Chapter 660: How to send troops, Wang Ben’s plan!

Chapter 660: How to send troops, Wang Ben’s plan!

"Lord Wang Ben, Ying Bu has led his troops to raid Wuding Pass for a whole day. It seems that he is trying to find the defensive flaws of our army." The subordinate's report made Wang Ben frown slightly.

The Third Army led by Ying Bu and Zhang Liang had been stationed near Wuding Pass for quite a long time, at least more than a month. This was the reason why Wang Ben did not dare to leave Hanzhong easily. He was always worried whether the other side really intended to attack Hanzhong.

For such a long time, the opponent had not made any obvious moves, but just maintained daily training, without any signs of attacking. This made Wang Ben very confused, and he could not figure out the opponent's true intentions.

While Wang Ben was still thinking, news suddenly came that Han Xin was attacking the coastal areas. This undoubtedly added more variables to the already confusing situation.

Wang Ben knew that he had to be cautious in the face of such a complicated situation, because he could not accurately judge the other party's purpose, which was undoubtedly the biggest problem.

As Wang Ben listened to his subordinates' reports, a new idea emerged in his mind. He began to realize that Ying Bu's real purpose of frequent activities near Wuding Pass might not be to attack him directly, but to attract his attention so that he could not split himself to support Han Xin.

Wang Ben thought to himself that the distance from Hanzhong to Donghui was quite far, nearly 500 miles. If he led his army to stop Han Xin, he would probably be caught in a dilemma. Not only that, the journey was full of unknown dangers, and he might even lose his life on the way.

Wang Ben was certainly not afraid of death. If he was afraid of death, he would have surrendered to Gao Yao long ago. However, what he was worried about was that he would die in such an unclear way, which would eventually lead to the loss of Hanzhong. This would undoubtedly be a huge disaster for the Qin Dynasty.

Although Wang Ben has successfully led his army to recapture Xianyang, the city that was looted by the coalition of princes has long been unrecognizable and in ruins. Today, the only importance of Xianyang may lie in its symbolic significance to the Qin Dynasty, which can attract some old Qin people to return here.

Originally, if Ying Bu was just pretending to attack, Wang Ben would not leave Hanzhong easily, because this was probably a trick to confuse the enemy, the purpose was to make Wang Ben think that Ying Bu's real target was not Wuding Pass, so as to distract Wang Ben's attention and troops.

The situation now was completely different. Ying Bu was not only launching an attack, but also constantly trying to find the weak points of Wuding Pass. It was obvious that he was determined and planned to take the pass in one fell swoop. This resolute attitude made Wang Ben begin to worry.

After all, Wang Ben could roughly understand Han Xin's offensive intentions even if he didn't guess. Han Xin took Dongjiao with great momentum, and the benefits of doing so were far more than just occupying a few more territories. First of all, this provided more route options for attacking Wu Rui. Gaoyao was powerful, while Wu Rui was relatively weak. With each additional offensive route, Wu Rui's defensive pressure would increase exponentially. This was undoubtedly more favorable for the war situation between Gaoyao and Wu Rui.

Another hidden benefit is the impact on Wei Bao. Once Dongjiao is successfully captured, the pressure on Wei Bao will increase sharply. Because Dongjiao is geographically important, once it falls into Gao Yao's hands, Wei Bao's sphere of influence will be directly threatened.

More importantly, if Wei Bao dared to send troops to assist in the attack on Wu Rui, Gao Yao could take the opportunity to send a surprise force to directly raid Wei Bao's base camp. Gao Yao had used this tactic before, and it worked every time.

Today, Gao Yao has become the most powerful lord in the world, and various forces have never stopped studying him. Everyone knows that Gao Yao likes to fight surprise attacks, and his attack speed is extremely fast, often achieving considerable results before the enemy has reacted.

This has become Gaoyao's usual marching habit, and the princes have long studied it. Therefore, whether fighting with Gaoyao or about to start a war, they must be alert and vigilant at all times against possible surprise attacks by the other side.

Wang Ben knew very well that if Gao Yao's plot succeeded, Wu Rui would become a lamb to be slaughtered. After all, Wei Bao, who was affected, would definitely not send troops to help Wu Rui defend. It would be good enough to provide some material support. Wu Rui could never withstand Gao Yao's fierce attack with his own strength.

Once all of Wu Rui's counties were captured by Gao Yao, the situation in Hanzhong would become even more critical than it is now. Not only Hanzhong, but even Xianyang would lose any defense line they could rely on, and there would be no way to retreat. Xiang Yu would definitely not lend a helping hand, so Wang Ben could not sit idly by and watch Han Xin's plan succeed.

However, Ying Bu's attack was somewhat unexpected. His attack was not just a feint, but he was obviously looking for the weak point of Wuding Pass, wanting to capture this important pass in one fell swoop.

This made Wang Ben suspicious. He felt that the other party seemed to be deliberately delaying his actions. The intention of this delay was obvious, that is, they did not want him to do anything, but wanted to trap him in Hanzhong. Not only that, the composition of Ying Bu's troops was inconsistent with the previous intelligence. The initial intelligence showed that Ying Bu led a full 60,000 troops, and they were 60,000 elite troops in the southern border.

The deployment of the armies in various places was no secret to the princes. After all, it was not easy to hide such a large army. Han Xin was able to hide tens of thousands of troops in the mountains and forests, mainly because of the cover of the mountains and forests, and also because the princes' attention was attracted by Nanjun. Of course, the more critical factor was the influence of time. He only hid for about a month.

But under normal circumstances, the general situation of regular troops is difficult to be completely concealed.

After all, they can send a large number of scouts at any time. After being disguised, these scouts can sneak into Nanhai County City to investigate without anyone noticing. Although Gao Yao has a certain ability to prevent those who enter Nanhai County City with ulterior motives, and can even investigate some abnormalities in these people, this is only limited to the scope of Nanhai County City. The entire southern border is so vast that Gao Yao simply does not have enough manpower and ability to achieve comprehensive monitoring and investigation.