Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 350 Decisive Game
Shiliang City.

The flag on the parade ground was repeatedly pulled by the cold wind, and even the flagpole began to shake violently.

Rows of wooden spikes were erected outside the parade ground.

The top was filled with processed human heads, which had shrunk in size and were lined up in a row, which was quite terrifying.

The three gates of the parade ground were open, and knights were coming in and out, passing each other.

Many soldiers in the parade ground were now rearranging their formations. An officer was scolding them loudly and leading them to change their formations repeatedly.

The formation they are practicing now is different from the ones they used to use in the past.

Archers and catapults were in the front, crossbowmen were at the end, and the army was divided into long vertical formations that were not adjacent to each other. These vertical formations were finally formed into a whole. From a bird's-eye view, it was a large square formation, but the gaps between them were huge.

After they changed their formation, they returned to the most basic long snake formation.

They practiced over and over again, just switching between these two formations.

Wang Lin stood on the high platform, staring at the soldiers below, and then looking at several large parade grounds elsewhere.

"Yoke Formation"

He looked at Liu Taozi, who was standing further ahead, in confusion.

Liu Taozi now put on a thick cloak over his armor, which made him look more muscular. His beard also gradually became thicker, and it had not been trimmed for a long time.

He looked resolutely at the soldiers training below without saying a word.

Wang Lin whispered, "General, something is wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"During these days, we have fought with Huang Fachi and Xu Du many times. Huang Fachi pressed us very hard, switching from defense to offense, and constantly chasing us, trying to repel us."

"But at this moment, he suddenly stopped moving."

"Previously, the captured soldiers confirmed that the enemy was going to send Chunyu Liang to lead the troops, but he has not shown up yet."

"I think it might be Chunyu Liang who went around behind."

"Walk around?"

Wang Lin said seriously: "They have the advantage of the navy. They can definitely rush to our rear by water and then send troops to block our way back to Guangqing."

"Huang Fate suddenly stopped his fierce attack. Is he preparing to launch a pincer attack?"

"Our logistics are not stable, and now we are completely dependent on the locals. The Qi officials in these cities hate us more than the Chen people. If we continue to delay like this, we will be like outsiders, and they will be fighting on their own."

"There are many waterways here. Once the enemy occupies a favorable city, the logistics can advance together."

"Not to mention that the general has also accepted these bandit troops led by Lou Rui and Wei Po Hu."

Wang Lin looked at the people practicing below with disdain, "We were able to be forced back by Huang Fachu because of these people. They are no match for the Chen people at all and have been defeated time and time again."

"I think it's useless to waste energy on training them now. Qinzhou can no longer be defended. Now that the officials have been withdrawn, we can gradually retreat back to Qingguang. The Chen people are determined to capture Lianghuai, and we can't stop them."

The situation is reversing little by little, and is becoming increasingly unfavorable to us.

When they first defeated Wu Mingche, they almost forced the Chen people to retreat, but Wang Lin did not expect that the new emperor of the other side was not incompetent. He dealt with the domestic opposition and not only did he not withdraw his troops, but he invested more. If Wu Mingche was counted, the Chen State had already invested nearly 200,000 troops, and several powerful generals in the country were sent out one after another, basically leaving no stone unturned and going all out.

Huang Fachi was very conservative at first, only defending and not attacking, only retreating and not advancing.

After morale gradually recovered and logistics became more stable, Huang Fachi used his advantage in troop strength to play a split-push tactic with Liu Taozi.

He would lead his troops to fight Liu Taozi, and Xu Du would be responsible for the advancement. If Liu Taozi went to Xu Du's side, then Xu Du would defend and Huang Fachi would advance.

This is a very simple tactic, but it can produce different results in the hands of different people.

The effect of Huang Fachu was very obvious. Liu Taozi could not be in two places at the same time, and the soldiers and generals under his command did not support him in attacking from two directions.

As soon as Liu Taozi appeared, the enemy stopped fighting and defended the city to the death. The other side took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack.

Of course, Liu Taozi also seized the opportunity, pretended to be away, and then attacked Xu Du and killed some people.

But this did not have much impact on the overall strategy. The enemy was still advancing and Liu Taozi was still retreating.

As problems in various aspects began to be exposed, Wang Lin had already begun to consider retiring.

If they keep fighting like this, they will die in the south sooner or later.

You know, they came here just to capture Gwangju, and now, where have they gone? ?
Wang Lin looked at Liu Taozi who was still silent, and said hurriedly: "I am not saying that the general is not a match for Huang Fachu and others, but the general is the master of the Northland. It has been a long time since he left the Northland. If he continues to delay like this, I really don't know how many things will happen in Hebei."

"General, you must not be angry."

Liu Taozi then looked at Wang Lin, "Don't worry, Lord."

"After defeating Wu Mingche, Huang Fachu held his ground and did not retreat. I knew then that I might not be able to stop them."

"What about the general now?"

"I sent someone to inform Zu Ting at that time and asked him to arrange for the dead from all over the country to enter Qingzhou and Guangzhou."

"The population in the south is extremely large, but there are more livestock here. You are of course the most aware of this. This is where the most fertile farmland and the most dead are found."

Wang Lin nodded. He was originally very confused as to why Zu Ting suddenly disappeared without a trace. It turned out that he was busy recruiting people.

He added: "But if Chunyu Liang takes this opportunity to attack Guangzhou..."

"Zu Ting still has some troops, and Kou Liu and others can go to support him at any time, so there is no need to worry too much."

"If Chunyu Liang appeared behind us, Zu Ting would send someone to inform us."

"I think he is not behind us, he is to the east of us."

"With his military strength, he can't cut off our retreat horizontally. Instead, he can hide at the ferry to our east and cooperate with Huang Fachu to attack us while we are on the move."

Wang Lin thought about it and felt that it made some sense. "Then when should we evacuate?"

"Now, once we evacuate, they will take the opportunity to move north and seize the rest of Henan except Heluo."

"We can't retreat yet. We have to fight again to make sure they have no strength to move north again."

Wang Lin was surprised, "Still fighting?"

"Still fighting."

"General, apart from the Mandrill Camp, there are only these people."

Wang Lin looked at the people below again. Their weapons and equipment were not bad in any aspect, but the quality of the soldiers was too scary.

The 100,000-strong army was easily defeated by Huang Fachi, and the elite troops of Yecheng were beaten and fled to the ground by Xu Du.

After the general's rectification, their military discipline has greatly improved. The number of people who died under military law exceeded the number killed by the enemy. Huang Fachu and others were too lazy to capture these people. They just released them after they were caught. It seemed that they were deliberately disgusting. These people not only slowed down the marching speed, but also affected the overall morale and consumed a lot of supplies. For Wang Lin, they should all be dismissed and let go! !

"General, please forgive me for being blunt. If you want to rely on these people to defeat the Chen people, it would be better for you to find a way to swim across the river and attack Jiankang."

Liu Taozi just looked at those people and said softly: "Their progress is quite obvious. They used to run away when they saw the Chen people and their military discipline was lax. Now they can abide by military law. Moreover, they will not run away easily when facing the Chen people."

"All they lack now is one victory, just one win."

"Just once."

Wang Lin frowned, "Huang Fachi, Xu Du and others are extremely cautious and don't give us any chances. How is the general going to win this time?"

"Then naturally a bait is needed."

Liu Taozi narrowed her eyes, "Yoke Formation, Long Snake Formation."

"A dog can become a wolf, just once."

Wang Lin stood aside, deep in thought.

At the Chen army camp, forty miles away from Liu Taozi, Huang Fachi was holding a pen and drawing on the map hanging in front of him.

Huang Fachi had become much thinner, with bloodshot eyes. He looked at the map with a chuckle, a look of distress, and a shake of his head.

Liu Taozi is indeed a tough opponent.

He took great pains to force Liu Taozi to this point.

But the situation here was not as good as Wang Lin expected. The situation faced by Huang Fate was equally grim.

He had no cavalry, and his scouts were always intercepted and killed by the enemy. He was always one step slower than Liu Taozi in obtaining information, and in many cases he could only rely on prediction.

The three armies were separated from each other and the communication links were extremely poor.

When the army goes out to fight, the most important thing is to transmit information, especially when acting separately. But now Huang Fachi felt like he was blindfolded and his ears blocked while fighting Liu Taozi.

Liu Taozi, this bastard, actually used his own mandrill camp to intercept and kill his own scouts.

Huang Fatichen stared at the map in front of him, thinking hard.

Chunyu Liang had already crossed the river. He secretly landed on the east side and was moving towards Liu Taozi, preparing to launch a three-pronged attack with Huang Fachi and Xu Du to completely keep Liu Taozi in the south.

But according to Huang Fachi's current thinking, this is difficult. Communication between each other is too difficult. The three people have no previous contact and no tacit understanding. If they are attacked from three sides, it will be easy to end up being sent down one by one if they are not careful.

Xu Du was very opposed to Chunyu Liang's plan. He felt that they should not engage in a head-on battle with Liu Taozi, so he just kept dragging the battle until the other side withdrew its troops.

However, the amount of food consumed every day by the more than 100,000 troops stationed at the front line is incalculable.

The State of Chen could not afford such a huge consumption for too long.

Huang Fachi took over the important task of leading the troops from Wu Mingche. He was required to make judgments on all these matters, which made him even more conflicted.

Just as Huang Fachi was lost in thought, a man pushed open the door curtain and walked in quickly.

The person who came was the military advisor and general Pei Ji.

He rushed into the tent quickly, panting and looking excited.

"Something big has happened!!"

"Something big happened in Hebei!"

Huang Fatic shuddered and looked at him hurriedly. Pei Ji took out a letter from his arms and handed it to him.

"This was sent by the Zhou people. It is said that Duan Shao is going to join forces with the Zhou people and lead people to leave Jinyang and go to Heluo Xingtai!"

Huang Fate was confused, "Duan Shao teamed up with the Zhou people?"

He took the letter, read it for a few seconds, and then shook his head. "This is probably the Zhou people bragging. Duan Shao would never join forces with the Zhou people."

"The Zhou people wanted to form an alliance with us and pledged their allegiance to us. It is impossible for them to deceive us on such a matter."

"Perhaps he wants us to stop the attack. The Zhou people should not trust him so easily."

Huang Fate handed the letter to the other party and did not believe it.

Pei Ji said, "What if it is true? Dugu Yongye still has soldiers who can fight. And if Duan Shao wants to leave, he will definitely lead the elite troops. If they can go east along the river, won't they be able to attack Liu Taozi from all sides?"

"By then, Liu Taozi will have nowhere to escape and will be surrounded and killed by us sooner or later!"

Pei Ji also looked at the map in front of Huang Fachi. He walked forward and pointed at several important locations.

"If the Zhou people join forces with them, it will be a three-way encirclement and suppression, and Liu Taozi will definitely be defeated!!"

"We just need to attack."

Pei Ji began to think of this wonderful strategy.

Huang Fachu stood aside expressionlessly, looking at the excited Pei Ji. He suddenly asked, "Did His Majesty urge you?"

Pei Ji's face froze, he pondered for a moment, and said slowly: "There is no other way."

"When we set out to fight, we said we would capture Lianghuai and end the war within four months."

"Winter is approaching, but the war is nowhere in sight. Do you know how much we are spending every day?"

"Even if Your Majesty supports us, can you still create food out of thin air?"

"Emperor Wen has now lost all his accumulation over the years. If we continue to delay, when winter comes, I don't know if the soldiers can adapt. Will the government have to take out winter supplies? Anyway, we must not survive the winter. Even if the soldiers can, the treasury can't."

"General Huang, we have to find a way to kill Liu Taozi!! We have to complete our strategy!!"

Pei Ji became more and more excited as he spoke.

His appointment was more like a military supervisor than a military advisor who gave advice. Just like Yuwen Yong liked to send deputy generals, he was also there to keep an eye on the generals on behalf of the emperor.

However, he also took on the important task of communicating with the emperor.

For many things, the emperor was not in a position to ask Huang Fachi directly, and was unwilling to ask him for help, so the pressure was passed on to Pei Ji.

Pei Ji was in a dilemma. When he saw the letter from the Zhou people, he almost lost his composure.

Looking at Pei Ji's expression, Huang Fatic didn't want to say anything more. He looked at the map in front of him again.

The people of Zhou still couldn't believe it.

He agreed to form an alliance with the Zhou people, but what he hoped was that the Zhou people would send troops to distract the enemy for him, not that he wanted to fight together with the Zhou people and believe the intelligence they provided.

Even if Pei Ji said something fancy, Huang Fachi would not be shaken.

However, as Pei Ji said, he had to complete the strategy as soon as possible and couldn't waste time like this any longer.

At this moment, Huang Fachi had also made up his mind.

"it is good."

"During these days, I never confronted Liu Taozi head-on. I just forced him to retreat."

"I will defeat him, and then the army can withdraw gradually, leaving only a few people to defend."

Pei Ji was stunned, and then hurriedly said: "General Huang, don't be impatient. I was just anxious just now. You can't rashly send troops because of what I said."

Huang Fachu didn't know whether Pei Ji was really worried about losing the battle or about taking responsibility. However, he didn't care about that. He just said calmly, "The situation is getting more complicated. At least before the Zhou people intervene, occupy Lianghuai. You should be ready now."

"only!!"

Huang Fachi knocked heavily on the Shiliang City where Liu Taozi was, with a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

"Someone is coming!"

"Order the army to reorganize and march out tonight!!"

"only!!"

The temporary camp suddenly became lively. Huang Fachi had a strong control over his own army, so after Wu Mingche's defeat, his soldiers were still able to maintain their morale. The advancement in recent days had made them burst out with courage again, and they were no longer so afraid of Liu Taozi.

The knights were the first to go out, to contact Xu Du and Chunyu Liang, and to prepare to start the encirclement and suppression of Liu Taozi's army together.

Their sudden increase in the frequency of scouts also made Liu Taozi's troops aware of the enemy's desire to attack.

Needless to say, Xu Du was the first to cooperate with Huang Fachi, followed closely by Chunyu Liang, and Chunyu Liang also appeared at this moment. He was indeed to the east of Liu Taozi, occupying many coastal cities, waiting for an opportunity. His army quickly landed by water and issued manifestos along the way calling on officials from all places to join in the crusade against Liu Taozi.

The three armies attacked from three sides, and their marching speeds were different.

The people under Liu Taozi had different opinions. Some thought they should hold on, some thought they should attack, and some decided to retreat.

Liu Taozi herself did not hesitate at all.

After almost detecting the enemy's troop movements, he chose to send troops at the same time. He summoned the troops stationed in several cities and attacked in the direction of Huang Fachi without hesitation.

This looks like walking straight into the enemy's pocket, leaving no way out.

Although the generals under his command had their own ideas, they dared not disobey Liu Taozi's decision.

The mighty army marched towards Huang Fachu's army.

The distance between the two sides was constantly shortening. Huang Fatic's scouts encountered several attacks, and he could even hear the sound of scouts fighting with enemy cavalry.

At this moment, Huang Fachi had more than 30,000 soldiers under his command, while Liu Taozi had more than 20,000 miscellaneous soldiers in addition to the Mandrill Camp.

The apparent numerical difference between the two sides is not that big, the only difference is in combat effectiveness.

The two sides formally met on the Jingzhou Plain.

With flags fluttering and drums beating, both sides arranged their formations, ready for a life-and-death battle.

(End of this chapter)