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Ch67 - Deployment
“What did you say? The reinforcements were defeated?!” Guo Jiao woozily held on to the table for support, “How could it be! Aren’t the rebels still tens of kilometers away? And they only have little more than four hundred people! The reinforcements number eight hundred!!”
Guo Jiao hadn’t held back this time, he had indeed summoned most of the troops guarding the Taihang Pass to Gaodu. And yet they’d been ambushed before they even reached the county. Were eight hundred footsoldiers any match for four hundred mounted cavalry? They’d been instantly knocked flat on their asses. Now, Taihang Pass was stranded at sea and utterly incapable of helping Gaodu.
Colonel Wu blanched, “It’s all my fault for underestimating them. I will defend the city with the remaining soldiers! Magistrate, if you would gather the young and hale to lend their strength! The rebels are all Xiongnu horseriders – sieging cities isn’t their strong suit. We only need to endure for three days, and things will turn for the better!”
Colonel Wu’s fifty bodyguards, plus the county government’s thirty laborers and the city’s young men put together, did have a chance of putting up resistance for several days. There was no comparison between sieges and face-to-face battle; without a massive numbers advantage, taking down a fortified city was tremendously difficult. Plus, the ragtag rebels didn’t even have siege weapons!
Guo Jiao’s quivering abated somewhat at Colonel Wu’s words. He asked shakily, “Colonel Wu, do you mean to say that Gaodu is still defensible?”
If it wasn’t, then he, the magistrate, might very well go down with his county!
“I will defend Gaodu to the death!” Colonel Wu declared, gripping the longsword at his waist.
“Good! Good!” Guo Jiao stood, “I’ll gather the men this instant and help you protect the city, colonel!”
If they broke into the city, the thousands of commoners inside would all be massacred! Regardless of how scared he felt, Guo Jiao couldn’t stand back and watch disaster befall the people under his care. They had to hold strong no matter what!
Colonel Wu breathed in relief as well upon seeing Guo Jiao’s determination. Though the county magistrate was cowardly, he wasn’t craven. Defending a city was no more than defending it’s morale; if the city officials lost their nerve, the commoners would lose their backbone, and then it’d all be pointless. The magistrate’s cooperation would make things much smoother.
Now, all they could do was wait for the rebels to show up on their doorstep.
※
“Gaodu has no soldiers left!” Liang Feng stood before the sand table, staring intently at the miniaturized landscape, “These rebels are more competent than I anticipated. It’s likely that Gaodu will be lost.”
If Gaodu was overrun, where would these rebels head next? They were all Xiongnu; if the Eastern Xiongnu Division wasn’t planning on revolting right now, they had to at least act like they were coming to drive them off. Hounded by the Xiongnu’s official armies, where would these rebels hide? They only had to go to ground in the many mountains surrounding Gaodu, and not even an army of pursuers could do anything about them.
And if the Eastern Xiongnu Division sent troops, who’d supply the grain? If they levied grain from the locals, could the Liang Estate refuse? If thieves were like a colony of ants, then soldiers were like a plague of locusts. Between the thieves and soldiers, the entire region would be plunged into chaos. With Sima Teng trapped in Luoyang, the armies of Bing Province were of no mind to deal with the rebellion. For the sake of survival, they had to finish the rebels off before they took Gaodu, and before the Xiongnu armies arrived!
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Yes, it was light cavalry. They came so quickly the reinforcements could hardly fight back,” the scout replied. He was a young but experienced hunter. Scouting was practically second nature to him, he was confident in what he’d seen.
“If their vanguard is comprised of light cavalry, it means they’re not carrying many provisions!” Liang Feng’s eyes flashed towards Yiyan.
Yiyan instantly understood, “My lord, you want to attack their backline and cut off their supply line?”
“They can’t conquer Gaodu within a day. If we attack their rear, they’ll be forced to turn back and rescue their provisions. Our forces can ambush them while they’re on the move!!” Liang Feng turned and asked, “Did you see which direction the attackers came from?”
The scout gestured towards the sand table, “From Xicheng Mountain; they must’ve raided the Sun family’s estate.”
Yiyan had personally crafted every tree and hill on the sand table. He frowned in thought for a moment, then pointed to a spot, “Their rear echelon may be stationed at Xicheng Valley. It’s next to a water source, and near to Gaodu. A good place to store provisions.”
Liang Feng immediately said to the scout, “Go now to see whether their supplies are there. As for Gaodu, keep an eye on the enemy forces nearby!”
Orders received, the scout exited. Liang Feng said to Yiyan, “If you were to lead the troops, could you achieve victory using only two hundred men?”
“My lord, if the entire militia moves out, the Liang Estate will be in danger!” Yiyan unconsciously took a step forward.
“I’m only asking you: can you do it?!” Liang Feng yelled.
Yiyan clenched his fists. He fell silent for a moment, then said lowly, “I can.”
“How?” Liang Feng grilled.
“First, I’ll send a force to circle around the official road to Xicheng Valley and attack the rear army from two directions. Then, I’ll mobilize the whole battalion to lie in wait on the west side of the valley, where there is a length of road narrow enough that only several horsemen can ride abreast. When the rebels pass through, I’ll pincer their flanks and obliterate their cavalry in one blow,” Yiyan succinctly outlined his battle plan, the terrain map engraved into his mind.
“What if they don’t take the path you’ve set your ambush on?” Liang Feng continued.
“It is closest to their backline. If they intend to rescue their rear echelon, they will most likely take that path. But even if they don’t, Gaodu’s crisis will be resolved. Low on supplies, the rebels will have no choice but to raid other villages to feed their soldiers. In doing so, they will waste at least two days; by then, they likely won’t have time to continue assaulting Gaodu. And even if they make another attempt, I’ll intercept them and take them by surprise!”
The plan was thorough, well-reasoned, and accounted for contingencies. Liang Feng couldn’t have done better himself. He nodded, “The Xiongnu are not mountain bandits or roaming highwaymen. They all grew up on horseback; they’re all fierce warriors. Mounted combat is unlike infantry combat. Spear formations might not be enough against a cavalry charge!”
“Horses are only animals; it’s the people riding the horses that decide victory or defeat. If mounted combat is unlike infantry combat, then let their horses become their burden, or let them have no horses to ride!” Yiyan replied.
Gazing at his steadfast expression, Liang Feng finally sighed in relief, “Very good. I will leave this battle to you.”
“My lord
” Yiyan was about to protest.
Liang Feng waved him off, “I know you’re worried we’ll be attacked. But we must save Gaodu! If Gaodu falls, the Liang Estate will lose its outer barrier and become exposed to the enemy. Not to mention the opportunistic Xiongnu armies. Even if they’re only here for the rebels, they will make all my efforts this last year go to waste. Yiyan, the purpose of saving Gaodu and fighting the enemy is to save the Liang Estate! The estate still has me and hundreds of strong, young men. You can go to battle without worry, I will handle the rest!”
His last sentence brooked no argument. Looking into his shining black eyes, Yiyan finally stepped back, “Rest assured, my lord, I will annihilate the rebels!”
As he said so, his blood seemed to ignite burning away all his fear and hesitation, leaving only a scorching fighting spirit behind. He was going to crush all the foolish lowlives that dared invade, and let everyone know just how formidable the Bravesage Battalion was! This was his lord’s militia, as well as his militia; he wouldn’t allow anyone to despoil the Liang Estate!
※
Lu Long paid no mind to the squelching filth beneath his feet as he led his horse through the blood-soaked bog. On the contrary, there was a hate-tinged giddiness burbling in his heart. They’d killed hundreds of Jin soldiers in a single battle! He’d decimated an army that was twice as large as his as easily as if they were a flock of sheep. Hao San? Who was that? As long as his brother was there, the world was theirs to ravage!
“Boss, we’ve searched the battlefield already. They only brought a day’s worth of rations. It looks like they were planning on entering the city today,” he reported once he walked over to Lu Ge.
Lu Ge, sitting atop a pile of dry hay, gently wiped his gore-stained saber. Its edge was already curling from all lives it’d taken, though that wouldn’t stop it from taking even more.
“Tell everyone to get some rest – eat some food and feed the horses. We’ll be marching to Gaodu three hours past midnight,” Lu Ge ordered as he tossed aside the filthy rag and re-sheathed his saber.
“What? We’re gonna attack today?!” Lu Long exclaimed in shock. Even though the Jin army had crumbled like loose sand, they’d still spent a significant amount of energy on them. Attacking a city was unlike any other kind of battle. They didn’t even have any siege equipment; how were they going to conquer a city? And plus, if they set out for Gaodu three hours past midnight, it’d still be dark when they reached its walls with how short the winter days were. What was the use of all the rush if the men and horses could hardly see a thing?
“Since they called for reinforcements, it means there aren’t many soldiers within Gaodu. Throw the captives we took at the walls and make them stir up a racket, that’ll keep the defenders up all night. Then when morning comes and we’re all fired up, we’ll start the attack. It’ll be three days at most before we overcome Gaodu!”
Lu Long hadn’t thought his brother already had it all planned out. His face red with excitement, he exclaimed, “That’s brilliant! There’s no way those big-tent nobles can catch up to us!”
Lu Ge’s expression was placid as ever, “Go, take care of Gaodu as soon as possible!”
His sights were set far higher than that little city. He needed more grain, more soldiers. Only then could they live, live long and live free!
The warhorses quieted as people fed salted soy gruel to their beloved mounts. Others scarfed down the jerky and bread they’d been carrying in their pockets. Once, these were indulgences only nobles could enjoy. But now, they too could eat and drink as they pleased. Now they even had booze and women. Following the boss, they could live the way they’d never dared to live before!
No one bawled from the injuries on their bodies. No-one turned to look at the corpses blanketing the ground. They merely ate in silence, their eyes gleaming like those of wild wolves as they leered at the city walls towering in the distance.
The time flew like an arrow; it wasn’t long before the blood-soaked Xiongnu mounted their horses once more and galloped towards Gaodu, their shrieks and hollers echoing in the air.
At the same time, there was another troop getting ready to move out.
Wrapped in a robe of blazing crimson, Liang Feng stood upon a raised platform and announced, “Foreign enemies are invading our lands. They will soon besiege Gaodu. If Gaodu falls, the Liang Estate won’t be far behind! You must go to battle, to kill these rebels and protect the Liang Estate! To protect your families!”
Here, they had tilled every square of farmland, built every inch of wall, with their own two hands. Here, were their fathers, mothers, wives, and children. Here, was the long-sought paradise of the dispossessed wanderer! Though they feared, though they trembled, they clenched their spears all the same and roared, “For the Liang Estate! For the lord! Victory is ours! Victory!”
Their cries buzzing in his ears, Liang Feng turned to the young man standing below the platform. He’d grown taller in the half-year since they’d met. His shoulders were wider, his features more handsome and resolute. A terrifying blaze burned within his gray-blue eyes.
“Go then, and return victorious!”
Gazing upon his fiery-red silhouette, Yiyan pressed his hand on his chest – over his raging heart – flawlessly executing the Liang Estate’s military salute. Then, he crisply mounted his horse and yelled, “Battalion, move out! Kill the enemy!”
“Kill! Kill!”