Chapter 508: First Volume, Chapter 508: Xu Qian, Main General

First Volume, Chapter 508: Xu Qian, Main General

Xu Qian gave Chen Ping not a single chance to defend himself; he cast off his usual pretense of weakness and apathy, stood tall, and declared loudly before all: "Chen Ping has repeatedly defied military orders, feigned obedience while secretly resisting, insulted his superiors, disregarded discipline, and ignored the paramount importance of eliminating the enemy—his crimes are grave indeed!"

"Yet, considering his past achievements commanding the Xiongying Brigade, I spare him the death penalty but not the punishment—temporarily demote him to Junior General, to redeem himself through merit!"

Saying this, Xu Qian beamed with pride: "Chen Ping, I spare you out of respect for your battlefield merits! If you perform well henceforth, I shall speak well of you; if you dare defy me again, I will not forgive you!"

Xu Qian feared Chen Ping's Xiongying Brigade and dared not push things to the brink—he would have killed Chen Ping outright had he dared.

Chen Ping closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He had anticipated this outcome; not all frontline officers respected General Chen Si, especially after the failed offensive against the Liang Kingdom Border Army, which shattered Chen Si's prestige. Moreover, the superior in charge of bandit elimination was an old friend of Xu Qian's Mentor, and naturally sided with Xu Qian to squeeze out Chen Ping.

Furthermore…

Since the Tianji Camp Guards were blocked and forced back to Qingyu Mountain, nearly ten days have passed—yet they have not even encountered the enemy, let alone eliminated them; no excuse could justify this.

Now, Chen Ping could only endure.

…

At the same time, in the Di Central Army Camp at San Die Pass on the Liang Kingdom Northern Border.

Before Chen Si lay a thick stack of Beixi County War Reports; even the famed Di Military God felt overwhelmed and buried under work.

Since the army crossed the border, the fires of war had never ceased for a moment.

Especially in the past five or six days, the fighting had grown fiercely intense—casualties in just these days reached over eight thousand!

The Beixi County soldiers fought like madmen, relentlessly assaulting Chen Si's defensive lines; the Xiongying, Xuelang, and Yunbao brigades, originally meant to crush the Piaoqi and Chariot and Cavalry General's forces, had to be fully redeployed to the Eastern Front to repel Beixi County's assaults, forcing Chen Si's offensive into a desperate defense.

Without the support of these three elite brigades, the Western Front struggled against the Piaoqi General's forces and now remained locked in stalemate.

And the most critical Chariot and Cavalry General's DefensiveLine? Still unbroken.

Chen Si even risked his life, leading a personal guard in disguise to personally reconnoiter the Chariot and Cavalry General's lines—only to be filled with dread.

The defensive fortifications outside Yongshou County made Chen Si's scalp tingle.

How short a time had passed? The entire Yongshou County was now encircled by moats, with row upon row of horse-rejection stakes and traps facing north.

Beyond the horse-rejection stakes lay countless pits, densely packed.

These simplest pits could effectively disrupt cavalry and even infantry formations.

Most terrifying was the row of wooden palisades beneath the City Gate Tower—barely four feet high, with a Jianbing every six feet for ranged attack.

Chen Si instantly understood Qin Feng's strategy: dual preparation, three-pronged encirclement—to tie down his army while reinforcing the Chariot and Cavalry General's DefensiveLine.

If the offensive failed, they would retreat along all three lines, abandon large-scale warfare, and adopt decentralized, aggressive guerrilla tactics.

And now, the Chariot and Cavalry General's DefensiveLine was impregnable.

At that point, Chen Si's army would be trapped in dire peril.

Chen Si could not defeat any of the three: Border Army, Chariot and Cavalry General, or Beixi County. Though the Piaoqi General's forces were relatively easier to attack, should Chen Si commit fully against him, the same scenario would replay.

No! The Chariot and Cavalry General's DefensiveLine must not be allowed to grow stronger!

Chen Si issued three consecutive orders for a massive assault on the Chariot and Cavalry General's DefensiveLine; each time, his troops advanced at horrific cost, filling in pits, smashing traps, and breaking apart horse-rejection stakes.

Meanwhile, soldiers behind the Jianbing walls unleashed arrows like madmen upon the advancing army.

By the time the army reached the Jianbing walls, the enemy had already retreated safely behind the walls—and worst of all… before leaving, they set the Jianbing walls ablaze, leaving the army exposed again to archers on the City Wall.

The army launched over a dozen assaults on Yongshou County over three days.

But each time they reached the City Wall, they were spent, incapable of further siege warfare; and each time they retreated, civilian laborers, shielded by infantry, rushed out to repair the defenses—so when the army charged again, new fortifications stood before Yongshou County.

Eventually, Chen Si had to abandon the assault on the Chariot and Cavalry General's DefensiveLine and dispatched numerous small raiding cavalry units to invade and ambush the Chanshi regions to supply his army.

But the plundering of the Chanshi regions also met with difficulty.

From the war's outset, Qin Feng had foreseen that the Chanshi regions would be ravaged by fire, and immediately organized military and civilian efforts to harvest grain; now, the Chanshi regions near the Battlefront held little remaining grain.

Added to this, the Chariot and Cavalry General had stationed ten thousand troops in the Chanshi regions; while the Di raiding cavalry plundered grain, they also faced pursuit and interception by Chariot and Cavalry troops—though they seized some materials and supplies, sustaining the entire army's consumption was utterly impossible!

The lingering consequences of failing to capture the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen were now emerging.

With the Bian Jun Zhong Zhen standing there, grain supplies urgently mobilized within Di territory faced extreme difficulty reaching the Front Line; sending large escorts was impractical, while small detachments were slaughtered by Border Army ambushes.

If the transport teams drew too close to the Eastern Front, they were ambushed by Beixi County forces.

Now, Di grain escort teams could only deliver supplies in small, frequent, and stealthy batches—making it impossible to compensate for the army's consumption.

Though Chen Si never voiced it outright, he knew clearly: half his strategy had already failed.

Unable to break the Chariot and Cavalry General's DefensiveLine, and with supply lines crippled, the only hope now lay in open field battle—to destroy as much of the Liang Kingdom Northern Border's manpower as possible!

Just as Chen Si was overwhelmed, word reached him that Chen Ping had been demoted to Junior General.

Chen Si felt a sharp throb in his temples but forced calm, demanding an explanation.

Upon learning of the chain of events at Qingyu Mountain, Chen Si fell silent, pondering deeply.

After a long while, Chen Si suddenly looked up and asked his Deputy General: "Can you find out who is now the Main General of Beixi County?"

The Deputy General, puzzled by the sudden question, replied bluntly: "Of course, it's Qin Feng."

Chen Si frowned deeply, his expression grim: "Can you confirm it?"

The Deputy General grew even more confused: "It goes without saying."