Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 138 The Collapse of the Western Front
The perspective shifts to the west of Da Yao. While Wu Fei was implementing his strategies of "accumulating grain," "using spies extensively," and "protracted warfare" throughout Bo County in October, Zhao Cheng, at the beginning of October, finally turned a bad hand into a winning one by giving it his all.

After Emperor Xu strategically withdrew his troops in September, and after Hao and Yao changed their positions, Zhao Cheng quickly integrated the desolate Xingzhou and Shazhou, and sent a surprise force into Yongzhou to transport grain and supplies to the wealthy households in Xingzhou.

Zhao Cheng didn't provide direct disaster relief. The disaster in Xingzhou was endless; with natural and man-made calamities causing overall food shortages in the prefecture, some people would inevitably starve. The key issue was whether those who survived were his own people!
Whether these survivors and their forces will align themselves with him in the future, paying taxes and contributing troops, is a question Zhao Cheng, as a legitimate military strategist, naturally understands the meaning of "war is a weapon of destruction."

Under Zhao Cheng's integration, those local residents of Xingzhou who were willing to work like slaves to get close to him could survive, but those who didn't pay a guarantee couldn't.

Xuan Chong, a modern man from Bo County, couldn't grasp this point. After confirming that people were starving to death, he made a big fuss and even began to downsize his army, disbanding several thousand men to live in the countryside, eating leeks, digging for rats, ants, and snails to survive, thus reducing the army's consumption of millet.

Zhao Cheng didn't reduce the number of troops at all. By Zhao Cheng's current standards, many people in Xuan Chong's previous life wouldn't have deserved to live in the face of natural disasters.

Good agricultural land is concentrated in alluvial plains, and those who control the means of production are "selectively" spared by military forces during years of famine and war. For the Eastern military group, an obedient and grateful young boy is a more compelling reason to survive than a strong, adult man.

The European selection process during the disaster wasn't based on this; rather, it prioritized those who were "strong and healthy, even more valuable as slaves," choosing them to survive. Would these chosen individuals then align themselves with military groups and, through loyalty, climb the ranks into the ruling class? The European military groups were highly monopolistic and rigid, not allowing just anyone to easily join them.

In Europe, the weak, apart from their physical strength, have no way to increase their chances of being selected through effort.

Therefore, in Xuan Chong's previous life, when he was in the Eastern world, he habitually used the Eastern way of thinking. It was simply throwing a veiled glance at the blind.

…Xuan Chong had already deliberately "returned to the past," but there were still inconsistencies between him and the Xiren world. …

While Zhao Cheng completed resource integration, the chaos among the troops withdrawing from the inner lines remained unabated.

The five armies of Da Yao were plagued by internal conflicts and food shortages. Some of their recruited farmers began to lose control, turning from regular troops into bandits.

Back in Xingzhou, the Yao army, facing food shortages, had already allowed its generals to plunder the surrounding areas, though that could be considered scavenging within enemy territory. Now, however, back in their own land, the destructive power was being unleashed right behind their own rear.

Just as a dog will develop wolf-like habits when it enters the deep mountains, a domestic pig will roam the wild like a wild boar when it goes out into the wild.

The same applies to armies; once they lose their faith and supply chains, they quickly turn into bandits.

By September, the places the emperor had traveled to were littered with corpses and overgrown with weeds, despite having ordered provisions from various prefectures. He had forgotten that these areas had already been requisitioned once; military strategy dictates that "provisions should never be requisitioned a second time."

At this moment, Yao Jun was still docile in his presence, but once out of sight, he plundered wildly. Even this submissiveness before the monarch was unlikely to last long.

After all, since September, some soldiers have become increasingly "unrepentant" in their attempts to suppress their commanders.
The emperor looked at the two grain transport routes on the west and east sides of the map. Now these two key roads were being cut off by roaming bandit troops (peasant uprising army), resulting in insufficient grain and fodder supplies.

These ubiquitous peasant uprisings slowed down the main army even further.
Under the candlelight, the emperor breathed heavily: how could he, the emperor, have fallen into such a predicament during a personal campaign?

Even if he manages to return to the court safely this time, the court officials will use him as a case study to admonish future emperors, requiring them to mediate and refrain from easily launching military campaigns.

The ministers, seemingly advising the emperor to be prudent, were actually attempting to restrain the monarch's power of conquest.
Emperor Xu does not understand where he went wrong in military affairs.

If Wu Fei were by his side, he would definitely provide him with a detailed analysis, outlining several points. Even Wu Fei needs the officer corps to coordinate information. The Emperor, however, is currently "sagaciously enlightened."

If Wu Fei were present and took over the situation from the Emperor of the Garrison, he would do the following: First, plan the nearest attack points, currently those on the sandbar. Offer a hefty reward for a full-scale assault, regardless of the cost, even if it results in mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The goal is simply to wear down the supply lines.

The saying goes that a commander should not be merciful. When Wu Fei was just a battalion commander, he supplied the front line with salted meat, which was snake meat jerky, and sent it to the front, and he also ate it himself.

During this operation on the eastern front, Wu Fei, facing food shortages, also devised a "ruthless plan." This plan involved a large-scale sea voyage into Yan territory to plunder and inflict casualties, thereby reducing his own food consumption and allowing him to sustain the operation.

If Zhao Cheng returns to the north and resumes the Bo County campaign, Wu Fei will surely use this strategy.
If we use chess as an analogy, this means that when you have an advantage, like having an extra rook, you should actively exchange pieces.

If Wu Fei had a loudspeaker that could reach Zhao City, he would shout at him, "Come to xx Street, have a go, you'll be in big trouble."

Zhao Cheng seemed to have seen through Wu Fei's plan. He would not return to Yan before resolving the situation in Shazhou, and Pu E's urging was useless.

This exchange strategy works flawlessly in the current situation of the Emperor's army; it can easily achieve a five-for-one exchange. No matter how skilled Zhao Cheng is at training troops, if too many peasant units are exchanged in a very short time, morale will collapse.

While assessing the western battle situation of Da Yao from hundreds of miles away, Wu Fei was extremely anxious: Now the entire army of the Emperor of Shu is short of supplies, and it is no longer time to think about preserving strength. Survival depends on the next ten days or so. The longer it drags on, the weaker the control the upper echelons have over the lower echelons, and the sooner they turn around, the better.

Counting the grain in the granary, Wu Xiaoque once again emphasized: The first element of war is always to calculate how to make the enemy collapse first.

As for the dire consequences of overspending resources, only the victors have the right to consider them; the defeated, reduced to fish on the chopping block, have no right to worry about them.

However, Emperor Xu did not make this decision, because he already owed many rewards and could not afford to make the generals bleed.
The generals in the army were secretly plotting their "self-preservation" strategy, preparing to become the final winners, seize supplies, and "escort" the emperor's power alone.

The five-zhang-tall strongmen in the Great Yao Army formation no longer stared at the huge Tao Yong soldiers. Instead, they ate wood and then squatted in their tents to sleep and digest the wood chips in their stomachs. Without food, the strongmen could not fight.

…Both sides have given each other plenty of eye-poisoning…

In the main camp, Zhao Cheng studied the map by lamplight. He had already trapped the Emperor of Da Yao in a deadly situation. If he could hold out for less than a month, he would achieve a complete victory.

But at this very moment, his grain supplies in Shazhou also ran out. The reason was that the dragon descendants within his own Hao Kingdom launched an attack on him, not only stopping the supply of grain, but also requisitioning cattle and sheep from the nearby grasslands and diverting them to the east.

With a loud bang, Zhao Cheng slammed the oil lamp down on the table, clearly furious.

It is said that although Zhao Cheng did a better job than Wu Fei in stabilizing the situation in Xingzhou and Yongzhou, he still suffered a morally offensive blow from Wu Fei.

The "Dragon-Slaying Order" has been very effective in Bo County, hasn't it? Wu Xiaoque is starting to expand on it.

In October, after Wu Fei confirmed that Zhao Cheng was not a descendant of the dragon but a native of Dayao, he began to fabricate a story about Zhao Cheng's background after failing to "box" him.

Wu Fei, based on the names and surnames of several prominent military families in northern Da Yao, fabricated seven versions of his origins. —Wu Fei: I don't believe you just appeared out of thin air; surely I guessed at least one version correctly.

These versions of rumors about Zhao Cheng all boil down to the story of how he was kicked out of his home, became self-taught, and now, having a change of heart, feels he should set things right and secretly vows to slay the dragon.

Wu Fei used this tactic frequently in his previous life. Whether it was between countries, in martial arts competitions, or in various forms of white noise and information pollution, it was all part of the struggle. However, in a world governed by etiquette and law, such a blatant lie would inevitably be fabricated by future generations in their historical records. Oh, Wu Xiaoque's future unofficial history is bound to be quite unorthodox.

Without a doubt, the reactions of the Haotian Dragon descendants showed that Wu Fei's "information tactics" had clearly inflicted real damage.

King Hao already had a faction that disliked Pu E, and the dragon descendants also held an additional prejudice against Zhao Cheng, which led to the underhanded tactic of withholding supplies during the great battle.
Changes were also occurring in Zhao Cheng's military camp, and an advisor began to offer advice. "General, you have already acquired two states. The people of these states only respect you, but feel no warmth or affection for the Hao Kingdom. General, you should make plans as soon as possible."

Zhao Cheng stared at the strategist, drew his sword, flicked it, and said: "I swore an oath to be loyal to Hao, to never betray Heaven, to never betray the ruler, to never betray iron. Sir, please don't put me in a difficult position... The monarch is always the primary external factor influencing victory or defeat on the battlefield..."

On October 25, forced by the situation in the rear, Zhao Cheng began to form ranks and launch an offensive against the Da Yao Western Expeditionary Army.

Its 15,000 troops were arrayed on the north side of the Da Yao Western Expeditionary Army, advancing at a pace of 15 li per day. They crashed down on Da Yao's army like a mountain falling on its head.

The Great Yao Western Expeditionary Army was originally divided into five routes, and under the Emperor's balancing act, there had already been many conflicts. Now, it was even less likely that they would cooperate sincerely.

Zhao Cheng had originally been guarding the pass on the west side, but now he suddenly led his troops to the north side to launch an attack. This was a carefully chosen move.

The large army on the north side, commanded by General Hong Rixian, was currently vying for control of a newly arrived shipment of grain rations along the Shahe River.

Hong Rixian wanted to take a detour from the north to overtake Wu Shichang, while Wu Shichang didn't want Hong Rixian to pass him. Their troops then engaged in a race, which led to chaos.

Zhao Cheng seized this opportunity and led his main force from the north, crashing into them like a dump truck.

Since Zhao Cheng had limited strategic time and wanted to defeat the Da Yao Western Route Army in the shortest possible time, he adopted the strategy of "it's better to cut off one finger than to injure all ten."

At 9 a.m., a "crunching" sound of stones rolling and rubbing appeared from the north side of the Da Yao Legion. This sound was like the sound of small sand and gravel sliding away during a landslide, leaving only the sound of large stones colliding.

The panting soldiers looked up and glanced to both sides, only to see what appeared to be someone riding something from the north. They were immediately alarmed and shouted, "Enemy attack!"

Just as the soldiers were hastily forming ranks in groups of several dozen, seeing the approaching figures, the formation of the Yao army's peasant soldiers began to crumble. Some wanted to retreat, for these cavalrymen were no ordinary mounted cavalry. As their figures drew closer, the hands of the Yao soldiers gripping their poles trembled.

In the Haotian army formation, besides the jade lion war beasts that are two meters tall and weigh a hundred stones, there is another type of jade lion, weighing twenty stones and the size of a horse. Haotian's armored warriors can ride on these lions to break through enemy lines as easily as cracking walnuts with a hammer.

The left-wing conscripted peasant soldiers facing this torrent were like sandcastles submerged in the tide. This vividly embodied the phrase "fallen flowers and flowing water."

Even before the stone lion cavalry in the formation arrived, the soldiers dropped their spears and ran for their lives, purely using others as cushions to block the charge. One led ten away, and ten took a hundred with them.

This army originally had personal guards to supervise the battle, but during the past few days of marching, the ranks were completely in disarray. The chaotic ranks stretched too long, and even if Hong Rixian's personal guards wanted to supervise the battle, they would not be able to maintain order in each area.

Hong Rixian's personal guards are all with the commander-in-chief, currently on the other side of the river, confronting allied forces and scrambling for food. They won't be able to return in time to deal with the situation if the main army is attacked from the outskirts.
…The Yao Army was extremely poor in terms of the "human element"…

From a higher vantage point, five such heavy cavalry charges were visible, cleaving Da Yao's northern army into pieces as if chopping ribs. The torrent of iron hooves swept across the land, leaving behind a trail of corpses, their necks torn red and chests stained with blood.

As the attacker, Zhao Cheng was able to pinpoint the dividing point he had created, but the unsuspecting general Da Yao only knew that his army had suddenly fallen into chaos, without knowing the origin of the chaos. Therefore, he could not immediately and accurately dispatch suppression troops.

It is said that Zhao Cheng's troops were also ambushed by Yao's cavalry half a month ago.

At that time, Yao Jun's cavalry also caused "segments" to his peasant troops, but each segment of Hao Jun's troops quickly regrouped according to the baseline.

Minutes later, Yao's cavalry charge found themselves surrounded and cut off. Their formation, shaped like the Chinese character "器" (qì), was disrupted by the attack, with Hao's army forming the four openings of the "器," while Yao's cavalry were trapped within, resembling the character "犬" (quǎn).

The soldiers trained by Zhao Cheng were able to regroup into small units after the first wave of attacks, and messengers could still be sent between each "mouth" formation, so the command chain was still intact.

Now, the Yao army is being counter-charged by the stone lion cavalry, but they cannot do this.

Note: Wu Fei's army is in a similar situation to Zhao Cheng's, although Wu Fei's troops also have a shoulder insignia system.
Wu Fei predicted that in the most extreme case, even if his own small formation was crushed, the high-ranking sergeants could gather the low-ranking soldiers, classify them according to the regulations, and reorganize them.

Furthermore, Wu Fei established a "first-class merit" for this situation. Such outstanding deeds would be awarded a medal, ensuring that anyone within the military system (his successor) would understand the weight of this subject upon seeing the medal.

Returning to the present scene, the Zhao City cavalry's surprise attack on the Yao army has disrupted the Ritian Left Army to a standstill, after which the main force of the Hao army entered the battlefield.

From the chaotic perspective of the Yao army, the northern horizon first revealed rows of Hao army banners, followed by, like the growth of vegetation, layers upon layers of armored soldiers holding spears rising from the horizon. They were pressing forward head-on in a square formation.

In the areas where the Yao army had not yet collapsed, when they were barely able to form a military formation, they prepared to create several strong forks to block the crushing force of the Hao army's magnificent formation.

As a result, two hundred paces away, clusters of gleaming arrows rained down on the formation like raindrops; these were armor-piercing arrows wrapped in silkworm silk and featuring wind-controlling patterns.

This arrow weighs 200 grams, roughly the weight of an apple.

An apple falling from a tree five meters high can hit a person on the head and give them a bump, thus inspiring them. However, if it falls from a height of fifty meters, it can cause a concussion. Similarly, a heavy arrow is launched from a height of fifty meters, and its armor-piercing ability is similar to that of a javelin thrown by a person.

Under the barrage of arrows from Hao Jun, a large number of the remaining elite troops of Yao Jun who had bombarded the day fell in the area where their formations had not yet collapsed.

While the arrow rain suppressed the attack, Hao Jun's Jade Warrior Cavalry also began their charge. These cavalrymen, clad in leather armor, broke through from the previous point of collapse, maneuvering around to the flanks of Da Yao's several stubborn square formations to launch a flanking attack.

Hao Jun's light cavalry followed behind the heavy cavalry, their sabers like barbs, tearing even more flesh and blood from the already lacerated wounds.

The main battle camps within these major flanks, intended to serve as a bulwark, were generally spaced five hundred paces apart. This distance was too great, as it would lead to their fragmentation. Now, with the further expansion of the routed troops, the plan to bring these camps closer together had fallen through.
The routed soldiers were driven away quickly like sheep, while the remaining elite troops remained on a three-mile-wide open space, their skeletons exposed as if corroded by nitric acid.

As these elite soldiers of the bombing expeditionary force fought, they discovered that all the cannon fodder around them had run away.

The Haotian cavalry charged through these battle formations, while the Hongrixian soldiers formed small groups of several dozen men and fired crossbow bolts. However, the small groups were too wide apart to suppress the Haotian cavalry's flanking maneuvers.

The Hao army passed through these small square formations like a gust of wind, seemingly pursuing fleeing soldiers, but the soldiers of Hongrixian did not have an easy time when the large square formation of Hao army infantry pressed forward.

Just as the Yao army was giving their all to face the imposing battle formation, the Hao army cavalry, who had originally moved behind, launched a surprise attack.

As the art of war says, double the force should be used to attack from both the front and the rear.

When Hao's battle formation pressed down on the front of Yao's remaining soldiers, Yao's soldiers could not withstand it and had to retreat in the face of Hao's large square formation, which was several times larger than them.

Hao Jun's light cavalry seized the opportunity and charged towards the flanks and rear flanks of Yao Jun's remaining five hundred or so troops, which were arranged into six small square formations.

This impact was like a hammer hitting flawed tempered glass.
The reserve forces of the bombardment force, the Yao Army battle camp that had previously hoped to be the mainstay and turn the tide, collapsed completely.
Half an hour later, when Hao Jun stormed under the banner, he couldn't find Hong Rixian at all.

The general had already changed into a foot soldier's uniform and fled.

(End of this chapter)