Chapter 315: Chapter 183: Losing Courage at the Slightest Breeze_3
Translator: 549690339
Fortunately, Bai Shu Xuan did not disappoint her expectations.
This local elder spent only half a day to gather up five thousand soldiers and horses in the city, then set fire to the local food and fodder storehouse. Under the protection of the Holy Woman, he led people to Xin Shao and Dragon Return counties.
In the next two days, Lan Cai’er and Bai Shu Xuan gathered another five thousand soldiers and horses from two other counties, additionally setting fire to two county storehouses, and then journeyed north towards Wuling Prefecture.
Upon reaching Wuling Prefecture, their army did not rest.
Instead, they gathered the defenders from two southern counties and retreated to the important city of Chenxi in the south of Wuling Prefecture. Here, they staked a stand with fifteen thousand soldiers and horses.
However, these soldiers were still too few to withstand an enemy force of two hundred thousand. It was extremely challenging.
Lan Cai’er had personally attempted to assassinate Lu Yuan and had personally seen his grand army that was vast and boundless.
So even though their claimed number of two hundred thousand might be exaggerated, they would still most likely have more than a hundred thousand men.
With such a large army, ten times the number of the defenders of Chenxi, even with the help from Innate Master, it was too dangerous for Chenxi with only fifteen thousand soldiers, even with the presence of an expert like Bai Shu Xuan.
Neither Lan Cai’er nor Bai Shu Xuan felt confident about their defense.
Especially the latter, who was already prepared for the possibility of dying in battle in order to repay the grace shown upon him by the Holy Sect.
Fortunately, Lan Zhaoyun with his sixty thousand troops finally returned to Wuling Prefecture at this time.
After receiving the news of his daughter’s unsuccessful assassination attempt, and that she had been seriously injured, and that the southern part of Wuling Prefecture was in crisis, Sect Leader Lan was extremely anxious and urged his army day and night to retreat quickly towards the south.
Luckily, each of the Miao People of the Five Poisons Sect was used to hardship, having come from difficult backgrounds. They were accustomed to the challenges of traveling across mountains and ridges.
Although their combat effectiveness was not particularly high, their endurance and tolerance were extremely strong.
So, even if they were pushed too hard, they bore their grievances and traveled day and night.
Thus, after three days of non-stop travel, the army finally arrived in Chenxi.
After arriving here and being reinforced by sixty thousand troops, Lan Cai’er and Bai Shu Xuan finally relaxed.
The Holy Woman quickly briefed her father on certain matters, explaining what she had learned about Lu Yuan when she tried to assassinate him, then she left with peace of mind to return to the Main Hall for recuperation.
Her injuries were so severe this time that they had worsened by dragging them out for so long. If she didn’t nurse them now, she really would damage her foundations.
After sending his daughter off, Lan Zhaoyun, burdened with heavy concerns, began to arrange the defenses.
He left the Left Protector and Bai Shu Xuan behind, and let them command forty thousand troops to station themselves in Chenxi County Town.
Then, he took the remaining thirty-five thousand troops and retreated into the territory of Qianling County, where their headquarters was located. He planned to fortify their Old Nest there.
As for Linyuan Prefecture City and other cities, he withdrew the defenders and gave them up.
As a result, both Chenxi and Qianling counties each had forty thousand troops. Each city also had a top expert to guard them so that they could be prepared even for the sudden attack of an Inborn Grandmaster.
Moreover, the two counties were less than a hundred miles apart. They could support and complement each other. If there were any issues on one side, the other side could come to support in timely fashion.
Having arranged the defenses in this manner, Lan Zhaoyun finally felt a bit more at ease.
Then he handed over the city defense affairs to the Right Protector, who had been urgently called back from the three prefectures in the south. Lan Zhaoyun himself returned to the Main Hall to see his daughter.
Amid the fearful and uneasy atmosphere that Lu Yuan had stirred up among the Five Poison Sect in the north.
On the 20th of February in the 6th year of Hongdao, Lu Yuan led his army into Shaoyang Prefecture, and then directed his troops north towards Xinhua County Town, which had already fallen to the Miao thieves.
On the 22nd, the army arrived in Xinhua County. The Miao people had already abandoned the city, and the county was recaptured.
On the 23rd, Lu Yuan divided his forces into two. He commanded his disciples to lead two forces of five thousand each separately to recapture Xin Shao and Dragon Return counties.
On the 24th, word came from the two counties that the Miao thieves had fled and the county towns were recaptured.
On the 25th, Zhou Qing, who had received the news from the south, led ten thousand soldiers from Shaoyang Prefecture City to meet up with his master.
The master and disciple, who had been separated for more than half a year, finally met again. Both were extremely happy.
“Disciple pays respect to Master,” Zhou Qing immediately knelt in front of Lu Yuan upon seeing him.
“Get up.”
Lu Yuan stepped forward, helped up his disciple, then examined him carefully and couldn’t help but laugh, “Not bad, not bad. In the past half a year, even though I have not been by your side, you did not neglect your martial arts.
Your martial arts skills have improved, and your Inner Strength is steady. You can now attempt to cultivate the next bizarre meridian.”
The intense trials of the past half year, especially the responsibility of handling military affairs alone, has led to a lot of progress in Zhou Qing’s transformation.
Not only does he seem more steady and mature now, his Cultivation has also greatly improved since last year.
If only he had the Divine Blood Elixir now, he could reward his disciple with one, and his disciple would be able to break through a meridian immediately.
“It’s all thanks to Master’s good teaching. Without Master arranging for me to go through this trial, I would not have been able to grow as much as I have,” Zhou Qing was as respectful toward his master as always.
“You… ”
Lu Yuan, hearing these familiar words, couldn’t help but shake his head and smile before saying, “You came just at the right time. I have a significant mission for you in this campaign against the Miao thieves.”
Zhou Qing, hearing this, immediately replied solemnly, “Please command me, Master.”
Lu Yuan said, “According to the reports I have received from our scouts, the Miao People of Wuling Prefecture have all abandoned the prefectures and counties and have concentrated all of their troops in their strongholds Chenxi and Qianling.
Both places now have forty thousand troops stationed each. Even with my sharp troops and even with the help of the Grandmaster, it’ll be hard to capture them.
Moreover, even if we can capture them, there will inevitably be tens of thousands of casualties.”
Saying this, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
His main concern at the moment was that the population was insufficient. How could he waste soldiers just to get tens of thousands of people killed at Chenxi and Qianling cities?
So, it’s impossible for him to risk casualties and forcibly attack the cities.
As the classic military strategy goes, the best strategy is to attack the enemy’s plans, next is to attack their alliances, next is to attack their military, and last is to attack their cities.
Though Lu Yuan wasn’t strictly a military officer, he’s been leading troops for years and had attacked many cities. He fully understood the horrors of siege warfare. At this time, of course, he wouldn’t act rashly and attempt to do so.
So, he continued, “Therefore, I plan to let you command the militia soldiers in our army, recapture the counties and cities abandoned by the Miao thieves in a high-profile manner, while slowly advancing to Chenxi and Qianling, feigning an intention to move north.
I plan to lead the elite troops, along with the Grandmaster, back to the south to launch a surprise attack on Jiuyi Prefecture.”
The Miao People have troops either marching to Yangshan Prefecture, currently invading Luyang and fighting with Brother Sun, or have already stationed at the southern part of Shaoyang Prefecture to guard against our army.
Now both Jiuyi and Lingling Prefectures are undefended as the Miao troops are deployed elsewhere. There’s even a lack of troops to defend these places.
If we can lead tens of thousands of elite troops to infiltrate, we’ll quickly take over the rear of the Miao troops in the three southern prefectures. The Miao will then surely be defeated.
Lu Yuan said with absolute certainty.
