Novellv Chapter 2709 Ten Thousand Mighty Army Arrives at Xingwu, Encircling Qian Tianye on Three Fronts
Chapter 2709 Ten Thousand Mighty Army Arrives at Xingwu, Encircling Qian Tianye on Three Fronts
Chapter 2709 A million-strong army arrives at Xingwu, encircling Qian Tianye on three fronts.
At the intersection of Wangbei Road and Xingwu Road in Daqian, Yue Fei's million-strong army stretched for hundreds of miles, seemingly without end.
Yue Fei's command tent was set up on an inconspicuous earthen slope in the center of the camp, with the tent door facing south, directly towards Xingwu Road.
Looking down from the slope, the campfires of the Han army stretched from their feet all the way to the horizon, reflecting the starlight, as if the whole earth was ablaze.
The night wind blew from the south, carrying the restlessness unique to midsummer, and also the faint sound of bugles from the distant Qian army's defense line. The sound was intermittent, as if it were testing the waters, or as if it were bluffing.
Yue Fei stood outside the tent, his armor still on, his cloak fluttering slightly in the wind. He didn't look at the campfires; his gaze passed through the darkness and landed on some unseen place in the south.
Zhang Xian came up from the slope, his footsteps crunching on the gravel. He stood behind Yue Fei and said in a low voice, "Marshal, all the battalions are in position. The vanguard is less than thirty li from the Qian army's defensive line. Scouts have already been dispatched."
"There hasn't been much movement from the Qian army, but Jiang Ziya's scouts have been much more active than in the past few days, as if they're trying to find out what's going on with us."
Yue Fei nodded, without turning around, and asked directly, "What about Xue Rengui?"
"After General Xue captured Dongye and Jianye, he is now preparing to continue south. Ji Chengfu has retreated to the two eastern routes. During the time that General Xue captured Dongye and Jianye, he has almost gathered his previously defeated troops and regrouped about 200,000 men."
"General Xue's idea is to not give him a chance to breathe, and to press forward directly before he can establish a firm foothold."
Zhang Xian paused for a moment, then said, "General Bai Qi also has news that the garrison in the two northwestern regions is not large, and he plans to take them down in one fell swoop as quickly as possible."
The Great Han's objective was clear: to take over Xingwu Dao directly and then launch a military offensive towards Tianye Dao, which was the Dao where Qiandu was located.
In this way, the main force of Daqian will be forced to fight, and through several decisive battles, the main force of Daqian will be quickly defeated, ending the war against Daqian in the shortest possible time.
In fact, according to the original system of the Great Qian Dynasty, the current approach of the Great Han Dynasty would have very limited effect. After all, the original Great Qian Dynasty was full of princes and members of the imperial clan, and each of these princes and members of the imperial clan was a powerful figure in the local area.
However, in the process of mutual annexation in recent years, the big fish had already eaten the small fish to a large extent. In order to deal with the subsequent attack from the Han and Ming dynasties and to make the Great Qian a unified force, so as not to be dragged down by its own people, Jiang Ziya created the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
However, everything in the world has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the power of the Great Qian Dynasty is now more unified, and there will be no more situations like the year before last where Jiang Ziya was fighting on the front lines but was being held back by others in the rear.
The drawback is that once their central government is destroyed, the regions will be almost paralyzed and will no longer be able to organize enough forces to resist as before.
Therefore, even though it is known that the Great Qian cannot afford to drag out the war against the Great Han in its current state, the Great Han will not delay if there is a way to quickly resolve the current situation. Instead, it will pursue a swift victory and end the war as quickly as possible.
After all, the western and northwestern parts of the Han Dynasty are still threatened by the Great Wu and Great Shuo, and some things are better done sooner rather than later. Furthermore, even from the perspective of future strategy, a swift victory at this time is the best approach for the Han Dynasty. The sooner this war ends, the sooner the Han Dynasty can begin its strategy against the Great Wu.
In particular, while Nurhaci was still able to hold out in the hands of the Great Shuo, and before the Qing Dynasty collapsed, while Nurhaci could still share some of the pressure from the Great Shuo, they should quickly devise a western strategy.
South of Tianye Road lies Yuanping Road, also located in the heart of the Central Plains of the Great Qian Dynasty. It is guarded by the lineage of the former First Prince of the Imperial Clan, the Prince of Kaoshan, serving as a protector of the capital.
Back then, the brutal battles between the rebel kings led by Xiao Ping'an and the forces of the Great Qian Dynasty were basically concentrated in this area.
As for the area north of Tianye Road, it was initially governed by another powerful member of the imperial clan, Jiang Chaoyu. The three Jiang brothers' base was actually the northern frontier of the Great Qian Dynasty, mainly Xingwu Road and Wangbei Road to the north of Xingwu Road.
Jiang Chaoyu trusted Jiang Ziya's abilities, even more than his own, which is why he entrusted his own base to Jiang Ziya. He himself, along with Jiang Ren, resisted the three armies of Zhu Ming in the south.
As for the three armies of the Han Dynasty, apart from Yue Fei's main force of a million-strong army heading straight for Xingwu Road, the remaining two detachments, Xue Rengui's nearly 200,000 troops, after capturing Dongye Road and Jianye Road, did not join forces with Yue Fei, but instead headed south to prepare to enter the eastern region of Daqian.
After his defeat in a major battle with Xue Rengui, Ji Chengfu retreated here to reorganize the scattered troops that had been lost in the previous battle.
As for Bai Qi's 10,000 troops, they were prepared to take down the two routes in the northwest of Daqian in one fell swoop, and then march south from the northwest to attack the western region of Daqian, thus completing the encirclement of Tianye Dao from three directions.
After listening to Zhang Xian's report, Yue Fei turned around and went back into his tent, spreading the map out on the table. The candlelight illuminated the mountains, rivers, and cities, making them clearly distinguishable in light and shadow.
Preparations for the war against Qian actually began as early as the campaigns against Yan and Song. At that time, the Luo Wang (a secret police organization) personnel were drawing up as many detailed maps as possible of various parts of Da Qian.
"Order all battalions to break camp tomorrow, with Li Cunxiao, Huang Mei, and Wu Changkong as the vanguard, and begin a full-scale advance southward." Yue Fei pointed his finger at the map, slowly drawing a line along the Xingwu Road.
Because Bai Qi was to be transferred to the northwest region, and the Daqian defense line in the northwest was weak and there were no heavy troops, let alone strong generals, generals such as Li Cunxiao and Zhu Quan were naturally transferred from Bai Qi to Yue Fei.
"Tell the vanguard not to rush into battle. Just set up your formation. Jiang Chaoyu has been operating in the north for so many years and has deep roots. Even if he is not in the north now, Jiang Ziya will not let us pass easily. But we are not in a hurry. They are the ones who are in a hurry."
Yue Fei straightened up, his gaze falling on the pitch-black night outside the tent. Xue Rengui was pressing Ji Chengfu on the east, while Bai Qi was flanking Jiang Ziya from the west. Once Bai Qi pressed forward from the front, all three attacks would be launched simultaneously, leaving Jiang Ziya unable to defend both ends.
When that time comes, Jiang Qian's demise will naturally follow.
Zhang Xian accepted the order and left. His footsteps quickly disappeared into the night. Yue Fei stood in front of the map, looked at it for a while, then blew out the candle and walked out of the tent.
On the southern horizon, a faint line of fire could be seen—the beacon towers on the Qian army's defensive line, burning all night long. He watched for a long time, until the night wind dispersed the distant bugle calls, before turning back to his tent.