My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 412 First make yourself invincible, then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable.
Scorching sun.

It is now June 24th.

Yang Zhong led a total of 30,000 infantry and cavalry from Jizhou, crossed the Yellow River at Lu County, and entered the territory of Xiangzhou.

The army's overall marching speed was very slow.

The scorching heat was one factor; both people and horses were suffering under the blazing sun hanging high in the sky, forcing Yang Zhong to slow down.

Another reason is that they are not clear about the current situation in Xiangzhou.

Given the efficiency and speed of information transmission in ancient times, by the time Yang Zhong learned of many things, it was already too late.

Besides.

There is another very important reason.

Grain transport route.

After crossing the Yellow River at Lu County, the army's provisions could only be transported by land, which was extremely costly. There were no rivers available for water transport as they marched westward.

Judging from the map, we need to travel all the way to Yangping County. Using Yangping County as a base, we can use the Baihe River to significantly reduce the cost of transporting grain.

"General, shouldn't we speed up our march?"

Taking advantage of the army's rest period, Quan Jun hurriedly came to Yang Zhong's side.

Yang Zhong glanced at him.

He was quite impressed with Quan Jun, who possessed extraordinary courage and exceptional martial arts skills. In the army, those who were good at fighting were more likely to stand out and excel.

Not to mention that Quan Jun's ancestors were from the Quan family of Tianshui. His elder brother was quite talented and had a good relationship with the Cui family, so he was highly valued by Gao Yu.

Gao Yu had specifically told him to mentor and teach young talents like Quan Jun.

Further expansion of the Fubing (a military unit) requires a large influx of fresh blood to fill officer positions at all levels.

"inappropriate."

Yang Zhong shook his head. "If we rush forward with troops without understanding the situation, we are likely to suffer losses."

Quan Jun, however, had a different opinion: "The general thinks this way, and so does the enemy. They also think that in such hot weather, we will not rush into a march. We do not know the specific situation in Xiangzhou, and we will take the time to investigate and learn about the news from Xiangzhou."

"The enemy will be completely unprepared. If we suddenly lead a large army out to attack, we will surely catch them off guard, achieve a great victory, boost our morale, and enhance the soldiers' fighting spirit!"

Yang Zhong chuckled a few times. "Your thinking is quite like that of a general. In the military academy, you only looked at cases of generals leading troops into battle, right?"

Quan Jun did not deny it, but instead looked at him with admiration. "Everyone says that the general is the reincarnation of the ancient overlord. The general and his Xuanjia Army are famous and powerful. We should learn from the general."

The young people regard Gao Yu as their idol.

I wish I could cosplay Gao Yu in every aspect.

Learn from Gao Yu's leadership by taking the lead and his rapid marches, appearing on the battlefield at unexpected times to disrupt the balance and catch the enemy off guard.

"When you listened to the general's lectures at the military academy, did you ever hear him say that specific problems need to be analyzed specifically? You can't just blindly apply other people's successful experiences; you need to combine them with the actual situation you encounter. Since the Marquis of Huaiyin, how many people have wanted to emulate him and fight with their backs to the river to inspire their soldiers to fight to the death? How many of them have succeeded?"

"The general's tactics are the same."

Quan Jun was still somewhat unconvinced. "Then please tell me, General, what exactly is wrong? Although you didn't explicitly say so, your idea was to send our army to attack Er Zhu Rong's army from both sides."

Yang Zhong explained.

"The general only ordered us to lead our troops out of Jeju Island, without making any other arrangements. As meticulous as the general is, do you think he would make such a mistake in transmitting military orders?"

Quan Jun hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

Gao Yu indeed favored a brute-force, surprise attack style. His distinctive style led many to subconsciously overlook his meticulous planning. Despite the ferocity of his attacks, Gao Yu had always meticulously planned retreat routes in case of unfavorable offensives. His emphasis on retreat routes and supply lines far exceeded anyone's expectations.

There will absolutely not be a situation where an isolated force ventures deep into enemy territory, only to have its supply lines cut off and be surrounded and perish.

"It is clear that the general was previously confronting Hou Yuan's army in Yingzhou and was not aware of the situation in Xiangzhou and other places. The general also needs to find out the situation. If we lead our troops to rush forward at this time, the enemy will have time to turn around and deal with us first."

"The army's route has no rivers along it, making the transport of supplies extremely difficult. What if we are greedy for merit and advance recklessly, resulting in insufficient supplies or our supply lines being cut off by the enemy?"

"Moreover, the general's reputation is too great. The traitor Erzhu Rong has known the general for many years and will surely be prepared for a sudden attack by our troops."

Gao Yu only resorted to surprise attacks before he became 'famous'.

After Gao Yu's name as the Supreme General of the Heavenly Strategy became famous throughout the northern border and even the whole of China, he rarely used such surprise attack tactics.

After all, he became famous because of this method. Any enemy general who knew he was coming would be on guard or even deliberately set a trap.

If you rise by this, you will surely fall by this.

Yang Zhong then stated the most important point.

"Although our army achieved a great victory over Hou Yuan at Yingzhou, who can guarantee victory on the battlefield?"

"War is a matter of vital importance to the state; it is a matter of life and death, a road to survival or ruin. It is imperative to examine it carefully... If the general suffers setbacks at the front, or makes any mistake that results in heavy losses, we should preserve our strength so that we are not defeated and never recover, but still have the ability to rise again!"

Quan Jun found it increasingly reasonable and stood up respectfully to bow, saying, "General, your thinking is profound and your approach is admirable."

A skilled warrior achieves victory without ostentatious feats.

Yang Zhong simply waved his hand and continued, "A general should consider defeat before victory, thus ensuring victory in every battle."

Yang Zhong was exceptionally brave and skilled in martial arts.

However, their style of military campaigns was extremely calm and composed.

The two generals whom Gao Yu left behind at his base in Shandong, Yang Zhong and Yang Kan, were both very steady and reliable.

Even if he leads an army alone, he is unlikely to make any major mistakes.

They are all the kind of cautious people who believe in 'first making themselves invincible, then waiting for the enemy to become vulnerable'.

Gao Yu also deliberately placed radicals like Quan Jun under their command to moderate the situation.

The battlefield situation is constantly changing. Being cautious is not wrong, but many times it also requires the courage to burn one's bridges and go all in. This tests the commander's battlefield intuition and whether he can keenly seize the fleeting opportunity.

After a short rest.

The scouts returned from their exploratory mission.

"Report, General, no enemy troops have been found outside Yangping County."

Yang Zhong nodded.

It seems that Erzhu Rong had no intention of advancing eastward at all; he was single-mindedly focused on heading north to kill Gao Huan.

"Issue my order: the entire army must accelerate its march and proceed to the outskirts of Yangping County!"

Let's calculate the time.

Gao Yu's military orders should be arriving soon.

The safest approach is to wait for Gao Yu's storyline to unfold, and then continuously send out elite scouts to spy out.

(End of this chapter)