One month after successfully regaining the imperial capital, the world-famous Zhenjiang Army began a new operation.
A small number of troops continued to stay in the city, preparing to exchange defenses with the imperial army; the Third Army, the Fourth Army, and the Seventh Army moved westward and returned to Western Xinjiang to rest; the First Army, the Second Army, the Fifth Army, the Sixth Army, The Eighth Army marched eastward and joined the Ninth Army, which had seized Tongguan one step ahead of schedule, and went out to put down the rebellion.
Three hundred thousand elite soldiers and generals, holding the eagle flag of the Suppressing Army and the handsome flag of the Protectorate, appeared on the battlefield in the Central Plains with high morale.
Their first target was Lushi County, located three hundred miles southeast of Tongguan.
At that place, a battalion of rebels was stationed.
As the vanguard assault force, the First Gale Army took the initiative to attack the Lu family, hoping to get a good start for the entire army.
However, what everyone did not expect was that the First Army, which was advancing so violently, actually came to nothing in Lushi County. The more than a thousand rebels who originally occupied Lu's territory actually rushed in front of the First Army and escaped early. Unwilling to succeed in the surprise attack, the vanguard troops continued to rush towards Luanchuan County, two hundred miles away.
Unfortunately, once again they were busy in vain.
The three thousand enemies entrenched in Luanchuan also withdrew first, and they left the county town half an hour before the arrival of the First Army.
The rebels are shrinking and retreating in a planned way!
Sensing that something was wrong, the experienced vanguard commander immediately ordered his troops to stop blind pursuit and prepare for defense on the spot. At the same time, report this situation to Xu Shuai.
Xu Youchang was on his way to Lu's family at this time. When he received a military report from the front, he also thought that the rebels' actions were very strange, so he asked the marching team to be more vigilant while turning their horses' heads to discuss with Li Jiangyao.
At this time, the main force of Daduhu had just left Tongguan. Seeing Xu Youchang coming in a hurry, Li Jiangyao ordered the commander's battalion to stop and rest, while he found a flat place by the roadside to study the enemy's situation with Xu Youchang and other generals.
"Sir, Bao Yuchun is playing a trick on us." Xu Youchang took off his heavy helmet and said with a smile: "Deliberately retreating, as if to lure the enemy deeper, and then make us suspicious, no Dare to move forward easily."
Du Jian frowned: "Then are you trying to lure the enemy deeper?"
Xu Youchang waved his hand: "Lao Du, this is not important. What is important is that Bao Yuchun fooled us with simple movements without spending a single soldier, and made us start to follow his rhythm. This is a battle of the heart. Once the technique is successful continuously, the opponent will slowly enter a habitual thinking and become more and more passive."
Du Jianruo realized something: "I understand. What you mean is that if we follow Bao Yuchun's little actions and react accordingly, over time, we will form a fixed trajectory and be led by him everywhere. ,Is it right?"
"Yes, that's the truth." Xu Youchang smiled bitterly: "Lao Bao is an expert in this type of tactics and is very famous in the martial arts hall."
Du Jian scratched his head and asked, "Then if we don't obey him, why don't we just chase him and beat him up?"
Xu Youchang responded helplessly: "But if he is lying and actually sets up an ambush circle to lure the enemy deeper, won't we fall into the trap?"
Seeing that Li Jiangyao remained silent, Du Jian couldn't help but asked curiously: "Boss, what are you thinking about?"
Li Jiangyao did not answer him, but turned to the side and asked: "Where is Bao Yuchun now? Has the information been obtained?"
Yuduoluo, who was squatting aside, responded quickly: "According to the spy, I saw him in Nanyang five days ago, but then... I can't be sure. I'm still waiting for a new report."
"Nanyang?" Li Jiangyao pondered for a moment and murmured: "Bao Yuchun is a veteran in fighting. He will never sit in Nanyang in a daze at this time. Instead, he will move around on his own to catch our flaws at any time."
He raised his head and asked everyone: "Our agreement with the Suzaku Army is to meet up in Nanzhao County, north of Nanyang. Do you think Lao Bao knew about this plan in advance?"
"That's for sure," Xiong Yunjie said without hesitation: "The Dongdu court has been fully infiltrated by the rebels for a long time, and now it has almost turned into a sieve. There are no secrets at all."
Dong Tianxing nodded sheepishly: "As General Xiong said, Lao Jianhua has too many informants, and it is very likely that our plan will be leaked."
Li Jiangyao smiled: "Well, if Bao Yuchun knows that we are going to meet up in Nanzhao County and then go to fuck him together, how will he respond?"
Jigrizi, the commander of the Sixth Army, tried to say: "There are three options. First, defend Nanyang and engage in a large-scale battle with our army. However, according to the adults, the man named Bao is very smart and will definitely not want to Do this. Second, before we rush up, they fully retreat and hide farther south. Although this can avoid our sharp edge, it is too passive and is not the behavior of a famous general. Third, just like the Great Protector What I just mentioned, mobile roaming tactics, choose one of us or the Suzaku Legion, try to inflict heavy damage, and then turn around to deal with the other one."
Xiong Yunjie continued: "The terrain along the way from Luanchuan County to Nanzhao County is complex. There are tributaries of the Baihe River in the east and vast mountains in the west. It is very convenient whether it is transporting troops or hiding troops. I estimate that Bao Yuchun will probably be here. Use hands and feet."
Hearing this, Li Jiangyao nodded with satisfaction.
After several years of hard work, Xijiang not only forged a brave and capable army, but also trained a large number of outstanding young generals, among whom Jigrizi and Xiong Yunjie were representatives. Looking at the analysis of the two men, it is not difficult to know that they are no longer the rude men who only knew how to fight in battle, but have become qualified commanders who are good at using their brains and thinking clearly.
"You are all right." Li Jiangyao said: "Now that we know that Bao Yuchun is likely to do mischief on the Luanchuan Nanzhao front line, do we still want to follow his wishes?"
Xu Youchang smiled and said: "You mean to find another way to surprise Lao Bao?"
Li Jiangyao laughed loudly: "Those who know me are friends. Look at the map. As soon as the army leaves Luanchuan County, directly to the southeast are Laojun Mountain, Baiyun Mountain and Erlong Mountain. After walking dozens of miles of mountain roads, they exit Mountain pass, followed by Baihe. This terrain is really beneficial to Bao Yuchun. Unless I am crazy, I will follow his wishes. My idea is that when the army reaches Luanchuan County, they will all stop and give each other It creates the illusion of hesitation.”
Xu Youchang immediately understood what his good brother meant: "Do you want to hold Lao Bao back and force him to find trouble with Ma Hongjie?"
"It's not about forcing him, but taking advantage of the situation." Li Jiangyao smiled: "Let Bao Yuchun think that he has successfully frightened us, so he just sent his army north to give the Suzaku Army a hard blow first, and then come back calmly and continue to deal with it. us."
Dong Tianxing hesitated: "Isn't this... tantamount to cheating Ma Hongjie?"
Li Jiangyao patted the old man on the shoulder: "Look what you said, am I that kind of person? Mr. Dong, tell Lao Ma my plan, and they will cooperate to prevent the rebels from getting any advantage."
Xu Youchang nodded slightly: "You are right. The Suzaku Army only needs to play the role of diverting the tigers away from the mountain, while we acted secretly, from Laojun Mountain to Xixia County in the south, and then quickly advanced towards Dengzhou. That is located in Dengzhou. To the south of Nanyang is Bao Yuchun's rear area. Once it falls, it will be cut off from Xiangcheng!"
"Let's just say you are the roundworm in my belly. That's what I planned." Li Jiangyao smiled and said: "However, such a large-scale detour requires at least five hundred miles, and half of it is rugged mountain roads. It’s not easy to walk.”
Du Jian added: "You also have to try to avoid the eyes of the enemy scouts. Bao Yuchun is a famous general in Shengtang, and the skills of his spies are probably no worse than our Pegasus scout battalion. Once they sniff out any signs of trouble, they will launch long-distance attacks. It’s hard to work.”
Li Jiangyao's eyes fell on one person: "Old Du is right. You must be foolproof when sneaking and running long distances. Therefore, only you can do this mission."
The person he was talking to was Duan Jun, the commander of the Ninth Army.
Kuangsha Ninth Army, like Montenegro's Fourth Army, is a pure light cavalry army. This force moves quickly and comes and goes like the wind. It is best at carrying out long-distance attacks and specializes in attacking the enemy's rear. They had made great achievements in capturing Tongguan some time ago.
Seeing the Chief Protector's roll call, Duan Jun suddenly stood up and responded loudly: "Don't worry, Sir, our army will go all out to ensure the completion of the mission!"
Li Jiangyao waved him to sit down and told him carefully: "Du Jian just said that Bao Yuchun's scouts are no worse than Zhenjiang Pegasus scouts. This is not an exaggeration. When Xu Shuai and I were studying in the imperial capital's martial arts hall, The course 'Enemy Detection and Investigation' was co-edited by Lao Bao. He is a well-deserved expert in all kinds of techniques. You must be fully prepared to completely avoid the other party's eyes, and don't let others figure it out as soon as you go out. ”
Duan Jun nodded solemnly: "Sir, I will remember your words! I am a veteran of the Pegasus Scout Battalion. When you were a captain, I followed you throughout Western Xinjiang. How to confuse and avoid the enemy? I have some experience in investigation, and I will take it seriously."
Li Jiangyao, an old subordinate of Pegasus Scout, indeed did not lie. After Duan Jun analyzed the enemy's situation in detail, he put forward a new suggestion: instead of following the main force to Luanchuan County, the Ninth Army would turn south before reaching Lushi County and pass through Xixia County along Shangyu Mountain.
Although this would require an extra two hundred miles of detour, it would be able to avoid Bao Yuchun's scouts as much as possible.
Moreover, the road to the Shangyu Mountains is more difficult to walk than the Laojun Mountain side, which is not conducive to the movement of large cavalry units. Therefore, Bao Yuchun never expected that the light cavalry of the Zhenjiang Army would circle behind him from this direction.
