Compared to the Yunnan City-State, the Lingnan City-State was not only geographically adjacent to the Xiangnan City-State, but it was also the founder and core member of the alliance of the four major city-states.
Ruan Ping was at the forefront of the resistance against Shanhai City.
Therefore, once the Lingnan City-State was destroyed, the alliance of the four major city-states would be half-crippled. If they took the opportunity to destroy the Yunnan City-State, the enemy's plan would collapse.
As the first city-state in China, the Lingnan City-State was the most mature and had strong internal cohesion. It also had an extraordinary relationship with the Yanhuang Alliance.
It would be extremely difficult to take down the Lingnan City-State through conventional means.
It could be imagined that if Shanhai City chose to attack the Yunnan City-State first, the day the Yunnan City-State was destroyed would be the time for the other three city-states to cooperate to the next level.
If the three city-states joined forces, they would block Shanhai City's path to the north.
All of these factors determined that if they wanted to break the alliance, they had to first take down the Lingnan City-State.
There was another benefit to Shanhai City taking down the Lingnan City-State. This was because the east of the Lingnan Province was the Jiangchuan Province where the Siege Lions were located and the Minnan Province where the Dragon Seeking Acupuncture Point was located.
Once they took down the Lingnan City-State, the pressure on Shanhai City's eastern defense would be greatly reduced. They could then focus on dealing with the Chuanbei City-State and the Xiangnan City-State.
Or rather, they could carry out Ouyang Shuo's foreign war strategy and deal with the ASEAN countries.
The only surprise would be the ripple caused by the Dragon Seeking Acupuncture Point. Even so, it would not change Shanhai City's established strategy.
Zhenhai City, the central tent.
Under the flickering light, Huo Qubing stood up in his military uniform. His expression was solemn and heroic as he said, "The Emperor's secret order!" He solemnly took out an imperial edict.
"Receive the order!"
With a swoosh, Fan Lihua, Shi Wansui, and E Lai bowed to the imperial edict at the same time.
Seeing the imperial edict was like seeing the Emperor himself.
Huo Qubing slowly unfolded the imperial edict and read, "The imperial guards, the second legion of the Dragon Stallion Army, the third legion of the Stallion Tiger Army, and the city guards are to be temporarily reorganized into the Eastern Punitive Army. Appoint the Great General Huo Qubing as the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Punitive Expedition. The matter of the Eastern Punitive Expedition can be decided by the Commander-in-Chief with a single word, as though I was there personally. "
With that, Huo Qubing took out the commander's seal and showed it to the three generals.
"As you command!"
Shi Wansui and the other two bowed again. They didn't look surprised.
Among the four generals, Huo Qubing was not only the only Divine General, but also the one with the highest military rank. He was also a legendary general. Shi Wansui and the other two had no objections to Huo Qubing taking command of the army.
"Greetings, Marshal!"
Shi Wansui and the other two bowed to Huo Qubing and established their allegiance.
Huo Qubing nodded. His eyes were sparkling, and he felt a little excited. This was the first time he was leading an army on his own ever since he had joined Shanhai City. Furthermore, he was leading an army of nearly 300,000 soldiers.
Even during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Huo Qubing had never commanded such an army.
The expeditionary army's tent was filled with brilliant generals. They were as fierce as Xie Lai, as brave as Shi Wansui, and as heroic as Fan Lihua — all of them were famous generals of the present age. The twenty division commanders of the four major armies were also the best of the best.
Huo Qubing knew that he had to prove his worth as a Divine General through this battle. After composing himself, Huo Qubing began to name the generals. He shouted, "Shi Wansui!"
"Present!"
"I appoint you as the Vanguard General. You will lead the army to the center of Jiaozhou Commandery and destroy all enemies along the way. Take down all the main cities." Huo Qubing handed over the first commander's seal.
"As you command!"
Shi Wansui looked excited as he received the commander's seal with both hands.
As the name suggested, the Vanguard General was a true vanguard. The fact that the Marshal had given this important task to the Second Dragon Stallion Army was enough to prove how much he valued them. It was the greatest reward for them.
Xie Lai and Fan Lihua both looked envious when they saw this.
"Fan Lihua!" Huo Qubing continued.
"Present!"
Fan Lihua was also dressed in military attire. Her voice was crisp but powerful, not inferior to a man's.
"I appoint you as the Right General. You will lead the army to the east of Jiaozhou Commandery. Take a roundabout route and attack the cities and strongholds. At the same time, be ready to support the frontline at any time. Do not act on your own," Huo Qubing ordered solemnly.
"As you command!"
Fan Lihua nodded solemnly. She was stationed in Oceantown, so she could be considered to be well-versed in the geography of half of the Southridge Province. She was the most suitable person to lead the army in a roundabout route.
As for supporting the frontline, that was also part of the job.
In ancient times, when the number of soldiers exceeded a hundred thousand, it was impossible to gather the entire army in one place. Instead, the army had to be divided.
There were three main reasons for this.
First, there was the problem of supplies.
The biggest problem in ancient wars was the problem of supplies. If an army exceeded a hundred thousand, the amount of supplies needed would be astronomical, and the number of auxiliary soldiers responsible for transporting supplies would increase exponentially.
The burden on the country was enough to drag a rich country into the abyss and beyond redemption.
There were countless similar incidents in history. The most famous one was when Emperor Yang of Sui conquered Goguryeo three times. Large amounts of supplies had been transported from the south to the far north.
A wheelbarrow full of grain had not even reached its destination when the cart driver ate up all the grain on the way. When it was time to hand over the supplies, all that was left were tattered carts. It was a shocking sight.
Fortunately, the supply of supplies was not too big of a problem in this war.
In the third year of Gaia, none of the surviving territories had a shortage of food. Thus, the granaries of the cities along the way would be stocked with food.
It was September, and the first rice harvest had just ended. There was more than enough supplies. Thus, the army could completely resupply along the way.
Second, there was the problem of command.
In ancient times, there was no advanced communication system like the modern army. Commanding a single soldier was impossible.
When a war broke out, the commander could only mobilize the army on a large scale. A single mistake could cause the command to be interrupted. When that happened, the army would either fight on their own or flee in all directions.
Even the best Divine General could not command an army of more than a hundred thousand at once.
For a professional army like Shanhai City, it was better. They were well-trained, and it was more reasonable to use the modern army as a reference.
But in ancient times, many armies were recruited at the last minute.
A single mistake could result in a mass exodus.
The famous Battle of the Fei River in history was exactly like this. The army led by Fu Jian had not even fought with the army of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but was defeated without a fight.
And the Battle of Fei River was the next battle.
Third, there was the problem of marching.
The width of the ancient official road was limited. If more than a hundred thousand troops marched at once, they would form a terrifying long dragon.
It would take a few hours to run from the front to the back on horseback, not to mention that they could not see the end. Most of the time, the front army had already fought, but the rear army was still slowly rushing to the battlefield.
…
In the tent of the central army camp, the roll call continued.
"E Lai!" Huo Qubing called out the last name.
"Here!"
E Lai was like an iron tower as he walked out with a gruff voice.
"I appoint you as the Left General. Lead the army to attack along the west of Jiaozhou County. Move quickly and attack cities and strongholds. Be ready to support the front army at any time. Do not act on your own." Huo Qubing gave a similar military order.
"Yes, General!" E Lai took the military seal.
In this way, the three armies would form a trident and pierce into the heart of Lingnan City.
Jiaozhou County was not only the largest county in Lingnan Province, but it was also the most developed county. Taking Jiaozhou County was equivalent to disintegrating more than half of Lingnan City's military strength.
More importantly, the 150,000 soldiers of Lingnan City were gathered at the border of Jiaozhou County and Zhaoqing County. They were facing off against the first and second corps of the Brave Tiger Army led by Sun Bin.
Huo Qubing's goal was to join forces with the Brave Tiger Army and annihilate the 150,000 soldiers.
"If we take down the allied army, we will have half the battle won," Huo Qubing said passionately.
Shi Wansui and the others were also full of fighting spirit.
"However," Huo Qubing changed the topic with a solemn expression and raised his eyes, "the enemy has the home advantage and can teleport at any time. If we are not careful, our army might be defeated one by one. "
The army of Shanhai City could use the Heaven and Earth Great Shift, so naturally, the allied army of Lingnan City would not be a problem.
The cost of teleporting the three armies from Shanhai City alone would cost 210,000 gold coins. In times of crisis, Ruan Ping and the others would not be stingy with the cost of teleportation.
This way, the allied army could form a teleportation network with the major cities as nodes. They would not dare to say much, but they could still afford to teleport two or three times.
"This also means that the enemy could appear in any of the major cities that we have not conquered. Therefore, the armies must push forward to ensure that no one escapes from our rear. "Huo Qubing continued," More importantly, the three armies must maintain contact at all times. "
"Once the enemy sets up an ambush in one of the cities, the other two armies must rush over as reinforcements in the shortest time possible."
"Understood!" Shi Wansui and the others nodded.
The army of Shanhai City had experienced this when they attacked Leizhou County and Zhaoqing County.
Huo Qubing knew that everyone present was a famous general, so he did not need to remind them. He smiled and said, "The enemy's ambush is a crisis, but also an opportunity. The Black Snake Guards and Shanhai Guards under your command have already set up an inescapable trap in Lingnan Province. No matter which city the enemy teleports to, we will know immediately. "
The intelligence network of Shanhai City was now incomparable to that of Leizhou County and Zhaoqing County. Ouyang Shuo had spent millions of gold coins, so he would not waste his efforts.
If Lingnan City wanted to use this opportunity to ambush the army of Shanhai City, they would have made a mistake and would definitely suffer a huge setback.
"Once we confirm the enemy's teleportation location, we must lock onto them. Then, we will work with the Brave Tiger Army in the west to surround them and trap them in the city, "Huo Qubing said.
"Understood!"
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