Chapter 345: Night attack, covert camp, and the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan’s reaction!

Chapter 345: Night attack, covert camp, and the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan’s reaction!

Gao Yao had originally made up his mind that once Zhang Liang came up with a plan, he would immediately act on it. However, Zhang Liang put forward a key condition: they must wait until the news of Nanhai County City reaches the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan before they can act. Because only in this way can the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan be convinced of their plan. Moreover, Gao Yao must be able to obtain information much faster than the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan.

All they had to do was light bonfires at a specific location a few miles away from the city and arrange them in a triangle. If three thick smoke rose, it meant the plan was a success; if only one thick smoke rose, it meant the plan had failed. Of course, there were people who were responsible for delivering the news, so Gao Yao didn't need to send anyone to risk entering the city, and he would be able to accurately know the progress.

However, the most difficult problem at the moment is still the siege. The continuous and fierce siege for many days has made the situation in Xia County precarious. Gao Yao knows that once he leaves this place, it is conceivable that the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan will definitely use all his strength to attack and seize Xia County. Gao Yao is really worried about whether Xia County can hold on, but fortunately, today, Xia County has been barely held. Next, everything depends on whether the sneak attack tonight can achieve the expected results.

"Come here! Quickly gather your troops and set off immediately to the left and right wings of the enemy camp. When it is midnight, immediately set fire to the mountains and forests. Once the fire starts, beat the war drums with all your strength to boost the prestige of our army! Did you hear me clearly?" Gao Yao shouted loudly.

"Here"

At this time, Gao Yao had just led his troops to complete a short meal and rest. He knew that time was running out and he had to race against time to deploy the next action. This sneak attack was not a whim, but a well-thought-out strategic arrangement. The choice of setting fire at midnight was to take advantage of the enemy's most lax defense and disrupt their position unexpectedly, thereby effectively distracting the enemy's attention and creating favorable conditions for his subsequent sneak attack.

Although Gao Yao was filled with resentment and murderous intent towards the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan, he had to reluctantly admit a cruel reality - in terms of pure command and combat capabilities, when both sides had equal strength and no external interference, he was far behind the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan.

However, war never depends solely on personal force or wisdom, but more often requires various strategies and means to achieve victory. Because of this, Gao Yao decided to take the risk, but facing such a powerful opponent as the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan, Gao Yao still had to be cautious.

At the same time, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan returned to the camp and immediately began to count the losses suffered in today's battle. After a careful count, he was surprised to find that the number of soldiers lost in just this day had exceeded 5,000! Such a huge number of casualties was really frightening and shocking.

Today's fierce battle lasted almost the entire day. They launched round after round of fierce attacks on the enemy city, but the enemy was not to be outdone and put up a tenacious resistance. Under such a high-intensity attack and defense confrontation, even the defenders, the Southern Border Army of Xia County, suffered losses that should not be underestimated. According to preliminary estimates, at least 3,000 soldiers of the Southern Border Army were injured or killed in this fierce battle.

The casualty data mentioned here does not take into account the rescue of the wounded by the logistics troops. In fact, due to the ever-changing and chaotic battlefield situation, it is not easy to accurately count the specific casualties after treatment. And even if some wounded receive timely medical treatment, most people still find it difficult to recover their combat effectiveness in the short term and return to the battle.

The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan was concentrating on planning the follow-up action plan once Xia County was successfully conquered. Although Xia County had escaped today by chance and had not been completely conquered, by the end of the battle, the material reserves of the defenders had basically been exhausted, and this fact could not be changed. Therefore, Yi Xiaochuan was already fully confident that Xia County could be successfully conquered tomorrow, and it could be said that it was a sure thing.

As for the night breakout, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan had already prepared for it. You know, for the enemy, it is almost impossible to successfully break out from the east, south and north gates. Only the west gate has a slight chance of becoming a breakthrough for the enemy. How could the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan let go of this only flaw easily? He has carefully deployed a full 20,000 elite divisions in the direction of the west gate. Such a force can be described as a copper wall and iron wall, indestructible!

As long as the defenders in the city dare to try to break out from this gate, they will be greeted with an attack as fierce as a storm. Even if they can only delay these defenders for half a quarter of an hour, it will be enough for the rest of the army to quickly complete the encirclement and wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop.

At this moment, Xia County was like prey in Yi Xiaochuan's hands, unable to escape. Whether the defenders in the city chose to fight to the death to break out, or to hold on until tomorrow to wait for the city to be completely captured, there was only one outcome - death. Now, the question facing the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan was no longer whether he could capture the city, but how to continue attacking the southern border.

After careful consideration, Yi Xiaochuan had a plan in mind: now is the time to order Wang Ben's army stationed in Zhentuo area to continue to advance. In this way, not only can we put more pressure on the Southern Border Army, but also form a pincer attack with our side, forcing the Southern Border Army in Zhentuo area to take action.

"Report! General, there are sudden flames rising to the sky from the north and south sides of the camp, and there are also sounds of war drums mixed with shouts of killing. It seems that the southern border troops are preparing to launch a surprise attack on our camp!"

The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan was sitting in the tent, his chin in his hand, his brows furrowed, thinking hard about the direction and strategy for the next step. Hearing such an urgent military intelligence report from outside the tent, he couldn't help but be slightly stunned, "Secret camp?" The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan was also a little unbelievable. They had been fighting for so long and didn't have a secret camp. If they did, it was obviously something fishy.

Immediately, he picked up the weapon beside him without hesitation, rushed out of the tent as fast as lightning, and headed straight for the sentry tower of the camp. Along the way, his feet were like the wind, and he walked as fast as flying, leaving only a trail of afterimages wherever he passed.

Not long after, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan climbed onto the high platform. Standing on the high ground and looking far into the distance, he saw that the fires on the north and south sides of the camp were indeed fierce, with thick smoke billowing and covering the sky. The fire was burning fiercely, and in the sea of ​​fire, the rumbling sound of war drums could be faintly heard, like thunder, one after another, without stopping.

Faced with such a thrilling scene, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan did not panic. He stared calmly at the fire and the movement in the distance with a sharp gaze. After a little thought, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a barely perceptible smile. Because he saw through the enemy's trick at a glance - it was obviously just a feint.

"Hmph, a mere trick! You want to use this to confuse me? That's too naive!" The mysterious Yi Xiaochuan muttered to himself.

"This is undoubtedly a trick by the enemy. Their real purpose is probably to take advantage of the opportunity to break out. Pass on my order and quickly send messengers to the left and right flank camps to tell them not to act rashly and ignore this bluffing attack. Just be on high alert and pay close attention to the enemy's every move. In addition, let all soldiers be vigilant and be careful to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the chaos to break out."

"Yes, sir!" The personal soldier beside him responded and left.

At the same time, Li Xin had already left the tent quickly, and his figure was as fast as the wind and reached the outskirts of the camp. He stared at the front with sharp eyes, and saw the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan slowly walking down from the height. Li Xin did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly stepped forward, clasped his fists and saluted, saying: "General, in my opinion, the enemy's actions this time are quite strange, and it is very likely that they took advantage of the night to attack our camp. I think we should take all precautions in advance, just in case."

Facing Li Xin's earnest advice, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan smiled slightly, waved his hand and said, "Old General, you are worrying too much! This is just a feint attack by the enemy, and its purpose is nothing more than to attract our army's attention. According to my guess, they are going to such great lengths to create an opportunity for the trapped Southern Border Army in the city to break out. Therefore, I have ordered that these harassments should be ignored, and only a small group of elite troops should be sent to drive them away. After all, judging from the current situation, how can the Southern Border Army have enough troops to attack our central army camp?"

Although Li Xin had doubts about Yi Xiaochuan's decision, he could not say anything more. There were still more than 20,000 soldiers in his camp ready for battle. Even if the Southern Border Army dared to take the risk and attack, it would be difficult to succeed. Thinking of this, Li Xin felt relieved and prayed secretly that everything would go as Yi Xiaochuan expected and there would be no accidents.

After the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan finished speaking, he was about to return to the central army tent. After taking just two steps, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan suddenly stopped, and his expression suddenly changed.

"Gao Yao! It's Gao Yao, immediately order everyone to prepare to meet the enemy!" At this time, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan was interrupted by Li Xin and realized that something was wrong. Although he felt a little suspicious, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan still thought of the opponent's possible candidate for a sneak attack, that is, Gao Yao. When Gao Yao chose to break out with 5,000 cavalry, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan already felt something was wrong. Breaking out is not about the more people the better, but the more people the better, the easier it is to escape.

However, considering Gao Yao's situation at the time and the sound of war drums in the city, the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan felt that Gao Yao was preparing for both situations and did so in order to be more secure. But now he thinks that this is most likely intentional, and the other party's real purpose is to lay down a covert plan!