funbook-pk Chapter 131 Judgment
Chapter 131 Judgment
What should he do? Ju Yi was a little at a loss. Should he continue the attack or retake Rencheng? He was about to face the autonomous region's army directly. Ju Yi was not very confident. The fighting strength of Chen Er's army had always been a mystery. It seemed that every time they clashed, his army's fighting strength was much stronger than before.
What to do? What should we do? After thinking for a long time, Ju Yi finally made up his mind. He had to take back Rencheng, otherwise half of his retreat would be cut off. Moreover, it was very likely that the Yanzhou side did not know that Rencheng had fallen. If they sent reinforcements, wouldn't that be terrible? "Guards! Guards!" Ju Yi shouted loudly.
A messenger rushed in, and Ju Yi shouted at him, "Send a message to the Lord of Yanzhou immediately: Chen Er has joined the battle! Rencheng has fallen! Let the Lord decide on the next battle plan."
"Yes, General!"
The messenger understood the urgency of the situation and quickly ran out to find the cavalry messenger. He handed the letter to the cavalryman and ordered him to return to Yanzhou immediately. To be on the safe side, he also dispatched three messengers in three different directions, just in case.
"Damn the autonomous region, damn Chen Er!" Ju Yi kept cursing Chen Er. Although he knew it was pointless, he couldn't stop cursing because only in this way could he vent some of his frustration and prevent his anger from affecting his judgment.
Ju Yi did not wait for Yuan Shao's new orders. He directly ordered 30,000 flintlock musketeers and 30,000 matchlock musketeers to return to Rencheng, while the rest of the army continued to advance. Ju Yi believed that although there were only 30,000 troops left, they could still suppress the Xuzhou army. This was the experience he gained after the battle of Rencheng. The Xuzhou army was really not good at fighting, and there was no need to take them too seriously.
After capturing Rencheng, Li Ji of the Seventh Army dispatched a large number of scouts to be deployed within a hundred miles of Rencheng. The Yanzhou Army would be detected as soon as they appeared. He was not worried at all about whether he could hold Rencheng. The army had twelve general cannons directly under its command, and each division had six large-caliber general cannons and twelve small-caliber general type II cannons. In terms of firepower alone, Li Ji's army was equivalent to 100,000 Yanzhou troops. After all, he also brought twelve cannons from the legion's support!
Based on this calculation, Rencheng now has thirty-six Type 1 General cannons and twenty-four Type 2 General cannons. All troops are elite soldiers equipped with Type 2 Autumn Rain rifles. Although it only has one-third the strength of the Yanzhou army, Li Ji is not worried at all. He can just fight.
When Yuan Shao received the news from Rencheng, he should have also learned that the Jizhou autonomous region's army had begun to march south. Li Ji was not worried at all about the enemy forces on the west bank of the Si River attacking. At this time, the Yanzhou headquarters was already in dire need of protection, so Yuan Shao had no time to care about the war in Xuzhou. Perhaps the war in Rencheng had only just begun when Ju Yi received the news that Yuan Shao had ordered a retreat.
Two days later, Ju Yi, who had advanced to the vicinity of Changlu, finally led his army back to Rencheng on a forced march. Ju Yi ordered his army to set up camp and rest thirty miles east of Rencheng. After two days of forced march, his soldiers were already somewhat exhausted. Ju Yi did not want to start attacking the city just like that. Moreover, he was thinking about Yuan Shao's orders. The autonomous region's army, which had a numerical advantage, had no reason not to attack Yanzhou from other directions. Therefore, from the beginning, Ju Yi was not optimistic about Yuan Shao's plan. Chen Er would not stand by and watch Yuan Shao succeed in annexing Xuzhou's territory. It was only a matter of time before the autonomous region's army intervened. However, he did not expect them to come so quickly.
Over the years, Yuan Shao and his strategists and generals have conducted the most research on Chen Er, and have also made a relatively detailed analysis of Chen Er. Chen Er is a man who does not act unless he is absolutely certain of success, and when he does act, it is with the force of thunder. He only acts when he has absolute certainty and a relatively complete plan.
So when Ju Yi received the news of Rencheng's capture, he understood that the attack from Ji Province must have started simultaneously. Yan Province was facing immense pressure because, in order to conquer Xu Province, Ju Yi had essentially taken away two-thirds of Yan Province's main force, and a portion of the remaining one-third had to be stationed in Luoyang. Yuan Shao was under tremendous pressure. Chen Er's massive troop mobilization was made completely undisguised. Apart from the army that appeared out of nowhere to launch a surprise attack on Rencheng, 200,000 troops were openly deployed around the border, allowing scouts to observe them freely. What was this? This was definitely not arrogance or provocation; it was Chen Er's absolute trust in his army, which was why he made such a deployment.
Therefore, Ju Yi was very clear that Yanzhou was definitely facing an attack from a full-strength legion of the Northern Autonomous Region, which was 100,000 men! 100,000 men! The main force of the Yanzhou army, the flintlock pikemen, only numbered 50,000. The strength was completely unequal.
Therefore, Ju Yi was not waiting for Yuan Shao's order to attack Rencheng, but rather for Yuan Shao to order a withdrawal. Without new orders, Ju Yi could only continue the attack, so he could delay as long as possible.
On the city wall of Rencheng, Li Ji put down his binoculars and said to Chief of Staff Chen Bang and the two division commanders, "The Yanzhou army is coming in strong. According to intelligence, the Yanzhou army has 50,000 well-equipped flintlock musketeers. I wonder how many there are here."
"According to the scouts' observations, there should only be around 20,000 men, at most no more than 30,000," Chen Bang replied to Li Ji. Li Ji nodded and said, "Even if all 50,000 men came, I, the army commander, would not be afraid. Compared to our autonomous region, they are still lacking in firepower."
“That’s right. We’ve deployed dozens of large cannons on the city walls. How could those old-fashioned cannons of the Yanzhou army possibly be a match for us?” a division commander said dismissively.
Li Ji frowned and said, "Pass on my order: after the battle begins tomorrow, the artillery will only be allowed to fire at one-third of its maximum speed."
"Why is that?" the commander of the 23rd Division asked, puzzled.
"Idiot, what if we scare them away by going all out? Besides, if we spend a little more time aiming, we might be able to hit them more accurately." Li Ji was really exasperated with his division commander. How could he be so stupid?
"Yes, Commander, I understand." The division commander seemed to realize his mistake and quickly admitted it. If the General's Cannon were to unleash its full firepower, it might indeed intimidate the Yanzhou Army and prevent them from attacking the city. Although this might seem to be advantageous to the Seventh Army, everyone understood that if they did not inflict casualties on the enemy, their mission would be unsuccessful.