Chapter 317 Another Encirclement and Reinforcement Attack

Xiao Heng, the Military Governor of the Jiangnan West Circuit, had been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Nanchang for his great achievements and was still enjoying a comfortable life in the Capital City, having not yet returned to his post.

The various armies of the Jiangnan West Circuit were leaderless and unable to organize any effective resistance.

They could only hunker down in their garrisons, allowing Gao Yuan to root them out Hengzhou by Hengzhou—it was simply effortless and enjoyable.

Soon, report after report of defeat reached the Capital City: Chenzhou had fallen, and Hengzhou was in urgent distress.

By the time Xiao Heng emerged from his life of luxury and rushed back to Nanchang, Hengzhou had also been declared lost, and Gao Yuan's grand army had already entered Tanzhou, advancing on the strategic stronghold of Changsha.

There was no time for Xiao Heng to think too much.

Moreover, he truly lacked experience and had never even seen battle reports concerning the Yue Army, so he hurriedly mobilized troops from various routes to prepare to rescue Changsha.

Outside the Hengzhou of Changsha, Zhao Meng rushed excitedly into the commanders tent and bowed to Gao Yuan, Mu Qing, and Liu Rengui.

"Reporting to my Lord and the Commander, according to the secret guards, Xiao Heng has already mobilized his troops and left Nanchang Hengzhou. Judging by the direction, he should be heading towards Changsha."

The two men in the commanders tent looked at each other and burst into loud laughter.

"Hahaha, a brilliant plan, my Lord! That Xiao Heng has truly fallen for it."

Gao Yuan finished laughing and patted Liu Rengui on the shoulder.

"This time, let's switch roles. You will be responsible for holding the Changsha garrison, and I will personally lead the troops to intercept the reinforcements."

Just as Liu Rengui was about to object, Gao Yuan pressed him down.

"Zhengze, my opportunities to go to the battlefield will become fewer and fewer in the future. Just grant me this chance."

Liu Rengui knew Gao Yuan's mindset, and while he wanted to object, he didn't know how to speak up, so he could only cast a pleading look at Mu Qing.

"If the Lady agrees, then this subordinate has no objections."

Liu Rengui fully expected Mu Qing to oppose Gao Yuan doing such dangerous things, but to his surprise, Mu Qing only glanced at Gao Yuan slightly and nodded gently.

"If my husband is determined to go, then go ahead."

Liu Rengui's jaw dropped in shock.

Unfortunately, words spoken are like spilled water; the matter was settled, and he could only helplessly agree to Gao Yuan's choice.

Early the next morning, Gao Yuan left one division of troops with Liu Rengui and took the main force to move west, choosing a battlefield to intercept the reinforcements.

Xiao Heng had no confidence regarding this rescue mission.

To be honest, he was just a scholar with a slight grasp of martial arts, and leading troops in battle was not his forte.

It was just that Xiao Yu had insisted on pushing him into this position, so he had no choice but to be forced into it.

He had heard of the fearsome reputation of Gao Yuan, the "Jade-Faced Yama."

Although he felt that it was likely exaggerated, seeing the tragic fate of his friends last time still left him with lingering fears.

If he could, he would rather stay in Nanchang or Wuchang and not come out, but unfortunately, things did not go as he wished.

Changsha was under siege; if he did not go to save it, Gao Yuan could march straight down to Yuezhou, and the connection between Ezhou and Hongzhou would be severed.

If such a battle situation arose, then there would be absolutely no hope for the entire Jiangnan West Circuit, so even if he were unwilling, he had to save Changsha.

However, he also understood the principle that even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.

Therefore, to rescue Changsha, he basically mobilized all the troops from everywhere in the Jiangnan West Circuit, gathering over 50,000 soldiers and over 20,000 auxiliary troops and laborers, claiming to be an army of 100,000 coming to the rescue.

Throughout the journey, he was cautious and careful, so although the marching speed was a bit slow, it was quite smooth.

The road from Hongzhou to Tanzhou was basically all plains with no locations suitable for setting an ambush, but there would be some mountains after entering Tanzhou.

However, because it was too close to Changsha, it was not suitable as an ambush location.

After thinking it over, Gao Yuan decided to do the opposite: not set an ambush, but intercept them directly on the main road.

Marching all the way, seeing that they were less than two hundred li from Changsha, the heavy stone hanging in Xiao Heng's heart finally dropped halfway.

However, just as he had let out a sigh of relief, that morning, just after the army broke camp and hadn't gone far, a Scout galloped up to him.

"Reporting to the Commander, an enemy force has appeared ten li ahead. Judging by their banners, it should be the Beiwei Army led by the enemy general Xia Luqi, numbering about ten thousand."

For this kind of blocking maneuver, the best choice would actually be the Baier Soldiers, but now the Baier Soldiers had been merged into the Shenji Camp.

That was a high-tech unit, so naturally, it was impossible to pull them out to do such low-tech work.

Xiao Heng narrowed his eyes, feeling both shocked and happy.

He was shocked because he hadn't expected Gao Yuan to open up a formation and engage him directly on the vast plains.

He was happy because the enemy force only had ten thousand men; as for that Xia Luqi, with so many people on his side, why fear him?

"A good opportunity! The enemy force only has ten thousand men; it must be a detachment sent to block our advance. Pass the order down: the entire army is to be on alert and prepare for battle."

After continuing for a few more li, the Qian Army stopped completely when the two sides were about one li apart.

The soldiers, with the assistance of laborers and auxiliary troops, began to put on their armor.

Having gone through several major battles, the Qian Army's meager resources had long since been exhausted.

Therefore, even the frontier troops of the Jiangnan West Circuit had less than three thousand sets of iron armor, though the remaining soldiers basically all had leather armor.

"Soldiers, we have an army of one hundred thousand while the enemy has only ten thousand. The ratio of forces is ten to one—the advantage is ours! Rout them for me! A reward of ten thousand gold for every head, and whoever kills the enemy general will be promoted by one rank and rewarded with ten mu of land!"

Heavy rewards attract brave men.

After Xiao Heng's grand promises, these soldiers were all surging with emotion and high fighting spirit, itching to clash with the supposedly invincible Yue Army.

In contrast, on this side, Xia Luqi led the ten thousand soldiers as they stood there without a word, only the great battle banners snapping in the wind.

If the Qian Army, whose fighting spirit had been ignited by heavy rewards, was a raging flood, then the ten thousand Beiwei Army soldiers led by Xia Luqi were a steel dam, quietly waiting for the impact of the flood.

About half an hour later, the raging flood finally charged in front of Xia Luqi and his men with shouts of battle.

From this point, one could see that Xiao Heng lacked experience; he had incited morale too early, causing the soldiers to secrete a large amount of adrenaline too soon.

By the time they advanced to the real battlefield, this energy had already dissipated by twenty or thirty percent, and they were no longer in their peak state.

Of course, if they could have broken through the Beiwei Army's line in one go at this moment, their morale would have reached an unprecedented peak, but unfortunately, what they were facing was the First Division of the Beiwei Army.

This could be said to be the most elite unit in the entire Yue Kingdom; not only was the selection process strict, but the soldiers were all physically strong, with astonishing combat power.

Without retreating a single step, they steadily received the first wave of the Qian Army's assault, and subsequently, led by Xia Luqi, the Beiwei Army launched a full-scale counterattack.

Their sturdy iron armor blocked the swords and blades hacking at them, while the Golden Gourd Mace in their hands smashed onto the Qian soldiers like cracking walnuts, one after another, and for a time, screams rang out continuously.

At this moment, Gao Yuan, leading the Second, Third, and Fifth Divisions of the Beiwei Army, plus the Xiaoguo Army, had already completed the flanking maneuver on the Qian Army's two wings, waiting only for the right moment to strike a decisive blow.

Just as he was thinking about how to fight a perfect battle, the long-silent system suddenly appeared.

"SS-rank Life Section 'Overlord's Little Notebook' Exclusive Event: New Generation Destroyer triggered;

As the highest-ranking person of the new generation, the Host has the obligation to maintain this hegemony and make all competitors of the same generation submit to the Host;

Event Goal: Personally behead or capture the enemy commander Xiao Heng;

Event Reward: Mysterious Key X1."

Gao Yuan had figured it out: ever since he had a massive amount of mall currency, this system would only give keys.

It seemed that unless he spent all his money, this system would not give up.