Chapter 535: More troops are just for planting markers and selling heads

Yu Xiang County, its walls were low and its defenses weak, and it was not very safe.

Having just arrived, they suffered a crushing defeat, causing Li Guiren and the remaining elite troops under his command to lose their fighting spirit.

After night fell, Li Guiren led all his forces eastward in a rapid march, retreating to Jie County dozens of li away, and dispatched five hundred men to guard the eastern gateway Wang Guangu as a forward post, setting an ambush there.

He did not aim to annihilate the enemy, only to buy a few hours of warning.

One could say that Fang Youde's battle broke the backbone of Li Guiren's troops, filling the entire army with fear.

After finally stabilizing in Jie County, Li Guiren, while sorting his gear in the county office, began anxiously to review the myriad details of the initial disastrous defeat.

The more he thought, the more unbelievable it seemed.

He did not think there was any problem with his response.

The enemy first sent cavalry across the river, then turned back to retreat, luring our infantry to chase. When almost all our foot soldiers were in the water, the enemy cavalry turned their horses again for a final killing blow!

Such a maneuver… was unheard of. Until now, Li Guiren had never even dared to imagine it.

A slight slip could mean the enemy missed, and we would collapse first. Implementing it carried huge risk.

Observe the terrain, choose tactics, strike decisively, command superbly, and seize victory in one surge!

Li Guiren couldn't help but gasp sharply. At first he thought it was nothing, but the deeper he pondered, the more he sensed the enemy commander was unfathomable.

What kind of monster is commanding the opposite side! In war, who fights like that? Can't they let anyone catch a breath!

"It drives me mad!"

Li Guiren flipped the desk over and knelt on a cushion, raging helplessly.

His skill lagged behind others, and the defeat was inexplicable.

He couldn't bring it out at all! It felt like all his strength had nowhere to go, unbearably frustrated!

Li Guiren trembled with anger, half from rage, half from inner fear.

The person opposite was an invincible presence.

He had lost the courage to face him in battle. In other words, it could be called "a common man stealing one's will."

When a commander loses the courage to confront a strong enemy, it means he will hardly achieve miracles on the battlefield in the future, and even battles that could be won will fail due to timidity.

"General Li, you are…"

Just as Li Guiren sighed before the overturned desk, Liu Longxian entered the county hall to report military news; seeing the scene, he dared not utter a breath.

"I have nothing to report; what military news do you have? Just say it directly!"

Li Guiren cleared his throat lightly to mask his awkwardness and asked Liu Longxian why he had come. Liu Longxian was a trusted officer, and Li Guiren did not wish to show displeasure in front of him.

"General Li, this is Grand Marshal Huangfu's order, just delivered."

Liu Longxian presented a sealed letter with both hands.

Li Guiren thought to himself that something was wrong; when he opened it, indeed the matter he feared had become reality.

In the order, Huangfu Weiming wrote that he had already taken Tongguan with his main army, leaving Li Guiren's unit to contain the imperial forces stationed in Pu Prefecture.

He himself could then lead his troops straight to assault Chang'an.

Of course, Huangfu Weiming was unaware of Li Guiren's disastrous defeat at Suishui.

"Grand Marshal Huangfu says we should contain the enemy in Pu Prefecture; what do you think?"

Li Guiren, with a helpless expression, handed the military order to Liu Longxian for inspection.

The so‑called "containment" was a euphemism; the real meaning was to have Li Guiren lead troops to attack Pu City.

If you march to besiege the city, the defenders inside would be held in check, wouldn't they?

Huangfu Weiming understood the "art of language" well.

But where does Li Guiren currently have the strength to assault Pu Prefecture!

In the previous battle, out of twenty thousand troops, the infantry were almost all gone, while the cavalry had all fled; now only five thousand cavalry remain, each rider with two horses.

That means about three‑quarters of the force had perished.

With just these five thousand cavalry, go lead an assault on the city?

Moreover, the enemy could abandon Pu City east of the Yellow River and fall back to the Pu Jin Pass west of the Pu Stone Bridge!

Harassing Pu's outskirts is useless; they must capture the Pu Stone Bridge.

Li Guiren and Liu Longxian stared at each other, unsure how to assess the order.

Huangfu Weiming's plan could not be called unreasonable; it methodically contains the enemy while marching straight to Chang'an.

Only the situation changed too quickly, catching everyone off guard.

If Li Guiren followed the order, it would be like carving a boat to seek a sword. Refusing Huangfu, however, would seem autocratic and taboo.

How to handle it truly required much thought.

Serving under another's command often brings such vexing problems.

"General Li, the enemy commander is formidable; we have only these few troops left, and we may lack the strength.

I, as a junior officer, will not overstate my resolve; our army is already shattered, and another clash would likely annihilate us.

Now is certainly not the time to play hero!"

Liu Longxian sighed.

Still talking about containment, I damn well contain!

He wanted to curse loudly at Huangfu Weiming, but the latter wasn't present; complaining to Li Guiren was pointless, so it wasn't worth saying.

That brother from Pu City, who led the strong army that shattered their main force in the first battle—who wouldn't challenge him!

Liu Longxian valued his life and didn't want to die foolishly. In his view, fighting bravely and deliberately giving oneself as a sacrifice are entirely different concepts.

"The logic is clear, but how should we reply to Grand Marshal Huangfu?"

Li Guiren asked with a worried expression.

It's not that Liu Longxian doesn't want to fight; he doesn't want to either! Even if he wanted to, the troops' morale is already broken, and next time their legs will be too weak to stand.

"General Li, how about this: we'll send someone to Grand Marshal Huangfu with a letter, promising to hold back the Puzhou garrison."

"Then we'll take a detour across the Su River, dispatch a small force of cavalry to harass the outskirts of Puzhou, rotating every few hours."

"This is called pulling without subduing, roaming without striking; the main army in Jie County will be ready to retreat at any moment."

"Thus we can fulfill the orders while preserving strength—what's not to like?"

"Liu Longxian leaned in and whispered a suggestion to Li Guiren."

"Brilliant!"

"Li Guiren nodded, fully agreeing."

"If Huangfu Weiming breaks into Chang'an, everyone will commend and reward, and no one will hold Li Guiren, the slippery one, accountable for his earlier goof of loitering in Puzhou."

"If Huangfu Weiming fails to take Chang'an, it will naturally be because he suffered a crushing defeat and had to retreat to Luoyang. By then, Huangfu Weiming will be a drowning man himself, unable to protect his own skin, let alone pursue Li Guiren's earlier shenanigans."

"It must be that big matters are reduced, small matters are settled. Otherwise, if pressed, what if Li Guiren teams up with other generals for a disastrous mutiny?"

"So Liu Longxian's 'loitering strategy' may look crass and uninspired, but it's actually a masterstroke of waiting out change by stalling."

"Indeed, many times a lousy move can also be a masterstroke. By stalling, perhaps the situation will turn at some point."

"Upon this thought, Li Guiren immediately drafted a reply and sent messengers toward Tongguan. He then reorganized the scouting units into squads of fifty, dispatching them in batches into Puzhou territory for reconnaissance and harassment. Every two hours a new batch rotates, day and night without pause."

"Just as Li Guiren and Liu Longxian were discussing countermeasures—using a lousy stalling tactic to handle the war—Fang Youde in Puzhou city was not idle either."

"In the main hall of the Puzhou prefectural office, the generals gathered; Fang Youde sat on the chief seat, expression calm, his authority evident without anger."

"After the Su River battle, no one dared question his authority."

"Those close to him know his affairs; Fang Youde's superb tactical execution and imagination in this battle far surpassed those veteran commanders who pride themselves on long battle experience."

"One sentence summed it up: they felt inferior, even unable to muster…"

In the army, it's like this: no matter your appearance, ethnicity, temperament, or background, the sole reason officers and soldiers will be convinced by you is that you can win battles, and keep winning battles!

"In the army it's like this: regardless of your looks, ethnicity, temperament, or background, the only reason officers and soldiers obey you is that you can win battles, and keep winning!"

"Whoever can win can lead everyone to feast and drink; whoever is victorious becomes a god‑like presence in the army, his words answered by all."

"Even more effective than an imperial edict!"

"'Just received word: Huangfu Weiming has led his troops to breach the unmanned Tongguan and now seems to be heading toward Huayin.'"

"'What do you think?'"

"No one answered; no one wanted to embarrass themselves in such a setting."

"Seeing no reply, Fang Youde continued:"

"'The situation is changing quickly; I did not expect the Hebei bandits to be so unscathed.'"

"'Earlier I intended for Li Guangbi to block the bandits coming through Tongguan; we would first defeat the Puzhou bandits, then focus on those from Tongguan. I didn't expect Li Guiren's unit to retreat early because of a crushing defeat.'"

"'Now I have ordered Li Guangbi to relocate and garrison Huayin, but he has only five thousand troops, likely unable to hold for long.'"

"'What good strategies do you have to defeat the enemy?'"

"He looked around, saw everyone bowing their heads, and instantly understood everything."

"Today's subtle maneuvers at the Su River battle truly stunned the fierce warriors of the Western army."

"With this 'gem' leading, others would never lower themselves to become mere bricks!"

"'Grand Marshal Fang commands troops like a deity; we are dull, and those unspeakable thoughts would only bring ridicule. The Grand Marshal simply tells us where to strike, and I have no objections!'"

"Gao Xianzhi forced himself to clasp his fists, bow, and flatter."

"The meaning was clear: Grand Marshal Fang, you're the best; you say attack whom, we attack; you say how, we do it, so we need not discard this person."

"'Put military uniforms and armor on the scarecrows, and plant more flags atop the city walls.'"

"'Use the night, send batches southward toward Fengling Ferry.'"

"Fang Youde's words shocked everyone."

"Gao Xianzhi wished he could swallow back what he had just said."

"'Brother, sir, what are you doing at Fengling Ferry?'"

"The assembled generals were left speechless by Fang Youde's remark. Of course, that's Fang Youde's habit; his mind always runs differently."

"His own men couldn't guess, and the enemy side would be even less able to."

"'Grand Marshal, what is our purpose in going to Fengling Ferry?'"

"Gao Xianzhi asked, puzzled."

"One must admit, this place is a strategic blind spot!"

"Or perhaps this is the spot Huangfu Weiming assigned to Li Guiren, demanding that Li Guiren must control. Yet Li Guiren now lacks the strength to control."

"The opposite bank of Fengling Ferry is… the essential route from Guanzhong to Tongguan. This vital road is extremely narrow, situated west of Tongguan, and easily overlooked."

"Many commanders, after passing Tongguan, develop a 'all is well' mindset, believing the enemy can no longer affect them and that Guanzhong is practically at their fingertips."

"Fang Youde did not answer Gao directly; instead he waved his hand lightly and said, 'Back in the day Cao Mengde deployed troops at Fengling Ferry, crushing the western Guanzhong lords. Today I also wish to employ troops here.'"

"Upon hearing this, Gao Xianzhi and the others showed thoughtful expressions, confirming that Fang Youde truly was not acting recklessly on purpose."

"'The road is long and treacherous, narrow as two mice fighting in a burrow; the brave will prevail.'"

"Fang Youde added another remark."

"This time, the generals with a bit of sense all understood instantly!"

Assigning Li Guangbi to defend Magnificent Shade is equivalent to blocking the western side of the mouse hole; from Wind Mausoleum Ford, force a crossing to the opposite bank of the River, array troops on the narrow road west of Tong Pass (even possibly finding an opportunity to capture Tong Pass), equivalent to blocking the eastern side of the mouse hole.

"Having Li Guangbi guard Huayin is like blocking the western mouth of a mouse hole. Crossing forcefully from Fengling Ferry to the opposite bank and forming a formation on the narrow road west of Tongguan (even allowing a chance to assault Tongguan) is like sealing the eastern mouth of the mouse hole."

"Huangfu Weiming's forces, though numerous, are trapped in a narrow stretch of road, with no supplies outside and exhausted troops inside. They cannot storm Huayin instantly, nor retreat to Tongguan or even Luoyang."

"The cramped road also prevents deploying many troops to annihilate the enemy."

"How shall we fight this battle?"

"Admittedly, Fang Youde's river‑crossing, back‑flank strike is brilliantly executed!"

【121】 "Gao Xianzhi and the others intended to set ambushes near Huayin County, retreating once Huangfu Weiming is defeated. As for the enemy's resurgence, that is a matter for the future."

Moreover, Fang Youde was even more ruthless; he wanted to wipe out Huangfu Weiming and his elite troops in one fell swoop!

As for whether Huangfu Weiming could possibly escape from Puzhou to Hedong?

That possibility is not small, but even if he manages to leave Guanzhong, he will have to shed his skin to survive. Tens of thousands of troops withdrawing is not easy at all.

During Huan Wen's third northern campaign, the disorderly retreat cost him several ten thousand elite soldiers.

"It seems you all understand, right?"

Fang Youde, gripping the hilt of his pendant sword, looked around at the crowd and asked.

"Commander Fang, please give the order!"

All the generals in the main hall of the Puzhou Prefectural Office shouted in unison.

"Alright, go set up straw figures right now; make as many as you need, and I'll set them up with you!"

Prepare everything and then leave Puzhou City—the sooner, the better.

Our tactic is to let them come on any route and strike them back along the same path.

Hao Tingyu, make a trip to Huayin City and inform Li Guangbi.

Ten days—I only need him to hold for ten days. From the moment the rebel army begins the siege, holding for ten days is sufficient. After that, Li Guangbi will retreat back to Chang'an, and I will award him the merit, the primary merit!

If he fails to hold for ten days and lets the rebels breach the city, he will be beheaded and presented!

Fang Youde said in a cold tone, showing no mercy!

Hao Tingyu was startled, quickly clasped his fists in salute and said, "Commander Fang, rest assured, I will certainly deliver the message!"

"Hmm, also go assist Li Guangbi; it will be like adding wings to a tiger."

Fang Youde gave a slight nod and said.

Huh?

Hearing that, Hao Tingyu silently lamented inwardly.