Chapter 304: Chapter 180: Advancing and Retreating in a Dilemma
Translator: 549690339
Having received the imperial court’s money and promised to set off, Lu Yuan certainly would not deceive anyone.
Isn’t it just attracting the Miao People back to their army, guarding their old nest?
It’s a small matter.
Lu Yuan’s intention was to make his expedition a huge deal so that the more people who knew about it, the better.
With an army of 200,000 directly pressing down on them, would they be scared or not?
Moreover, not all of Lu Yuan’s 200,000 soldiers were just for show.
Now, including civilian workers, the army has 120,000 people. When he arrives at Shaoyang Prefecture and meets Zhou Qing, the number of soldiers and horses will expand to nearly 150,000.
150,000 people, just 50,000 short of 200,000.
Having so many troops at the southern border of Wuling Prefecture, glaring at the old nest of the Poison Sect, Lu Yuan didn’t believe that the Poison Sect could remain unmoved.
On the wide official road, smoke and dust filled the air.
The extensive army, like a long dragon, rushed towards the distance.
On both sides, the pedestrians and merchants gave way, hiding in the villages and towns, clicking their tongues in awe at the magnificent army before them.
Such a large military, it’s rare in the entire Dongting Prefecture.
It was only in recent years, with the increasingly grand battles, the imperial army’s expedition against the Miao People, the northern Zhou People’s crossing to the south, and the junction of the Zhou and Miao forces that such a scene could be seen.
However, it had only been seen near Yueyang Prefecture and Tianmen Prefecture. In the middle and southern prefectures of Dongting Prefecture, it had never been witnessed before.
Thus, as Lu Yuan led his troops on an expedition, as the army spread out in a
line and advanced forward, the surrounding prefectures were immediately filled with awe.
Have you ever seen a procession of soldiers, passing by for two or three days non-stop?
During this time, those who hid by the roadside waited for the army to leave before resuming their journey.
However, after waiting for a full three days, the moving army finally left their sight.
This seemingly endless wait had an undoubtedly tremendous psychological impact on people.
Such open and explicit moves naturally allowed those who were watching to quickly grasp the number of Lu Yuan’s army.
As a result.
“The Yue bandits have over 100,000 people, passing through in three days, the roads cannot be blocked.”
“More than a hundred thousand Nan people, with sharp military power, the southern part of Dongting Prefecture might change.”
“Lu Pingxi leads tens of thousands of people, this time to quell the Miao rebels and restore Wuling.”
News like the above suddenly spread like snowflakes, buried by the spies on both sides of the road, and reported back to the rear.
From this, various reactions began to arise surrounding the matter.
Baling City.
Inside the prefectural government office, many generals gathered at this moment, divided by their ranks in literary and martial arts. At the top sat a general in red armor, with a red-robed monk sitting beside him.
These two were none other than the Grand General Shangguan Ming and the national master with deep opportunities.
At this time, Shangguan Ming was holding a piece of silk cloth and finished reading its content. He then laughed and said to the generals below, “Gentlemen, the news has been sent back from the south. This time, Lu Pingxi led an army of 200,000 to the Western Expedition, directed at the old nest of the Poison Sect bandits in Wuling Prefecture.
Upon hearing this news, those Miao rebels will surely panic and flee.
Without the assistance of the Miao people, the strength of the Zhou people in Jiangnan will be greatly reduced, and their military morale will undoubtedly waver.”
I intend to take this opportunity to send troops to subdue them and break them in one fell swoop.
This time, I am determined to capture and kill Li Yanjing.”
Speaking to this point, Shangguan Ming’s tone was filled with resentment.
Last time, he personally led the vanguard. At that time, the one who came to block them was Zhou Country’s Left Pillar State Grand General, Li Yanjing.
Although the imperial court had broken the Zhou-Miao united army in a pitched battle and achieved a brilliant victory, the prefecture city was also completely recovered.
But correspondingly, Shangguan Ming, who had not been a master of the Inborn realm for long, was nearly killed in a duel with Li Yanjing.
Having recuperated for several months and spent a lot of medicine, his injuries had barely recovered. Even so, his vitality had been severely damaged.
Based on Shangguan Ming’s estimation, the loss of vitality suffered this time might shorten his lifespan by several years.
Thinking that he might live a few years less than others, who wouldn’t be angry?
In addition to the great enmity of nearly being killed.
So for Li Yanjing, Shangguan Ming really held a grudge.
Meanwhile, the many generals below did not pay much attention to their boss’s emotional changes. At this time, they were all shocked by the 200,000 strong army mentioned by their own commander.
Actually, the news that Lu Yuan would launch a war in the south to echo their army’s actions had been heard by many in the hall more than a month ago.
However, regarding Lu Yuan’s strength, many people present did not know much about it.
There were rumors of 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers, some said only 10,000 to 20,000, and others even 100,000 soldiers.
But which piece of information was more accurate, everyone privately speculated that the number of 20,000 or 30,000 was more reasonable.
After all, that Lu Pingxi only had two prefectures’ lands in his hands. How many soldiers could such a small territory support?
Twenty or thirty thousand would be the limit.
All the people present had led soldiers for many years or had managed politics for many years. The ability to gauge the opponent’s strength based on local financial resources was there.
But what was Shangguan Ming talking about now?
200,000 strong army!
When did that Lu Pingxi have so many troops in his hands?
If he really had so many soldiers, why bother fighting the Miao people?
Directly bring them to Yueyang Prefecture and join forces with their main imperial force, to push the Zhou-Miao United Army in one go..