Section 2
Lan Kingdom's commander-in-chief, Wu Wei, has also been very busy these past few days. Spies from Wuyin City have been reporting one after another that messengers from the Golden Order are constantly urging Lu Xiang to send troops, and Lu Xiang's army is indeed making preparations for a major battle.
Although Wu Wei's reputation couldn't compare to that of Wu Zhi, the pillar of Lan Kingdom, he was far more composed than his careless and greedy cousin. Therefore, he did everything he could without any negligence.
"Can we really defeat Lu Wudi?"
His confidants asked him privately, but he just smiled and refused to answer. He naturally wouldn't tell anyone that Lu Xiang's expedition was actually for a swift victory, and that he himself hoped for a quick resolution with Lu Xiang.
In the Battle of Wuyin, Lu Xiang captured a key town that 150,000 men couldn't breach with just three men, which demoralized the Lan Kingdom army and reignited resistance from the Su Kingdom in the occupied territories. Therefore, a major victory was necessary to reverse the situation. The nearly one million Lan Kingdom troops had rapidly assembled after the fall of Wuyin. Although prepared, prolonged resupply would severely deplete the national treasury; food and supplies alone would cost twice as much as usual. In comparison, Wu Wei somewhat envied Lu Xiang, who only needed to worry about feeding 300,000 men. This forced Wu Wei to choose a swift victory. Moreover, secret messages from the Su Kingdom capital indicated that this battle was the best opportunity to completely defeat Lu Xiang, and a decisive battle had to be lured out. All of this compelled Wu Wei to take a risk as well.
The best bait, of course, was himself, the commander-in-chief of the Lan Kingdom. It should be said that Wu Wei's courage was also first-rate. While other generals would rather stay as far away from Lu Xiang as possible, he not only took the initiative to lure Lu Xiang into battle, but also exposed his soft belly to Lu Xiang.
Therefore, Lu Xiang's spies learned with little effort that Wu Wei had stationed 100,000 troops in Huanglian City, and that the surrounding troops had split up to surround Wu Yin.
After listening calmly to the spy's report, Lu Xiang glanced at the generals in the tent after the spy left and asked, "What do you all think Wu Wei's intentions are?" When he asked this question, his eyes were actually only on Li Jun.
"A ploy to lure the enemy." Li Jun expressed his opinion in four words. Lu Xiang saw through his thoughts from the glint in his eyes, but deliberately asked, "How do you know?"
“Even the most foolish general wouldn’t attack Wuyin so casually.” Unless he was a military genius like Lu Xiang, Li Jun had something on his mind that he didn’t say aloud. His eyes flashed a few times, and then he continued, “Besides, Lan Kingdom’s morale is low after its recent defeat. As the commander-in-chief, I will definitely choose an easier battle to boost morale. That alone is enough.”
Lu Xiang nodded approvingly, then turned his gaze and asked, "So how should our army deal with this?"
"Since this is a ploy to lure the enemy, then we should remain still," someone suggested.
"Why not use a feint to deal with Wu Wei, while our main force attacks the Lan Kingdom's homeland, forcing them to save themselves?" someone else suggested.
"What do you think?" Although he had already made up his mind, Lu Xiang still gestured for Li Jun to answer.
“Since Wu Wei has set a trap for us, wouldn’t it be a waste not to use it?” Li Jun stared at Lu Xiang expressionlessly. He knew that what he said was exactly what Lu Xiang was thinking, but he would rather Lu Xiang reject his opinion. “The commander-in-chief will feign an attack on Wu Wei, and the army will be completely defeated halfway through the battle. Wu Wei will definitely pursue him in order to achieve a complete victory, and will inevitably be led into our ambush.”
"Good. The spoils that Wu Wei is unwilling to give up are naturally my head, Lu Xiang's head." Lu Xiang said with great pride, "Li Jun's words are exactly what I want. Without further ado, our 20,000 troops will storm Huanglian and capture Wu Wei alive."
After completing the detailed plan, Lu Xiang's expression turned cold, and he asked, "Where is Wang Xian?"
Everyone had already noticed that Wang Xian, who was ordered to oversee the supply of provisions, was absent; only his deputy had taken his place. Such a thing was rare in the strictly disciplined Invincible Army. The deputy, somewhat frightened, whispered, "General Wang, he's been summoned by Commander Fu."
Just then, Wang Xian hurriedly walked in, first bowing to Lu Xiang and saying, "I was summoned by Commander Fu and arrived late. I hope the Vice Commander will forgive me."
Lu Xiang shook his head and said, "Military law is as firm as a mountain; how can we forgive you? Considering you had no choice, you can be spared the death penalty. Take you out and give you twenty strokes of the cane!"
Wang Xian suddenly looked up at Lu Xiang and said, "This humble official and Commander Fu are related by marriage. Please, Vice Commander, show Commander Fu some consideration."
Lu Xiang's expression grew even colder as he said, "So, General Fu summoned you for some trivial personal matters? For neglecting official duties for personal reasons, the punishment will be doubled: forty strokes of the cane!"
The warriors ignored Wang Xian's pleas and dragged him out. Lu Xiang looked up at the top of the tent and said after a long while, "Li Jun, the matter of provisions is of utmost importance. Wang Xian is no longer suitable to oversee this matter. You shall take charge."
Li Jun readily agreed, though he was slightly dissatisfied. Although provisions were important, he preferred to follow Lu Xiang. However, he knew that military orders were absolute, and Wang Xian was a prime example of this.
After the military meeting adjourned, Lu Xiang went to see Fu Lian alone. Firstly, he wanted to report the battle plan to him, since Fu Lian was still nominally the commander-in-chief. Secondly, he wanted to coordinate with Fu Lian so that Fu Lian would lead troops to meet Wu Wei's forces when they were lured out. Thirdly, he also needed to inform Fu Lian about the matter of Wang Xian being flogged.
After listening to him finish speaking, Fu Lian smiled and said, "Commander Lu, my position as commander is merely nominal. In terms of strategic planning and commanding troops, I am no match for you. I will do as you say. As for punishing Wang Xian, that is a matter of military law and requires no further explanation. I wish Commander Lu a resounding victory on this journey."
Unexpectedly, this cunning old fox was so agreeable, and Lu Xiang finally felt a little relieved.
Before dawn the next day, the 20,000-strong Invincible Army quietly left Wuyin City. Although the snow had not yet melted, the Invincible Army, encouraged by Lu Xiang, broke through the four defenses of the Lan Army with astonishing speed, killing dozens of officers and heading straight for Huanglian.
While marveling at Lu Xiang's swift advance, Wu Wei ordered all troops to immediately return and complete the encirclement of the 20,000 isolated and deeply entrenched enemy forces. However, the battle situation took an unexpected turn. After attacking Huanglian for five days, Lu Xiang suddenly withdrew just before the Lan Kingdom army could complete the encirclement, leaving the Lan Kingdom army's efforts fruitless.
Unwilling to let Lu Xiang escape, the Lan Kingdom army pursued closely, with hundreds of thousands of troops chasing the now less than 20,000 Invincible Army. Wu Wei still strictly ordered that they not to pursue too closely, as he always suspected that Lu Xiang must have devised some kind of ingenious plan.
As expected, when they reached Baopingkou, a key passage leading to Wuyin, the Invincible Army stopped retreating and instead took up a defensive position. After observing the terrain, Wu Wei gasped and ordered his generals to also take up a defensive position and not to attack. He also ordered his generals to lead their troops to outflank and surround the Invincible Army from the rear, cutting off Lu Xiang's retreat.
One of the lieutenants asked in bewilderment, “Baopingkou is a strategically important location. Our army should take advantage of Lu Xiang’s unstable foothold and launch a swift attack. Why are we confronting the enemy here? The commander-in-chief once said that our army is not suited for prolonged warfare. Lu Xiang’s retreat at this moment is a good opportunity to eliminate him.”
Wu Wei shook his head and said, "Lu Xiang's military tactics are always unpredictable. I suspect that his sudden occupation of this place must be due to a clever plan. Moreover, Baopingkou is a strategically important and easily defensible location, making it a place for military operations. This is also the reason why Lu Xiang lured us here. We should not pursue him now. When Lu Xiang learns that our army has outflanked and surrounded us, he will surely abandon Baopingkou. Then it will not be too late for our army to pursue him."
As expected, after two days of stalemate, Lu Xiang saw that Wu Wei was not in a hurry to attack and had even sent men to cut off their retreat, so he actually withdrew his troops from Baopingkou. Upon receiving this news, the morale of the Lan Kingdom soldiers soared, and they all demanded to pursue immediately. Although Wu Wei repeatedly objected, he finally had no choice but to send a general to lead troops in pursuit.
Although the general of Lan Kingdom had sworn a military oath, he still harbored some reservations about Lu Xiang. Therefore, after catching up, he did not launch a hasty attack. The Invincible Army's rearguard was also on high alert, and the two sides engaged in a direct battle. As soon as the two sides clashed, the war drums thundered like lightning. Normally, beating drums to advance and sounding gongs to retreat is the standard procedure for maintaining command in the chaos of battle, but the more urgently the Invincible Army's drums urged them on, the faster they collapsed. The Lan Kingdom army, which had been prepared for a fierce battle, was initially taken aback, then overjoyed, thinking that the Invincible Army had broken free of command, and thus charged forward with all its might.
Perhaps realizing defeat was inevitable, and that beating the drums was pointless, the Invincible Army's central command sounded the gong as the Lan Kingdom army broke formation and charged. With the gong's sound, the Lan Kingdom pursuers' nightmare began. The previously chaotic and routed Invincible Army suddenly turned and launched a counterattack. Caught off guard, the Lan Kingdom army couldn't withstand the sudden surge of ferocity. Whoever pursued the fastest was the fastest to be killed. The Invincible Army's valiant general, Meng Yuan, killed the enemy general leading the pursuers in a single exchange, his chilling killing intent throwing the Lan army into chaos. Their morale severely damaged, the Lan Kingdom army began to flee. Although they still outnumbered the Invincible Army, they were being relentlessly pursued by a smaller force. If Wu Wei hadn't been prepared, the entire main force of the Lan Kingdom army would have been routed by this less than ten thousand-strong Invincible Army rearguard.
The victorious Invincible Army seemed dissatisfied, laughing loudly as they retreated, asking, "Who told you that beating the drums means attacking and sounding the retreat means retreating?" Upon hearing this news, Wu Wei shook his head with a wry smile, saying, "Lu Xiang's military tactics have broken all military traditions; he doesn't follow the rules at all. How can ordinary people be a match for him?"
The generals in the camp all paled in shock, but Wu Wei suddenly rallied and said, "Now we can pursue Lu Xiang with all our might. He knows that our army has just suffered a defeat and dares not pursue us. This time, I will also launch an attack that is contrary to military strategy!"
Although he said that, he knew the real reason: Lu Xiang still had an ambush, because the person who laid the ambush had already told him Lu Xiang's plan.
On November 9th of the fourteenth year of the Zhongxing reign of the Su Kingdom, the weather remained dry and cold; breath turned to ice almost instantly and fell. The folk saying, "Snowfall isn't cold, but melting snow is," proved true. Instead of snowing, the sky cleared, and the bright red sunset, instead of bringing any warmth to the earth, made it shimmer silver, dazzlingly cold.
The cold north wind whipped the general's banners fiercely. Li Junxing led the column, his bright red helmet standing out starkly against the snow-covered landscape. Although the snow on the road had been cleared, the freezing weather made it difficult for his less than a thousand-strong supply convoy to move forward. He frowned and stared ahead, but could see nothing.
Two days ago, Li Jun learned that Lu Xiang had withdrawn his troops from Baopingkou, which was part of Lu Xiang's plan, but Li Jun still had a strong sense of foreboding. Logically, Fu Lian should have quickly dispatched troops to ambush and crush Wu Wei's pursuing army in the Langshan area. Judging from the tracks on the road, a large force had indeed passed through, but Fu Lian seemed to have advanced too hastily, not at the originally planned time, and the number was far less than 300,000.
Moreover, and more importantly, why are there signs of such a large force retreating? Although the retreat was very orderly, not like that of a defeated army, if they had won, the entire army should have advanced straight for Huanglian...
A dangerous scent wafted in the cold wind. Almost instinctively, Li Jun made a decision: "Spy, proceed quickly for ten miles and check if the route is safe. Guide, is there anywhere nearby to camp?"
The spy accepted the order and left, but the guide was somewhat puzzled: "General, if you hurry, you can set up camp in the town fifteen miles ahead by nightfall."
"No, is there anywhere nearby where we can set up camp?"
"Not far from the road, there is an abandoned earthen city. This was originally where our Great Su garrison was located. It has been abandoned ever since it was occupied by the Lan Kingdom. I'm afraid it's not as convenient to set up a camp as the town ahead."
After inquiring about the situation in Tucheng in detail, Li Jun learned that Tucheng was built against the mountain and surrounded by a large forest. Although there were no longer any troops stationed in the city, the wells that had been dug back then still had water. Li Jun felt a little more at ease. He left two riders to wait for the spies and then ordered the entire army to enter Tucheng.