mtl008 Chapter 424 Zhang Liao cannot be allowed to bring memorials to the emperor.
Chapter 424 Zhang Liao cannot be allowed to bring memorials to the emperor.
In martial arts, speed is the ultimate weapon. If you are much faster than your enemy, all of their offensive tactics will become ineffective. Before you can even finish the prelude to your ultimate move, your enemy will have already escaped its range. What are you even doing then?
Moreover, Guan Xing had a very useful skill from his previous life as a criminal police officer: he could determine the murderer's activity range by observing their mode of transportation.
If the murderer travels on foot, his activity range is within a five-kilometer radius of his residence. He would not be able to walk any further, and there would not be enough time. How far do you plan to walk in one night?
Bicycles can be extended to a radius of 10 kilometers, electric bikes and motorcycles to a radius of 20 kilometers, and cars to a radius of 50 kilometers or more.
The same applies now. The Han infantry's range of activity is at most ten kilometers per night, while Zhang Liao's cavalry can reach twenty kilometers. Zhang Liao can station himself at the very edge of the maximum range of activity. By the time the Han scouts sneak over, it will be dawn. How can the Han army possibly fight then?
In other words, their tactics against the Wu army failed against Zhang Liao's cavalry.
Zhang Liao, however, could use the mobility of his cavalry to quickly appear in front of the Han army and launch a surprise attack at any time. He could fight if he could win, and retreat if he couldn't. You simply couldn't do anything about it.
Guan Xing said with a headache, "It seems that we can only defend passively this time. Order the steel mill to immediately manufacture a batch of iron caltrops and send them over. They are the kind with three nails welded together, so no matter how you throw them, one nail will always be facing up. Throw them out whenever you see Wei cavalry to disable their horseshoes."
"Shen Yi, you will lead the army to travel at night and camp during the day. Bring tents, deer antlers, three bows, and crossbows. Advance slowly at a pace of twenty or thirty li per day. When you see the Wei army coming, immediately deploy your troops to launch long-range attacks on the Wei cavalry. After a few more attacks, the Wei army will have to retreat."
The greatest advantage of cavalry is their mobility and impact. When they encounter infantry, they can rush in and slaughter them before the infantry can react. Once the infantry has recovered and stabilized their formation, they can quickly retreat. Once the infantry has broken formation and continues to advance, they can attack again. By repeating this process, they can outmaneuver and destroy you.
However, if the infantry remain stationary and form a battle formation, the cavalry will be helpless.
Therefore, Guan Xing's method was to use caltrops and barbed wire laid flat on the ground to trip up the cavalry, thereby slowing down their charge. Then, he would use bows and crossbows to launch long-range attacks, inflicting casualties on the cavalry. Once there were casualties, the Wei cavalry would have to think twice about launching a surprise attack.
However, he couldn't make barbed wire, so he could only use bamboo poles instead. He first shaped the bamboo poles into parts that could form a frame, and then inserted a sharpened bamboo pole with its spike pointing upwards into the joint of the bamboo poles. When the Wei cavalry charged over, the sharpened bamboo pole would pierce the horseshoes, just like the principle of caltrops.
This method might slow down the cavalry, but it involves too much and too cumbersome equipment. With so much stuff dragging along, the army would be lucky to cover thirty miles a day. But there's nothing they can do, since they don't have any cavalry.
Shen Yi smiled wryly and said, "It seems that's the only way for now."
They can't stay in Yuhan forever; otherwise, wouldn't that be tantamount to handing over the Poyang Lake Plain to Zhang Liao?
Don't forget that the rice paddies on the plains will be ready for harvest in a little over a month, and besides, there's not enough room for such a large army in Yu Khan.
Guan Xing continued, “We can’t do anything about cavalry on the plains, but the Huangwu Mountains are our territory. Moreover, cavalrymen consume a lot of food and supplies every day. Zhang Liao has no supply sources on the plains and can only transport supplies from Cao Ren, or he has to return to the main camp to collect supplies after a few days of wandering around Yu Han. This is our opportunity.”
"Zhou Shan, you lead your men into the mountains to harass and attack the Wei army's supply lines at the junction of Huangshan, Jiuhuashan, and the plains. When Zhang Liao leaves, you come out to operate; when Zhang Liao attacks, you go into the mountains to hide. Let's see if Zhang Liao dares to abandon his rear supply lines."
Zhou Shan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Yes..."
Guan Xing continued, "Ning Huan, you must guard Yu Han well. Yu Han must not be taken by the Wei army, otherwise our main force of the Han army attacking Nanchang will be in danger."
Ning Huan nodded and said, "Understood."
Guan Xing continued, "Geng Shang, get ready. We'll leave tonight. We can't let Zhang Liao's presence disrupt our plans. The surprise attack on Jiangling must proceed."
At present, Guan Xing has no good way to deal with Zhang Liao, but Zhang Liao also lacks the strength to defeat him. The two sides are just wasting time on the Poyang Lake Plain.
Zhang Liao wanted to use this opportunity to delay the Han army and buy time for Jia Kui, but Guan Xing could not let Zhang Liao have his way. He did not want to receive news that Sun Quan had surrendered Jiangling to Cao Wei before he had even captured Nanchang. Therefore, the plan to launch a surprise attack on Jiangling had to be carried out, and he could not let Zhang Liao lead the way.
"Yes..." The generals bowed and took their leave to prepare.
Guan Xing then picked up a brush and began to draw on the paper. What he drew was naturally a tool similar to barbed wire used to deal with cavalry. After finishing the drawing, he handed it over to the craftsmen to make and then went to sleep.
After dinner, Guan Xing led Geng Shang, Deng Hong, Zhu Chao, and three thousand carefully selected soldiers into the mountains to head towards Linru.
They could have taken the official road, but because of Zhang Liao, they had to trek through the mountains; otherwise, it would have been troublesome if Zhang Liao had discovered their whereabouts.
Although Guan Xing had left, Shen Yi's main force did not rest. Tonight, Yuhan City was brightly lit, and the Han army was busy building wagons to transport grain and equipment to block cavalry.
Zhang Liao's cavalry posed a deadly threat to the Han army. To prevent Zhang Liao from attacking the Han army's supply lines, Shen Yi planned to bring enough supplies at once and have them travel with the main army. This would require a lot of vehicles.
Around midnight, Zhang Liao led over a hundred cavalrymen to the city of Yuhan. Standing at a distance, he frowned as he looked at the city lights. After pondering for a long time, he muttered to himself, "It seems the Han army is about to make a move. They can no longer hold back and are preparing to leave the city to attack Nanchang. Our chance has come."
After retreating to Lingyang, he and Cao Ren split their forces. Cao Ren led the infantry to establish a position in the corridor to block Guan Yu, while he personally led nearly 10,000 cavalry to Yu Han to block Guan Xing.
Zhang Liao really wanted to capture Yuhan City. Once he captured Yuhan, he could hold the city and block the Han army from entering. Unlike now, when he was riding his warhorse around everywhere and didn't even know where he would sleep at night.
However, Yuhan City now has Ning Huan's garrison and Guan Xing's main force, totaling nearly 100,000 men, which is clearly beyond Zhang Liao's ability to handle. Therefore, he temporarily abandoned this idea and prepared to attack Yuhan when Guan Xing led his army out of the city to attack Nanchang. If he could successfully capture Yuhan, he could not only cut off the Han army's rear supply lines but also cut off Guan Xing's main force's return route. It was even possible that he could join forces with Yu Fan to annihilate Guan Xing's tens of thousands of main forces.
If Guan Xing's main force were truly annihilated as a result, he could continue Lu Xun's unfinished work, lead his army into the corridor to attack Da Mo and seize Kuaiji, and take the opportunity to cut off Guan Yu's rear. Just thinking about it is wonderful.
Zhang Liao mentally reviewed Guan Xing's battle plan for leaving Yu Han, then turned his horse around and set off.
At the same time, Guan Xing also arrived in Linru and met up with Yu Yang. After taking stock of the carts, horses, farm tools, and provisions needed for the journey, he led his team straight to Nanchang and launched a surprise attack on Jiangling under the guise of a merchant caravan.