Chapter 733-Scheming Against One Another
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
To the Lingnan City-State, the 9th month, 10th day was an exceedingly hard day to pass.
On this day, the Shanhai City Army split up into four fronts and moved with the navy squadron; they roamed around Jiaozhou Prefecture and took down four main cities in a short day.
One must know that the entire Lingnan City-State had less than 40 such cities.
Shi Wanshui, Er'Lai, and Fan Li Hua's three legions formed a trident that swept from south to north; they did not leave any stone unturned and did not let any fish escape their net.
The three legions played it out extremely safely. They did not want a quick win. Instead, they aimed to just ensure that they could push forward in a stable manner.
Naturally, they formed an untouchable aura, causing any enemy standing in their way to feel a chill down their spine; it felt like they were being suppressed and could not breathe.
The Guards Legion led by Huo Qubing followed a completely different style.
They did not stop in Jiaozhou Prefecture, rushing over toward Chaozhou Prefecture without stopping for the night. In just a few days, they reached the border and were ready to sneak attack.
Before the war began, the Military Affairs Bureau had circled a few key targets for the Guards Legion. As long as they took down that main city, no one could stop the Guards Legion.
Huo Qubing's troops were fighting with extreme precision.
Even if there were territories behind the Guards Legion that were not cleared out, Huo Qubing was confident that he would not be surrounded by the enemy as they could not even catch the trail of his troops.
Only Huo Qubing could use such a unique fighting method to such an effect.
...
Lingnan Province, Alliance Army command center.
Their territory was being stepped on by the enemy, and they lacked reinforcements, making Yuan Ping and the others worried till their hair turned white. The next morning, the Lords who did not even sleep during the last night all had black eye circles. They once again gathered in the meeting hall.
"We cannot keep waiting and do nothing!" Yuan Ping exclaimed, "We need to act!"
"That's right; we cannot hope to get lucky. Their target is really apparent, which is to wipe out the Lingnan City-State without giving us any way out."
"At this moment, we can only fight!"
...
"We can only fight!"
...
These people forced into a corner gave out their loudest roar.
"Our greatest advantage now is the ability to enter the teleportation formation at any time." Yuan Ping was the first to speak, "We need to make use of that to give the enemy a deadly blow."
"I suggest apart from the territories that are still fighting the Shanhai City Army, gather the troops of the other territories and gather with the Alliance Army. Gather them up and remove a legion of theirs."
"I agree!"
"I agree!"
The City-State had no way out, so they could only go all out with their backs against the wall.
"Which legion should we attack?"
Yuan Ping arrived before the battle map and said, "Based on the intel from the frontlines, the Guards Legion is alone deep in. Originally, they would be the best target. But their commander is Huo Qubing, so the risk is too big. Hence, I suggest we choose their right front, which is led by Fan Li Hua."
All the Lords agreed; they did not feel confident about fighting Huo Qubing.
First, the Fan Lihua's legion was a side flank and it had much more room to control; secondly, she was a female general; hence, the Lords all said that she was the weakest general.
There was also one more point. Fan Lihua was located on the right wing, so there were many ambush points that could be chosen.
One had to say that Yuan Ping had some skill; he managed to precisely decipher the problem right away.
Yuan Ping pointed at one of the cities on the map and said, "I suggest we set the ambush here!"
The Lords all moved forward to have a look, understanding the reason immediately.
The city that Yuan Ping chose was surrounded on three sides by mountains and only the south side was a plain; it was like a huge pocket. With that, the Fan Lihua army would have to come in from the south and shove its head into the pocket, struggling without any way to get out.
The brilliant part was that the city did not have a river, which basically meant that the enemy navy could not come over.
"Genius!"
"Brilliant!"
"Smart!"
The Lords all exclaimed, making Yuan Ping smile.
Obviously, this was not something that he had thought of on the spot; it was the idea he came up with after pondering about the matter all of last night. Now it seemed like doing sufficient prep work had its pros.
"Since everyone agrees, let's start going to work!" Yuan Ping knew that every moment they wasted, cities would fall and the strength of the City-State would dwindle.
Hence, they were in a race against time.
Xinjiang City was located at the border of Jiaozhou Prefecture and was a castle for the Alliance Army. It was the main grain base of the Alliance Army.
Hence, moving the army to Xinjiang City was also considering that point.
"Will the Tiger Legion Corps let us retreat so easily?" Someone was worried.
However, Yuan Ping was not worried and smiled, "Do not worry, no matter what, we have 150 thousand men, and they are elites. They only have two legions. As long as we plan our retreat well and take preventive measures, they would not dare to act. At most, they chase us, but they definitely would not dare to attack."
"That makes sense!"
"Okay, quickly go arrange everything!"
"And also, immediately inform the troops housed in your territories to be prepared. When we reach Xinjiang City, we will teleport there simultaneously." Yuan Ping instructed.
"Why not let them teleport over first?"
"Are you dumb!" Yuan Ping did not even need to raise the matter himself and another Lord asked, "The Shanhai City intel officer is staring at us. If we all teleport over, even if he is blind, he would know what is going on. Would he still fall for it?"
"Oh!" The Lord who asked this question was instantly embarrassed as his face turned red.
"Go make the preparations quickly!"
Yuan Ping changed the topic to help get that Lord out of the awkward situation.
The entire Alliance Army command center instantly became busy.
With a specific target and plan, at least they were not like ants on a hot pot, in chaos. The Lords and soldiers were all united, and the will to fight burned in their hearts.
In a chaotic world, no one was willing to sit and wait for their death.
At the same time, Alliance Army Tiger Legion Corps camp.
A brutish-looking soldier opened the tent and walked in, kneeling with one foot on the ground and respectfully said, "Commander, the troops are moving. Looking at the situation, they are making preparations to retreat!"
The tent was extremely simple. Apart from military books scattered around, the most eye-catching aspect would be the map of Lingnan Province in the middle. This was the hard work of many military intelligence spies.
Sun Bin sat on the wheelchair that the Mohism school of thought and the No.7 Research Institute had designed for him, staring at the battle map. Speaking of which, the wheelchair he sat on was not simple.
The bearings and wheels were all made from elite steel, and the outer layer of the wheels was sewed with two layers of rubber. Although it was not pumped with air, it could travel across complicated terrains.
The bearings, the iron wheels, and the moving parts could be considered a result of industrialization in Shanhai City.
Apart from that, the wheelchair was designed by geniuses from the Mohist school of thought and included many mechanisms. It had poisonous sharp arrows and an ejection escape mechanism.
Even the moving system of the wheelchair was something that the Mohists had played a part in.
Such intricate designs made even some of the mechanic experts in the research institute feel stunned. The complex skills of the ancient Chinese were something that the descendants could not understand and replicate.
When Sun Bin heard the report, he was not surprised. He did not even turn his head and smiled, "The fish have finally started to move. Inform General Di Qing to come over for a meeting."
"Yes commander!" The soldiers quietly left.
After a short while, the copper-masked Di Qing walked in.
"Commander!"
Di Qing bowed from afar.
Speaking of which, both of them had words on their faces. Sun Bins's words came from torture while Di Qing had words on his face because he used to be a slave. The difference was that Sun Bin never hid it while Di Qing chose to wear a copper mask.
Through this aspect, one could see the personalities of the two.
Sun Bin had placed down everything in his past. After all, no matter how much he tried to cover up, the truth was that his legs were paralyzed and could not be covered.
With that, why not show it to the world.
"A Legion Corps marshal sitting on a wheelchair can be considered a different kind of sight!"
Di Qing was different. Born as a slave, he was still a little inferior and was used to hiding his face. With that, it also added another kind of charm.
On the battlefield, when one saw the copper mask, one would know that General Di Qing was present.
The two were the same type and were coincidentally gathered together; this could be considered fate.
As a result, Di Qing greatly respected Sun Bin. After entering Tiger Legion Corps, Di Qing always listened to Sun Bin's words.
Sun Bin turned around and smiled, "You already know, right?"
"I know; the enemy troops have already started to move!"
"Yes; let's just follow the plan." Sun Bin nodded, "I'll lead the 1st legion to chase the enemy to help the East Conquering Army pincer them. You lead the 2nd legion up north to sweep into Shaozhou Prefecture and meet up with General Huo Qubing."
"Understood!" Di Qing nodded.
The plan was set long ago and Sun Bin was just confirming things.
"General, remember. You can be slow, but you cannot be quick." Sun Bin instructed, "The cities along the way, you must take them all down. Do not let the enemy see through your intentions before the Guards Legion enter Shaozhou."
No matter how quick the Guards Legion was, they needed to pass through the entire Chaozhou Prefecture. Hence, they needed to give them enough time. Sun Bin's instructions were naturally to avoid alerting the enemy.
"Commander do not worry, I know what to do!"
Di Qing was a stable and intelligent general.
"Then let's get to work!"