The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 123 Tangcang Shu Army sets out!
Inside the Chinese army's tent.

The generals arrived one after another. When everyone was present, Li Yi didn't waste any time and started making arrangements directly.

"According to reports from our scouts, the Shu army in Weiwu City has strengthened its defenses. The Shu army in Tangcang Town has been frequently moving supplies, but there are no signs of them moving out."

"This general speculates that the Shu army in Tangcang Town may be planning to cut off our retreat. However, our army cannot remain stagnant here. We must take the initiative to attack and draw out the Shu army in Tangcang Town."

After Li Yi finished speaking, seeing that none of the generals objected, he continued, "Therefore, I plan to leave some troops to ambush in Huanghua Valley to prevent the Shu army from Tangcang Town from attacking our supply routes. The rest of the troops will follow me tomorrow morning and march straight to Weiwu City!"

After the voice fell, Wang Changgong spoke first: "I am willing to stay in Huanghua Valley to block the Shu army coming from Tangcang Town."

Although this guy was greedy for merit and reckless in fighting, he had a flexible mind. When he heard Li Yi's arrangement, he immediately realized that the advance on Weiwu City was just a feint, and the main purpose was to take the opportunity to defeat the Shu army in Tangcang Town.

The other generals were naturally not stupid either, and they all followed suit and asked to stay behind.

Li Yi had already made arrangements for this, and in a tone that brooked no negotiation, he ordered, "The First Army's First Commander is Wang Changgong, the Second Commander is Luo Xiang, the Third Commander is Shi Maozhen, and the Fourth Commander is Ji Qian. The four of you will lead your troops to garrison Huanghua Valley."

He then looked at Li Hanchao and said, "Commander Li is in charge of arranging the battle formations for the remaining troops."

The formation commander is a temporary position. The Central Plains Imperial Army is powerful in field combat and often defeats the enemy with the偃月阵 and归山阵. However, the formation needs someone to coordinate, and the person in charge of this is the formation commander.

This position is temporary, and the commander can make the appointment on the spur of the moment decisions. Although it has no real power, winning the battle can earn you military merits.

As a brother of his righteous society, Li Hanchao joined him in the Western Expedition this time. Li Yi wanted him to gain some military merits as qualifications for promotion, so he certainly could not let him always have his personal soldiers by his side.

After all, if good things don’t come to our brothers first, will they let outsiders take advantage of them?

Of course, there are pros and cons. If you win, everything will be fine. If you lose, the formation commander will definitely have to take the blame.

However, there is no business that is guaranteed to make a profit these days... Li Yi felt that his arrangement was fair. His confidants and subordinates could all share the credit, and they would also be punished together when they were held responsible. No one could find fault with them.

Li Yi said in a deep voice, "It's true that dividing our forces this time is risky, but if we hesitate, we'll suffer the consequences. I'm personally leading the army to attack Weiwu City. Although it's a feint, if the defenders of the city come out to fight, we'll still have to fight."

"However, if the Shu army in Tangcang did not go to Huanghua Valley, but instead surrounded Weiwu City from the rear, this also needs to be taken into consideration."

"So, when the time comes, all the scouts will be dispatched. If the situation changes, the troops remaining in Huanghua Valley will rush directly to Weiwu City for support."

Having said this, Li Yi looked around at the generals and said in a more serious tone, "Do you all understand?"

"I understand!" Everyone agreed immediately.

After watching the generals leave, Li Yi turned around and walked to the map, frowning and thinking carefully again.

There are only two forks in the Chencang Road leading to Tangcang Town, and no matter which road you take, you must pass through Huanghua Valley, because the intersection of the forks is right near Huanghua Valley.

In other words, if the Shu army from Tangcang directly entered the Huanghua Valley, they would definitely be ambushed.

If the enemy turned around and headed towards Weiwu City, they would be pursued by the Zhou army ambushed in Huanghua Valley.

Therefore, the Shu army in Tangcang should either not come, or if they come, they can't expect to escape unscathed.

It will then depend on how the Tangcang Shu army's commander chooses to die...

That night.

Li Yi lay on a makeshift bed made of wooden planks, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He kept wondering if there were any omissions in his arrangements.

Even if you have considered all possible situations, war is often a matter of luck. Who knows what will happen if a real fight breaks out.

It was normal for Li Yi to feel anxious. Being in a turbulent mood, he couldn't help but think of his family far away in Tokyo.

But he soon strengthened his confidence... This battle must be won, not only for his own lofty ambitions, but also to provide security for his family in the future.

Everything in this world is empty. Only power...or more precisely, military power, can make people feel at ease.

If you want to gain the respect and support of the warriors, you must be able to lead them to victory.

As the saying goes, fight violence with violence. As long as you can become the best fighter, who would dare to disrespect you?
Li Yi finally managed to fall asleep after a daze until the middle of the night. ...

The next morning.

Li Yi led more than 2,000 soldiers and thousands of civilian laborers who were transporting food and fodder, and marched towards Weiwu City with great fanfare.

He personally led his army in a feint attack, aiming to lure out the Shu army from Tangcang Town, so he did not plan to march quietly.

Instead, they made a huge fuss, with the vanguard carrying a conspicuous "Li" battle flag, fearing that the Shu army would not know that the Zhou army was approaching Weiwu City.

Huanghua Valley is only a dozen miles away from Weiwu City. In the afternoon, the army finally arrived at the north of Weiwu City.

The defenders of Weiwu City had received the news long ago, and set up wooden fences, trenches and traps outside the city gate. They also cut down a lot of thorny bushes locally and covered the area within dozens of steps of the city wall.

Judging from the situation, the Shu army was prepared to hold its ground and wait for reinforcements, and did not want to leave the city to fight a field battle with the Later Zhou army.

Li Yi first ordered the army to set up camp in an open area several miles north of Weiwu City.

Then he took Zhang Jianxiong and several other officers on horseback to a high slope and watched the movements of the Shu army in Weiwu City from afar.

Weiwu City is located in an open valley and is not very large. Compared with the fortified cities in the Central Plains that are often dozens of miles in circumference, it is like a miniature fortress.

Originally, this was just a post station at the intersection of the ancient Shu plank roads.

At the beginning of Zhenming period of Later Liang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties, the King of Former Shu built a city here, named Weiwu City, as a garrison.

This city is a must-pass place on the old road of Chencang. If you want to march straight down to attack Fengzhou, you must first take Weiwu City. The King Jian of Former Shu built a city here, which really showed his vision and the location was very well chosen.

However, Li Yi's current target is the Shu army in Tangcang Town. It is exactly what he wants if the defenders of Weiwu City stay in the city honestly and do not come out.

After watching for a while, he led his men back to the camp.

The sun slowly sets among the towering mountains, and the afterglow casts a shadow on the earth, outlining mottled light and color. The wind blowing from the mountains and forests still brings a bit of coolness in the evening.

In the camp of the Later Zhou army, dots of fire were connected together, contrasting with the stars in the sky.

The gradually dimming light did not bring peace to the camp. The coming and going of groups of soldiers and galloping horses filled the mountains with noise.

Li Yi was practicing for battle outside the big tent. He rode his horse past a target, turned around and quickly drew his bow and shot an arrow. With a "snap", the arrow flew from the galloping horse and hit the center of the bull's eye.

Zhang Jianxiong, standing aside, was holding a long-handled machete, his eyes wide open as he swung it with a whistling sound. Although he was only a military student in a vassal state, his martial arts skills were indeed impressive.

Until evening.

Li Yi wrote a letter of persuasion for surrender and sent Shu army prisoners to deliver the letter in a hanging basket. As the saying goes, you have to do the whole show. Since they were pretending to attack the city, they had to take all the necessary steps.

But unexpectedly, after a while, several heads were thrown down from the city, which were the heads of the surrendered Shu soldiers who were sent up.

Li Yi sent someone to take out a blood-stained piece of paper from the head's mouth, which was the letter of surrender written by him.

Li Yi had nothing to say about this. It was understandable that the Shu army in Weiwu City wanted to defend to the death. After all, the Shu army had only lost a few military camps and was not seriously injured.

How could they surrender so easily?
However, when Li Yi saw the heads of the Shu army prisoners, it was impossible for him not to be angry.

until late at night.

The scouts suddenly sent back an urgent report: The Shu army in Tangcang Town has finally moved!
Only then did Li Yi get rid of his previous unhappiness.

Although he appeared relatively calm, he felt a certain unease within him. It was like having only a couple of hundred yuan left with only two weeks' payday. The intangible anxiety was indescribable.

Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about it for now.

(End of this chapter)