"I fear there are no fewer than twenty thousand men, drawn up in battle formation and marching toward our position. Our troops have been fighting fiercely for nearly two hours, and the soldiers are exhausted. Moreover, it’s getting dark. Wouldn’t it be better to withdraw and set up camp?" Guan Yu suggested to Chen Xi.
Chen Xi and Guo Jia exchanged glances, both showing surprise on their faces, "Isn’t that an exaggeration? What banners is the opposing force flying?"
"The command banner of the central army bears the character ’Wen’, and the auxiliary banners carry the characters ’Shen’, ’Jiang’, ’Wang’, and ’Xia’, all moving in formation, uniform and orderly," Zhao Yun said helplessly. "Our army should prepare early. If we fight another battle, it won’t be so easy."
"We’ve been deceived..." Guo Jia sighed, "To think they would march in formation. Tian Feng really has a cunning mind, to trick both generals like this."
"Does Military Advisor Guo mean that the troops we saw earlier were routed soldiers in disguise?" Zhao Yun, also quick-witted, instantly grasped the implication in Guo Jia’s words.
"Yes, they were routed troops. But the quality of their soldiers wasn’t bad, and they didn’t completely fall apart during their retreat. After withdrawing, they regrouped in formation. I’m afraid they’re trying to pass themselves off as reinforcements, planning to attack us from front and rear while Zhang He assaults our army," Guo Jia said confidently.
"If an enemy reinforcement force this disciplined appeared while our army was in disarray fighting Zhang He, our soldiers’ morale would undoubtedly suffer. And in such a situation, even if we knew they were disguised routed soldiers, it would be of no value," Chen Xi followed up.
Previously if our large force were entangled with Zhang He, and after Tian Feng’s troops returned, he ordered Yuan Tan to rapidly organize the army. Posing as the second wave of foot soldier reinforcements arriving after Zhang He, they could indeed turn defeat into victory!
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Honestly, posing as reinforcements doesn’t make a bit of difference in combat power, but for Liu Bei’s soldiers, it would exert a different psychological pressure.
If the ones returning were the same routed soldiers, for Liu Bei’s Army, it was clear—if they could clean up the enemy once, they would certainly be able to do it a second time. But if they were facing a second wave of reinforcements, the mental pressure would be completely different.
The appearance of a new army would mean that their forces had been engaged in successive battles with three different armies. And exhausted from fighting the first force, while they were still battling the second, to then face a third army, morale would inevitably plummet drastically. Once the soldiers no longer had the conviction of victory in their hearts, Chen Xi and Guo Jia would have no means to defeat what was, in fact, disguised routed soldiers.
Guan Yu opened his mouth but didn’t voice his doubts.
"General Guan probably wants to say, ’What if they truly are reinforcements? We should prepare in advance.’ Yes, indeed, that is a possibility. Order the scouts to investigate and confirm!" Chen Xi said, looking at Guan Yu, who nodded slightly, indicating that this was indeed what he meant.
Guo Jia shrugged. He and Chen Xi were privy to a critical point — the difference in time. Zhang He led the cavalry charge, and they defeated Zhang He’s forces within a quarter hour. It’s well known that rescuing troops is as urgent as putting out a fire; Zhang He must have charged over at the fastest speed possible.
Zhang He was leading some of the most elite cavalry in the north. After a two-hour gallop, it would be unthinkable for the infantry to also arrive on the battlefield within two hours and fifteen minutes. If so, the cavalry wouldn’t be worth much, running at the same speed as men—this despite each soldier having two horses...
More importantly, Zhao Yun and Guan Yu both said the enemy marched in formation, which means a greatly reduced speed. If they could still catch up with the cavalry under such conditions, then surely, this would be the slowest cavalry in the world...
Soon, the scouts returned with their report, Yuan Shao’s Army had already withdrawn toward the north, maintaining a strict formation, advancing neither too quickly nor too sluggishly.
"We’ve been tricked," Guan Yu’s eyes flashed with a hint of cold light, "Let’s go after them!"
"Better not, the enemy troops are in such a tight formation, they surely have precautions in their rear," Zhao Yun’s brain was quite nimble, and apart from being occasionally fooled, most of the time he saw right through things.
"That’s right. We’ll cut up all the cattle that died and add an extra meal for the soldiers tonight. There are plenty of supplies within Yuan Shao’s army camp that we’ve already tested for poison. Tonight, let the soldiers eat their fill. Zilong, you’ll have a hard night ahead, as you and Zhongkang will be in charge of patrolling the camp. It seems we’ll have to rest here for the night," Chen Xi nodded to Zhao Yun, then arranged accordingly, acknowledging the quality of the Hebei army.
"Understood," Zhao Yun saluted with a fist and said.
After regrouping in the evening, all the high and low-ranking officers took their places. Chen Xi ordered people to prepare food and drinks, and they discussed matters while eating."Let’s talk about it, what are your impressions of the Hebei army?" Chen Xi looked around at the gathered military generals and asked.
"Truly formidable opponents, not like Cao Mengde’s hastily trained veterans. From the officers to the soldiers, the Hebei army is well-trained. Even during a rout, they didn’t completely collapse. Under the command of their officers at all levels, they retreated in an orderly manner. Their combat quality is very strong, and chaos rarely occurs," Guan Yu was the first to speak while setting down his wine goblet.
"Right, the officers and soldiers of the Hebei army are all very brave," Zhao Yun said, "They have their own convictions. Yuan Benchu’s Jizhou has changed from the one I knew in the past."
Chen Xi nodded; he had noticed that too. When Yan Liang was preparing to lead his troops to death, surprisingly, more than half of the soldiers were willing to follow him, which was quite telling.
Honestly, Chen Xi thought that if it weren’t for his presence, this version of Yuan Shao, brilliant as if he had a cheat, could have definitely unified the land. Yuan Shao, through divide and conquer tactics, had completely won over the noble families of Jizhou and what’s more, he had been gradually gaining the people’s loyalty through land policies.
"Their officers are also very strong, and they know when to advance or retreat," Sima Ju pointed at his chest wound, "I feel like the opponent is somewhat like mountain bandits, their methods are similar."
"Ju Gongyu advised Yuan Benchu to relax the population management in Jizhou. As long as one didn’t commit unforgivable heinous crimes, they could be exempt from punishment through military merit," Chen Xi sighed. Ju Shou was also formidable.
"Ruffians and hooligans from the countryside were all caught for labor rehabilitation, rangers who joined the army were selected for lower official positions based on their abilities, and mountain bandits or outlaws willing to reform could be chosen for lower official positions in the army. Their past crimes were overlooked, and they were promoted based on military merits," Chen Xi said with a smile. Ever since the term ’labor rehabilitation’ came into use, the knowledgeable ones from all directions urged their lords to kill less and rehabilitate more.
"I knew that guy’s way of using a knife was just like that of a horse bandit!" Zhou Cang spoke angrily, having been tricked by a man named Peng An, who inflicted a large cut on his leg.
Once Zhou Cang said this, the room erupted in curses, as Yuan Shao’s army had many mountain and horse bandits, just like Liu Bei’s army had many Yellow Turbans. These were local characteristics...
"Alright, calm down everyone. Eat and drink well; tomorrow we will move to Linyi. We’ll need to be stationed there for a long time," Chen Xi gestured for calm, wanting to quiet down the rowdy bunch. He preferred to analyze Yuan Shao’s army himself rather than continue this ruckus.
(To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)