Chapter 63: Looking Down on Opponents

  "Zi Wei brother, this time in battle, I'll take the lead with your horse as our vanguard. The 8,000 troops will be under unified command, and we'll show off our military might in Donglai County!"

  Wu Qing cupped his hands, voluntarily handing over the military power in his hands. He knew that for large-scale wars, Guan Yu still had some experience. The 8,000 soldiers and horses could only be gathered together to become a single force, and he would follow orders and attack together.

  After all, that treasure is not as good as some of his, but it is also a second-rate martial general with him, and there is no essential difference. Guan Hai, on the other hand, is an existence at the peak of first-rate martial generals, only one step away from the great generals. This time, letting Guan Hai command the army is naturally the best choice!

  "Alright, since Zi Ling is like that, then I won't be polite. This time, our expedition should prioritize repaying the kindness of Master Xian Sheng first. We must conquer the land with a thunderous momentum and annihilate it, only then can we show off Master Xian Sheng's prestige and let those vassals know that Master Xian Sheng is not a bandit, but a man who can split the land!"

  Guan Hai's eyes flashed with flames as he said, regarding the information from the outside world, he also often received intelligence and naturally knew how these people called Zhang Xu, which made him extremely angry.

  Although Guan Hai is not a fanatical believer of Zhang Xu, he does not have the madness of reason, but he is also an extremely loyal and devoted follower. For those who dare to insult Zhang Xu, he remembers them one by one in his heart. Bei Hai Kong Rong, such a big shot, has long been dissatisfied with Guan Hai. If it weren't for Zhang Xu's cautious military orders, he might have dared to attack Bei Hai City again!

  Of course, Zhang Yan is not a person without a broad vision at this time. He knows that he can intimidate Kong Rong, but it's not yet time to destroy Kong Rong. Moreover, let alone the fact that Kong Rong and Tian Kai are on good terms, attacking Kong Rong will inevitably lead to Tian Kai coming back to rescue him. To say nothing of the greatest threat, Yuan Shao, who is now not someone Zhang Yan can easily contend with.

  Not bordering on Yuan Shao, then there is room for buffering, and the foundation can be firmly established. Guan Yu naturally knew this, so even if he was extremely angry in his heart, he still suppressed his anger and poured all his hatred and anger onto the enemy general Zongbao.

  Zong Bao was one of the many great generals under Kong Rong. When Guan Hai led the Yellow Turbans to attack Beihai, he almost got killed by Guan Hai, so Guan Hai knew his strength very well, only slightly inferior to Wu Qing, but far from being a match for himself.

  So this time, Guan Yu can be said to have full confidence, holding the mighty army, and on the military side, our side is far superior to Kong Rong's and Zongbao's armies. Although Kong Rong also has some basic generals, third-rate generals and unranked generals, they are quite a few, but they can only barely make up for part of the gap between the two armies. At the highest level of commanding generals, Zongbao is not Guan Yu's opponent at all. The outcome of this war was already predictable.

  One side is fighting on their home turf, with a modernized army that is extremely loyal to the Xian Shi Zhang Xu. The general is also Guan Hai, a fierce and powerful warrior who can almost be considered a god. On the other hand, the opposing side has come from afar, with an army whose morale can only be described as average, and are inexperienced in large-scale battles.

  By comparing the two, we can see the huge gap between them. At this time, after Guan Yu received the command of the entire army, he immediately began to train the troops, using camps and brigades as the framework, slowly integrating the 8,000 soldiers together.

  At this time, Zongbao's army went on an expedition, and the grain and grass were quickly prepared. Kong Rong's ability to govern the local area was not bad, but he had no sympathy for the lower-class people, only ensuring that they could barely survive without starving, which allowed him to accumulate a large amount of supplies in his hands.

  This time the army set out, and immediately allocated a month's worth of grain and fodder. After General Zongbao's army had offered sacrifices to their military flags, they marched majestically towards Donglai Commandery.

  At this time, Zong Baozhi was full of pride and confidence. This time, leading an army of 10,000 to conquer Donglai County, suppressing the bandits seemed like a trivial matter in his eyes, naturally it would be easy to capture them, not taking even a month he would surely return victorious, this is indeed a great achievement that has been handed over to him. Moreover, in his eyes, although Donglai County was a desolate and impoverished place, it also had some wealth.

  "Hmph, this time someone saved them, of course, they need to collect some reward. Handing over a portion to the governor, the rest wouldn't go into someone's pocket? And I heard those bandits are extremely wealthy, perhaps they can even gain more!"

  Zong Bao was dreaming of beautiful dreams, and on the way, he also scattered scouts everywhere. However, the Northern Sea army was weak, and this scout was no exception. After scouting around for about a kilometer, they hastily returned to report back. The evil consequences of Zong Bao's lax leadership were revealed.

  But when he heard that no enemy troops were found, Zong Bao became even more arrogant: "Hmph, bandits are just bandits. Our great army has come to attack, and they don't even know how to scout ahead. They really are ignorant bandits! It seems that this time we can easily wipe them out!"

  Zong Bao was overjoyed in his heart and even more disdainful of Donglai County, having long fantasized about how to seize even more supplies.

  Thus, the army of 10,000 men came to Donglai County without any worries, swaggering and swaying towards it. In Donglai County, the army sent out scouts to monitor all regions, and Guan Yu naturally knew everything about the army's journey.

  "Zi Ling, it seems we overestimated this useless person. It's been more than a year and yet he still hasn't made any progress. He easily entered our territory, the military campaign has no secrets to speak of, and they can only march ten miles a day. What a waste!"

  The Gan army was not to be underestimated, even if it were the other vassals' troops, marching over 30 miles a day would still be no problem, although not as good as the Chang County army, which marched over 100 miles a day with ease, like taking things out of one's pocket.

  Zhang Xu's army, however, had undergone rigorous training and, according to Zhang Xu's vague memory, had experimented with various methods of binding their legs. This greatly increased the speed of the army's march, making it possible for them to cover over a hundred miles in a day. The humble leg bindings were, in fact, a groundbreaking achievement that enabled Zhang Xu's troops to achieve such remarkable feats.

  So Guan Yu has a reason to look down on Zongbao, but looking down is just looking down. The plan for this war still needs to be carefully discussed.

  So Guan Yu and Wu Qing began to discuss how to quickly defeat the army of Zongbao, now that victory was already a certainty. The current situation was that winning was not in question, but rather how to achieve it with the smallest loss and greatest results. Don't forget, this is also an excellent opportunity for training soldiers. Therefore, Guan Yu didn't think about using any tricks or schemes, but instead wanted to win with dignity and honor!