Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 227 Zhao Cheng's Flaw
In Xiangzhou, where Donghua County is located, a newly formed army of four thousand men is marching along the main road. Wen Siting, carrying a straw in his mouth, rides his horse and leads his platoon of thirty men, clearing the way.

His troops were not entirely made up of laborers; some were recruited from the local area of ​​Donghua County. They had undergone firearms training a few months earlier and were assigned to the army. The composition of these local youths was similar to that of Wen Siting when he served Xuanchong.

They were all local ruffians who had been arrested by the local security forces in recent years.

For example, the young soldier to the left of Wensi Pavilion is named Zhang Hai; he is tall, with a dark complexion, and honestly explained why he was conscripted into the army.

Zhang Hai: "My family sells pork. In the past, my father could speak up for everyone in the village; we could roam around the village without any problems, and everyone would buy our pork. But my father didn't buy any pork to save money, and as a result, the village reported him."

Zhang Hai still felt lingering fear when he spoke of this: "That village head was something else. He gathered eight men, armed with guns and clubs, and blocked the doorway. He accused me of not doing any work in the village, so I had no choice but to join the army with my brothers."

Wen Siting smiled. The men from the local militia who were making arrests were all migrant workers; of course, they were making arrests in different places. A year ago, he had also led his men to another township to make arrests.

Xuan Chong once said to Wen Siting: "Conscripting men is one of the projects that demonstrates the superior capabilities of our country compared to other countries; we must be precise in our conscription so as not to affect the production of the villages; we must be effective in our conscription so that the conscripted men do not starve to death; we must be conscientious in our conscription so that the conscripted men can be properly educated and put to use."

Zhang Hai wasn't the only one arrested; there was also a man named Guan Shan. This red-faced man was a wandering knight who had fled from the east to Zhendi and had lived peacefully for two years, but he had never been included in the household registration. As a result, when the household registration was checked this year, he tried to escape, but was caught.

Guan Shan: "I dare not resist directly; the General's Mansion has strict laws and regulations."

Wen Siting: "You're smart. If the village head can't control the unruly people with his whistle, then you have to send out troops with knives and guns to search for them. Back then, when you joined the army, you had your backs tattooed. You've chosen a respectable path."

…“Testing the waters”…

The fact that Wen Siting's troops are currently maintaining a combat formation indicates that they are marching in an area where an encounter is likely to occur.

On the fifth day of the march, Wen Siting received a warning from scouts. A group of unidentified people were two miles away from the flank of their main force.

Wen Siting immediately had Guan Yu and Zhang Fei open the map he had drawn; he glanced at it and asked, "Where did these enemies come from?" Then he looked at the route map and thought of a possibility: that Jizhou (Yan family) had intervened in the war.

Wen Siting sensed something and shouted, "The enemy is nearby! Form ranks immediately!"

The vanguard of two thousand soldiers lined up on the road, dust rose in the distance, and rustling sounds came from the grass around the road.

The captains under Wen Siting raised their whips to divide the formation into groups, and the musketeers lined up in preparation.

However, what emerged from the bushes horrified the army: a herd of wild boars, each weighing 300 kilograms and as tall as a teenager. The boars had rocky skin, and their bright red eyes were clearly under a spell.

Wen Siting rode his winged tiger and soared into the air from his position to get a better view of the situation.

Before taking off, he shouted to his soldiers around him, "Hold on! The enemy is a bunch of scoundrels!"

As the wild boar charged, the militiamen tensed up. Having just finished their training, the militiamen had only practiced bayonet fighting with straw men, and at most, they could only poke at a tied-up fat boar. Encountering such a monster in their first battle made them somewhat flustered.

With a crackling sound, the new recruits, having forgotten all about the drills on the training ground, found that the muskets had failed to stop the wild boar herd.

Despite the dense formation of the spearmen, their fear prevented them from using their full training strength. Several men in the front row lost their footing and were pushed to the back.

…shifting the focus to a specific area…

On the eastern flank, Guan Shan watched as Zhang Hai was still bent over loading bullets into his musket; due to the suddenness of the attack, many brothers on the front lines shouted in unison, "I haven't finished loading yet!"

Guan Shan immediately pulled the trigger, firing a shot at the wild boar that was charging at him. With a muffled thud, the huge recoil knocked him down. The cleaning rod in the barrel flew out, traveling a full five meters before landing directly in the boar's eye socket. The nearly 400-kilogram monster fell to the ground.

Guan Shan, still shaken, got up with Zhang Hai's help. He then received Wen Siting's order: form a dense formation.

Meanwhile, the troops around Guan Shan, who had been somewhat scattered, were greatly encouraged after seeing the rock boar, which was almost the largest in size, being killed by fire. They quickly regained their footing.

Meanwhile, Wen Siting rode his winged tiger towards the densest area of ​​rock boars. After the winged tiger roared at the rock boars on the ground, making their manes tremble, the red frenzy in their eyes vanished instantly. At the center of the most ferocious roar, three boars died on their backs.

After the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, the ambush by these dozens of rock boars was wiped out, and Wen Siting left his team behind to slaughter the pigs.

Then, he led a portion of his troops to pursue the enemy group two miles away. They eventually caught up with them, confirmed that they were indeed people sent by Jizhou, and obtained crucial intelligence: Jizhou had sent (claimed) 20,000 troops to assist them.

…A third party wants to join the table…

In late May, Zhao Cheng, who was struggling to procure provisions, learned that an envoy from Jizhou had come to visit.

Inside the palace, after meeting Zhao Cheng, the direct descendant of the Yan family expressed his willingness to join forces with Hao Jun to fight against the Zhen Kingdom. Zhao Cheng had his servants lead him aside to rest.

In his study, Zhao Cheng opened a map of the south, glanced at it, and frowned. He suddenly smiled: "Oh, that's a good exception." Then he circled the 20,000-strong force sent from Jizhou on the map.

Zhao Cheng knew that the troops Xuan Chong had dispatched to Donghua County were newly trained and were operating on a piecemeal basis.

However, it would be a mistake for other feudal lords to regard this army as mere "pawns".

The Iwa family thought their speculation was very clever, but they were wrong!

In Zhao Cheng's eyes, the troops sent by Jizhou were now mere pawns: the standoff between him and Wu Fei had been prematurely broken by outsiders; originally, Wu Fei wouldn't have launched a major offensive during the standoff, focusing instead on forcing him to retreat in the first phase; and the various units from Xiangzhou were just small pawns crossing the river. Jizhou's entry into the war would force Zhendi to transfer its "chariots, horses, and cannons" to the Xiangzhou-Jizhou front.

The troops of Jizhou were not skilled in combat. Their participation in the war was purely out of a desire to take advantage of the chaos and swallow Xiangzhou whole; they hoped that they (the Hao army) would eliminate the detachment (Wen Siting) sent by Xuan Chong, and then share the spoils of victory as "friendly forces".

But Zhao Cheng now knows very well that Xuan Chong has prepared four to five armies (each with at least five thousand men) along the Donghua County line, and while guarding against his side, he is more than capable of wiping out the Jizhou army.

…serving dishes…

After carefully assessing the situation along the Xiangzhou line on the sand table, Zhao Cheng immediately ordered: "Have Wang Yushan's troops retreat thirty li. They are not allowed to launch an offensive; they should merely hold their ground."

The surrounding staff were stunned for a moment, and asked why they didn't join forces with the people who had surrendered in Jizhou to annihilate the troops of the State of Zhen here? Zhao Cheng: "What use would it be for us if our army wiped out his (Xuan Chong's) troops? They were a group of laborers who had been formed in less than three months. He can still muster more than a dozen such troops at any time."

Zhao Cheng counted his troops. Given the terrain of Xiangzhou, the Wu family army could easily transport grain down the river; while he himself had to cross the mountain pass from the north to dispatch grain.

Zhao Cheng then pointed to the massive reserve forces of the Zhen Kingdom behind Xiangzhou.

Zhao Cheng: "Even if we annihilate this unit, our army still won't be able to break through. It's better to let them fight their way out." Zhao Cheng then placed chess pieces on the map.

Just as the legendary "Zhenlong Chess Game opened up the game by filling in a chess piece by itself," Zhao Cheng said, "If we cooperate with the battle of Jizhou, we won't be able to take any city. We'll only be fulfilling the Yan family's plans. But what if Jizhou is taken by the Zhen army?"

Zhao Cheng hoped that Xuan Chong would concentrate his reserve forces toward Jizhou, thus creating a strategic gap that would allow him to penetrate into Xuan Chong's heartland.

Haojun is currently facing a severe shortage of food and supplies, and can only solve this problem by surviving in Xuanchong territory.

Given the current standoff between Hao and Chen, Hao's food supplies are being depleted until they are almost gone, and its troops lack mobility; this situation could easily lead to a large-scale annihilation war in the future.

Zhao Cheng planned to seize an opening in Xuan Chong's territory and lead his troops into a decisive battle. This way, even if they were driven out in the future, they could still cause damage to Xuan Chong's territory. Given Xuan Chong's personality, he would likely make arrangements in his own territory before launching an attack.

Even if Zhao Cheng's army is ultimately defeated and loses two-thirds of its troops from Wu Xiaoque's territory, such a defeat can still result in a favorable outcome, or even a draw.

…planning and execution…

Zhao Cheng's orders were relayed to Wang Yushan; however, little did he know that his rapid expansion over the years, coupled with the influx of talented individuals from prominent families, had created numerous drawbacks. Furthermore, Zhao Cheng, having exhausted his mental and physical resources over the years, failed to promptly recognize the uneven quality of the scholars who flocked to his service.

Wang Yushan was one of the talents who had joined him in the last few years. Zhao Cheng was not fully aware of his situation. Instead of retreating ninety li, Wang Yushan joined forces with the troops from Jizhou, preparing to launch a pincer attack on Wen Siting's forces.

When Xuan Chong reviewed the battle later, after confirming that Wang Yushan had received clear orders from Zhao Cheng, he exclaimed, "He's like Ma Su reborn!"

On May 20th, Xuan Chong's staff, as always, coordinated information from various sources. Among them, it was confirmed that the Hao army in northern Xiangzhou was expanding its operations in the north and was preparing to join the southern battlefield.

Xuan Chong smiled, because the battle situation suddenly became clear, so he initiated the "Seventh to Fifth Position" strategy.

This step was taken in the north. Six thousand troops from northern Zhenzhou were mobilized and assigned to a general named Chu Xiang, tasked with cooperating with Su Ming to open up the situation on the Yongzhou battlefield, and if necessary, to take Xingzhou!
As for the south, Xuan Chong ordered the four divisions, including Wen Siting's, to prepare for defense and not to move.

...kicking the cripple's bad leg hard...

Xuan Chong sat in his seat, looking at the sand table with a smile on his face. Wu Lu asked, "Father, why do we suddenly want to take Xingzhou now?"

Xuan Chong looked at his son, who was not ashamed to ask questions, and said to Wu Rui beside him, "You talk to him." (This was to let Wu Rui show his level, and also to remind Wu Lu that his rudimentary military strategies, which he had only read a few books on military strategy, were not up to par with professionals.)
Wu Rui said, "Young Master, our overall battle strategy is based on the weaknesses in Hao Kingdom's supply chain. Our army has been uncertain about Hao Kingdom's main attack direction, and our spies have obtained very little information about Zhao Cheng's supplies from various directions."

Wu Lu nodded. The work on "external use" was handled by the Ministry of Commerce, and he was also taking over that aspect. Zhao Cheng had deployed a large number of grain depots across various regions, some genuine and some fake.

Wu Rui: "Because the Hao army has very little food and supplies, their large-scale troop movement is limited. To be precise, they can only maintain the ability to launch a single large-scale attack. In the past, we have been trying to figure out where this troop is. Is it in the north? Or in the south?"

Wu Rui placed the stick on the sand table in the directions of Yongzhou, Xiangzhou, and even Xiazhou.

Wu Rui: "Because we cannot determine the direction of Zhao Cheng's main force's movement, our army is adopting a conservative strategy."

At this point, Wu Rui said, "Our Great Khan has benefited from the construction of new water conservancy facilities in recent years, and our military reclamation and food supplies are plentiful. Our lord's current preparations on all fronts actually allow us to maintain large-scale mobility simultaneously. Personally, I believe our current deployment on all fronts is somewhat conservative, but our lord's strategy is the most prudent."

Xuan Chong tapped the door: "Just introduce yourself, don't ramble on about other things."

Wu Rui stopped his rambling and continued, "However, on the 16th, Hao Jun's troops (Wang Yushan) made a move; we discovered signs that he was transferring large quantities of grain from nearby warehouses. Immediately afterward, Hao Jun troops in other nearby areas also began to move in response to his actions."

Wu Rui looked at Xuan Chong: "We don't yet know why Zhao Cheng revealed this weakness. But based on the supply preparations, we can confirm that the Hao army's large-scale offensive is on the southern route. This means that the other routes lack the capacity for large-scale offensives and can only passively defend against our infiltration attacks."

Wu Lu suddenly realized why Xuan Chong had repeatedly asked him to check the grain information of Zhao Cheng in various regions before the war.

Wu Lu exclaimed excitedly, "That means we only need to maintain a strategic defense in the Xiangzhou direction, and then we can sweep across the other fronts!"

Xuan Chong stood up: "The strategic plan for Xiangzhou remains unchanged. For Xiazhou and Yongzhou, existing troop units are to assemble and the offensive plan activated."

"Yes!" came the excited responses from the conference room.

Xuan Chong was also very excited: he was able to defeat Zhao Cheng in one move. This was the ultimate proof of his achievements in the thirty years since he transmigrated to this world and embarked on his cultivation as a military strategist.

Xuan Chong's eyes were fixed on the south. Wu Lu followed Xuan Chong's gaze and asked, "Father, are you worried about the situation in Xiangzhou?"

Wu Rui, standing to the side, said, "The decisive battle should be in this direction."

Xuan Chong glanced at Wu Rui, who paused, realizing that it was impolite of him to interrupt.

Xuan Chong said to Wu Rui, "What you said is quite right, but you understand that you must conceal your sharpness so that you can deliver a decisive blow to your opponent. I'm punishing you by making you practice silent meditation for an hour."

Xuan Chong said to Wu Lu, "Preparations for a large-scale offensive will take five days; Zhao Cheng, now that he's confirmed he's been exposed, will act ahead of schedule. He will proactively come to fight us."

…In a battle between masters, there is no room for the slightest mistake…

On the Yuhua Prefecture side, Zhao Cheng suddenly smashed the jade ruyi to pieces, shouting, "Stupid, utterly stupid!"

This was the first time he had broken down, to the point that he cried out in pain. If Xuan Chong had pushed him step by step into a strategic dead end, and he had ultimately been defeated in battle by Xuan Chong's direct attack on his troop deployment, he wouldn't be in this state; but the current situation is that Wang Yushan, in his self-righteous cleverness, has modified the battle orders.

Such unauthorized action exposed the strategic secrets he had painstakingly concealed.

Zhao Cheng was furious: How did such a person manage to get under his command, and why was he entrusted with such an important task?
(End of this chapter)