Chapter 624

Chen Li became thoroughly nervous.

He stepped forward and asked in a deep voice: "Family Head, what happened?"

Chen Wuji picked up the field report and handed it to Chen Li, saying, "Eleventh Uncle, you had better look at it yourself."

"I was here mobilizing troops to discuss military affairs, planning how to fight this battle, and when Hu Bu Gui returned this morning, I had already made a promise to him. Now it's all saved."

"Eleventh Uncle, your central army, if you don't act it's fine, but when you do act, it's quite frightening."

Chen Li looked at the field report with a doubtful expression.

Upon seeing it, he couldn't help but laugh: "Family Head, you nearly scared me to death; I thought they had done something sensational, but this is good news!"

Chen Wuji laughed and said, "Just joking with Eleventh Uncle."

"But speaking of it, they fought this battle truly splendidly, treating the Qiang people like dogs on a leash—eating Qiang provisions, using Qiang equipment, and ultimately wiping them out completely; it's truly splendid."

Chen Li glanced at the field report again and said, "But it is also a path of taking risks. A lone army deep in enemy territory, yet so ostentatiously repeatedly luring the enemy and ambushing—if they fail once, they may well be annihilated."

Chen Wuji waved his hand and said, "Eleventh Uncle, merit is merit. Although their tactic is indeed dangerous, one misstep and the whole game is lost, but since they won, it is a great achievement."

Chen Li nodded and muttered under his breath, "These two little scoundrels!"

"Eleventh Uncle, your troops haven't embarrassed you at all; they've also given me a strong boost of morale. Afterwards you can give them a good talking-to, but in public they must be richly rewarded," Chen Wuji said with a smile.

Chen Li said, "Our central army has seen little fighting lately, and everyone has been holding back their energy. The previous battle fought by Tang Yu and Xie Fengxian further stimulated them greatly. Now that I have finally secured an opportunity, they surely want to put on a good show."

"Are those two really just brigade commanders?" Chen Wuji asked.

"Yes!" Chen Li laughed, "But they are both veteran soldiers under General Yang's command; in fact, all the officers of our central army come from those six hundred veterans. I simply fill whatever numbers are missing, so on paper the strength remains complete."

Chen Wuji nodded and said, "No wonder! It's no surprise to me now that they could achieve such results."

At that moment, Xu Zengyi and Chen Luozi walked in from outside.

"My lord."

Chen Wuji gestured for them to sit, then had Chen Li give them the field report that had just been delivered, while he himself continued to bury his head in his meal—if he didn't eat it quickly, it would get cold.

"My lord, did Yushan Prefecture fall just like that?" Xu Zengyi asked after reading the field report, unable to hide his astonishment, "Just over a thousand men destroying nearly five thousand enemies—could this report be a deception?"

Chen Wuji swallowed the food in his mouth, took a sip of tea, then laughed and said, "Old Xu, you and Old Yang brought out those troops yourselves—how can you be the first to doubt them?"

"The field report should be correct; they wouldn't joke about this sort of thing, and the course and details of the battle are written clearly—why do you still doubt?"

"It's not that I doubt it; the battle results are genuinely somewhat exaggerated." Xu Zengyi said, "In half a month, a force of just over a thousand troops took two cities and killed nearly five thousand enemies—when I was young, I wouldn't even dare to boast like that."

"Fighting like this isn't our tradition!" Chen Wuji said, "When we first raised our troops, we also had only a little over a thousand men, and we fought the Qiang cavalry—yet we still wiped them out completely."

Xu Zengyi said in a low tone, "My lord, the reason we won that battle was largely due to harmony among men and favorable terrain; the rest was almost pure luck—such a battle could absolutely not be reproduced."

"The two brigades of our central army in Yushan Prefecture were still fighting siege warfare..."

Having said that, he suddenly stopped, looked over the field report again, and then murmured, "The battle was fought with boldness and meticulousness, but luck also played a large part. The Qiang people and Yushan's garrison were overly arrogant, giving them a big advantage."

"My lord, you just said these are the troops I brought out?"

Chen Li explained, "The commanders of these two brigades are veteran soldiers under General Yang's command."

"If that's the case, then they could also be considered troops I brought out. Ah, I suppose I ought to praise them a bit—they fought very handsomely; aside from being overly bold and taking risks, which deserves a few lashes, there's nothing else wrong with them!" Xu Zengyi chuckled, and the double-standard Xu military strategist immediately began to show off.

Chen Luozi repeatedly nodded and said, "This battle was indeed fought handsomely."

"You all have your own considerations, so I won't say much more. Since they can achieve such results, they are formidable; I must say they are awesome, truly awesome."

"A brigade commander being low-ranking, they should be given a promotion; at the very least they ought to have the rank of Training Officer!"

Chen Wuji laughed and said, "With such military achievements, a Training Officer rank is already a certainty."

"Let's say something useful: they are now a lone army in Yushan Prefecture, and hatred toward them can be said to be at its peak; we must quickly dispatch troops to reinforce them."

"I intend to send the cavalry ahead first, with the rest of the troops following closely, and we will set out today!"

Yushan Prefecture borders Zhong Qiang over a large area, and it is truly a strategic frontier stronghold.

Unlike Hezhou and Qingzhou, which have only one or two major cities within their borders, Yushan Prefecture, being a place of strategic importance, necessarily has beacon towers and military forts, with each county or every two counties having a city.

This situation has no fixed rule; merely, in the areas near the north and east, cities are relatively fewer, while in the west bordering the Qiang people, there is as little as one city per county, or as many as two to three cities per county.

The key point is whether the terrain of these places is perilous and important.

The former dynasty, in order to defend against the Qiang people, had expended vast amounts of financial and human resources in the Lingnan Six Commanderies, and had not spared effort. However, these efforts were nearly ruined by some scoundrels of the present dynasty, forcing people like Chen Wuji to consume large amounts of manpower and wealth to take them back.

The two brigades of the central army that have been reclaimed are the two strategic strongholds in the east.

Although in number they fall far short of half of Yushan Prefecture's cities, these two cities occupy the territory of three counties, and in terms of land area they approach half of Yushan Prefecture.

They are now garrisoned in a city named Liulin, where supplies are tight and they have received no reinforcements; the field report they sent today serves both to report military circumstances and victories, and to request aid.

Xu Zengyi nodded heavily and said, "My lord, the military situation is urgent, time waits for no one; we must dispatch troops at once!"

"Someone, convey the order!" Chen Wuji commanded in a deep voice.

"Order Chen Baojia to quickly muster the troops, carry ten days' worth of military rations, and rush to reinforce Liulin City; the remaining troops shall gather, appoint officers, and set out at the hour of Wei (1–3 pm)."

"Yes!"

With Chen Wuji's military order issued, the fort that had been silent for several days quickly fell into tension and a killing atmosphere; the warhorses were pulled out of their pens, and the meticulously rolled military flag also began to flutter.