Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 367: Chapter 352 Attack Where He Must Save, Lure the Tiger Away from the Mountain!

Qinghua Prefecture City, the mighty army of the Tenglong Guard galloped towards it.

The cold iron armor and the chilly spearheads, filled with severity, gave an intimidating aura that sent shivers down one’s spine.

Before the army even reached the city, several groups of iron-armored cavalry spread out, patrolling around the entire city.

Subsequently, the army formed up below the city, with thousands of soldiers entering formation in an orderly manner. Within merely two quarter-hours, a huge military formation was set up below the city.

Behind the formation, numerous soldiers and engineers set about building a camp. Viewed from above, one’s first impression was of orderliness, with everything appearing coordinated and orderly.

Once the soldiers in front had completed forming up, Yang Zhenshan rode up to the formation front with his two hundred personal guards, looking up at the towering city as he stroked his beard.

Qinghua Prefecture City is a massive city that is home to tens of thousands of residents as well as the Prince Qing Mansion.

The Prince Qing Mansion is not just a residence but a King City, which naturally is not small.

The city walls of Qinghua Prefecture City are about two zhang (about 20 ft) high in total, with eight city gates in all directions, each topped with towering gatehouses, making the Guard City of the Tenglong Guard seem very small in comparison.

A moment later, Yang Mingzhi arrived in front of Yang Zhenshan with a hundred cavalry.

”How is it?” asked Yang Zhenshan.

”The city walls are intact, there are no breaches, and the city walls are heavily guarded by the rebel army!” Yang Mingzhi reported.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly.

Waging internal conflict within Da Rong differs from campaigning against the East Sea Hu Clan. Although the major tribes of the Hu Clan also have fixed tribal lands, they do not have city walls, at most a circle of wooden fences.

Originally, the primary reason why Yang Zhenshan could gallop across the Northern region and break seven Hu Clan tribal settlements in eight days was their lack of city walls, allowing his forces straightforward access.

Now, they faced a city, where two zhang high walls could block the majority of the soldiers.

Without any equipment, it is hard for even a martial artist in the Body Refining Realm to scale a two zhang high wall, let alone an ordinary person without cultivation.

At present, most of the soldiers in the Five Army Camps of the Tenglong Guard are martial artists, but most of the regular soldiers still have not reached that state.

To take the city, they must possess sufficient siege equipment.

”Go around and see if there are any trees that can be cut down!” Yang Zhenshan ordered.

”Yes, sir!” Yang Mingzhi acknowledged.

While Yang Zhenshan was observing the situation of Qinghua Prefecture City, atop the city wall, Prince Qing, Xu Maocai, and Duan Heng were also observing the situation of the Tenglong Guard.

Looking at the orderly formations and the soldiers standing firm as rocks, feeling the heavy and stern aura, the three felt an overwhelming pressure.

”Always heard that Yang Zhenshan is good at training troops and managing the military, seeing it today, the rumors indeed hold true!” Prince Qing said with a somber expression.

Xu Maocai frowned tightly, ”Yang Zhenshan is not only adept at training troops and military management but also skilled in military strategy. His book ’Thirty-Six Stratagems’ has spread throughout Da Rong, and it is said that the battle of Fushan City was won using his strategies!”

Prince Qing nodded, ”The current situation looks very unfavorable for us!”

”Yes, but Your Highness need not be worried, although the current situation is against us, as soon as Ji Feiyu leads the main army here, the situation will immediately turn around!”

”By then, we simply need to bolster our presence, and countless aspiring individuals in Liaodong will surely join Your Highness!”

Xu Maocai, confidently stroking his rather thin goat beard, said.

General Duan glanced at Xu Maocai and said, ”The urgent matter at hand is to get through the current crisis, block the advance of the Tenglong Guard, not to think about conquering all of Liaodong.”

He was uninterested in Xu Maocai’s ramblings; he was more practical-minded. At this moment, all he could think about was defense tactics—how to keep the Tenglong Guard outside the city walls, how to hold out for a month until Ji Feiyu arrives.

Undisturbed by the offense, Xu Maocai confidently smiled and said, ”My lord need not worry—I already have a plan!”

”What plan?” General Duan asked somberly.

Looking at the mighty Tenglong Guard army outside the city, Xu Maocai stroked his beard and replied with a faint smile, ”Attack where they must rescue, luring the tiger away from its mountain.”

General Duan furrowed his brows. ”What do you mean?”

General Duan, what would happen if you were to attack the Tenglong Guard with three thousand elite cavalry?” Xu Maocai asked with a smile.

General Duan’s eyes flickered. ”Yang Zhenshan would come to their aid!”

”Exactly! According to the intelligence we’ve received, the Tenglong Guard has deployed fifteen thousand troops, while Guard City is defended by only one thousand soldiers!”

”Three thousand elite cavalry would surely take down Guard City, and Yang Zhenshan’s family is there!”

”He will surely lead troops to aid them. However, I believe he will not lead all his troops but only the cavalry, which makes up the Five Army Camps of the Tenglong Guard!”

Xu Maocai’s eyes sparkled as he continued, ”As long as he dares to lead troops to aid them, we will have the opportunity to crush the Tenglong Guard completely!”

General Duan hesitated.

Though he felt confident about holding the city for a month, he was somewhat unsure about going out to meet the enemy in battle.

”What, General Duan? Are you afraid to face the enemy outside the city?” Xu Maocai looked at General Duan with a teasing smile.

Prince Qing also turned his gaze towards General Duan. Blushing, General Duan said, how could he admit fear in front of Prince Qing?

”What are you talking about? I’m just worried that Yang Zhenshan might not come to aid!”

With a laugh, Xu Maocai said, ”He definitely will. Yang Zhenshan is a man who deeply values family. He adores his wife and dearly loves his children and grandchildren. His greatest weakness is his overwhelming sense of familial duty!”

He had specifically studied Yang Zhenshan and understood his character deeply.

Although Yang Zhenshan might be a fierce warrior on the battlefield, at home, he was a good husband, father, and grandfather!

If Yang Zhenshan knew Xu Maocai’s opinion of him, he would surely appreciate it.

”No matter how many troops he brings for aid, it will be our best opportunity to strike!” Xu Maocai said with a smile.

Prince Qing gave a slight nod, ”Although this is somewhat risky, it indeed seems to be our best option right now.”

Rather than holding out for a month, Prince Qing naturally preferred to crush the Tenglong Guard because he needed a victory to prove himself, to enhance his authority, and to attract more people to his cause.

Rebellion is not just about fighting; it also involves strategy and situation.

Now with Ji Feiyu’s assistance, he already had the foundation to start a rebellion, but the power he controlled was still too weak compared to the entirety of Da Rong.

He needed more people to see his strength, recognize his capability, and come to join him.

If he wasn’t aware that Yang Zhenshan would never join him, he would actually prefer to win Yang Zhenshan over.

”So, when do we strike?” asked General Duan.

”No hurry, let’s wait until they have constructed their siege equipment, then it won’t be too late to attack!” Xu Maocai said.

Duan Heng slightly relaxed.

They now had two options, one was to defend, and the other was Xu Maocai’s plan to take the initiative to attack.

Xu Maocai did not hurriedly implement his own plans, to avoid a complete defeat.

Delaying the time was actually advantageous for them.

...

At nightfall, the army’s camps had already been established.

In the main general’s tent, Yang Zhenshan summoned a group of military officers to discuss the matter of attacking the city.

”Judging from the enemy’s reaction, they plan to hold the city and wait for Ji Feiyu to lead the main army for support!”

”I estimate it will take Ji Feiyu about twenty days to a month to sort out the situation in Chongshan Town, which means we only have twenty days!”

”Within twenty days, we must break through the city; otherwise, once Ji Feiyu arrives, our situation will become very troublesome!”

Yang Zhenshan said with a heavy expression.

Chongshan Town, Tang Feihu, and Niu Zhuang absolutely could not stop Ji Feiyu; their forces combined were less than twenty thousand men. Even if they temporarily rallied all the soldiers from various garrisons and city garrisons together, it would not exceed fifty thousand at most.

The troops under Ji Feiyu’s command were at least four times theirs.

With such a big difference in military strength, it was already commendable that Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang could defend their own territories, and they simply didn’t have the capacity to stop Ji Feiyu from moving south to Qinghua Prefecture.

Of course, this wasn’t to say that Tang Feihu and Niu Zhuang were useless; at least they could tie up some of Ji Feiyu’s forces, preventing him from marching south with his full strength.

”Do any of you have any good strategies?” Yang Zhenshan looked at his subordinates and asked.

Xie Yuan and Yang Mingzhi looked at each other, while Song Dashan, with his big eyes wide open, said, ”Sir, what good strategy could there be? We should just launch a strong attack, they surely can’t stop us!”

Yang Zhenshan rolled his eyes, ”Shut up.”

This simpleton!

Really headache-inducing.

Actually, what Song Dashan said wasn’t wrong; a strong attack was the simplest and most straightforward method.

Although Song Dashan was simple-minded, he wasn’t stupid. His confidence came from the strength of the Five Army Camps.

As the instructor of the Five Army Camps, he was most familiar with them.

Today’s soldiers in the Five Army Camps were no worse than the garrison soldiers from five years ago, and even in terms of individual strength, the present Five Army Camps were somewhat stronger.

With the Five Army Camps as the vanguard, they could completely capture Qinghua Prefecture City in a short time.

But that was without considering casualties!

Yang Zhenshan did not want to attack forcefully because the Tenglong Guard currently could not afford heavy casualties.

Don’t forget, they still had to face Ji Feiyu’s large army afterward.

If they suffered heavy casualties now, what would he use to confront Ji Feiyu’s large army?

”It would be great if they could come out of the city to meet us in battle!” Xie Yuan said somewhat helplessly.

”Lure the snake out of the hole?” Yang Zhenshan pondered, ”Wei Cen, you mentioned earlier that Prince Qing might still have a cavalry unit!”

Wei Cen nodded, saying, ”Yes, according to our investigation, over the past few years, Prince Qing Mansion has purchased more than five thousand warhorses, but Prince Qing’s guards only have a thousand cavalry, and the Qinghua Guard has no cavalry at all.”

”So, we infer that Prince Qing still has a cavalry force of about four thousand!”

Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment, ”Where would their cavalry be hidden?”

Hiding four thousand cavalry was not an easy task.

People eat, horses chew; the amount of fodder needed every month is not a small number.

Additionally, a very large area would be required for this cavalry’s base.

”Definitely not within Qinghua Prefecture!” said Wei Cen.

Yang Zhenshan’s expression shifted slightly, ”Not within Qinghua Prefecture, then where could it be?”

”Chongshan Town? Impossible, Chongshan Town is filled with garrisons and fortresses, making it impossible to hide a cavalry unit of up to four thousand men.”

”If it’s on the West Road of Chongshan Town, then that might be possible, but then there’s no need for Prince Qing to purchase warhorses!”

Xie Yuan’s eyes gleamed, saying, ”So their cavalry must be hidden within Changqing Mountain!”

Yang Zhenshan smiled and nodded, ”Exactly, within three hundred li around, only Daqing Mountain could hide thousands of cavalry!”

Xie Yuan frowned again, ”Then how do we lure the snake out of its hole? If their cavalry is outside, we actually need to guard against the cavalry’s sneak attacks!”

Yang Zhenshan tapped his fingers lightly on the table in front of him, ”You’re right, we need to guard against the cavalry’s sneak attacks!”

”Regarding luring the snake out of the hole~”

He thought for a moment, then suddenly said, ”Xu Maocai has always been quite conceited and full of self-importance!”

To know your enemy, you must first know yourself!

Xu Maocai had always made it a point to understand Yang Zhenshan’s temperament, how could Yang Zhenshan not make an effort to understand the capabilities and strength of those around Prince Qing?

Moreover, Yang Zhenshan also had Wei Cen to provide various information and intelligence.

”What does the general mean?” asked Xie Yuan.

”Perhaps they will come out on their own!”

Yang Zhenshan could not predict events like a deity; he could not foresee Xu Maocai’s schemes, but this didn’t hinder him from speculating about Xu Maocai’s ideas.

”They will come out of the city themselves!” Xie Yuan thought for a moment and nodded slightly, ”What should we do next?”

Yang Zhenshan shook his head slightly, ”No hurry, let’s start by making siege equipment first!”

Siege warfare is a technical job, not just about carrying ladders to attack a city.

The equipment for sieging a city varies greatly, besides the simplest ladders, there are also scaling ladders, trench bridges, Linchong, and other types of war chariots, etc.

Just carrying ladders and rushing forward, that’s absurd.

You’d probably be shot into a sieve before you even reached the city wall.

Just like this, Yang Zhenshan decided to first manufacture siege equipment, and Xu Maocai also planned to let the Tenglong Guard finish making the siege equipment before starting his own plan.