Chapter 571: Chapter 342 War Begins_1
Yongan County.
On the border line, there are rows of trenches, and with the change of weapons, the form of warfare has also transformed accordingly.
The wars North Country would face in the future are no longer defensive battles hunkered down in cities.
Mu Changtian's army of two hundred thousand was ready for a head-on clash with Great Wu's military.
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West of the border line, the three hundred thousand strong army of Great Wu also prepared to attack.
A tall man clad in black armor rode his horse to a small hill near the border line and looked in the direction of Yongan County, followed by many soldiers.
At that moment, a deputy general said, "I don't know what ghosts the soldiers of North Country are up to, digging so many trenches. Do they really think they can stop the cavalry of Great Wu with these ditches?"
Another deputy general said, "Deputy General Xue should not underestimate the soldiers of North Country. They were able to wipe out the Barbarian Tribes of the North Land and also defeat the Tianqi King's army; they do have some strength."
Hearing this, Deputy General Xue snorted coldly, "Defeating those brainless barbarians is nothing to brag about; we are not like those barbarians in the north."
At this point, some soldiers began to echo the words of Deputy General Xue.
"North Country is just a feudal state; how could it possibly match our Great Wu dynasty."
"In my opinion, in less than three months, we will be able to crush the defense of Yongan County and invade North Country."
"Three months? What are you thinking about? Within three months, we could have annihilated the entire North Country, not just invaded Yongan County."
...
The soldiers discussed how long it would take to defeat North Country, as if to them, the downfall of North Country was already a certainty.
Just then, the Main Commander in black armor, Ying Feiyu, spoke up: "Don't get too excited too soon. In this attack on North Country, it is highly likely that we won't be the main force."
Upon hearing Ying Feiyu's words, the deputy generals behind him were taken aback. They knew how significant the achievement of annihilating North Country was. If they could be the main attacking force into North Country, they would definitely earn a lot of military merit. But now, their Main Commander was telling them that they were probably not the main force.
At this time, a deputy general, puzzled, said, "General, after all, we are at the very front line bordering North Country. How could we not be the main force? Didn't His Majesty move us here ahead of time to breach the defense of Yongan County?"
Ying Feiyu replied indifferently, "Most of North Country's forces are concentrated in Yongan County. Do you think His Majesty would commit all our forces to a war of attrition with North Country in Yongan County?"
"If attacking a small North Country already causes us to lose a large number of soldiers, how are we going to annihilate Great Sum in the future?"
Hearing Ying Feiyu's words, everyone paused in thought.
Indeed, although they verbally dismissed North Country's strength, they were well aware that North Country, having defeated the northern Barbarian Tribes and even a Great Grandmaster's army, did possess some means.
If they engaged in a head-on collision with North Country's forces in Yongan County, Great Wu would inevitably suffer significant soldier casualties.
Great Wu's goal of annihilating North Country was preparation for taking down Great Sum. If too many losses were incurred while defeating North Country, it would be a Pyrrhic victory for Great Wu. Therefore, it was very likely that the Martial Emperor would not put all forces into Yongan County.
Ying Feiyu went on, "In my view, the real main forces will surely be those led by General Zhan and General Xu. They may use Great Jue as a path to bypass Yongan County and attack North Country. Our role here is simply to hold North Country's defending forces in Yongan County."
Hearing this, some soldiers thought about it and felt their General had a point.
This made the soldiers feel somewhat disheartened. If they weren't the main force, it meant that Great Wu would not send more troops to them afterward. If they couldn't break through Yongan County, then the credit for conquering North Country would have little to do with them.
Even though they were containing the enemy, they were, after all, not the first to invade North Country. They were only serving a containment role, and would certainly not get as much credit as the forces invading North Country.
Moreover, another key concern was that if they could not invade North Country promptly, then the wealth of North Country would have nothing to do with them. By then, the main force that invaded North Country would have already plundered it, leaving these three hundred thousand troops to look on helplessly.
Seeing that the soldiers behind him seemed unhappy, Ying Feiyu chuckled and said, "Even if we're not the main force, as long as we can take down Yongan County and invade North Country, we will still be the main force."
While it was highly probable that the imperial court would have them contain North Country's main force, if they defeated North Country's main force and invaded it, their merit would be significant. And as long as they could invade North Country before the imperial court's main forces, they could still make a fortune.
After hearing Ying Feiyu say this, the soldiers behind him were once again invigorated. North Country had so many exotic treasures, and if they could invade it before the imperial court's main forces, those treasures would be theirs.
With this in mind, the soldiers found new motivation.
Although this was what they thought, until the imperial court's orders were issued, they could only stay within Great Wu's territory, waiting for the commands from the imperial court.
Half a month later.
Yan County.
Lu Chen and Zhuge Zhongguang stood in front of a map, discussing how the upcoming battle with Great Wu should be conducted.