Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 427 A Last Stand

Before even reaching Woyang, their vanguard was utterly routed, which greatly alarmed Yuan Zhao, the commander of the Wei army and the Prince of Changshan. He no longer dared to rush on his way in an attempt to catch the Liang army off guard.

This battle dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Wei army, so much so that Yuan Zhao's reinforcements failed to reverse the situation on the Woyang battlefield.

Although Liang Jun still held a numerical advantage, the enemy's reinforcements were watching with predatory eyes. Cao Zhongzong sought to avoid mistakes rather than achieve merit, and dared not launch a full-scale attack on the city. Thus, the two sides entered a stalemate.

The two sides remained locked in a stalemate from autumn into winter, and the Liang army's soldiers naturally grew exhausted and their morale gradually declined.

Following Xiao Baoyin's advice, Yuan Zhao built fortifications behind the Liang army, showing a determination to wear them down to the end.

Fearing that their retreat would be blocked and the entire army would be wiped out, many generals suggested withdrawing the troops and returning south.

However, Cao Zhongzong had gone to great lengths to oust Yuan Shu and take the position of commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army, only to return empty-handed, which was truly shameful.

So he summoned his generals and asked them to share their thoughts...

As expected, all the generals expressed their intention to return to Shouyang, but Chen Qingzhi remained silent.

"Ziyun, what do you think?" The old fox looked at Chen Qingzhi.

Chen Qingzhi then stood at the entrance of the main tent, holding the talisman, and said:

"We have been here for half a year since we crossed the Huai River. We have spent countless amounts of food and military supplies, but all the troops have lost their fighting spirit. They want to escape without even fighting the enemy. How can this be considered as making a name for ourselves? They are just gathering together to plunder."

"..." The generals blushed with embarrassment at his words, but since Chen Qingzhi had done them a favor, they could not refute him and could only say awkwardly, "General Chen is right. It's not that we don't want to fight, but we are worried about being attacked from both sides and suffering a crushing defeat."

"Yes, the Wei army is unwilling to fight us to the death. They are just building camps and waiting for us to attack."

“They have already built ten camps. Once they finish the remaining three, they will completely block our way and trap us outside Woyang City.” Wei Fang also said with great concern, “The soldiers are worried that once they are surrounded, they will die once their food supplies run out, which is why they all want to retreat.”

"In the past, Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Chu, destroyed his cauldrons and sank his boats to defeat an army of 800,000 Qin soldiers. Han Xin, with his back to the river, fought a battle to the death, defeating an army several times larger than the Zhao army. Both times, they placed their troops in a do-or-die situation, leaving the soldiers with no way to retreat. Only then did they have the determination to fight for their lives, unleashing unprecedented fighting power, naturally making them invincible!" Chen Qingzhi said resolutely.
"Moreover, the Wei army has set up thirteen camps, which means they will have to divide their forces into thirteen routes. We can concentrate our strength and defeat them one by one. How can we not be victorious?"

Finally, he gave his opinion, word by word.

"Therefore, we should wait until the enemy forces are fully encircled before engaging them in a decisive battle!"

After a pause, Chen Qingzhi coldly surveyed the generals and said, "If anyone insists on withdrawing the troops, I have another secret order! Anyone who disobeys today will be dealt with according to the secret order!"

The scene of Chen Qingzhi chopping off heads was still vivid in their minds, and the generals knew that the staff in his hand was not just for show, and the warnings he gave were not to be taken lightly...

For a moment, none of them dared to speak, and could only look at Cao Zhongzong.

Cao Zhongzong, as if just waking up, slightly opened his eyes and mumbled, "Ziyun truly deserves to be called a famous general of our time. Since you are so confident, how about you command this battle?"

The generals secretly scoffed at his words; the old fox, seeing that his plan was fraught with difficulty, was about to start shifting the blame again.

Chen Qingzhi caught it steadily and said in a deep voice, "Yes, sir."

~~
After taking over command from Cao Zhongzong, Chen Qingzhi ordered that the remaining military rations be distributed to the soldiers in full so that they could eat their fill for a few days and recuperate.

By December, the Wei army had been working tirelessly and had finally completed the construction of all thirteen fortified villages. Only then did Chen Qingzhi assemble his army, telling them that their supplies were almost exhausted, and the enemy had built numerous fortified villages, effectively surrounding them. Escape was impossible. Only by launching a full-scale attack on the enemy's fortified villages could they break the encirclement! Only by seizing the enemy's food could they have something to eat!

The soldiers were stunned, and almost burst into curses. If Chen Qingzhi hadn't had such a good reputation, they might have even fought him on the spot…

But things had come to this point, and tearing Chen Qingzhi apart would be pointless. The soldiers calmed down and realized that their only option was to do as he said, risking their lives to breach the enemy's stronghold and carve out a path to survival…

That night, Chen Qingzhi personally led a large army to launch a surprise attack on the Wei army's camp.

In this battle, every soldier fought like ten men, displaying unparalleled bravery. The Wei army had never seen such ferocious Liang troops before; they charged like tigers descending from the mountain, their eyes bloodshot and roaring, fearless and relentless. Even the presence of fortified camps couldn't stop them; they were simply unstoppable…

After conserving their strength for many days and disregarding their own safety, Liang Jun launched a full-scale attack until dawn, and surprisingly captured four Wei army strongholds.

However, the remaining nine strongholds were still well-armed. The soldiers wanted to call it a day while they were ahead, but Chen Qingzhi laughed and said, "We have worked so hard to finally turn the tide of the battle, how can we let go of the opportunity to win a great victory?"

Chen Qingzhi has already proven his incredible military talent, and since he is so certain, the soldiers naturally choose to believe him.

So Chen Qingzhi selected several hundred men from the surrendered Wei army and had Ren Yuan use the "Forgetful River Reflection" technique on them to instill the idea that Woyang had already fallen.

Then they were released back to the remaining Wei army camps. These men then spread the news in the camps that their camps had been captured the previous night, and that Woyang had also fallen. The Wei army's morale immediately wavered and its fighting spirit collapsed.

The officers vehemently denied it and even executed several of those who spread the rumors.

But the more the rumors were denied, the more the soldiers believed that their superiors were lying to them... Surely the news that four camps had been breached couldn't be false? What happened to the impregnable fortress?

Therefore, those in power will lie to people, and their denials are not credible; it's a perfect closed loop.

Meanwhile, Chen Qingzhi launched another attack, giving the Wei soldiers no chance to verify the situation.

The Wei army came to support Woyang. Once they were convinced that Woyang had surrendered, they would have no fighting spirit left.

Under Liang Jun's fierce offensive, the remaining nine fortresses of the Wei army also collapsed one after another, and the fleeing Wei soldiers directly blocked the roads.

The Liang army pressed their advantage, capturing and killing many along the way. The corpses of the Wei soldiers filled the Wo River, and three days later the river was still red...

In addition, a total of 300,000 shi of military rations were captured from thirteen camps, enough to feed the army until the following spring.

~~
In fact, food supplies in Woyang City had also run out.

They were the ones who were surrounded much earlier...

Xiao Baoyin had hoped to turn the tide with the help of reinforcements, but instead received the devastating news that the entire reinforcement army had been wiped out.

When the news spread, the soldiers and civilians in the city were naturally extremely disappointed.

"Your Highness, let's do something to motivate everyone," the generals suggested. "If things continue like this, Woyang City might fall without a fight."

"Let's surrender," Xiao Baoyin sighed. "If we lose, we have to accept it. We can't stubbornly resist and needlessly sacrifice the lives of the soldiers and civilians in the city."

(End of this chapter)