Chapter 856: In Place

"Yes, General." Qin Shan gave a military salute to Chang Wei.

He turned and left, immediately ordering a search of the entire city.

Chang Wei watched Qin Shan leave, his eyes narrowing.

He had ordered the suppression of the Rich Clans and Shizu in Shacheng not only to recover the wealth they had squeezed from the people.

There was another important reason.

That was to reduce the hidden dangers within Shacheng.

If these Rich Clans and Shizu were left alone, they would certainly not remain settled.

Therefore, it was only safe to detain them.

After another busy day, the next day he left ten thousand soldiers to garrison Shacheng and led a great army of fifty thousand toward Xiangbei.

At the same time, he ordered news to be sent to Anqing.

Unlike the stealthy approach taken when heading to Shacheng, the cavalry delivering this message each had three horses and moved rapidly toward Anqing.

Because the Jiangzhou region outside Changcheng was entirely controlled by the Prince's Personal Army.

Their journey was smooth and unobstructed, and in less than three days, they arrived at Anqing from Shacheng.

"Very good." After reading the battle report sent back by the cavalry, Zhao Xu revealed a satisfied smile.

Then, he immediately spread out a tactical map.

When he was in Yanzhou, whenever he had free time at night, he would either draw various technical blueprints or map out the entirety of Great Song, as well as the maps of each province and prefecture.

Of course, there were also maritime charts and maps of various regions of the world.

After these maps were sent to the Staff Department, the generals of the Staff Department were responsible for copying them.

Thus, when fighting wars, there were specialized tactical maps for the combat zones.

"They set out three days ago, so they should have arrived at Yueyang County by now, and they are still two days' journey from Jiangxia County," Zhao Xu said.

The marching speed of the Prince's Personal Army was much faster than that of the Shizu Army.

Therefore, it would take the Shizu six days to reach Jiangxia from Shacheng, while the Prince's Personal Army might only need four or five days; they would only need to spend another day or two to encounter the Wu army.

And as for the current location of the Wu army in Jiangxia City, they would only need at most two days to arrive.

"It is time to set out. Huo An, immediately organize the army; we march for Jiangxia tomorrow," Zhao Xu said sternly.

Of the five Zhenwu Generals of the Prince's Personal Army, besides Qin Shan, Guan Tong, and Lv Chang, the remaining two were Bai Shang and Huo An.

At present, Bai Shang was leading his soldiers to surround Changcheng.

He and Huo An had remained in Anqing.

Unlike Qin Shan, Guan Tong, and Bai Shang, Huo An was a veteran who had joined the Prince's Personal Army during its initial establishment.

He had relied on military merit to rise to this position.

However, because Qin Shan, Guan Tong, Lv Chang, Bai Shang, and others were too dazzling, he appeared somewhat inconspicuous by comparison.

But to Zhao Xu, he was quite optimistic about Huo An's future.

Because compared to Qin Shan and the others, Huo An was younger and belonged to the new generation of generals.

"Yes, Your Highness." Huo An responded, and the look he cast toward Yan Wang held undisguised reverence.

In this campaign, Yan Wang had left him and his subordinates to guard Anqing, which was a sign of trust in them.

The feeling of being trusted by Yan Wang had kept his heart surging with emotion these past few days; even if he were to die charging into battle for Yan Wang right now, he would be willing.

Leaving the residence, he arrived at the Anqing camp and summoned his subordinate officers.

"Rest for the night, and we set out for Jiangxia tomorrow," Huo An said.

After pondering for a moment, he continued, "This time, His Highness Yan Wang is going into battle with our Fifth Army. You must be on your toes, and when we fight, we must show the might of the Fifth Army."

He paused, his expression darkening. "If anyone drags the Fifth Army down, don't blame me for being heartless. Besides, the men of the First Army, Second Army, Third Army, and Fourth Army will mock us as the reserve army again."

Hearing this, the officers of the Fifth Army all had determined looks in their eyes.

It was not that they had any rift with the other four armies.

Rather, to enhance the combat effectiveness of each army, General Chang Wei often held shooting, wrestling, and grenade-throwing competitions within the military.

Besides that, the Five Armies often competed against each other during drills.

In these competitions and confrontations, the Fifth Army often did not rank well.

Consequently, when requesting to go to battle, he naturally could not compete with Qin Shan and the others.

They could only often serve as the reserve force.

This was the origin of them being called the reserve army.

They were all hot-blooded men, so they naturally held their breath, wanting to stage a comeback and prove that the Fifth Army was not inferior.

Right now, attacking Jiangxia City with His Highness Yan Wang was an opportunity.

After all, the Wu army in Jiangxia had six hundred thousand men.

If they fought this battle beautifully, they would take off the label of the reserve army.

"Yes, General!" the officers shouted in unison.

After being dismissed, they immediately returned to their respective units, ordering the soldiers to wipe their muskets and count their ammunition, while also conveying Huo An's orders.

The next morning, the soldiers of the Fifth Army stood outside Anqing City like fighting cocks, full of spirit and high in morale.

Zhao Xu left the city and saw this scene, nodding with satisfaction.

He was well aware of what Huo An had said in the army that afternoon.

In fact, this was the effect he wanted.

The military competitions were also something he had ordered Chang Wei to organize.

The purpose was to ensure that each army would constantly improve through mutual competition.

"Set out!" After inspecting the Fifth Army, Zhao Xu gave the order.

Currently, the Fifth Army only has twenty thousand men, because ten thousand were left behind in the three southeastern prefectures.

And once those twenty thousand men leave, Anqing will effectively be an empty city.

However, it does not matter for now, because Anqing City is very safe.

If the Wu army in Jiangxia wants to attack Anqing, they must first get past the Fifth Army.

The Shizu Army in Changcheng is even being besieged by Bai Shang's Fourth Army, making it even more impossible for them to threaten Anqing.

But even so, just in case, he still dispatched the Village Soldiers recently pulled together near Anqing, who had not yet been trained, to garrison Anqing; it was better than nothing.

After two days of marching, Zhao Xu and his party arrived outside Jiangxia City, traveling from east to west.

At the same time, the fifty-thousand-strong army commanded by Chang Wei arrived at Jiangxia, located along the banks of the Jiujiang, traveling from south to north.

Six hundred thousand Wu troops were trapped in Jiangxia City.

After establishing contact with Chang Wei, Zhao Xu ordered the Fifth Army to camp in place and prepare for the attack.

"Your Highness truly uses troops like a god; after taking Shacheng, the Wu army can neither retreat nor advance, and can only defend Jiangxia to the death."

As Zhao Xu and Huo An observed Jiangxia City with a Telescope, Huo An could not help but say.

"This is called the art of war being a path of deception, combining the orthodox with the unorthodox," Zhao Xu said.

His remaining in Anqing to attack the various commanderies of Jiangzhou was an overt strategy, while ordering Chang Wei to sneak-attack Shacheng was a ruse.

By attracting the enemy head-on, one can secretly carry out some small maneuvers.

Therefore, the Wu army fell for it.

At this moment, the Wu army in Jiangxia must have already learned the news that Shacheng had fallen.

But they have no way to deal with it.

The reason lies in the terrain of Xiangzhou; to the west of Xiangzhou are the Wuyi Mountains.

This mountain range cuts off Bazhou from Xiangzhou, the east of Xiangzhou is the Xuefeng Mountains, and to the north of Xiangzhou is the Jiujiang.

This is to say, Xiangzhou is effectively a cage.

The only road to Bazhou is to pass through Shacheng, head toward Guizhou, and make a detour to enter Bazhou from Yunzhou.

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