Chapter 865: The General's Strategy

"Excellent. The troops under the General's command are unlike the Bingzhou Army I once led; they train diligently, fight fiercely, and are as close to the people as fish to water. They are truly an invincible army under heaven."

Although Wang Yan did not look back at all, Lu Bu, who was standing a bit further behind, cupped his hands and spoke these flattering words.

Of course, what he said was the truth; the army here was indeed just like that. After all, he, the dignified Marquis of Wen, had spent over a month shirtless, pulling a plow for the commoners alongside a group of soldiers, only resting for two days. In the past, he wouldn't have even dared to imagine such a thing, yet now he had actually done it. While he complained to himself, every time he recalled the smiling faces of the commoners, he actually felt a bit happy—something he himself couldn't even believe.

"Have you understood the military regulations and systems clearly?"

"I have."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile and ordered: "Hansheng, arrange for Fengxian to be promoted to a Centurion."

Wang Yan had always been very clear about Lu Bu's performance. He had previously been promoted to a Squad Leader and had done quite well; the soldiers under Lu Bu's command had decent things to say about him. How could the soldiers below know just how awesome Lu Bu used to be? No matter how awesome he was, could he be more awesome than General Wang? There was no such thing as speaking against one's conscience; if an official didn't do a good job, they really dared to scold him. After all, being a soldier meant going to war; if the leader above you was incompetent, that was just sending you to your death.

Wang Yan hadn't intended to let Lu Bu stay at the bottom forever; it was truly a waste of talent. After all, Lu Bu was no longer young—in a little over a year, he would be forty. While he could still fight, he had to be used...

Huang Zhong cupped his hands and accepted the order. He was quite satisfied with Lu Bu; the two had sparred before and it could be considered a draw.

He asked: "Does the Great General intend to attack Yuan Shao?"

"Not so. Currently, our two sides are at peace, and Yuan Shao is also not engaged in any major battles; this is truly inappropriate. Therefore, we must bring a large army to the border to pressure him, forcing him to expand southward." Wang Yan laughed, "Tonight, we will reorganize the army. Tomorrow morning, we will wipe out this ten-thousand-man enemy force and march into Gaoyang County."

"Yes, General. I will surely take Gaoyang."

"Go and make the arrangements."

Wang Yan waved his hand. After Huang Zhong and Lu Bu performed their salutes, they rode their horses back to the military camp.

Yuan Shao had thirty thousand troops stationed at the border, and Wang Yan had twenty thousand stationed here; this battle was still going to be fought. However, this time only Huang Zhong would lead the Xuanwu Guard to advance, with Zhou Cang and Taishi Ci on the rear flanks. In addition, three thousand troops were added as reinforcements for Huang Zhong.

He didn't intend to launch a major war to directly wipe out Yuan Shao. He just wanted to increase the intensity for Yuan Shao, give him some pressure, and stop him from being so carefree all day. Once Yuan Shao moved, Cao Cao would not be able to rest easy, and if Cao Cao couldn't rest easy, Yuan Shu, Liu Bei, and Liu Biao would not be able to rest easy either.

The world is a game of chess. Starting from the Northeast Plain all the way to the Yangtze River basin, if one link changes, no place can be spared.

Only Chang'an and Luoyang are different; they are playing their own game. That is another circle, with a different situation than here. Geographically speaking, the third step is one circle, and the second step is another. And at the very top of these two circles is the Great Rebel Wang.

If Yuan Shao can't think straight and raises his entire army to fight Wang Yan to the death, that's no big deal either—just kill him. The reason Wang Yan came to the front line in person was to respond in time according to the battlefield situation, saving the two days it would take for communication to go back and forth, which was not conducive to rapid response.

This is also why Old Cao fought north and south, always leading the army on personal expeditions—it's about the timeliness of information and making decisions on the spot. If he weren't on the front line, many things couldn't be decided directly by the generals and strategists abroad, which would easily delay the opportunity for battle, and that is fatal...

After receiving Wang Yan's order, the loyal Huang Zhong, who was willing to die for him, issued the order after returning to the camp. Communication soldiers scattered to deliver the military orders to the places where the various units of the Xuanwu Guard were stationed.

Actually, there wasn't much to prepare. They were all mixed troops, stationed in units of over five hundred men, with one hundred cavalry, one hundred archers, and over three hundred sword, shield, and spear soldiers. After the archers ran out of arrows, they also became sword, shield, and spear soldiers.

Their preparation was nothing more than taking care of the horses, letting the horses have a good meal, and then killing all the pigs, chickens, ducks, and geese they had raised themselves so the men could also have a good meal. Everything else was just wiping weapons, boiling water to fill their canteens, preparing the things they needed to bring for the march, and preparing one meal of dry rations to have a bite when they were hungry.

This was mainly because this time it wasn't a long-distance march to fight a war; it was less than twenty miles away, and the army's logistics could be fully replenished. It was mainly about having a good meal before the battle.

This is why Wang Yan was very resistant to fighting big wars—he really couldn't afford it.

The next day, before dawn, the various units of the Xuanwu Guard rose early to light fires and cook breakfast. Each Squad Leader cursed and called for their soldiers to get up, wash their faces, and after eating a good breakfast, make final preparations—defecating, urinating, drinking water, and helping each other put on their armor.

Afterward, led by the various unit commanders, they trotted into the march.

The battle plan had been arranged yesterday; there was no gathering of a large army, and each unit marched independently.

Lu Bu rode on his Red Hare horse, carrying his Painted Halberd, urging the horse to trot. Since he was promoted to Centurion, he was naturally a cavalry Centurion; otherwise, wouldn't the "Flying General" he had killed his way to be a waste?

The task for their unit was very simple and direct: attack fiercely from the front.

Sitting on horseback, Lu Bu said: "When attacking, take me as the vanguard. You must not throw the formation into chaos yourself."

"Don't worry, Centurion. We brothers have all served in the Xiaoji Battalion for three years and have experienced many battles; we know the gravity of the situation." The person following Lu Bu responded with a grin.

The basic combat quality of the Xiaoji Battalion was that their crossbows were accurate, they could hold their spears steady, and the men could withstand the jolting of traveling hundreds of miles at a time, as well as the biting cold of winter. To them, this kind of thing was just a small scene.

Lu Bu nodded silently. He was also clear about this, but he just wanted to give a reminder.

The whereabouts of the crowd could not be concealed, and the other side was not trash; they also had reconnaissance and guard personnel. As the Xuanwu Guard clearly revealed their figures with the day, seeing rows of black shadows approaching, the night guards blew their whistles without a word, followed by the urgent sound of gongs. The military camp began to become noisy, and officers shouted loudly to gather the troops.

They had gathered halfway when the Xuanwu Guard successfully killed their way up.

The Red Hare horse was fast, and Lu Bu, who hadn't experienced a battle for a long time, was very excited. The wind blowing on his face intoxicated him, awakening the long-dormant fighting genes carved into his bones.

Ever since he became a small soldier and had his idea of dominating the world beaten out of him by Wang Yan, Lu Bu felt that he was even stronger...

Estimating that the distance was about right, Lu Bu took out the standard-issue crossbow he had been issued. This was a crossbow he had never seen before, called a compound crossbow, which could fire three bolts in succession. The cavalry scattered behind him also took out their crossbows and fired three arrows at the enemy army.

The horse's speed was fast, and the distance of over one hundred meters was only enough for them to fire one round, and they had to hurry. But they were all veterans with rich battle experience, very calmly putting away their crossbows and clamping their horse spears. And they slightly suppressed the horse's speed, tightening the formation that had just scattered to fire arrows, forming a wedge-shaped formation with Lu Bu as the vanguard, maximizing contact with the enemy while ensuring the formation didn't scatter, and allowing for rear personnel to fill in after front personnel suffered battle damage.

Because of the Red Hare horse, Lu Bu was even a bit out of sync with the formation behind him.

Looking at the enemy soldiers with shields in formation and long spears blocking the horses, Lu Bu's face under the ghost mask grinned hideously. He saw him pull the reins, and the Red Hare horse actually leaped high into the air.

In the air, Lu Bu held his Painted Halberd and just swept it, easily breaking the enemy's battle formation, and plunged into the enemy army, spinning the Painted Halberd for a round of pointing, sweeping, and chopping, as if entering an uninhabited land.

And behind Lu Bu, the cavalry, who were a little slower, didn't give the enemy army a chance to react, charging into the gap torn in the battle formation, and the wedge formation naturally expanded this gap.

After another moment, it was the infantry running for their lives. The first row was the sword and shield soldiers, who fiercely knocked the enemies in front flying and killed their way straight in. Three or four steps behind, the sword soldiers followed closely, swinging their swords to hack, following tightly behind the shield soldiers, burying their heads and killing their way in.

In just these two minutes, they had already killed their way through the first line of defense, almost to the point of collapsing at the first touch. The Xuanwu Guard soldiers didn't stop at all, killing their way further inside.

Although Lu Bu was beaten half to death by Great General Wang, no one denied that he was indeed a peerless fierce general who was extremely brave. In the midst of ten thousand troops, no one was his match for even one round. Even if someone was lucky enough not to be killed by Lu Bu, there were still cavalry behind him thrusting fiercely with spears.

Looking at the entire battlefield situation, there were more than ten gaps around the enemy's military camp, and only two gaps were the deepest. These two gaps, one was Lu Bu, and the other was the main force of the Colonel led by Huang Zhong.

And these two people who were attacking fiercely had the same target, and that was the big banner in the formation, which was the location of the Regional Commander.

However, Lu Bu broke through faster after all, because the resistance they faced was not at the same level. Huang Zhong was the main general after all, and also had a commander's banner, so the enemy naturally tilted their strength toward him, naturally ignoring Lu Bu.

Since they ignored him, then with Lu Bu's strength, it was too late when they paid attention.

From afar, Lu Bu saw a general under the big banner wearing silver armor and a cloak, holding a sword in his hand, shouting loudly. There were hundreds of armored cavalry guards in front and behind him, and at a glance, he was the commander.

Those people also discovered Lu Bu, killed a few fleeing soldiers blocking the way, and actually took the initiative to charge over.

Lu Bu laughed loudly and swung his Painted Halberd fiercely. With just one strike, he swept two people off their horses, and then they were stepped on the face by the horseshoes with horseshoes. Lu Bu weighed over two hundred jin, and the Red Hare horse weighed over two thousand jin. With a "puchi" sound, they died cleanly and neatly, without suffering.

After killing two people, then killing a few more, then killing a few more, the other side finally knew how powerful he was. However, the enemy general on the other side was very tough. Seeing Lu Bu so fierce, he didn't run at all, but instead followed the left and right to kill over.

It's still that saying, before fighting, Lu Bu was also a little brother. No matter how big Lu Bu's name was, others would think he was bragging. Not to mention the people here, who didn't even know that the person coming was Lu Bu.

Seeing that the enemy general delivered himself to the door, Lu Bu was even happier. He forcefully lifted the incoming long spear, and before the enemy general could react, he had already clamped the person under his armpit, directly capturing him alive, and then cut off the big banner with a halberd, letting his cavalry continue to charge, while he stopped.

Because this battle was already over. After the big banner was cut off, the enemy army was defeated. Fighting at this time depends on the flag. If the commander's flag falls, then the commander is mostly gone, so naturally, those who run run, and those who surrender surrender. In this day and age, being a soldier is for eating.

In fact, for the next nineteen hundred years, being a soldier was for eating.

Only here at Wang Yan's, he shouted that being a soldier is to protect the home and defend the country, to guard the land and pacify the people, but even so, the food and drink were still better than ordinary commoners, of course, the fatigue was also truly tiring.

Lu Bu sat on his horse, clamping the enemy general, and waited until the infantry behind came over, then he threw the enemy general down and went to chase his cavalry.

The enemy general was also miserable. Those infantrymen knew this was the enemy general, and without a word, they gave him a fierce beating first. This was to prevent the enemy general from resisting again and hurting innocent brothers, and being beaten half to death was just right.

They weren't afraid that if they were recruited, they would be punished later. The Great General had already said long ago that on the battlefield, do whatever is safe, do whatever is easy. If there really are those who surrender and dare to cause trouble later, the labor team welcomes you.

In fact, the army hadn't been idle for the past two years. The previous Youzhou soldiers were used to causing trouble, and there were always some who were not honest, and they had been disciplined too much. Labor teams were always short of people, and there were always people to supplement them.

This surprise attack battle ended just like that, ending in a great victory for the Xuanwu Guard. In fact, a night attack was also possible, but Wang Yan rejected it, because the battle damage of a night attack and the battle damage of this kind of surprise attack were actually not much different. And the troop strength was not disparate, it was just a few thousand people.

The situation here had all been investigated, where the commander was, where the Assistant Regional Commander was, how they were arranged, supplies, etc., these situations were all clear, completely knowing oneself and knowing the enemy.

And because of the strength gap, the enemy army was not stationed in units of five hundred like the Xuanwu Guard. They were in units of two thousand, with two units in the middle army. It was precisely because they knew Wang Yan's equipment here was good and his combat effectiveness was strong that they arranged it this way.

Huang Zhong and Lu Bu fought the main force of the middle army, which had more than four thousand people. Since this side was beaten and scattered, the other two sides couldn't be contacted, and naturally, they would also collapse, so this victory was very easy.

Post-war statistics showed that only over two hundred people died and over five hundred were injured. Over two thousand people were killed, over four thousand were captured, and over two thousand fled—an undisputed great victory.

In the Baxian military camp, Great General Wang was always wearing a luxurious green shirt in such a loose way. Today, he inserted a flashy red jade hairpin, which was from Hotan, an authentic Western Regions product. When it came, it was a large piece of raw stone that was cut open, made into a large seal, and the remaining material was used to make a few hairpins.

At this moment, he was walking with his hands behind his back on the land that had been trampled so much that no grass grew, watching three thousand soldiers struggling to death wearing thirty-jin iron armor, running a four-hundred-meter obstacle course. This was the most basic physical fitness. The Xiaoji Battalion, the Xuanjia Battalion, and his personal guards all had to run an eight-hundred-meter obstacle course.

Just at this time, a group of cavalry ran in. The leading Squad Leader jumped off his horse, ran to Wang Yan in one breath, stood straight, hammered his chest, and saluted: "Report to the Great General, the Xuanwu Guard has broken through the enemy army, with eight hundred dead and injured, four thousand five hundred captured, over one thousand eight hundred warhorses seized, and countless weapons and bows. Centurion Lu Bu captured the enemy general alive, and that person is him."

Wang Yan laughed and patted the Squad Leader's shoulder: "Wang Wei, right? How was your battle merit?"

The Squad Leader named Wang Wei heard the Great General call his name in one breath and laughed: "A group of brothers killed twenty-eight enemies."

"Excellent. After this battle, you will be promoted."

"Yes!" Wang Wei replied very loudly.

"Bring the enemy general over." Wang Yan ordered the soldiers behind him.

He saw the soldiers over there respond, escorting the enemy general who was tied up like a zongzi to the front. Wang Yan saw clearly that this person had been tied to the horse's back and jolted for twenty miles, and his current appearance was not very good.

Two soldiers escorted the person over, and as soon as they let go, the enemy general collapsed to the ground, his nose bruised and face swollen, very embarrassed.

Wang Yan looked down from a high position and said lightly: "Report your name."

"I am Qu Yi, I am willing to surrender."

So this is Qu Yi, Wang Yan was happy. A player who became famous all over the world in the Battle of Jieqiao and left his name for two thousand years as a "first-to-climb death soldier" appeared in front of Wang Yan in this way.

He really didn't know who the person on the other side was before. This stemmed from his strong self-confidence—whoever it was, it didn't matter.

But now what Qu Yi said was not very good. Opening his mouth to surrender, this was not good.

Of course, it was mainly because Qu Yi was not qualified enough. According to his standards, Qu Yi was bound to die. Originally, he belonged to Han Fu, then surrendered to Yuan Shao, and finally was arrogant and lawless, and was killed by Yuan Shao.

This is a person with ambition, and also "arrogant and lawless." This word to a certain extent represents not treating commoners as human beings. After all, even the arrogance and lawlessness two thousand years later didn't look down on commoners at all. People who trample on others are mostly the same, just with different patterns.

Wang Yan had no intention of talking more with this kind of player and waved his hand: "Send him for medical experiments."

A soldier kicked Qu Yi in the mouth, not letting him speak, swept a pitying look, and then dragged the struggling Qu Yi away.

After dismissing this group of soldiers, Wang Yan summoned his personal guards: "Order the soldiers to stop training, rest for half an hour, reorganize the army to go and escort the prisoners of war. After completion, reinforce Huang Zhong. Order the gathering of ten thousand militia to meet the prisoners of war, kill the officers, and all other prisoners of war will be treated as labor, serving for three years."

"Yes, Great General."

The personal guards accepted the order and left to pass on the order.

Wang Yan watched the soldiers' movements silently...

Huang Zhong definitely hadn't left yet, because there were prisoners of war. Only after dealing with the prisoners of war would they continue to march into Gaoyang County. Baxian was nearly two hundred miles away from Gaoyang County, and by the time Huang Zhong led the army over, Yuan Shao would also know the news.

Now it depends on whether Yuan Shao is sensible. If Yuan Shao is sensible, then this battle won't be big. If he is not sensible, then this time Yuan Shao might die.

In all fairness, Wang Yan certainly doesn't hope for Yuan Shao to die now, because he still needs Yuan Shao to stir up the situation, which is beneficial to him. However, if he really wants to die, then there's no way, he can only be forced to annex Jizhou.

Wang Yan looked to the south, Yuan Shao, you must be sensible, this is self-preservation, don't force me to kill you...