r18novel Page 213
Page 213
Upon hearing Ye Wan's words, Ye Zhong flew into a rage, "Ye Wan! You've been too reckless!"
"Every single soldier is a cornerstone of Daqing; how can we allow you to take such a risk!"
Li Chang'an said calmly, "Marshal Ye, you mean to say that every single soldier is the foundation of the Ye family's existence, how can you be so reckless, right?"
Ye Zhong's expression immediately froze. This son-in-law was showing too little respect to his father-in-law. Wasn't the Ye family also under the tutelage of Prince Yong?
"Grand Commander, this humble general is only considering Your Highness's long-term interests."
Ye Wan argued logically, "The convict army is unstoppable when things are going well, but once they encounter setbacks, they will collapse in an instant."
"I participated in the war to destroy Nanzhao and have a deep understanding of it."
Ye Chong was so angry he almost rolled his eyes. He didn't even have the qualifications to participate in a war that destroyed a country.
Back then, Ye Wan went to the border army of Nanzhao and happened to witness Emperor Qing destroying Nanzhao and forcing it to become a vassal state, which allowed Ye Wan to gain a lot of experience and military merit.
Of the 100,000 convicts of Western Qin, 50,000 were stationed at Yangguan Pass, and 30,000 were stationed in the three prefectures behind Yangguan Pass.
The convicts' army had poor discipline, but they were able to unleash powerful combat capabilities.
There were informants within this army of convicts.
Ye Wan was lucky; the credit for the first battle after emerging from seclusion will once again fall on this kid.
Li Chang'an's goal is to sideline Ye Zhong, completely subdue Ye Wan, and let Ye Wan take over the Ye family's power.
"Ye Zhong, Ye Wan, Wang Qinian, and Jing Wuming, stay behind. The other generals, return to your tents and await further orders!"
After the others left, Li Chang'an quickly devised a battle plan for them.
The Shadow Guard's top experts sneaked into Yangguan under cover of night, made contact with their inside accomplice, and directly assassinated the general of the convict army.
Then they set fire to the general's mansion in the city, and took advantage of the chaos to open the city gates and let Ye Wan's army enter the city.
Once the army enters the pass, the convicts' army will be leaderless and will only be able to flee in disarray to save their lives.
In Yangguan City.
The general assigned to guard the pass by the convicts was a captured border general from the Northern Qi dynasty.
Upon learning that Li Chang'an had arrived at the Dingzhou military camp, he immediately raised his tent.
"Gentlemen, Li Chang'an has arrived at Dingzhou Army. How should we deal with this?"
One of the generals said, "Li Chang'an is nothing to worry about. He's just a playboy prince who only knows how to play with words and has never even been on the battlefield."
"The problem is that Ye Zhong and Ye Wan have both come. We need to be careful that they don't start attacking us!"
Another general said, "Yangguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack. With only 50,000 men, they simply cannot break through."
The general guarding the pass said, "I fought against Ye Zhong for many years during the Northern Qi Dynasty and know his character well."
"Ye Zhong has some ability, but he is extremely selfish. This time, the Ye family's Dingzhou army lost 50,000 men. He will definitely not be willing to use the remaining 50,000 to launch a strong attack on Yangguan."
"I predict that Li Chang'an, being new to the battlefield, will rely heavily on his father-in-law, and will therefore wait until all 100,000 troops have arrived before attacking the pass."
"You must hurry up and prepare defensive equipment, and make sure Yangguan becomes an impregnable fortress within a month!"
The convicts never expected that on the very first night Li Chang'an arrived at the Dingzhou army camp, the Shadow Guard would launch a decapitation operation.
With Teng Zijing providing backup outside, Wang Qinian and a dozen or so eighth-rank experts easily crossed the mountains and entered the pass without a sound.
Li Chang'an appeared out of nowhere on a hilltop next to the pass, watching the Shadow Guard experts successfully enter the General's Mansion.
Immediately afterwards, he flashed and arrived inside the gate of Yangguan in a few moments.
The soldiers guarding the gate suddenly saw a young man in fine clothes standing in front of them.
"who!"
What brings you here so late at night?
"If you don't stop, we're going to fire our arrows!"
However, before these people could release their arrows, several acupoints on Li Chang'an's body instantly released sharp sword energy!
The hissing sound of air being torn apart was incessant. All these soldiers were directly blasted into bloody foam, leaving no trace of their bodies!
Immediately afterwards, Li Chang'an unleashed a burst of Shaoshang sword energy, the powerful sword energy was like a thunderbolt, and a great storm ensued!
"Boom!"
The heavy solid wood city gate was shattered instantly by the sword energy, and even the walls of the gate opening were broken by the impact!
Li Chang'an shook his head. It was indeed a bit boring for a Grandmaster to play this game.
Only by quickly subduing the entire territory of Dingzhou, then joining forces with Han Xin to destroy the Western Hu and Northern Barbarians, can one be worthy of the title of Grandmaster.
Ye Wan, who was lying in ambush outside the city, heard a loud bang from afar, and the wooden gate of Yangguan was completely shattered!
"The day we reclaim our lost territory is here! Soldiers, charge with me!"
Ye Wan, riding a white horse and wielding a silver spear, dressed in a white battle robe, led five thousand cavalrymen like a flood rushing into Yangguan.
The remaining 20,000 infantrymen followed suit. There was no so-called assault, only bloody street fighting.
The convicts in the city heard a loud rumble and then saw the Qing Kingdom cavalry charging into the pass.
Everywhere there were sounds of fighting, shouting, swords and spears piercing bodies, screams and curses!
Immediately afterwards, the general's mansion caught fire, and the garrison commander's head was hung on the reviewing stand!
Then came the roars and shouts of the Dingzhou army, "Listen up, Western Qin convicts!"
"If you surrender, all your convicts in Northern Qi and Western Qin will be abolished!"
"As long as you abide by the laws of Daqing, past crimes committed in other countries will be forgiven!"
This tactic worked as expected; most of the prisoners, who were struggling to make ends meet, surrendered.
Just as dawn was breaking, Li Chang'an and his generals received Ye Wan's report.
Ye Wan was covered in blood, but he seemed very excited. "Reporting to the Grand Commander, Yangguan has been recaptured, and 30,000 of the 50,000 convict soldiers have surrendered."
"Ten thousand were killed, and another ten thousand fled. My casualties were less than five thousand. This battle was a great victory!"
Ye Zhong, Gong Dian, and the other generals of the Ye family all found it somewhat unbelievable.
Yangguan is a formidable pass in the world. Last year, when it was still in the hands of the Northern Qi, the Qing Kingdom lost 30,000 soldiers before it was captured.
By capturing Yangguan, they had completely taken over the territory of Northern Qi.
But now, Ye Wan has captured this formidable pass with less than 10% casualties.
Ye Zhong said with a smile, "Congratulations to the Grand Commander on your resounding victory! This battle is entirely due to the Grand Commander's strategic planning!"
Ye Wan also said, "Indeed, the Grand Commander's Shadow Guards were incredibly powerful. They not only killed the garrison commander but also completely destroyed the Yangguan City Gate!"
Upon hearing this, the generals in the tent finally understood why the casualties were so small.
The city gates were destroyed, so there was no need to attack the city. We could then storm the pass under cover of night, like wolves among sheep.
Wang Qinian smiled slightly, "Our ninth-rank hidden weapon expert, Deputy Commander Jing Wuming, has his own unique skills."
Ye Zhong looked at Teng Zijing standing behind Li Chang'an and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Previously, the ninth-rank archer Yan Xiaoyi was able to launch sneak attacks even when his rank was higher, and even ninth-rank ranged experts were not to be trifled with.
Li Chang'an said to Ye Wan, "Speed is of the essence in war. I order you to lead 30,000 Dingzhou troops to pursue the enemy and reclaim the entire territory of Dingzhou!"
"Each battalion commander, you may choose your own commander. The battle must be swift and decisive!"
Ye Wan replied loudly, "Thank you for your trust, Grand Commander. I will certainly live up to your expectations!"
Ye Wan stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Ye Chong, "Father, I trouble you to lead an army to take Longtou City."
Ye Zhong glared at Ye Wan, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Li Chang'an, "I will obey the Grand Commander's orders!"
Subsequently, Ye Wan appointed Gong Dian and another border general to lead troops out of Yangguan and sweep northwest.
Ten days later, the three counties in the northwest of Yangguan were all recovered, and twenty days later, another 50,000 troops of the Western Expeditionary Army finally arrived.
In the capital city, Emperor Qing also received news that Li Chang'an had recovered the entire territory of Dingzhou.
Emperor Qing stared blankly at the urgent military report in his hand.
"They've already recovered the entire territory of Dingzhou before everyone even arrived?"
"Could this kid Li Chang'an really be a Heavenly Vein user?"
"How come he can do everything so easily?"
According to Emperor Qing's calculations, Li Chang'an would need to wait for all 100,000 troops to arrive, and it would take him three to five months to capture Yangguan.
During this process, he had to ask the imperial court for soldiers and provisions, and his arrogant attitude was eventually curbed.
Not long after, the eldest prince and the crown prince arrived as summoned.
"You two, take a look. What do you think is the reason why Prince Yong was able to win so quickly?"
The eldest prince glanced at the battle report and then revealed a look of surprise.
"The reason why Prince Yong was able to win so quickly is twofold: firstly, he heavily relied on the young general Ye Wan, who had fewer concerns and dared to charge into battle!"
"Secondly, the Western Qin convicts' army lacked fighting spirit and lost all will to fight once they encountered setbacks."
"The three Shadow Guards come and go invisibly, making them impossible for the enemy to defend against."