to Yao Guangxiao.
One hundred thousand young men were scattered throughout the cities of Yunzhong, intending to marry and assimilate with the local Hu women.
They are civilians in peacetime and soldiers in wartime!
The advantages of having a large population are now fully demonstrated.
Liu Wei has absolutely no shortage of recruits!
These 100,000 able-bodied men are a high-quality source of soldiers. All we need to do is provide them with troop templates and weapons, and they can be deployed to battle.
However, Liu Wei's system currently only has a population count of over 600,000.
The current army, along with its horses, requires a considerable amount of food and supplies.
The two prefectures of Yunzhong and Dingxiang currently have no tax revenue and are in dire need of reconstruction, so they cannot yet provide financial support to the army.
A large portion of the food supplies were purchased by Liu Wei using gold coins.
Despite the large amount of spoils captured, food supplies remained scarce.
Moreover, after each battle, a considerable amount of gold coins must be spent to replenish the complete structure of each battalion.
Therefore, Liu Wei maintained a certain amount of gold coins during the war.
Having extra money in hand makes you feel less anxious.
"Why did the Xianbei people not immediately attack the city, but instead set up camp outside it?"
Liu Wei and Yao Guangxiao went to the city wall to check the enemy situation.
Xue Rengui was also on the city wall making arrangements with Zhang Liao and Liu Du. When he saw Liu Wei and the other man coming over, he hurriedly went to greet them.
Overnight, Cloud City was heavily fortified, with soldiers stationed throughout the city, seemingly invincible.
Liu Wei nodded in satisfaction.
Xue Rengui's military strategy was flawless.
They patrolled for a while.
He saw the Xianbei people setting up camp ten miles away, with countless cavalrymen running back and forth in the camp, so he asked.
"My lord, judging from the Xianbei people's behavior, they must have two intentions."
"On the one hand, they are relying on their superior military strength to lure us out of the city and set up a battle formation in the field."
"On the other hand, if I'm not mistaken, they're waiting for news from Shuofang!"
"If a large number of troops also appear in Shuofang, it will affect our flank."
The intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard was reported to Xue Rengui, and Yao Guangxiao was also informed at the same time.
After gathering intelligence and pondering for a moment, Yao Guangxiao revealed the Xianbei people's intention not to attack the city immediately.
"The strategist's prediction was absolutely correct!"
Xue Rengui immediately chimed in, "So they were unhurried, thinking that we had few soldiers and only dared to stay in the city and passively defend."
"It also led us to conclude that we dared not leave the city, much less retreat."
"News will probably come from Shuofang soon, and another Xianbei army will also begin its operation against Shuofang at the same time."
"Therefore, the 50,000 Xianbei troops north of Yunzhong City want us to be unable to withstand the pressure and lose our composure."
"Once the army from Shuofang takes Shuofang and Wuyuan, they will be able to encircle us."
Upon hearing this, Liu Wei sneered, "Another stalemate tactic from Huchuquan? Are they planning to just waste time here?"
"Do they intend to launch a surprise attack on our supply depots?"
"My lord, I don't think they have that intention at the moment. Otherwise, they would have already divided their forces to attack Yuanyang and Shaling!" Xue Rengui smiled faintly.
Liu Wei asked, "Then what are General Xue's plans?"
"Tonight I plan to send a light cavalry force to raid the left flank of the Xianbei camp and give them a taste of their power."
Xue Rengui pointed to the left wing of the Xianbei camp, which was shaped like the character "品" in the distance, where there were about 10,000 soldiers.
Why choose the left side?
Liu Du explained:
"From the interrogation of the enemy scouts we captured, we learned that the left wing was the camp of Yangzhen Murong Hu, the father-in-law of the Xianbei Khan Tuoba Gao."
"I know this old man. Although he is extremely strong, he has a bad temper and a simple mind. He is easily angered and loses his temper."
"Tuoba Gao also entrusted him with the command of three thousand Tiger-striped Cavalry. This made him even more arrogant and disdainful of others."
As a former tribal leader of the Xianbei, Liu Du naturally had some understanding of the habits and temperaments of other Xianbei leaders.
"I didn't expect that the Tiger-Striped Cavalry was led by someone else. Tuoba Gao is quite a man of vision."
"If he had taken action against Qiangqu earlier, he would have already captured Yunzhong and Wuyuan, and it wouldn't have been our turn!"
"This is fate!"
Liu Wei sighed, "It's just a pity that he's run into us now!"
"Therefore, tonight I plan to launch a surprise attack to provoke him and make him take the initiative to attack the city, so that I can use the city to weaken their strength."
Xue Rengui then revealed the purpose of launching the sneak attack that night.
"You two should guard the city well. Tonight, I will personally lead three thousand light cavalry to take advantage of the dark and windy night and give Murong Hu a taste of his power."
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