Chapter Ten: Raid on South Township

  "General, the Art of War states: 'Unite where it is beneficial and move, do not unite where it is not beneficial and stop.' Therefore, as a general, when using troops, one must emphasize strengths and avoid weaknesses. Using our own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses is the only way to achieve victory. Our army's advantage lies in the benefit of our cavalry, while the weakness of the rebels in Guandong lies in their lack of usable cavalry. Why not use our strength to strike at the rebel's weakness, and thus retreat the rebels?"

  Dong Zhuo furrowed his brow and remained silent, even more displeased in his heart.

  It's easy to talk about it, but it's not that simple when you actually do it.

  I thought this kid was a genius, but it turns out he's just good at talking on paper.

  One of the school's officials sneered and said: "It's easy to talk about hiding one's weaknesses and showing off one's strengths, but what clever strategy do you have that you can share with us?"

  "Haha!"

  The various generals below the hall burst out laughing, all with a look of disdain in their eyes.

  Li Ru also said: "General Luo has a clever plan to repel the enemy, don't hesitate to speak directly."

  Lu Zheng took a deep breath and said loudly: "Our army has the advantage of the Western Liang iron cavalry, but it is driven to defend the city. In fact, this is a major taboo in military strategy. The strength of the cavalry lies in its strong mobility, if it is driven to guard the pass, what's the difference with infantry? Your Excellency only needs to use a small number of elite infantry to hold the Tiger Trap Pass, and then order a general to lead a branch of cavalry out of Wu Pass, break through the Central Plains, take advantage of the various lords gathering at Tiger Trap Pass, when the rear is empty, attack the Central Plains, turn the world upside down. It's best to capture the old nest of Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu and others, the rebel army in Guandong will retreat soon."

  "This..."

  Dong Zhuo was taken aback by the words, and his eyes lit up immediately.

  The servant standing beside Li Ru's eyes suddenly lit up, and then his eyebrows furrowed, coldly scanning Luo Zheng with a glance.

  The various generals under the hall were all deep in thought, obviously pondering whether this plan was feasible.

  Dong Zhuo turned his head and asked: "What does Wen You think of this plan?"

  Li Ru hesitated for a moment, knowing that Dong Zhuo had already made up his mind, and could only say: "Ru thinks this plan is feasible."

  Dong Zhuo looked around the hall and said: "What does everyone think?"

  Xu Rong was the first to express his agreement, "I think this plan is feasible."

  The other generals saw that Li Ru and Xu Rong had already agreed, and they also followed suit.

  Dong Zhuo slammed his hand on the table and said: "Good, let's go with this plan. But who can undertake this task?"

  "I will go if you want me to."

  As soon as the words fell, almost all the students in the hall immediately stood up and filed out, loudly asking for orders.

  This is a great opportunity to make achievements, and no one wants to miss it.

  Even Lü Bu hastened down from the platform, eager to lead his troops into battle.

  Dong Zhuo first glanced at Lü Bu and frowned, saying: "If my son leads the army to conquer, who can protect his safety?"

  "This..."

  Lü Bu's face showed discontent, and he hastily lowered his head, sulkily retreating to one side.

  "Your Excellency," Luo Zheng hastily said loudly, "I am willing to share your worries."

  Dong Zhuo glanced at him, then swept his gaze over the other generals, and finally asked Li Ru, "I intend to appoint Hu Zhen as the commander-in-chief, Luo Zheng, Niu Jin, and Hu Mao as deputy commanders, leading eight thousand iron cavalry to conquer Guandong. What do you think, Wen You?"

  Li Ru said: "Your Excellency is wise and just, I have no dissenting opinions."

  Dong Zhuo immediately shouted: "Well, Hu Zhen, Hu Mao, Niu Jin, Luo Zheng listen to the order."

  The four marshals who were called out by name were overjoyed and hastily stepped forward, bowing their heads in obedience.

  The rest of the generals showed disappointment on their faces and retreated back to their ranks with their heads hung low.

  Dong Zhuo said: "With Hu Zhen as the main general, Niu Jin, Hu Mao and Luo Zheng as deputy generals, quickly lead 8,000 cavalry out of Wuguan to conquer the Central Plains. Set out tomorrow, make sure to turn the world upside down, no mistakes are allowed."

  "I will obey orders."

  The four of them hastily acknowledged in loud voices, all with joyful expressions on their faces.

  However, when they came out of the conference hall, Hu Zhu's gaze at Luo Zheng was somewhat meaningful.

  This kid has a plan to deal with the Kanto rebels, but didn't say it to me earlier, what a waste of effort.

  However, now is not the time to worry about it, it's best to set out as soon as possible.

  Hu Zhi led 8,000 elite cavalrymen out of the Tiger Trap Pass and rushed all the way to Luoyang, passing through Hangu Pass, arriving at Wuguan in seven days.

  Li Ying, the commander of Wuguan, heard the news and hastily led his troops to welcome them out. He welcomed the main force into Wuguan.

  Li Ying was a trusted general of Dong Zhuo and younger brother of Li Jue. He was entrusted with the heavy responsibility of guarding Wu, and was quite favored by him.

  When Li Ying learned that Hu Zhi was going to lead the army to conquer Guanzhong, he was greatly surprised. However, he did not dare disobey Hu Zhi's request and prepared five days' worth of dry rations for 8,000 cavalrymen. He also ordered his soldiers to prepare food and send it to the military camp.

  At night, in the central army tent, Hu Zhi summoned all military officers above the rank of Sima to discuss military affairs.

  The purpose of this expedition is very clear, it is to kill all the people in Kwantung and turn everything upside down.

  But having a goal is not enough, you also need a specific action plan, and can't be like a headless fly flying around randomly.

  Hu Mao is Hu Zong's younger brother, who can become a high-ranking officer, mainly relying on his family ties. He has never made any achievements or gained fame. At this moment, he is eager to make a name for himself and hastily speaks up: "Brother, why don't we directly capture Wan City and then lead our army northwards, crossing the Ying River, passing through Yingchuan, and attacking the rebel army in Guandong from the side and rear? In this way, the rebel army in Guandong will surely retreat, and Luoyang can be at ease."

  The various generals under the hall were silent and did not make a sound, with no one echoing in agreement.

  Hu Zhi also furrowed his brow, feeling that something was amiss, and asked the various generals, "What do you gentlemen think?"

  Niu Jinda said: "I think it's unnecessary to care about the rebels in Guandong, just let them go and kill them until they're covered in blood."

  Hu Zhen furrowed his brow and said, "At present, the rebel army in Guandong is stationed at Hu Lou, and the Yizhou army is also approaching Xiegu. The lord must be under great pressure, and we must quickly force the rebel army to retreat. How can we just kill indiscriminately?"

  "This..."

  Niu Jin is just a rough man, how would he know anything about strategy?

  His face turned pale and he couldn't utter a word in response.

  Hu Zhen's face showed displeasure, he waved his hand and said: "Then let's stop here for now, we'll discuss it again tomorrow."

  "General, if we send troops to Nanyang, we must capture the heavily fortified town of Nanxiang as a retreat route. Since speed is crucial in warfare, why don't our army advance early and swiftly attack Nanxiang with lightning speed, striking before they can cover their ears?"

  Hu Zhen's eyes moved, and he immediately said with a smile: "Shengping's words are indeed correct, this general also has this intention."

  Luó Zhēng's stomach hurts, if I didn't say it, you'd think of it, how strange.

  Hu Zhi ordered the dispersal of the troops and had them prepare for battle individually.

  The next day at five o'clock, 8,000 Western cavalry quietly departed from Wuguan and entered the territory of Nanyang.

  Nanxiang is located in the south of Nanyang, to the north of Danshui River, and is an important military town in northern Nanyang. It is a must-pass place for troops from Wuguan to enter the Central Plains, with a very important geographical location. As early as the pre-Qin period, the Chu State had repeatedly resisted the invasion of the Qin army here.

  However, at this time Nanyang had only 800 county soldiers, and Yuan Shu did not send any troops to garrison it.

  After all, the various lords of Guandong did not expect that Dong Zhuo would send a crack cavalry unit out of Wuguan to kill into the Central Plains under inferior military strength. How could Yuan Shu waste his troops and defend a useless Nanxiang?

  The red sun sets in the west, and the remaining rays of the sunset form a magnificent fiery cloud at the edge of the sky.

  The south gate of the city is open, and the citizens waiting to enter the city are lined up in a long queue, anxiously looking forward.

  Once the sun sets, the city gate will be closed.

  If we don't hurry up, I'm afraid we won't make it into the city today and will have made a wasted trip.

  The gatekeeper was neither too fast nor too slow, and he took the money with a soft hand.

  "No money? Get out of here."

  Suddenly, the gatekeeper kicked an old man to the ground and scolded him with a look of displeasure.

  "Please, let me enter the city, please, sir."

  The old man crawled over and grabbed the hem of the gatekeeper's pants, begging bitterly.

  "Get lost, you old thing."

  The gatekeeper was furious, lifted his leg and kicked the old man again, turning him over, still unsatisfied, chased after him and added a few more kicks. "You're so old, why don't you just die? What are you still doing alive?"

  The people in the queue looked indignant, but they quickly lowered their heads and didn't dare say or do anything.

  The old man's mouth was bleeding from the corners and he couldn't get up again.

  Nanyang was originally the largest county in the Central Plains, but since the Guanghe era, there have been continuous natural disasters and man-made calamities, especially the Yellow Turban Rebellion, which has caused even more severe damage to Nanyang, this largest county in the Central Plains. The people's lives were already not easy.

  Yuan Shu occupied Nanyang and became even more ruthless, imposing heavy taxes and extorting money from the people, who were already exhausted and unable to bear the burden, with countless deaths from starvation.

  Not to mention other things, just the city gate tax alone has increased by more than five times compared to before.

  Many ordinary people have very urgent matters, yet they cannot enter the city at all.

  Just then, a thunderclap suddenly sounded in the distance, and the ground was slightly trembling, as if it were going to have an earthquake.

  "What's going on?"

  The soldiers sitting on the city wall blowing cowhide were startled and quickly got up to look around.

  "It's a horse thief."

  A soldier suddenly shouted loudly and immediately reacted, no, there was no rumor of horse thieves near Nancheng.

  And what's more, there were too many bandits, at least eight or seven thousand people.

  Not to mention Zhongyuan, even in the northern border towns, I'm afraid there aren't as many horse bandits as this?

  "Not good, it's the Western Xia cavalry."

  The quick-witted soldier reacted immediately and shouted loudly.

  "Hurry up and close the city gate."

  The pot on the city wall suddenly exploded, and it was chaotic beyond recognition.

  Iron hooves fluttering, raising dust and ash in the sky.

  The eight thousand Western Liang iron cavalry avoided the main road and suddenly appeared outside the southern county town, less than five hundred steps from the city gate.

  On the city wall, people were running and shouting, everything was in chaos.

  The gatekeeper and the people under the city wall also exploded in an instant after seeing clearly.

  "My goodness, how did the Western Xia cavalry kill their way over here?"

  The two gatekeepers shouted "Mom" and simultaneously turned around and ran, rushing into the city gate.

  "The Western Liang soldiers have arrived."

  "Run quickly and get into the city."

  The people queuing at the gate to enter the city also panicked and rushed in, shouting and swarming.

  At this time, let alone breaking into the city gate would be a capital offense, even if knives were falling from the sky, no one would care.

  In the eyes of the people of Zhongyuan, the Western Liang army is a symbol of barbarism and slaughter.

  If one had a choice, they would rather meet Yama, the king of hell, than encounter the brutal soldiers of Xiliang.

  "Close the city gate, quickly close the city gate for me."

  On the city wall, the small school gatekeeper jumped up and down, shouting loudly, his hair almost standing on end.

  However, the city gate can't be closed after all.

  Soldiers with menacing glints in their eyes chopped down several civilians who were desperately rushing forward, and the city gate immediately erupted into chaos.