Chapter 171: Yellow Turban Council

The night was dark and deep; after his anger, Zhang Jue finally gradually calmed down.

He sat alone in the tent; the anger on his face had faded, replaced by a profound contemplation.

He knew that as the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, he could not let his emotions run wild, nor let anger dictate his decisions.

Now he needed to summon his most capable aides to discuss strategies to face the imminent crisis.

Zhang Jue issued an order, summoning the current Yellow Turban Army's first Commander-in-Chief Meng Zhang, as well as his personal disciples Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Tianxuan to come to the main tent.

These three were the core figures of the Yellow Turban Army in Lu Province, possessing both wisdom and courage, and deeply trusted and relied upon by Zhang Jue.

Meng Zhang naturally needs no further explanation.

The vast majority of the pressure from the Great Qian side on the Lu Province battlefield is borne by him.

As long as the frontline battlefield Meng Zhang is responsible for does not fall.

Lu Province still has hope.

And Zhu Yuanzhang, during this time, relied on the personnel brought by Chang Yuchun and others.

Within the Yellow Turban Army, he leveraged his status as Zhang Jue's personal disciple to grasp considerable power.

Zhang Tianxuan needs no further mention, although his time of joining is still short.

Yet he has fully inherited Zhang Jue's true Daoist arts.

Currently, most of the Yellow Turban Army's talent in Daoist arts, for example Ru Yun Long Gong Sun Sheng and others,

have gathered under Zhang Tianxuan's command.

Soon, the three arrived one after another at Zhang Jue's tent.

Seeing Zhang Jue had regained his usual calm and dignity, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as this core of the Taiping Sect, Zhang Jue, remains, the Yellow Turban Army still has hope.

"The collapse of the Rui Province front line is my dereliction of duty," said Zhang Jue.

"But defeat has become the past; what we need to do now is to find the causes of defeat and devise a new strategy."

Zhang Jue gestured for the three to sit, then slowly began to speak.

"The Great Qian army is strong in troops and horses, well-equipped, and its logistical personnel support is swift."

"Our army, however, is exhausted from continuous campaigns."

"Moreover, the Great Qian's commanders are no ordinary foes; Yin Yuanxun's tactics are flexible and varied, leaving our defenses unable to cope."

As the mainstay of the Yellow Turban Army in Lu Province, Meng Zhang spoke first.

If the enemy simply concentrated their forces to attack his own frontline battlefield, Meng Zhang would certainly not fear it.

He has confidence that perhaps someone on the Tianwu Continent could barely win against him in one or two bouts.

But to directly crush him in a frontal assault,

is absolutely impossible!

But unfortunately, they rely on having many Commander-in-Chiefs.

They fundamentally do not bind together to fight Meng Zhang.

Instead, they let Yin Yuanxun hold Meng Zhang in the front.

The rest of the Commander-in-Chiefs swarm to the side battlefield.

Seeking an opportunity to break through the Yellow Turban Army's flank.

It is exactly the same as the tactics on the Wu Province side.

But there's no way around it; this is an open ploy.

I just rely on having more talent and deep foundations to bully you.

What can you do about it!

You, Meng Zhang, are formidable, indeed.

But if you could split yourself into dozens of bodies to garrison each battlefield, let me see!

A battle at the scale of a million-strong army.

The front line has been stretched to an unknown extent.

Meng Zhang is tightly held by the enemy, able to attend only to the front battlefield.

Other battlefields are beyond help.

"These are objective reasons, but we must also admit that our army has many problems in tactics and command on the side battlefields."

"We need to summarize lessons learned, strengthen training and equipment, and increase the army's combat power."

Hearing Meng Zhang's words, Zhang Jue nodded in agreement.

He also knows that, in the current Yellow Turban Army, capable of standing on a battlefield where hundreds of thousands of troops clash,

only Meng Zhang can single-handedly bear the main burden.

But even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice.

Even if the Yellow Turbans have undergone several rounds of strengthening.

but compared to the Great Qian, which has accumulated foundations for hundreds of years,

it still appears somewhat thin.

"But under the current situation, we need more swift and effective measures."

"Yuanzhang, Tianxuan, what suggestions do you two have?"

Zhang Jue looked at the two disciples beside him.

"Master, I think we still need to strengthen the collection and analysis of intelligence."

"Only by understanding the enemy's movements and intentions can we devise a more effective strategy."

"The defeat at the Rui Province battlefield was mainly because we failed to detect the arrival of Nan Gong Tianxia and Leize Longji, leaving Huang Chao and others completely unable to fight back."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the information about the Ruizhou battlefield on the table, then spoke.

Although even if they had learned of Nangong Tianxia and others' arrival on the Ruizhou battlefield at that time.

The result would not change in any way.

But at least it could give Huang Chao an opportunity to retreat calmly.

Allowing him to preserve most of the Yellow Turban Army's strength and withdraw to Luzhou.

Rather than the current situation.

The leading Huang Chao and Zhang Bao were captured.

The Ruizhou front collapsed entirely.

"Yuanzhang is right."

"Intelligence work is indeed our previous oversight."

"Because the Yellow Turban Army was newly established, we did not invest deeply in intelligence."

"From now on, we must strengthen this aspect to ensure timely and accurate grasp of enemy intelligence."

Zhang Jiao nodded heavily.

There's no way; intelligence relies on foundation.

Doesn't Zhang Jiao know the importance of intelligence?

Does he not want to handle it?

He simply can't manage it.

Since its uprising, the Yellow Turban Army has been at war with Great Qian.

Internally, all neglected affairs are flourishing.

Everything requires substantial investment.

Where would there be spare resources to build such a luxurious intelligence network?

Currently, the Yellow Turban Army's intelligence network still relies on discarded parts of the intelligence network donated by those behind the Taiping Sect.

"Master, we can try to change our tactics and strategy."

"Previously we may have relied too heavily on frontal battles, neglecting the use of tactics such as ambush and guerrilla warfare."

"Our Yellow Turban Army is numerous, which is our advantage. We can use terrain and numerical superiority to adopt flexible and varied tactics to strike the enemy."

Zhang Tianxuan pondered briefly, then proposed.

A flash of appreciation crossed Zhang Jiao's eyes: "Tianxuan's suggestion is very creative."

"Indeed, we cannot always be bound by traditional tactical thinking."

"The large number of soldiers and armor personnel resulting from the Yellow Turban Army's widespread uprisings is our greatest advantage."

"Flexible and varied tactics will be the key to our victory over the enemy."

Zhang Jiao pondered a moment and realized the current Yellow Turban Army in Luzhou.

Except for a portion led by Meng Zhang, locked in a death struggle with Great Qian on the front battlefield.

The remaining portion of the Yellow Turban Army has stayed in the rear to serve as reserves for Meng Zhang.

This is simply too wasteful of the Yellow Turban Army's numerical advantage.

Meng Zhang stood aside, gazing at the map of mountains and rivers on the table, recalling the smoke of the Luzhou battlefield, and waves of emotion inevitably rose in his heart.

He turned to look at Zhang Jiao beside him, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, whose eyes likewise flickered with profound light.

"Heavenly Duke General."

Meng Zhang spoke, his voice revealing a calm undisturbed by waves.

"In the Battle of Luzhou, although the Great Qian court's troops have been restrained by us, their foundations are deep; over time, this is unfavorable to us."

"I believe the Taiping Sect should blaze a new trail to find a new path for the Yellow Turban Army."

(End of chapter)