Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 922 - 882: The Decisive Battle 7 - Xun Shen’s Backup Plan
As Tian Feng made his arrangements, the once bloated rear army transformed into layers upon layers of defensive lines. Needless to say, this was perhaps the most solid defense in history, even sturdier than city walls.
These densely packed twenty layers of defensive lines had little to no offensive capability, aside from enabling some defensive counterattacks.
It could be said that if Liu Bei's Army were to turn back now, the rear army's defensive lines would instantly lose their significance. If they could maneuver around and launch a flanking attack, these twenty layers of defense would be shattered in an instant.
But unfortunately, at this point Liu Bei's Army could no longer retreat. They had no choice but to face everything head-on, breaking through whatever lay in front of them. A retreat would inevitably result in catastrophic confusion during their compact charge, enough for Yuan Shao's Army to crush Liu Bei's forces completely. Even if they tried to retreat, they might find no way out.
Due to the orders given by Sheni Pei, whom Yuan Shao had slapped awake earlier, Wang Mo led nearly ten thousand troops under his command to successfully flank Liu Bei's rear army. After all, Liu Bei's troop numbers had always been a glaring issue.
Meanwhile, Zhang He's army and Jiangh Qi's forces, which had originally been tasked with flanking, remained locked in battle with two of Liu Bei's predestined units. Compared to the evenly matched conflict on Zhang He's side, Jiangh Qi's forces had become completely disarrayed. If their formation continued to collapse, it wouldn't be long before Sunx Guan and others surrounded and killed them!
If someone could observe the battlefield from the sky now—well, there really was someone doing just that—Nanhua and Zixu, along with seven or eight others, were standing atop the white clouds, waiting for the outcome of the battle.
"Liu Bei's Army is in trouble!" A refined man in a black robe sighed and said, "It looks like the four-hundred-year blessing of the Great Han Dynasty is coming to an end."
"Stop sighing!" A man in green robes standing in the void sneered. "It's astonishing that the Great Han Dynasty managed to preserve its fortune for four hundred years. Are you hoping for it to continue?"
"Spare me your gibberish. Liu Xuande hasn't lost yet!" Zixu retorted coldly.
"I'm done watching. This battle is almost identical to Xiang Yu's last battle four hundred years ago—the final trump card of the five-army formation is about to emerge. Tian Feng and Ju Shou truly are outstanding strategists!" The man in the black robe flicked his sleeve and flew away.
"Hmph, clueless!" Zixu scoffed and glanced dismissively at the black-robed man as he flew off. Although Zixu was not adept at military strategy, he could not accept the idea that Liu Bei would lose before he fell. This was his acknowledgment of Liu Bei's character!
"Nanhua, what do you think?" Seeing that the other man had vanished without responding, Zixu turned his head to ask Nanhua.
"It's hard to say!" Nanhua replied, gazing at the Yuan Shao's soldiers, who had almost completed an encirclement of the battlefield.
"I don't think so!" Flying in the sky, Zixu suddenly noticed a black line emerging on the southern horizon and said with a smile.
"Enemy attack on the rear army!" Just as Liu Bei's front army was stalled by Tian Feng's impenetrable defense, an unfortunate report came from the rear army.
"What? How is this possible? Didn't Wen He already deploy forces to guard the army's flanks? How could the enemy manage to outflank us? What's happening with Zilong and Zhongtai?" Liu Bei exclaimed in shock. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"Lord, there is no need to fret; this was within our expectations," Lub Su said calmly. The matter of handling the rear army had long been anticipated by both Lub Su and Jia Xu.
"It's just that we underestimated Tian Feng." Lub Su sighed as he spoke. "Our deployment was originally intended to provoke him into committing his rear army, thereby weakening the deadliest attack of the five-army formation. However, Tian Feng surprised us with his response."
Jia Xu cast a nonchalant glance at Lub Su without saying a word. In truth, Jia Xu had long anticipated Tian Feng's choices. With his Spiritual Talent enabling detailed simulations, Jia Xu could predict the next move of an individual with impressive clarity.
[Tian Feng, once the sharpness of Guan Yu, Xuu Chu, and Gan Ning's vanguard troops wanes, they will likely only breach ten layers of your defenses. But you are far too fixated on overly cautious methods!] Jia Xu silently mused to himself as he gazed toward the western horizon. It would not be long before the figures he anticipated appeared—this was the achievement he had reserved for them!
Meanwhile, forty miles away at an undisclosed location, Xun Shen finally coordinated with the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry he had mobilized from the northern region without revealing his plans to Yuan Shao's Army.
When Yuan Shao started slowly marginalizing Xun Shen, Yuan Shao had overlooked the influence the unassuming Xun Shen wielded within his forces. Who was it that initially proposed and executed the campaign against Bingzhou? Yuan Shao had likely forgotten—or perhaps intentionally ignored—those details.
With Xun Shen's status, how could he not have left contingency plans in the lofty, remote Bingzhou? In fact, as a member of an aristocratic family, how could Xun Shen possibly fail to secure measures to protect himself in Bingzhou?
[So this is the decisive moment?] Upon successfully regrouping with the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, Xun Shen finally felt at ease. As for Yuan Shao's Army's current situation, his instincts told him that things wouldn't bode well—even with the talented civil and military officials supporting Yuan Shao, they stood little chance against Liu Bei.
This was precisely why Xun Shen made no effort to conceal his maneuver of pulling his fallback troops from Bingzhou. He was prepared to save Yuan Shao—even if he were punished afterwards for his actions. To Xun Shen, this was simply repaying Yuan Shao's favor for recognizing his talent. Xun Shen contemplated quietly.
[Privately mobilizing troops is undoubtedly a grave violation—the forces I've dispatched are none other than the elite Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry entrusted with guarding the borders. Yuan Shao, who already holds deep apprehension toward me, will likely grow even more suspicious. However, so be it—it serves as a wake-up call for Yuan Shao: leveraging the power of aristocratic clans may be beneficial, but they must be curtailed!]
As a top-tier strategist, Xun Shen had a long-term perspective on many matters. He understood that for an aristocratic clan to rise to the pinnacle, it must ally with other clans strategically—but without allowing them to gain greater benefits than the main family.
Only through this delicate balance of alliance and suppression could stability be maintained. Yet Yuan Shao's lenient approach toward aristocratic families already made Xun Shen worry that these great clans might attempt to forge connections with Liu Bei!
Shortly after Wang Mo made his move, Zhang Yan, leading the Black Mountain Army, flanked Wang Mo's rear forces. As former Yellow Turbans, their approach to single combat was either: "All of us take on one of him," or "One of him takes on all of us."
This mentality was purely a reflection of the lowly origins of the Yellow Turbans, who cared little for moral codes or personal honor on the battlefield. Their focus was simple—if they had food to eat, they were satisfied. Who cared about face? Does honor fill stomachs?
Unaware of this dynamic, Wang Mo, in an attempt to bolster morale, charged forward to challenge Zhang Yan in a duel. The result, naturally, was tragic—surrounded by seven or eight Qi Refining to Gang experts, Wang Mo barely had time to utter a threat before being slain. The Black Mountain Army then surged forward in overwhelming numbers, shattering Wang Mo's corps completely.
Though the Black Mountain Army, still in the process of reorganization, was arguably inferior to Yuan Shao's Army in combat power, their unprincipled and relentless assault swiftly demoralized Wang Mo's forces, who had been besieging Liu Bei's Army. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
