Chapter 594

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In Chuzhou, the army led by Lu Fei had been stationed here for five days.

According to Xiao Ming’s order, he was to besiege Chuzhou without attacking, attracting Prince Wei’s army for a rescue attempt to empty Jinling City of its forces, thereby preparing for Ye Qingyun to take Jinling City in one fell swoop.

“General, the horse traps around the camp have all been dug,” Bai Mu said as he entered the tent.

Beyond Pengzhou City, the terrain of Wei was mostly flat. Their camp was now pitched on a flat area, with wide-open surroundings, making them extremely vulnerable targets for cavalry.

So, after setting up camp, Lu Fei had the soldiers dig horse traps to prevent surprise attacks from Prince Wei’s cavalry.

Now, as they ventured deeper into Wei territory, Lu Fei’s tension also rose, because he knew that Prince Wei’s elite personal guard had still not appeared, and these soldiers were Prince Wei’s true trump card.

These forces included 30,000 cavalry, 8,000 musketeers, and a huge number of traditional cold weapon units. If Prince Wei became desperate and committed all these forces to the Chuzhou battlefield, it would truly be a tough fight for them.

After all, in such a situation, even he could not guarantee victory. It was precisely for this reason that he was so cautious.

After Bai Mu reported, a scout responsible for reconnaissance hurriedly entered the tent. He said to Lu Fei, “General, another 30,000 cavalry are rushing towards Chuzhou City. At the same time, there is a large number of infantry following the cavalry, numbering around 100,000.”

As soon as these words were uttered, Lu Fei’s face turned green. He consoled himself, “Bai Mu, did you see that? This time, we are the main attacking force. This shows that His Highness trusts me very much. That boy Ye Qingyun’s standing is not enough; he can only do sneaky things.”

Bai Mu rolled his eyes and said, “General, it seems Prince Wei is preparing to fight us with his back to the wall this time. All of Wei’s remaining cavalry have been dispatched.”

“What’s there to fear? Haven’t I dug trenches and horse traps?” Lu Fei said.

As the two were speaking, the city gate of Chuzhou suddenly opened, and then a group of infantry, clad in armor, holding shields in their left hands and hengdao sabers in their right, surged out from the city gate.

Following closely behind these soldiers were archers wearing green lining. After exiting the city, these soldiers immediately formed battle formations. At this moment, every soldier’s expression was very solemn.

The unusual movement of the Chuzhou garrison attracted the attention of the Southern Expeditionary Army. At this moment, Lu Fei walked out of his tent, picked up his telescope, and observed the Chuzhou army 700 meters away.

“Gentlemen, the Chuzhou garrison has kept its gates closed for many days without fighting, but today they suddenly arrayed for battle. It seems Prince Wei is truly prepared to fight a tough battle with us in Chuzhou.”

Luo Xin also walked over at this time and said, “General, this unusual move by Chuzhou must be a trick. Although Prince Wei is incompetent, Wei still has some excellent generals. We cannot let down our guard in this battle.”

Lu Fei pondered for a while and said, “Are they planning to use a human wall to block gunfire, and then have archers shoot at us after they get close?”

“Hmm, General, what you said makes sense. They learned about the range and power of our firearms from the battles of Pengzhou and Huaizhou. This time, they might have a countermeasure,” Luo Hong said.

Lu Fei nodded, “But they also underestimate our firearms too much. Have the soldiers array for battle, Luo Xin, switch to grapeshot.”

“Yes.” Everyone received the order and departed.

At this moment, on the city wall of Chuzhou, Xiao Han and Chen Wei, the Governor of Chuzhou, stood on the city wall. Looking at the Southern Expeditionary Army’s camp, Xiao Han said, “Has the Southern Expeditionary Army not attacked all this time?”

Chen Wei said, “Your Royal Highness, I believe that their besieging without attacking is to pin down the armies of Jinling City and other prefectures. The truly dangerous army might be the one from Yangzhou.”

“Jinling City is impregnable, and Yangzhou and Tongzhou are isolated without aid. They can barely defend themselves, how could they attack Jinling City?” Xiao Han sneered.

Chen Wei’s face was a little awkward. He said, “Your Royal Highness, I am absolutely not exaggerating. Prince Qi always uses unconventional tactics and may very well take desperate risks.”

Xiao Han was a little impatient. He didn’t want to fight at all, but this time Prince Wei had gone mad, ordering him to personally lead troops to reinforce Chuzhou City and making him responsible for defeating the Southern Expeditionary Army led by Lu Fei.

“No need to say more. With Imperial Father in Jinling City, nothing will go wrong. Now, let’s think about how to deal with the current Southern Expeditionary Army, otherwise, we will have difficulty explaining ourselves to Imperial Father.”

Chen Wei assented. He looked at the formed Southern Expeditionary Army camp and said, “The strength of the Southern Expeditionary Army lies in its firearms. Infantry suffers greatly when fighting them. Therefore, I plan to use a strategy of combined infantry and archer attacks, along with cavalry raids, to defeat the Southern Expeditionary Army.”

“This time I brought 30,000 elite cavalry, plus the local garrison and 100,000 soldiers, it should be no problem to deal with them, right?” Xiao Han asked.

“If well coordinated, there should be no problem.” Chen Wei pondered for a moment, “However, I believe it’s best not to launch an offensive.”

Xiao Han said, “Do you think I want to? Imperial Father is like a madman now, insisting that I must defeat the Southern Expeditionary Army this time, to dampen Xiao Ming’s morale, to stop war with war, alas.”

Chen Wei’s expression immediately darkened upon hearing this. Even if the Southern Expeditionary Army only had forty or fifty thousand men, he did not believe that Prince Wei’s army could defeat Xiao Ming’s, because in terms of morale alone, there was no comparison between the soldiers.

These troops, for him, were more than enough for defense but insufficient for offense.

However, since Xiao Han had given the order, he could only bite the bullet. But before he could give his own order, the Southern Expeditionary Army soldiers came out of their camp and headed towards the city gate.

At this time, Luo Hong led his soldiers across the three-meter-wide passages over the trenches and rushed towards the gate of Chuzhou City. The trenches they dug were not continuous; every hundred meters, there was a three-meter section that was not dug. These areas were heavily guarded by infantry, specifically to concentrate forces to annihilate cavalry. After analysis, Lu Fei believed that the Chuzhou army’s purpose was to attack by using infantry as a human wall, archers for attrition, and finally cavalry for a decisive strike.

Therefore, after deliberation, they decided to adopt a strategy of feigned defeat to lure the cavalry out of the city and deliver a heavy blow to the cavalry supporting Chuzhou.

The 700-meter road was not far for the soldiers. Luo Hong led 10,000 soldiers in a square formation, advancing slowly.

As they advanced, more and more infantry appeared outside Chuzhou City. They were divided into three sections: left, center, and right, neatly arrayed opposite them. “The Southern Expeditionary Army really underestimates us. Do they think 10,000 men can defeat us?” Xiao Han scoffed. This time, they had dispatched 20,000 infantry, and 30,000 cavalry in the city were already assembled, ready to charge out of the city gate to meet the enemy at any moment. Seeing the Southern Expeditionary Army soldiers gradually moving away from their camp, he revealed a cruel smile. In his opinion, the Southern Expeditionary Army’s generals were nothing special.