Chapter 250 Camp Robbery
Wushi did not trust the Han people, so he sent Gao Qingyi as a military supervisor to Yushe to assist Geng Shouzhong in cutting off Yang Chang's retreat.

However, Yang Chang was not only an experienced warrior, but also an expert assassin. This made Gao Qingyi pessimistic about the war situation in Liaozhou. He would kill his family if he surrendered directly, but he was afraid of being held accountable if he informed Wu Shi.

After hesitating for half a day, Gao Qingyi gave the choice to Yelu Yudu and left Yushe for Pingcheng the next day.

Yang Chang once proposed that Yelu Yudu start an uprising. Regardless of whether Yelu Yudu agreed to rebel against the Jin Dynasty, Gao Qingyi believed that he could just convey the message.

This mentality is like a teacher who reads from a textbook. It doesn’t matter whether the students have mastered the knowledge points, as long as the teacher completes the teaching tasks as planned.

If Yelu Yudu agreed, Pingcheng where he was stationed would block the passage back to Taiyuan, which would be equivalent to cutting off the retreat of the Jin army in Liaozhou and helping Yang Chang to plan for annihilation. A 90% chance of the Jin army in Liaozhou would be finished, and he would have done his job for Yang Chang.

If Yelu Yudu disagreed and the Jin army finally won, Gao Qingyi would also have the merit of reporting the news in time. If they were defeated, he would have an excuse to persuade them.

Of course, Yang Chang already knew about Wushi's deployment. The terrain of Liaozhou was not suitable for cavalry to transfer and fight, so the Jin army's hope of winning was slim.

As for Geng Shouzhong at Wangyuetan, Gao Qingyi did not dare to mention to him that Yang Chang had arrived before leaving because he had leaked the Jin army's deployment. He only said that he had important matters to attend to in Pingcheng and asked him to stay in Yushe and follow the plan.

With the intelligence, Yang Chang and his wife rushed back to the Xilangling camp overnight, and set out before dawn the next day. They marched quickly for a day and arrived at Yushe, and then reached the outside of the city unimpeded.

Because all the spies on the road had been eliminated, Geng Shouzhong didn't know that Yang Chang had arrived until the Weisheng reinforcements completely occupied Yushe.

Before Yushe surrendered without a fight, all the officials in the city went to Taiyuan to pay homage to Wushi, and the county magistrate and county lieutenant who replaced them were all substitutes found by Geng Shouzhong from the Yisheng Army.

The fake county magistrate led several fake officials and took the initiative to meet Yang Chang in the south of Yushe City. During the greetings, he used the excuse that it was getting dark and might disturb the people, and asked Weisheng's reinforcements to be stationed outside the city.

Since we are trying to take advantage of the situation, we naturally have to pretend.

Yang Chang readily agreed without saying a word. At night, the fake prefect sent someone to Wangyuetan to report the news, but he turned a blind eye to it, but he did not take it lightly.

While ordering his generals to step up their vigilance, he and Zhao Fujin went on reconnaissance in the second half of the night. After confirming that Geng Shouzhong had not made any unusual movements, they returned to the camp early the next morning.

Soon after returning to the camp, the sky brightened.

The fake magistrate brought more than a dozen bottles of wine and meat to Yang Chang's camp to entertain him, and reminded him that Liaoshan was in danger and requested Weisheng's reinforcements to arrive as soon as possible.

After listening to this, Yang Chang looked at Zhu Wu, who gave him an affirmative look.

The implication is that Gao Qingyi did not seem to have leaked the news, and Geng Shouzhong's actions last night and this morning should still be in accordance with the plan.

As for whether to use it or not, it is ultimately up to Yang Chang to make the decision.

"County Magistrate Chen is anxious, and so is this Grand Commandant."

Yang Chang took over the conversation and responded with a serious expression: "However, we came here in a hurry, and the soldiers only have a few days of food. The roads in Liaozhou are rugged and difficult to travel. As the saying goes, food must be sent before troops move, so we have to wait for the follow-up food. In addition, we need some support from Yushe. How much surplus food is there in the county government warehouse?"

"Uh, not much."

After all, this County Magistrate Chen was a fake, and Geng Shouzhong also moved away a lot of grain, so the specific data was unclear and he could only respond ambiguously.

Seeing Yang Chang's serious expression, he added hastily, "Although Yushe doesn't have much food in stock, I am willing to support you with all my strength, even if it means emptying the government warehouses. I only ask the Taiwei to rush to Liaoshan as soon as possible. The government in the state should have sufficient food in stock."

"understood."

Yang Chang nodded slightly, turned around and said to Yang Lin and Ma Lin, "You lead two battalions of soldiers to stay and take over the grain from County Magistrate Chen."

"Yes!"

Yang Lin and Ma Lin said in unison.

How could the fake county magistrate dare to refuse? This situation was within the scope of the combat plan. He thought that when the two generals set out with food and fodder, General Geng could ambush them halfway.

After the reward for the troops was over, Yang Lin and Ma Lin led their troops into the city.

Yang Changze ordered all troops to pack their bags and prepare to set out that morning. He then called Zhu Wu and others back to the big tent to discuss his battle ideas.

"The garrison of Yushe is less than 1,000. If Yang Lin and Ma Lin bring 2,000 men into the city, they will surely be able to successfully control Yushe. We will have nothing to worry about. The next step is to defeat Geng Shouzhong's troops. My idea is to rob their camp when they are least prepared."

"Raiding the camp? Think twice, Commander!"

Lu Junyi was allergic to the word "allergic" and could not help but interrupt him when he heard it. He then explained, "The Yisheng Army is not very strong in combat, and the gap in strength between us is not that big. I still suggest a frontal attack. There are too many uncertainties in raiding the camp at night. Gao Qingyi is unlikely to rebel against the Jin Dynasty. If he and Geng Shouzhong set a trap, it would be disastrous."

"Haha." Yang Chang smiled and responded, "Don't worry, brother. I'm sure."

"Uh"

Lu Junyi wanted to persuade him, but was interrupted by Zhu Wu's question: "Captain, when do you plan to raid the camp?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight?"

After hearing these words, Zhu Wu was stunned.

Yang Chang nodded confidently, then pointed at the map and said seriously: "Please look here, everyone. We have to rush to this location before dusk. It should be fifteen or sixteen miles away from Wangyue Beach. We can reach it in an hour's march."

"hiss"

Zhu Wu understood Yang Chang's intention and said, "The campsite chosen by the general is the only way for us to go to Liaoshan. Geng Shouzhong must have sent people to monitor our movements. The general pretended to be tricked to lull him into a trap, and then made a surprise attack at night?"

"That's the idea. The place where Geng Shouzhong is is called Wangyuetan. I can also give a more elegant name, how about Rhinoceros Looking at the Moon?"

"The commander's idea is good, but just as Lu Yuanwai worried, Gao Qingyi and Geng Shouzhong cheated and deliberately lured us into their trap."

"Before the battle, the princess and I will rush to the enemy camp for reconnaissance and confirmation. If we can't make it absolutely safe, we won't easily advance."

Seeing Yang Chang's determined expression, Lu Junyi seemed to see his past self, but even military advisor Zhu Wu couldn't persuade him, so he turned around to look for Lu Zhishen.

Among all the generals in the same field, Lu Zhishen has the longest seniority and the highest prestige, and should have enough say in the account.

However, when Lu Junyi turned around and looked over, he saw the monk sitting cross-legged on the ground as if in a trance.

When I listened carefully, I heard a slight snoring sound.

Everyone was discussing the battle, but this guy was sleeping in broad daylight? How did you sleep?
When Lu Zhishen heard that they were going to raid the camp at night, he took a nap in advance to conserve his energy.

Let him give his opinion?
Master Lu had no objection and would not worry about it. He would win every battle with Yang Chang, so why would he bother thinking about strategy? Wouldn't it be better to just follow him and fight happily?
When Lu Junyi turned around again, Zhu Wu was already helping to pack up the maps, and it seemed that the battle plan had been finalized.

Okay, maybe I'm overthinking it.

I want to see with my own eyes at night how General Yang raids the camp. I want to know where the gap is.
Any tactical strategy will have different results when used by different people. It is like choosing heroes in a game. The same hero and skills are subject to the level of the operator.

Some are Iron, some are King.

The reason why Yang Chang dared to rob the camp was not because he trusted Gao Qingyi blindly, but because of the comprehensive intelligence analysis over the past two days and his confidence in his own abilities.

Since the baggage and food supplies had to be transported by water, Yang Chang's army did not have much supplies, so they were packed up in less than an hour, and then they headed north in a mighty force.

Liaoshan (Zuoquan) is located due east of Yushe, but there are vast and undulating mountains between the two cities. In that era, there were no highways that could cross the mountains, so the only way to get there was to take the official road along Wuxiangshui (now Zhuozhang River) and its tributary (now Quanshui River), then walk along a mountain road upstream of the tributary, and finally enter the official road of the Liaoyangshui (now Qingzhang Xiyuan) river valley.

Pingcheng is located upstream of Liaoyang, and Liaoshan is downstream of Liaoyang. Even if Yang Chang can deal with Geng Shouzhong in front of him, there is still a risk of being cut off in the subsequent advance, so he can only take one step at a time.

On the eve of dusk that day, the army arrived at the designated camping site, which was five miles away from the right fork of the "Y" shape of the Wuxiang River tributary. Wangyuetan where Geng Shouzhong was located was ten miles away from the fork of the "Y".

When the army arrived, they did not set up camp.

They lit a bonfire, rested on the spot, cooked a meal, and prepared to raid the camp.

Yang Chang climbed to a high place and looked around. Sure enough, he saw a few riders following him from afar, but they disappeared from his sight soon.

He then returned to the camp and called Zhao Fujin, followed the scouts to Wangyue Beach, and made final confirmation for the raid.

The end of the year of Chou and the beginning of the year of Yin are the times when people are most tired.

The cool night breeze blew across Wangyue Beach. The Yisheng Army soldiers who were already fast asleep did not feel the murderous aura in the wind at all. Their snoring suppressed the chirping of insects in the spring night.

boom!
boom!
boom!
Thunderous sounds were heard successively from the east, west and north sides of the camp.

Those were Yang Chang, Lu Zhishen, and Qiu Qiongying, who respectively threw out flares to start the attack.

The originally dark Wangyue Beach suddenly became as bright as day.

Shouts, screams, and sounds of fighting.
The noise drowned out the flowing water and the chirping of insects, and seemed to overturn the sky.

Lu Junyi and Lu Zhishen charged in from the south of the camp, cutting their way as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, until they reached the central army and met up with Yang Chang. None of his pre-battle worries came into being.

The war was one-sided from the beginning, with the attacking side having fewer soldiers but taking the initiative.

The officers and soldiers of the Yisheng Army responded in a panic. Many of them slept so soundly that they didn't even have their pants on and fell in a pool of blood. The panic caused the soldiers to lose contact with their generals, and the soldiers, with no one to restrain them, surrendered in large numbers.

Under the bright lights, Lu Junyi saw Yang Chang handle the situation calmly and finally understood where he lost.
Since the start of the march yesterday, every move of Geng Shouzhong's army has been under the control of Commander Yang, so it's as easy as beating his son.

This one-sided battle lasted from the morning till dawn.

Thousands of the 20,000 Yisheng troops were killed or wounded, about 10,000 lost their fighting spirit and surrendered, while the rest took advantage of the chaos to flee like beasts.

At night, vision is limited and not everyone has Yang Chang's night vision ability, so the battle scene is relatively chaotic and uncontrollable, and there is no guarantee that everyone can be kept.

The Yisheng Army fled in panic and didn't know which direction to go. Some went upstream of the Wuxiang River, some went towards its tributaries, and some even fled towards Yushe.

At this time, the land of Yushe was equivalent to a natural bag, and the opening was at the tributary official road, but Yang Chang had tied the bag opening in advance.

Zhu Wu did not participate in the camp robbery last night. Instead, he led a thousand people to set up camp on the road, waiting for the defeated soldiers of the Yisheng Army to crash into them.

After daybreak, Yang Chang stayed in the Yisheng Army camp, using his special abilities as a leader to appease the surrendered soldiers. He ordered Lu Junyi, Shi Jin, Ou Peng and others to lead their troops to wipe out the enemies who had fled last night.

Yang Chang's territory is currently expanding, and the existing military force is very tight on defense. Recruiting and training soldiers takes time, so he plans to use the surrendered soldiers for his own use.

Although these Yisheng troops had a bad reputation, it was always better to have a combat foundation than to start from scratch because they were strong soldiers and strong generals. This was like recruiting Kuomintang prisoners of war during the War of Liberation, or like the citrons in Huaibei turning into oranges in Huainan.

Both the fleeing and pursuing sides were mainly composed of infantry. The distance they could run was limited by their physical strength, so the infantry were the easiest to catch up. The remaining small number of cavalry were difficult to catch up, including the main general Geng Shouzhong.

Yang Chang originally planned to use two days to clear out the remnants of the Yisheng Army in Yushe. Only if the remaining surrendered soldiers could be used for his own purposes would he consider whether to continue the attack.

According to Gao Qingyi's account, in addition to the 20,000 Yisheng troops of Yushe, there were 10,000 Liao soldiers under Yelu Yudu of Pingcheng, 10,000 Han soldiers under Heshun He Quan, 20,000 Jin soldiers under Tuhesu of Liaoshan, and 10,000 Liaozhou wing troops under Li Ze.

Weisheng only had 10,000 soldiers, half of whom were newly recruited militiamen last year. It was almost impossible to rely on them to prevent the Yisheng Army from surrendering and to annihilate the enemy in Liaozhou at the same time.

Surprisingly, Yang Chang won many victories in the battles against Jin, especially after he killed Lou Shi, his reputation spread throughout the Jin army. Although the Yisheng Army had committed treason, they still stood in awe of the powerful men of the Song Dynasty.

As Han surrendered soldiers, they were lower-ranking troops in the Jin army, and their status and treatment were far inferior to those of the Liao people. After surrendering, ordinary soldiers received no practical benefits except for saving their lives.

Now that Yang Chang was personally calling for surrender, and influenced by their [Leader] attributes, their loyalty to the Jin people, which was already low, dropped to negative in an instant.

That afternoon, Yang Lin rushed to Wangyuetan with Geng Shouzhong's head to report the victory to Yang Chang, which made the surrendered soldiers of the Yisheng Army completely loyal.

After the battle, Yang Chang rested for a day, praised and left Yang Lin to guard Yushe, and then led the main force to continue advancing.

On February 22, the army crossed the mountains and arrived at Liaoyang Water Road.

As for whether to go north to take Pingcheng first and then attack from behind, or go south to defeat Tuhesu first, Yang Chang finally chose the latter, but he did not let down his guard against Yelu Yudu.

Zhu Wu and Shi Jin led 5,000 men and were ordered to set up camp at the T-junction to prevent Yelu Yudu from blocking their way back. They also sent Zhao Fujin and Qiu Qiongying to go north to Pingcheng to monitor the entire process.

Without any worries, Yang Changcai led his troops south.

On February 23, the victorious army reached Shixia, still 20 miles away from Liaoshan.

Yang Chang discovered that there was a long and narrow valley on the left side with lush vegetation, which was suitable for hiding an ambush. He then asked Lu Zhishen and Ou Peng to lead a large force into the valley, while he himself advanced with only 5,000 soldiers.

Due to his vision suppression, all the scouts on the way were eliminated, resulting in Tuhesu having no time to prepare.

At noon the next day, reinforcements arrived at Liaoshan, and there was no Jin army attacking the city.

After seeing this, Yang Chang's mouth curled up. He took off his golden armor in advance, disguised himself and hid in the team, and asked the stranger Ma Lin to knock on the door, thinking to himself, let's see how you guys make up a story.

Ma Lin came to the city with two swords in hand, looked at the tower and shouted: "Weisheng's reinforcements have arrived, why don't you open the city gate?"

(End of this chapter)