Lead-heavy clouds hung like cotton quilts, the light of day as sullen as dusk.
By noon, Yang Ge led an army of vassal soldiers from Danma Province through more than twenty miles of mountain roads into Tanba Country. Further ahead lay Tanigawa, and beyond that Sasayama—an obligatory pass for entering the capital of Heian-kyō and also the last barrier to the northwest of Heian-kyō. Once Sasayama was breached, the army could march straight through, heading directly for Heian-kyō!
Clothed in black, Yang Ge rode at the head of the army astride Erhei. Erhei, nearly eight feet tall at the withers, carried the eight-foot-tall Yang Ge. As they moved ahead of the generally shorter vassals, the pair resembled a dark eagle leading a troop of chicks...
"Report..."
A rider on a galloping horse came from the southeast. The knight wore a tail of a golden cow on his waist and his movements on the charging horse were as nimble and powerful as a lion or tiger pouncing on its prey—it was Wei, the deputy head of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, Liu Tang.
Liu Tang dismounted before the army and quickly stepped forward, "Second Master, the Japanese forces are less than ten miles from our troops, arranged in a ’品’-shaped formation, with a force nearly a hundred thousand strong... Here is the layout of the Japanese forces’ formation, please have a look, Second Master."
Yang Ge dismounted, took the map of the Japanese forces’ formation from Liu Tang with both hands, and glanced at it under the dreary sky. He quickly pointed to the northeastern corner of the ’品’-shaped formation facing northwest, "Send some scouts in this direction to check it out... Be cautious, there might be an ambush!"
Liu Tang gave the map another careful look and loudly acknowledged the command with a fist-palm salute, "As you command!"
Having said this, he remounted his horse, turned around, and galloped away.
Yang Ge stroked Erhei’s cheek with one hand, his face showing a contemplative expression.
Zhou Fu approached and asked tentatively in a low voice, "Second Master, is there something amiss?"
Yang Ge handed the map back over his shoulder, "These little devils think they can entice us into a deep trap... Nangong Feiying!"
Nangong Feiying responded by spurring his horse forward, "Your subordinate is here!"
Yang Ge commanded, "Check if there are any ambush troops within two... ten miles behind us."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
Nangong Feiying acknowledged with a fist-palm salute, "Understood, Second Master!"
Having said this, he turned his head and signaled for five of their elite Western Factory agents, quickly delegating tasks.
Meanwhile, Zhou Fu held the map of the Japanese forces’ formation and scrutinized it closely. He noted that the three camps of the Japanese army formed a ’品’-shaped array: thirty thousand in the middle camp, fifty thousand in the left camp, and twenty thousand in the right camp. At first glance, it was sensible for the left camp to block Sasayama Gorge, a strategic route to Heian-kyō, with heavy troops, but behind the right camp, there was an inexplicably large space left open for the potential maneuvering of a large army, which was indeed suspicious.
In summary, the enemy employed tactics, but their tactics were poorly executed, so much so that even someone with an elementary knowledge of military strategy could see through their offensive intentions.
It was like a novice playing chess, whose killing moves are straightforward and lack any concealment of their attacking intentions...
He mounted his horse with the map in hand and caught up with Yang Ge, "Second Master, isn’t ten miles too close? When armies clash, even with a clear advantage, battles can languish for five or six hours... If the Japanese really have ambush troops behind us, they could arrive within that time and catch us completely off guard!"
As Yang Ge spurred Erhei forward, he replied calmly, "Indeed, ten miles is too close, but don’t we lack additional scouts? Or do you expect the vassal army to scout for us?"
Zhou Fu was momentarily at a loss for words.
Yang Ge continued, "Besides... ten miles should suffice. The vassal army is only capable of one battle now; they must strike decisively in one fell swoop. If they cannot achieve a quick victory, they would collapse without the need for the Japanese to use ambush troops to circle and attack."
Hearing this, Zhou Fu subconsciously looked back at the vassal army spread out behind them for several miles, seeing pairs of eyes gleaming like those of starving wolves...
He shivered and turned his head away quickly, not daring to look again.
But he still had doubts and spoke softly, "An army of seventy-five thousand facing hunger and cold, against a well-rested army of a hundred thousand, hoping for a quick resolution..."
He wanted to say it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven, yet he didn’t want to boost the enemy’s morale or undermine his own force’s spirit...
But in truth, that was exactly the case.
"Don’t overthink it."
Yang Ge seemed to know what he was about to say and without turning around replied softly, "I will take action."
Zhou Fu gazed at his back, his lips moving hesitantly for a long while, but in the end, he could only utter a single phrase.
Years of military experience told him that since the Japanese dared to present a front for a decisive battle, they must have means to counter a direct attack on their middle camp, aiming at slaying the commander and seizing the flag.
But from what Zhou Fu knew about Yang Erlang, Yang Erlang would certainly not overlook this point. If he dared to speak so confidently, it meant that he either had a countermeasure or absolute confidence in himself.
Either way, Zhou Fu knew he shouldn’t ask further...
He could only suppress the anxiety in his heart, comforting himself, ’It’s not that serious. At worst, the Japanese might win at a great cost, the vassal army might be completely annihilated, but with the Second Master here, even if we can’t defeat the Japanese, breaking through shouldn’t be difficult...’
The army marched on.
As Yang Ge, leading at the front, caught sight of a dark line in the sky, Liu Tang and Nangong Feiying, who had been sent to scout the enemy, almost simultaneously led their troops back to the main force, each bringing distressing news to Yang Ge.
Liu Tang reported, "Second Master, your subordinate has found a force lying in ambush within the northeastern forest, about twenty thousand strong."
Nangong Feiying added, "Second Master, your subordinate discovered traces of a large group that has passed through the forest more than ten miles to our left rear. Based on those traces, that force passed through the woods within the last four days, and their strength is estimated to be around eight thousand."