Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 349 The Decisive Battle of Chongyang Prefecture!
Prince Li Ben of Han has always been cautious and prudent.

He heeded the advice of the Japanese man, Kozo Hoshino, and adopted harassment tactics.

but,

He attempted several attacks but found it impossible to break through Xianning Prefecture's defenses.

Simultaneously,

When the torrential rain arrived, the Japanese Black Dragon Society's assassination attempt in Xianning Prefecture failed.

Knowing that the situation was hopeless, King Li Ben of Han did not hesitate and immediately ordered a retreat.

After stationing 200,000 troops in Tongshan County, Prince Li Ben of Han withdrew his defenses.

He did not send any more troops to attack Xianning Prefecture, but instead sent scouts to investigate from more than ten kilometers away to prevent a counterattack by Ximentang's army.

After learning that Prince Li Ben of Han had withdrawn his troops from Xianning Prefecture, Guo Feng, Lin Rui, and Meng Ying's army...

They originally wanted to strike a fatal blow against the rebel army of Prince Li Ben of Han.

This is the best opportunity to gain merit in battle.

but,

They quickly gave up.

Because Li Ben, the King of Han, still had his main force, his combat strength was not significantly reduced.

If they were to pursue, they would be ambushed by Prince Li Ben of Han.

Then
The Daqian army is likely to suffer heavy losses.

In terms of combat strength, Guo Feng had been killed many times and naturally knew that the army under Prince Li Ben of Han was equipped with Japanese weapons and was not to be trifled with.

in addition,

The three men received orders from General Li Qiong of the Ministry of War, instructing them to remain inactive.

but,

Although the rebel army under Prince Li Ben of Han did not continue to attack Xianning Prefecture.

but,

The rebel scouts continued to harass the troops approaching Tongshan County.

The Daqian army and the rebel scouts have fought many times.

Judging from the combat power displayed by both sides, the Daqian army would only have a chance of winning if it had an absolute numerical advantage.

Moreover, the rebel scouts did not linger in battle; they would fight and then run away.

The Daqian army dared not approach the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han, and could only return to the valley where they had been stationed, not daring to send out troops easily.

in addition,

After Li Ben, the Prince of Han, retreated to Tongshan County.

Rumors circulated in surrounding areas that Prince Li Ben of Han planned to abandon Wuchang Prefecture and instead march his army directly down the Yangtze River to seize Nanjing.

It is unclear whether this was Li Ben's true intention or a deliberate fabrication.

After Li Qiong led an army of 50,000 into Xianning Prefecture.

He was immediately relieved to see the artillery regiment of Ximentang and the defensive fortifications surrounding Xianning Prefecture.

The defenses of Xianning Prefecture can be described as impregnable.

With five consecutive lines of defense, it would be extremely difficult for any army to break through Ximentang's defenses.

Therefore, it seems that the defenses of Xianning Prefecture are sufficient to hold out until the arrival of Tang Youwang and Hong Yanchuan's army.

Then,

Li Qiong flattered Chen Jie and admitted her previous mistakes.

have to say,

Li Qiong is a person who can take things in stride and let them go easily.

He didn't feel ashamed to admit his mistakes in front of Chen Jie.

Next,
After discussing the matter, the two concluded that, given the current situation, it was indeed possible that Prince Li Ben of Han would lead his army to attack Jinling.

Once King Li Ben of Han abandons Wuchang.

Then
All the preparations Ximentang made in Xianning Prefecture will be rendered useless.

Therefore, after discussing it, Chen Jie and Li Qiong decided to send troops to attack Tongshan County to test the reaction of Prince Li Ben of Han.

The next few days.

The Daqian army began to divide its forces and launch a full-scale attack on the territory occupied by Prince Li Ben of Han.

To Li Qiong's surprise, the progress was very smooth, with almost no obstacles.

Yunxi City, Huangshi Prefecture, Daye, and Yangxin area were quickly recovered by the Daqian army.

The rebels seemed to be consolidating their forces and did not engage in fierce battles with the large army led by Li Qiong.

in addition,

Xu Xiaodao led the elite special operations regiment in a probing attack on Tongshan County.

The next piece of news surprised Chen Jie and was completely unexpected.

Tongshan County has become a ghost town.

The rebel army of Prince Li Ben, who was originally stationed in Tongshan County, all retreated to Chongyang Prefecture.

Xu Xiaodao led his special operations regiment into Tongshan County and sent a report of victory to Chen Jie.

Next,
Aman's 20,000-strong army arrived in Tongshan County and joined forces with Xu Xiaodao's special operations regiment.

quickly,

Chen Jie's order came, instructing him to lead his troops forward to attack Chongyang Prefecture.

Xu Xiaodao led his special operations regiment out of Tongshan County and began marching towards Chongyang Prefecture.

To his surprise, he did not encounter any resistance from the rebels on the way from Tongshan County to Chongyang Prefecture.

Even the scouts didn't see it.

The elite special forces of Ximentang entered Chongyang Prefecture very smoothly.

Within the territory of Chongyang Prefecture, to the north lies Nanyang Prefecture, and to the east is Tongshan County.

To the southeast are Hanyang, Wuchang Prefecture, and other places.

This is a hub in the Yangtze River basin and a crucial strategic location.

After Xu Xiaodao led his special operations regiment into the territory of Chongyang Prefecture, he did not continue his advance towards Chongyang City.

He stationed his troops in a place called Wangjiang Town, thirty kilometers south of Chongyang Prefecture.

and,

After the troops were stationed there, Xu Xiaodao immediately ordered his special operations regiment to begin digging trenches and building defensive fortifications.

This is a required course for Simon Hall.

At any time, as long as troops are stationed, they must dig defensive fortifications to prevent being attacked by enemy forces.

really,

As soon as Xu Xiaodao settled down, he heard a military report from the scouts at the front.

A large number of rebels were discovered 10 kilometers ahead of Wangjiang Town.

Three separate groups of over 50,000 troops marched towards Wangjiang Town from three directions, seemingly attempting to encircle it.

Xu Xiaodao did not panic after receiving the information.

He remained calm because all of this was within the young master's plan.

From beginning to end, Chen Jie did not believe that Prince Li Ben of Han would abandon Wuchang Prefecture and launch an attack on Nanjing.

Because as long as his base is destroyed.

Even if he conquered Jinling Prefecture, he wouldn't be able to eat it all.

Without Wuchang, the rebel army of Prince Li Ben of Han was like a rootless duckweed. Not to mention stopping Ximentang's attack, they might not even be able to stop the Daqian army.

Therefore,
King Li Ben of Han spread rumors everywhere that he was going to attack Jinling.

This is absolutely false information intended to mislead the Daqian army and Ximentang.

In fact, this was not a tactical arrangement by Li Ben, the Prince of Han, but a scheme by the Japanese Hoshino Kozo.

Because Ximentang's forces were small, if they were to defend the city, it would be very difficult for the 200,000-strong army under Prince Li Ben of Han to gain any advantage with their artillery.

We have to drag them out and fight them!
We need to pull Ximentang out of Xianning Prefecture to catch him off guard.

This was a tactic devised by Hoshino Kozo in assistance to Prince Li Ben of Han.

According to the information gathered by Ximen Tang's "undercover unit," Chen Jie knew that Prince Li Ben of Han was a very calm person who liked to use the tactic of "retreating to advance."

Based on the current situation
Although Li Ben, the Prince of Han, suffered several major losses at the hands of Ximentang.

but,

His main force did not suffer many losses and still possessed strong combat capabilities.

In this attack on Xianning Prefecture, Prince Li Ben of Han merely used the cannon fodder Ninth Army as a test, without inflicting any serious damage.

Given Li Ben's character, the Prince of Han, after suffering a loss once leading an army of 200,000 to attack Xianning Prefecture, would definitely not give up easily.

From the time when Prince Li Ben of Han led his army to retreat and stationed them in Tongshan County, the army then used scouts to constantly harass the Daqian army.

but,

Facing Ximen Tang's army, Prince Li Ben of Han absolutely refused to engage in direct combat, and even his scouts did not make contact with Ximen Tang's army.

The 200,000-strong army retreated directly to Chongyang Prefecture, and their purpose was quite clear.

They wanted to lure Ximentang out of Xianning Prefecture.

in addition,

To confirm whether the message is accurate.

Chen Jie dispatched the reconnaissance company of the special operations regiment to conduct investigations in many towns around Xianning Prefecture.

Finally, he discovered that the rumors circulating that "Li Ben, the Prince of Han, is about to lead his army to attack Jinling" were just hearsay.

Therefore,
These messages are very likely false information deliberately spread by Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

Chen Jie almost instinctively guessed that Prince Li Ben of Han did not want to engage in a decisive battle with Ximentang in Xianyang City, but instead wanted to lure the enemy deep into his territory and launch a major battle in Chongyang Prefecture.

Shift from offense to defense!
but,

Chen Jie had no intention of continuing to waste time with Prince Li Ben of Han in the Hanzhong region.

He doesn't have that much time to waste in Hanzhong.

Therefore, he decided to play along and sent the Ximentang Special Operations Regiment to march towards Chongyang Prefecture.

Furthermore, Xu Xiaodao was ordered to lead his special operations regiment deep into the garrison in Wangjiang Town within Chongyang Prefecture to begin constructing fortifications and digging trenches.

The goal is simple.
The special operations regiment needs to use overwhelming firepower to draw away the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han.

As long as the enemy sends out elite troops to surround the special operations regiment.

Then,

In the following time, Chen Jie could lead his army to swiftly cut off the retreat of the rebel army under Prince Li Ben of Han.

They attacked from both sides, blocking the army of Prince Li Ben of Han in Wangjiang Town and catching him off guard.

of course,

It would be difficult to pull out Li Ben's army, the Prince of Han, by relying solely on Ximentang's 30,000 troops.

Therefore,
Chen Jie ordered Li Qiong to lead the Daqian army and split up with Ximentang to launch an attack on the rebels from the flank.

He did not expect the Daqian army to unleash much combat power.

Instead, they were tasked with blocking the retreat route of Li Ben, the Prince of Han's rebel army, and drawing their attention.

Although the Daqian army was weak in combat, it was numerous. If it occupied an excellent position, it could still exert a strong deterrent force.

but,

The main fighting force in the end was naturally Ximentang.

Only the cannons and advanced weapons of the Ximentang could crush the rebels who possessed Japanese weapons.

Li Qiong was shocked when she learned of Chen Jie's plan.

He felt the plan was too risky.

If the Ximentang Special Forces Regiment is surrounded, engaged in a fierce battle, and ultimately defeated by the rebels...

Not only was morale damaged, but the consequences would be unimaginable if Ximentang's cannons and other weapons were seized by Prince Li Ben of Han.

Especially artillery.

As long as Li Ben, the King of Han, obtains a large number of cannons from Ximentang.

In the time to come, who can stop his 200,000-strong army?

but,

After careful consideration, he felt that although the plan was risky, it had a high probability of success.

Since it was Chen Jie who proposed the battle plan, there was a high probability that it would succeed.

He now has full confidence in the power of Simon's cannons.

As long as Ximentang's army can hold off the main force of Prince Li Ben of Han in Wangjiang Town, they can completely defeat Prince Li Ben's rebel army once Ximentang's main force is surrounded.

in fact,

What Li Qiong didn't know was that Chen Jie's goal was not only to annihilate the rebel army of Prince Li Ben of Han, but also to take over Wuchang Prefecture and establish a base for Ximentang in the Hanzhong region.

Just like when we took over Songjiang Prefecture.

Now that Ximen Tang has come to the Hanzhong region, how could he possibly retreat so easily once he has taken Wuchang Prefecture?
and,

Deep down, Chen Jie did not want to completely eliminate Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

The best course of action would be to severely damage the enemy, defeat the army of Prince Li Ben of Han, and force him to retreat to the Hebei and Henan regions, thus tying down the main force of Hong Yanchuan of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Once the rebellion is completely quelled, how will Ximen Tang reap the benefits?
Li Qiong's agreement to Chen Jie's battle plan was a reluctant move.

As long as Ximen Tang wants to carry out this plan, even without his assistance, Ximen Tang's combat strength is sufficient to complete it alone.

After Chen Jie formulated the battle plan, he immediately mobilized troops, ordering Xu Xiaodao to lead the special operations regiment to Wangjiang Town.

The success or failure of this plan hinges on how long Xu Xiaodao's special operations regiment can hold out against the main force of Han Wang Li Ben.

To ensure absolute safety, the special operations regiment was armed to the teeth.

The special operations regiment, consisting of 3,500 men, had 1,000 mortars prepared.

Simultaneously,

One hundred heavy machine guns were also prepared, and there were enough bullets and shells to fight a major battle.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Chen Jie even ordered Liu Ergou to lead the Special Operations Regiment's First Elite Brigade, ready to provide support at any time.

Aman's 20,000-strong army was located 30 kilometers away from Wangjiang Town.

This time, Xu Xiaodao's special operations team had a very important mission.

We must hold out until Chen Jie arrives with his army, which means we need to hold out for at least four hours.

If any unforeseen circumstances arise, the process could potentially take longer.

therefore,

Chen Jie equipped Xu Xiaodao's special operations regiment with ample firepower.

Furthermore, every elite member of the special operations regiment wore a helmet and a bulletproof vest.

This is a tough battle!

The elite special operations troops are all equipped with replica AK47 assault rifles.

Even if the fortifications are breached, the superior firepower of the assault rifles is enough to stop the rebels' charge.

not to mention,
One hundred Maxim machine guns, provided they have enough ammunition, would be the most solid line of defense on the battlefield.

In addition to firepower, the special operations regiment's snipers were also positioned in key locations in Wangjiang Town.

Such a powerful firepower configuration is sufficient to deal with the siege of the rebel army of Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

The only thing that worried Chen Jie was the Kwantung Army!

After the Kwantung Army infiltrated the Hanzhong area, their movements were extremely secretive, making it difficult to obtain accurate information about them recently.

(End of this chapter)