Pingzhou City, Wuzhugu was listening to Best’s advice.
A hundred li journey only took two hours for cavalry. Not long after the Great Yu Empire army left the city, they received news from their scouts.
“Now is not the time to harass the Great Yu Empire army. For an army, the longer its supply line, the more dangerous it becomes. So we need to wait for the Great Yu Empire army to arrive outside Pingzhou City. Here, we will use trenches to wear them down, and at the same time seize the opportunity to use cavalry to cut off their supply lines, trapping them in Pingzhou City.”
Best laid out a diagram he had drawn on the table, explaining it in detail to Wuzhugu and Beishan.
Wuzhugu and Beishan exchanged glances. They indeed had no better plan at the moment.
The Great Yu Empire’s cavalry was precious, and their cavalry was equally precious. Neither could afford the responsibility of losing 120,000 cavalry.
Moreover, after several failed battles, they became increasingly cautious. Fighting near Pingzhou City clearly gave them a greater advantage.
Wuzhugu said, “Even so, we can also dispatch a cavalry unit to probe the strength of this army. If any vulnerabilities appear during their march, we can seize the opportunity to attack.”
Best did not object to Wuzhugu’s words, because a small cavalry harassment was also a good idea; it could slow down their marching speed.
Having settled the battle strategy, Wuzhugu and Beishan departed. Soon, a ten-thousand-man unit led by Guduo set out from Pingzhou City towards the Great Yu Empire army.
At this time, the Great Yu Empire army, having set off from Shanhai Pass, had already marched twenty li.
Here, Lu Fei left three thousand men to hold the position, establishing a supply point with a chariot formation as a barrier. Twenty li was a very short distance for cavalry.
This way, if barbarian cavalry surrounded this supply point, their cavalry could arrive within an hour to reinforce.
Having constructed the supply point, Lu Fei led his troops to continue advancing. According to their marching plan, they would arrive at Pingzhou City the next morning, so they were not moving very quickly along the way.
During the march, his Huben 1st Division served as the vanguard, at the very front. The Huben 3rd Division led by Lei Ming was at the rear, and Luo Xin’s army was in the middle.
As before, the chariots and cavalry also marched on both flanks of the army, ready to form a chariot formation at any time to defend against barbarian cavalry attacks.
Starting from morning, and continuing until evening, after marching eighty li, Lu Fei ordered them to set up camp. Along the way, hunter cavalry continuously relayed messages.
When they were halfway through their journey, a barbarian cavalry unit of ten thousand appeared nearby. Lu Fei, upon receiving this news, did not stop but continued to advance.
If it had been the Great Yu Empire’s army of the past, he would have been very worried about this ten-thousand-man unit launching a surprise attack, but now he was not afraid at all.
Because they could form a hollow square formation in the short time it took for the enemy to charge. This was the advantage brought by the military reform; each unit could react quickly when facing the enemy.
However, seemingly angered by his arrogant attitude, after they had marched less than one li further, the barbarian cavalry suddenly launched a surprise attack on the Great Yu Empire army, which was marching in a long, serpentine formation.
The hunter cavalry first relayed the barbarian cavalry’s movements to the marching infantry squares via flag signals.
At this point, the infantry squares, having received the news, quickly changed from their marching formation. Each company rapidly found its position within the hollow square formation.
The original long serpentine formation quickly transformed into walking hollow squares. If viewed from above, they resembled moving green-bordered “mouth” characters.
When Guduo charged forward and found that the Great Yu Empire’s army had completely changed shape, he immediately turned his horse around.
Continuing the charge would mean death, after all, he only had ten thousand men, and his main purpose was harassment.
But now, it seemed he couldn’t even manage basic harassment, because the Great Yu Empire’s army’s defense was simply too tight.
With a hint of worry in his eyes, Guduo suddenly led his cavalry around this army and headed towards Shanhai Pass.
“General, that’s our stronghold!” a cavalry division commander said anxiously.
Lu Fei said, “No need to worry. Ten thousand men cannot breach a fortress made of chariot formations. Continue to advance; the real war hasn’t begun yet.”
Delayed in their march by the barbarian cavalry, Lu Fei’s forces encamped twenty li outside Pingzhou City.
The next day, they continued their march, arriving outside Pingzhou City in the morning. At this point, he finally saw the full view of Pingzhou City.
The main army gradually assembled. Lei Ming and Luo Xin also arrived at the front. They observed Pingzhou City through telescopes.
At the same time, the soldiers began to set up camp here, because this war would not be decided in a few days.
Pingzhou City.
Best was observing the Great Yu Empire army outside the city. At this moment, he held a monocular telescope in his hand, but his face grew increasingly grim.
“Damn it! Since when could the natives of Asia possess such excellent equipment?” Best cursed, “This can already rival European armies.”
Beishan heard this and said, “In just six years, this Emperor of the Great Yu Empire named Xiao Ming has acquired such an army.”
“Six years? This is simply incredible!” Best put down his monocular telescope.
Here, he saw flintlock guns, field cannons, and even hot air balloons rising into the sky. Such a scene could only be seen in Europe.
“May God bless us.” Best’s throat felt dry. If this war were in Europe, it would also be considered a large-scale conflict. He could imagine the brutality of the war.
Beishan frowned. Although he didn’t understand what Best meant by “God,” he knew it was definitely not a benevolent statement.
While the Great Yu Empire army was setting up camp, the cannons on the Pingzhou city wall also began to prepare. Slave soldiers, holding weapons, entered the trenches, ready for battle at any moment.
On the other side, Lu Fei and the other two looked at the two-hundred-meter-long trenches with furrowed brows. Field cannons posed no threat to the soldiers in these trenches; only mortars could inflict casualties on enemies in trenches.
However, with the accuracy of mortars, it would be fortunate if even one out of ten shells landed in a trench.
“Fortunately, the new recruits this time lacked firearms, otherwise, it would have been troublesome,” Lu Fei said, looking at the new recruits who were setting up camp.
These new recruits wore plate armor and held swords.
Because the military machinery department could not produce ninety thousand firearms in such a short time, in fact, forty thousand of the new recruits heading to the battlefield were still wearing outdated plate armor.
When these strange new recruits entered the city, they were very surprised, but now they finally understood the ingenuity of the Grand Council.
It turned out these new recruits had their own use in dealing with the barbarians’ cold weapon units.
“Have the new recruits in plate armor contend for the trenches.” Lu Fei pointed to Pingzhou. Once the trenches were taken, Pingzhou City would be finished.