Chapter 37: Seizing the Realm or Contending for Supremacy

After more than a month, Chen Cong finally sat once again in the primary seat of the State Inspector’s Office. The last time he sat upright here was on the very day he entered the city to assume office.

On the right side, ranked in order, were Chen Qun, Cheng Yu, Jia Xu, Wang Ling, Su Shuang, and Zhang Shiping.

On the left side, ranked in order, were Shi A, Cao Chun, Hua Xiong, Cheng Zhuo, Chu Qing, Xu Huang, and Li Su.

"Ziling, tell us, what instructions does my father-in-law have?"

Chen Cong had already asked once beforehand. Repeating the question now was for the sake of the civil and military officials present below the hall.

Shi A stepped out of the ranks, cupped his fists, and said, "Fourteen days ago, the General Defeating the West dispatched an official edict to Zhang Yang, the Administrator of Shangdang, reassigning him as the Administrator of Henei. Zhang refused to comply, detained the messenger, and requested reinforcements from Yuan Shao, the Administrator of Bohai.

"Ten days ago, scouts ascertained that Yuan Shao had already ordered his major general, Yan Liang, to lead ten thousand troops out of Yecheng, heading down along the river, passing Wushi and Maocheng. Five days ago, Yuan Shao’s main army crossed Luxian, and by now they have probably reinforced Changzi County.

"The General Defeating the West has ordered eldest brother to raise troops and march south to garrison Qicheng, bringing the counties north of Huguan in Shangdang—such as Niexian, Guyuan, Tongdi, and Xiangyuan—under the iron hooves of Jinyang. Five days ago, the General Defeating the West dispatched fifteen thousand troops, passing Zhixian and bypassing the Taihang Mountains, which should have brought them to Yang'a by now. Once this city is breached, he can gradually nibble away at the various counties of Shangdang from north to south.

"With these two major armies advancing from the north and south simultaneously—the southern route serving as the main force and the northern route as the auxiliary—they are steadily plotting the conquest of the entire Shangdang territory."

Chen Cong nodded to signal him to return to his place, and then turned his gaze to Cheng Zhuo: "Azhuo, how is the integration of the Tiger and Leopard Battalion progressing?"

Cheng Zhuo stepped out: "The two thousand men of the vanguard camp have been fully integrated. However, the newly recruited cavalry have undergone training for too short a time. If we were to go to battle, they would still essentially be the fifteen hundred fierce cavalry of the original Flying Bear Battalion, along with three hundred elite riders selected from the cavalry camp, making a total of eighteen hundred. The rear camp is in the same situation; because the time has been short and the soldiers' horsemanship is not yet proficient, rushing blindly into battle would only needlessly increase casualties."

Chen Cong waved Cheng Zhuo back and turned to ask Cao Chun: "Can the eight thousand slave soldiers fight?"

Cao Chun cupped his fists: "Their morale is soaring, their military edge is sharp, and they are fully capable of fighting."

Chen Cong did not bother asking about the Defeating Barbarians Battalion at all.

Morale was one thing, and combat effectiveness was another. The vanguard camp of the Defeating Barbarians Battalion had not even been fully equipped with armor and weapons; throwing them onto the battlefield would be pure suicide.

Furthermore, an internal conflict within Bingzhou inherently failed to stir up any deep-seated hatred among the soldiers of the Defeating Barbarians Battalion.

Once the military affairs were roughly accounted for, the next topic was provisions.

"Changwen."

Chen Qun stepped out, bowed, and said, "First, we have the fifty thousand bushels of grain brought by our own army, twenty thousand bushels obtained from Meiji, seven thousand bushels presented by the Wang clan of Qixian, and eleven thousand bushels obtained by liquidating the ancestral estates of the Wang clan. Deducting our daily consumption, we currently still have over four hundred and twenty thousand bushels of grain remaining. Our provisions are quite abundant."

Chen Cong unfolded a map and examined it closely.

Although Qicheng was small, it was the foremost frontier connecting Taiyang to Shangdang, and with the large county of Yangyi at its back, the supply transit was extremely short. Charging south from there would lead entirely into vast, open plains.

This was a naturally perfect terrain for cavalry to gallop across.

Cao Cao was unaware that Jinyang had gathered eight thousand slave soldiers, so when he had him station troops here, he must have only counted on the flying cavalry.

The initial intention was good, but stationing cavalry here destined the Bingzhou army to be reduced to a supporting role.

Because a direct charge on horseback was obstructed by Huguan, isolating the Bingzhou army to the north of Tunliu and Changzi.

Unless...

"Orders!"

All the military officers stepped out uniformly, cupping their fists in waiting.

"The eight thousand slave soldiers shall be divided into front and rear camps. The rear camp will detach six thousand men, along with three hundred Tiger and Leopard Cavalry..." Chen Cong surveyed the room: "Chu Qing is ordered to take command, with Xu Huang as his deputy, to escort three hundred thousand bushels of grain, two thousand oxen, and thirty thousand sheep to garrison Yangyi. Using Qicheng as a transit point, you are to gradually nibble away at the counties north of Huguan from north to south. Above all, do not be greedy for rapid military success."

The two generals stepped forward simultaneously: "Understood!"

Chen Qun hesitated and said, "Uncle, three hundred thousand bushels of grain could sustain the wartime consumption of ten thousand troops for well over a decade. To mobilize this much grain merely for capturing Shangdang—is that not overly burdensome?"

Chen Cong shook his head and said, "Presently, Bingzhou lacks people, and Sili lacks grain. If we secure these three hundred thousand bushels of grain, father-in-law will naturally be able to raise another army of well over thirty thousand men. Such a quantity is not for my immediate use, but will be transported to Luoyang all at once after the war, which also saves us the trouble of transporting it back and forth."

Chen Qun bowed and retreated: "Your wisdom is profound, Uncle."

"The vanguard camp will detach two thousand men, combined with five hundred Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to form a unit. Hua Xiong is ordered to take command, with Cheng Zhuo as his deputy, to march east and capture Zhaxian, head upstream along the Qing Zhang River all the way south to sweep away the remnants in the counties east of Xiangyuan, and then station themselves in the middle reaches of the Zhang River, cutting off Yan Liang's retreat route."

The two generals stepped forward together, cupping their fists: "As ordered!"

"For all matters within the city, I must trouble Zhongde to put his heart into them."

Cheng Yu stepped out and bowed: "Your Excellency the State Inspector may rest assured."

Cao Chun’s eyes lit up, flashing with brilliance.

He had thought that, as the Military Cao Official, he would be left behind by Chen Cong to garrison Jinyang.

In fact, when neither his name nor the vanguard and rear camps appeared in the initial orders, he had already prepared himself to guard the home front.

Never had he expected!

Chen Cong smiled and called his name: "Cao Chun."

"Your subordinate is here!" Cao Chun cupped his fists heavily.

"Gather the remaining thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, take seven days' worth of rations, prepare your meals immediately, and leave the city before sunset. Follow this general southwest to garrison Jiexian, and break through from Guyuan directly into the depths of Shangdang."

"Understood!!" Cao Chun was so excited he nearly jumped.

A thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry!

Such a purely ferocious and elite cavalry force, plunging deep behind enemy lines into the heart of Shangdang, would undoubtedly become Zhang Yang's worst nightmare!

Aside from protracted city-sieges, whenever it came to intercepting enemy marches, cutting off supply lines, splitting and transferring enemy forces, or pursuing routed troops, they could arrive almost in the blink of an eye!

After such a devastating rampage, with supply lines cut off in all directions, Zhang Yang would have no choice but to slowly contract his defense lines, until ultimately retreating entirely back into Changzi County.

As for the seven-day rations? Chen Cong had already proven with practical actions that provisions belonging to others simply tasted better than one's own, and carrying too much would only hinder the cavalry's mobility.

Chen Cong put away the map and stood up: "For all matters in Jinyang, I must trouble Changwen to continue managing them. Furthermore, I must trouble Changwen to assist Ziling in supervising the construction of Heroes' Towers throughout Taiyang."

"Uncle may rest assured."

"Old Poison."

Before Chen Cong could finish explaining, Jia Xu immediately cupped his fists: "This old fellow understands."

......

......

Meanwhile, the southern route of Cao's army had already entered Shangdang.

The vanguard general Cao Ren, accompanied by his deputy Yue Jin, led three thousand armored soldiers to clear paths and build bridges all the way north, and by now they had reached the walls of Yang'a City.

The main army was then divided into two routes.

The left route, led by General Xiahou Dun, led three thousand armored soldiers up along the Qin River to seize Yishi directly.

The right route, led by General Huang Zhong and his deputy Cao Hong, led three thousand armored soldiers across the Qin River to strike Gaodu directly.

Cao Cao, flanked by Xu Chu on his left and Dian Wei on his right, along with Xun You accompanying the army, commanded six thousand armored soldiers to sit in the center and oversee the battle below the walls of Yang'a City.

The battle ahead was raging like a raging fire, with war drums shaking the heavens and brave soldiers fighting for their lives. Yue Jin even managed to be the first to scale the city walls, brandishing his saber and cutting down enemies in all directions.

Feeling extremely proud and satisfied, Cao Cao set up a chessboard on his war chariot and invited Xun You to a game of Go.

"People say that Zining broke Meiji with a hundred horsemen without losing a single man, unmatched in cavalry combat like a reincarnation of Marquis Huo. Today, let us also let this young general of ours see for himself that his father-in-law employs divine strategies in warfare, even surpassing a reborn Marquis of Huaiyin!"

Xun You silently placed a Go stone.

He calmly said, "My lord should not be careless. The Marquis of Xanshui Pavilion is accustomed to waging war without following conventional rules."

"Gongda, speak with caution. If that brat were to overhear you, his tail would probably curl up to the heavens."

Xun You raised a piece once again, neatly capturing three of Cao Cao's stones: "When one is intoxicated by success, does it matter whether one is young or old? My lord is clinging to superficial appearances."

"Oh?" The white pieces suddenly showed a trend of overwhelming decline. Cao Cao hesitated with his piece and asked, "Could Gongda possibly think that Zining’s fifteen hundred flying cavalry could actually fly into Changzi?"

"If calculated by the goal of seizing territory, my lord dividing the forces and advancing slowly is the supreme strategy. If calculated by the goal of securing victory, at this very moment we should unite our forces and head straight for Changping Pavilion, diverting the waters of the Zhang River to swiftly take Changzi."

Having said this, Xun You tossed away his stone in surrender despite holding a vastly superior position.

He continued, "After all, when the Marquis of Xanshui Pavilion launched his distant raid on Meiji, he was likewise unburdened by grain supplies and baggage trains."