ushernet Chapter 157 Sending out troops
Chapter 157 Sending out troops
Yuan Shu really thought he was something special after declaring himself emperor. With his military strength, even if he became emperor, the other warlords wouldn't launch a real attack anytime soon. But, of all times, he had to provoke Chen Er. Did Chen Er and the autonomous regions under his rule think they were so easy to mess with? Obviously not.
Yuan Shao's newly established Chen state was threatened by Chen Er's two main legions, one reserve legion, and various auxiliary forces, totaling more than 300,000 troops.
In the past few years, the autonomous region has completely controlled Youzhou, Jizhou, Bingzhou, Anbei Protectorate, Qingzhou which was recently incorporated into its territory, and Xuzhou. Who in the world dares to oppose the King of Wei who controls more than five provinces? There is only Yuan Shu. Chen Er directly dispatched three legions.
Except for Zhao Yun's main force of one legion that remained stationed at the Protectorate General's office, the first, second, and third legions were all mobilized. The third legion took over the defense of the entire autonomous region, while the first and second legions, along with the fifth legion which had just been converted from the reserve force, were fully equipped and ready for battle, and had completed their assembly in Xuzhou.
Upon seeing the formidable army of the autonomous region, Yuan Shao of Yanzhou immediately announced that he would not send troops, as doing so could lead to disharmony within the alliance. After all, he was still a member of the Yuan family. However, Yuan Shao stated that he would provide provisions, which was sufficient to demonstrate his stance.
At the same time, the major warlords within the empire—Yizhou, Jingzhou, Sun Ce of Jiangdong, and Gongsun Zan of Guanzhong—all declared their intention to attack Yuan Shu and annihilate this enemy of the empire! Even those fighting amongst themselves in Liangzhou declared war on Yuan Shu, indicating their stance. Yuan Shu was truly isolated and without support.
When Yuan Shu heard that all the warlords in the land had risen up to attack him, he panicked. This was not the scenario he had envisioned. Why was he the one being besieged instead of Chen Er?
"Grand Preceptor, Grand Preceptor, what should I do?" Yuan Shu hurriedly asked Yang Hong. Grand Preceptor Yang Hong casually replied, "Your Majesty, do not be anxious. Although all the warlords in the land have declared their intention to attack my Chen Kingdom, in reality, only Chen Er and Sun Ce will actually take action. The rest will at most sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight; they will not actually send troops."
"Even so, how should we deal with Chen Er's army?" Yuan Shu asked.
"Your Majesty, I believe that if Your Majesty personally leads the expedition, it will surely boost the morale of the soldiers on the front lines. Moreover, with Your Majesty personally leading the expedition, the events of the last Battle of Xuzhou will not happen again, and our army will definitely be able to achieve victory."
Yang Hong said, "Furthermore, I suggest that our army should take the initiative, seize the initiative, and recapture Pengcheng as an important strategic stronghold for our army."
"Pengcheng?" Yuan Shu wasn't stupid. He used to be a Tiger General of the Han Empire. Although he was narrow-minded, he was still a man of some real ability. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the strength he had today. Yuan Shu saw the location of Pengcheng on the map.
As if a nail had been driven into his heart, Yuan Shu nodded heavily and said, "In that case, I shall strike first and personally lead the army to conquer Pengcheng!"
The news of Yuan Shu's intention to personally lead the army was not spread until the army was fully assembled. Only then did Yuan Shu announce his plan to personally lead the army.
Moreover, this information was only known to the high-ranking officials of Chen State; the soldiers underground would only learn of Yuan Shu's personal campaign when they reached the front lines.
However, Yuan Shu could never have imagined that his chief civil advisor, Jin Shang, had already betrayed the revolution. Upon learning that Yuan Shu was going to personally lead the expedition, Jin Shang's first reaction was to send his confidants to the north with his tokens to find a general or advisor who could speak on his behalf in the autonomous region.
Inform them that Yuan Shu's personal expedition was hidden within the main force of the Chen state army. With the wisdom of the generals and strategists of the autonomous region, they should be able to understand his meaning.
And just as Jin Shang had expected, when his news reached Gao Shun and Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai, who had come to serve as military advisors, the three of them exchanged glances.
Then he nodded deeply. Yes, this is a great opportunity, an excellent opportunity to crush the State of Chen in one fell swoop. However, before that, they must come up with a proper battle plan and have their lord in the rear allocate more manpower to quickly take over the State of Chen.
Moreover, although Kim Sang showed their friendship, everyone knew that this friendship was not solid, so Gao Shun and the others thought that they needed to add more bargaining chips.
"Let's consult our lord first," Xi Zhicai said.
The other three nodded in agreement, indicating that they should consult Chen Er. Gao Shun then summoned a personal guard and ordered him to take two men and immediately escort their battle plan back to Yuyang to consult Chen Er.
Although Chen Er gave the three of them the power to make their own decisions before they left, this was a matter that involved a wider range of issues, so the three of them still dared not make a decision casually. Moreover, even if the three of them had made a decision, they would have to inform Chen Er before carrying it out, otherwise they would be seen as autocratic, although Chen Er would not think that way.
However, the three cautious individuals did not act recklessly because of this. This may be why Chen Er sent them on a southern expedition. It was not only because Gao Shun had been fighting in the south for a long time and was familiar with it, but more importantly, because they were more cautious. This would help the autonomous region's army solve various problems on its way south.
However, the plan to use Pengcheng as bait to lure more Chen troops was definitely going to be carried out. Regardless of the battle plan, annihilating the main force of Chen would be beneficial to the subsequent plans. So, the moment the letter to Chen Er was sent...
Gao Shun and his men had already begun their preparations in Pengcheng. Using the three armies of the First Army Corps as bait, they would leave Pengcheng to attract the enemy's main force and keep it firmly tied down in Pengcheng. The Second and Fifth Army Corps would then make outflanking maneuvers from the east and west, respectively, to ultimately encircle the main force of the Chen Kingdom.
In this battle plan, once it is confirmed that Yuan Shu is indeed among the army, capturing or killing Yuan Shu will become the army's main objective! Because everyone knows that once Yuan Shu dies or is captured, the newly established Chen Kingdom will immediately vanish!
There are nearly a hundred large and small cannons of various models on Pengcheng Chengtoushan, with an average of at least twenty cannons on each city wall bombarding the outside of the city.
Moreover, since capturing Pengcheng, Gao Shun has been transporting a large amount of supplies through the Sishui River, clearly regarding Pengcheng as a future logistics supply center. He has even almost finished preparing a gun repair factory.