Chapter 541

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Li San recalled the information about Pengzhou in his mind.

Xiao Ming intended to conquer Pengzhou, so as the intelligence-gathering secret service, they naturally had to scout Pengzhou first.

And ever since he became the commander of the secret service, he had gradually come into contact with the informants of other vassal kings. However, overall, he was very confident in the secret service he had established, as they had many classic books to study.

“Your Highness, Pengzhou is surrounded by mountains. Pengzhou City is basically located in what Your Highness often calls a basin. In my opinion, due to the many mountains, it is difficult for large-scale armies to gather and deploy outside the city, making it difficult to pose a threat to the city. Furthermore, outside Pengzhou City, the Bian River and Sishui River converge and flow southward. These two rivers now serve as natural moats for Pengzhou City. Overall, Pengzhou is bordered by mountains on two sides and water on the north.”

Xiao Ming frowned upon hearing this. What Li San said was consistent with the geographical location of Xuzhou in his technology crystal.

Historically, the Bian River and Sishui River had long been encroached upon by the Yellow River. Due to the limitations of the surrounding mountains in Xuzhou, the river channels had also remained very stable. The Bian River came from the west, while the Sishui River flowed into the vicinity of Pengzhou City from Xiao Ming’s fief.

Now, these two rivers served as both a moat and a waterway for Pengzhou City. The Grand Canal of Great Yu Empire, which passed through Pengzhou City, utilized the Bian River and Sishui River channels. Even the merchant ships of the Qingzhou Chamber of Commerce had to pass through here when heading south.

Simply put, one could go north along the Sishui River to Qinzhou and directly to Youzhou. Along the Bian River, one could go south to Jinling, Yangzhou, and even enter the Yangtze River to reach the King of Chu’s fief. From the west, one could reach Chang’an, Luoyang, and other Guanzhong areas. Its location could be said to be a hub connecting north, south, east, and west.

Precisely for this reason, Xiao Ming’s first reaction after the Prince of Wei refused to ally was to take Pengzhou City. After all, such an easily defensible yet crucial transportation hub in the Prince of Wei’s hands was truly disgusting, as it meant he would constantly face the risk of the Prince of Wei stabbing him in the back.

But if he took this place, it would be equivalent to tearing open the gateway to Wei’s territory. From then on, Wei’s territory would be flat, allowing him to maneuver freely and easily switch from defense to offense.

“Your Highness, besides the terrain being easy to defend and difficult to attack, the people of Pengzhou are also extremely fierce. The people of Pengzhou are brave and skilled in combat, no less than the people of Qinzhou. Moreover, there are fifty thousand elite troops stationed in Pengzhou City. These soldiers are all local people of Pengzhou, and many of the military generals come from the powerful local families of Pengzhou. Coupled with the private armies of these powerful families, the military strength within this city is not a small number.” The more Li San spoke, the more worried he became.

Not only was Pengzhou City easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the army in the city was also not weak.

“Pengzhou has been a strategically contested area since ancient times, and its soldiers are formidable, as I understand. Precisely because of this, it is even more necessary for me to take Pengzhou. Otherwise, if the Prince of Zhao and the barbarians attack, I will surely be attacked from both sides.” Xiao Ming’s expression was firm.

Li San nodded solemnly. With Xiao Ming saying so, he felt that Pengzhou City was indeed very important.

After a pause, he continued, “Your Highness, I also inquired about the situation of the local powerful families. The largest family in Pengzhou City is the Mi family, and the eldest son of the Mi family head, Mi Wenyi, is currently the Chief Clerk of the Prince of Wei’s residence. Besides that, the second largest family is the Lu family…”

Xiao Ming listened and nodded. Li San had a very detailed grasp of the information about Pengzhou City. He now understood Pengzhou City very well.

“You are to compile all this intelligence into a book. In addition, I need a detailed topographical map of Pengzhou City.” Xiao Ming pondered for a moment. As the saying goes, ‘know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.’ Before the war comes, he must have detailed information.

However, this was only part of the work. He said to Li San, “How do the local powerful families view me?”

“As Your Highness expects, the powerful families of Pengzhou are very hostile towards Your Highness and often speak disrespectfully. This is also what I am concerned about. If Your Highness attacks Pengzhou City, these local powerful families will probably resist to the death.”

Xiao Ming smiled bitterly. Back then, to eradicate the powerful families that were hindering Qingzhou, he had indeed been ruthless. Now, his actions from back then had become heinous acts of treason in the eyes of these powerful families. But even so, he still did not regret his decision at that time.

Great Yu Empire had been numb for too long under the rule of these powerful families. If these tumors could not be completely eradicated, they would continue to drain Great Yu Empire of its lifeblood.

Thinking of this, he made a decision in his heart. So he said to Li San, “If that’s how the powerful families are, what about the common people?”

“The common people speak highly of Your Highness,” Li San said with a smile. He was quite proud of this.

“Then can the secret guards incite the common people to rebel?” Xiao Ming asked.

Li San understood when he came that Xiao Ming’s main point was this. He said, “Reporting to Your Highness, this matter is very difficult. The common people have lived under the oppression of powerful families for a long time, or rather, the local common people have become dependents of powerful families. They dare not act rashly when they are unsure whether Your Highness can break through Pengzhou City.”

“Hmm, in that case, try again when I attack Pengzhou City.” Xiao Ming said. Since Li San said so, he must have bought off some people.

He didn’t expect these people to decide the outcome of the war, but if they could distract the Pengzhou City army, it would be good.

Having grasped the detailed intelligence, Xiao Ming sent Li San back.

Three days later, Li San returned again. This time, he handed Xiao Ming a complete topographical and troop deployment map of Pengzhou City, and Xiao Ming had the craftsmen of the machinery department make a sand table overnight.

The next day, he gathered the generals participating in this siege to observe the map of Pengzhou City and formulate a detailed attack plan. He didn’t want any mistakes in such an important war.

Like Xiao Ming, when Niu Ben and the others saw the map, they immediately frowned.

“Your Highness, this Pengzhou City seems like a tough nut to crack. We can only attack Pengzhou City from the front, and the land in front of Pengzhou City is narrow, very unsuitable for the soldiers’ linear formations.” Niu Ben analyzed.

Luo Xin directly said, “Pengzhou City has neither cannons nor a musketeer unit. It seems the Prince of Wei treats the equipment he bought as family treasures. Since that’s the case, we’ll adopt the method used to attack Shanhai Pass: mortar shells with lime bombs, and explosives to breach the city.”

“Luo Xin is right, just use cannons directly.” Lu Fei’s temperament remained unchanged, direct and decisive.

Niu Ben snorted and said, “It sounds simple, but there’s a very wide moat outside Pengzhou City. Tell me how you’re going to bury explosives.”

Luo Xin hadn’t looked closely at the sand table just now, but now he saw it and immediately chuckled sheepishly.

Niu Ben then turned to Xiao Ming, “Your Highness, I have a method, please dispatch two to three warships to assist in the battle.”