After several volleys of arrows, the Fifth Battalion suffered no casualties, and the men gradually became less afraid.
Guan Sheng led the Mount Liang cavalry to look in this direction from a distance, then finally turned their horses around and retreated.
A moment later, all the Mount Liang cavalry retreated, and the battlefield fell silent once more.
On the hillside, Wu Shuangren's gaze swept across the ranks of the Yi Province Militia, a smile spreading across his face.
The Yi Province Militia successfully countered Mount Liang's probing attack!
Both infantry and cavalry underwent a true tempering process.
Note 1: In this book, "one step" is set to one meter for easier calculation. I will also make corresponding modifications to some of the previous data.
164. A heart with deep wells makes the world seem vast.
Guan Sheng led his cavalry back to the Mount Liang army's formation.
He quickly approached Lu Yulin, Wu Yan, and the others:
"Reporting to the Grand Marshal and Military Advisor, the enemy's formation is well-organized, and their morale is high. They have not shown any obvious weaknesses in the face of our cavalry's harassment."
Lu Yulin looked solemn and remained silent.
Just now, he and Wu Yan were standing on a hillside, watching from afar as Guan Sheng led his cavalry to launch a frontal assault on the front lines of the Yi Province Militia.
Yi Province Militia's defensive counter-attacks weren't particularly sharp, but they didn't reveal any weaknesses.
"What was the result of your decision to send your cavalry to harass the enemy's flank and outflank them?"
Wu Yan asked.
Guan Sheng shook his head and said bluntly, "The opposing team has experts in mounted combat; I couldn't gain the slightest advantage."
As he spoke, he recounted his brief mounted combat exchange with Wu Dongrong.
Wu Yan frowned as he listened.
He was finding it increasingly difficult to understand this Yi Province Militia!
He had assumed that the opposing side, composed of various factions with their own agendas, would not be very united, but to his surprise, powerful figures from other regions would actually lead their troops back to support Wu Shuangren.
I thought this militia had only been established for less than half a month, so their morale wouldn't be very high. But just now, Guan Sheng led his cavalry in a raid, and the enemy didn't show any weaknesses.
Now, the opposing team actually has a master of mounted combat?
From top to bottom, this Yi Province Militia repeatedly exceeded Wu Yan's expectations. It was not the rabble he had anticipated at all, but a formidable enemy that he had to treat with utmost care!
"Since the cavalry can't find anything out, I'll lead my men and charge straight in."
Lu Yulin said.
He had already been defeated once at Tiger Soul Pass, and now he couldn't accept being blocked by a local militia again!
"Grand Marshal, please calm down."
Wu Yan tried to dissuade us, saying, "We have repeatedly underestimated this Yi Province Militia. They are revealing one trump card after another, and no one can guarantee that they don't have any other trump cards. If we attack rashly and lose this battle, we may have little chance of taking Yi Prefecture City."
Lu Yulin shook his head, a ruthless aura of a general appearing on his face:
"We can't wait any longer. The enemy finally managed to escape from Yi Prefecture City on their own initiative. If we don't seize this opportunity to severely damage them, are we going to wait for them to return to the city and rely on the city walls to fight against our army? Now is the best opportunity!"
Wu Yan waved his goose feather fan and laughed, "Grand Marshal, now may not be the best time to fight. In fact, we can wait for a better opportunity!"
After the Mount Liang cavalry retreated, they waited for more than half an hour, but the Mount Liang army on the other side did not make any move.
Wu Shuangren stood on the hillside, looking across at the other side. "Do you think they will continue to attack?"
Xu Jing spoke first, saying, "One should strike while the iron is hot, for the second wave will weaken, and the third wave will exhaust them. The enemy's vanguard suffered a defeat first, and now their cavalry harassment hasn't gained them any advantage. If we're going to fight, we should decisively order a full-scale attack. Since we've waited so long without any action, I think we probably won't fight."
Wu Shuangren nodded. "But dragging this out is not good for us. We need to prepare to retreat further."
There are still seven or eight thousand soldiers from Mount Liang on their way, so we can continue to stall for time, but the Yi Province Militia cannot wait.
Wu Dongrong speculated, "The enemy is probably waiting for us to retreat so they can launch a surprise attack."
The Yi Province Militia can hold their ground and remain undetected; however, if they were to move, they might not be able to remain undetected during their retreat, and the Yi Province Militia cannot simply hold their ground forever.
As for leading the Yi Province Militia to attack, Wu Shuangren had considered it, but ultimately felt the risk was too great.
He heeded the advice that Guo Jiwang sent him.
"I'll make the arrangements. Have everyone change their formation. Even if the retreat is slower, maintain a stable formation so the enemy won't have any opportunity to take advantage."
Xu Jing said.
Wu Shuangren nodded. "Okay."
He went with him to learn how Xu Jing commanded and how he changed formations.
A moment later, the rear guard of the Yi Province Militia moved to the front and, under Xu Jing's command, began an orderly withdrawal.
Contrary to Wu Shuangren's plan for everyone to maintain their formation and retreat together, Xu Jing ordered the Yi Province Militia to retreat in batches in an orderly manner.
The vanguard retreated first, while the troops behind them turned their backs to them, maintaining their defensive formation against the Mount Liang army behind them.
After the vanguard has withdrawn a certain distance, they need to stop, rearrange their defensive formation, and then the troops remaining in the rear will withdraw one by one. This time, they need to bypass the vanguard's defensive formation and withdraw to a more distant location to set up a new defensive formation, and then the vanguard will withdraw again, and so on.
After Wu Shuangren understood the logic behind this retreat tactic, the first thought that came to his mind was to retreat in an alternating manner.
However, in this era, there was no concept of alternating retreats. Xu Jing told Wu Shuangren that such a retreat tactic was called "alternating retreats" in military books.
Although this retreat is slower than a normal march, it ensures safety and leaves no openings when pursued.
As the Yi Province Militia began their retreat, the Mount Liang army slowly followed, repeatedly sending out cavalry to harass them, making it appear as if they were about to attack.
Xu Jing countered each move with a counter-strategy, and Wu Dongrong, leading a cavalry brigade, coordinated with him, making their defense impenetrable.
"The other side definitely has a master strategist who knows how to lead troops in battle!"
After several attempts to probe, Wu Yan became increasingly certain.
Instead of ordering Lu Yulin to lead the entire army forward, he maintained the current posture, keeping his main force close behind the Yi Province Militia.
The two sides began fighting at dawn, and then each continued on their way until it was almost dark. The Yi Province Militia was less than three miles away from Yi Prefecture City, and the outline of the city could be seen in the distance.
Wu Shuangren led the Yi Province Militia forward, eventually stopping about a mile outside the north gate.
Inside the city, Guo Jiwang did not order the city gates to be opened, and Wu Shuangren showed no intention of continuing to lead the militia into the city.
"The Mount Liang people might seize the opportunity when we enter the city, launch a full-scale attack, and take advantage of the chaos to enter the city!"
Xu Jing had warned Wu Shuangren from the beginning.
Once the city gates open, who should enter first? Who should enter last? If those left behind encounter an attack from the Mount Liang army, can they hold out?
These are all issues that need to be considered.
When everyone is in the wild, they may be able to unite and fight the enemy. But once they have a way out, some people's mentality may change.
This is only human nature.
The Mount Liang army followed closely all the way, but never took the initiative to attack. They were waiting for the Yi Province Militia to show a bigger weakness so that they could seize the opportunity to take Yi Prefecture City in one fell swoop!
Therefore, Wu Shuangren did not allow Guo Jiwang to open the city gates, nor did he rush to bring the Yi Province Militia into the city.
"The entire army should set up camp, start fires, and cook. We will not enter the city tonight."
Wu Shuangren issued the order.
He then sent several hundred men to the city gate, where people on the city wall used hanging baskets to lower baskets of grain to supply the army outside the city.
Meanwhile, the scouts Wu Yan sent out also brought back the intelligence they had gathered.
"Set up camp outside the city? Hmph, I'd like to see how long you can maintain your army's morale!"
Wu Yan snorted coldly.
He turned to Lu Yulin: "The city is right behind us. Instead of returning, we risk setting up camp outside the city. This will inevitably cause resentment among the enemy troops. There is a strategy in military tactics called 'surrounding three sides and leaving one open.' Our current strategy of pursuing without attacking is also in line with this strategy."
Lu Yulin nodded in admiration, saying, "The strategist's wisdom and strategy are truly admirable."
Wu Yan finally smiled and waved his goose feather fan:
"Although the opposing side has a master of military strategy, their leader is too soft-hearted! His first mistake was to take the initiative to lead troops out of the city to cover the evacuation of the people of Linwen County; his second mistake was to refuse to leave anyone behind to cover the retreat and to be unwilling to abandon his subordinates."
We've chased them all the way to the outskirts of the city. Once our reinforcements arrive tomorrow, our advantage will be even greater, and the enemy's morale will inevitably be further affected.
The advantage lies with us in this battle!
Hearing Wu Yan's analysis, Lin Qian glanced at him silently before turning his head away.
Guo Jiwang led Zhou Zhengqing into the temporary military camp of the Yi Province Militia.
Several days later, he finally saw Wu Shuangren again.
"Gentlemen."
Wu Shuangren came forward to meet him.
Guo Jiwang, without exchanging pleasantries, and went straight to the point. "I've arranged for Bai Jinhuan to guard the city's defenses, and Luo Heng to lead the Flying Feather Hall's spies to keep watch everywhere. We've already discovered five spies from Mount Liang, and they're all under control. So far, we haven't found any other suspicious individuals."
Bai Jinhuan had been seriously injured by Ciwen and his injuries had not yet healed, so he did not go to Linwen County with Wu Shuangren this time.
Wu Shuangren nodded upon hearing this. "I'm at ease with your arrangements, sir."
Guo Jiwang intently at him. "Are you planning to lead everyone in an offensive next?"
Wu Shuangren did not deny it. "Sir, you guessed it?"
Guo Jiwang said, "You didn't choose to leave someone behind to cover your retreat, but instead led everyone back. Xu Jing couldn't possibly have been unaware of the risks involved; he would have certainly warned you beforehand. But you still did it. Given your character, there's only one possibility—you intend to launch a counterattack!"
Wu Shuangren nodded. "The Mount Liang people have been relentlessly pursuing us, but they haven't launched an attack. They're waiting for their reinforcements, and I'm waiting for mine. They think they've seized the best opportunity once they reach the outskirts of the city, which is exactly the opportunity I'm looking for!"
There are still two Rong Province Battalion and one Yi Province Militia battalion in Yi Prefecture City, totaling more than 3,000 soldiers.
Previously, it was seven thousand against six thousand, and Wu Shuangren wasn't very confident.
But if it were 10,000 against 6,000, he felt he could take a gamble!
Guo Jiwang sighed, "I've already spoken with the two commanders of the Rong Province Battalion, and they should agree."
This time it was Wu Shuangren's turn to be surprised. "Sir, you don't object to this?"
Guo Jiwang sneered, "I object, but does that mean you won't do it?"
"..."
"If this had happened before, I would have told you that your chances of winning were less than 30%. It's too reckless; it's not advisable."
Guo Jiwang said, "But things are different now. The morale of the army is high, and you have at least a 50% chance of winning. If you want to take a gamble, then do as you wish."
The fact that the other battalions of the Yi Province Militia volunteered to go back and help Wu Shuangren was truly unexpected and deeply shocked him!
Wu Shuangren had previously said that he had chosen the worst option this time, but the benefits that this worst option ultimately brought far outweighed the best option planned by Guo Jiwang!
While defending a city has its advantages, Mount Liang has many skilled fighters. If they attack in a dispersed manner, allowing First Rate- tier fighters to seize the opportunity and scale the city walls, Yi Prefecture City will not be so easy to defend.
The reason why Rong Province City and Ya Province City were captured by Mount Liang in just a few days was that Mount Liang sent First Rate top-notch fighters to successfully scale the walls first and break into the cities.
Guo Jiwang now believes that Wu Shuangren has at least a 50% chance of winning by taking the initiative this time, so there's no question of whether it's a good or bad strategy.
So he stopped objecting and let Wu Shuangren do it.
Upon hearing this, Wu Shuangren smiled and bowed respectfully to Guo Jiwang, saying, "I still need your advice, sir."
Guo Jiwang pursed his lips, a smile appearing on his face.
A moment later, the two Rong Province Battalion, along with their personal guards, quietly left the city through a hanging basket and entered the military camp of the Yi Province Militia.
Inside the main tent, all six battalion commanders of the seven battalions of the Yi Province Militia were present, except for Bai Jinhuan. In addition, there were also fourteen deputy battalion commanders.
Wu Shuangren, Wu Dongrong, Liao Yu, Xu Jing, Guo Jiwang were also present.
After the two men from Rong Province Battalion arrived, Wu Shuangren got straight to the point:
"I've called everyone here to discuss tomorrow's battle. The Mount Liang forces have been relentlessly pursuing us all the way to the Yi Prefecture City. They assume we'll retreat into the city, leaving an opening for them to exploit. But I've decided to do the opposite and take the initiative! Who says defending a city means passively waiting inside and taking a beating? I've always believed that offense is the best defense!"
Inside the tent, many people showed surprise upon hearing this, while others looked enlightened, having already been prepared beforehand.
The last few Rong Province Battalion to arrive exchanged glances, recalling the conversation Guo Jiwang had had with them earlier that day: