12dz Chapter 2037 This is a big gamble!
Chapter 2037 This is a big gamble!
"General, please reconsider! This move is far too risky!"
"It would be better to divide our forces and hold our positions in different locations; that way, we can still hold out!"
For a time, voices of advice rose and fell on the watchtowers, with almost all the generals believing that Li Jing's move was self-destructive and was pushing the army into an abyss of no return.
Concentrating the main force on one point for a decisive battle is a tactic typically employed by the side with superior numbers. However, Li Jing's decision to take this risky step despite being at a significant disadvantage is beyond their comprehension and tolerance.
Wang Zhongsi's expression also changed drastically. He felt not excitement at being given an important position, but a sense of responsibility and fear that weighed on him like a mountain.
With an army of 150,000, attacking the enemy's strongest point, success might create a miracle, but failure... he would be the eternal sinner who buried the last elite of the Tang Dynasty!
"Li Shuai...this..."
Wang Zhongsi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was forced back by Li Jing's unquestionable gaze.
Li Jing surveyed the surrounding generals, their faces filled with fear and their repeated pleas for advice. His expression remained unwavering, revealing only the ferocity of someone forced to bare their final fangs in a desperate situation.
"Gentlemen! With conventional tactics, our army has no chance of winning! Only by resorting to this unconventional method can we have a glimmer of hope!"
"This is a military order. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"
His voice was like ice, instantly freezing all dissenting voices.
Seeing the almost insane determination in his eyes, the generals knew that further persuasion was useless, and could only swallow their endless worries and fears.
A deathly silence fell over the watchtower.
Only the deafening war drums and shouts of the Chu army in the distance, like a death knell, drew ever closer.
Li Jing's incredible gamble is about to reveal its cruel secrets on this battlefield of blood and fire.
Soon, the war drums thundered and the battle cries shook the heavens!
The massive Chu army formation, like a slowly starting war mill, pressed towards the Tang army camp with unstoppable momentum.
As planned, Xue Huaide and Guan Yun's troops were to attack the right flank, while Ran Ming and Zhao Yu's troops were to hold the front off.
Feng Mulan and Feng Anguo commanded the Vermilion Bird Legion and part of the central army, aiming directly at Gao Xianzhi's troops on the left flank of the Tang army.
However, just as the various units of the Chu army had just deployed and had not yet made full contact with the Tang army's defenses,
Inside the Tang army camp, a staggering troop movement was underway, surging like an undercurrent.
Ultimately, it was displayed before the Chu army in an extremely violent manner!
The Tang army's left flank, which should have been relatively weak, suddenly found its gates wide open.
Immediately afterwards, like a flood bursting its banks, a dark mass of Tang infantry and cavalry, mixed with the remaining Scorpion Clan cavalry of Huyan Ying, surged out with an almost frenzied momentum!
Their numbers far exceeded expectations; their banners were like a forest, their swords and spears blotted out the sun, and they coalesced into a massive and terrifying attacking force!
However, the direction in which this massive army charged was not towards the various Chu army units they were expected to deal with.
Instead of ignoring the potential danger of exposing their flanks, they charged headlong and fiercely at the Vermilion Bird Legion, which was positioned slightly to the left of the center of the Chu army's attack sequence, with a resolute and unstoppable momentum!
"boom--!"
This sudden and completely illogical attack was like a lurking venomous snake striking a fatal blow!
The Vermilion Bird Legion, which had just deployed its formation and was preparing to advance according to plan, was caught off guard and its vanguard was instantly swallowed up by the overwhelming enemy force!
"Report! Urgent military situation!"
A scout captain from the Vermilion Bird Legion, covered in blood and with tattered armor, practically tumbled and crawled to the central command post.
He fell to the ground in front of Feng Mulan's horse, his voice hoarse and distorted from extreme shock and urgency.
"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! The Tang army... the main force of the Tang army's left flank has been mobilized in full force!"
"The troop strength far exceeds expectations, probably numbering in the hundreds of thousands! Wang Zhongsi and Huyan Ying's banners are among them!"
"They...they're completely ignoring everything else and charging straight at my Vermilion Bird Legion! The vanguard of three battalions is...they're almost at their breaking point!"
When the news arrived, it was like ice water being poured into boiling oil; the faces of all the generals and officers under Feng Mulan's command changed drastically in an instant!
"What?! Wang Zhongsi's entire army is attacking us?"
"Have they gone mad? Ignoring their flanks and abandoning the main camp?"
"150,000... That's almost all of Li Jing's main force he can muster! What is he planning to do?"
Exclamations and doubts immediately arose, and everyone's eyes instinctively turned to the front of the procession, to the imperial concubine riding a magnificent warhorse, clad in gilded phoenix-wing armor and with her face covered by a white veil.
Feng Mulan sat upright on her horse, her posture still as straight as a pine tree, but the pupils of her clear, cold eyes, which were exposed outside the white veil, suddenly contracted the moment she heard the report!
The slender fingers gripping the reins turned slightly white from the sudden exertion.
She was not affected by her subordinates' panic. As if lightning had struck her mind, she instantly saw through the seemingly crazy move by Li Jing, which was a desperate and extremely ruthless strategic intention!
"Li Jing, what ruthless methods, what a sharp eye!"
Feng Mulan's voice remained calm, but beneath that calm lay a chilling coldness capable of freezing the air.
"He's... gambling with the safety of the entire Tang army camp, concentrating all his forces to carry out a decapitation strike!"
"His target is me, and the Vermilion Bird Legion!"
She understood instantly.
Li Jing knew that with such a significant difference in strength, dividing his forces for defense would only lead to being defeated one by one by the Chu army.
He simply abandoned all defense and bet everything on this one point!
As long as we can defeat or even capture Feng Mulan, we can rebuild the Vermilion Bird Legion, which is the ace and spiritual symbol of the Chu army.
Then, the high morale of the Chu army will suffer a devastating blow, and may even trigger a chain reaction, causing the entire front to falter!
At that moment, the tide of battle may turn in an instant!
This is a big gamble!
Li Jing gambled the fate of the Tang Dynasty and the lives of 250,000 soldiers!
The stakes were Feng Mulan's life and the survival of the Vermilion Bird Legion!
At this moment, she faced two completely different paths, each fraught with enormous risks and uncertainties.
The first option: retreat immediately and preserve your strength.
This is the safest option and the one that best aligns with conventional military logic.
Faced with the enemy's superior forces launching a desperate attack, they temporarily avoided direct confrontation, retreated, and moved closer to the main force of the central army and even the Chu army in other directions to re-stabilize the battle line.
In this way, the Vermilion Bird Legion can avoid engaging in a brutal war of attrition with an enemy force that far outnumbers its own in haste, thus preserving the backbone of this elite force.
However, the consequences of doing so are equally serious.
She, Feng Mulan, the imperial concubine of Chu, was a commander on the battlefield. When the enemy launched their first all-out attack, she retreated at the first sign of trouble. What a heavy blow this must have been to the morale of the entire army.