Chapter 257

He pointed to Xia Qiu on the map; the land of Xia Qiu was garrisoned by thirty-five thousand troops led by Zhao Yun, holding off Yuan Gonglu's sixty-thousand-strong army!

For Zhao Yun, this was quite a test!

Relying on over thirty thousand troops to block Yuan Gonglu's sixty-thousand-strong army!

Even with the protection of the city walls, it was no easy task!

"Hmph, a mere sixty-thousand-strong army, and they want to break through Zilong's forces?"

He let out a cold snort; if it were anyone else, Lin Yang reckoned he might be a little worried!

But this time, Yuan Gonglu was facing Zhao Zilong!

A two-to-one force ratio!

Zhao Yun also had the replenished fifteen hundred Iron Pagodas under his command!

He simply did not believe Yuan Gonglu could defeat Zhao Yun!

"Pass the order to Zilong, tell him to drag out Yuan Gonglu at Xia Qiu, and wait for me to strike from the front and rear!"

He said this to the soldier beside him, who immediately received the order and hurried away on horseback!

Lin Yang's instructions like this also made Guo Jia understand Lin Yang's plan!

"If that is the case, my lord will need to take a detour this time!"

In Guo Jia's mind, the plan for this trip was quickly conceived!

If they were to send troops directly from Xuzhou to reinforce Peng Cheng!

They would only need to pass through Wuyuan to enter Peng Cheng Commandery!

But such a marching route was too straightforward and would certainly be discovered by the enemy's scouts!

Therefore!

Guo Jia's suggestion was to head south all the way to Liangcheng!

After resting in Liangcheng to confuse the enemy, they would then take the waterway from Liangcheng to arrive at Lu County and enter Peng Cheng territory!

In this way, they could give Yuan Gonglu's scouts false information about reinforcements!

The only downside to this plan!

Was that it required a certain amount of time!

It required Zhao Yun to hold off Yuan Gonglu's sixty-thousand-strong army!

It also required Seeing Dian Wei to ensure he would not be defeated by Ji Ling!

Otherwise!

Lin Yang wouldn't even be able to talk about flanking from the rear; he would only be waiting to receive the routed troops!

"I am not worried about Zilong's side, but Elai!"

Hearing Guo Jia's suggestion, Lin Yang couldn't help but frown deeply at this moment!

He was not worried about Zhao Yun!

But he was quite worried about Seeing Dian Wei's side!

Seeing Dian Wei's martial prowess was not a problem, but his command ability was not high enough!

Once he rashly attacked, it would indeed be dangerous!

"Therefore, my lord, my suggestion is to mobilize General Zang Ba and have him lead five thousand troops to reinforce Peng Cheng!"

Guo Jia had already thought of Lin Yang's worries!

If they were really going to head south, then to confuse the enemy, they might as well split the troops now!

One route led by Zang Ba with five thousand troops, heading straight for Peng Cheng to reinforce Seeing Dian Wei!

And they would head south to confuse the enemy!

Even if Yuan Gonglu's scouts discovered this!

They would likely think that Lin Yang was splitting his troops to reinforce two routes!

"Haha, Fengxiao's plan is excellent!"

Splitting the troops now would definitely give Yuan Gonglu a false impression!

"Xuangao, you lead five thousand of your own troops and reinforce Peng Cheng immediately!"

He said this to Zang Ba beside him, who immediately cupped his hands and accepted the order!

"Tell Seeing Dian Wei, do not mind Ji Ling; just wait for my great army to arrive, and you can swallow Ji Ling's army in one fell swoop!"

After giving these instructions with some unease, Zang Ba nodded solemnly and then turned to leave!

Watching Zang Ba's figure, Lin Yang was not worried about Zang Ba!

Zang Ba's ability was still enough to guard a region!

"Pass the order to the army, head south to Liangcheng!"

Following Lin Yang's command, the army also headed south, straight for Liangcheng!

Mid-February, Xia Qiu!

"Report, urgent report for my lord!"

In the County Magistrate's office of Xia Qiu City, Zhao Yun saw the arriving military report and quickly took it!

Looking at the content above, a sharp light flashed in Zhao Yun's eyes!

The content of the intelligence was very simple!

It was for Lin Yang to let Zhao Yun drag out Yuan Gonglu's army in Xia Qiu and wait for him to strike from the front and rear!

Although the complete plan was not stated, Zhao Yun still guessed something from these few words!

Lin Yang wanted him to hold his ground!

This meant that Lin Yang's army was not coming to reinforce him!

A while ago, he heard that Lin Yang was stationed in Liangcheng!

It seemed that was a diversionary move!

If they were not coming to reinforce him!

Then they must be heading for Peng Cheng!

In an instant, Zhao Yun understood!

"Pass the order down, my lord will arrive with reinforcements in a few days; from today on, the whole army will have extra rations!"

Putting down the letter, Zhao Yun shouted with great joy on his face!

For a time!

Hearing that Lin Yang's army would arrive in a few days and that they could have extra rations!

Countless soldiers were all excited!

On Xia Qiu's side, Zhao Yun received the intelligence!

On the other side, outside Xia Qiu City, Yuan Gonglu also received the intelligence!

"Damn Lin Ziyuan, he actually really gave up Qingzhou!"

In the main tent of the military camp, Yuan Gonglu looked at the intelligence he received, his face extremely pale!

This Lin Ziyuan really gave up the land of Qingzhou and returned to deal with him!

"Alas, my lord, Xuzhou is Lin Ziyuan's foundation; he will never sit idly by!"

Yan Xiang, who was on the side, spoke up again to persuade him at this moment!

Taking advantage of this time to have Ji Ling's army return and then combine forces to head straight for Lujiang Commandery would be the most appropriate choice!

Clashing with Lin Yang here is really slightly unwise!

"Hmph, a mere twenty thousand troops, and he even split his troops to reinforce Peng Cheng; with my sixty thousand troops here, why should I fear him!"

Speaking with disdain, why should he, Yuan Gonglu, fear the other party!

Even if Lin Yang's twenty thousand troops arrived!

This Xia Qiu land would only have fifty-five thousand troops!

His sixty thousand elites under his command would definitely not be afraid!

"My lord, I heard that under this Lin Ziyuan, there is a unit of heavy armored cavalry called the Iron Pagodas; although there are only fifteen hundred of them, both men and horses are armored, and they are invincible!"

The matter of the Iron Pagodas under Lin Yang had already spread throughout the world after several battles!

The various warlords were particularly interested in these Iron Pagodas where both men and horses were armored!

In this era where even heavy armor could not be popularized!

The Iron Pagodas could be called a great battlefield killer!

It is said that both Yuan Benchou and Gongsun Zan had already started researching the Iron Pagodas!