After the first wave of Destroyers was eliminated, the current battlefield situation in [Liu San City] is as follows:
The main force of the Pavement Ant Empire Army is still about 600,000, and its strength cannot be underestimated.
Among them, an enemy regiment in the middle, with a strength of about 200,000, was already moving towards its general grain platform and temporarily evacuated the battlefield.
There are about 150,000 pavement ant imperial troops dispersed into small groups, plundering within half a day to five days' journey from [Liu San City]. These enemy troops are too scattered and not very threatening. Unless forced, Otherwise, Zhu Jue would not waste time on him for the time being.
The main forces of the last two enemy armies are both located to the north of [Liu San City], with more than 100,000 troops each. The two armies are of similar size. These two road-paving ant imperial forces are the targets that Zhu Jue will eliminate in the next stage.
As for the civilized ant coalition forces, in addition to Zhu Jue's troops fighting hard, reinforcements are arriving in the war zone one after another. Among them, the leaf cutter ant army is mainly busy stabilizing the supply channel in the west of [Liu San City], mainly fighting with the small army of the paving ant imperial army. Troops entangled.
Zhu Jue did not mobilize the leaf-cutting ant army to join together. He relied on the God's Envoy King's legion, and reinforcements from the God's Envoy King's legion were arriving day by day, which greatly increased Zhu Jue's confidence.
The next day, September 18, Zhu Jue's troops had gathered 150,000 troops and were preparing to attack north. The enemy's unexpected actions put Zhu Jue's next plan into a dilemma.
The two paving ant empire armies on the northern front adopted completely different operational strategies at this time.
The enemy force to the west may not have received the intelligence of the attack on the general grain platform, or they may have other plans, so they are staying put today. The enemy troops located to the east are already turning back to the southeast, and their intention to retreat is obvious.
Zhu Jue's original plan was to eliminate the two enemy armies in sequence from west to east, and finally unite all the armies for a decisive battle with the Pavement Ant Imperial Army in the middle. Through four battles, he would eliminate the main force of the Pavement Ant Imperial Army from the south, and take advantage of the situation to regain the lost ground. Win this war of self-defense.
Now the actions of the two enemy forces on the northern line are different. If Zhu Jue sticks to the original plan, he will probably only be able to destroy the enemy force that is stuck in place, while the other enemy force will take the opportunity to join up with the enemy force on the middle line. By then This enemy force will number more than 300,000, which will be a tough nut to crack and will greatly delay the end of the war.
According to recent news from the Marching Ant Kingdom, the Destroyers are already gathering troops and may move south at any time. Zhu Jue cannot waste too much time and troops on this battlefield!
And if the battle plan is changed, first maneuvering eastward under the guidance of the Flying Knight, blocking the ant empire army that is escaping eastward, and eating this enemy army first, there will be risks.
The risk comes from two aspects. On the one hand, if the Pavement Ant Imperial Army that is currently stuck in place receives information that the general grain station is under attack and moves eastward, then the fighting Civilized Ant Alliance Army will be attacked from two sides.
On the other hand, if the Central Road Paving Ant Imperial Army, which has rushed to the general grain station, also takes advantage of the situation and goes north to join the battle, then Zhu Jue's troops, which are surrounded by enemies on three sides, may be the one that is surrounded and suppressed.
Now, the choice was placed in front of Zhu Jue, testing his judgment.
This is the difficulty of being a commander, who needs to quickly judge the merits of the next action based on intelligence and imagination, and make the most favorable instructions. And some mediocre commanders will often miss the opportunity in this situation, or make a clever choice that seems balanced but is actually stupid.
After so many years of war experience in the ant world, Zhu Jue has become a qualified commander and deeply believes in the concept of "a bad choice is better than no choice".
Therefore, in the early morning of the 18th, the civilized ant coalition suppressed the fatigue left over from yesterday's war and quickly embarked on the journey!
————
[Liu San City] East by north, about half a day's journey.
There is an abandoned ruins of fortifications here. It was originally a small fortress on the flank of the Guard [Liu San City] that Zhu Jue planned to build. However, during the construction, it was discovered that there was a soft enemy under the surface soil here, and the underground nest structure was difficult to maintain stability. , had to be abandoned.
Now the new fortress is located more than ten meters behind, and this place is abandoned. The partially completed ground structure is incomplete and lacks maintenance. It has been rapidly eroded by wind and rain, leaving only a vague appearance.
When this fortress was being built and abandoned, no one could have imagined that a crucial battle chapter would begin here!
Because the terrain of the ruins was high, Zhu Jue chose this place as the headquarters, and the guards quickly cleaned up the surrounding area. At the same time, the field artillery positions of the Divine Envoy Army were also arranged here, hidden among the cut weeds.
To the east of the headquarters, the terrain drops rapidly at an inclination of about 30-45, and a narrow valley with only one or two meters at its widest point is formed at the lowest point. There are also short-term torrents caused by summer heavy rains in the middle of the valley. ravines carved out by erosion.
The valley bottoms and ravines are soil layers dominated by river sand. Plants are sparse and only scattered here and there. They are very flat and open, as if they were a naturally built expressway. When the Pavement Ant Imperial Army detoured north of [Liu San City], they followed this path under the guidance of mosquitoes, and left pheromones behind, marking it as an ant path.
Now, when the Pavement Ant Imperial Army is rushing back to the General Food Station, according to intelligence, it is obvious that they will also take this path. And here, the terrain is perfect for an ambush!
The civilized ant alliance ambushed on both sides of the valley, lurking in the weeds, or hiding behind the undulating terrain. When the enemy's long and narrow marching column enters the ambush position, the ambush will quickly block the entrances and exits at both ends, and then cover them with fierce artillery fire. Perhaps only one charge is enough to defeat the enemy in chaos.
In the air, a large group of flying knights expanded the warning range to a large extent, eliminating all enemy "mosquitoes" that mistakenly entered the airspace, ensuring that the other two enemy forces would not get the news and come to join the battle.
Shielding battlefield information is the key to this battle. Both enemy armies are less than 4 hours away from the battlefield. If the ambushed enemy army resists resolutely, it can completely support the reinforcements who arrive to join the battle. By then, the passive army will It's Zhu Jue's command!
But the more you are afraid of something, the more you become afraid of it!
When the ambush target was about to enter the ambush circle along the ant road, and Zhu Jue had already notified the ambushing troops on both sides of the valley to prepare for battle, a flying knight brought a piece of information:
The Pavement Ant Empire army on the northern front that had been standing still had already broken camp and moved eastward, and would arrive at the battlefield in three hours!
The ambush has not yet begun, so the enemy's actions are a coincidence, but it has brought unexpected but very serious variables to Zhu Jue's plan!
