Chapter 1 Military Council Ends, Preparations Begin

The military council ended, and each unit received Jingnan King's military orders.

The next morning, the Yan army's various troops began preparations and movements.

Liang Cheng once said that civil officials like to say that governing a large country is like cooking a small fish, but in reality, military affairs are even more so.

In the eyes of outsiders, soldiers are extremely fierce, but the ability to turn a steel blade into a gentle touch is the true skill of a master.

The movement of a large army is not something that can be accomplished overnight, especially since each unit has corresponding objectives and must pay attention to gradual and overall progress. Therefore, haste is not advisable.

While the Yan army was moving, the Chu army was not idle either. Not to mention the five detachments each that Nian Yao ordered to detour out from behind Zhennan Pass, the various fortresses and military villages were also active.

Jingnan King was right; this was a grand play, and there were many people setting the stage.

The combined forces of Yan and Chu gathered here, plus the laborers added to make up the numbers, saying it was a million-strong army arrayed for viewing was not an exaggeration. In history books, this would be considered quite accurate.

And as one of the main characters about to take the stage,

Zheng Boye's mood had been extremely unpleasant these past few days.

The matter had been entrusted to Liang Cheng, who would be responsible for arranging and formulating plans. What Zheng Boye needed to do was to live with this sullen mood.

At this moment, the curtain of the command tent was lifted, and Fan Li led the Savage King in, hand in hand.

A giant of a man,

And a Savage King who was noticeably thin and short,

They walked hand in hand like this, dismounting from the outer camp and proceeding all the way to the command tent.

Fan Li didn't care about other people's opinions. He only knew that the lord's orders were to guard Gou Moli well.

Gou Moli, of course, cared even less about these things. If he wasn't clear about his own external conditions, he would actually be quite willing to adopt some of the Jin customs.

Well,

He was once the Savage King, after all.

In terms of status and position,

He wasn't necessarily inferior to the Jin Kingdom's Empress Dowager, was he?

But it was a pity that

This Pingye Marquis didn't seem to like this path.

In the Marquis's residence, even Gou Moli had to shrink his neck when he saw that Mister Feng.

Ordinary women were only good at fighting in the inner chambers, but Gou Moli knew that Mister Feng's real specialty was actually in the outer court.

As for that princess and that Miss Liu,

Alas,

Gou Moli didn't know the term "collecting hobby,"

But there was a type of weak demon beast in the snow plains called the Brocade Rat, which liked to collect shiny things in its cave. So many people relied on hunting Brocade Rats to find their lairs, often discovering gold and silver objects, and if they were lucky, they might even find gold and silver mines.

Therefore, in Gou Moli's opinion, in the matter of beauty, Pingye Marquis was a Brocade Rat among Brocade Rats, and of the high-level type that wouldn't even consider ordinary gold, silver, or vulgar objects.

Zheng Boye waved his hand, signaling Fan Li to leave.

Fan Li grinned foolishly and left, leaving Gou Moli in the command tent.

Gou Moli immediately knelt down:

"Your subordinate greets the Marquis, wishing you good health and fortune."

Zheng Fan had said that he would remove his shackles when they attacked Chu.

This meant that he would become Zheng Fan's subordinate.

Zheng Fan could forget these words, but Gou Moli had to keep them in mind at all times.

"Get up."

"Thank you, Marquis."

Gou Moli stood up, smiled, and said, "The Marquis seems to be in low spirits. Is it because of the Yangshan Fortress?"

"You know about it?"

"Mister Bei spoke to me about it earlier, Marquis. Your subordinate has one thing I don't understand. This is clearly a great thing, so why is the Marquis so unhappy?

A million-strong army setting the stage for you, and you singing solo, tsk tsk. Such a scene is definitely more impressive than when the princes led your horse and the crown prince received you in the capital."

Zheng Boye lowered his eyelids.

"Marquis, are you worried about the losses to your troops?"

Zheng Boye leaned back slightly, placed his hands crossed over his abdomen, and didn't speak, which was considered an admission.

The garrison at Yangshan Fortress wasn't large, because it was just a military village, and according to Jingnan King's meaning, it was a bait deliberately set by the Chu. If the bait was too big, who would dare to take it?

But this bait actually had eight thousand stationed troops.

The specifics would have to wait until tonight when he and Liang Cheng went to take a look.

But in any case, their combat power wasn't weak, at least not comparable to the trash from Qian three years ago.

Attacking a fortress requires speed and efficiency.

With Tian Wujing leading the main force to put pressure on the enemy, according to Liang Cheng, they could only deter the Chu for a maximum of two days.

After all, Yangshan Fortress was the center of the Chu military fortress system, and Nian Yao wasn't an ordinary person. After two days, he would have enough time to redeploy his troops and turn the situation around.

Therefore, Zheng Boye only had two days to attack Yangshan Fortress.

This also included the time for a surprise attack. Since it was a surprise attack and time was limited, there wouldn't be time to push the prepared siege equipment over, and it would be impossible to build them on the spot.

The word "attack" already explained everything.

That's why Jingnan King specifically mentioned using a "Tiger Battalion" to carry out this task.

But this also meant extremely heavy casualties, even greater than the casualties when defending Xuehai Pass, because this time he was the main attacker.

Gou Moli was somewhat surprised,

Because he really didn't understand Pingye Marquis's thought process.

It was a good thing that others would beg for, so why were you frowning after it landed in your hands?

If it was deliberately acting cute and playing the victim, that would be one thing,

But Gou Moli knew that he didn't have the qualifications to have Pingye Marquis put on an act in front of him.

"If the Marquis didn't want to, why did you accept this task?" Gou Moli asked.

Zheng Boye shook his head and said, "I didn't speak during the military council. Jingnan King personally appointed me."

Gou Moli took a deep breath

And sighed,

"Jingnan King is truly good to you, Marquis."

"I know."

This was a good thing,

Indeed a good thing.

He just needed to look at those generals in the King's tent slapping their chests and vying for this task to know that this was definitely a great thing.

But Zheng Boye didn't want this great thing.

During the military council, he certainly knew that if he had asked to fight, Jingnan King would have likely given him this task, but he just didn't want to.

This wasn't being pretentious or hypocritical;

His foundation was weak, so he took good care of it. Moreover, he could guarantee that the various troops under his command would unconditionally follow him no matter what he wanted to do.

Even Gao Yi, because he came from the Jingnan Army, might have some hesitation, but he led the fewest troops and was still in charge of his own personal guards, so he couldn't make any waves.

Zheng Boye would feel heartache if any of these assets were lost, and if he attacked this fortress, wouldn't he lose half of them?

To put it bluntly,

This wasn't a strategy game from later generations, where losses could be replenished by recruiting more troops;

In Zheng Boye's eyes, these soldiers and families weren't just data, but living people.

Zheng Boye usually liked to stroll around Xuehai Pass in disguise after working, enjoying the atmosphere of life in his domain.

Wasn't that precisely what attracted the Sword Saint to Xuehai Pass?

It wasn't that he couldn't be ruthless. Zheng Boye understood the saying that "one general's success is built on ten thousand bones," but wasn't he preparing to use tens of thousands of Savage slaves as cannon fodder to reduce the deaths of his own troops when attacking the city?

But alas,

He had already remained silent, but Tian Wujing directly pulled a "creation ex nihilo."

Tian Wujing directly gave him the opportunity to make a great contribution. This was care and support for him. Zheng Boye understood the reasoning.

But even a grown child would have a rebellious attitude towards their parents waving the flag of "for your own good," let alone a general as big as Zheng Boye?

Just like the different strategies given by Liang Cheng and Tian Wujing,

Everyone had different starting points and needs, so the directions were actually different as well.

In war, people could die, but would it be happy if everyone in Xuehai Pass wore mourning clothes after they returned?

Although this battle was related to the future survival of Xuehai Pass, it was only one battle in this war. Li Fusheng could also fight it, and Jingnan King's direct Jingnan Army could also fight it.

"Marquis, you are benevolent," Gou Moli said.

This wasn't fake.

To be fair, in Gou Moli's opinion, the man in front of him could indeed be called ruthless, but he was truly kind to his own people.

"The military order has already been issued. It's meaningless to argue about it now. It's my own business that I'm not feeling well. I called you here because I have something to tell you."

Gou Moli smiled. How could he not see through Zheng Boye's thoughts? He immediately said:

"Marquis, rest assured, the Savage Tribe is willing to be the vanguard."

"Heh." Zheng Boye chuckled and waited for the follow-up.

"This time, the Marquis shouldn't bring too many troops to attack Yangshan Fortress. If there are too many, it will be inconvenient to move, and the dragon's body will be too thick. It should be suspended at that critical point.

Let the Chu think that if they swallow it, they will worry about breaking all their teeth, and they can only watch as Jingnan King leads the Yan army to trade pieces, watching you do your thing.

The best situation is probably to make the Chu think that the Marquis's troops aren't much more numerous than the Yangshan Fortress garrison, giving the Chu confidence that they can defend it."

Gou Moli paused and continued:

"Therefore, it's enough for the Marquis to send out ten thousand troops this time."

Zheng Boye narrowed his eyes and continued listening.

"As for the casualties that the Marquis is worried about, rest assured, the matter of dying will be handled by my Savage Tribe.

Sang Hu has one thousand usable Savage warriors under his command, all of whom are elites. Then, select two thousand from the Savage slaves, the kind whose families are also slaves, so you can have some concerns.

During the attack,

Three thousand Savage knights will lead the way, embracing the determination to die.

No matter how sturdy the Chu military village is, no matter how exquisite the Chu military formation is, three thousand death riders will use their flesh and blood to smash open a gap.

At that time, the Marquis will lead his main cavalry force through this gap, and breaking the village will be as easy as turning your hand."

"Three thousand death riders?"

Zheng Boye was tempted.

It was precisely because Zheng Boye had been on many battlefields that he understood that it was difficult for any army to avoid collapsing after suddenly suffering a major blow.

The quality of an army largely depends on the proportion of casualties it can withstand.

The Qian border army three years ago collapsed at the first touch;

Zheng Boye didn't think that the Chu army, which had been preparing for three years, would be so vulnerable, but after all, it wasn't made of iron either.

If three thousand Savage knights disregarded everything and took on all the damage, smashing open the military village and breaking through the Chu army's formation, the battle would undoubtedly be much easier.

"Marquis, rest assured, I don't have any other skills, but in terms of tricking Savages into dying, no one in the snow plains can surpass me.

In addition,

It's not that I have other thoughts, but it's really because the Marquis gave me too little time to untie the knot. Otherwise, it wouldn't be three thousand, but five thousand, six thousand, seven thousand, eight thousand.

Even if the Marquis gives an order, the main force can remain still. I will lead the Savage troops forward alone, and even if they fight to the death, even if they use their teeth, they can tear down that Yangshan Fortress for the Marquis."

Back then,

The Savage King relied on this skill

To first stand up to the Situ family with the disunited Savages, and then win a battle against the Yan army on the Wangjiang River.

In fact, even in the battle where he was defeated by Jingnan King, the Savage army under the Savage King didn't lose in terms of momentum and courage. During the charge, the warriors of various tribes were actually embracing the will to die.

In the era of cold weapons, the combat power that courage can inspire is definitely not low.

But unfortunately, he encountered the elite of the Great Yan's two field armies, whose courage and momentum weren't inferior to his, and whose battlefield quality and ability were far superior to the Savage army pieced together under his command. In the end, the army collapsed under Jingnan King's method of butchering an ox.

"Is it worth it?"

Zheng Boye suddenly asked.

Zheng Boye didn't feel sorry for those Savage slave soldiers, and at the same time, he knew that the Savage King didn't feel sorry for them either.

But Zheng Boye was even clearer that the Savage King must feel sorry for those "death riders" who could be rearmed and organized by him.

The Savage King once said that the most idealistic and ambitious generation of Savages in the snow plains had been buried by him, and the current snow plains were full of short-sighted people.

But how to say it, nothing is absolute. The snow plains are so vast that he can still pick up the lost gems.

Zheng Boye didn't believe that the Savage King had completely submitted to him and become a complete turncoat.

If that was the case, the Savage King wouldn't be the Savage King.

"Marquis, it hurts, it still hurts a little, but it's worth it."

As he spoke,

The Savage King smiled

And said,

"I once chatted with General Jin Suke, the barbarian general under your command. Mister Bei was also there that time.

I know that at first, the barbarians were also insignificant in your eyes, Marquis."

Zheng Boye remained noncommittal.

"People always have their own preferences and biases. This is human nature. As a superior, you need to be aware of your preferences and biases, and give benefits and preferential treatment to those who are close to you. Otherwise, no one will support you.

What I have to do now is to use the lives of the Savages to exchange for an acknowledgment from you, Marquis."

"Acknowledgment?"

"I believe that after paying enough, the Marquis will eventually treat us Savages as his own people."

"I can't guarantee that."

"But that's what you're doing, Marquis. There are very few Yan people among your troops, and there are many Jin and barbarians. Scholars like to talk about teaching without discrimination, but in my opinion, you, Marquis, are the one who truly puts teaching without discrimination into practice."

"You should be clear about the reason why there are so few Yan people under my command."

"That's just the cause. The cause is a point, and the effect is also a point, but there is a very, very long line between the cause and the effect. This is what Buddhist monks like to say."

"You, go down and prepare."

"Your subordinate thanks you, Marquis."

The Savage King didn't go down

But opened his mouth and said:

"Marquis, there is one more thing."

"Speak."

"This time, the attack will attract much attention. Using Savages as the vanguard to attack the village will be a stroke of genius in the eyes of other generals. They will only admire you, Marquis, for being good at driving dogs and horses;

But,

There is one person who probably can't be hidden from. It's best for you, Marquis, to give him a heads-up in advance."

"I know."

"Then, your subordinate takes his leave."

After saying goodbye, Gou Moli didn't go down.

Zheng Fan looked at him,

And he was also looking at Zheng Fan.

After a while,

Gou Moli pointed behind him

And said:

"Your subordinate, is going to go to the Savages?"

"Go."

"Your subordinate, is really going to go?"

"You don't want to go?"

"No, no, it's just that the happiness came too suddenly, and your subordinate suddenly feels that it's a bit unreal."

"Then don't go."

"Don't, don't, don't, your subordinate knows his mistake, your subordinate knows his mistake. Marquis, to be honest, you're really too trusting. Aren't you afraid that something will happen to your subordinate on the day of the attack?"

"You, is this called self-defilement? Or do you suddenly feel that you're a bit tired of living?"

"Your subordinate is just joking with you, Marquis, just joking."

"On the day of the attack, a million-strong army will put pressure on the enemy, and you'll have three thousand Savage riders. What can you do? Rebel on the battlefield, capture me, and send me to the Chu?

Tell me, after you capture me and send me to the Chu, will you die, or will I die?"

After all,

He was the Chu's son-in-law.

When he went to Yanjing, Prince Regent Jing also sent Jing Renli to deliver the princess's and son-in-law's outfits.

"Hehehe."

The Savage King laughed

Got up

And said:

"These Chu people are really sinful, aren't they?"

After saying that,

Gou Moli slapped his trousers

And said:

"Marquis, you just wait and see. Gouzi will definitely not disappoint you."

………

Not long after Gou Moli left, Liang Cheng arrived, followed by A Ming and the Sword Saint.

"Aren't we supposed to wait until tonight?" Zheng Fan asked.

Originally, tonight was supposed to be reconnaissance of the enemy's situation on the front line. After all, the attack on Yangshan Fortress was a surprise attack. Since it was a matter of timing, there was no way you could slowly observe and find weaknesses after you got there.

Basically, after running to that place, you had to tidy up a bit, eat some dry food, build up some horsepower, and then start charging.

The changes on the battlefield were instantaneous, and delaying for even a little while was the greatest desecration of one's own safety.

Liang Cheng replied: "Lord, since this morning, the various Yan armies have increased the number of scouts, and they have completely suppressed the Chu's sentries.

It's most appropriate for us to disguise ourselves as a scouting party and enter at this time;

In addition, if we really wait until dark, the observation effect may not be good."

"Alright, help me put on my armor."

Two personal guards stepped forward to help Zheng Fan put on his armor.

Zheng Boye didn't plan to wear that set of golden armor.

While putting on his armor, Zheng Fan glanced at the Sword Saint, who was still wearing ordinary robes, and said:

"Swords and sabers have no eyes."

This was telling the Sword Saint to put on his armor.

The Sword Saint said: "It's inconvenient to move."

Zheng Boye added: "I'm afraid of being conspicuous."

The Sword Saint had nothing to say

And could only let Zheng Fan's personal guards help him put on his armor as well.

"Marquis, your subordinate will go and lead the Pixiu over," a personal guard said.

"Very good, you don't need to come here tomorrow. Go to the stables and be responsible for brushing the Pixiu's fur."

"………" The personal guard.

…

The "scouting party" set off.

Zheng Boye was accompanied by Liang Cheng, A Ming, and the Sword Saint, plus ten personal guard riders.

Any more people would be conspicuous. A typical scouting party was about this size.

The afternoon sun seemed a bit gloomy.

As they rode, Zheng Boye would occasionally look up at the sky.

"Judging by this posture, it's going to rain."

Rainy days don't have much impact on sieges. Many siege weapons aren't afraid of anything else, just fire.

But rainy days or attacking a village after the rain is much more difficult. After all, warhorses can't be used during sieges, but they are needed during village attacks.

Imagine,

Outside the military village, everything is muddy, and it's hard to pull the horse's hooves out after they sink in. How can you charge?

Even if you dismount and fight on foot, people still walk on their legs, which will also greatly limit their mobility and accelerate the consumption of their strength during the charge.

Liang Cheng said: "Lord, judging by today's wind direction, it should rain tonight."

Zheng Boye shook his head. What was this called? Misfortunes never come singly.

The group continued to go deeper, sometimes passing by some Chu military fortresses and villages. However, the Chu initially wanted to wrestle with the Yan in the scouting battle, but later found that the Yan scouts were too powerful. After consuming each other, the Chu chose to retreat inward.

Therefore, when Zheng Boye and others passed by those fortresses, they only heard the sound of gongs from afar, but there was no situation where troops were sent out from the fortresses to intercept them.

But overall, it gave the impression that the Chu were indeed not comparable to the Qian people three years ago. They were obviously more disciplined and not passively defending.

Before dusk, Zheng Boye and his party finally arrived at the outer edge of Yangshan Village.

After seeing it with his own eyes, Zheng Boye realized that Yangshan Village occupied a very large area.

The largeness here did not refer to the size of the military village and the number of stationed troops, but rather it was more like a construction site waiting to be started.

To use Zheng Boye's description from his previous life, it was like an unfinished building area.

It could be seen that the Chu people intended to build a very large fort here, and the foundation had been laid. The places that should be dug and chiseled had also been arranged, but the project was eventually stopped.

Under compulsion, the current Yangshan Village could only be built adjacent to this place.

This place could not be considered a mountain, but only a mound, with a slope and thickness, not steep. The village was built relying on the terrain. The west side was an "unfinished building," and the north side was directly facing the direction of the war, so rows of fortifications could be seen from a distance.

The fences of the military village were also built extremely tightly, which made Zheng Boye's head ache.

The group continued to move forward, bypassing the slope from the east. At this time, a group of cavalry could be seen moving out from the village to the camp gate.

It was likely that the sentry towers in the military village had already discovered this group of people, but because the distance was too far, it would be a waste of effort to chase or disperse them. Therefore, the cavalry in the military village did not attack, but if Zheng Boye and his group got closer, it was hard to say.

"What would it be like to attack from here?" Zheng Boye asked Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng shook his head and said: "Lord, in fact, it doesn't matter which direction you attack from. Relatively speaking, it's more appropriate to attack from the front;

Lord, please see, this village has the infrastructure of the original fort on the west side, which is equivalent to borrowing a wall. It's really not easy to attack from there; and on the east side, which is the side we are facing now, the Chu have set up three lines of defense: outer camp, middle camp, and inner camp. Not only are there fences, but I can guarantee that there are also trenches and other traps to rely on.

If our army attacks from this side, even if the vanguard is willing to give everything, they may not be able to tear through these three lines of defense. And once the vanguard fails to achieve effective results, the rear army will have to continue to fill people in, and it will completely turn into a war of attrition."

"Then it's definitely not possible to bypass it from behind," Zheng Boye said.

It seemed advantageous to pounce down from a high place, but in terms of feasibility, it was not very practical. First of all, you had to climb the slope when attacking. Even if you were riding a horse, you had to consume a lot of energy after climbing the slope. In addition, due to the lack of sufficient running distance, the charging advantage of the cavalry could not be brought into play at all.

Of course, when the real battle starts, there will definitely be a team of cavalry running there to harass and distract the attention of the defenders.

"So, we can only attack from the front?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Yes, Lord, the front seems to be the most heavily defended place, but it is also the most vulnerable place, because this Yangshan Village is not only responsible for defending the stronghold, but also for transferring troops. Lord, look at the village gate over there, it has three openings, and its purpose is to be more efficient during the transfer."

In fact, the existence of a military village would be very effective if it were deployed in towering mountains, but in the plains, even if it was barely built on a hillside in front of them, it could not be said to be very solid.

Given enough siege weapons, it could be worn down, and the enemy might not die, but those defensive works would be worn down.

In terms of defense, military forts and cities were needed. The role of a military village was only a reliance point, or for garrison troops to prevent sneak attacks.

During large-scale battles, the defending side would also use military villages to form formations and conduct large-scale battles in the wild.

Therefore, since ancient times, there have been no war cases where a siege lasted for half a year or a year to finally capture a military village.

But it happened that this Yangshan Village played a key role here.

It was just there,

It was just blatantly disgusting you,

But it was difficult for you to swallow it in one bite,

And if Jingnan King had not arranged a large formation to suppress the situation this time, freezing the Chu army's movements, it would have been difficult for you to have the opportunity to attack it.

Unless you overwhelmed it with one wave, as long as you delayed a little, the surrounding military forts and villages, including Zhennan Pass, would send reinforcements to encircle you.

"Fortunately, they didn't build a military fort here," Zheng Boye said with emotion.

If a military fort was built here, it would be difficult to take it down by surprise, with one wave or several waves, unless all of Zheng Boye's men were transformed into Fan Li.

"This battle will be easy to fight as long as we enter the village. With the combat power of our army, we will definitely have no problem dismounting and fighting on foot, as we have the numerical advantage."

The soldiers of Xuehai Pass were personally trained by Liang Cheng, and he had great confidence in his hard work.

"Aren't you worried?" Zheng Boye asked.

"Lord, since we have decided to fight, we can't worry about such things."

"Then we really don't have a common language," Zheng Boye joked with a smile, but soon, he pointed to the sky with some worry, "I see……"

Before he could finish his words, a drop of rain fell on Zheng Boye's nose.

"It's raining."

This rain seemed to have been brewing for a long time. At first, it was sparse, and then it started to rain heavily. It came just in time.

The terrain in front of Yangshan Village was already low-lying. If the rain continued to fall, it would easily turn into a swamp, which would be a nightmare for the Yan army's cavalry.

After their great defeat a hundred years ago, the Qian people were determined to learn a lesson from their pain and spent a lot of manpower and resources to divert a branch of the Qian River, in an attempt to change the course of the Qian River and form a natural barrier in front of Shangjing.

They even widely planted paddy fields, with the purpose of deterring the Yan's most powerful cavalry.

It was just that the Qian people were more unlucky. A hundred years later, the Yan people actually attacked all the way in winter, using the frozen Bian River surface to directly reach the walls of Shangjing City.

"Actually, it's pretty good, Lord. In this way, the Chu people will be caught off guard when we take action. It's unlikely that they will guess that we will launch a surprise attack on the village during the rainy weather or just after the rain when the ground is still muddy."

Zheng Boye looked at Liang Cheng and said: "Are you comforting me?"

"No, Lord."

"Then how do you say we should solve the mud below?"

"During the attack, each rider can bring a bag of soil to fill the puddles."

"Hahahahaha," Zheng Boye laughed.

"Hehehe," Liang Cheng also laughed.

A Ming rolled his eyes.

The Sword Saint remained as still as a mountain.

After laughing for a while,

Zheng Boye saw that Liang Cheng was no longer speaking, stopped laughing, and asked in surprise:

"You're not joking?"

………

Inside Yangshan Village,

Jing Renli had just announced the General's decree to Chi Mingyi, the defending general of Yangshan Village.

Chi Mingyi himself was not of noble birth, but he was the son-in-law of Bai Pu's Bai family.

The Bai family's fief was in Changxi Prefecture, adjacent to the Great Marsh. There were also many water systems extending from the Great Marsh within the prefecture. Not to mention the harassment of monsters, there were also many water bandits.

Although the Bai family was only a third-class marquis, their ancestors were once first-class marquises. They were ordered by the Chu Emperor to be enfeoffed in Bai Pu in order to suppress and clear the water bandit troubles in Changxi Prefecture.

The reason why they were a third-class marquis was because the Bai family's head had committed a crime in his early years and was convicted and demoted.

Over the years, the water bandits had not been completely wiped out. This did not mean that the Bai family's suppression of the bandits was ineffective or that they were raising bandits to support themselves, but because the Great Marsh itself was a place for the Chu to "hide dirt and harbor filth." The Chu's rangers and hooligans liked to say: If you anger your grandfather, your grandfather will chop you with a knife and then enter the Great Marsh!

Therefore, it was difficult for Changxi Prefecture, which never lacked fresh blood, to be truly peaceful, but with the Bai family and the Bai Pu army, they had always maintained superficial stability.

This time, the Bai family sent more than eight thousand troops, all of whom were elites. One was to serve the country, and the other was to hope to gain military exploits in this war so as to raise the family's status again.

"General Chi, the General's order is like this, you must take good care of this place and not let any accidents happen."

Chi Mingyi smiled and said, "I know, isn't it just using me and this Bai Pu army as bait?"

"You can't say that."

"It's all the same whether you say it or not. Chi only hopes that the General can remember the Bai Pu army's contribution. Please also trouble Brother Jing to go back and tell the General that as long as the Bai Pu army is here, Yangshan Village will be here.

When I was selected to garrison this military village, Chi was clear about what he would encounter. It would be fine if the Yan people didn't come, but if they did, then let the Yan people see the power of my Bai Pu rattan armor soldiers!"

"General Chi is righteous, Jing admires you."

"Not at all, not at all. Actually, Brother Jing, you didn't have to make a special trip. These days, the Yan scouts are rampant, and it's also dangerous."

"I should come, I still have to come. Jing's job in the army is to run errands, haha."

The Jing family focused on the Chu's culture and education, and they didn't actually have much influence in the army. During this mobilization by the Prince Regent, the Jing family didn't send a complete system of private soldiers, but instead contributed many slaves as laborers.

Jing Renli had to rely on himself to take this path in the army.

At this time, the sound of rain came from outside the military tent.

Chi Mingyi lifted the curtain and walked out with Jing Renli.

Jing Renli smiled and said: "This rain is not small."

Chi Mingyi sighed and said: "It seems that the Yan people will not come these days. The Yan people's hooves are stuck in the mud, and they can't advance or retreat at all."

"That's the logic."

"Therefore, Chi has always felt that even if the Yan people can break through Zhennan Pass, their warhorses will never be as powerful in my Chu's water marshlands as they are in Jin."

"General Chi's words are fine to say to me, but don't say them to outsiders. Zhennan Pass must not be lost."

"I know, I know."

Jing Renli looked to the west and found that there were two catapults parked there. He couldn't help but smile and said: "General Chi, why do you have this here?"

Logically speaking, catapults would not be deployed in military villages.

"They were originally going to be transported from me to Xibao a while ago, but they broke down on the way, so the craftsmen left them here to repair. It just so happened that the Yan people increased their reconnaissance efforts, and I was preparing to let Xibao send someone to transport them over themselves, but I'm too lazy to waste the effort."

"Hehe, I heard that the Yan people's Pingye Marquis seems to be good at mechanical creation. He also used this when the savages attacked the city in the past."

"The Yan people's mechanical creation skills are just learning a bit of the fur. They can't be put on the table."

"That's right."

"Oh, right, come here."

"General."

"Didn't someone report earlier that Yan scouts appeared on the east side? Have they left yet?"

"In response to the General's words, they haven't. Vice General Xu is still preparing to ask the General whether to send a team of cavalry to drive them away."

"Why bother with those flies and waste your energy in vain." Saying that, Chi Mingyi pointed to the catapult and said: "Call the craftsmen over and let me and Brother Jing open our eyes."

Jing Renli said: "General Chi, this is not appropriate, right?"

"What's appropriate and inappropriate, it's just playing around after all. I hate that this thing is taking up space here. When the war really starts, this thing is useless."

The military village didn't have enough defensive depth. When the enemies rushed to the front of the village, the catapult's throwing distance was awkward. Secondly, forced throwing might help the enemies break open a gap to enter the village.

Jing Renli then took advantage of the situation and asked: "Can you hit them?"

"Unless that Yan scout really had bad luck, otherwise, it's probably impossible to hit them, but it's good to