Chapter 1346 - 330: Bloody Battle (Part 1)

Chapter 1346: Chapter 330: Bloody Battle (Part 1)

Prince Jingnan is adept at meticulous control in military operations. He sends messengers to and from the various units and the King’s Tent every morning, noon, and evening to report on current situations in the units, down to details such as how many laborers are sick, how many warhorses are lame, the amount of stored grain, daily consumption in the camp, the usage and remaining medical supplies, and so on.

In response, the King’s Tent provides feedback on the needed replenishments and the situation of the new round of warfare, including whether to be responsible for city sieges, provide support, or focus on alerting against possible Chu army deployments on the outer perimeter. Sometimes, the area of responsibility is meticulously divided down to the very hills.

The troops from various units seem like "puppets on strings", with Prince Jingnan grasping the ends of the strings, essentially commanding them as if they were extensions of his limbs.

If it were a mediocre marshal commanding like this, there would be inevitable complaints below, possibly leading to the problem of empty talk on strategy, but Tian Wujing clearly doesn’t belong to this category.

In fact, this is not particularly surprising; any marshal of a large army knows the benefits of such practices, yet it is often difficult to implement. With many troops and military leaders, each with different backgrounds, allegiances, and supporters in the court, these complexes can be tangled and confusing. When leading a war, often, the marshal’s thoughts are not on the battle but on these intricate interpersonal relationships.

Moreover, throughout history, when a marshal is granted the seal to lead an expedition, the higher-ups often like to intentionally add variables by installing military supervisors, which can be quite unsightly. Purposefully planting opposing factions within the army is also an expected aspect of strategic balance.

However, within the Yan State campaign against Chu, this phenomenon doesn’t exist.

Firstly, Prince Jingnan himself wouldn’t allow such a phenomenon to occur;

Secondly, the current ruler of Yan State has given explicit orders before the expedition that anyone who criticizes the frontline warfare will face immediate execution.

Ji Chengjue once said that excluding the Three Jin lands, the Yan region is not as vast as Chu, nor is its population as plentiful as Qian, nor is its environment as favorable as Jin.

The reason Yan was able to sweep across the lands in this generation and earn renowned prestige, building the current national power, is precisely because, even with only five fingers, I can still tightly form a fist to strike fiercely. Even if you have seven, eight, nine, or even ten fingers, it is difficult for you to truly grasp them and face off with me, and ultimately, you’ll be knocked out with my punch.

But this seemingly bizarre distribution of power often makes people feel very insecure. Over the years, Qian and Chu have waited eagerly to mock Yan State, but the problem is, before they even get the chance, they themselves risk becoming the real joke.

For instance, this moment for Chu State,

perhaps,

only Nian Yao himself knows,

the kind of pressure he’s facing now, akin to a black vault brewing its momentum above him, with each thunderclap tearing open the heavens like a series of cracks.

Right now,

he is grateful that regardless of the situation, Chu State still has Town South Pass to hold its ground.

Without this majestic pass in place, Nian Yao doesn’t believe Chu State would fall; even if Yan’s iron cavalry is fierce, Nian Yao is confident that under the leadership of the king, the fate of Chu cannot be easily ended.

But it is conceivable,

if these tens of thousands of Yan and Jin allied forces truly march into Chu region, trying to expel or negotiate with them would undoubtedly make Chu State suffer considerably.

As the war progresses step by step, the first round of engagement, namely the Yangshan Village battle, has concluded, and the reconnaissance agents and informants exploring each other’s domestic situations are gradually bringing information to the higher-ups of both sides.

Yan State certainly stakes its national destiny but remains united, as long as those few remain, the unity persists. Long ago, those three had already scraped away the burrs on the unity’s surface with blood and fire.

As for Chu State,

Nian Yao has presented a memorial of great victory to the court,

although he has personally written a confidential memorandum to the king, detailing the specific circumstances of this battle.

However, the Bai Family,

still presented a memorandum impeaching Nian Yao for watching Yangshan Village being besieged without offering help, avoiding combat, leading to the destruction of eight thousand Baipu soldiers!

The Bai Family’s memorandum expressed their anger;

this action, from a higher perspective, undoubtedly negatively impacts the larger picture.

But from the Bai Family’s perspective, sending troops to garrison deep in the Chu army’s fortified village, only to inexplicably be annihilated by Yan people, is frustrating.

Unlike the Qu Clan, a noble aristocracy whose fifty thousand Blue Luan troops went abroad to Jin land, once they were gone, they immediately conscripted a second batch, with comfort from both the king and the court.

Even though the comfort gift — a princess — was abducted by Yan people.

If you had used this troop as bait and achieved any military objective, the Bai Family might not have protested, as they possess political awareness. But weren’t there no achievements at all?

Therefore, for the family’s survival and future, the Bai Family must express their dissatisfaction, for the crying child deserves candy, and they have the truth on their side.

However, this act inevitably stirs a wave, since previously, Nian Yao had strategically placed private troops from various noble families in the military forts and villages surrounding Town South Pass, while assigning the royal family’s imperial guard as the reliable and mobile force to solidify Town South Pass defense.

This arrangement was from a comprehensive view of the war, but different perspectives lead to different considerations, inevitably leading the Chu state’s domestic nobles to feel as though their private troops were being used as expendables.

This incident involving the Bai Family is like a stone creating ripples in a pond.