Eating Mooncakes (Part Three)
After one battle, Liu Kuang made countless changes to his tactics.
The scouts sent out by Gu HuaiJiang returned in waves with news of Liu Kuang sending troops to Weizhou and Liu Kuang sending troops to Changchuan.
At the start, everyone thought that Liu Kuang was trying to attack the two fronts where the defenses were weaker, but as more and more troops were moved around, a quick calculation showed that there were not many troops left at the main camp outside Zhu Guan.
“Head general, moved all of his troops from Zhu Guan to Weizhou and Changchuan. If things continue on like this, there will be a battle! Head general, please give the order to move our troops to both sides!”
“The fighting still hasn’t started. What’s the rush to reinforce them?”
Gu HuaiJiang remained completely calm. Seeing two dark figures lingering outside the tent, he cleared his throat, “Yan Zheng, Huo Yin, come in!”
The two people who had been named subconsciously wanted to flee, but after some thought, head general was allowing them to go in.
Strange, it was already lucky enough that they were not being chased away, but why were they being called in?
The two of them were self-aware. They knew that based on their age and experience, they still did not have the qualifications to enter the main tent.
“Head general, do you have some orders?”
Gu HuaiJiang did not bring up whether or not troops would be moved. On the contrary, he smiled and looked at the two, “I heard that the young general say that the two of you have been frequently going into the city to buy supplies in preparation for a long battle. Is this the case?”
“Yes!”
It turned out that he was asking about this, and Yan Zheng relaxed, “We followed the young general’s methods and accounted for the amount of food produced and taxes paid by Zhu Guan over the past three years. I have already reached an agreement with Zhu Guan’s prefect to not immediately send the grains harvested in the border cities to the capital. If our military rations are running low, we can take some from the regions surrounding Zhu Guan. Would that not be better than a long supply line from the capital?”
Gu HuaiJiang nodded, “Then I will give you two another mission. Go to the city and buy some mooncakes. We must ensure that every soldier is able to eat one. We will need to pass this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival here, so we can’t allow the soldiers to suffer.”
These two did not know much else, but they were familiar with the city. This was a task that they could handle very smoothly!
Yan Zheng cheerfully said: “Understood! Leave this matter to us!”
What sort of time was this, yet Gu HuaiJiang was still in the mood to eat mooncakes?
The two from the younger generation cheerfully rushed out, while the generals in the tent were confused, “Head general, moving the troops is the most pressing matter right now. Who knows when Liu Kuang will attack Weizhou and Changchuan! Last time, they only sent two small groups to attack the two cities, and the groups led by the second young sir and third young sir were completely unable to defend. How should they defend against the much larger force that they sent this time?”
“Liu Kuang will not send anyone to the two other cities. There’s no need to worry.”
Gu HuaiJiang stood up and pointed at the map of the border region. Just like before, it was most likely that Zhu Guan would remain the main battlefield.
Lao Jin was the one who was most impatient. If Gu HuaiJiang did not explain it clearly, he would not continue to listen to the discussion of tactics, “Head general, how can you be so certain that Liu Kuang won’t send reinforcements to the two cities? Every single one of our scouts has returned with information on Liu Kuang’s troop movements. Did you not hear them?”
“I did.”
Gu HuaiJiang lowered his hand then looked over at Gu ShuBai, “Tell these uncles why Liu Kuang won’t move his troops to Weizhou and Changchuan.”
Gu ShuBai pondered for a moment then quickly spoke, “I think that there are three reasons. First, Liu Kuang’s sister, Liu YinYin, died at Zhu Guan. He previously vowed to avenge Liu YinYin, so Zhu Guan will have more meaning to him.”
“Second, military strategists emphasize trying to make something fake look real and something real look fake. It’s precisely because the scouts are reporting that they are clearly seeing Liu Kuang’s troop movements that they are suspicious. Based on what Yu Fu’s letter said, that day’s snake attack on Zhu Mountain was Liu Kuang’s trap. He is able to set traps on Zhu Mountain, so it’s natural that he can fake troop movements to deceive us.”
When the second reason was brought up, the people inside the tent understood Gu HuaiJiang’s decision but then heard Gu ShuBai say: “Of course, the third reason is the most important.”
Everyone’s ears perked up to listen to his third reason.
“Third, in the decades-long history of Eastern Ling defending against Western Kun’s invasions, Zhu Guan has always been selected as the main battlefield. This is because it is a very open space past Zhu Guan. From high ground to low ground, it is a downhill slope from Western Kun into Eastern Ling. With them occupying the high ground, they will have a better chance of winning. Most importantly, the valley next to Zhu Mountain is the best place to retreat through. As long as they return to their territory, we have never crossed the border onto their land to kill them.”
The third reason that he mentioned was definitely the most important reason that there would be no change.
Of course, the topography would not change, but the Gu family’s army’s tactics would change.
Yan Hua said: “Saying it like this, not only does Liu Kuang hope that the main battlefield will be outside Zhu Guan, but head general also wishes it to be like this?”
Gu ShuBai smiled and nodded to him, “I think that if Liu Kuang really wanted to change the location, father would think of a way to have him regroup his forces at Zhu Guan. Father, am I right?”
In the fight between Western Kun and Eastern Ling, Eastern Ling always had the upper hand. Gu HuaiJiang wanted to dispatch Western Kun’s army with ease.
Having been asked, Gu HuaiJiang raised his hand once more and pointed at the map on the wall, “It’s almost time for the Mid-Autumn Festival. We shall eat mooncakes while waiting for Liu Kuang to attack.”
Pointing at the map, he tapped it a couple of times, and everyone looked over. It was where a tall peak stood, and it was none other than Zhu Guan!
Eating Mooncakes (Part Three)
After one battle, Liu Kuang made countless changes to his tactics.
The scouts sent out by Gu HuaiJiang returned in waves with news of Liu Kuang sending troops to Weizhou and Liu Kuang sending troops to Changchuan.
At the start, everyone thought that Liu Kuang was trying to attack the two fronts where the defenses were weaker, but as more and more troops were moved around, a quick calculation showed that there were not many troops left at the main camp outside Zhu Guan.
“Head general, moved all of his troops from Zhu Guan to Weizhou and Changchuan. If things continue on like this, there will be a battle! Head general, please give the order to move our troops to both sides!”
“The fighting still hasn’t started. What’s the rush to reinforce them?”
Gu HuaiJiang remained completely calm. Seeing two dark figures lingering outside the tent, he cleared his throat, “Yan Zheng, Huo Yin, come in!”
The two people who had been named subconsciously wanted to flee, but after some thought, head general was allowing them to go in.
Strange, it was already lucky enough that they were not being chased away, but why were they being called in?
The two of them were self-aware. They knew that based on their age and experience, they still did not have the qualifications to enter the main tent.
“Head general, do you have some orders?”
Gu HuaiJiang did not bring up whether or not troops would be moved. On the contrary, he smiled and looked at the two, “I heard that the young general say that the two of you have been frequently going into the city to buy supplies in preparation for a long battle. Is this the case?”
“Yes!”
It turned out that he was asking about this, and Yan Zheng relaxed, “We followed the young general’s methods and accounted for the amount of food produced and taxes paid by Zhu Guan over the past three years. I have already reached an agreement with Zhu Guan’s prefect to not immediately send the grains harvested in the border cities to the capital. If our military rations are running low, we can take some from the regions surrounding Zhu Guan. Would that not be better than a long supply line from the capital?”
Gu HuaiJiang nodded, “Then I will give you two another mission. Go to the city and buy some mooncakes. We must ensure that every soldier is able to eat one. We will need to pass this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival here, so we can’t allow the soldiers to suffer.”
These two did not know much else, but they were familiar with the city. This was a task that they could handle very smoothly!
Yan Zheng cheerfully said: “Understood! Leave this matter to us!”
What sort of time was this, yet Gu HuaiJiang was still in the mood to eat mooncakes?
The two from the younger generation cheerfully rushed out, while the generals in the tent were confused, “Head general, moving the troops is the most pressing matter right now. Who knows when Liu Kuang will attack Weizhou and Changchuan! Last time, they only sent two small groups to attack the two cities, and the groups led by the second young sir and third young sir were completely unable to defend. How should they defend against the much larger force that they sent this time?”
“Liu Kuang will not send anyone to the two other cities. There’s no need to worry.”
Gu HuaiJiang stood up and pointed at the map of the border region. Just like before, it was most likely that Zhu Guan would remain the main battlefield.
Lao Jin was the one who was most impatient. If Gu HuaiJiang did not explain it clearly, he would not continue to listen to the discussion of tactics, “Head general, how can you be so certain that Liu Kuang won’t send reinforcements to the two cities? Every single one of our scouts has returned with information on Liu Kuang’s troop movements. Did you not hear them?”
“I did.”
Gu HuaiJiang lowered his hand then looked over at Gu ShuBai, “Tell these uncles why Liu Kuang won’t move his troops to Weizhou and Changchuan.”
Gu ShuBai pondered for a moment then quickly spoke, “I think that there are three reasons. First, Liu Kuang’s sister, Liu YinYin, died at Zhu Guan. He previously vowed to avenge Liu YinYin, so Zhu Guan will have more meaning to him.”
“Second, military strategists emphasize trying to make something fake look real and something real look fake. It’s precisely because the scouts are reporting that they are clearly seeing Liu Kuang’s troop movements that they are suspicious. Based on what Yu Fu’s letter said, that day’s snake attack on Zhu Mountain was Liu Kuang’s trap. He is able to set traps on Zhu Mountain, so it’s natural that he can fake troop movements to deceive us.”
When the second reason was brought up, the people inside the tent understood Gu HuaiJiang’s decision but then heard Gu ShuBai say: “Of course, the third reason is the most important.”
Everyone’s ears perked up to listen to his third reason.
“Third, in the decades-long history of Eastern Ling defending against Western Kun’s invasions, Zhu Guan has always been selected as the main battlefield. This is because it is a very open space past Zhu Guan. From high ground to low ground, it is a downhill slope from Western Kun into Eastern Ling. With them occupying the high ground, they will have a better chance of winning. Most importantly, the valley next to Zhu Mountain is the best place to retreat through. As long as they return to their territory, we have never crossed the border onto their land to kill them.”
The third reason that he mentioned was definitely the most important reason that there would be no change.
Of course, the topography would not change, but the Gu family’s army’s tactics would change.
Yan Hua said: “Saying it like this, not only does Liu Kuang hope that the main battlefield will be outside Zhu Guan, but head general also wishes it to be like this?”
Gu ShuBai smiled and nodded to him, “I think that if Liu Kuang really wanted to change the location, father would think of a way to have him regroup his forces at Zhu Guan. Father, am I right?”
In the fight between Western Kun and Eastern Ling, Eastern Ling always had the upper hand. Gu HuaiJiang wanted to dispatch Western Kun’s army with ease.
Having been asked, Gu HuaiJiang raised his hand once more and pointed at the map on the wall, “It’s almost time for the Mid-Autumn Festival. We shall eat mooncakes while waiting for Liu Kuang to attack.”
Pointing at the map, he tapped it a couple of times, and everyone looked over. It was where a tall peak stood, and it was none other than Zhu Guan!
