After E Lai left, the deputy commander of the Dragon Stallion Army's First Legion, Zhao Bonu, walked in. This historically important general under Huo Qubing had now become an important assistant to Bai Qi.
To be able to serve under two Divine Generals, Zhao Bonu could be considered quite a legend.
"Marshal, isn't this too risky?" Zhao Bonu clearly knew of Plan B, but he still couldn't conceal his worry. "It is a great taboo for Marshal to put himself in danger."
This wasn't the first time Zhao Bonu had mentioned this, but Bai Qi wouldn't listen.
As expected, Bai Qi waved his hand once more, resolutely saying, "There's no need to persuade me, I've already made up my mind. Dongchuan Commandery is still too big, and this is the only way to lead the Dali coalition to a fixed location. "
Plan B was just a general plan drawn up by the Grand Council, and the specifics still depended on Bai Qi's last-minute arrangements. The greatest difficulty in this plan was how to get the Dali coalition to attack a specific target according to the Great Xia's intentions.
Otherwise, the Imperial Guard under E Lai would never be able to set up an ambush.
Yunnan Province was vast and had more than a hundred cities. Achieving this was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Thus, Bai Qi's first plan was to take advantage of the tense situation in Sichuan to move the frontline command center from Lingxi City to Yongren City in Dongchuan Commandery.
If Bai Qi had been stationed at Lingxi City, the Dali coalition would never have dared to attack it. Thus, Wang Meng's so-called "strategic analysis" had long since fallen into Bai Qi's trap.
This was precisely why Ouyang Shuo trusted Bai Qi.
Besides his title as the God of Slaughter, Bai Qi had another unique combat trait that was easily overlooked: his machine-like calculation and deduction. This' wooden 'commander of the army would spend his days pondering the situation of both sides, combining all kinds of intelligence to calculate the battle situation in his mind.
The historical Battle of Changping was the pinnacle of this kind of deduction.
Killing was just a facade, or rather, a facade.
This time, Bai Qi had calculated that the only way to beautifully complete Plan B was to use himself as bait.
Just as Zhao Bonu had said, this was very risky.
Only the First, Second, and Third Divisions of the Dragon Stallion Army's First Legion were garrisoned in Eternal Benevolence City. Adding in the brigades directly under the First Legion, there were only forty-three thousand soldiers. Excluding the engineers, medics, scouts, and other auxiliary troops, there were only around thirty-five thousand soldiers in the army.
With just over 30,000 people and relying on Yongren City, which wasn't even considered a strong city, they had to resist the siege of 200,000 enemies. Just the thought of it made them feel uneasy.
If anything went wrong, the city would be breached by the enemy, and Bai Qi and the others would not be able to escape the fate of being captured.
Bai Qi wasn't a brute, and every decision he made was backed by precise calculations. He glanced at Zhao Bonu and said, "Since there's still time, you should personally inspect the city's defenses. Whether or not we can block the first wave of the enemy's attack depends on the city's defenses. We must not be careless. "
"Yes, sir!"
Seeing this, Zhao Bonu could only retreat helplessly.
Under the dim candlelight, Bai Qi continued to write and draw on the table. It was unknown what he was planning.
…
Time flowed like water. September of the fourth year of Gaia passed quietly.
It had been more than a month since Great Xia initiated a war that affected the entire wilderness.
The land of Bashu was full of spiritual beauty.
Danling Basin, where Swordsman City was located, covered an area of nearly 40,000 square kilometers. Although it couldn't compare to the vast Lianzhou Basin, it was still incomparably vast, with no end in sight.
In the center of the basin was the towering Swordsman City, a bright pearl in the land of Sichuan.
On the first of October, after an intense battle, Great Xia's Left and Right Vanguard Troops jointly took down Meishan Pass and officially entered Danling Basin. The army used Meishan Pass as a barrier and set up camp at the southern side of Danling Basin.
Swordsman City was 50 kilometers away from the main camp, and Zhao Yun's camp was 10 kilometers south of Swordsman City. This meant that the two camps were less than 40 kilometers away from each other, and a war was about to break out.
In the afternoon of the next day, Great Xia's Left and Right Guardian Troops arrived at Meishan Pass and set up camp at the flanks of the Left and Right Vanguard Troops.
As such, the four field corps of Great Xia's Longxiang Army set up camp at the southern outskirts of Danling Basin. Their tents stretched for dozens of kilometers, almost covering the entire southern outskirts.
After nearly a month of fierce fighting, the Left and Right Vanguard Troops had lost more than 30,000 men. Although the task of the Left and Right Guardian Troops wasn't as arduous as that of the Vanguard Troops, they still lost more than 10,000 men.
Including the troops stationed at the various passes and cities, only two hundred and twenty thousand soldiers had actually arrived at the Pill Ridge Basin to join forces. This was even after Bai Qi had arranged for two divisions of the First Legion to enter Sichuan and supervise the transportation of provisions. Otherwise, the Dragon Stallion Army wouldn't have been able to send more than 200,000 soldiers to the decisive battle.
Swordsman City had the 150,000 Imperial Guards of the Shu Han Dynasty, the 50,000 remaining territorial troops, and the Imperial Guard Division responsible for surrounding and protecting Swordsman City. Their total strength was around 210,000.
In comparison, both sides seemed to be evenly matched. Moreover, Swordsman City could defend the city and had the home advantage. It would be extremely difficult for Great Xia to take down Swordsman City.
Thus, after the Dragon Stallion Army took Meishan Pass and arrived at Danling Basin, they weren't in a hurry to start a decisive battle. Instead, they built their tents and reorganized their armaments, seemingly prepared for a protracted battle.
At the same time, an innumerable amount of rations and fodder was being transported to the frontline from the cities of Dongchuan County and Jiangyang County through the temporary recruitment of more than 200,000 laborers.
The Great Xia army wasn't in a hurry, and neither was Feng Qingyang.
Yesterday, Di Chen and the others had already told Feng Qingyang that once the decisive battle started, they would suddenly deploy 100,000 soldiers to Swordsman City and catch Great Xia off guard.
With 100,000 soldiers supporting them, their total military strength would be able to crush the Great Xia army on the opposite side. Moreover, they had a strong city to defend. Feng Qingyang didn't have to be in a hurry. All he had to do was wait patiently for the Great Xia army to take the initiative to attack.
Most importantly, Di Chen had finally revealed to Feng Qingyang the "Dali Plan" that he had been planning for a long time. Once the Dali allied forces broke through Dongchuan County and cut off the Great Xia army's retreat, Swordsman City would truly be free of worries.
Not only that, but Feng Qingyang would also be able to recover the cities that Great Xia had conquered. He might even be able to use this opportunity to incorporate the opposing Dragon Stallion Army and increase the military strength of Swordsman City.
At the thought of this, Feng Qingyang was secretly delighted.
"Old fox, this time I will pull off your fox tail." Feng Qingyang gazed into the distance as if he could already see the moment of revenge. It was truly wonderful.
As such, the two warring parties were in a stalemate, but no one knew who would break the stalemate.
The variable of the war was in Dali, in Dongchuan County.
Just as the Dragon Stallion Army and Swordsman City were in a stalemate, a piece of news suddenly pierced through the skies of the wilderness.
October 3rd, a very ordinary day, was destined to be recorded in the annals of the wilderness.
On this very morning, a 200,000 strong allied force consisting of Cloud City, the Dali imperial court, and the Xiao Alliance brazenly crossed the border and invaded Dongchuan County of Great Xia's Yunnan Province, initiating a war with Great Xia.
Like a world-destroying flood, the 200,000 strong army surged into Dongchuan County and set off a cloud of smoke. The vanguard of the army headed straight for Yongren City, which was located in the northernmost part of Dongchuan County.
The Allied Forces even shouted the war cry of "Capture Bai Qi alive" in a loud and clear manner.
In the face of such a large army, the various prefectures and counties of Dongchuan County, which had just had their guards removed, could only tremble under the enemy's iron hooves. Of course, even if the guards were not removed, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
After receiving the news, the magistrates and county magistrates of Dongchuan County, as local officials, were either prepared to die or had thoughts of offering their cities to surrender.
Against their mortal enemy, Great Xia, the allied forces of Dali didn't have the slightest bit of mercy.
Wherever the army passed, the people were plunged into misery and suffering, and blood flowed like a river. It was almost like the end of the world. To the people of Great Xia, who had gradually become accustomed to peaceful days, this was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue.
Fortunately, the allied forces of Dali were in a hurry. They wanted to surround Yongren City before Bai Qi could react, so they didn't want to delay on the way. Otherwise, Dongchuan County would be ruined.
In contrast, the army of Great Xia could really be called a benevolent and righteous army.
… …
As soon as the news of the allied forces of Dali came out, the entire wilderness was shaken and everyone was shocked.
"Is Dali crazy? They actually dared to take the initiative to provoke Great Xia?"
Seeing that the army of Great Xia was winning in Sichuan, the players of the China region were already certain that Great Xia would be able to capture Swordsman City. Who would have thought that the allied forces of Dali would appear at this time?
"Yuncheng, what kind of place is that?"
Yuncheng, the leader of this battle, was not known to the outside world at all. It was unknown and many onlookers were baffled.
"Haha, this is going to be a good show. This is the first time that Great Xia is being invaded by an enemy, right? I don't know how angry Emperor Xia will be. I'm afraid that blood will flow for thousands of miles … "
Everyone knew Ouyang Shuo's character. After suffering a loss, he would definitely fight back ruthlessly.
"Daring to touch the buttocks of a tiger, little Mutuo has guts. Just based on this, I'm convinced!" This time, the lord of Yuncheng, little Mutuo, became famous after this battle.
"Hehe, waiting for the tiger to show its might!"
Although the allied forces of Dali were mighty, the outside world wasn't that worried about Great Xia. Those who knew a little about the inside story knew that there were still three imperial guard corps guarding the capital of Great Xia.
After a series of battles, the imperial guard of Great Xia had long become synonymous with the strongest force in the wilderness.
"Once the imperial guard is out, who dares to compete!"
With the imperial guard of Great Xia, it was like having a stabilizing force.
Precisely because of this, the outside world was generally not optimistic about the allied forces of Dali that suddenly appeared in their field of vision.
However, at this moment, there was a continuous stream of news.
Almost at the same time, in the five major provinces of the Capital, Donghai, Jiangnan, Jingchu, and Guanxi, the armies of the Yan Huang Alliance stationed at the borders changed their previous passive defense and began to frequently mobilize and provoke at the borders.
Looking at the direction of the wind, the Yan Huang Alliance seemed to be preparing for an all-out attack.
This caused the pressure on Wanshi City, West Chu, and other allies of Great Xia to multiply, and the morale of the army to be unstable.
Without a doubt, the Yan Huang Alliance had an ulterior motive. They wanted to exert pressure on the allies of Great Xia in order to restrain the imperial guard of Great Xia and prevent them from reinforcing Dongchuan County.
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