Transmigration begins with archery training

Emperor Li Gong of Tang stood in front of the gate of the mansion that served as the central command post, stretched out his arm and let the black eagle land, then took down the intelligence on it, and his face immediately showed joy.

"Your Majesty."

The lieutenant, knowing there was good news, said, "Tell us quickly, let the brothers be happy."

"Your Majesty is here!"

Li Gong handed the paper to them to read themselves: "His Majesty is leading an army of 70,000 men on a personal expedition. In about 50 days, they will reach Green Ridge Mountain. In about 80 days, the army of 100,000 men from the Southern Xu Kingdom will also reach Hulao Pass!"

"Great!"

The deputy general and the other generals were invigorated: "With the arrival of 70,000 troops, the Sheng people's forces will be forced to abandon their strategy of gradually encroaching on various places and gather all their troops together. The siege of Yongle will be lifted!"

"There's one more crucial point!"

Li Gong solemnly said, "Inform Deng Feng to make sure he holds Zhaotong Prefecture firmly and sets a good example for the other cities. As long as we have enough troops left after His Majesty arrives, we can deal with the Sheng people on our own and will not need to let Nanxu enter the country again!"

The Southern Xu Kingdom agreed to send troops to help.

On the one hand, it's a matter of mutual dependence; on the other hand, it's also about taking advantage of the situation to gain benefits.

"Your Highness, please rest assured!"

"Deng Feng is incredibly loyal and brave; he'll definitely be fine!"

"..."

"correct."

Li Gong changed the subject, asking, "Have you thoroughly investigated Chen Sanshi's case file?"

"It's been investigated. This humble general is here to deliver the case files."

The lieutenant handed over a piece of paper: "His reputation has soared in the last two years that his background is very easy to investigate, but there's nothing special about him. He's just a poor genius who came from a poor place."

Li Gong looked at the handwriting: "Gu Xinlan, is this his wife?"

"Does Your Highness want to investigate his family background?"

"It's not that I want to investigate, it's that His Majesty wants to investigate. I don't have the time for that."

Li Gongnian said, "Gu Xinlan was born into a lowly family. She was a child bride bought by Chen Sanshi's father. That's it? That's it? When, where, and why was she born into a lowly family? There's no information at all."

"Gone."

The lieutenant said awkwardly, "Your Highness, with the enemy at the gates, it's impossible to handle every detail. These things were only collected when news of the Fourth Crossing of the Hongze River arrived."

"I see."

Li Gong remained silent, pondering why His Majesty the Emperor would be interested in other people's family members.

……

"So, sir, what exactly is the third step?"

Xia Cong struggled to catch up.

"third step."

Chen Sanshi said, enunciating each word clearly: "Conquering cities and seizing territories, we are poised to strike!"

"Attack the city? My lord, didn't you say we'd focus on persuasion and not attack? Fine..."

Xia Cong dared not question it and took out a map: "We have traveled for half a month and are now in the most barren northeastern region of Laizhou. Last year, this place suffered a severe drought and had no harvest. After the fighting started this year, even Xinghua Prefecture, the largest city in this area, had enough food and supplies. We need to rely on other prefectures to transfer supplies. Even so, food and supplies are still very tight and can only last for about another month at most."

"I see!

"My lord intends to take advantage of the shortage of supplies to attack Xinghua Prefecture. As far as I know, the garrison commander in Xinghua Prefecture is Ma Hu, who is only at the minor stage of the Qi Refining Realm. There are 4,000 garrison troops in the city, while our army outside the city has 8,000 men, plus a Qi Refining Assistant General. Xinghua Prefecture's geographical location is not very good, so taking it will not be of much significance. But it is still a prefecture city. My lord mainly wants to create momentum, so it is quite appropriate."

"We will not attack Xinghua Prefecture."

Chen Sanshi sat on his horse, pointing his spear at a city that looked tiny on the map: "Let's attack Meizi County first."

"Meizi County?"

Xia Cong was even more confused: "Sir, Meizi County is a small county in the heart of Laizhou. It has no grain and no manpower. The garrison there is only about a hundred men, mainly used to maintain order. Their combat effectiveness is very low."

Chen Sanshi added, "So it's easy to fight, isn't it?"

“It’s easy to take, and there will be virtually no casualties…” Xia Cong asked, “But what’s the point of taking it? The location of this county town is practically useless.”

Chen Sanshi didn't continue explaining endlessly, but simply said, "Let's set off. I want to take Meizi County before nightfall."

……

Meizi County.

On the thin city wall, seven or eight emaciated soldiers, holding rusty spears, gazed into the distance. A gust of cold wind blew by, tearing apart the sand and stones on the battlements and creating a gap. The soldiers' worn-out armor also made a crackling sound.

"Da da da--"

The sound of hooves approached, and as they drew nearer, it became clear that there were about a dozen cavalrymen and twenty infantrymen. They were carrying the banner of the Daqing Red Armor Army, wearing exquisite armor, and each of them was tall and strong.

The lead rider spurred his horse forward and shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Open the city gates at once!"

"Why are they from Xinghua Prefecture again?"

The soldier on lookout frowned, and while ordering his men to open the city gate, he said, "Quickly go and summon Inspector Wang!"

"Squeak-"

The city gate opens.

The Red Army poured into the city.

Wang Feng, the inspector of Meizi County, rushed over to greet him: "General Du, what brings you here again?"

"forage!"

Du Baizong did not dismount: "Xinghua Prefecture urgently needs grain and fodder, so we will levy it from your county."

"They're here to procure supplies again?"

Wang Feng said with a bitter face, "General Du, several months ago, Xinghua Prefecture emptied our Meizi County granary of grain. Where is there any grain left now?"

"Cut the nonsense!"

Du Baizong said impatiently, "Inspector Wang! The Sheng army is at the city gates. Without food and supplies, how can we defend the city! If Xinghua Prefecture falls, do you think your surrounding counties can hold out? The Sheng people are brutal! They will flood into the city and massacre everyone, leaving no one alive, men, women, or children. Compared to that, what is this little bit of food?!"

"Ah~"

Wang Feng sighed, unable to find a reason to refute: "Not long ago, we forcibly requisitioned several hundred bushels of grain from the people. They're in the county government's granary. Go and get them."

Du Baizong questioned, "Only a few hundred shi?"

"This is already the people's staple food!"

Inspector Wang said helplessly, "People are starving to death in the city every day. The martial arts school and the local gentry refuse to donate any more. Four hundred shi is already more than enough. There's really no more!"

"Ok."

Du Baizong did not press the matter any further. He led his men to load four hundred shi of grain onto carts and then hurriedly left the city.

"General Du, could you send some men to Meizi County?"

Wang Feng chased after them and asked, "We have far too few people. If the Sheng people come to attack, we won't be able to hold them off at all. There are at least ten thousand people in the city!"

"Don't worry, the Sheng people are all outside Xinghua Prefecture. Besides, your Meizi County is such a godforsaken place, why would the Sheng people bother to come and fight you?"