Chapter 1308 - 984: Masterful Command

Using military tactics as if guided by the divine!

Upon hearing these four words, the entire court was in an uproar, and everyone finally realized that Prince Qin’s military report was one of victory!

Someone couldn’t wait to ask, "Minister Dong, what exactly is going on at the front!"

Only then did Dong Yue explain everything clearly.

It turned out that Yu Wenye led his troops eastward, but instead of following the original plan to directly reinforce Cijian, he bypassed Cijian, marched south along Yishui, and directly attacked Yique Pass south of Luoyang, where thirty thousand heavy troops were stationed. The commander of Yique Pass, Tan Chong, was an indecisive coward without much strength. After a single defeat, he immediately surrendered to Prince Qin.

After occupying Yique Pass, Yu Wenye rested his troops but still did not turn back to save Cijian. Instead, he dispatched a force northward to attack Luoyang!

The fall of Yique Pass had already made Liang Shide somewhat anxious, so as soon as he heard that someone was going to attack Luoyang, he immediately shut the city gates and ordered the troops at Da Gu Pass, located southeast of Luoyang, and Mengjin Pass, northeast, to quickly return for defense. Once these two forces returned, the defenders in Luoyang City would march out, encircling Yu Wenye’s force from three sides, enough to crush them!

However, these two passes varied in distance from Luoyang, and the troops sent out by mountain and river routes also varied in speed.

Finally, it was the ten thousand troops from Da Gu Pass that arrived first.

Before the reinforcements reached the outskirts of Luoyang City, just as they were preparing to cross Yishui, Yu Wenye’s main force stationed at Yique Pass suddenly struck, along with the forces feigning an attack on Luoyang turning back to encircle and completely annihilate the reinforcements from Da Gu Pass!

At the same time, the message sent by Yu Wenye to Cijian also finally arrived.

Upon receiving his orders, Shen Tu Tai led a portion of the troops steadfastly defending Cijian to directly intercept the five thousand troops coming south from Mengjin Pass. Moving slowly, their morale was already low. Prior to departure, they had heard of Yu Wenye’s annihilation of the Da Gu Pass reinforcements, further shaking their resolve. So when they saw Shen Tu Tai’s forces charging out, they didn’t even bother to see who was leading the attack or how many troops they had, but directly fled in defeat.

After this group was routed, the two thousand troops led by Shen Tu Tai merged with Yu Wenye’s main forces, advancing eastward and breaking through Da Gu Pass.

Subsequently, they gained the surrender of the commander at Huanyuan Pass, east of Da Gu Pass.

By this point, the three major passes along the southern line of Luoyang had all been breached.

And at Mengjin Pass, north of Luoyang, after losing those five thousand troops, upon hearing that Yu Wenye and Shen Tu Tai were merging forces to continue north, their troops either fled or ran away, leaving less than half to guard the pass, jittery and barely a fighting force; south of Mengjin Pass, the guards at Yanshi Pass, after hearing these reports, tightly closed their gates, ignoring all of Liang Shide’s orders and refusing to send out any troops.

Upon hearing this detailed war report, the ministers in the court were visibly flushed with excitement, and a few old generals laughed heartily and repeatedly exclaimed, "Good, good, good!"

"Indeed, such divine military strategy!"

"With a heavenly general like Prince Qin, how can our Dasheng Dynasty fear not smoothing the land!?"

"Prince Qin is truly worthy of being the Heavenly Strategy General!"

Hearing these words, Yu Wenquan was also so excited that he trembled all over. Since ascending the throne, he had almost bid farewell to a life of battles. Even during the last battle at Longmen Crossing, although he was present on the front lines, he merely intended to persuade Jiang Chong’en to surrender, not to really use force. However, the martial spirit in his heart couldn’t be erased by his position or time.

Just by looking at the few lines on the military report, he could envision the clashing of swords and armored warriors fighting fiercely!

Moreover, Yu Wenye indeed commanded his forces like a deity.

Even with just thirty thousand troops, even if he had reinforced Cijian and merged forces with the remnant troops of Yu Wencheng, it would have been difficult to challenge the massive defenses of Luoyang and the Eight Passes. Furthermore, had he firstly rescued Cijian, by this time, if the commanders of Luoyang or other passes had dispatched troops to strike them from all sides, they’d only end in siege and final defeat.

Unexpectedly, he divided his forces, skillfully utilizing the timing discrepancies in troop dispatch from various passes, and deployed Shen Tu Tai’s surprise forces, consistently maintaining a superior force to deal with Yique Pass and Da Gu Pass, concentrating attacks, and breaking these passes apart with precision on a map or paper is no easy feat!

What else could one call it but a heavenly general!?

At this moment, all the past grudges were effortlessly washed away as Yu Wenquan laughed, "Prince Qin indeed knows how to fight!"

Hearing him say this, the officers in the court were even more ecstatic, responding in agreement, "Indeed, as long as Prince Qin takes charge, why worry about not capturing the Eastern Capital?"

"With Prince Qin here, the Emperor can rest easy!"

"Let’s just wait for more good news from Prince Qin!"

Amidst the court’s jubilant mood, Yu Wenqian, who had remained silent, suddenly asked, "And what about King Qi?"

These two words plunged the previously lively Taiji Palace into silence, making everyone recall—Yu Wenye’s original mission was to aid Cijian to rescue King Qi; yet in this campaign, not only did he not reinforce Cijian, but also redeployed Shen Tu Tai and two thousand troops from Cijian, meaning King Qi Yu Wencheng’s forces were even fewer, making his situation more perilous now!?

Upon hearing this, Yu Wenquan hurriedly picked up the battle report, scrutinizing every word, indeed finding no mention of Cijian or Yu Wencheng.

So, in this battle, did Yu Wenye completely abandon Yu Wencheng?

Yu Wenquan’s brows slowly furrowed.

He, too, who had once risked his life on the battlefield, recognized the brilliance in Yu Wenye’s strategy, yet there lay a serious flaw in entirely overlooking Cijian and King Qi Yu Wencheng; while Yu Wenye maneuvered across Luoyang’s vicinity seamlessly with Shen Tu Tai, Liang Shide surely wouldn’t remain passive, likely avoiding Yu Wenye’s main forces but targeting Yu Wencheng at Cijian, their best target, especially as Shen Tu Tai had taken away two thousand troops, leaving Yu Wencheng with scant remaining forces.

Even if Yu Wenquan himself were in Liang Shide’s shoes, he too would dispatch forces, frantically attacking Cijian.

Capturing Cijian and seizing Yu Wencheng would be a grave blow to the Dasheng Dynasty, perhaps even using King Qi’s life to threaten Yu Wenquan and the Dasheng Dynasty wouldn’t be impossible.

This implies that Yu Wencheng has surely been in extreme hardship during this period!