In any case, Lou Fan is still the best in the world in terms of vast territory, large population, and strong national power.
As long as Lou Fan can be united in a short period of time, he may be able to become invincible in this short period of time.
However, the contradictions and divisions in Loufan's country are much more serious than those in Dayu.
The major tribes continued to expand their territory year after year, and the imperial power's binding force on the major tribes decreased year by year.
The big tribes don't care about national laws at all. They will annex the smaller tribes at the slightest disagreement. They don't even need any disagreement. If they like your territory or women, they will directly send troops.
When these large tribes became powerful enough to compete with the imperial court, they could turn a blind eye to the imperial court's orders.
If things go on like this, Lou Fan can only rely on a deformed way to maintain the stability of his rule.
Use troops abroad.
Let the major tribes send troops to plunder the surrounding small countries. Of course, the court has no right to interfere with the war profits obtained.
In this way, the advantage is that the major tribes have benefited a lot from foreign wars, and they will not think about going against the imperial court. The disadvantage is that Lou Fan's dominance over the surrounding small countries has become increasingly weakened.
For Lou Fan, this time he will use all his strength to go south to fight Dayu. If he wins, even if he cannot occupy a large area of Dayu, as long as he takes all the places such as Loufan Guzhu into his pocket, it will greatly relieve the major tribes. The battle for turf.
So this time, it was not only because Zong Zheng Shiquan was captured alive by Dayu, but also because the domestic conflicts had reached a point where they had to be transferred abroad.
Dayu, on the other hand, is eager to take advantage of such an opportunity to break Lou Fan's rule over the northern border.
The northern territory controlled by Lou Fan is the birthplace of war horses. If Dayu also wants to have a powerful cavalry, he must have absolute control over the northern territory. More importantly, Lou Fan's huge regional resources can make up for Dayu's weaknesses in some aspects. Short board.
Of course, more importantly, there will never be a shortage of fights over who is the boss in this world.
"Report! The scouts are here to report that General Ning Shehai of the Dayu Border Army has already set off to the north. The target should be Xiantang City."
"Report! The Jade Kingdom's border troops stationed in Dongbo Caoshu City are about 60,000 strong. They are also heading north, and they should also be going to Xiantang City."
"Report! The scouts are here to report that Lin Ye's troops have assembled in Yunzhou but have not yet set out."
The messages were sent to Lou Fan's army one by one. When aggregated, these messages became an extremely important part of winning the battlefield. Intelligence always played an undoubted role.
"Report! Ning Shehai's 100,000 jade army has arrived at the south side of Xiantang City. Ning Shehai sent people to negotiate with Xiantang City, but Xiantang City will not open the gate!"
"Report! The 60,000-strong Caoshu City Jade Army arrived at Xiantang City, but Xiantang City also turned them away. The Caoshu City Jade Army began to retreat back and camped at the Hutuo River."
"Report! Lin Ye's cowardly army is still in Yunzhou, with no sign of heading north."
Listening to this news, the face of Lou Fan's army coach Zong Zhengxian's face gradually became serious.
"Something's wrong."
Zong Zhengxian said: "Lin Ye is a master in the art of war, why did he make such a ridiculous decision?"
Everyone nodded.
The flaw given by the other party is too obvious. The more so, the more it means that this is a huge trap. Lin Ye's Ning Shehai, who is also good at leading troops, must be acting.
Hundreds of thousands of people were sent to the vicinity of Xiantang City, but Lin Ye's subsequent team was still in Yunzhou. Even an idiot couldn't make such an arrangement.
If you are not careful, hundreds of thousands of elite border troops will be surrounded and swallowed by Lou Fan's army.
For Dayu, this is a huge loss that cannot be tolerated.
Although Dayu's national power is second only to Lou Fan, it is difficult to compare with Lou Fan in terms of military strength.
This time, Dayu could not recruit more than 500,000 troops, which was at most half of Lou Fan's strength.
The decisive battle has not yet come, Lin Ye first throws out hundreds of thousands of elite border troops as bait?
"Instruct all troops not to act rashly."
Zongzheng Xianhe ordered: "Send an order to the vanguard army and ask Zongzheng Lianhai to slow down. If he underestimates the enemy and advances rashly, he may be surrounded by Ning Shehai and the jade army from Caoshu City."
As Zong Zheng's military orders were conveyed one after another, all Loufan armies responded quickly.
Although the relationship between the princes of Lou Fan is not harmonious, on the battlefield, no one dares to play with victory or defeat. Lou Fan has always been warlike, and he does not rely on loose sand.
Even Zongzheng Lianhai, who had made a plan before and wanted to kill Yunzhou City in one go, had to order the team to stop temporarily to rest.
Two days later, he received a military order from Zongzheng Xinghe, asking him to stay where he was.
"Mr. Ye, what is the beauty trying to do?"
Zongzheng Lianhai couldn't understand the beauty's operation.
If this is not digging a hole for Lou Fan's army, then the beauty is digging her own grave.
Hundreds of thousands of elite frontier troops were thrown into Dongbo, and they were accidentally cut and surrounded by Lou Fan's million-strong army. This kind of battle was not something that Lin Ye and Ning Shehai would be able to fight in the future.
"Two possibilities."
Ye Wuyou gave his judgment.
"First, the border troops in Ning Shehai and Caoshu City are all decoys. Once Lou Fan's army attacks them, they will fight while retreating, pulling Lou Fan's million-strong army out of touch and expanding the depth of the battlefield. In this way Since then, Lin Ye has led Cowardly to attack again, Your Highness, please don’t forget that Lin Ye’s Cowardly is cavalry.”
"Secondly, the conflict between Ning Shehai and Lin Ye is real. Ning Shehai originally wanted to enter Xiantang City to defend it, and did not intend to exhaust his troops in Dongbo. However, he did not expect that Xiantang City would not Open the city gate."
Wu Kemado asked: "If we urgently go south now, will we be surrounded by beauties and eaten?"
Ye Wuyou nodded: "Yes."
Wu Kemado frowned and said: "Since then, the plan made before by Mr. can no longer be used."
Ye Wuyou said: "No problem, just wait and see what happens. Whether to fight or not is not our vanguard's business."
Wu Kemaduo asked: "If we take advantage of the empty strength of Caoshu City's jade army and capture Caoshu City in one fell swoop, will we be able to cut off the return path of Ning Shehai's army?"
Ye Wuyou said: "Yes, but at that time we may be in a situation of being attacked from both sides. Lin Ye is attacking us from the south, and Ning Shehai is fighting desperately to get home from the north."
Wu Kemaduo said: "Of our 30,000 troops, only 5,000 are good fighters. The remaining people are fighting on the plains and are no match for the Jade Army. If we can capture Caoshu City and defend it with 30,000 troops, we can defeat it all at once." His tone allowed Zongzheng to annihilate Ning Shehai’s army of more than 100,000 men, and His Highness took the greatest credit.”
Ye Wuyou said: "His Highness deserves the most credit, but I am afraid that this credit will not fall on His Highness."
At this point, the three of them fell silent.
They used 30,000 troops to forcefully block Ning Shehai's return route, which would definitely give Lou Fan's army a chance. But by then, how many of the 30,000 men would be left?
It is said that Zongzheng Lianhai's contribution is huge, but it cannot be attributed to him at all. After defeating Ning Shehai's army of hundreds of thousands, Zongzheng's prominent position will become more stable.
"How about this."
Ye Wuyou said: "After a few days of rest, the army continued to go south and headed straight for Caoshu City. If Ning Shehai led his troops to catch up in a hurry, Zong Zheng also had a chance. As for whether to attack and defend Caoshu City, let's look over there. Let’s talk about the situation.”
Zongzheng Lianhai nodded: "Just follow Mr. Ye's idea."
The other side.
Zong Zhengxian stood in front of the map and looked at it carefully, his brows furrowed deeply.
The beauty's arrangement that confused him really made him dare not act rashly.
He knew that this was a huge opportunity, but he just didn't dare to send troops to attack it directly.
"You can let the former army test it."
One of the staff said softly.
Another aide said: "The commander-in-chief can give Zongzheng Lianhai an order to have his vanguard troops raid Caoshu City. If Caoshu City can be captured, Ning will have no way to return home across the sea."
Zongzheng Xianhe nodded: "Then give it a try. You can't just wait and see. Send an order to Zongzheng Lianhai to raid Caoshu City, let the front army attack, and try to attack Ningshehai."
Two days later.
"Report! Ning Shehai's Jade Army retreated immediately after contact with the front army. There was no plan for a decisive battle. They retreated about fifty miles every day. The front army was very tight and did not give Ning Shehai a chance to breathe."
"Report! The vanguard army has already marched towards Caoshu City before the commander's military order is sent!"
Listening to the news being compiled one by one, Zong Zhengxianhe was constantly calculating in his mind.
This battle was a bit strange from the beginning.
Another half month later.
"Report! The former army was ambushed by Ning Shehai's command at Youwangpo. The two armies fought and each suffered injuries. The former army retreated thirty miles and camped to wait for reinforcements. Ning Shehai's command transferred to the southeast of Wang. "
After hearing the military report, Zong Zheng looked at the people in the big tent.
"I see!"
Suddenly someone reacted.
One of the staff stood up and said: "Commander, this is Ning Shehai and Lin Ye's plan to lure the enemy!"
"How to say?"
"Lin Ye and Ning Shehai know very well that the Jade Kingdom cannot compete with Lou Fan in terms of military strength. The only chance of winning is to induce our army to divide our forces. The conflict between Ning Shehai and Lin Ye must be an act."
"Since then, it seems reasonable that he would rather go to the sea than return to Yunzhou. He seems to have no way to retreat, but in fact he wants to retreat to Guzhu."
"At this time, Ning Shehai is alone. His people and the frontier troops in Caoshu City cannot return to Caoshu City and can only retreat to Lone Bamboo. At that time, our army may divide its forces to pursue them. If they want to eat Ning Shihai's 160,000 troops must be divided into at least 300,000 to be confident."
"As a result, the strength of our army will be greatly reduced. Ning Shehai will use hundreds of thousands of troops to take away at least 300,000 of our army."
When he said this, he looked at Zong Zhengxian and said: "If we don't divide our troops to pursue, Ning Shehai and retreat into Guzhu can wait for the opportunity, leave Guzhu and return to Dongbo at any time, cutting off the return path of our army."
"If our army divides its forces to attack, Lin Ye's side will face much less pressure, and in this way, our army will be divided into two parts, which are far apart and cannot be taken care of at the same time."
Hearing these words, Zong Zhengxianhe had no choice but to nod.
This staff member's analysis was extremely thorough, and it should be Lin Ye and Ning Shehai's true intentions.
"This is not a conspiracy, this is a real plan to confront the enemy."
Zong Zhengxian sighed: "Lin Ye and Ning Shehai are indeed great opponents."
At this time, Lin Ye and Ning Shehai had already put the problem before Zong Zheng Xianhe.
If we divide our troops to pursue Ning Shehai, we must divert at least 300,000 troops into Guzhu. If we go in, can we guarantee victory?
In order to ensure victory, it is necessary to mobilize more than 400,000 people, as well as many generals.
Regardless of the division of troops, Ning Shehai's hundreds of thousands of elite frontier troops can come back at any time to harass, or even cut off the supply line of Lou Fan's army.
Lin Ye didn't want to use Dongbo to build a camp step by step, but wanted to use the terrain of Dongbo and Guzhu to pull and divide Lou Fan's army.
"ignore him!"
Zong Zhengxian hesitated again and again, and after a long discussion with his men, he ordered: "Select a general to lead 50,000 troops and station them at Pinghekou to monitor Ning Shehai's troops. The army will continue to move south!"
He stood up and said: "Instruct all armies to speed up their march and must arrive at Caoshu City within ten days. If there is any delay, military law will be enacted!"
At the same time, Caoshu City.
Lin Ye stood on the city wall and looked north.
It was true that the Cowardly Army was still in Yunzhou, but Lin Ye had already arrived at Caoshu City.
Pang Panghai asked: "General, will the Loufan people divide their forces?"
Lin Ye replied: "No, at most tens of thousands of people will be sent to monitor Lao Ning."
Pang Panghai asked: "Then Caoshu City is the place for the decisive battle?"
He even rubbed his buttocks as he spoke. The two generals were pretending to be at odds with each other, but his butt was really spanked, and it still hurts when he thinks about it.
"Cao Shucheng?"
Lin Ye smiled.
"Not worth guarding."
