Chapter 99: A Ruthless Man is No True Man

"With the Prince's Personal Army added to the County Soldiers, our current total military strength in Yan Commandery is 33,000 men. I am deploying 8,000 of them to Wuan County, and 2,500 each to Yi River County and Zhu County."

"The three southern counties are relatively safe, so I am giving you a total of 5,000 men; 2,000 for two of the counties, and 1,000 for the last one. 10,000 will remain in Yancheng."

Zhao Xu held a thin bamboo rod and tapped lightly on the map of Yan Commandery.

"10,000 left in Yancheng, Your Highness, that is too dangerous," Liu Fu said, startled. "If the Northern Di learn that Yancheng's forces are so thin, they will surely attack with all their might."

"What I want is to lure them to Yancheng," Zhao Xu said with a cold snort.

Since he had learned of the Zhang Family and the Northern Di's plan, he naturally had to cooperate with them.

In the past, every Autumn Hunt by the Northern Di was like plowing a field, looting from the north all the way to the south.

They would attack every county seat in Yan Commandery.

After breaking the cities, they would plunder the people, grain, gold, and silver.

Now that he had placed heavy troops in these counties, if the Northern Di continued to gnaw at them as they had in previous years, they would have to lose a few teeth.

By the time they reached Yancheng, their strength would be greatly depleted, and these 10,000 men would be enough then.

Of course, the best-case scenario for him would be for the Northern Di to abandon attacking these county seats and throw all their forces directly at Yancheng.

That way, the losses suffered by Yan Commandery would be minimized.

Moreover, the Zhang Family and the Northern Di were already secretly colluding; once they learned of his troop deployments, Yancheng would appear even more tempting to them.

In this way, the Northern Di would smoothly walk into his trap.

"But Your Highness's safety..." Liu Fu swallowed with difficulty.

Zhao Xu smiled. "You are fine at governing, but you are laymen when it comes to war. Even if Yancheng is besieged, the Prince's Personal Army in your counties can come to support. The Northern Di will then be attacked from both front and rear, which will be equally uncomfortable for them. Besides, if the enemy situation changes, we will adjust at any time."

The County Magistrates understood upon hearing this, but they still did not understand why so few troops were left in Yancheng.

Though others did not understand, Liu Fu soon figured it out.

He knew the Zhang Family was colluding with the Northern Di, which was why he was worried about Yancheng.

But seeing the confident look on Yan Wang's face, he feared that a plan had already been made in secret.

Immediately, he said, "Your Highness, then what do the County Magistrates need to do?"

Zhao Xu's gaze swept over the seven men. "You must cooperate with the soldiers of the Prince's Personal Army, organize the people and soldiers to defend the county seats together, transport grain and fodder, and care for the wounded."

In his view, this confrontation with the Northern Di required a total mobilization of the entire Yan Commandery.

Now that the arrangements in the countryside were complete, the county seats were also taking action.

"Yes, Your Highness," the County Magistrates acknowledged.

During this Autumn Hunt, Yan Wang was determined to fight the Northern Di, rather than choosing to flee like the Rich Clans and officials of the past.

Whether they were officials or commoners, they would naturally work in unison with the Prince's Mansion.

"There are Village Soldiers in the countryside, and in your county seats, there are County Soldiers. Select the young and strong to fill the ranks; they will be issued weapons at that time and will follow the unified command of the Personal Army officers. Their main role is still to put on a show of force..." Zhao Xu explained to the County Magistrates.

He had no choice but to adopt special tactics in the countryside.

Because the countryside did not have city walls for protection like the county seats.

If they were to flee into the mountains, firstly, the people could not carry much grain, and secondly, if they were discovered, they would still inevitably be slaughtered.

Such situations had happened more than once or twice.

That was why he decided to adopt a method that allowed the countryside to join the war as well.

The weapons and equipment given to them were not bad, after all, they belonged to field combat.

As for the county seats, they already had the protection of the Prince's Personal Army.

He only intended to use the old weapons and equipment in the warehouse for the County Soldiers.

In war, they would only be sent in once the Prince's Personal Guards were exhausted.

Therefore, Zhao Xu did not have high requirements for them.

After all, if it reached that point, Yan Commandery would certainly be finished, and he would be finished too.

After discussing with the County Magistrates, Zhao Xu let them return to prepare.

This was only a temporary deployment; next, they would have to make specific responses based on the situation of the Northern Di.

Of course, for Zhao Xu, the biggest benefit of letting the County Magistrates do this was to strengthen their resolve.

This was very important in war.

"Your Highness, General Chang has arrived," Feng'er said as she entered the study.

Zhao Xu nodded; these past two days, Chang Wei had been much busier than him.

All matters, large and small, regarding the Prince's Personal Army required him to handle them.

"Your Highness, the military intelligence that just arrived: this time the Northern Di have dispatched 30,000 cavalry, with the majority remaining at the royal tent," Chang Wei said.

"30,000 cavalry?" Zhao Xu mused. "How many came last year?"

"I heard there were 20,000," Chang Wei said.

"It seems this extra 10,000 is aimed at me," Zhao Xu smiled.

However, unlike the vassal armies, these 30,000 Northern Di cavalry were genuine Northern Di people.

Their combat effectiveness was naturally incomparable to the vassal armies.

According to his understanding, in every war, the Northern Di cavalry were elite cavalry when mounted, and equally formidable infantry when dismounted.

Chang Wei sneered. "If these 30,000 cavalry were just galloping and looting, we would indeed have no way to stop them, but if they attack Yancheng, they have miscalculated."

He paused and added, "The Prince's Personal Army is not like those trash from the Yuan Family."

"You can despise the enemy strategically, but you must take the enemy seriously tactically," Zhao Xu reminded Chang Wei.

This fellow had become a bit inflated since the whole army was re-equipped, confident that their combat power had surpassed the Imperial Guards.

Of course, Zhao Xu had this confidence too, but underestimating the enemy would not do.

"Yes, Your Highness," Chang Wei ruminated on Zhao Xu's words, thinking they really made sense, and secretly noted them down to take back and reprimand the officers under his command.

Zhao Xu pushed the map in front of him, "The County Magistrates just came; given the current military strength of the Northern Di, it seems there is no need for adjustments. Leaving fifteen thousand men in Yancheng is sufficient."

Chang Wei thought to himself that Yan Wang had just said to take the enemy seriously in terms of tactics, yet he was now being arrogant by leaving only fifteen thousand men.

Upon hearing this, he wanted to speak, but did not know what to say.

Zhao Xu saw through Chang Wei's thoughts; like Liu Fu, they were both concerned for his safety.

He said, "You have come at the right time; I will take you to see a new type of weapon."

"A new type of weapon?" Chang Wei was stunned for a moment.

Zhao Xu closed the blueprints and, ignoring Chang Wei's confusion, took him directly to the Armory.

Upon seeing Wang Ying, Zhao Xu gave him a look.

Wang Ying understood and led the two of them into the courtyard.

The three of them stopped in front of a pile of something that looked like flour.

"This is the new type of weapon?" Chang Wei was dumbfounded.

Seeing Chang Wei's expression, Wang Ying smiled and said nothing.

Zhao Xu said, "This thing is called Quicklime. It causes a burning sensation if it gets into the eyes, and it can only be washed out with oil. If you wash it with water, your eyes will be burned blind."

After speaking, Zhao Xu scooped a bowl of water and sprinkled it onto the Quicklime, and the Quicklime immediately began to smoke.

"Try it," Zhao Xu said to Chang Wei.

Chang Wei squatted down and touched it with his hand, then immediately pulled his hand back; this thing was very hot.

"Is Your Highness planning to use this to deal with the Northern Di?" Chang Wei had already imagined how to use this thing.

He thought to himself that although this move was vicious, it was very practical.

But speaking of vicious, the Northern Di were even more vicious; their Arrows were all soaked in feces water.