Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 896 – Battle at Jingzhou
Fei River west shore, Qin Army Camp.
Di Chen and the rest gathered together. Looking at the panicky camp, they felt a huge headache.
Sha Pojun grumbled, “I just do not get it. How could Gaia allow such a bug weapon to exist?” Although he said that, there was unconcealable envy in his tone.
“That guy has the ability.” Xiong Ba could not stand Sha Pojun the most.
Wuqi and Di Chen stood together, “This air siege is not a bad thing. At least, it reminded us to split the Qin Army Camp apart and mix it in with players.”
“General is right, we must do that.” Di Chen nodded.
A sudden air assault ended the second day of the Battle Map.
…
Night, Qin Army Camp.
Fu Jian gathered the various generals for a meeting. Di Chen was also in attendance.
Looking out, half of the generals came from the Yanhuang Alliance. Since Wuqi was the chief commander, he sat at the first seat of the generals; it was a really eye-catching sight.
Although Murong Chui and Yao Chang sat in the front row, their expressions were really despondent. They did not understand how they suddenly lost power overnight.
After taking charge for a day, Wuqi had a basic understanding of the situation of the million Qin troops. As for how they should fight this war, as the chief commander, Wuqi needed to take out a feasible plan.
The huge problem in front of them was how to solve the grain issue.
Although the Yanhuang Alliance brought a large quantity of military grain pills, it could not sustain such astonishing usage. Based on such a speed, they would run out in five days.
No matter how much Fu Jian rushed the grain transport troops, they could not provide for 550 thousand troops.
Wuqi said, “It’s actually really simple.”
“General, what plan do you have?” Fu Jian’s eyes lit up.
Wuqi said, “Our troops are lined up on the west shore. Facing 50 thousand troops, it is a huge problem to hit Jiankang, but no one is stopping us from attacking Jingzhou.”
“So the general wants to split our troops into two?”
Fu Jian was obviously hesitating. He was planning to directly take down Jiankang and unify China.
Wuqi said, “That’s right. I suggest we leave 300 thousand troops at Fei River to continue the standstill with the enemy. The remaining 250 thousand will turn toward Yuzhou to obtain Jingzhou.”
Seeing Fu Jian hesitating, Wuqi continued, “Splitting into two has two benefits. First, it can solve our grain problem. With our current logistics ability, 300 thousand is our max. The other group can walk through Yuzhou and take down Jingzhou to collect up all the grain and reduce our logistical burden.”
“Secondly, we can suppress East Jin. Although said to be hundred thousand, Jingzhou Governor’s troops are not elites like the north house army. If we crush them, we can go down the Changjiang and take Jiankang.”
When Wuqi talked about the second benefit, Fu Jian was moved, “Okay, let’s follow that plan.”
…
The next morning, 250 thousand Qin troops set off.
Adding in the 30 thousand that Fu Rong had sent before, the former Qin army had 280 thousand troops in the Jingzhou battle. If nothing went wrong, Huan Chong’s forces in Jingzhou would fall.
The Qin army sent this time had 50 thousand Handan army troops as the core, and they were led by General Lianpo. There were also five territory armies following, and the remaining 100 thousand were Qin natives.
Strangely, in the Yanhuang Alliance camp, only Di Chen and Wandering Magic sent a number of forces. Logically speaking, Jingzhou would be a great opportunity to farm merit points.
Chun Shenjun and the others could actually bear not competing with Di Chen for food.
On the Fei River west coast, Fu Jian took charge himself. Fu Rong accompanied Wuqi to Shouyang to accept the remaining Qin troops there and contact the other groups of soldiers that were gathering up.
At the moment, 300 thousand Qin troops had gathered up in Shouyang, and they could help assist the main battlefield at any moment.
Hence, Fu Jian dared to take charge of the Fei River west coast like nothing was happening.
…
The actions of the Qin army were quickly found out by East Jin.
When Xie Shi got the news, he was anxious and immediately held an emergency meeting. Ouyang Shuo brought Huo Qubing and Jia Xu and appeared in the meeting hall.
The atmosphere in the tent was really depressed and hard to breathe.
The 80 thousand Jin army would not be able to save Jingzhou, so the only saving grace was the player forces.
Looking at Xie Shi, who looked over, Ouyang Shuo said, “Commander, the player army can send 100 thousand elite cavalry to help Huan Chong’s forces.”
Moving 100 thousand was already the max that Ouyang Shuo and Jia Xu came up with after their discussion. With that, there would only be 300 thousand player troops and 80 thousand Jin troops.
The opposing former Qin camp had 250 thousand players and 350 thousand Qin troops.
As a God General, Wuqi was skilled in using troops. He arranged for an army to go down south. Apart from attacking Jingzhou, he also probably wanted to draw away some troops.
If the East Jin camp sent too many troops, the main camp would be empty. Ouyang Shuo believed that Wuqi would not let go of such a time, and he would decisively cross the river to have a final battle.
At that time, they would lose everything.
Hence, Ouyang Shuo’s strategy was to drag, drag until the troops that infiltrated the north achieved their magic, drag until Murong Chui and Yao Chang made their decisions.
At that time, it would be their chance to turn the tables.
Before that, the East Jin must be ready to face all the pressure or the battle would turn ugly.
To ensure the strength of the cavalry, Ouyang Shuo decided to let Ma Chao lead the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Tiger Leopard Cavalry Divisions to Jingzhou.
The remaining cavalry would be taken from the other territory armies.
The Lords who joined the Battle Map were not afraid of fighting. In fact, they were afraid that there was no war to fight and no chance to earn battle contribution points. Hence, when they heard that they were going to face off against Lianpo in Jingzhou, they quickly registered.
Upon getting Ouyang Shuo’s reply, Xie Shi let out a sigh of relief and smiled, “That’s great!” In his smile, there was a tinge of bitterness because he realized that the war would not be controlled by him.
The players were the stars of this war.
To lead a strong army with a weak regiment would never work. No matter how low profile Ouyang Shuo was, and no matter how much he respected Xie Shi, in crucial strategies, it would expose their relationship.
Ouyang Shuo was really calm. As the king of a dynasty, his position and power were even higher than East Jin Emperor Sima Yao, much less Xie Shi.
Ouyang Shuo respecting Xie Shi only because he respected the Battle Map rules of Gaia.
To achieve victory in the Battle of Fei River, Ouyang Shuo needed to control the strategies. On this point, Ouyang Shuo would not budge.
At the end of the meeting, Xie Shi kept Ouyang Shuo alone.
Xie Shi said, “I have already sent men to contact Murong Chui and Yao Chang.”
“What are their attitudes?” Ouyang Shuo asked in concern.
Xie Shi shook his head, “Those two old foxes, seeing how strong the Qin army is, even if they are unhappy, they do not dare to make noises.”
Ouyang Shuo understood, “Commander, please tell them that if they want to get out of Fu Jian’s control and go up north, we can help at anytime.”
Murong Chui and Yao Chang were under Fu Jian’s camp and were under his monitoring, so they naturally did not dare to act.
Apart from the Qin army getting the advantage, the hesitation stemmed from how they would also be unable to escape. Ouyang Shuo thought back to the marines he brought. As long as the two wanted to escape, Ouyang Shuo was confident in sending them away through the ocean route.
Xie Shi doubted this and asked, “How confident are you?”
“90%.”
Xie Shi nodded, “Great, I’ll think of a way to get the intel over. With a way out, their attitude will change. Let’s hope the change in the north will come quicker.”
After sending the three cavalry forces away, Ouyang Shuo had reported to Xie Shi.
“It will come soon.”
Ouyang Shuo firmly believed that the million Qin army would fall quickly. Even with Wuqi’s ability, he could not let this army be reborn in such a short time.
No one could do that.
…
In the following few days, the Battle Map seemed really peaceful.
It was like the calm before the storm. Both sides had already played their cards and were waiting to collect the rewards.
Surprisingly, the first to start war was not Cao Chun’s forces but Lianpo’s, who had entered Yuzhou.
Under Jia Xu’s suggestion, Ma Chao led 100 thousand elite cavalry around Lianpo’s forces to gather with Huan Chong’s forces. Hence, when Lianpo’s forces passed Yuzhou, they did not face any resistance.
Jiangnan was a rich place and was the home of fish and rice. Of course, the rich lives corroded away at their killing intent, and the city naturally had few who dared to fight the invaders.
Seeing one city after another easily taken down and the granaries stacked full of grain, Lianpo was tempted. He ordered his troops to slow down and gather up more grain.
Apart from saving some for their own use, the remaining was transported back to the main camp.
In his eyes, crushing Huan Chong’s troops was nothing difficult. Since he could amass more grain, why not?
That was a huge contribution.
Lianpo’s intentions were good, but he thought too highly of their character.
Although Di Chen arranged many communication officers, it only changed their command system but not their behavior and character.
The Qin soldiers were mainly minorities. Naturally, they did not recognize the Han Race in the south. Seeing Jiangshan and its riches, their greed and brutality was revealed.
Along the way, many rape and pillaging incidents happened, and it looked like it was getting more and more common.