knife

Chapter 809 Suspicion
The army of the Beiting Protectorate began a large-scale withdrawal.

Small cavalry units that had once ventured as far as Shanggu and Yuyang retreated within a few days. By the time the Qin army on the other side realized what was happening, these small cavalry units had already regrouped and formed a cavalry legion.

At this point, dealing with cavalry legions of at least three thousand men would not be an easy task. By the time the procedures of reporting to higher authorities and mobilizing troops were completed, the cavalry of the Beiting Protectorate had long since vanished without a trace.

Further investigation revealed that the territory had already retreated back to Boling County.

The latest intelligence indicates that even the troops in Fanyang have begun to retreat.

This series of military movements was completely opposite to the aggressive stance previously displayed by the other side, leaving Linghu Ye, Li Guohua, and others somewhat baffled.

After the great victory at the Battle of Yangguan, the Beiting Protectorate performed quite strongly.

Li Dachui even personally led his troops to monitor Li Guohua's retreat back to the Shanggu area.

Then the cavalry of Beiting began their infiltration.

In particular, the barbarian cavalry led by An Xuan were quite professional in infiltration and sabotage.

These men were skilled horsemen, riding two or even three horses each. Once they struck, they would flee far away. Trying to capture them often required a huge investment of manpower and resources, only to end up with nothing. If left unattended, their burning, killing, and looting would cause daily terror among the local people, disrupting their normal lives and production.

Who can settle down and farm when their livelihood is uncertain?
Such destruction only improved slightly when Li Guohua began to build fortified villages and establish a chain-like defense. Then, Li Guohua used a counter-attack strategy, sending out small-scale cavalry to infiltrate in the opposite direction or to track down these people.

His cavalry was no slouch either.

Everyone here was trained in the Northeast and is familiar with this kind of fighting. Sabotage, annihilation and counter-annihilation between the two sides became the main theme for the past few months.

Then, without any warning, the troops of the Northern Protectorate withdrew.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
Li Guohua and Linghu Ye stood in front of the map, looking at the markings on it, both lost in thought.

"General, Li Dachui and Xiao Changche have withdrawn their main forces to Boling County. All other areas, including Fanyang, have been fortified within the cities, abandoning everything outside!" Li Guohua said. "Look, Yangguan, the Cui family's old residence, and Huxiaoyuan form a semi-circle. At the apex of this semi-circle is Boling County. Before the county city, there was a raised plateau on the flat land, called Shapingba. Their main force is concentrated along this line. According to scouts, their main army numbers between 70,000 and 80,000. Including other areas, the Beiting Protectorate has concentrated approximately 100,000 troops!"

“It seems that Li Dachui and Xiao Changche have chosen Boling as their main battlefield. But why are they so sure that I will fight them on their home turf?” Linghu Ye said, “Guohua, how about we attack Fanyang first?”

“Of course!” Li Guohua nodded and said, “However, Lu Xin has taken the initiative to retreat in Fanyang. Judging from the intelligence feedback, Lu Xin has gone all out this time. He is basically defending the city at the cost of his own resources. If we spend too much energy in Fanyang and fail to lure Li Dachui and Xiao Changche to come to our aid, it will definitely be a battle that is not worth the effort!”

"Are they really willing to lose Fanyang?" Linghu Ye was somewhat skeptical. "They just want to test their patience with me, right?" "Perhaps!" Li Guohua, however, was not so sure. "But Li Dachui is a man who always plans carefully before he acts. There must be a reason why he's putting on this show!"

"Chang Lei has achieved great success in the southeast, and his forces are advancing directly towards Danyang. Once we capture Danyang, the Chu Kingdom will be almost entirely in our hands, and the problem of being attacked from both sides that I was worried about before will no longer exist!" Linghu Ye exhaled a breath of turbid air: "Then I will not be in a hurry to fight the enemy. The longer it drags on, the more advantageous it will be for us. Once we integrate the forces of Southern Chu, then the area outside the pass will be nothing! Can't Li Dachui see this point?"

Li Guohua said softly, "Unless there's something we don't know about! Commander, has something changed in the south?"

"I received a report from Chang Lei and Yong'er yesterday!" Linghu Ye said decisively, "Now Kou Wenhai is leading 50,000 infantrymen straight towards Danyang, while Chang Lei and Yong'er are leading the main cavalry force straight towards Liyang County. They want to cooperate with Na Wei from the inside and outside to defeat Jiang Qian's main force and establish our army's dominant position in the south. Na Wei is now desperate and can only cooperate with our army in order to preserve his power in the southwest. No matter how you look at it, the advantage is on our side!"

"Then let's attack Fanyang first, and then see how things go in the south!" Li Guohua said. "As long as Chang Lei wins, we've already won this game."

“Shan Yan should be back soon! He was personally involved in the Southern Situation!” Linghu Ye said. “Once he returns, the truth will come out. Chang Lei really gave me a big surprise this time; he did a truly thorough job of keeping it a secret, even from you and me!”

"If it weren't for this, such a miraculous effect could not have been achieved!" Li Guohua was not jealous of Chang Lei's achievements, but rather felt a sense of mutual respect: "In this battle alone, Chang Lei can be called the number one general under the commander-in-chief."

Linghu Ye laughed loudly: "After this great undertaking is accomplished, I will not hesitate to bestow upon you and Chang Lei the throne!"

The situation in the south has now had a decisive impact on the overall global situation. Whoever wins in the south will gain a strategic advantage in the decisive battle in the north.

The winner will be able to calmly and leisurely wait for the opponent to attack, forcing the opponent to fight within the area they have defined, while the loser can only put all their chips on the table and go all in.

In comparison, Linghu Ye actually has a greater chance of losing.

If Li Dachui really loses and escapes back to the border, at the very least he can become a king and carve out his own territory, just like the Northern Yuan in the past. In the short term, the Central Plains dynasty still won't be able to completely conquer him. As for the future, it's hard to say. In any case, a unified Central Plains dynasty has always had an overwhelming advantage over the border regions.

But if Linghuye loses, he'll lose.

With attacks coming from both the north and the south, Linghu Ye was trapped with nowhere to turn.

“Let Wang De lead the attack on Fanyang! He’s not very good at cavalry combat, but he’s disciplined in battle and a master at taking on fortified positions. Besides, we can’t let him be idle too much.” Linghu Ye said, “You should keep an eye on Boling. It would be even better if we could take over Shapingba first.”

"Understood!" Li Guohua nodded.

The high-altitude terrain of Shapingba is quite frustrating, as its location is precisely in front of Boling County, forming two elevated geographical areas together with Huxiaoyuan. However, Huxiaoyuan is between Fanyang and Boling, while Shapingba is located within Boling County.

(End of this chapter)