Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 259: Chapter 250 Diversionary Tactic

”Quick, invite him in!” Liang Chu came to his senses and quickly ordered.

A moment later, Yang Zhenshan entered the tent with vigorous strides, ”This subordinate, Yang Zhenshan, pays respects to the Marquis!”

”Why did you come all of a sudden? Weren’t you all heading to the north of Fushan City?” Liang Chu was both surprised and puzzled.

Liu Nanbo and Zhao Tianhai exchanged glances again.

Going to the north of Fushan City!

That was not a good place!

”Fushan City deployed troops to chase after us. General Wang led the troops to divert the pursuers, and I have returned first with General Zhou!” Yang Zhenshan glanced at Liu Nanbo and Zhao Tianhai beside him, not recognizing these two individuals.

Liang Chu noticed his gaze and introduced, ”This is General Liu, and this is General Zhao!”

Yang Zhenshan suddenly realized, and hurriedly clasped his fists, ”This subordinate has seen both Generals!”

”No need for such formality, Sir Yang!” The two also quickly clasped their fists in return.

Without caring about their pleasantries, Liang Chu asked, ”Where is Zhou Lan?”

”General Zhou should almost be reaching the east coast by now!” replied Yang Zhenshan.

”The coast!” Liang Chu was slightly taken aback.

Fushan City was more than two hundred miles from the coast. Why go there instead of coming to regroup?

His thoughts swiftly turned, and he asked, ”Do you have some kind of plan? By the way, is Wang Bin in any danger?”

”We do have a plan, but it requires the Marquis’ cooperation. As for General Wang, as long as they move quickly enough, they should not be in danger,” said Yang Zhenshan.

Actually, there was not much of an issue on Wang Bin’s side. As long as they weren’t leisurely making their way, the northern barbarian cavalry wouldn’t be able to catch up to them.

Liang Chu’s interest was piqued, ”What plan? Let’s hear it!”

”Feign to the east, strike in the west, lure the snake out of its hole!” Yang Zhenshan said with a slight smile lifting the corner of his mouth.

A glint of brilliance flashed in Liang Chu’s eyes. He had thoroughly studied ”The Thirty-Six Stratagems” and had even employed a strategy at Chongshan Pass to secretly move supplies.

Speaking of which, he was the first general in this world to use ”The Thirty-Six Stratagems” and achieve victory.

So when Yang Zhenshan explicitly mentioned feigning to the east and striking in the west, Liang Chu had already largely guessed Yang Zhenshan’s plan.

Actually, Yang Zhenshan’s plan was not complicated.

The Hu Clan forces around Fushan City could be divided into two groups; one inside the city, commanded by the Gorcin clan responsible for defending the city.

The other outside the city, consisting of the forces of Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol, divided into three camps all located to the west of Fushan City, only about ten-odd miles away.

The so-called feign to the east, strike in the west, luring the snake out of its hole, meant that Liang Chu would attack the three camps outside the city, forcing the Gorcin clan inside the city to send out troops to help.

Then, seize the opportunity, attacking the city when they exit. At that time, with the city gates wide open, if they could take control of the gates, then Fushan City would completely fall.

This was done to reduce the difficulty of besieging the city.

If they assaulted forcefully, the soldiers’ casualties would certainly be significant. They might have to sacrifice thousands or even tens of thousands of soldiers’ lives to conquer Fushan City.

Compared to that, enticing the Gorcin clan to come out and seizing the opportunity to take control of the city gates was undoubtedly much simpler.

However, for this plan to work, there must be two prerequisites: firstly, Fushan City must not have a Vessel City. If there is a Vessel City, even capturing the first gate won’t allow them to take down Fushan City. Instead, the soldiers entering Vessel City would become living targets for the enemy.

Secondly, the Gorcin clan must send troops to support the camps outside the city. This was almost certain to happen, as long as Meng Temu was not senile, he would definitely send troops to help. Once the camps outside the city were defeated, then Fushan City would completely become an isolated city, and the Gorcin clan would be left unsupported.

In just a moment, Liang Chu had fully grasped the plan outlined by Yang Zhenshan.

”Ha ha ha, good, very good!”

”That’s excellent!”

He clapped his hands and laughed largely. This plan was even better than the one previously devised by Yang Zhenshan.

Previously, Yang Zhenshan wanted to cut off Fushan City’s logistics, but plans cannot keep up with changes. He hadn’t expected Fushan City to deploy over twenty thousand troops to chase after them.

Yet war is ever-changing, and being able to adapt their plans to the immediate circumstances was the essence of being adaptable.

From cutting off Fushan City’s logistics to directly attacking Fushan City, it was adapting to the situation, changing as things changed.

However, Liu Nanbo and Zhao Tianhai beside him were utterly puzzled; they really had no idea what Liang Chu and Yang Zhenshan were talking about.

Incorrect, they knew about feigning to the east and striking in the west since they had also read ”The Thirty-Six Stratagems.” It’s just that they hadn’t grasped Yang Zhenshan’s plan at that moment.

Yang Zhenshan stroked his beard and smiled, saying, ”It’s good that the two generals are also here. Now, we’re even more confident!”

”Yes, indeed!” Liang Chu glanced at Liu Nanbo and Zhao Tianhai, then asked, ”When do you plan to start the action?”

”We might need a day to rest. How about tomorrow night?” Yang Zhenshan replied.

”Tomorrow night, Zhou Yuchun should also be arriving!”

Liang Chu nodded, ”Then we act tomorrow night!”

Afterward, the two discussed further details, and Yang Zhenshan hastily left the camp.

The plan was set, and next, they would act according to the plan.

...

In the evening, Yang Zhenshan hurried on horseback to the coast, reaching the rendezvous point agreed with Zhou Lan and meeting up with her.

After several days of relentless traveling, the soldiers were all exhausted and took to sleeping on the ground apart from keeping necessary watch.

However, the coastal humidity made their night’s rest quite uncomfortable, merely alleviating some of their physical exhaustion.

Fortunately, they had a day ahead to bask in the sunlight.

On the other hand, around noon, Zhou Yuchun, leading six thousand soldiers, arrived at Fushan City, meeting up with Liang Chu.

By now, under Liang Chu’s command, there were thirty thousand Camp soldiers, five thousand Yunlong Dragon Guards, and nearly twenty thousand from the Rescue Camp, totaling fifty-five thousand troops.

In terms of military strength, they were already comparable to the East Sea Hu Clan; more so, with the inclusion of the surprise troops led by Zhou Lan and Yang Zhenshan.

By the evening, the soldiers in the camp had started to sharpen their weapons and horses, entering a state of combat readiness.

Around 9 p.m., Liang Chu led thirty thousand Camp soldiers in a mighty charge out of the camp, straight towards three Hu Clan camps to the west of Fushan City.

The current Camp differed greatly from the Camp during Zhang Shouwang’s era.

When Zhang Shouwang was the General, the five Camps under his command, front, rear, left, right, and center, totaled only fifteen thousand troops, but now the Camp had doubled in size.

The increase wasn’t just in numbers, but also in the individual quality of the soldiers, their training, armament, equipment, and the number of war horses had all significantly enhanced since Zhang Shouwang’s time.

Yang Zhenshan spent three years nurturing over a thousand garrison soldiers, Zhou Lan spent four years training eight thousand from the Rescue Camp, and Liang Chu also spent nearly four years training thirty thousand Camp soldiers.

Besides the Camp, Liang Chu’s Yunlong Dragon Guard were even more elite, handpicked by him from the northwestern elites of Da Rong.

This cavalry not only had a glorious history and battle achievements but also had Liang Chu’s utmost dedication.

It was always said that Yang Zhenshan excelled in training troops. Indeed, with his experiences and insights from his previous life, plus sufficient supplies and Silver Coin, he could certainly train an elite force if he put his mind into it.

However, it is undeniable that a significant reason for his successfully powerful garrison was the aid of the Spiritual Spring Water.

Compared to him, Liang Chu’s training of troops relied entirely on his own genuine skills.

The Yunlong Dragon Guard was an elite force that he had personally cultivated. Having served in the northwest of Da Rong for more than ten years, he spent over a decade fostering the five thousand Yunlong Dragon Guards, establishing their great reputation in the northwest of Da Rong.

In short, today’s Camp could be classified as elite troops, and the Yunlong Dragon Guard, the elite among elites.

At 9 p.m., thirty thousand Camp soldiers joined with twenty thousand from the Rescue Camp and surged like a tremendous torrent towards the camps of Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol.

They never expected Liang Chu to launch a sudden attack, so when they received the news, the three Banner Masters Bao Alang, Suo Chang’e, and Guer Haqi were particularly surprised.

However, they were not panicked and quickly calmed down to direct their forces into battle.

These past two days, Da Rong’s three routes of Rescue Camps steadily arrived, understanding that a major battle was inevitable, although today’s battle came too swiftly and urgently, they were not completely unprepared.

Soon, both sides commenced a fierce battle around the three camps.

The dark night deepened, and amidst the roaring blaze, shouts and screams rose and fell in rapid succession, plunging the battle into its most intense phase right from the start.

The goal of this battle was to force the Gorcin clan in Fushan City to send reinforcements; since they aimed to force them into action, they had to attack vigorously. If they wavered, the Gorcin clan might not deploy their troops.

Inside the Fushan City Royal Court.

Meng Temu, who had just fallen asleep, was suddenly awakened by a noise outside.

”What’s happening?”

Meng Temu sat up from the soft furs, looking displeased as he asked.

”My Lord, the enemy is attacking the camps of Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol.”

Meng Temu’s expression changed slightly, he immediately got up and opened the door, looking at the person outside and coldly asked, ”How many troops have they deployed?”

”It seems... the entire army has been deployed!”

Meng Temu took a deep breath, his demeanor not overly hurried.

”Send out the orders, prepare to march out for battle!”

He had long anticipated such a scenario, even putting himself in Liang Chu’s shoes, pondering how he might act.

Undoubtedly, he would also choose to first attack the camps outside the city.

Compared to Fushan City which had the protection of walls, the external camps were evidently easier to conquer.

Moreover, they had just relocated twenty-five thousand troops a couple of days ago, and the enemy had reinforcements arriving consecutively these days.

With the enemy increasing and our forces decreasing, their timing of the attack was utterly unsurprising to him.

Meng Temu also longed to go to battle; the continuous standoff had been frustrating for both sides.

Now that Liang Chu had proactively attacked the camps outside the city, he, in fact, felt a sense of relief.

Thus, Meng Temu almost instinctively geared up in armor, prepared to lead his troops out for reinforcement.

But just when he reached the North City Gate of Fushan City, a sudden unease surged within him.

Sitting on the horseback, watching the slowly opening city gate, Meng Temu’s eyebrows furrowed, his unease intensifying.

Suddenly he hesitated, but swiftly dispelled the doubts in his mind, because he could not neglect to send troops to rescue the three clan camps outside.

Even if it led to a devastating defeat, he must offer support; otherwise, once the Emu Bu, Chahar, and Dosol camps were annihilated, their Gorcin would be left unsupported, rendering victory impossible.