Jiang Chengyuan and Fang Heng were both startled at the same time.
"No, you are still too young," Jiang Jizu said in a deep and serious tone. "Think carefully, is the Guyuan Line really the closest?"
The concept of "close" is relative.
If the Tartars were in the east, the Datong Line would be the closest.
If the Tartars were in the west, the Xuanji Line would be the closest.
Think more carefully. For today's Tartars, what place should be the closest to them?
"Father..." Jiang Chengyuan's hands suddenly trembled. "Are you saying they will counterattack the Guanjin Line? They want to completely wipe us out?"
In this most recent battle, both sides suffered losses of over ten thousand men. After taking away the wounded, the remaining combat forces were not much.
The collapsed city gates were like an uninhabited wasteland. Most of the soldiers were in low spirits as they cleaned up the corpses, and could not have expected that the enemy would turn back and attack again.
"But they were also injured, their morale is also low," Fang Heng objected. "The Guanjin Line has suffered personnel losses, but troops will also be transferred from other places.
"Transferring troops also takes time. The current manpower mainly comes from headquarters. If I'm not wrong, headquarters will soon encounter a small batch of raids." Jiang Jizu put his hands behind his back. "Headquarters mistakenly believes that after the enemy raid they will withdraw some of their troops, leaving the remaining disabled to lose the original city defenses, making it difficult to withstand the Tartars."
On the other hand, after the Tartars took the Guanjin Line that the Dayu Dynasty was so proud of, it boosted their own morale while suppressing the morale of Dayu.
At that time, those who lose their lives will no longer only be the Dayu soldiers and generals, but also the innocent civilians protected behind the Guanjin Line.
"Killing two birds with one stone!" Jiang Chengyuan gritted his teeth.
Fang Heng's eyes showed outrage.
"Since it is war, it requires the ingenuity and skills for war. It is a contest of thoroughness and courage. Today these are all my personal guesses. It is also possible that the Tartars went to attack the Guyuan Line, or took advantage of the fact that most of the troops were at the Guanjin Line to try to attack headquarters." Jiang Jizu said slowly. "The title of General is not called out lightly. This requires absolute judgment and absolute responsibility."
If the judgment is wrong, it would cost tens of thousands of lives.
Success crowns you with flowers and brocade, failure burns you in boiling oil.
Failure brings you notorious fame, curses through the ages.
History will not obscure your wrong choices just because you did the right thing.
The annals of history are always merciless, with every stroke utterly cruel.
"Then I will go to the Guanjin Line to prepare, and make sure today's enemies will never return." Jiang Chengyuan saluted with his hands clasped. "At the same time, send people to notify all the defense lines on the border, especially the four that Fang General participated in, and tell them to be sure to change their combat strategies and alter weaknesses in the city defenses."
"General..." Fang Heng hesitated. "I have another idea."
Jiang Chengyuan's pace slowed slightly, looking at him with curiosity.
Jiang Jizu remained calm and smiled to indicate for him to continue.
"Since the Tartars want to raid headquarters and feint east and strike west, can we take advantage of this to capture some of these Tartars and extinguish their arrogance?" The youth enunciated word for word. "Even if we can't capture people, we can still prevent their attack on headquarters."
Jiang Chengyuan's eyes brightened.
This is how strategies work. If you can plot against me, I can also turn around and take advantage of you.
If you can take advantage of me, I can likewise turn around and plot against you.
Coming and going, it is a contest of who has the most ingenious mind and who thinks things through most thoroughly.
"You two..." Jiang Jizu pondered for a moment. "You are very good, this idea is very good, it's just that we're a little short on manpower. Headquarters has at most seventy thousand people."
These seventy thousand people would have difficulty dividing into two groups, one group ambushing at the Guanjin Line and one group ambushing at headquarters.
"You don't need so many people, ambushes can be divided into many different kinds," Fang Heng's eyes shone brightly. "Leave it to me, I will arrange everything."
If the world had more boys like this, how could Dayu not prosper?
Jiang Jizu could no longer restrain his delight, and laughed out loud twice. "Good, good, hurry and make arrangements."
The two young generals saluted and turned to leave.
The burly man was still laughing. As he laughed, he looked back at the graves on the ground, and could not help sighing again, "Old Jin... You won't get to see it, but believe that one day, Dayu will surely prosper, with peaceful seas and rivers."
We will all be able to live a tranquil, war-free, serene and happy life.
It will happen.
Jiang Jizu did not stay long. As night was about to cover the earth, he turned and left with his hands behind his back.
It was just at the moment he turned around that a stray cat that had been wandering hungry for who knows how long eyed the sausage in front of the grave, let out a "meow", rushed over, and shamelessly nibbled, licked, bit and chewed.
Once its starving stomach was appeased, it casually let out a "meow", curled up in front of the grave, and fell soundly asleep.
The night colors gradually sank into the waters.
Silence shrouded the frontier lands, pupils suddenly lost function, leaving only the ears to listen to the wind.
The Guanjin Line transported all the soldiers who were injured and unable to move back to headquarters. Those who could barely ride horses awaited orders, while those with intact limbs combined with the sixty thousand Jiang family troops from headquarters, tossing and turning inside the city defenses, rolling around and crying out in pain.
Ten thousand Jiang family troops hid inside and outside the walls of headquarters, staring at the deep pits dug out in the dark, and the tripping ropes hidden around the pits.
Tree branches were used to build over the pits and covered with disheveled turf. It would definitely look full of holes in broad daylight, but could seem real at night.
Fang Heng listened to the vibrations with his ear on the ground, and soon a look of joy appeared. "They're here."
Based on experience, there should be over ten thousand Tartars.
It made sense, in order to shock the Jiang family army at headquarters, they had to bring a certain number.
A few dozen people coming to make trouble would only get shot to death by stray arrows.
"Jiang Yixun asked, "Does this prove the pressure at the Guanjin Line will be less?"
Fang Heng shook his head. "As long as the Tartars are determined to take the Guanjin Line, they won't lack people. The pressure there will be great."
The ten thousand people at headquarters definitely can't leave again, and support from other lines will still take some time.
The Guanjin Line, which had just experienced a bloody battle, was about to enter into another struggle.
Except during the day they were passively attacked, at night they took the initiative to attack.
"Just wait and see." Fang Heng's face turned cold as he watched the Tartars at the front fall into the pits.
One by one, like dumping dumplings.
The Tartars at the back realized something was wrong, and quickly drew back while shouting. The Dayu soldiers on both sides quickly pulled up the tripping ropes, sending more souls down to the pits.
"There's an ambush," Jiang Yixun said. "They're discussing that there's an ambush."
Ten thousand came to attack headquarters, yet before even nearing the city walls they had lost over a thousand.
The Tartars panicked for a time before calming down and remembering the purpose of this trip. They held up torches and left behind a letter of war, even firing rockets directly at the gates to demonstrate deterrence to the fullest extent.
The soldiers on the city gates were not to be outdone, firing rockets back that landed on the horses' buttocks, startling them into whinnying repeatedly.
"They want to flee, should we pursue?" Jiang Yixun looked to Fang Heng. "I think I heard the Guanjin Line, and also heard the Second Prince and Fang Yuan's names."
Sure enough, the Tartars were determined to seize the Guanjin defense line.
Fang Heng gripped his long sword tightly and leaped onto his horse. "Don't pursue poor thieves, one two five six seven eight, come with me, let's go meet these two fellow countrymen!"
