knife

Chapter 686 Arrogance can sometimes have unexpected effects.
By striking a blow that startled the enemy, they finally managed to bring out all the old turtles that had been hiding deep in the cave and refusing to show themselves.

If you keep hiding, there might not be anywhere left for you to hide in the future.

To everyone's surprise, Li Dachui, who had severely injured Cui Shu on the banks of the river, did not go anywhere else, but went straight to Boling County and hid in the home of an ordinary-looking farmer outside Boling City.

The farmer was a family of five who moved here from Daizhou three years ago when Linghu Zhishu was cultivating land in Boling County. They have been honestly farming the land here ever since.

In reality, this farmer was one of several safe houses operated by Chi Qiu-in in Boling County.

The location of the wasteland cultivated by this family is extremely advantageous. It is just a slope, but from the top of this slope, one can see several key roads leading into Boling County.

Whether you come from inside the pass or outside the pass, you will eventually have to pass through here.

This safe house is about 30 miles from the county town, neither too far nor too close.

In recent days, we have seen a constant stream of troops from powerful families converging on this area, some entering the city and others setting up camp outside the city.

Those who entered the city were mostly not very strong. This time, they had to send troops because they could not withstand the pressure from the Cui family and other powerful families. However, they did not want to be used as cannon fodder by the Cui family and other powerful families and sent to their deaths. So, their only option was to go into the city and seek refuge with the Linghu Group.

Everyone is well aware of the current delicate situation.

Even the army outside the city was not a monolithic entity; one could discern some of its secrets simply by looking at the fortifications they had established.

The Cui family camp stood outside the Cui family mansion.

However, Li's elite troops set up their camp outside the city.

The Yang family's White Feather Army arrived late, standing opposite the Li family's camp on the left and right.

It seems that the Li and Yang families are closer.

Thinking about it, if we really want to talk about it, the Li and Yang families can actually be considered powerful groups in the Guanzhong region. They have always considered themselves the center and have a distance from the Cui family of Boling. Although the Cui family is powerful now, they are not willing to be ordered around by them.

Although this coalition was initiated by the Cui family, it is unacceptable to expect them to submit to the Cui family.

At a meeting in the county town, after much debate, everyone unanimously elected Li Guohua as the commander-in-chief of the allied forces. Cui Ming, the patriarch of the Cui family, became his deputy. After all, this was the Cui family's home turf, and if the Cui family didn't support them in terms of food supplies, replenishment of weapons, and allocation of able-bodied men, the various armies that had come from afar would truly be at a loss.

The attack route was also divided into two paths: one headed straight for Yangguan Pass, while the other went through the Volcano Fortress.

The Volcano Fortress was the very road Linghu Ye took when he entered the pass.

The main force heading straight for Yangguan was led by Li Guohua himself, and it comprised nearly 70,000 troops, including those from the Cui family. This force advanced in a commanding formation, relying on its superior numbers, superior weaponry, and ample supplies. Yangguan, on the other hand, had only about 40,000 troops at most.

What pleased Cui Ming and his men the most was that the speed of the aristocratic families' actions and their decisiveness in gathering troops far exceeded outsiders' expectations. In a short period of time, they had completed all the war preparations. The Beiting Protectorate outside the pass probably hadn't even reacted yet, because intelligence showed that the other side had neither mobilized fully nor reinforced Yangguan. Their slow response to the major actions inside the pass was indeed somewhat unbelievable.

This gave the aristocratic armies, represented by Cui Ming, greater confidence in winning the war.

Even Li Guohua, who knew Xiao Changche very well, was genuinely angered by the other party's arrogance this time. Li Guohua didn't believe that the Beiting Protectorate hadn't received the relevant intelligence; on the contrary, the other party must have conducted a serious assessment and concluded that the 40,000 troops at Yangguan were sufficient to win this battle, so there was no need for large-scale reinforcements. This was blatant disrespect for Li Guohua.

After all, I am the commander-in-chief of this battle!

Although he didn't care about the victory or defeat of the aristocratic army, he could reap the rewards whether they won or lost, but that didn't stop him from teaching the arrogant Xiao Changche a lesson along the way.

So Cui Ming gathered a group of people and painstakingly came up with an attack plan, but after Li Guohua took it, he immediately crossed it out and personally devised a new plan. In the latest plan, the Linghu Group's troops in Boling were also directly incorporated into the attack, unlike before when they were only used as support.

In terms of commanding battles, Li Guohua, who had fought all his life, was naturally several levels above Cui Ming.

Li Guohua never expected that just as his latest battle plan was being approved by everyone and began to be implemented, Li Dachui had already obtained the most detailed version.

Because among the highest-ranking people in Boling County, there was a traitor, Lu Xin of the Lu family in Fanyang, who had already reached an agreement with Li Dachui.

"Brilliant!" Li Dachui laughed loudly after reading Li Guohua's battle plan. Previously, Boling County was entirely dominated by the private armies of aristocratic families, while the Linghu Group's army was basically tucked away in the rear. As a result, even if Yangguan defeated the private armies of aristocratic families, the gains would not be significant, because Boling had already made all the necessary preparations for the defeat of the aristocratic armies and could minimize the losses. This was unacceptable.

Li Dachui didn't want to fight a battle only to have his biggest enemy benefit in the end.

We have to deal with them all, no matter what.

Look, here it is!

Tens of thousands of troops from the Linghu Group joined the attack.

Although Li Guohua had prepared corresponding contingency plans, once Huxiaoyuan changed hands, all the contingency plans would become worthless. If Linghu Group did not want to be swallowed up by the outside world, it would have to obediently get out of Boling County.

With the establishment of Boling County, the Beiting Protectorate now has a stable forward base, allowing it to keep an eye on the Hetao Plain and the two rivers region.

"Ningyu should have already led her troops out of the pass, preparing to seize an opportunity to engage the enemy in open battle?" Li Dachui asked, looking at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi nodded: "Protector Xiao is preparing to attack the Volcano Fortress."

“Great minds think alike. I think so too. There are innate masters hidden in both the Li and Yang families’ teams. Once I’ve made the arrangements here, I’ll head over to help them.”

"Protector Xiao is not happy, he's very angry. Also, Protector Xiao should have advanced to the Innate Realm as well!" Zhou Yi whispered.

"This is good news, haha, good news!" Li Dachui chuckled a few times. "Are you angry? Yes, I've been gone for over a year, so it's understandable that you're angry. You should take your things back and prepare properly!"

Zhou Yi nodded silently, thinking to himself, "Is Protector Xiao angry because you haven't come back for a year?"

They're avoiding the important issues and focusing on the trivial ones!
However, Protector Li was also very good at timing. He planned to suddenly intervene when the two sides were fighting. After such a great victory, and in front of so many soldiers, Protector Xiao would probably not be able to vent his anger for a while. After the two had spent more time together, his anger would probably have subsided a lot, and he would certainly not be as resentful as when they first met!

Li Duhu is indeed a master strategist!
Zhou Yi was very impressed.

(End of this chapter)