Volume 10 Chapter 122
Dong Sheng reminded Shao Fang that Feng State’s stationing of troops on the border was not a threat, but a real plan to attack. Shao Fang thought that Dong Sheng was timid and scared, and not only ignored him, but also scolded him, expelled him from the court in public, and sent him back home.
It can be said that Dong Sheng is the only one in the court of Mo State who dares to speak out against Shao Fang. Looking around at other Mo State ministers, they all only say what Shao Fang likes to hear, and only know how to sing praises and flatter, but no one can offer good advice.
Unfortunately, Dong Sheng was still angered by Shao Fang, and the relationship between the two people also dropped to the freezing point.
While Shao Fang ignored Dong Sheng, there were also frequent reports of victory in the front. The 500,000 troops of Mo State and the 500,000 troops of An State were unstoppable in Yu State, and had successively captured two counties and more than ten cities of Yu State. The central army of Yu State was simply unable to compete.
At the current speed of the two countries' coalition forces, it is estimated that it will take less than two months to reach Kangyang, the capital of Yu. As long as Kangyang is captured, Yu will also fall apart and become the possession of Mo and An.
The successive victories in the front made Shao Fang more confident in the Mo-An coalition forces. When Mo and Feng joined forces to attack Ning, the battle was not so smooth. It can be seen that the combat power of Anjun is not weaker than Fengjun. But he overlooked one point. How could the powerful Ning Kingdom at that time be compared with the current Yu Kingdom?
The armies of Mo and An are still advancing into the hinterland of Yu Kingdom, while Fengjun is ready to start marching out of Baguan and enter Mo Kingdom.
As the vanguard corps, Pingyuan Army has felt the pressure doubled at this time. Whether the main force of Fengjun can smoothly advance to Mo Kingdom is directly related to whether they can win the battle with them.
Before sending troops, Xiao Muqing summoned all his generals and advisers together to discuss the specific details of entering Mo.
In addition to the powerful Huben Army in the north of Mo State, there are also 200,000 central troops and tens of thousands of local troops stationed there. The force is so large that it cannot be underestimated. If these hundreds of thousands of troops were gathered together, the Pingyuan Army would not have to fight, and would not win even if they fought. Fortunately, the Mo Army is deployed in a dispersed manner.
The Huben Army is still stationed in the Huben Army camp, which is far away from the Fengmo border. Among the 200,000 central troops, 100,000 are stationed in Yangchuan City, and another 100,000 are stationed in Bailin City. Although these two cities are both border cities, one is in the east and the other is in the west, hundreds of miles apart.
Between the two cities is Xiashui Town of Mo State. This town is an important town of Mo State, facing the Baguan Pass of Feng State. It is called a town, but it is actually not much different from a city. It is not only large in area, but also has high city walls. There is a 20-meter-high watchtower in the north of the city. It can be said that as long as the Feng Army leaves Baguan and goes south for dozens of miles, it will enter the monitoring range of Xiashui Town. Once the enemy is discovered, the beacon tower in Xiashui Town will be lit immediately, and the Yangchuan and Bailin garrisons will rush over from the east and west to reinforce after receiving the message.
Speaking of it, the border defense deployment of the Mo Kingdom is also very thorough. Two cities sandwich a town, echoing each other from a distance. If one moves, the whole will be affected. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition, there is a Tiger Guard Army with superior combat effectiveness in the rear as a backup. Shao Fang is not afraid of the Feng Army going south, and there is a reason for it.
It seems that the border defense of the Mo Kingdom is airtight and very complete, but in Xiao Muqing's eyes, it is full of opportunities.
He said to his generals and advisers: "This time, the king ordered our Pingyuan Army to be the vanguard, which shows his respect for us. We must not let the king down. In this battle, we must make a good start and win the battle. Brothers, tell me, how should we fight this battle?"
The commander of the first corps of the Pingyuan Army, Kong Xiao, stepped in and saluted, saying: "General, our army can go straight to Xiashui Town and tear open the defense line of the Mo Army from the center."
"General Kong, don't be impulsive, Xiashui Town is not so easy to attack!" He said: "There are more than 50,000 garrisons in Xiashui Town, and the city is strong. The enemy is holding on, and our army may not be able to break through in a short time. In addition, Yangchuan and Bailin, two cities on the east and west sides, are less than 300 miles away from Xiashui Town. Once the enemy troops in the two cities come to reinforce, they will form a pincer attack on our army. "
Kong Xiao said in a shocking voice: "Fighting is fighting morale! To defeat the enemy, we must break through the enemy's strongest point. Only in this way can our army show its military prestige and morale, and overwhelm the opponent in momentum, and the next battle will become much easier. "
Xiao Muqing nodded secretly. This is the experience of being through hundreds of battles! Fighting is fighting morale. As long as you overwhelm the enemy in morale, it is not difficult to win a thousand with a hundred, and a hundred thousand with ten thousand. Seeing that Zhang Ting wanted to speak, Xiao Muqing waved his hand and said: "I think General Kong is right. Either don't fight, or use a heavy punch to completely crush the morale of the enemy. "
"General..." Zhang Ting still felt that it was too risky to attack Xiashui Town directly. Xiao Muqing smiled slightly, tapped his forehead and said, "Of course, we can't just act recklessly to capture Xiashui Town. We have to use our brains."
Everyone asked in unison, "What does the general mean..."
Xiao Muqing bit his lip and pondered for a while, then said, "Pretend to attack Xiashui Town, and divide the troops into two groups, and ambush on the road that Yangchuan and Bailin must take to reinforce Xiashui."
Everyone was refreshed, and Zhang Ting suddenly realized, "What does the general mean... to surround the point and attack the reinforcements?"
"That's right!" Xiao Muqing sneered and said, "The main force of the Mo Kingdom's border defense lies in the 200,000 central troops. As long as our army eats up these 200,000 central troops, the local troops in Xiashui Town are nothing to be afraid of. Even if there are more troops and the city defense is strong, they are just a group of pigs and sheep that have been washed clean and are waiting for our army to slaughter!"
Hearing this, everyone grinned. The commander was full of confidence, and the generals below were also ambitious. People were rubbing their fists and palms, and they couldn't wait to rush out and start a decisive battle with the Mo army.
Xiao Muqing raised his head, bowed slightly, and said, "General Wu Guang?"
Although Tang Yin sent Wu Guang here to be under his command, the two of them had the same military rank, so Xiao Muqing was still very polite to Wu Guang.
Wu Guang also bowed and asked, "I wonder what General Xiao has to do?"
Xiao Muqing said seriously, "I will give the first, fourth, fifth, and eighth corps to General Wu. General Wu will lead the four corps to ambush between Yangchuan and Xiashui Town." As he spoke, he stood up and walked to the sand table, looked down, then pointed and said, "There are many valleys here, which is convenient for hiding soldiers. General Wu can lead his troops to ambush here and sneak attack the reinforcements of the Mo Kingdom!"
Wu Guang nodded while watching and listening. When Xiao Muqing finished speaking, he responded, "Okay! I will deal with the enemy troops passing through here."
Xiao Muqing smiled, and then bowed and said, "General Jiang Fan?"
"Here!" Jiang Fan stood up and walked forward. apo
Xiao Muqing said: "I will give you the second, third, sixth and seventh corps. You can lead the army to ambush in the dense forest between Bailin and Xiashui. The jungle here is very thick, and there are many places suitable for ambushes. General Jiang Fan can choose by himself."
Jiang Fan replied expressionlessly and indifferently: "General Xiao, don't worry."
With the assistance of Wu Guang and Jiang Fan, Xiao Muqing did save a lot of worry. The most important point is that Wu Guang and Jiang Fan are both capable of both civil and military affairs. Whether fighting alone or leading troops, they are outstanding.
After arranging the ambushes on both sides, Xiao Muqing said: "The remaining ninth and tenth corps will follow me to attack Xiashui. Although we are just feinting in this battle, we must also show momentum and let the enemy think that our army is the main force to attack."
"I understand!" The leaders of the ninth and tenth corps joined in and responded.
Before leaving Baguan, the Pingyuan Army had already formulated a specific plan to swallow up all the border guards of the Mo Kingdom in one go. Each step was arranged very carefully, and even how to deal with the Tiger Army once they came to help was thought of.
The Pingyuan Army is not a legion that only knows how to charge and is brave but not wise. Before each battle, Xiao Muqing would repeatedly consult with his subordinates to finalize the details of the battle one by one. Once the battle started, the Pingyuan Army only needed to implement it according to the plan.
On the second day of the first month, the Pingyuan Army of 100,000 people marched out of Baguan. More than a dozen cavalry squads, like more than a dozen sharp swords, first penetrated into the Mo territory, swept away the Mo Kingdom's outposts and small strongholds along the way, and paved the way for the main force of their own army to move in.
The Feng Army came prepared and had been accumulating strength for a long time. They knew the outposts and strongholds arranged by the Mo Kingdom like the back of their hands. The cavalry squads acted like a whirlwind, pulling out the outposts and strongholds everywhere one by one.
The news of the Feng army's massive invasion also quickly spread to Xiashui Town. Currently stationed in Xiashui Town is Hu Xian, the Dragon Commander of Mo State. The Dragon Commander's rank is slightly higher than that of the corps commander, and he is directly appointed and dispatched by the court. The 50,000 local troops stationed in Xiashui Town are all under the command of Hu Xian.
Hearing the news that the Feng army is heading south, Hu Xian was shocked and hurriedly asked the scout: "How many people are there in the Feng army? Which corps are they from?"
"Reporting to General Hu, the Feng army has no less than 100,000 troops, and the military flags have the words "Pingyuan" and "Xiao". It must be the main force of the Feng country's Pingyuan army." The spy replied hurriedly.
After hearing this, Hu Xian was almost scared out of his wits. The Pingyuan army is coming, what can we do? What kind of corps is the Pingyuan army? It is the most elite, brave and fierce corps of Feng country. He hurriedly asked: "Which direction is the Pingyuan army going?"
"This... this..." The spy stuttered for a long time and couldn't say anything.
"You tell me!"
"General, the Pingyuan Army is coming to our Xiashui Town."
"Ah?" Hu Xian's eyes widened. If it was any other army, he could still defend Xiashui Town, or even dare to go out of the city to fight. But the enemy is the Pingyuan Army. Can the small Xiashui Town be defended?
Even without the Pingyuan Army's feint attack, Hu Xian was already scared by the name of the Pingyuan Army. He ordered his men to light the beacon tower quickly. Even so, he was still worried. He sent spies on fast horses to Yangchuan and Bailin to ask for help from his own central army. In any case, he had to arrive at Xiashui Town before the Pingyuan Army to protect Xiashui Town.