Jiang Jin took the various documents from her hand, which contained the population of Shanguan County, the defending soldiers, the map of Shanguan County, the defensive positions, and so on.
Only two hidden spies had been planted in Shanguan County. Being able to scout out this much information in just over two months was already very good.
Jiang Jin pushed the documents toward the group. Take a look, everyone. According to the information provided by Shadow Three and Shadow Five, there are currently over five thousand Han civilians in Shanguan County, over two thousand Quzhao soldiers stationed there, and about a thousand Quzhao civilians.
Most of these Quzhao civilians were family members of the Quzhao generals and soldiers.
Shanguan County truly lived up to its reputation as a major transportation hub. The defenses here were worlds apart from what Gefeng had back then. Of course, this was probably also partly because of her.
She had occupied Gefeng, and Shanguan County, which was not far away, definitely had to guard against her. Deploying two thousand men was perfectly understandable.
Yun Ci looked at the map of Shanguan County with a solemn expression. The layout inside was indeed different from before.
Xie Nanxiao furrowed his brows. Are there any garrisons near Shanguan County?
Yun Ci shook his head. The nearest garrison to Shanguan County is in Zhou County, followed by the garrison in Donghu Commandery.
Zhou Sui nodded. So, they might go to Zhou County for reinforcements first, or they might go to Donghu Commandery.
Jiang Jin agreed. Exactly. Right now, the Zhou County garrison has about six thousand men, including over a thousand cavalry. Speed is paramount in war, so they will very likely send the cavalry over first.
Yao Ji's eyes flickered. My Lord, do you want to ambush the cavalry?
Jiang Jin pointed at the map and said, That's right. Passing through Sanhe Ridge is the fastest route from Zhou County to Shanguan County. This place is suitable for an ambush.
Qiu Liao felt his heart pound in fear. One had to know that Gefeng currently only had eight thousand soldiers, and two thousand of them were new recruits.
With such a small number of troops, they were not only going to attack two cities but also divide their forces for an ambush?
But on second thought, if he, as a member of Gefeng, hadn't expected this, the Quzhao army would be even less likely to anticipate it. An ambush relied entirely on catching the enemy off guard.
However, Gefeng's battle tactics felt incredibly risky to him.
This was a siege, after all. Under normal circumstances, the attackers needed several times, or even over a dozen times, the number of defending troops to successfully take a city.
Yet Gefeng's eight thousand troops had to attack two cities and defend Gefeng at the same time. Now they were also preparing to send people for an ambush. Spreading their forces so thin might not be a good thing.
Zhou Sui, however, understood Jiang Jin's intention. Given the strength of the Jinyang Army, by the time the Zhou County cavalry arrived as reinforcements, Shanguan County would very likely have already been taken.
When the thousand-plus cavalrymen from Zhou County saw that Shanguan County had fallen, they naturally wouldn't throw eggs at a rock by trying to attack Shanguan County.
Attacking a city and defending a city were two completely different concepts.
If the Jinyang Army hadn't taken Shanguan County by then, the Zhou County cavalry could launch a pincer attack with the Shanguan County defenders, trapping the Jinyang Army on both sides and subsequently annihilating them.
But with Shanguan County already captured, the best choice for the Zhou County cavalry would be to turn around and run.
So the Lord was afraid the Zhou County cavalry would run away? She had her eyes on their warhorses!
Yun Ci also realized Jiang Jin's plan, his heart stirring with excitement. Indeed, setting an ambush at Sanhe Ridge is much easier than fighting them when they reach Shanguan County. Who does My Lord plan to send?
Jiang Jin looked at Xia Chanyi. One hundred Dragon Shadow Guards. Can you take them down?
Xia Chanyi nodded, guaranteeing, Yes.
Qiu Liao pursed his lips. He realized that he might, perhaps, have underestimated the Lord's strength.
Zhou Sui lifted his gaze from the defense map. Shanguan County has four gates in total. According to the defense map provided by the hidden spies, the East Gate has the weakest defense. Should we attack from the East Gate?
Jiang Jin shook her head. We attack from the West Gate.
Xia Chanyi was puzzled. Why?
Jiang Jin replied, There is a dense forest in front of the West Gate; I have a use for it. We'll leave the East Gate and South Gate open for them to go out and fetch reinforcements.
She continued, The Quzhao army might also turn around to attack Gefeng while we are attacking Shanguan County. We have to guard against that...
The meeting lasted until the sky grew dark before they dispersed.
The next day, Gefeng became busy.
The civilians at the South City Gate were relocated to Mount Gesi.
The people infected with the plague in District Eight were isolated even further away, and several tents were set up for them.
Zhao Er shouted to the crowd, Remember, you can only stay in the areas we've assigned to you! There are wild beasts in the Gesi Mountains, as well as traps we've set.
If you run around without permission and encounter danger, we will not rescue you or look for you. Furthermore, you and your families will be expelled afterward.
The area they were in wasn't too deep inside the Gesi Mountains, but since it was in the mountains with dense forests, it was hard to manage, so a strict warning was necessary.
The crowd hurriedly agreed. They all knew someone in District Eight had caught the plague. Who would dare run around? They only prayed that their own area wouldn't get the plague.
Outside the new city, things were also bustling. The farmers were busy harvesting crops. Except for the cotton, which hadn't reached maturity yet, most of the other crops were ready for harvest.
The city walls were also in the final stages of construction. It was estimated that they would be finished in another two days. The timing was perfect.
After Suo Qian and Mu Zhuo researched the plague in District Eight, they decisively switched to the Major Blue Dragon Decoction, and it was currently effectively controlled.
A few days passed in a flash, and it was early September.
Jiang Jin took Yun Chengxuan out of Gefeng. Tomorrow was the day of the appointment with the Sheng family at the Great Valley.
Qiu Liao sighed. He couldn't quite understand it. Gefeng clearly relied on Jiang Jin as its leader, so logically, her safety should be of the utmost importance.
Yet, everyone agreed to let her go to Ze'a Commandery with only one person. Setting aside the safety issues on the road, how were just the two of them supposed to handle all that grain?
Remembering something, he looked at Zhou Sui and asked, Great General, tell me the truth. Does the Lord have other personnel?
He was still used to addressing Zhou Sui by his former title.
Zhou Sui smiled and said, The Buddha says, it cannot be spoken.
He now suspected that the group of people in Jiang Jin's hands wasn't given by His Majesty at all, but trained by Jiang Jin herself at Yinshan Temple.
Because His Majesty probably didn't have such capability.
Although it was a bit disrespectful, it was the truth.
A look of understanding flashed through Qiu Liao's eyes. He thought to himself, the royal family truly had a profound foundation. Even if... they could still leave manpower for the Princess.
But was His Majesty really that shrewd?
Aunt, where are we going?
Yun Chengxuan was eating candy, carrying a large bundle on his back. Inside were all the snacks Liqiu and Guyu had made for him.
To Ze'a Commandery.
Yun Chengxuan let out a muffled Oh. To him, where they went didn't really matter. As long as he had his aunt and food, he was fine.
Gefeng was still some distance away from Feng'an County in Ze'a Commandery; they couldn't get there in a single day.
Moreover, Ze'a Commandery was at war. She had to bypass the sphere of influence of the Quzhao army and take small trails to reach Feng'an County.
Seeing Yun Chengxuan finish a piece of candy, Jiang Jin smiled and said, Stop eating and speed up.
By noon the next day, Jiang Jin arrived at her destination. Before even entering the Great Valley, she saw a squad of soldiers in uniform attire guarding the road in front of the valley.
Sheng He was very surprised to see her and hurriedly came up to greet her. Prin—City Lord, why did you come in person?
He cast a subtle glance behind her. Apart from a young boy, there was no one else, which surprised him a bit.
The tricolor flag of the Jinyang Army
[Note: Some of you darlings mentioned that the black and red color scheme doesn't look great. I personally think it's not bad, but I've put together a few different color palettes, so please bear with it and take a look.
Asking once again for your support and a 5-heart review! Love you all (づ￣3￣)づ╭❤～]
