Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 297: Not enough success, more than enough failure
According to Li Qiong's plan, the troops were divided into two groups.

One of the routes was heading towards Jiujiang Prefecture in southern Jiangxi, blocking Prince Li Ben of Han from retreating to provide support.

Meanwhile, another army marched from Tieshan and headed straight for Huangshi Prefecture.

The two armies finally joined forces, trapping Li Ben, the Prince of Han, at Huangshi and annihilating him in one fell swoop.

It's clear that Li Qiong put a lot of thought into this plan.

The entire meeting room suddenly fell silent.

Regardless of which army it is, they all have to endure tremendous pressure.

The army of 200,000 under the command of Li Ben, the King of Han, is not to be trifled with.

not to mention,
After Li Ben, the Prince of Han, seized Wuchang Prefecture, Huangshi Prefecture became his base of operations.

To attack Huangshi Prefecture, they would inevitably have to fight a fierce battle with the army of Prince Li Ben of Han.

this moment,
If anyone speaks up, Li Qiong might directly appoint them as generals, ordering them to lead troops in a direct confrontation with Li Ben.

To be honest, no one in the Daqian army has the courage to confront the Han King's army head-on.

After Li Qiong saw that the surroundings had quieted down, she turned her gaze to Chen Jie.

In fact, the main force behind this plan was Ximentang.

If Chen Jie does not agree to this battle plan, then Li Qiong will have no choice but to give up.

Chen Jie naturally understood Li Qiong's thoughts, and he had no other opinions on this battle plan.

but,

Simon never needs anyone to plan for him.

After a moment of silence, Chen Jie stood up, pointed to the battle map, and said calmly:

"This battle plan is good, but the main direction of attack must be adjusted."

Upon hearing this, Li Qiong nodded and said, "Your Excellency, I would like to hear the details."

Chen Jie pointed to the map and said:

"If we split our forces into two groups and attack Huangshi Prefecture, Prince Li Ben of Han will definitely retreat and come to its rescue."

"Huangshi Prefecture is Li Ben's stronghold. The supplies he plundered, as well as the logistics supply lines for the garrison, are all located in Huangshi Prefecture."

"But according to intelligence, there is an even more important place, which is the lifeline of Prince Li Ben of Han."

"This place is Xianning! As long as we attack Xianning, we will definitely be able to tie down the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han, so that they will not dare to retreat to Huangshi Prefecture."

"My opinion is to divide the troops into three groups. Your previous battle plan remains unchanged. Then, divide the troops to attack Xianning Prefecture."

"Once we take Xianning Prefecture, we can tie down the main force of the Prince of Han, and then take Huangshi Prefecture. With the three armies surrounding him, we will surely be able to completely defeat the army of Prince Li Ben of Han!"

The three armies formed an encirclement!

Xianning Prefecture!
This is a strategically vital location that military strategists must contend for.

After listening, Li Qiong lowered her head and fell silent.

In fact, according to his plan, the purpose of attacking Huangshi Prefecture was merely to launch a feint attack.

All it takes is a large-scale attack to force Li Ben, the King of Han, to withdraw his army from the direction of Jinling.

In his opinion, with his current force of 100,000, it was almost impossible to defeat Prince Li Ben of Han.

The best course of action now is to employ delaying tactics.

Only when Hong Yanchuan and Tang Youwang's armies arrive and encircle the enemy will there be a chance to annihilate Prince Li Ben of Han.

but,

According to Chen Jie's plan, he had no intention of delaying.

He marched straight to Xianning Prefecture, forcing Prince Li Ben of Han to retreat.

Once the two armies clash head-on, a full-scale war will break out.

This plan was extremely risky for the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty.

of course,

If we can hold off the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han in Xianning Prefecture, then we can take Huangshi Prefecture.

After the three armies surrounded him, they trapped Prince Li Ben of Han within the encirclement.

In this way, there is a good chance that Han King Li Ben will be annihilated in one fell swoop before Hong Yanchuan and Tang Youwang arrive.

Not only will they be able to capture Wuchang Prefecture, but they will also be able to recover all of Han King Li Ben's territories in one fell swoop.

but,

This plan is extremely risky.

If the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han is not held back in Xianning Prefecture, the consequences will be unimaginable.

The 200,000 elite troops of Prince Li Ben of Han will advance unimpeded and may very well annihilate the 100,000-strong army under Li Qiong in one fell swoop.

Therefore,
The most crucial part of Chen Jie's plan was deciding who would attack Xianning Prefecture and tie down the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han.

Then,

Chen Jie continued:

"The mission to attack Xianning Prefecture will be carried out by Ximen Tang!"

Since Ximentang is going to fight, he will naturally choose the toughest opponent.

Chen Jie knew very well that in order to successfully quell the rebellion, he had to take down the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han.

otherwise,

A prolonged and protracted battle is of no benefit to Ximentang.

He doesn't have much time to waste on suppressing rebellions.

Although he only brought 10,000 elite troops this time, their combat strength was beyond doubt.

They could easily crush even the Kwantung Army and the Western Allied Forces. As long as there was enough artillery, it would not be too difficult for them to fight against the 200,000-strong army of Prince Li Ben of Han.

Moreover, this was also a time to flex Ximentang's muscles to the other rebel forces of the Daqian Dynasty.

He wanted to tell all the rebels that continuing to raise the flag of rebellion would lead to certain death.

in addition,

He also wanted to establish an image of 'invincibility' in the hearts of all the people.

Xianning Prefecture has a very important strategic location.

If Ximentang can occupy this place, they can use it as a stronghold.

Then,

It will be much easier for Ximentang to take over the Hanzhong region in the future.

Xianning Prefecture will become the largest transit point for Ximentang in the Hanzhong area.

After listening to Chen Jie's plan, Li Qiong nodded slightly.

If Ximentang can hold off the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han in Xianning Prefecture, he might be able to defeat Prince Li Ben's army ahead of schedule and win a great victory.

but,

With 10,000 troops, Ximen Tang wanted to hold back 200,000 troops of Prince Li Ben of Han.

hiss--!
Thinking of this, Li Qiong couldn't help but take a deep breath.

He looked up at Chen Jie and said:
"Alright, let's follow the Governor's plan. Ximen Tang will attack Xianning Prefecture to hold back the main force of the Prince of Han!"

Next,
He turned his gaze to the generals beside him and said in a deep voice:
"Since Ximen Tang is attacking Xianning Prefecture, which of the generals will lead the army to attack Huangshi Prefecture?"

"If we can capture Huangshi Prefecture, I will report to the Ministry of War of the Imperial Court and award him the greatest credit!"

Guo Feng, a general under Li Qiong, suddenly stood up and said:

"Reporting to the General, this humble general is willing to request permission to lead troops into battle and attack Huangshi Prefecture."

A smile appeared on Li Qiong's face, and she nodded:
"Very good! General Guo is indeed a fierce general of our Great Qian Dynasty. You shall lead the first army to attack Huangshi Prefecture."

Another general present, unable to contain himself any longer, stood up and said:
"General, though I am not talented, I am willing to request permission to lead troops to the upper reaches of Jiujiang Prefecture to intercept Prince Li Ben of Han's divided forces, encircle and surround Huangshi Prefecture." Li Qiong nodded after hearing this.

Next,
He ordered three armies to launch separate attacks.

but,

He still felt that Chen Jie's 15,000 troops were too few.

Therefore,
He dispatched two more commanders, each leading 5,000 men, to assist Ximentang in attacking Xianning Prefecture.

These two commanders were Lin Rui and Meng Ying, both fierce generals under Li Qiong.

Li Qiong knew that his two subordinates were both unruly and rebellious.

To put them under strict control, Li Qiong directly transferred the two of them to Chen Jie's jurisdiction.

During this special period, if either of them dares to disobey orders...

Then,

Chen Jie will be able to carry out the 'immediate execution'!
In this way, even if the two commanders were unruly, they would not dare to be perfunctory.

Then,

Li Qiong then sent messengers to inform Tang Youwang and Hong Yanchuan, instructing them to contain the forces of Prince Ning, Li Mu.

Regardless of the final outcome, it is essential to contain the forces of Prince Ning, Li Mu.

otherwise,

If Prince Ning, Li Mu, were to launch an attack from Xiangyang and march straight into the rear, the entire plan would crumble without a fight.

In order to unify the fighting force, Li Qiong revealed the Ministry of War documents and issued strict orders to all his generals.

Anyone who deserts in the face of battle or disobeys orders will be beheaded and their head displayed to the public.

of course,

If we win this battle, the reward will be substantial.

With so many supplies sent by the Ministry of Revenue, we have enough for later resupply and don't need to worry about running out of food during the war.

With everything prepared, the troop deployment plan was finally launched.

After the meeting ended, Chen Jie didn't say much.

He returned to the Simon Hall's camp and began preparing for the upcoming battle.

Meng Ying and Lin Rui each led 5,000 men to cooperate with Ximen Tang's operation.

Six o'clock the next morning.

Li Qiong personally saw off the various groups of people in the square of Ezhou Prefecture.

Half an hour later, after all three groups of people had left Ezhou City.

call--!
Li Qiong couldn't help but take a deep breath, her heart filled with anticipation.

The real challenge lies in Xianning City!
Xi Mentang's army of 10,000, even including the supply troops, only amounted to 15,000, plus Meng Ying and Lin Rui's 10,000.

That is,

It would be far too difficult for 25,000 men to stand against the 200,000-strong army of Li Ben, the Prince of Han!
but,

The plan has been implemented, and all three armies have set off.

All Li Qiong can do now is wait for the final result.

-

After Chen Jie led the Ximen Hall's men away from Ezhou City.

The army marched towards Xianning Prefecture.

In less than an hour, the gap between the two armies widened rapidly.

It was not yet May in the Gregorian calendar; it was springtime.

Walking on the street gives you a cool feeling.

but,

Ximentang adopted a forced march.

After walking for less than an hour, the soldiers under Meng Ying and Lin Rui's command were soon exhausted and out of breath.

The soldiers' qualities were on full display at this moment.

Some soldiers took off their armor and hung it on their muskets.

Some people were even shirtless and had taken off their shoes.

This forced march is exhausting!
The soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty had not undergone intensive training; how could they withstand it?
And the team's formation quickly fell into disarray.

Those who moved quickly always trailed behind the elite of Ximentang.

Those who walked slowly simply strolled along, stretching their formation longer and longer.

The entire Daqian army's formation became chaotic.

Some of the Daqian soldiers even muttered to themselves, "Why are they running so fast?"
Several officers, seeing that the soldiers were exhausted, went to Meng Ying and Lin Rui and asked if they could take a rest.

They had been marching for over an hour, and if they continued like this, the troops would be exhausted before they even reached Xianning Prefecture.

Commanders Meng Ying and Lin Rui were so angry that they almost drew their swords and beheaded several adjutant generals.

"You son of a bitch, when there's something to gain, you run faster than anything else, and you never complain about being tired!"

"They're going to fight now, and they've only just left Ezhou, and they're already complaining about being tired!"

"You are the elite troops of the Great Qian Dynasty. We are going to war, not to play!"

"If anything goes wrong, I'll chop off your heads!"

"Open your eyes and look at the Ximentang army. They march much faster than you, and their formation has never been broken."

Do you know how heavy those backpacks on their backs are?

"Let me tell you, their backpacks weigh fifty pounds each, you bunch of useless trash!"

The two commanders were indeed furious.

Regardless of their combat capabilities, their current marching speed alone shows that the two armies are not even in the same league.

in fact,

Chen Jie had no intention of bringing the 10,000 troops of the Daqian army with him.

These pampered and spoiled soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty lacked training and had virtually no combat capability.

If we're talking about internal power struggles, they might be quite good at it.

but,

If they don't hold us back once we're on the battlefield, we should be thankful.

As soon as the cannon fire starts, they'll probably be so scared their legs will go weak and they'll run away faster than anyone else.

This scene has occurred many times on various battlefields of the Great Qian Dynasty.

When the Japanese occupied Weihai, Shandong, Qi Zhentang's 150,000-strong army was bombarded by the Japanese artillery and fled in disarray, collapsing without a fight.

These old thugs bully unarmed civilians and are quite formidable in combat.

but,

Facing the formidable Kwantung Army, or the army under the command of Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

Judging from the state of these Daqian troops at this moment, it is already remarkable that they have not defected.

Incompetent bungler!

This refers to the armies of the Great Qian Dynasty.

In the eyes of the Kwantung Army, they were nothing but trash soldiers who could be easily defeated.

Ximentang is currently on a forced march to attack Xianning Prefecture, and bringing along 10,000 troops from the Great Qian Dynasty is indeed a burden.

(End of this chapter)