RPAGF Chapter 109 Pre-Battle Preparations
Chapter 109 Pre-Battle Preparations
Li Mi took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and carefully considered his words: "This person... cannot be judged by ordinary standards."
"Oh?"
"In an attempt to win over the army's morale, he dared to openly use the taboo name 'Changning Breaking Formation Army.' To outsiders, this was a path to certain death." Li Mi frowned, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
"But three days have passed, and Yang Guang not only hasn't impeached him, but has instead gone directly south to Yangzhou!"
"This is very unreasonable. Yang Yan did something, either before or after the event... that forced Yang Guang to march south!"
The man picked up his teacup, brought it to his nose, and sniffed it gently. His eyes lit up with amusement. "Interesting. It seems this fledgling, raised in a cage since it was little, has really grown claws and teeth."
"Sir, what should we do next?" Li Mi asked tentatively. "Yang Yan has sent Fang Xuanling south, clearly intending to establish a presence in Lingnan. Should I secretly...?"
"Fang Xuanling?"
"This is someone he just recruited. His father, Fang Yanqian, is a censor and a man of integrity."
He made a "cut off" gesture.
"No."
The man refused decisively, his voice suddenly turning cold: "Yang Yan is a variable. The lord has instructed you to lie low for now, wholeheartedly assist him, and not to act rashly. At this stage, you need to help him."
Li Mi looked up in astonishment, his face full of confusion: "Help him? But that's not our goal..."
"Not what?" The man looked at him with a half-smile. "To bring down the Crown Prince? That's what Yang Guang wants to do, not what we want to do."
"Lift your head and look at me properly."
Li Mi was taken aback, then slowly straightened his back and looked directly into the man's eyes.
The person had turned around at some point, and an ordinary face, so plain that it would be easily lost in a crowd, was quietly looking at him.
But those eyes were as deep as two ancient wells, capable of swallowing all light.
"You, Li Xuansui, are a talented person, ambitious and ruthless, which is good. But right now, you are just a useful pawn." The man's voice was soft, but every word was like a hammer blow. "But this Prince of Changning... he is different."
"His surname is Yang, he is the grandson of Yang Jian, and he is part of the legal lineage of the Sui Dynasty."
The man stood up, walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and gazed at the majestic outline of the imperial city in the distance.
"A dutiful subject is of no use to us. But a restless, ambitious, and even rule-breaking dragon prince... is far more useful than anyone else."
"Yang Jian is old. The Sui Dynasty may seem like an impregnable fortress, but in reality, the north and south are divided, and the Guanzhong aristocracy and the Shandong gentry are outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds..."
The man turned around, a chilling smile curving his lips: "This stagnant pool needs to be stirred up. Only when the Sui Dynasty falls into chaos will those seeds buried in the soil have a chance to sprout."
"Mi, I understand."
When he looked up again, all the arrogance, resentment, and ambition in his eyes had been replaced by a cold, absolute rationality.
"I will fulfill my duty as a loyal subject."
"Go." The man waved his hand and sat back down at the table. "Remember, you are the needle in the eye of the storm. If the storm doesn't rise, you're just a piece of scrap metal."
When Li Mi walked out of that teahouse again and re-entered the cold night of Daxing City, he felt like a different person.
The night wind howled, swirling up the withered leaves on the ground. He couldn't help but shiver and tightened his cloak.
He glanced back at the silent, tomb-like mansion, then looked towards the brightly lit and bustling Changning Prince's Mansion in the distance.
Yang Yan...
Your Highness...
The young lord, whom he once considered "capable of being driven," now appears to him in a way that is both incredibly complex and dangerous.
He thought he was the one playing the game, and Yang Yan was the meal on the plate.
But now it seems that Yang Yan himself is the eye of a huge storm. And I am just someone who was sent to record the storm, or even to push it forward.
"Since chaos is inevitable anyway..."
Li Mi stood in the shadows, gazing at the starry sky, a fierce glint in his eyes, and muttered to himself, "Then I might as well fan this fire and make it burn even brighter."
He turned and strode towards the military camp.
……
Since that day's high-stakes gambling at the drill ground, the temporary military camp at Daxingyuan has completely changed.
Gone was the laziness of the local military camp; in its place was an intense tension and grim atmosphere, compressed to the extreme.
In the center of the camp, a newly erected large tent stands out conspicuously.
Outside the tent, dust was flying everywhere.
Qin Qiong's booming voice echoed across the training ground, making people's eardrums ache.
"Lift your legs higher! Didn't you eat?"
"You are one fire! One life! Not a bunch of wild boars running around! Make sure your footsteps are perfectly synchronized!"
This burly man from Shandong has now transformed into the strictest coach.
He personally disbanded and reorganized the 1,500 men, removing the old and weak, and using the 30 newly promoted squad leaders as the backbone, he forcibly created 30 elite squads of 50 men each.
He didn't teach any advanced "fish scale formation" or "eight gates golden lock" techniques; those were for educated generals. He only repeatedly practiced the most basic things: advancing upon hearing the drumbeat, retreating upon hearing the gong, forming pairs, and standing in rows of five.
These veterans, who had already been on the battlefield, adapted quickly, showing none of the slickness of seasoned soldiers. Now, they were being trained so hard that they were complaining endlessly.
Because Qin Qiong's training methods were simple, brutal, and unreasonable.
He paired every two soldiers who were complete strangers with each other, making them eat from the same bowl, sleep in the same bunk, and train together. If one of them made a mistake, even something as simple as stepping with the right foot instead of the left, both of them would be punished.
Initially, there was widespread discontent, and some hot-tempered soldiers from Guanzhong even fought and complained to each other in private.
Qin Qiong's approach was more direct.
He dragged the two fighters out like chicks, without hitting them with batons or cursing, simply ordering them to be tied back to back with thick hemp rope, and threw them onto the drill ground track: "Go! Run five li! If you don't finish, all of you brothers in this team will be watching others eat meat tonight!"
If two people stand back to back, and one goes east while the other goes west, they'll barely move and will end up bruised and battered. To move, you have to learn to let your back rest on the other person's, to learn to sense their breathing and exertion even just with your spine.
After several painful lessons, everyone learned their lesson and understood.
On this training ground, the life of the stranger next to you is your own life.
Qin Qiong's approach to military discipline was simple and direct. He didn't preach any grand theories; he simply used the most basic methods to tell these country folk: on the battlefield, only your comrades-in-arms can save your life.
Unlike the bustling activity outside the tent, the command tent was completely silent.
In the center of the tent, there was an enormous sand table.
This is the result of Li Jing's efforts over the past few days.
Unlike Qin Qiong, he did not stay in the camp. Instead, he took Shen Guang and a few other "smart people" he had chosen during the sand table simulation and personally traversed the entire thirty-mile stretch of mountains and forests on the south bank of Kunming Pool.
They measured distances with their steps, measured the width of valleys with hemp ropes, and meticulously depicted every stream, every dense forest, and every mountain pass where soldiers could hide, using charcoal pencils and hemp paper they carried with them.
At this moment, the results of these surveys have all been transformed into this meticulously detailed sand table before us.
Yellow mud piled up to form rolling mountains, blue sand outlined winding streams, black charcoal fragments marked swamps, and a few withered moss patches served as markers for dense forests.
Li Jing held a slender wooden stick, leaning over the sand table, his expression extremely focused.
He would sometimes gently nudge the red flag representing the enemy with a bamboo pole, and sometimes move the blue flag representing his own side, his eyes slightly narrowed and his lips moving silently.
In his mind, the still sand had come alive.
The neighing of warhorses, the clash of swords, and the splatter of blood were all replayed before his eyes again and again.
Li Mi stood to the side, his hands tucked into his sleeves, not daring to breathe.
These past few days, having spent with Li Jing, the self-proclaimed highly talented heir of the Duke of Pushan has finally come to truly understand the meaning of His Highness's words, "Be down-to-earth and seek a glimmer of hope in desperate situations."
Every arrangement made by Li Jing was not based on mere imagination, but on countless on-site surveys and precise calculations of the terrain.
The land there is soft and unsuitable for cavalry charges.
Some water sources are drinkable, while others are stagnant.
Which grove offers the best view? Which path is easiest to get lost on at night?
These seemingly insignificant details, in Li Mi's eyes, were crucial to life and death.
This is no longer just military strategy; it is mathematics, the study of things, and a precise calculation of human nature!
The tent flap was lifted, and Qin Qiong, covered in sweat, strode in.
He glanced at the sand table, then at Li Jing, and asked in a muffled voice, "Pharmacist, have you made a plan?"
Li Jing did not answer, but simply pointed to the sand table with a wooden pole.
"Shubao, look, this is the south bank of Kunming Pool, which is also our battlefield against the Imperial Guards."
He paused, his tone chilling: "Yuwen Huaji, the commander of the Imperial Guards, though I am not close to him, is a household name in Daxing City. Born into the upper echelons of Guanzhong, he achieved early success and is arrogant and tyrannical. What he despises most are us 'country bumpkins' who make up the local militia."
Qin Qiong nodded; this was an obvious fact.
Li Jing's wooden pole slid gently across the sand table, pointing to a valley with a wide entrance that gradually narrows inside.
"Yuwen Huaji is eager to win and also wants to humiliate us. At the beginning of the war, he will definitely go all out and rush straight to the location of our army's banner with thunderous force. This is a strategy of arrogance."
"What we need to do is avoid their sharp edge."
Li Jing's wooden pole dotted the hillsides on both sides of the valley.
"I will set up a feint here. Let them see our flags and hear our war drums, but they will never be able to reach our main force."
"Main force?" Qin Qiong asked, somewhat puzzled.
Li Jing smiled and pointed the wooden pole to another inconspicuous dense forest on the sand table.
"The main force, led by you, will remain hidden here, conserving their strength. Their task is not to fight, but to wait."
"wait?"
"Yes, wait." A sharp glint flashed in Li Jing's eyes. "Wait until the Imperial Guards miss their target, wait until they are exhausted from the endless harassment, wait until they become complacent because of their pride, wait until night falls..."
"That will be the time when we truly bare our fangs."
"I have marked the specific strategies on the sand table."
Li Jing handed the wooden pole to Shen Guang and said in a deep voice, "Shen Guang, you will lead the scout battalion."
"Zhao Tiezhu, you take charge of setting up traps here. No need to kill, just delay them."
"..."
Orders were issued in an orderly manner, and the thirty team leaders stood solemnly, keeping their tasks firmly in mind.
Looking at the ambush points, trap zones, and feint attack routes marked with small blue flags on the sand table, Qin Qiong felt a chill rise up his spine.
……
"Your Highness!"
Just then, Yang Yan arrived outside the tent.