Chapter 834: First Volume, Chapter 834: Broken Window Effect

First Volume, Chapter 834: Broken Window Effect

Although it is often said that silence is a statement, and neutrality is siding with the enemy.

After all, those who accomplish great deeds are often ruthless; anyone not useful to them must be cut down and rooted out.

But even so, the Central Plains Imperial Party betraying the Liang Emperor so easily to support Li Yong was still a move so foolish that even Qin Feng had not anticipated it.

Qin Feng's initial assumption was that the Imperial Party would waver, caught between the Liang Emperor and Li Yong, waiting to assess the situation.

Although in the end they would still lean toward Li Yong, the shift would not happen too quickly.

The result…

Qin Feng had grossly overestimated the Imperial Party's political instincts and composure!

You should know that with the strength of the Central Plains Imperial Party, they could fully protect themselves. Once the situation across the realm stabilized, whoever ended up laughing last would have no need to strike at the Imperial Party anymore, and would instead go out of their way to win them over.

But now, the Imperial Party has completely lost Emperor Liang's trust. Whether it's Qin Feng or Emperor Liang, both will inevitably make the Imperial Party their first target!

After all, with the Imperial Party blocking the way at Liu Prefecture, the forces of the Southern Border noble clans and the Lin family cannot push north, and correspondingly, Qin Feng's and Emperor Liang's forces cannot move south.

Put plainly, the Imperial Party, once a prized piece that everyone wanted, has now become the most glaring stumbling block. No matter which faction wants to accomplish its goals, it must kick the Imperial Party aside.

That is also why dealing with the Imperial Party was placed together with quelling the rebellion, and further placed after the strike against the Lin family.

Overall, what happened within the territory of Great Liang, though with some discrepancies, did not exceed Qin Feng's expectations.

From here on out, as long as he proceeds step by step and acts according to plan, nothing major will go wrong.

By comparison, it was the news from Sangzhou that piqued Qin Feng's interest even more.

"Young Marquis, I heard that Lü Ci and Li Chou have already begun making moves against Zhuozhou?"

"What exactly is the situation now?"

Facing Qin Feng's inquiry, Ning Hu's eyes were full of pride. After all, what they were doing now was unprecedented anywhere in all of Great Liang. If they could truly follow Qin Feng's plan, send Jing Qianying back to the Northern Di imperial ancestral shrine, and seize control of the Northern Di's lifeblood, then everyone following Qin Feng would surely leave their mark in the annals of history!

Every time he thought of this, Ning Hu's blood would boil with excitement.

"Brother Qin, you have no idea how useless those two mediocrities, Lü Ci and Li Chou, are!"

"Now Sangzhou is already our world. Even the Snow Wolf Brigade has been wiped out. Within five hundred li in any direction, there isn't a single enemy left."

"Behind the Wild Emperor Party, we also have the support of our Beixi County."

"With such advantages, those two, Ci and Chou, actually got ambushed on their advance into Zhuozhou and lost over a thousand men."

"If our advantage hadn't been so overwhelming, and we hadn't simply crushed them with sheer numbers, those two would surely have ruined Brother Qin's grand plan!"

Hearing this, Qin Feng could not help but furrow his brow.

From Qin Feng's understanding of Ci and Chou, they could hardly be called "mediocrities." Lü Ci had once held the rank of Mobile Corps Commander, rich in real combat experience, and Li Chou was the military strategist at the Eagle Ridge outpost, a man who knew how to read the times and adapt.

At least when it came to military matters, these two were dependable.

That they had actually been ambushed and suffered no small losses did come as quite a surprise to Qin Feng.

"What exactly happened? Who were the ones that ambushed Ci and Chou?"

Seeing how serious Qin Feng looked, Ning Hu did not dare beat around the bush and quickly answered, "Based on what we know so far, it should be local militia from Zhuozhou."

Hearing this, Qin Feng's brow furrowed even deeper.

Local militia? What a joke!

Although the troops under Ci and Chou were a ragtag force thrown together from spare parts, and would easily collapse at the first contact against elites,

these soldiers were originally main-force troops of the Northern Di. By any measure, they were a first-rate army, and it was absolutely impossible for local militia to beat them that badly.

There was definitely something going on here!

"Although the Wild Emperor Party has been charging forward triumphantly, meeting no resistance, the reality is far from that. The Northern Di King places enormous importance on this force."

"Even if the troops that ambushed Ci and Chou were local militia, there must certainly be Northern Di elites among them."

Ning Hu rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

"At first I thought so too, but if Northern Di elites were really secretly helping, both sides would have been locked in a grinding battle."

"But the problem now is that this local militia, whether in manpower or supplies, is severely lacking."

"Are we overthinking this?"

Before Qin Feng could answer, Liu Ming, who was standing nearby, had already ventured a question.

"Marquis Qin, is it possible that this ambush was a strategy to lure the enemy deeper in?"

Qin Feng gave a heavy nod. "That is extremely likely!"

Hearing their exchange, Ning Hu's expression instantly grew grave.

"Lure the enemy deeper?!"

Qin Feng did not let the current advantage make him careless. On the contrary, he became even more cautious and prudent.

"If the enemy lost too quickly, this performance would be far too fake."

"Losing quickly implies a gap in combat power and low morale. A militia force like that would not have the courage to challenge an army of thirty thousand and make meaningless sacrifices. It would be better to surrender from the very start."

"Most of the time, whether to surrender or fight to the death is not decided by the commanding general, but by the enemy and the soldiers under his command."

"If the enemy has no intention of slaughtering everyone, then the vast majority of troops will not resist to the last."

"If the soldiers see that the war is hopeless, and any military action is no different from throwing their lives away, then most likely they will mutiny and rebel, and might even kill their own commander outright to claim credit with the enemy."

"All in all, there is too great a gap between this local militia's combat ability and its will to fight!"

Hearing Qin Feng's explanation, Ning Hu already understood where the problem lay.

He could not help but shake his head and sigh in admiration. "Worthy of Brother Qin, to be able to see through the anomalies within."

"You're right. Since the enemy had the courage to resist a force several times their size, they must have been at least twenty or thirty percent confident they could inflict heavy damage on the enemy."

"And yet, this local militia only made Ci and Chou lose a thousand men before hastily retreating in defeat."

"They deliberately created a false impression for Ci and Chou that the resistance in Zhuozhou was only this strong. Even going all out, they could only make the enemy lose a thousand men. Henceforth, against any resistance, all they would need to do is press forward with their numerical advantage to win."

"Once they push deep into enemy territory, they will be encircled and annihilated."

Having said this, Ning Hu had already shot Liu Ming a meaningful glance. Liu Ming understood at once and hurriedly called over a messenger, swiftly conveying the Military Order to Ci and Chou: forbid any reckless advance, gradually apply Attrition to Zhuozhou from the outer perimeter, and absolutely do not fall into the enemy's carefully woven trap.

Although the problem had been discovered in time, Ning Hu still let out a long sigh. "Brother Qin, I keep feeling that Ci and Chou are unreliable."

"Do you think they might commit Betrayal against us?"