knife

Chapter 801 Taking Advantage of the Situation
Chang Lei was well aware that there were only a handful of cats and dogs in Zhongli County.

Such a small city can't hold many soldiers.

Therefore, Chang Lei didn't take him seriously at all.
They were not worried about the enemy launching a night raid on their camp.

He didn't even send scouts in that direction, putting on an arrogant and domineering act. What if Lin Yunqi suddenly had a brain fart and launched a midnight raid on the camp? Wouldn't that be perfect? ​​He could take care of them all at once outside, saving them the trouble of attacking and capturing the stronghold tomorrow.

However, there's a 99% chance Lin Yunqi wouldn't do that.

This person is quite capable.

However, Chang Lei had considered many options, but he never expected that the news he received after dawn would be that Lin Yun from Zhongli County had started running away.

With his several thousand elite reinforcements, he vanished without a trace under the cover of night.

In order to deceive them, the reinforcement work on the city walls of Zhongli County continued without stopping all night.

Chang Lei looked at Bai Jiaxuan, the prefect of Zhongli, who had come to surrender early in the morning with his chest exposed and carrying a bundle of thorns on his back. His eyes were full of amusement.

Why did Lin Yunqi run away?

"After a fierce battle during the day, Minister Lin said that your army has no weaknesses to exploit in field battles and sieges. Defending here is a waste of troops. It would be better to preserve your strength and return to defend Danyang!" Bai Jiaxuan said, bowing.

Upon hearing this answer, Linghu Yong, who was standing to the side, immediately showed a smug expression.

Yesterday, he led his men in a fierce battle against the bandits of Guanshan, successfully intimidating them. Now that they have fled without a fight, he can claim the credit.

"Why didn't Prefect Bai follow along?" Chang Lei chuckled.

"There are still so many elderly, weak, women and children in the county. I'm worried that if they run away too, the General will be angry with them. So I'm willing to stay and be the General's punching bag!" Bai Jiaxuan said pitifully. "As long as the General doesn't let the wolf-like army ravage the people, that's fine!"

"The sword is already drawn, the arrow is already on the bowstring. Now you want me to have a change of heart? How am I supposed to explain this to my soldiers?" Chang Lei sneered.

"Thanks to my efforts, Lin Yunqi left without damaging the county treasury. All the grain, weapons, cloth, and even wine and silver are still intact. General, you may take them as you wish!" Bai Jiaxuan quickly said.

"Oh dear, in that case, I really have no reason to lay a hand on you!" Chang Lei looked at the other party with a forced smile.

"The General's expedition to the southeast is to pacify the world for Commander Linghu. However, the southeast is unknown to the Commander's reputation. Now that the General has arrived, it is only right to spread the name of the Commander's benevolence throughout the world. Therefore, why not start this matter from Zhongli County?" Bai Jiaxuan said.

Chang Lei remained silent in thought, while Linghu Yong, who was on the side, was greatly moved and stepped forward, saying, "General, this humble general thinks that Prefect Bai's words make sense. In any case, Lin Yunqi has already run away, and it is meaningless to take our anger out on the small Zhongli County. We should use this as a base to reorganize the army and take Danyang as our goal!"

Chang Lei smiled and said, "Since the young marshal has said so, then I, Chang, will naturally have no reason not to comply. Prefect Bai, you're lucky. I'm not going into the city, but you've sent wine, meat, and grain to my military camp. If there's anything inappropriate, then don't blame me for turning my back on you!"

"Of course, of course!" Bai Jiaxuan was overjoyed and repeatedly clasped his hands in thanks. He even went to Linghu Yong and bowed deeply, saying, "Young Marshal's reputation is legendary. Meeting you today, you are indeed a man of great bearing and the bearing of a leader!"

Linghu Yong was overjoyed by Bai Jiaxuan's words and his goodwill towards him increased greatly. A day later, the scouts finally brought back definite news: Lin Yunqi had indeed led several thousand Chu soldiers to retreat towards Danyang.

"It seems that the enemy has made ample preparations in Danyang!" Kou Wenhai analyzed. "After all, it is the capital of the Chu people. Although it has been through many wars, its foundation is still intact, and there are countless powerful families. As long as they are willing to put in the effort, it will not be a problem to gather manpower and resources. What's more, there is that old guy Xiong Yi, plus Zhou Zheng and a group of young and promising people. It is estimated that they have already gathered enough manpower and resources. What they lack now is elite troops like Lin Yunqi's who can play a backbone role!"

"Most likely so!" Linghu Yong nodded repeatedly: "General, there is no time to lose! Isn't it said that we should press our advantage and strike while the enemy is down? Now we should take advantage of the victory and beat them while they are down. Every day that passes will give the enemy one more day to prepare! This humble general is willing to be the vanguard and lead my troops to attack Danyang City!"

Chang Lei didn't speak, but his eyes were fixed on the map. After a long while, he turned to the two of them and said, "Tell me, what do we ultimately want to achieve by launching this war?"

"Of course, we should take Danyang, the capital of the Lower Chu Kingdom!" Linghu Yong blurted out.

Kou Wenhai pondered for a moment and said, "The ultimate goal is to destroy the Chu Kingdom's fighting capabilities and turn them into the commander-in-chief's future support."

Chang Lei nodded and said, "So, to achieve this goal, do we have to take Danyang City?"

This time, Linghu Yong was a bit smarter and didn't rush to answer, but instead looked at Kou Wenhai.

Kou Wenhai's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "Of course not. Danyang City is just an inanimate object. The most direct way for us to achieve this goal is to destroy the enemy's manpower! Make them lose the courage to resist, and thus achieve the goal of subduing the enemy without fighting."

Chang Lei laughed: "Where are their remaining forces now?"

He looked at Linghu Yong.

Linghu Yong then realized: "It's Jiang Qian, their main force is in Liyang County!"

Chang Lei burst into laughter: "So why should we attack Danyang? Right now, Na Wei's 50,000 Southwest Wolf Soldiers are facing off against Jiang Qian in Liyang County. The two sides are evenly matched. What if we suddenly appear in Liyang County?"

"By attacking from both sides, we will surely defeat Jiang Qian decisively. Even if we don't completely annihilate her, we can at least force her to retreat to the eight towns of Jiangnan. In that case, most of the Chu Kingdom will belong to us!" Linghu Yong's eyes gleamed.

"Young Marshal's plan is excellent!" Chang Lei smiled at Kou Wenhai and said, "Next, our army will be divided into two parts. Patriarch Kou, you will lead the main infantry force and pretend to head straight for Danyang City, while the young marshal and I will lead the elite cavalry straight into Liyang County!"

Kou Wenhai stared at the map and said, "After I lead the infantry to Tumen Town, I will suddenly turn towards Liyang County. The Danyang garrison will not dare to leave the city rashly, fearing that we will set a trap. By the time they realize what is happening, we will have already arrived in Liyang. And in between, it will only take two or three days!"

"Exactly!" Chang Lei said, "A two- or three-day time difference is enough for us to defeat our opponents one by one!"

Linghu Yong looked at Chang Lei with utter admiration, "General, so you never intended to attack Danyang City from the beginning. You were always targeting Jiang Qian's main force, weren't you?"

"It's not that mysterious!" Chang Lei laughed. "Water has no constant shape, and military tactics have no constant form. It's just a matter of adapting to circumstances. Since we've created this opportunity, we should naturally go with the flow. Young Marshal, if we win this battle, then the Northern Marshal will have no more worries about fighting Li Dachui. Even if he loses to Li Dachui, he can still draw blood from the South to restore his strength. Before long, he'll be a hero again and can face Li Dachui once more!"

"General, you are truly the most trusted and capable man of the Linghu family!" Linghu Yong clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to the ground.

(End of this chapter)