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Fengzhou City

Fengzhou City was currently surrounded by troops from Da, Jiao, and Qiao states. The combined forces numbered nearly two hundred thousand, with over a hundred thousand besieging the city and tens of thousands attacking from all sides. The counties within a thousand miles of Fengzhou City had all been breached.

Fortunately, the strategist had evacuated a group of people into Fengzhou City ahead of time, allowing the city’s defenders to surpass thirty thousand. With the assistance of the residents, Fengzhou City had not fallen yet.

"Prime Minister Li, the rebels are fierce. Fengzhou City has been under attack for over half a month. I think it will be difficult to capture it in a short time. We must come up with a plan."

"Does the General mean to use the Martial Arts Master as the vanguard for a surprise attack?"

"Yes, Rebel Wolong did just that, using the Martial Saint as the tip of the arrow, breaking through the enemy forces, disrupting their camp, clearing the city walls, and winning in one battle."

"General, do you think I haven’t thought about that? I can’t command it."

Prime Minister Li sighed, everyone knows about Rebel Wolong’s tactics, every time he single-handedly broke through the enemy forces, but when he asked other Martial Saints, they all admitted they couldn’t do it.

A regular Martial Saint is stronger than the Grand Master of Martial Arts, but their strength has limits. Facing hundreds or thousands of enemies is no problem, but on a battlefield with tens of thousands of troops, once surrounded, it’s very dangerous.

On the first day of the war, he approached a Martial Saint to lead the charge, but he flatly refused. These Martial Saints have their own big ambitions, they follow important figures for wealth and luxury, but they won’t risk their lives like this. They’re not foolish.

"Prime Minister Li, if we wait too long, I fear the battle may turn against us. The Zhenguo Army is gathering on the outskirts of Fengzhou City, and while they haven’t directly attacked our rear troops yet, their numbers are increasing. As soon as a prominent general takes the lead, they can start harassing our troops. The soldiers and horses of Shizhou State are blocked at Qishan Prefecture, unable to advance. Once Rebel Wolong resolves the situation in Taizhou State, we will have no chance. We must deal with Feng State before Rebel Wolong returns, trapping him in the unstable Taizhou State, only then can we completely defeat him."

The General explained that this was their strategy – first occupy Feng State, destabilize Taizhou State and when the time comes, hundreds of thousands of troops from the eight provinces will directly attack Taizhou State. Even if Rebel Wolong is strong, he cannot compete with so many troops.

Their plan sounded good, but executing it was extremely difficult. They managed to reach Fengzhou City but couldn’t proceed further. Shizhou State faced the same dilemma, stuck at Qishan Prefecture and unable to advance. The situation was becoming critical, which was not favorable for them.

"We don’t know how Taizhou State is doing now, and if they have trapped the rebels."

When Prime Minister Li heard this, he felt very anxious. Rebel Wolong took the main force of Feng State to Taizhou State. If those four provinces couldn’t stop the rebels, their situation might change.

"Prime Minister Li, it’s time to make a decision."

"Let me talk to them again."

Prime Minister Li said he couldn’t order the Martial Saints. The court’s reputation was low, and without his own Martial Saint power, he had to negotiate and see if he could offer more incentives to get them to the battlefield.

······

Lin Jiang returned to Feng State alone with the exhausted Zhenguo Army. Many warhorses were lost, making them unable to move quickly. Lin Jiang ordered Fang Rui to lead three thousand elite soldiers, marching about three hundred miles a day. Later, Qin Yong would lead another ten thousand soldiers but at a slower pace, marching around a hundred miles a day.

In seven or eight villages, Lin Jiang only saw devastation: burning houses, decaying bodies. It looked like a hell with no survivors.

It wasn’t until he entered a county town that Lin Jiang saw some living people. Among them were a few officials who, upon seeing Lin Jiang, recognized him and kneeled before him, weeping bitterly.

After asking around, they found out that the coalition forces invaded the town, causing destruction and chaos. Not only did they burn, kill, and plunder, but they also drove away the citizens and attacked the county town. As a result, what used to be a city with thousands of people now only has about a hundred survivors.

Patiently, Lin Jiang comforted them and then sent them to search for the Zhenguo Army or local militia. Lin Jiang wanted to know the latest updates on the war.

A day later, Lin Jiang found over a hundred members of the Zhenguo Army and militia hiding in the mountains. They had sensed danger and took refuge in the mountains, even protecting thousands of civilians.

Lin Jiang didn’t blame them, instead, he took most of the soldiers with him and asked them to find more people.

Gathering more people along the way, by the time Lin Jiang reached a place miles outside Fengzhou City, he already had two to three thousand people with him. However, most of these people were weak, as the elite and brave ones had died in battle.

The enemy had spotted Lin Jiang and his group and sent troops to attack. Lin Jiang fought off a group of enemies, took the remaining soldiers, and stationed them in a county town, sending someone to contact Fang Rui.

Three days later, Fang Rui arrived with three thousand elite soldiers. With more troops in hand, Lin Jiang became bolder and set up camp just five miles outside the enemy’s headquarters, continuing to gather more people.

Lin Jiang learned that the enemy was causing major destruction north of Fengzhou City, with only three prefectures breached in the south. The forces from Shizhou State were blocked at Qishan Prefecture, while over ten prefectures were unaffected due to the lack of a prestigious commander who dared to take action.

Lin Jiang ordered these prefectures to bring all their elite soldiers, leaving only the necessary defense forces. They could gather at least thirty to forty thousand troops.

"The Three Provinces Army will keep as many soldiers as they can, and won’t take any prisoners."

Lin Jiang calmly told his men that, because of the bad things they did in Feng State, he didn’t mind getting a bad reputation, and he didn’t want any prisoners either.

After a quick reorganization, more than ten thousand people left their camp and approached the Allied Army. The Allied Army also mobilized fifty to sixty thousand people, formed battle formations, and prepared to fight Lin Jiang in the field.

A large-scale battle like this requires high overall quality from both sides, otherwise it’s easy to collapse.

"Infantry, advance first. Fang Rui, lead the cavalry to flank and wait for the right moment."

Lin Jiang didn’t use any fancy tactics, just pushed forward. He trusted his men.

He had trained the soldiers and horses of Feng State for more than a year. He believed that his troops were more elite than those from other provinces.

Nearly seven thousand infantry were arranged with a thousand men per formation, pushing forward one formation after another. Facing the aggressive attack from the Zhenguo Army, the Allied Army quickly responded by sending out their own troops to counter.

The battle formations of both sides were similar: shield bearers in the front, followed by long spear soldiers, then a row of sword and shield soldiers, and finally archers in the rear.

The armies were about a hundred meters apart, and they started shooting arrows at each other. This showed the importance of training. If the training wasn’t strict, the army could collapse after a few rounds of arrows, waiting to be defeated.

The allied forces put forth their best soldiers this time, so they were not easily defeated. After enduring several rounds of arrows, they began fighting hand-to-hand. The archers stopped shooting and other soldiers fought each other.

When the two armies clashed, the allied forces quickly fell into a disadvantage. They had to bring in more troops, but even with this, they couldn’t break through the Zhenguo Army’s formation. The difference in overall quality between the two sides was clear.

Other units of the Zhenguo Army kept advancing, while the allied forces continued to send units to confront them. The number of soldiers engaged in combat quickly surpassed ten thousand.

"The enemy army is unexpectedly fierce."

On the allied side, the commanders were also shocked by the situation. They had twice as many soldiers as the Zhenguo Army, but still couldn’t defeat them.

"General, why not send more men up there?"

"No, we can’t use all our resources at once. The enemy cavalry hasn’t moved yet. If we send everyone in and the enemy cavalry charges, we will lose."

Prime Minister Li asked, but the commanding general refused. He knew that if they used up all their resources, there would be no one left to stop the enemy cavalry from breaking through their entire formation.

"Fang Rui, you need to move. Make the other side use all their strength. If you can charge, charge. If you can’t charge, hold them back."

Lin Jiang then said. If the enemy doesn’t step up the attack, he will.

"Yes, General."

Fang Rui nodded and quickly led a thousand cavalry into action. Cavalry won’t charge into a tightly arranged enemy formation unless a leader commands it.

However, they will pretend to charge to test the enemy’s reaction. If the enemy formation stays organized, they will ride around from the side after getting close, then shoot arrows to harass.

If the enemy formation becomes chaotic, then they will truly charge, completely disrupting the enemy’s formation.

Fang Rui charged the first time, but the enemy formation didn’t get confused. Fang Rui veered off from the side and charged again. This is how the cavalry repeatedly feigned attacks, putting great pressure on the enemy, waiting to see if the cavalry’s strength or if the enemy’s mistakes would run out first.

In the end, after Fang Rui pretended to attack eight times, the enemy army finally became disordered. Fang Rui decisively charged forward. Having followed Lin Jiang for a long time, Fang Rui was also influenced by him. With the body of a Martial Saint, he broke open a gap in the enemy’s defense as a frontline soldier.

"Press on, press on."

The enemy general had to send more soldiers again. He had already sent nearly 30,000 out of his 50,000 troops. Over 20,000 were holding back the Zhenguo Army’s 7,000 infantry, while almost 10,000 were surrounding Fang Rui’s 1,000 men.

"Now it’s your turn."

The enemy general gazed at Lin Jiang from afar, setting another trap. Lin Jiang had 2,000 men left while the enemy had nearly 20,000. Knowing Lin Jiang’s tactics, he was expected to lead a charge soon.

"General, I will go support Mr. Fang."

Someone by Lin Jiang’s side couldn’t help it. Fang Rui and his men had lost their speed advantage and were now surrounded by the enemy, fighting hard against ten times their numbers – a very dangerous situation.

"No need to rescue them. Follow me to attack the enemy’s central forces using a decapitation strategy."

Lin Jiang shook his head. Fang Rui only took 1,000 men with him, also on purpose, because the most crucial aspect of this battle was him. He had to lead the charge, break the enemy’s core in this decisive battle.