Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 473 Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?
September, Yongqiu.

As its name suggests, Yongqiu City is situated on a hill, slightly higher than the surrounding plains. A moat was dug outside the city. Through years of construction by the Zhang brothers, Yongqiu City became high and sturdy.

Outside the city, from the moment the Tang army arrived at Yongqiu, they began earthworks, building a long embankment outside the moat.

"Is Zhang Chao willing to surrender?"

Zhang Yu stopped his horse outside the city, looked at Yongqiu City standing in the moat, and asked his attendants.

“Zhang Chao refuses to surrender, which, in my opinion, is because he wants to wait for Yuan Shu’s reinforcements!” Xu Huang said.

Zhang Yu smiled dismissively and said, "Since they won't surrender, then we'll surround them again. Once we defeat Yuan Shu, everyone in Yongqiu will be in danger. Even if Zhang Chao doesn't surrender, the people in the city won't dare not surrender."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu pointed his whip at Yongqiu and said, "Build a long siege, with trenches on the outside and walls on the inside, and leave troops to guard the strategic points so that the enemy cannot leave the city."

"promise!"

A long siege refers to fortifications surrounding a location, including trenches and earthen walls, specifically designed for prolonged sieges and defense. Because Yuan Shu had launched an attack, the Tang army intended to continue the war, thus necessitating the construction of a long siege to prevent Zhang Chao from harassing the Tang army during the standoff.

"Urgent report from Yucheng!"

As Zhang Yu was inspecting the camp, he saw Guo Jia approaching.

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, according to our scouts, Yuan Shu has appointed Zhang Xun as general and is leading 10,000 infantry and cavalry to Fuman, which is less than 50 li from Yu County," Guo Jia said.

Yu County is more than fifty li away from Yongqiu. It is a small town with a radius of several li. In order to block Yuan Shu's army, Zhang Yu stationed his main army in Yu County, while Xu Huang led his troops to Yongqiu.

As for why Zhang Yu stationed his large army in Yu County, it was because of Yu County's geographical location.

The word "Yu" means to raise horses, so Yu City was a horse-raising area during the Spring and Autumn Period. The surrounding terrain was vast, bordered by the Sui River to the north and the Honggou Canal to the south, and was only about fifty li away from both, making it a central location.

By stationing a large army at Yucheng, they can defend against the enemy using the Honggou Canal and can respond to the army in Yongqiu at any time.

Zhang Yu frowned slightly and asked, "Where is Yuan Shu's army?"

"Since we haven't seen Yuan Shu's main army, Zhang Xun must be Yuan Shu's vanguard. He has gone ahead to Fu Man's camp to seize strategic locations!" Guo Jia said.

"What are your thoughts, Fengxiao?" Zhang Yu asked.

Guo Jia pondered for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, Zhang Chao has exhausted all his strength and plans, and his head will soon be tied up. The reason he has not surrendered is because Yuan Shu has come from afar to aid the tyrant. Now that we have stationed our troops in Yu County, and the enemy’s advance is approaching, we should send troops to provoke them, so as to blunt the enemy’s edge and enhance the prestige of our army.”

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said, "Fengxiao's view is the same as mine. Yuan Shu sent his troops to advance lightly, and those who came must be elite troops. If we can defeat them, we can greatly enhance our army's prestige and make the enemy fear us."

"Although all the strong armies in the world are under Your Majesty's command, I have heard that Danyang has a formidable force. Yuan Shu once ordered his generals to recruit soldiers in Danyang, and thus the Danyang elite force was obtained. Zhang Xun is a close advisor to Yuan Shu, and he recruited five thousand able-bodied men from Danyang to fill his ranks. They wore blue turbans on their heads and were also known as the Blue-Headed Army."

Guo Jia advised, "Therefore, if Your Highness wishes to send elite troops to attack them, you must select fierce infantry generals to defend against the Green Head Army."

It has been said before that Yuan Shu lacked a national system mindset, but this does not mean that he was unaware of the importance of military strength. As Guo Jia said, Yuan Shu recruited soldiers in Danyang and selected the strongest soldiers under his command, later appointing his trusted confidants such as Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, and Huang Zhong as commanders.

"Your Majesty, Chu Yuan is willing to lead the army there!"

As soon as Guo Jia finished speaking, Xu Chu cupped his hands and asked to fight.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu patted Xu Chu's arm and laughed, "Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? This is not the time for a major battle, why should Zhongkang lead his elite warriors into battle!"

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Yu said, "Qu Yi has been under my command for a long time. Zhang He and Gao Lan have both employed him and made many contributions. Now we should send Qu Yi as a general to observe his talents and strategies."

Qu Yi needs no introduction. He was willing to risk his life in battle and was entrusted with a major general position by Yuan Shao. He repeatedly defeated Gongsun Zan, which shows that he was an outstanding general.

Zhang Yu's reluctance to use Qu Yi stemmed from his consideration that Qu Yi was arrogant and prone to taking credit for others' achievements, so Zhang Yu intended to keep Qu Yi in check. Now that he had been suppressed for so long, and Zhang He, Gao Lan, and other surrendered generals from Hebei all had important responsibilities, there was no reason to suppress him any longer, otherwise Qu Yi might develop other ideas.

"Order Zhang Liao and Xun You to appoint Ke Bi as the commander-in-chief and Qu Yi as the deputy commander-in-chief, with each of them leading 5,000 troops to attack Chen general Zhang Xun."

"As ordered!"

After arranging the deployment, Zhang Yu looked at Xu Huang and said, "You are in charge of Yongqiu. I will go to Yu County!"

"I, Huang, will certainly go to Yongqiu for Your Majesty!" Xu Huang bowed and said. "Excellent!"

When Zhang Yu went to Yu County, Ke Bi and Qu Yi, who were building fortifications, quickly mobilized their troops to move south after receiving the military order issued by Zhang Yu.

During their journey, Kirby and Qu Yi met to discuss matters.

Kirby said, "Zhang Xun is a general under Yuan Shu, and he has the elite Qingtou troops under his command. If we want to defeat him, we should not engage him in a direct battle, but rather follow the advice of Military Advisor Xun and win through clever tactics."

Qu Yi took the reins and said, "I have a plan now, I wonder if the general would be willing to accept it?"

"Please speak, Mr. Qu!"

"Ke Jun and I grew up on the frontier. In the past, when the Qiang people raided, they knew they were no match for our armored soldiers, so they often feigned defeat and retreated. Now we can use the strategy of feigning defeat. I will lead the infantry and cavalry to provoke them, luring Zhang Xun to pursue us, while Fu Man will be near the canal. General, you can lie in ambush among the reeds. When the pursuers arrive, take advantage of their disorganized formation and launch a cavalry attack. We can defeat them!" Qu Yi said.

Having served in the military for over twenty years, Qu Yi had fought in too many battles, which made him dare not underestimate anyone. He knew that one should not be complacent in war, as there are too many factors that could lead to victory or defeat.

In the Battle of Jieqiao, Gongsun Zan's troops were superior to Yuan Shao's, and his White Horse Cavalry intimidated the northern frontier. However, Gongsun Zan was too arrogant and was misled by Yuan Shao's small force, ultimately suffering a great defeat at the hands of Yuan Shao and losing his hope of unifying Hebei.

Therefore, underestimating the enemy is a major taboo in military strategy.

Of course, Qu Yi knew that as a surrendered general, offering advice would easily arouse suspicion. So he simply put himself in the game, using himself as bait and letting Ke Bi play the role of the ambush.

Seeing that he wouldn't have to take any risks, Kirby readily agreed, saying, "As you suggest."

On September 2nd, Kirby and Qu Yi set up camp on the east bank of the Honggou Canal. On the third day of the following month, the two led their troops across the Honggou Canal and directly attacked Fuman.

Fu Manchen's camp was filled with people, and a rider rushed into the tent to report to Zhang Xun.

"General, the Tang army has crossed the canal and is now heading towards our army!" the scout reported.

Zhang Xun's expression darkened slightly as he said, "The Tang army's arrival today must be an attempt to take advantage of our unstable foothold."

Zu Lang stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “The enemy is advancing with light troops, which shows their contempt for our army. People often say that the Tang army is fierce, but now our troops are advancing under His Majesty’s orders. We should fight them with all our might. I am willing to lead the Danyang army to attack the enemy and let them know the bravery of our Southern army.”

When Yuan Shu recruited soldiers from Danyang, he learned of Zu Lang from Jing County and appointed him as a general. He also gave him a large sum of money to win him over. Zu Lang was grateful and led his troops to visit Jingzhou, where he became Yuan Shu's subordinate.

As a man of great stature from Danyang, Zu Lang was not intimidated by the prestige of the Tang army and volunteered to lead his troops as the vanguard.

"nice!"

Seeing Zu Lang volunteer, Zhang Xun sighed and said, “Our army is under His Majesty’s command and has no intention of retreating. We must defeat the enemy and achieve merit. If we fail, His Majesty will surely punish us. I hope you all will work together.”

"promise!"

Fearing being outnumbered, Zhang Xun led his army to the edge of Chenliu County and stopped, not daring to venture further into Chenliu to avoid engaging the Tang army. However, the Tang army intended to attack while his camp was still unstable, so he had to take action.

If the Tang army came in large numbers, he could lead his troops to retreat. But if the Tang army came lightly and outnumbered him, Zhang Xun would not be able to retreat, for if he did, he would be accused of cowardice.

Therefore, for Zhang Xun, the best outcome at present would be to win this battle, which would not only dampen the morale of the Tang army but also allow him to achieve merit.

At noon, Zhang Xun led 10,000 infantry and cavalry out of the battle, while scouts were sent out to scout the enemy's situation.

As the two armies advanced, Chen's scouts returned wave after wave, and the general reported the news to Zhang Xun.

"General Zu, I will lead the Green Head Army as the vanguard, while you, sir, will lead your elite troops as the vanguard. Whether we can defeat the enemy depends on you!" Zhang Xun instructed.

Zulang, eager to try, asked, "How many enemy troops are there?"

“Our forces number less than ten thousand, while our army outnumbers the enemy!” Zhang Xun said.

Zu Lang, wary, asked, "General, the enemy has come with few soldiers. Could this be a trap?"

Zhang Xun hesitated for a moment, then said, "The enemy has more cavalry. If there is any trickery involved, it must be in the cavalry. Our army should defend first and observe the enemy's intentions."

(End of this chapter)