The next day.
Longshan Camp, Central Command Tent.
Clad in golden armor, Chen Huai'an sat in the center of the tent without hesitation. Standing to his right was Chen Qingzhi, a refined and elegant general in flowing white robes, and to his left was Fan Wuji, the cavalry commander of the Longcheng Polu Army.
Further back were more than ten generals of the Po Lu Army who had followed Chen Huai'an out of the city yesterday.
Even after a long night to calm their shocked and astonished emotions, the generals of the Polu Army present still could not hide their excitement and admiration, their respect for Prince Chen Huai'an was evident.
This was not only because Chen Huai'an displayed a terrifying level of martial prowess and battlefield dominance on the battlefield yesterday, which was no less than that of the late King Chen Polu when he led them to a great victory over the enemy army, but also because of the strategic planning and decisive imperial mind that Chen Huai'an demonstrated.
Especially for Fan Wuji, the commander of the Longcheng Iron Cavalry, the experience of following Chen Huai'an in the Longcheng uprising to the south to quell the rebellion for only a dozen hours was far richer and more exciting than his experience in the first half of his military career.
In summary, it can be described in sixteen words: breathtaking, full of unexpected twists and turns, adrenaline-pumping, and irresistible.
Yesterday evening, when Chen Huai'an personally led the Longcheng Iron Cavalry to a great victory over the enemy outside the city, and then confronted a part of the enemy's Yunzhou cavalry at Beichuan, Fan Wuji thought that Chen Huai'an would lead the Longcheng Iron Cavalry to break through the enemy's cavalry in one fell swoop, and then detour to Jinyang to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's supply line, forcing the enemy to retreat without a fight.
Or perhaps they could break through the enemy's blockade, head straight to the Western Regions countries that had received the late king's favor, and seek military assistance, recruiting righteous armies from all over the world to "serve the emperor and quell the rebellion, and cleanse the court of corrupt officials."
At the very least, they should break through the encirclement, preserve their strength, and then deal with the imperial court and the enemy forces.
But no one expected that after encountering the enemy cavalry, Chen Huai'an would turn around and lead the Longcheng Iron Cavalry straight to the Longshan Camp, which had long been abandoned and was in a state of disrepair.
For Fan Wuji and the dozen or so Polu Army generals who had fought their way out of the city with Chen Huai'an, going to the Longshan camp was undoubtedly a dead end.
Unable to defend the strategic location or find a secret passage to escape, the enemy only needed to surround Longshan, and the three thousand iron cavalry of Longcheng, who had been without food and grass for seven days, would starve to death in their own camp.
For a fleeting moment, Fan Wuji and the generals of the Po Lu Army couldn't help but look up to the sky and lament: "The Prince of Jin is incompetent, causing the death of the entire army!"
But when the heartbroken Fan Wuji and the generals of the Po Lu Army followed Chen Huai'an into the Longshan camp, they were so shocked by what they saw that they almost fell off their horses.
On the training ground of Longshan Camp, a refined and elegant scholar-general in flowing white robes led tens of thousands of elite soldiers in black armor to kneel and welcome Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin.
At that moment, Fan Wuji and the generals of the Polu Army realized that they had been narrow-minded. Only one thought remained in their minds: The Prince of Jin is wise, and the army is fortunate!
At the same time, all the generals felt a lingering fear.
Fan Wuji was sweating profusely.
The day before yesterday, after the imperial edict of the emperor's seizure of power was delivered to the Prince of Jin's residence, His Highness Chen Huai'an refused to leave his residence. Among the thirty-six generals of the Longcheng garrison, Fan Wuji was the most vocal in his protests. It was also Fan Wuji who suggested that Pang Xianchu overstep his bounds and make the decision for Chen Huai'an on the fate of the Po Lu Army.
Fortunately, Lieutenant General Pang Xianchu remained true to his principles, and his words awakened Fan Wuji.
It wasn't until yesterday that Fan Wuji and the generals of the Po Lu Army suddenly realized that His Highness Prince Jin had already devised a plan to deal with the difficult situation of treacherous officials in power and the emperor seizing power.
The 80,000 elite Xuanjia soldiers who entered the Longshan camp without anyone noticing were the source of His Highness Prince Jin's confidence in his southern expedition against the rebels.
It was from that time on that Fan Wuji truly came to know Chen Huai'an anew.
It turns out that the good-for-nothing who was seen by the world as "a tiger father and a dog son, weak and powerless" was actually a "talented man with the ambition to conquer mountains and rivers"!
Fan Wuji secretly made up his mind to follow Prince Jin to the death for the rest of his life.
Wherever Your Highness's halberd points, my iron hooves will follow. I will brave mountains of knives and seas of fire, even unto death. Whether I am a loyal subject who has followed the emperor or die on the battlefield, I will have no regrets even if it means dying nine times over!
"Report—"
"Your Highness Prince Jin, the enemy forces from Beichuan have already split into two groups and set off an hour ago. One group, consisting of about 50,000 to 60,000 men carrying heavy siege equipment, is heading straight for Longcheng. The other group, consisting of about 10,000 Yunzhou cavalry and about 20,000 infantry, is heading straight for the Longshan camp!"
At this moment, a messenger in armor and carrying a sword rushed into the central command tent, first kneeling before Chen Huai'an, and then panting as he reported to Chen Huai'an the movements of the Yunhui Army that the scouts had gathered.
Upon hearing this news, Chen Huai'an smiled confidently.
Wu Qingyun's actions of dividing his Yunhui Army into two routes to attack Longcheng and Longshan Camp were all within Chen Huai'an's expectations and control.
Even after the Lianyun army split up, the number of troops each army commanded was roughly as he had predicted.
The Art of War states: "Therefore, the principle of warfare is this: if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if twice, fight them."
Such a simple principle of warfare could not possibly be unknown to Wu Qingyun, the Northwest Commander-in-Chief and Tiger General of the Great Xin Dynasty.
As a time traveler, Chen Huai'an had already anticipated Wu Qingyun's prediction.
That's why he personally led 3,000 Dragon City Iron Cavalry out of the city to fight yesterday, and after defeating the vanguard of the Yunhui Army of 10,000, he deliberately spared the life of his deputy general Chang Chenghu.
He also threw the head of Wu Qingyun's eldest son, Wu Fengxian, the young general of the Yunhui Army, to Chang Chenghu, and asked him to convey a message to provoke Wu Qingyun before finally leading his troops into the Longshan camp.
Everything Chen Huai'an did was meticulously planned and interconnected.
From the very beginning, he was setting a trap for Wu Qingyun, making him split his forces into two groups, so that Chen Huai'an could concentrate his superior forces and create conditions for defeating the 100,000 Yunyi troops one by one.
As for Pang Xianchu, the adjutant general who was left to guard Longcheng with the remaining 5,000 Polu troops, Chen Huai'an had already given him instructions before his departure, telling him that he only needed to lead his troops to hold Longcheng for three hours.
Within three hours, Chen Huai'an will surely lead his army back to Longcheng to reinforce it, and together with the defending Polu Army, they will annihilate the attacking Yunhui Army in one fell swoop.
With the valiant General Pang Xianchu's military leadership skills, coupled with the elite soldiers of the five thousand defending troops, Chen Huai'an was fully confident that they could hold off the attacking enemy for three hours.
Thus, Chen Huai'an, with inferior forces, wiped out Wu Qingyun's 100,000-strong army that had invaded Longcheng.
"Your Highness, this humble general, Fan Wuji, requests your orders!"
Upon hearing the news that the enemy army had split into two groups and was pressing in on the border, Commander Fan Wuji stepped forward to volunteer, saying:
"Your Highness, the mere 30,000 bandits are nothing to worry about. Liang Erhu, the commander of the Yunzhou Cavalry, is nothing but a bandit. This humble general is willing to lead 3,000 Longcheng Iron Cavalry out of the camp to meet the enemy and break through their lines, thus buying time for the main army to return to Longcheng!"
Seeing this, Chen Qingzhi, the commander of the Xuanjia Army, stepped forward unhurriedly, bowed to Chen Huai'an, and said:
"Your Highness Prince Jin, Longcheng is the foundation of our army's rear and cannot be lost. However, the defending soldiers number only five thousand. Facing an enemy ten times their size launching a fierce attack, the defending soldiers may find it difficult to withstand the onslaught!"
"This humble general, Chen Qing, is willing to lead the vanguard and central army back to reinforce Longcheng and do everything in our power to ensure that Longcheng does not fall!"
"This humble general—"
"Your humble servant!"
Seeing this, the other generals of the Polu Army wanted to step forward and volunteer to fight, but they didn't have a single soldier at their disposal, and they didn't know how to say it.
Chen Huai'an saw the generals' predicament, and since he already had a good plan to defeat the enemy, he immediately raised his hand and pressed down to signal the generals to be quiet before speaking:
"Gentlemen, the bandit general Wu Qingyun has divided his forces into two groups: a large force to attack the city and an elite cavalry to Longshan. He simply wants to take both the people and the city!"
"Unfortunately, Wu Qingyun underestimated the determination of the Longcheng garrison to defend the city, and he had never witnessed the bravery and skill of my Xuanjia Elite Warriors. Three thousand Longcheng Iron Cavalry and eighty thousand Xuanjia Elite Warriors against Wu Qingyun's ten thousand Yunzhou Cavalry and twenty thousand infantrymen, no matter how the battle is fought, the advantage is on our side."
After a pause, Chen Huai'an continued with an air of dominance: "Therefore, I have decided that in this battle, I will neither lure the enemy deep with inferior forces nor send troops back to reinforce Longcheng. Right here, in the Longshan camp, all the elite troops will be deployed to decide the outcome in one battle and wipe out the enemy's 30,000 troops in one go!"
"This king commands—"
brush!
Inside the main tent, all the generals stood up straight and awaited orders.
"Fan Wuji, Commander of the Po Lu Army Cavalry!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I hereby promote you to the rank of Deputy General of the Vanguard Army, commanding the Dragon City Iron Cavalry and 20,000 Xuanjia Army light cavalry, to join me in the battle against the Yunzhou Cavalry!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
"Chen Qingzhi, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanjia Army!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I hereby order you to lead the central army, with 50,000 infantrymen on the left and right wings positioned behind the vanguard. Once the vanguard cavalry breaks through the enemy's defenses, immediately lead the main force into battle and strive to annihilate all enemy infantry!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
"Commander Zuo Liangcai!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
......
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