gnovel Chapter 76 Interaction
Chapter 76 Interaction
Wang Lian's plan was simple: he would find the bandits on his way to Yan'an Prefecture, then cut off their heads and use them as a football.
He knew very well that for so many years, it had always been the government troops suppressing the bandits, while the bandits had always been hiding from the government troops.
Those bandits who dare to launch attacks on government troops are no ordinary people.
The most rampant bandit groups in northern Shaanxi recently are only a few.
Wang Er's troops had already been defeated by Liu Yingyu, and the remaining force was Li Chengye, known as the "Timely Rain of Northern Shaanxi".
He had also heard that after Li Chengye captured Yanchang County, he not only did not plunder the people, but also pacified them.
Such a person would have the potential to become a major bandit in any dynasty.
Although he did not know how the other side had silently wiped out his two squads of men, he was certain that the other side could not possibly have done the same to his thousand infantrymen and three hundred cavalrymen.
If the other party truly possessed such strength, they would have already revealed themselves; they wouldn't have remained hidden until now.
So now the only problem is that he is in the open, while the rebel army is in the shadows.
He was confident that he could annihilate his opponent once he could capture them.
So he came up with this idea.
As soon as our army moves, the enemy will inevitably send people to follow and monitor us.
Then, he could use the tentacle that the opponent extended to track them in the opposite direction and strike directly at their main force.
As for the situation in Yan'an Prefecture, he no longer cares.
It would be best if the prefectural city had not fallen; even if it had, he could attack and recapture it in the process.
As for the problem of insufficient food supplies, that's even simpler.
He decided to steal his way through.
Now that Yan'an Prefecture is cut off from the outside world, as long as he handles things cleanly, who will know that he has allowed his troops to plunder grain?
You see, as long as we set aside moral constraints, many problems can be easily solved, and even seemingly hopeless places can be transformed into paths.
Wang Lian's troops set off in the morning and set up camp around Shenshi (3-5 PM).
During this period, no scouts arranged by Ba Shangfeng came to report any news.
It wasn't until the night was deep that a few people stumbled and rode their horses to the camp gate.
The officers and soldiers guarding the camp dared not be careless. Only after verifying the passwords did they let the two "night scouts" in.
Wang Lian immediately summoned him.
Seeing the wounds and dirt on their bodies, he first said "You've had a hard time," and then asked, "How are you?"
The two immediately reported:
They followed the plan and lay in ambush behind the main army, waiting to see if anyone was spying on them.
About two hours later, the target appeared, and there came more than a hundred bandit cavalrymen, with a very imposing presence.
They only had about ten men in total, and they were scattered along various sections of the route the army had taken. Seeing this, they dared not make any rash moves.
Two hours later, a larger band of bandits arrived, numbering about 1,300 to 1,400 men, half of whom were on horseback and half on mules, and they moved quite quickly.
Seeing that the enemy outnumbered them, they dared not pursue rashly. Only after the enemy had completely crossed the border did they emerge from their hiding places and carefully follow behind.
The squad leader led the others to follow, and ordered the two men to return and report.
Fearing they might alert the enemy, the two of them deliberately took a longer route, not returning to the camp until nightfall.
Upon hearing this, Wang Lian ordered his personal guards to give each of the two men five taels of silver as a reward and told them to go and rest.
One of his subordinates said, "I didn't expect these bandits to move so swiftly."
Ba Shangfeng chimed in, "Exactly. My lord, our army has only three hundred cavalry. If we send only cavalry to engage in battle, it will be difficult to achieve a great victory."
But if the main infantry force were to advance all at once, given the number of livestock and the speed of their march, the enemy would likely have already fled far away.
Wang Lian glanced at the topographical map and said, "Then let them find a place where they have nowhere to escape. Someone, order Li Huaiguang of Yanchang County to lead his troops to join our army tomorrow afternoon."
The messenger replied, "Yes, sir."
While Wang Lian continued making arrangements, Li Chengye was in a mountain valley about fifteen miles away from his camp, where he ordered a campfire to be lit.
The group sat around the campfires to keep warm.
It was late autumn, and the daytime temperature was still acceptable, but the wind was fierce in the mountains at night, making it unbearable. So we had to light a fire to keep warm.
Having just finished patrolling the camp, Li Chengye put down his sword, removed his armor, and went to the fire to warm his hands.
He reflected on the movements of the government troops today and felt that something was amiss.
—The enemy set up camp after traveling forty li today. According to Liu Ye, the government troops normally travel no more than thirty li a day, so forty li is considered relatively fast.
However, he counted the enemy's provisions, which amounted to only a little over a hundred shi (a unit of dry measure), enough for the government troops' normal needs for three days.
Although it is possible to make do by spreading three days' rations over four or five days, shouldn't ordinary people march even faster when food is scarce?
When the enemy marched, scouts went out in all directions to search the area very carefully. He felt that Wang Lian was cautious in his military tactics, and Liu Ye, Luo Dai and others also agreed with this.
But he had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
He asked Luo Dai beside him, "Brother Luo, do you think Wang Lian knows we're nearby?"
Upon hearing Li Chengye's question, Luo Dai was taken aback at first, then pondered for a moment before replying, "It's hard to say, but he should at least suspect that we're nearby."
"What do you mean?" Li Chengye's heart skipped a beat.
"Several times today, Cao Xianchong's cavalry was almost detected by the government troops' cavalry, and they could only follow from a distance. I think their caution must be because they sensed something."
Li Chengye seemed to understand something, but he needed evidence to confirm it. So he asked Liu Ye beside him, "What is the status of the rear guard of the government troops?"
"No less than the vanguard. In short, Wang Lian is extremely cautious in his military campaigns."
Hearing Liu Ye's answer, Li Chengye felt that his guess was almost certainly correct.
He looked around at everyone and asked, "Do you think an army on a normal march would guard its retreat route so closely?"
Liu Ye and Luo Dai exchanged a glance, and finally said, "Generally not. After all, the main road leads forward, while the back route is a safe zone that has already been explored."
"Under what circumstances would an army guard its rear route so meticulously?"
"Only when there are wolves behind it." It was Wei Tong who spoke.
He was throwing a piece of wood into the fire when he blurted out this remark without thinking. Seeing everyone's eyes on him, he quickly explained, "When we Mongolians hunt wolves on the grasslands, we always look back after running a short distance. Some wolves are very cunning and will ambush you from behind once you've chased them far enough."
"That's it!" Li Chengye's eyes lit up, and he called out, "Wei Tong!"
Wei Tong stood up and replied, "Yes!"
"Take a few men and sneak into Yanchang County to see if the government troops inside have come out."
"Should I go now?"
Li Chengye nodded: "Let's set off now, under cover of night, and be careful on the road."
Luo Dai, having seen through Li Chengye's arrangement, asked, "Chengye, are you afraid of being attacked from both sides?"
"Yes," Li Chengye replied, "I think that old scoundrel Wang Lian is setting a trap for us."
"Should we still follow him tomorrow?"
"Let's not follow for now. We'll wait for news from Yanchang County. But since that old scoundrel Wang Lian probably already knows we're around, let's make a scene for him! Sun Kewang, go and call Zhang Yuanwu over."
"yes!"