Chapter 320: Speed is of the essence
Now that the general direction of attacking Youzhou has been decided, the generals of the Black Mountain Army are excited and ready to go, ready to crush Youzhou into pieces as soon as the army is fully deployed.
Zhang Yan said, "The ferocious tiger of the Yuan family likes to launch surprise attacks. Now I want to ask you, should we advance steadily to Zhuo County, or do you have any other good ideas?"
All the generals began to think about it and involuntarily turned their eyes to the general below them named Guo Daxian.
Most of the Montenegrin generals came from poor backgrounds. When they started their rebellion, many of them did not even have a name, so they often gave themselves a name.
This man is called Guo Daxian. His name is the same as that of the Great Sage and Good Teacher, which shows that he is proud of his wisdom and is recognized by everyone.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Guo Daxian said calmly, "Right now, we have a few choices."
"First, as the General Zhonglang said, we should advance step by step and enter Youzhou."
At that time, the title of "Adult" was used exclusively by the Han people to address parents, but among foreign ethnic groups such as the Wuhuan and Xianbei, the title of "Adult" meant leader. For example, Chanyu Tadun was called "Adult" by his subordinates.
The Black Mountain Army was called this because, firstly, it was close to the territory of the Southern Xiongnu and many of its names were influenced by the Hu culture. Secondly, all the generals regarded Zhang Yan, the leader of the Black Mountain Army, as their father and used this name to show respect.
Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, Guo Daxian continued, "This method has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that there are fewer omissions, but the disadvantage is that it is too conservative. It may take a long time to defeat the fierce tiger, and Jizhou may intervene during this period."
Everyone felt the same way when they heard this. Given the size of the Black Mountain Army, it would be easy to deal with Yuan Xi, who had an army of less than 10,000 people. But if Yuan Shao intervened, it would be a different situation.
Everyone was still frightened when they recalled that three years ago Yuan Shao had invaded Montenegro, killed several leaders and forced the Montenegro army to flee into the hinterland.
The impatient one interrupted, "If time is dragged on for too long, it is indeed easy for things to go wrong. So the second method is to decide the outcome in the shortest possible time?"
After hearing this, Guo Daxian said, "What the leader said is correct. The second method is for Black Mountain to mobilize all its troops and horses, rush out of the Black Mountain Pass, and fight the ferocious tiger to the death!"
Everyone was stunned. Go for broke?
This is the method used by the weak against the strong, and the Black Mountain Army is much stronger than Yuan Xi's Youzhou Army. Is it necessary to do so?
Guo Daxian explained: "That's right, a lion fighting a rabbit also uses all its strength to decide the outcome in the shortest possible time, which can avoid many variables."
"The benefit is that Jizhou, Yanzhou and other forces will not have time to rescue Youzhou. By the time they react, it will be too late. This is what we call achieving success in one battle."
"Of course, this method is not without its drawbacks. To mobilize hundreds of thousands of Montenegrin soldiers, we need a large amount of food and supplies. However, our current food reserves are already stretched to the limit, and the logistics can only support us for a month or so at most."
"If we go out in full force, the enemy will retreat and defend the city. We will fail to capture the city, and I'm afraid that when the food runs out, the whole army will collapse."
When everyone heard this, they began to think deeply, as if this second method was very risky!
After all, there was the previous example of Bai Rao leading 20,000 troops and being annihilated in Beixin City!
Everyone started talking about it and couldn't make up their mind for a while.
At this time, Zhang Yan spoke.
"There are two methods, and we can compromise."
"We can't wait until the army is fully prepared before sending out troops. That would be too slow."
"But we can't just passively defend and wait for the other side to attack."
"However, we can mobilize all the Black Mountain troops now and send out the vanguard troops to approach Beixincheng from the northern mountain pass and force them to engage in battle!"
"If we fight back, we will fight with all our might. The ferocious tiger is not an easy opponent. We may win or lose."
"If the enemy retreats, we can take advantage of the situation, surround the city and attack in turns, and plunder the surrounding areas."
"The troops behind can organize and provide support while collecting food and fodder to replace the troops that fought earlier."
"Under these waves of attacks, we should try to weaken the enemy's morale and strength, and then we can gradually gain the upper hand!"
"On the contrary, if the enemy's offensive is very fierce, we will retreat back to the mountains, use the complex terrain to delay them, and then wait for an opportunity to exit the mountains from another pass to harass and cut off their food supply!"
"If we continue to consume them slowly and keep them inside Montenegro, we will be the ones to win in the end!"
After hearing this, everyone felt that Zhang Yan's strategy combined the advantages of Guo Daxian's two strategies. It can be said that it is both offensive and defensive, and extremely safe and reliable. They shouted, "We are willing to obey the orders of the General Zhonglang to annihilate Youzhou!"
Yang Feng saw the excitement in the crowd and thought to himself, after all this talk, weren't they taking the situation in Hanoi into consideration?
Zhang Yang and Lu Bu have an ambiguous attitude towards the Black Mountain Army. What if they turn their attention to the Black Mountain Army?
With Zhang Yan's ability, it is impossible for him to completely ignore this point, but why does he avoid talking about it?
Did Zhang Yan secretly reach some kind of deal with Zhang Yang and Lu Bu in Hanoi, or was there some other reason why he was certain that Hanoi would not interfere with the actions of the Black Mountain Army?
Yang Feng was full of doubts, but in the end he didn't say anything.
Forget it. What does it have to do with me? I have said everything I should have said before. Whether Zhang Yan listened to me or not is no longer up to me to decide.
Now that we have to fight, we must kill the opponent with one punch!
In Beixin City, Yuan Xi and Guo Jia were discussing something.
Guo Jia laughed and said, "Yesterday I got Xu Ziyuan drunk and got a lot of information out of him."
"Based on what he said, I guess Jizhou is also preparing to get a piece of the pie when we attack Black Mountain."
"So if we stay in Beixin City for too long, Jizhou will probably send troops to pick the fruits."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi said calmly, "It's not possible, but it will definitely happen."
"After all, Yuan Shang has plenty of money and food now, and he has taken away most of the benefits of conquering Yijing."
"Jizhou has millions of dan of grain in stock, which is not to mention millions of dan. They can mobilize tens of thousands of troops at any time. If we move, he will definitely not move."
"Time is of the essence. I have decided to dispatch troops immediately. The entire army will move out by tomorrow morning at the latest. We will rush to the northern pass of Black Mountain within three days, dig deep trenches, build camps, and gradually advance into the heart of the Black Mountain Army to squeeze their space to dispatch troops."
Guo Jia listened and laughed, "That's really the young master's style. Speed is the essence of war."
"Don't fight a battle you're not prepared for, but don't wait until you're fully prepared and miss the opportunity."
"But since you have sealed the northern pass, the Black Mountain Army may come out from other passes and harass our food supply. We must be on guard."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi nodded and said, "That's why I concentrated all the food and grass to Beixin City, so that only one food route is left."
"If they dare to come out to rob food, they will have to face Yan Rou's rangers."
Guo Jia listened and said with a smile: "Since you have made up your mind, I will inform all the troops to organize their baggage first, tomorrow."
Yuan Xi asked at this time: "Didn't we ask them to prepare their troops and be ready for action at any time yesterday?"
"No need to wait. The road can only accommodate a limited number of soldiers. The front troops should set out immediately. The rear troops that cannot leave today should stay in the city to organize their baggage and gather craftsmen, and then follow."
Yuan Xi had a vague feeling that the Montenegrin Army was not easy to deal with. The two sides had dealt with each other several times in the past two years, and he always felt that there was something wrong with the Montenegrin Army.
He suddenly had a sinister premonition in his heart, and it was this inexplicable feeling that prompted him to decide to set off immediately.
As for Hanoi, he really couldn't wait for the news from Qu Yi and Chen Gui. He had done everything he should do. Even if he couldn't join forces with Lu Bu, he had to take over Montenegro.
While the situation is still unclear, the sooner we make peace with the Montenegrin Army, the less likely it is that something unexpected will occur!
At this time, under the constraints of various factors, Zhang Yan and Yuan Xi both made the choice to fight as soon as possible. The two sides sent troops almost at the same time. As for when they would meet, it depended on the pace of both sides.
But Yuan Xi's move inadvertently gave him a slight advantage.
The passage from Beixincheng to the North Pass of Heishan is a flat road.
The terrain inside Montenegro is complex, and the Montenegrin army's marching in it will undoubtedly be slower!
The entire Beixin City suddenly became busy after receiving the news.
Xu You was lying on the couch, still hungover and with a buzzing head. Then his subordinates came to report something, and he suddenly sat up and sobered up immediately.
He was shocked and confused. Yuan Xi had only been back for one day and he was leaving immediately. This was too fast!
But Xu You came to his senses soon, put on his clogs and ran out. Yuan Xi had asked him to prepare a large number of saws, axes, pickaxes and other items. He had to count and deliver them immediately to prevent Yuan Xi from taking advantage of the situation!
It would be fine to embezzle the people's money and property, but if there are any missing military equipment, you will be punished by military law!
The Beixin City suddenly became lively inside and outside. Some people spontaneously came to see the soldiers off at the city gate, causing a crowd. As a result, the soldiers were delayed from going out. Several squad leaders came out and scolded them loudly, asking them to get out of the way.
Yuan Xi saw this from the top of the city wall, and came down and said, "Talk to them nicely."
After hearing this, several squad leaders hurriedly obeyed the order, but they were quite disapproving in their hearts. They thought that they were just some fools who came to watch the fun and delayed the military affairs. It would not matter to them at all, but many people would die on their side!
A peasant woman who had just been scolded took two steps forward with courage. A young officer saw this and became quite impatient. He glared at her, scaring her so much that she took a step back and stammered, "I, didn't mean anything else."
She reached her hand into her arms, and the sergeant suddenly became nervous, but saw the peasant woman tremblingly took out a few eggs from her arms and handed them to the sergeant.
She smiled naively, "My son died on the top of the city two years ago. We didn't have enough to eat at that time. The city didn't fall in the end, so we did our best."
"Now we have to rely on you soldiers to protect us. I thought I had some eggs at home, so I cooked some and sent them to you. I hope you can fill your stomachs, win the battle, and come back alive."
Nashichang stared blankly at the egg stuffed into his hands. Thinking of his mother who starved to death on the road, his hands began to tremble.
Yuan Xi patted his shoulder and said, "It's a kind gesture. Just accept it."
"Just remember that we are all born of our parents, that's enough."
The young sergeant nodded vigorously.
Inside Jicheng, Zhen Mi embraced Ah Xiang and lazily leaned on the couch. Hua Tuo, who was sitting opposite her, retracted his hand from Zhen Mi's wrist, and said with a happy expression, "Congratulations, Madam."
The previous chapter was blocked after it was published, and the release date is unknown.
It's not easy to make a living, I hope you will forgive me, I really didn't write anything excessive