Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 961: Chapter 680: Night Raid and Siege

On the sixteenth of June, three hundred thousand Da Liang troops grandiosely arrived outside Baoding Prefecture City.

The army set up camp for thirty li, a murderous aura rising to the sky.

Although Baoding Prefecture City could be considered a large city, it was certainly not like the Capital City, not even on the same level.

Baoding Prefecture City, with walls four zhang high, had six city gates on all sides but lacked defensive structures like Vessel Cities and watchtowers, nor did it have many crossbows.

Because the Chongshan Town army occupied Baoding Prefecture City for too short a time, the city’s defense supplies were also inadequate.

Therefore, although Chongshan Town relied on the city to defend, their advantage in holding the city was not significant.

On the city wall, Yang Zhenshan looked at the encampment outside and sneered coldly.

”What are your thoughts?” Yang Zhenshan asked Yang Chengye beside him.

Yang Chengye knew that Yang Zhenshan was testing him, so he thought for a moment before saying, ”Grandson believes we should launch a proactive attack!”

Yang Zhenshan laughed aloud, ”Indeed, the biggest fear in war is fighting a stupid battle, aligning troops against troops, generals against generals, that’s a stupid battle.”

”We cannot stay static, nor can we let the enemy stay static. We need to keep moving, as does the enemy. Only then can we find the enemy’s flaw and crush them in one stroke!”

”Now we’ve already succeeded in getting the enemy to move. They’ve left the Capital City and appeared here, so it’s time for us to launch an attack!”

Yang Chengye’s eyes sparkled as he looked admiringly at Yang Zhenshan.

Even though he was now over forty, he still admired and respected Yang Zhenshan as before.

Yang Zhenshan patted his shoulder and said, ”Pass the order, attack the camp tonight!”

The Da Liang army had just arrived outside Baoding Prefecture City today, currently setting up camp. Usually, this would be a bad time for a camp attack as the Da Liang army would be on guard.

However, Yang Zhenshan felt this was a good opportunity; the Da Liang army’s camps weren’t fully set and lacked defensive measures like trenches, stockades, and traps.

This meant they could swiftly charge into the enemy’s encampment.

”Who should be sent to attack the camp?” Yang Chengye asked.

Yang Zhenshan looked at him with a quirky smile, ”The entire army will strike. Our goal in attacking the camp is not mere harassment, but to completely rout them!”

”But we have less than eighty thousand soldiers?” Yang Chengye was somewhat puzzled.

Yang Zhenshan laughed and asked, ”So what?”

Yang Chengye froze for a moment, then smiled, ”Grandson understands now!”

Indeed, so what if they are many and we are few?

When did Chongshan Town ever care about being outnumbered?

”Alright, go prepare! Let grandpa see your command skills!” Yang Zhenshan encouraged Yang Chengye.

The grandson’s experience might be lacking, but his abilities were truly exceptional, and Yang Zhenshan had high hopes for him.

In fact, Yang Chengye was best at managing military and political affairs. Over the years in Chongshan Town, almost every small and large matter went through his hands. The sustainable development of Chongshan Town in recent years was credited to Yang Chengye.

Feeling Yang Zhenshan’s encouragement, Yang Chengye nodded confidently, ”Rest assured, grandpa, grandson will not disappoint you!”

Then, Yang Chengye briskly descended the city wall while Yang Zhenshan continued to gaze at the Da Liang army camps outside.

The dense camps formed a pressing presence.

But to Yang Zhenshan, such pressure was negligible.

Yang Chengye went to assign tasks to the troops, while Yang Zhenshan sought out An Yuxing and their companions.

Tonight’s camp attack would involve the Innate Martial Artists as well, and in this battle, the Innate Martial Artists were the main characters.

The sky gradually grew dark, and in the Da Liang army’s camp, Emperor Tianwu and his people were also discussing the siege strategy.

They were considering how to quickly take Baoding Prefecture City.

Unlike the siege of the Capital City, where they had ample time to build siege weapons and could pressure the city’s defenders leisurely.

Now, needing to hurriedly return to Han Zhong Prefecture, they must attack quickly and defeat the Chongshan Army inside the city promptly.

”In just half a month’s time, the Beiyuan Army and Chongshan Town’s Western Army have taken over four prefectures. At this rate, they’ll reach Longnan in another half month!”

Emperor Tianwu’s face looked displeased.

Although they pulled most of Da Liang’s elite for this expedition to the Capital City, they had also deployed a significant force in southern Longyuan.

Initially, the deployment of tens of thousands of troops in Longyuan was to guard against Zhou Lan leading the Beiyuan Army southward, yet these troops proved futile against the Beiyuan Army.

Even when garrisoned, they couldn’t halt the Beiyuan Army’s southward march.

What further infuriated Emperor Tianwu was that several prefectures and counties opened their gates and surrendered when faced with the Beiyuan Army.

Just as Da Liang’s army once conquered cities effortlessly, now the Beiyuan Army and Chongshan Western Army were advancing with equal ease.

Frankly, this was expected since the current city administrators were the same as in the past.

The same group of officials would naturally make the same choices.

This reflects poorly on Da Liang, lacking enough capable officials, only employing those who had previously pledged allegiance.

”Your Majesty, I believe we should attack as soon as possible, commencing the siege at dawn!”

Song Chenxing, the first strategist under Emperor Tianwu, spoke.

Da Liang did possess some wise ministers, such as Song Chenxing and Niu Sude. Both came from humble beginnings and were once just scholars, yet under Emperor Tianwu, they showcased remarkable talents.

Take Song Chenxing, for instance. It was he who suggested that King Da Liang occupy Han Zhong Prefecture, granting King Da Liang a chance to breathe and develop.

Under his assistance, King Da Liang established a solid foundation in Han Zhong Prefecture, achieving today’s Emperor Tianwu.

Therefore, the most trusted person to Emperor Tianwu was Song Chenxing, even surpassing Zhang Luan.

”Mr. Song, this is unwise. Although time is pressing, we absolutely cannot act rashly. The Chongshan Army is not the sixteen battalions of the court’s personal army, and the commander opposite us is Yang Zhenshan, not those incompetents of the Da Rong Court!” Zhang Luan immediately advised.

Song Chenxing looked at Zhang Luan and said in a deep voice, ”So what? Whether it’s Yang Zhenshan or the Chongshan Army, do we still have to fear the enemy and not advance?”

”Senior Zhang, I know you are familiar with the civil and military officers of the Da Rong Court, but have we not defeated few of those civil and military officials over the years? Have we not defeated numerous elite forces?”

”We have fought against the soldiers of Suzhou Town and Longbei Town, and they were nothing noteworthy.”

”Although Beiyuan Town is stronger, they lack troops!”

”And as for the Emperor’s personal army and the imperial guard of the Capital City, they are no match for our Da Liang Army!”

”Senior Zhang, it’s not that we are arrogant, it’s just that we can’t afford to waste time here!”

Song Chenxing’s words left Zhang Luan with little to rebut because Song Chenxing was right; their Da Liang Army was also a battle-hardened, mighty force, especially the elites within, who were absolutely veteran soldiers risen from piles of corpses.

Those old soldiers have seen more wars than even the veteran general Zhang Luan himself.

To recall when King Da Liang was still a bandit, they were truly engaged in battles daily, either fighting or escaping.

Zhang Luan wasn’t oblivious to this, but he always harbored a sense of awe towards Yang Zhenshan.

Perhaps he didn’t even realize it himself, but nonetheless, he held some awe for Yang Zhenshan and therefore retained a bit of respect for Chongshan Town.

Zhang Luan hesitated for a moment, thought about it, and could only say, ”I still think it would be better to proceed with caution!”

Song Chenxing’s brows furrowed slightly; he respected Zhang Luan, but he was somewhat displeased with Zhang Luan’s caution.

Not exactly, to be precise, it was his displeasure with the current Zhang Luan.

Previously, during the assault on the Capital City, he found Zhang Luan to be quite formidable, having calculated everything inside the Capital City clearly.

But now facing Chongshan Town, he felt that Zhang Luan was overly cautious.

Actually, it wasn’t Zhang Luan’s issue but rather Song Chenxing’s issue.

The tyranny of experience was at play.

What kind of enemies had Da Liang faced before?

Local garrison soldiers, bandits from Longbei Town and Suzhou Town, dispirited imperial guards, no longer elite Emperor’s personal army.

They continuously defeated formidable enemies, even defeating the rumored incomparably strong imperial guard and Emperor’s personal army.

Now when you tell them to be cautious, they naturally think you’re being overly cautious.

Considering Zhang Luan’s competence and status, Song Chenxing refrained from saying more; he just looked up at Emperor Tianwu.

Emperor Tianwu thought for a moment and said, ”Then let the siege begin tomorrow!”

The walls of Baoding Prefecture City are not very high, requiring not many siege engines, just sufficient scaling ladders will do.

As for other matters, it would merely require more lives to fill in the breach.

At this moment, they could not care about casualties, only to take the city as soon as possible.

Thus, with Emperor Tianwu’s decision, the three hundred thousand strong army, having just arrived at Baoding Prefecture City, began preparations for the siege the next day.

They had not even considered that the Chongshan Army inside the city might come out to raid the camps, let alone that Yang Zhenshan actually planned to wage a decisive battle at night.

Not to mention others, even Zhang Luan did not expect it.

...

Tonight, the starry sky was exceptionally bright, with the rising Ming Yue spreading its cool light like a glass lamp, illuminating the inside and outside of the city exceptionally brightly.

One didn’t even need to light a torch to clearly see the surroundings.

When the night passed the third watch, the West City Gate of Baoding Prefecture City first opened. Twenty thousand iron-armored light cavalry stealthily streamed out through the city gate, then split into two groups, maneuvering around the city from the north and south.

Subsequently, the South City Gate opened again, letting another two thousand iron-armored heavy cavalry and three thousand cavalry slowly exit the city gate.

The camps of Da Liang Army were mainly arranged on the east and north sides of Baoding Prefecture City. Since they had just arrived at Baoding Prefecture City today, they hadn’t had a chance to complete the encircling setup, leaving room for Chongshan Army’s opportunity.

Of course, Da Liang Army had also scattered many scouts around the city. As soon as the Chongshan Army exited the city, they were discovered.

Along with the blare of bugles, the news of Chongshan Army’s movement quickly spread to the camp of Da Liang Army.

But it hardly mattered anymore, because the East City Gate and North City Gate had also opened.

Boom boom boom~~~

The thundering of war drums suddenly shattered the quiet night, followed by a continuous sound of hoofbeats.

Raiding the camp doesn’t necessarily mean a sneak attack; Yang Zhenshan couldn’t make sixty thousand troops approach the enemy camp silently.

So this camp raid was a straightforward attack—naturally, it would be better if they could delay being discovered by the enemy.

Da Liang Army’s camp was not far from the city, just over twenty miles.

But don’t forget, Da Liang Army’s camp stretched over thirty miles long.

With such a vast camp and such a long encampment, it’s almost impossible to defend it without any gaps.

Yet, Da Liang Army’s response was very swift. Upon receiving the first notice of Chongshan Army’s movement, the troops guarding the camp had already increased their defenses.

Inside the main tent.

Emperor Tianwu hastily donned his robe and crawled out from bed.

”Report, scouts report, enemy forces have exited the city!”

”Report, scouts report, a large number of enemy cavalry is heading towards our camp!”

”Report, there’s a large enemy force approaching from the south, west, and north!”