Chapter 730: Military Strategist Technique
Chapter 730: Military Strategist Technique
2017-09-25
In Xu Zifu's eyes, war was not merely a bloody slaughter or a violent confrontation; it was a grand art and an advanced strategic game.
War was not solely about who possessed the most powerful army, but also about logistics, intelligence, strategy, and tactics. In this world, the addition of scholarly talents and martial characteristics further influenced the outcome of battles.
Therefore, war was complex, not just a crude struggle in the eyes of some brutes.
Xu Zifu did not underestimate Lu Hai Kong, but he had never really paid much attention to him, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he did not agree with Lu Hai Kong's tactical philosophy.
Xu Zifu had studied almost every battle he could gather information on, starting from Lu Hai Kong's first battle against Ding Yuan, to the Wuhuan Rebellion, and even the current Yellow Turban Rebellion, which brought Lu Hai Kong his glorious achievements.
He deeply researched each battle and had a clear understanding of this enemy.
Indeed, Lu Hai Kong was an outstanding commander, achieving remarkable feats in every battle he fought. However, in Xu Zifu's opinion, Lu Hai Kong had a significant problem—his understanding of war was too shallow.
It was not difficult to see from Lu Hai Kong's past battles that he adhered to an elite soldier strategy, relying on the most elite troops to achieve the greatest results. This was evident in the Yellow Turban Rebellion, where Lu Hai Kong's elite soldier strategy was fully displayed.
From the thousand against several tens of thousands at Wucheng, to the few thousand against ten thousand at Liangqi, and the thousand against Ye City, even at Guangping, Lu Hai Kong's battle where he saved the Han Dynasty's army with less than two thousand cavalry, all showcased his elite soldier strategy.
In each of these battles, Lu Hai Kong's performance was remarkable, and he executed his elite soldier strategy to perfection. It was because of these battles that Lu Hai Kong achieved his current glory.
Xu Zifu did not deny Lu Hai Kong's outstanding performance, but he also disagreed with his elite soldier strategy. In his opinion, Lu Hai Kong's strategy was good, but it was not the entirety of war.
Xu Zifu believed that the reason Lu Hai Kong had been able to achieve such glorious victories was that he had not encountered a truly powerful opponent. But now, Lu Hai Kong's opponent had arrived!
Since he had united the Xianbei and Wuhuan clans, Xu Zifu had been waiting for Lu Hai Kong to enter the grasslands. Then, he would show Lu Hai Kong through his actions.
Lu Hai Kong's understanding of war was too naive!
Finally, Lu Hai Kong entered the grasslands, and Xu Zifu's performance in war was about to begin.
Lu Hai Kong led sixty thousand horse bandits, including fifty thousand elite and ten thousand extraordinary soldiers, each carrying ten days' worth of dry rations and water, daring to venture into the grasslands. It was evident that he intended to fight by sustaining his troops with the resources they captured.
Lu Hai Kong confidently believed that his sixty thousand cavalry could survive in the grasslands and defeat the million-strong army of the Xianbei and Wuhuan clans.
This was a form of self-confidence, but in Xu Zifu's eyes, it was also arrogance clouding his judgment.
Since Lu Hai Kong had become so arrogant, Xu Zifu felt it necessary to teach him a lesson and make him see reason.
……………………
Lu Hai Kong, filled with arrogance, possessed detailed intelligence, and in the grasslands, he had a special network of informants.
Under his command was a team called the Wolf Herders, a profession that had been in Lu Hai Kong's forces for nearly two years.
Over the past two years, the Wolf Herders had expanded, and their tasks had evolved from initially assisting with ranch work to gradually focusing on security and intelligence gathering. The several hundred Wolf Herders had tamed five or six wolves each, and with over a thousand wolves, they had scouted almost every part of the grasslands within a year.
When Lu Hai Kong was preparing to take action, these thousand wolves spread out across the grasslands, providing him with intelligence support. With their help, Lu Hai Kong had a thorough understanding of the grasslands when he set out.
He knew exactly where the water sources, tribes, and herds were located.
It was because of this intelligence that Lu Hai Kong was confident in leading sixty thousand horse bandits with ten days' worth of dry rations directly into the grasslands.
Currently, Lu Hai Kong had the upper hand in terms of intelligence.
As long as Lu Hai Kong could combine his intelligence advantage with his elite soldier advantage, he should be able to fight a very impressive battle.
In fact, after Lu Hai Kong entered the grasslands, things went quite smoothly.
Within just five days, supported by a powerful and accurate intelligence network, Lu Hai Kong advanced several hundred li with his sixty thousand troops.
Along the way, he captured three or four tribes and utilized their resources to sustain his army, and everything proceeded smoothly.
However, Lu Hai Kong felt something was amiss. Although he had sixty thousand troops under his command, most of them were horse bandits, and in terms of quality, they were on par with the average Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes. Even the elite horse bandits were only slightly better than the typical Xianbei and Wuhuan individuals.
Such an army was far from being considered powerful. As far as he knew, the alliance of the Uxian twin tribes could muster at least a million soldiers. With such a massive force, there was no reason for them to fear his army.
Nevertheless, the Uxian tribes remained silent, and this situation made Lu Hai Kong somewhat worried.
In fact, the Uxian tribes were not inactive; they just weren't targeting Lu Hai Kong.
Lu Hai Kong's sixty thousand troops were not the main force for the grassland war. In reality, this army was merely a decoy that Lu Hai Kong had put forward to attract the enemy's attention. Among these sixty thousand troops, there was only one general, and Lu Hai Kong's true main force had already set out earlier.
Three thousand Black Wind Legion, one thousand five hundred Blood Bath Legion, and one thousand Golden Flame Cavalry, along with fifty thousand Xiongnu soldiers from the eight tribes, had already departed before Lu Hai Kong's departure.
This legion gathered top-notch generals like Wang Ti, Dian Wei, Zhao Nanli, Gao Lan, Yan Liang, and Meng Qu Chenglian, and it was the elite force under Lu Hai Kong's command.
According to the original plan, after drawing the Xianbei army's main force towards Lu Hai Kong's side, they would launch a fierce attack, striking the main camp of the Uxian alliance and eliminating their primary force.
The style of this battle plan clearly reflected Lu Hai Kong's approach—brutal, direct, and domineering. If successful, it would decisively resolve this war in one strike.
However, what Lu Hai Kong didn't know was that in this war, he didn't possess the advantage of intelligence!
In fact, they had already seen through his battle plan and lost interest in his decoy army, focusing their attention on Wang Ti's forces instead.
In the 6919th chapter, you can see it's true!
...
In the foreign grasslands, at a certain location.
Xu Zifu sat atop a relatively gentle warhorse, and beside him was a Xianbei man with a majestic build.
This Xianbei man was named Yuwen Kuo, a rare outsider among the Xianbei tribe and Xu Zifu's collaborator. To some extent, if not for this partner, Xu Zifu would have found it much more challenging to unite the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes.
"Mr. Xu, are we ready? Can we begin?"
Xu Zifu nodded, then rode his horse to a high hill. Below the hill was a densely packed army of at least a hundred thousand soldiers from the Uxian twin tribes.
Looking down at the allied forces, Xu Zifu waved his feather fan, and his eyes suddenly shone with a silver light. His clothes moved without any wind, and a mysterious force emerged, covering a third of the Uxian army below.
Under the influence of this force, the presence of that third of the army quickly became thin.
This was Xu Zifu's scholarly talent, or military strategist technique.
This military strategist technique was called Breath-Silencing Assassination, allowing one's soldiers to remain undetected by the enemy until they were within a hundred meters.
After Xu Zifu used his talent, or military strategist technique, the Uxian army swiftly sprang into action. Led by Yuwen Kuo, the third of the Uxian army, which constituted the majority, directly set out.
Ten li away from them was the location of Wang Ti's elite legion.
They had traveled a long way from the Flame Yellow Mountain Fortress, carefully setting up camp ten days ago.
Throughout their journey, they had been extremely cautious, paying close attention to their route and the selection of their camp's location.
They believed they had been discreet, but they didn't know that their presence had been discovered on the third day of their arrival.
What they didn't expect was that while they were waiting to ambush their enemies, their enemies had already begun preparing to attack them.
Despite Wang Ti's army setting up a substantial defense network around their camp, extending five or six li, Xu Zifu's talent rendered it useless. Wang Ti's army only discovered the Uxian army when they were within a hundred meters of their camp.
However, it was already too late. The Uxian army's assault had already begun!
Three thousand elite Uxian troops, led by Yuwen Kuo, directly charged into Wang Ti's army camp.
On one side was a well-prepared surprise attack, and on the other was an unsuspecting enemy. Under these circumstances, war erupted!
(End of Chapter)
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