Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 315 Avoid the Sharp Edge! Let the Japanese Send In First
Upon hearing the question from Prince Li Ben of Han, Sun Zhong dared not conceal anything.

He reported the details in detail:

"Your Majesty, the fighting strength of Ximentang is completely different from that of the Daqian army."

"Their artillery is very light, can be carried by a single soldier, and has excellent mobility."

"Moreover, they carried a great many artillery pieces, and we encountered their bombing at the Tongshankou Fortress."

"Immediately afterwards, when we reached Ganhe Nanchuan Lake, we were once again subjected to their fierce shelling."

"Their artillery has a longer range and more powerful shells than that of the Japanese!"

"Furthermore, they have a large number of heavy machine guns and ample ammunition, making it impossible for our heavily armored warhorses to charge and break through their defenses!"

for the rest of the time,

Sun Zhong reported in detail to Prince Li Ben of Han on the battles at Tongshankou Fortress and Ganhe Nanchuan Lake.

Artillery, assault rifles, heavy machine guns, grenades—!
Sun Zhong would explain each powerful weapon in detail.

A dozen minutes later, he sighed and said:
"Based on the situation at the time, we did not know exactly how many enemy troops there were."

"As for the commander of Ximen Hall, is it Chen Jie, the governor of Shandong? I don't know, I didn't see him at all."

“When we were at Ganhe Nanchuan Lake, it was nighttime, and they attacked us at night.”

When Ximentang captured Xianning City, he had only 15,000 men, 5,000 of whom were supply troops.

When he set off from Qingzhou, Shandong, he did not make a big fuss, but concealed his whereabouts.

Therefore,
Even though the Black Dragon Society's intelligence agents discovered that Chen Jie would lead troops to Hanzhong to quell the rebellion.

However, they were not sure.

After surviving an assassination attempt in Songjiang Prefecture, Chen Jie kept his whereabouts very secret.

No one could accurately know his whereabouts.

Not to mention that Li Ben, the Prince of Han, had no idea of ​​Chen Jie's whereabouts.

Even the Black Dragon Society was unable to locate Chen Jie's exact position.

the reason is simple,
Inside Xianning Prefecture, Chen Jie consistently declared to the outside world that he was in seclusion practicing martial arts.

He himself secretly made a move, marching with the army towards the Tongshankou Fortress, even pursuing Sun Zhong's rebel army all the way.

Although Sun Zhong's army was completely crushed, he had never even seen Chen Jie.

After listening to Sun Zhong's story, everyone fell silent.

Li Ben, the Prince of Han, was well-versed in military strategy from a young age, and over the years, he led his army in numerous battles against the surrounding vassal kings.

Therefore,
He has a wealth of combat experience.

Although after listening to Sun Zhong's words, I found some parts unbelievable.

but,

He knew Sun Zhong very well and knew that what the other party said was true.

However, Ximentang's cannons were very lightweight and could be carried by a single soldier, which Li Ben found incredible.

Are the cannons of Ximentang really that terrifying?
Sun Zhong's elite troops were equipped with Japanese field artillery and possessed strong combat capabilities.

Li Ben knew very well that Sun Zhong's 80,000-strong army could not possibly have been defeated by the enemy without a reason.

Moreover, Sun Zhong dared to carry thorns on his back to plead guilty and request that he be granted death.

This means that Sun Zhong was absolutely not lying about his tactical arrangements and his deployment of troops to Xianning Prefecture.

all of these,
There appeared to be no command errors.

Given the situation at the time, Zhang Datong of Xianning Prefecture was defeated, and Sun Zhong's desire to retake Xianning was strategically sound.

Under normal circumstances,
With Sun Zhong's troops, even if he encountered Li Qiong's 100,000 troops, he would definitely not lose to them.

Could it be that the cannons of Ximentang were really so powerful, far surpassing the field artillery of the East?
What kind of person was Chen Jie, the Governor-General of Shandong?

This young man rose to prominence in less than half a year, becoming a regional governor and building the most powerful army in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Six months ago, I had never heard of this kid before.

He was only twenty-three years old, so young, yet he became the Governor-General of Shandong.

call--!
Prince Li Ben of Han took a deep breath and remained silent for a moment.

He looked up and around, then asked in a deep voice:

"It seems we know too little about this Governor-General of Shandong!"

"We always thought that Hanzhong and Shandong were far apart, and that they would not interfere with each other, so there was no possibility of them clashing."

"However, I never expected that Ximen Tang would actually assist the Daqian army!"

"From now on, we will be irreconcilable enemies with Simon!"

Everyone around remained silent upon hearing this.

Like Li Ben, the Prince of Han, no one had paid attention to Ximentang before this.

Who would have thought that Ximen Tang would send troops from Shandong to directly attack the army under the command of Li Ben, the Prince of Han?

Although the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty called them rebels.

but,

In the mind of Li Ben, the Prince of Han, he did not consider himself a rebel.

He also has the surname Li, and is a descendant of the Li family!
That is,

He was also qualified to become the emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The atmosphere in the entire hall became heavy.

The Japanese man, Hoshino Kozo, said unhurriedly, "Your Highness, I have some knowledge of Chen Jie, the Governor-General of Shandong."

Prince Li Ben of Han nodded, took a deep breath, and said:
"Lord Hoshino Kozo, just who is this person?"

In terms of intelligence, the intelligence organization under Prince Li Ben of Han was indeed far inferior to the Black Dragon Society of the East.

Hoshino Kozo came to Hanzhong with the intention of dealing with Chen Jie.

Therefore,
He naturally knew more about Chen Jie's situation than anyone else present.

The Black Dragon Society has infiltrated Beijing, Tianjin, southern Jiangsu, Songjiang Prefecture, and even Shandong Province. Hoshino Kozo's intelligence sources are extremely extensive.

Although the Ximen Hall's undercover agents spread a lot of false information about Chen Jie, interfering with the outside investigation.

However, the Black Dragon Society has suffered heavy losses at Chen Jie's hands several times.

Kozo Hoshino came to Hanzhong this time with two plans in mind.

One of the plans was for the Kwantung Army to seize the opportunity and deliver a heavy blow to Ximen Tang, killing Chen Jie on the battlefield.

Another contingency plan was to arrange for the Black Dragon Society's elite ninja unit to assassinate Chen Jie once again.

To know,
The Black Dragon Society arranged for two top-tier ninja masters, Kirigakure Jubei and Sarutobi Sasaki, to come to Hanzhong to participate in this operation.

Upon hearing the question from Prince Li Ben of Han, Hoshino Kozo replied in a deep voice:

"A few months ago, this person suddenly appeared in the capital, saying that he had returned from studying in the West."

"His rise to prominence was astonishing. Not only did his martial arts skills improve very quickly, but he also founded the Ximen Hall."

"At the 'Hero's Arena' on West Gate Street in the capital, he, at the beginner level of the Meridian Cleansing Realm, killed the two leaders of the Axe Gang, both at the Iron Bone Dark Force Realm."

"Next, he was stationed at the Dagu Fortress in Tianjin and defeated the Western Hunt Allied Forces, thus gaining the favor of Emperor Li Zheng of the Great Qian Dynasty."

"In order to win him over, Emperor Li Zheng betrothed Princess Lingyue to him, appointed him as the Governor-General of Shandong, and also appointed him as the Grand Commander of the Great Qian Righteous Army, in charge of all Jianghu forces in the Great Qian."

"Since Simon Tang took up his post in Shandong, his development has been rapid. He not only defeated the Waldersee coalition, but also captured the First Fleet of the Western Ocean."

"Some time ago, Ximen Tang fought against our Kwantung Army in Songjiang Prefecture. Unfortunately, the Sakata Army was completely defeated!"

"—"

Upon hearing this, Li Ben, the Prince of Han, frowned.

"This kid is not to be underestimated for building such a powerful army in such a short time!"

Although Prince Li Ben of Han and the rebel generals around him never fought against the Western Allied Forces or the Kwantung Army.

but,

He knew the fighting strength of the Kwantung Army.

Based solely on the weapons in the hands of the Kwantung Army, Prince Han, Li Ben, was very clear that if his army were not equipped with Japanese cannons and heavy machine guns...

Then,

If they encounter the Kwantung Army, their own troops will be easily defeated.

but,

Chen Jie's Ximentang was able to withstand the Kwantung Army and the Western Allied Army, and defeated them soundly.

Therefore, Li Ben suddenly felt a sense of fear regarding Ximen Tang's fighting strength.

At this moment, Dong Chuan seemed to sense that the atmosphere was not right, and encouraged them:

"So what if Ximen Tang's army is strong?"

"This is Hanzhong, not Shandong. Their supply lines are so far away, do you think we'd be afraid of them?"

"As long as we cut off their supply lines, they are toothless tigers."

"If I'm not mistaken, they've almost run out of shells and bullets in this battle."

"In the coming days, we need to keep a close eye on the supplies being transported from Shandong, lest they intercept them en route."

"Your Majesty, allow me to lead a large army to Tongshan County. I will retake Xianning Prefecture and bring back the head of Chen Jie from Ximen Hall."

Upon hearing this, Li Ben, the Prince of Han, immediately lowered his head and fell silent.

After listening to Hoshino Kozo's words, he regained his composure.

Xianning Prefecture was one of his most important strongholds, so naturally he had to take it back.

If Xianning Prefecture is not recaptured, Ximentang will continue to reinforce his troops from Xianning Prefecture as a base.

Next,
Ximen Tang could then directly seize Wuchang Prefecture, eventually taking over the entire Hanzhong region and even encircling himself.

Deep down, he didn't want to confront Ximentang head-on.

A major battle caused him to lose 100,000 troops.

Ximentang is definitely not an easy force to deal with, regardless of whether Ximentang's artillery is as terrifying as Sun Zhong described.

One thing is certain: the Japanese were very wary of Ximentang.

This Governor-General of Shandong was no ordinary person.

Just as Prince Li Ben of Han was deep in thought, his chief strategist Sima Ming looked up and said:

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, although Xianning Prefecture is very important to us..."

"However, Xianning Prefecture has never been a strategic location fought over by military strategists since ancient times."

"Comparatively speaking, Nanjing was an important city in southern Jiangsu and the hub of the Great Qian Dynasty."

"We should abandon Xianning Prefecture, play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, and not get entangled with Ximen Tang directly."

"First, take Nanjing, and use Wuchang and Nanjing as a base to develop ourselves. When the time is right, we will head north and take the capital!"

"If we can breach the defenses of the capital, the Great Qian Dynasty will surely perish!"

"Chen Jie of Ximen Hall and Li Qiong of the Ministry of War of Daqian are nothing more than fireflies in the face of the general trend of the world, and will not affect the final result."

"—"

Sima Ming truly deserves to be the chief strategist under Li Ben, the King of Han.

In just a few words, the key points were made clear.

Li Ben, the Prince of Han, was a powerful and ruthless figure who raised the banner of rebellion, so he was certainly not a fool.

He quickly understood what Sima Ming meant.

The Ximen Hall is powerful and has too much fighting strength; it is best to avoid their sharp edge.

From Sima Ming's tone, Prince Li Ben of Han naturally understood the meaning he was subtly conveying.

When the Japanese came to Hanzhong, wasn't it to deal with Ximentang?
Let the Japanese send troops first!
Once the Japanese and Saimondo have fought, wouldn't we be able to reap the benefits?

(End of this chapter)