Chapter 354: Accidentally hitting the target and ruining the plan!

Chapter 354: Accidentally hitting the target and ruining the plan!

Ying Bu's face flushed red, and his voice trembled slightly due to excessive excitement as he said, "Thank you, General, for your kindness and trust in me! I will do my best to live up to your expectations!"

At this time, Gao Yao smiled slightly, and then earnestly warned: "Haha, Ying Bu, this precious opportunity is now in front of you, but whether you can seize it firmly and take advantage of it to soar to the sky depends on your own ability. You must know that the discipline in my Southern Border Army is strict, and we have never valued the background of the soldiers. The only thing we care about is the actual personal ability. Moreover, no matter what bad habits you have had in the past, once you step into this military camp, you must strictly abide by the various rules and regulations of the army, and no violation of the rules is allowed. You must keep this in mind, do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Ying Bu hurriedly clasped his fists and bowed, saying, "Well, please rest assured, General! I know that military discipline is as strong as a mountain, and I will not dare to slack off for even a moment. I will strictly abide by military regulations and do my best to fulfill my duties as a vanguard officer, and I will never let you down!"

Seeing Ying Bu's sincere and resolute attitude, Gao Yao nodded with satisfaction, and then said slowly: "Well, very good. From now on, you should call me Lord."

Ying Bu quickly bowed again and responded loudly: "Yes!"

Gao Yao immediately ordered his men to properly arrange Ying Bu's food, clothing, shelter and transportation. He asked Ying Bu to wash up first to get rid of the fatigue and dust from the journey, and then enjoy a sumptuous meal to replenish his strength and energy.

Not long after Ying Bu left, Zhang Liang walked in from the courtyard gate calmly and slowly. When he saw Gao Yao, he smiled and bowed, saying "My Lord."

"Sir, you are here. Please sit for a moment. Someone, please serve him some fragrant tea!" When Gao Yao saw Zhang Liang appear, he quickly waved his hand to signal his servants to prepare the best tea to entertain the distinguished guest.

After Zhang Liang sat down, Gao Yao personally filled a cup of hot tea for him. After taking a sip, Zhang Liang asked thoughtfully, "From what I have seen from the Lord's words and actions just now, I think this General Ying Bu does not seem to be completely in line with the Lord's wishes. However, the Lord still entrusted him with an important task and even granted him the position of vanguard officer. It is really puzzling. I wonder what the deep meaning is?"

Zhang Liang had quietly arrived at the gate of the courtyard when Gao Yao and Ying Bu were fighting. Out of courtesy and caution, he did not rush in, but quietly observed the situation outside the door. Seeing Gao Yao at this moment, he naturally couldn't suppress his doubts.

"This person is proud and arrogant. He is definitely not someone who will stay under someone else's command for long. Some people even say that he will become a king in the future." Hearing Zhang Liang's curiosity, Gao Yao also explained.

"Oh? If so, why does the lord still..." Zhang Liang was a little puzzled after hearing Gao Yao's words. When other people met these ambitious people, they would either not stay with them or get rid of them. Gao Yao, on the contrary, reused them.

"Although Ying Bu is ambitious, his military strength and command ability are both superior. Looking at the world, there are only a few people who can compare with Ying Bu. Since he has such ability, why can't he be used by me? But such a person cannot be trusted blindly. He must be constantly beaten to make Ying Bu understand who is the king and who is the minister."

Since he already trusted Zhang Liang, Gao Yao naturally did not hide his thoughts and told Zhang Liang a large part of his thoughts on Ying Bu. As for the degree of this threat, it was naturally Gao Yao's own problem.

"My Lord is wise." Listening to Gao Yao's words, Zhang Liang sighed inwardly, wondering why he was so curious. At this time, Gao Yao was making a double entendre, and by the way, he was also reminding Zhang Liang that there should be order between the upper and lower levels, and distinction between the noble and the humble.

"Sir, didn't I specifically tell you to have a good rest before? How come you rushed here so quickly?" At this time, Gao Yao suddenly changed the subject and asked directly why Zhang Liang came here in such a hurry.

Zhang Liang looked solemn and said earnestly: "My lord, the time is ripe. Now is the time to send troops to intercept them!" Zhang Liang did not say anything else and went straight to the point.

Hearing this, Gao Yao was slightly startled, with a look of surprise on his face, and hurriedly asked: "But now, aren't we planning to hand over the entire Xiang County to the court?" Obviously, these words were slightly different from their original plan.

Zhang Liang took a deep breath and explained in a slightly faster pace: "My lord, you don't know that the pace of the imperial army's advance is too fast. If it is not curbed, the consequences will be disastrous! Its marching speed is far beyond our initial estimate, so the original plan must be implemented in advance. The current plan is to gather troops in Long County and engage in another fierce battle with the imperial army. At the same time, it is necessary to mobilize the military forces of Nanhai County to gradually approach Long County. However, this is just a feint. We only need to make a slight move on our army to let the imperial court realize that our army is determined to fight to the death. In this way, we may be able to disrupt the opponent's deployment and gain more chances of winning for us."

"Why is this?" Gao Yao frowned slightly, and touched his chin unconsciously. After thinking for a while, he was still confused. He really couldn't understand why he had to use Long County as a base to fight a desperate battle with the imperial army. According to common sense, he only needed to try to delay the speed of the imperial army to achieve his goal. Why take such a risk?

At this time, Zhang Liang asked: "My Lord, have you not noticed that the way the imperial army marches this time has undergone a radical change!"

"The way of advancing? Any changes? I haven't really noticed that." Gao Yao shook his head frankly, without pretending to be smart or pretending to know something he didn't.

Zhang Liang nodded and explained, "Yes, there are indeed changes. According to the news and intelligence from various counties, the imperial army is now marching at a lightning speed, which is completely different from the timid attitude before. They are contrary to their usual style and are marching in a majestic and courageous manner. Moreover, from the current situation, the main force of this march is almost all the imperial guards of the imperial court, while the northern border troops are mostly deployed in the rear. Behind this abnormal deployment of troops, there is a great possibility that there is a huge conspiracy."

"Are you saying that there are such serious problems within the imperial army?" After hearing what Zhang Liang said, Gao Yao couldn't help but be shocked.

Zhang Liang nodded slightly, indicating his agreement with Gao Yao's guess, and then explained: "At present, this is just a guess, but according to various signs, the person who is currently in charge of commanding the imperial army is most likely not General Meng Yi. In my opinion, it is most likely the veteran Li Xin who has experienced many battles.

"After all, his fighting style has always been like this, and it is quite consistent with the actions of the imperial army this time. Previously, all our plans were carefully calculated based on the past performance of the imperial army, but we never expected that the leader this time would be Li Xin, a famous general who is good at using strange strategies and fighting to support the war. In addition, we originally intended to give up some counties to lure the enemy deeper, but we didn't expect them to take advantage of us, which made the imperial army's advance speed far beyond our imagination."

At this point, Zhang Liang couldn't help but frown, and continued to analyze with worry: "If we still stick to the rules and act according to the original plan made by the lord, then I am afraid that within half a month, the enemy will be able to swallow up the entire Xiangjun. Compared with the time node we originally estimated, it will be at least a full week in advance! Even if all counties can evacuate in an orderly manner in strict accordance with the lord's established plan, this will undoubtedly be equivalent to handing over sufficient food for the court army for a full seven days. This will have a very adverse impact on our subsequent strategic deployment."

"In other words, if we allow the current situation to continue, even if our plan is successfully implemented and the imperial army's food supply is completely cut off, they still have the strength to launch a seven to ten-day fierce attack on us. Our military strength is only about 40,000 at best, but the imperial army has at least 100,000 people! If we are unfortunate enough to fail to hold the line, then for our army, there will undoubtedly be a tragic ending of total defeat."

When Zhang Liang said this, his originally relaxed brows knitted tightly, the deep furrows between his brows seemed to be able to pinch a fly to death, and the worry on his face was clearly visible. In fact, this is why in the ancient war years, those wise and brave generals who were both brave and resourceful were far more favored and respected by the kings than those who dominated a region with only strong military force.

For example, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Guan Yu was revered as the Martial Saint by later generations for his outstanding military exploits and extraordinary wisdom, and his reputation spread far and wide, and has been praised for thousands of years; however, in comparison, although Zhang Fei was equally brave and fearless, his reputation was far inferior to Guan Yu. The reason is that the battlefield situation has always been unpredictable. If you just blindly follow the pre-planned strategies and tactics to march and fight, and fail to flexibly respond to the actual situation and adjust the strategy in time, then you will inevitably fail in the end.

"Okay, then we will mobilize our troops immediately. However, there are more than one way to delay the imperial army. Let's use both methods at the same time!"

Listening to Zhang Liang's analysis, Gao Yao began to understand that this was the dangerous part of Zhang Liang's plan. However, Gao Yao did not blame Zhang Liang. After all, Gao Yao himself agreed to the original plan. However, Gao Yao also felt that the time was almost right and the secret weapon could be used.