After traveling through time, I became Han Zhang’s grandson?

Chapter 144 Insight

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Just after the Yao brothers struggled to repel the Xixia advance cavalry led by Mo Zang Xiling, the 38,000 troops led by Han Ming had just passed through Longgan City and arrived at a foothill of Liupan Mountain.

After carefully examining the surrounding terrain, Han Ming chose to station his army here.

It was decided to engage in a battle with the advance luring troops of the Western Xia here, and then attack with the entire army and fall into the ambush of the Western Xia.

There was nothing wrong with the original calculation, but when the messenger from the Yao brothers arrived, Han Ming, whose thoughts had originally jumped to the post-war period, suddenly frowned.

"The advance cavalry led by Meizang Xiling himself?"

"Deshengzhai... Zhong'anbao..."

Han Ming stroked the thin line between two points on the map, which symbolized the Haoshuichuan River, and his eyes gradually became confused.

"Somebody come!"

As if he thought of something, Han Ming immediately shouted, and the leader of his personal guards, Yong Zeng, came in from outside the tent and saluted.

"Send a few fast horses to Longgan City and Longde Village to report the news!"

"Say that the advance cavalry of Mo Zang Xiling engaged Yao Xiong's forces near Zhong'an Fort and are now missing. Tell them to pay attention to the defense of the city and fort."

"Also, tell the Duke of Ying who seized Zhangyi Fort that the enemy's main force is likely to have changed its route and stationed at Zhangyi Fort first. Tell the two veteran generals to be careful."

As soon as Han Ming finished speaking, Yong Zeng quickly went out of the tent to find someone to deliver the message.

The next second, Yong Zeng came in with a panting young soldier.

"Lord Manager!"

Hearing someone calling him from behind, Han Ming turned around and looked at the other person in confusion.

"Are you Gao Zunyu's personal commander?"

"I, Xu Hong, am here on the orders of General Gao to deliver intelligence to the Governor-General regarding the capture of Desheng Village."

He raised the envelope in his hand high and handed it to Yong Zeng beside him.

Han Ming immediately waved his hand, took the military newspaper and read it carefully, and only breathed a sigh of relief after a while.

"What a great man Zhang Yuan is! He knew that Zhang Yi Fort was the only place that could help us escape this predicament, so he led his troops to seize it early."

After Han Ming knew the specific marching movements of the other party, he couldn't help but feel a huge stone in his heart.

The most feared thing in war is the lack of intelligence, especially in the ancient era of cold weapons.

Without intelligence as an aid, the entire battle situation would be like a blind grope, with no way to start.

Fortunately, Han Ming caught hold of the enemy's troop movements, which enabled him to make adjustments.

Han Ming quickly thought of a question, that is, whether the troops stationed in Zhangyi Fort were really the enemy's main force?

If this is true, then this battle would not have to be so troublesome.

Simply let Gao Zunyu's troops who seized Deshengzhai and Yinggong's troops who crossed Liupan Mountain surround Zhangyi Fort and fight an offensive and defensive battle.

But what if even Zhang Yibao is the enemy's bait?

Once all the Song troops turned north, it would be very likely that the main force of Western Xia would be able to break out of the encirclement directly from the south or the empty Longgan City in the southeast.

Not only would it be impossible to avenge the first Song-Xia War, but it would also be very likely that the enemy would adopt a tactic of leading them by the nose.

At that time, the mobility of the Western Xia cavalry would cause the Song army to suffer a large number of losses before the battle, until they saw that the Song army was exhausted and launched a counterattack.

This would probably result in a repeat of the disastrous defeat of the first Battle of Haoshuichuan.

Han Ming thought carefully for a long time, looked at Zhangyi Fort, then looked at the territory of Haoshuichuan, and seemed to be unable to make up his mind.

"Xu Hong, listen to my orders!"

"I'm here!" Xu Hong immediately clasped his fists and obeyed the order.

"Quickly return to Desheng Fort and convey my order. Have Liu Changzuo lead his 3,000 cavalry to bypass the north side of Zhangyi Fort and set up an ambush between Zhangyi Fort and Huaiyuan Fort."

"Remember, you will only stay here for five days. After five days, immediately march south to investigate the enemy's movements in Zhang Yibao."

Han Ming issued the order, then leaned over the map and gestured carefully, without saying anything else.

Seeing this, Xu Hong and Yong Zeng looked at each other, and after the other nodded, they immediately said "Understood, sir" and quickly left the tent.

"No matter how skilled you are, I, Han, am not someone to be trifled with!"

As he said this, he flicked his sleeves and ordered Yong Zeng to go up to the tent.

In a short while, the four generals under Han Ming's headquarters arrived at the commander's tent.

Seeing everyone gathered, Han Ming said without hesitation, "I originally wanted to let you have a good rest before the battle, but the military situation is urgent and we can't delay for a moment."

"Gao Zunyu's and Yao Xiong's forces have each learned of the Xixia army's further movements. One group, led by Mo Zang Xiling, has rampaged through the Deshun army's territory, intending to attract more reinforcements from the Song army."

"We don't know who led the other group yet, but it's most likely Zhang Yuan. They've already seized Zhang Yi Fort."

After hearing Han Ming's explanation, Jing Yu, Yan Ming, Yan Da and Wang En all looked nervous. Knowing the whole plan, they knew that Zhang Yibao was a node for exiting to the north.

It was going to be completely blocked by the British Ministry, but now it's lost, which makes things a bit tricky.

"From this perspective, the enemy's strategy is to lure the enemy with the Mozang Xiling troops while the Zhang Yibao troops surround them."

Jing Yu thought for a moment and slowly responded.

"But it's so easy to detect the other party's actions. Is it a trick?"

Yanda was a quick thinker and immediately felt that it would not be that simple. After all, his opponent was the old man Zhang Yuan, so it would be better to be more careful.

"General Yan's words make sense, and so does Wang."

Wang En immediately voted for the other side and began to doubt the authenticity of Xixia's advance.

"If Zhang Yibao is deceiving us, it means that the main force of Xixia has not yet emerged and is hiding in the dark!"

When Yan Ming thought of this, his eyes lit up.

"But now, Desheng Village in the north, Longde Village in the west, Zhong'an Fort in the south, and Longgan City in the southeast are all under the control of our army."

"The enemy is openly divided into two parts. One part was defeated by the Yao brothers in Nanzhong'an Fort, and the other part stationed in Zhangyi Fort."

"Where could a third unit be hiding? Or even the main enemy force?"

Jing Yu frowned as he looked at the military map on the desk, rubbing his chin in thought.

This consideration instantly plunged the military tent into silence, and Yan Da and the other two didn't know how to explain it.

"If our assumption is true, and Zhang Yuan's troops are divided into three groups, then facing such a large main force, there is only one place where they can easily hide!"

Han Ming smiled slightly, as if he had already made up his mind.

"There is still one place left?!" Yan Da and the other four generals were a little surprised, not understanding where their own general was talking about.

"As the saying goes, those in power are often confused, while those who are watching can see clearly. Yong Zeng, you go and tell the generals!"

Han Ming played a deep role here, appearing very mysterious.

Yong Zeng chuckled and walked straight to the commander's desk. He pointed his finger at the junction of Zhenrong Army, Deshun Army and Weizhou, a huge mountain range stretching for hundreds of miles from north to south.

Liupan Mountain!!!

"Liupan Mountain——!!!"

The four Yanda generals reacted instantly and exclaimed.

"Right! If we were to ask where else we could hide within the encirclement surrounding Haoshuichuan, it would be right here!"

Han Ming said confidently, the fierceness in his eyes becoming more intense.

"This way, we'll most likely encounter the other party directly, which will save us a lot of trouble!"

Yan Mingyu said with an excited smile.

"Not only that, if we fight this battle in Liupan Mountain, it's still unknown whether the enemy can adapt to mountain warfare."

Jing Yu couldn't help but grin.

"The most important thing is the cavalry. We are already outnumbered by the enemy. This way, we can offset the heavy weapon of cavalry. Our Song Dynasty infantry is not so easy to deal with!"

Wang En let out a breath and seemed very excited.

"And our intelligence and familiarity with the mountainous terrain are all disadvantages to the enemy. If Zhang Yuan continues to act this way, Xixia will surely make sure he never returns!"

Yanda looked at everyone, his tone extremely warm.

"We can't be careless. After all, Zhang Yuan has been in the military for many years and is extremely intelligent. He may have considered many situations."

Han Ming poured a bucket of cold water on the generals without any care.

"What is the governor's idea? How do we fight this battle?" Jing Yu asked proactively.

"Wait a minute, wait until Gao Zunyu and the Duke of England can test the waters a little more before you speak. There's no rush."

Han Ming leaned back in his handsome chair, chuckled, and seemed very mysterious...