Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 405: Deliberately setting up a confusing formation! To weaken morale!
The biting cold wind howled across the Ziwu Mountains. Li Changzuo wrapped his cloak tightly around himself, stood on a hill, and stared in the direction of Yan'an Prefecture with sharp eyes.

Half a month ago, upon hearing about the troop mobilization in Yan'an Prefecture, he acted decisively and personally led his elite troops to set up an ambush here, fully expecting Su Yun's army to fall into the trap.

However, as the days passed, there was no sign of the enemy except for the whistling wind.

The troop movements in Yan'an Prefecture were extremely frequent. Sometimes they were heading towards Huanqing Road, and sometimes they were moving towards Chang'an. Every unusual movement made Li Changzuo's army feel like they were facing a great enemy and they were on high alert.

But every time, it was just a false alarm.

"Report..." A scout came running over breathlessly, "Manager Li, there is another troop movement in Yan'an Prefecture, and it seems they are heading towards Ziwuling!"

Li Changzuo's pupils shrank instantly, and he ordered loudly: "All troops, be on alert, do not slack off in the slightest!"

The soldiers quickly took up their combat positions, bows were strung, swords were drawn, and the atmosphere was so tense that it could ignite the air.

However, several hours passed and the expected enemy did not appear.

Li Changzuo was so angry that he kicked over the stone beside him and cursed: "What the hell is Su Ni doing!"

The deputy general at the side said cautiously: "General, we have been guarding here for half a month, and the soldiers are exhausted both physically and mentally. Otherwise..."

"No!" Li Changzuo interrupted the deputy general, "Su Ni is cunning and scheming. Maybe this is his conspiracy to make us let down our guard. Continue to hold on!"

In this way, hope turned into disappointment again and again, and the soldiers' morale gradually declined.

At night, the wind was biting cold. Li Changzuo looked at the flickering lights in the direction of Yan'an Prefecture, his heart filled with confusion and anxiety.

He knew that this was not a solution, but he did not dare to withdraw easily for fear of missing the opportunity.

Hezhong Mansion.

Wen Yanbo sat at his desk, with the brush in his hand suspended in the air for a long time.

Over the past half month, the situation in Yan'an Prefecture has exhausted him physically and mentally. His once energetic face is now filled with fatigue and vicissitudes, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

Liu Zhi came to pay a visit to Wen Yanbo. The moment he saw Wen Yanbo, he couldn't help but gasp.

Wen Yanbo had disheveled hair, a pale face, and a look of deep worry in his eyes.

"Duke Lu, what are you doing..." Liu Zhi asked with concern.

Wen Yanbo smiled bitterly and waved his hand: "In the past half month, the troop movements in Yan'an Prefecture have been irregular, and I really can't figure out Su Ni's intentions.

If we fail to respond in time, Guanzhong will be in danger!"

Liu Zhi frowned, thought for a moment and then said, "Lord Lu, perhaps Su Ni is trying to confuse us.

He frequently moved his troops around, making it difficult for us to determine the direction of his main attack, thereby dispersing our forces."

Wen Yanbo nodded slightly after hearing this: "I have thought of this, but even so, we cannot let our guard down.

If we make a mistake in judgment and let Su Ni break through the defense, the consequences will be disastrous."

As the two were talking, a soldier hurried in and handed over a secret letter.

Wen Yanbo opened the letter and his face instantly became solemn: "Li Changzuo has been guarding Ziwuling for half a month, but has not found any trace of the main force of the Su rebels.

It seems that Su Ni’s target may not be in Ziwuling.”

Liu Zhi's heart tightened: "What exactly does Su Ni want to do? Is his target Huanqing Road, or Chang'an?"

Wen Yanbo sighed and said, "I'm not sure either.

The only thing we can do now is to continue strengthening our defenses, keep a close eye on the movements of Yan'an Prefecture, and send out more scouts to find out Su Ni's true intentions."

As the night deepened, the lights in the governor's mansion were still bright.

Wen Yanbo and Liu Zhi looked at the dark night sky outside the window, their hearts filled with worry. A bigger crisis seemed to be approaching quietly.

……

Yan'an Prefecture.

Inside the general's tent, the tallow lamp emitted a warm yellow light, casting the figures of Su Yun and Zheng Chaozong on the tent wall.

Su Yun leaned back in his chair with a leisurely smile on his face. He picked up the teacup and took a sip: "In the past half month, our military mobilization has caused a lot of trouble for Wen Yanbo, Li Changzuo and his gang."

Zheng Chaozong smiled and said, "Sir, this is a really brilliant move!
On the surface, we pretended to be attacking, making the Song army feel like they were facing a formidable enemy.

In fact, he was training the army and integrating the 30,000 surrendered troops who had rebelled in Huanqing Road.

Now, these 30,000 troops have gradually been integrated into our Jingsai Army, and their strength has been further improved."

Su Yun smiled and said, "Can you see anything else?"

Zheng Chaozong smiled and said, "Teacher, you are testing me. Your wisdom is as deep as the ocean, and I cannot fathom it. But since you are testing me, I will dare to guess.

Students believe that integrating the army through mobilizing troops is only one of the ways, and the following points are more critical.

First of all, our Yan'an Prefecture has a weak foundation, and now is the golden opportunity for development.

The more time we buy, the more solid our foundation will be, and the greater our chances of winning when we clash with the Song army in the future.

Furthermore, Wen Yanbo's attempt to boost the morale of the Western Army was a castle in the air and could not stand the test of time.

We frequently mobilize the army, making them tired of dealing with things, and over time, their morale will naturally dissipate."

Zheng Chaozong smiled and continued, "I heard that the rumor that Wen Yanbo was afraid of fighting spread by our spies in Yan'an in Bianjing has caused a stir in the court.

The Emperor's party seized this opportunity to fiercely attack the Empress's party, and the court was in chaos. "

Su Yun nodded and said, "That's right. The Song Dynasty court is full of internal conflicts. What we need to do is to add fuel to the fire and make them more chaotic.

It would be best if we could allow the conflict between the Emperor and the Empress to escalate to the point of being irreconcilable. That would be our real chance!
What we have to do now is to bring down Wen Yanbo.

Wen Yanbo is the backbone of the Western Army. If he fails, the Western Army will be demoralized and become like loose sand. "

Su Yun stood up and walked to the military map hanging on the wall of the tent, moving his finger slowly on the map: "In the past half month, Wen Yanbo must have been working day and night, exhausted from mobilizing troops.

At his age, his health and energy are not as good as before. If he continues like this, he will be dragged down sooner or later."

Zheng Chaozong echoed, "Sir, you have great foresight! We just need to keep our troops in place and continue to consume Wen Yanbo in this way, while keeping an eye on the situation at court and waiting for the best opportunity."

Su Yun turned around, his eyes firm: "That's right. Tell the soldiers not to slack off in training and to stay highly vigilant.

Once the time is right, we will march south and capture Guanzhong in one fell swoop!"

Zheng Chaozong quickly bowed in response.

In the next half month, we will raise our view to an altitude of 10,000 meters and look down to the northwest.

All that could be heard was the sound of war drums and trumpets. Under the command of Zheng Chaozong, the 100,000-strong army was like countless chess pieces being continuously placed, and the Song army had to respond frequently.

The view dived towards Yan'an Prefecture, and saw a large military camp a dozen miles away from Ziwuling. Zheng Chaozong rode a tall horse, shuttled between the military camps, and examined every detail with sharp eyes. In the high-intensity training and frequent transfers, the soldiers' cooperation became more and more tacit, and the tactics were executed flawlessly.

The 30,000 newly surrendered troops were completely integrated into the Jingsai Army under Su Yun’s original new training method.

Today's Jingsai Army has high morale and neat military appearance, just like a sharp sword, ready to be unsheathed at any time.

But at the front line of Ziwuling Mountains, Li Changzuo was like a frightened bird.

On that windy night, he had just fallen into a light sleep when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps. He jumped up from the bed in an instant and hurriedly grabbed his sword.

"Report! There is movement in the direction of Yan'an Prefecture!"

The sentry's voice was tense.

Li Changzuo's heart suddenly tightened, and he rushed out even fastening his armor.

With each false alarm, his eyes became more and more empty, his body became as thin as a dead tree, and his former bravery was gone.

Once, a night owl flapped its wings and flew by. The sentry mistook it for an enemy signal and sounded the alarm.

Li Changzuo was awakened from his sleep, and in his panic he even put on his armor backwards. After confirming that it was a misunderstanding, his legs went limp and he sat down on the cold ground, unable to recover for a long time.

In the rear, in Hezhong Prefecture, inside Wen Yanbo's residence, the atmosphere was depressing and suffocating.

Every military report from the front line was like a heavy stone weighing on Wen Yanbo's heart.

He forced himself to support his old body and called together his generals to discuss countermeasures.

Long-term hard work caused his old illness to relapse and his coughing became more frequent.

On this day, Wen Yanbo was discussing military affairs with Liu Zhi when he suddenly suffered a violent coughing fit. His face turned red and he quickly covered his mouth with a handkerchief.

When the coughing subsided, the handkerchief was already stained with a large, shocking stain of blood.

Seeing this, Liu Zhi's eyes were red, and he advised worriedly: "Lord Lu, you are so weak, you must rest for a while, I will watch over you here, don't worry."

Wen Yanbo waved his hands, his eyes as firm as a rock: "The safety of Guanzhong depends entirely on me, how can I retreat at this moment?

Su Ni has many tricks. If we are careless, we will be doomed and all lives will be destroyed!"

At the same time, in the commander's tent of Yan'an Prefecture, Su Yun and Zheng Chaozong were planning their next move.

Su Yun slowly unfolded the military map. Under the candlelight, the Song army's defense line marked on the map was clearly visible.

"Now, Wen Yanbo and Li Changzuo have been exhausted by us. The Song army's defense line seems to be impregnable, but in fact it is full of loopholes.

We must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launch a surprise attack and break the stalemate."

Su Yun's voice was low and powerful.

Zheng Chaozong nodded with a gleam of excitement in his eyes, "Sir, you are absolutely right!

In my opinion, we can feint an attack on Huanqing Road to attract Li Changzuo's main force to come to the rescue, and then take the opportunity to raid the Ziwuling defense line and open up a passage to the south."

Su Yun pondered for a moment, ran his finger lightly across the map, and shook his head slightly: "Although this plan is brilliant, Wen Yanbo is a shrewd man and may not be fooled.

We might as well do the opposite and make a big show of attacking Ziwuling with all our might so that Li Changzuo can concentrate all his forces there.

At the same time, an elite force was sent to bypass the west bank of the Yellow River and attack Tongzhou from the flank.

Tongzhou is an important barrier in the northern part of Guanzhong. Once it is taken, Chang'an will be as easy as taking something out of a bag."

Zheng Chaozong's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands excitedly, "Sir, this is a great idea! This way, we will definitely catch the Song army off guard and make it difficult for them to defend both ends!"

Soon, Yan'an Prefecture took action according to Su Yun's plan.

The army moved towards Ziwuling in a mighty manner, with military flags fluttering and the sound of horses' hooves thundering like thunder.

When Li Changzuo heard the news, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly deployed all his troops along the Ziwuling Mountains, dug deep trenches, strengthened fortresses, and was ready for battle.

Just as Li Changzuo was tense and waiting for the Jingsai Army to attack, 20,000 elite troops, like a giant python hidden in the darkness, quietly bypassed the west bank of the Yellow River and rushed towards Tongzhou.

There are continuous military camps several miles away from Ziwuling Mountain.

Inside the tent, the candlelight flickered. Zheng Chaozong threw his helmet aside and sat down on a stool, looking unhappy.

As soon as Ping Zicheng lifted the curtain and walked in, he was frightened by Zheng Chaozong's appearance.

"Qinglan, you've come just in time!" Zheng Chaozong slammed the table, "I've just got a lot of grievances to vent.

As the head of Yan'an Prefecture, you should be at the center, making plans and controlling the overall situation.

But every time I encounter a big battle like this, I have to personally lead the elite troops to raid deep into the country. This time, I took over my job and personally led 20,000 elite troops to raid Tongzhou. Don’t you think this is nonsense? "

Ping Zicheng was slightly stunned and then laughed, saying: "Haifu, you have always been cautious in your actions, so this time there must be another hidden meaning.

Tongzhou is an important barrier in the northern part of Guanzhong, and its strategic position is extremely important. You may think that this matter concerns the overall situation and must be commanded personally."

Zheng Chaozong snorted coldly and crossed his arms, "Even so, you shouldn't put yourself in danger!
He is the backbone of our Yan'an Prefecture. If anything happens to him on the battlefield, what should we do?
Besides, if he leaves, who will be in charge of the situation in Yan'an Prefecture?

There are so many military and political affairs piling up, are they all going to fall on you and me?"

Zheng Chaozong stood up and paced back and forth in the tent: "We follow you, sir, to accomplish great things.

But if he doesn't even care about his own safety, how can he lead us to victory?
A true ruler should sit firmly in the central military camp and deploy troops, rather than charging into battle like a fool! "

Ping Zicheng frowned, thought for a moment and then said: "Hai Fu, please be careful with your words. Mr. has been very kind to us and has devoted all his energy to the development of Yan'an Prefecture.

The reason for this expedition is that the surprise attack on Tongzhou is extremely critical and related to the success or failure of the entire battle, so the gentleman will take action personally.

As for government affairs, Brother Shouzhen and Brother Jingning will naturally coordinate them, so there is no need to worry."

"Extremely important? Can it be more important than Mr.'s life?"

Zheng Chaozong stopped and put his hands on his hips, "If I lose my life because of this, what's the point!

I think you are too impatient, sir. You want to win a quick victory and capture Tongzhou, and then seize Chang'an.

But has he ever thought that if something happens to him, all our previous efforts will be wasted! "

Ping Zicheng shook his head helplessly: "Are you angry because you can't raid Tongzhou?"

Zheng Chaozong was furious when he heard this and said, "You know me well. How could I be such a person?"

Ping Zicheng nodded and said, "Of course I know you, that's why I know you are this kind of person."

Zheng Chaozong: “…”

(End of this chapter)