Chapter 349 The Battle of Guanzhong (Part Two)

Gao Xianzhi carefully read through all the intelligence and stared at the map for a while before speaking to Gao Yuan.

"This humble general has two strategies for my Lord to choose from."

Gao Yuan nodded.

"Feel free to speak."

Gao Xianzhi began to explain his plan.

"The first strategy is to follow the original plan, using Mei County as a base to deploy our formations and face the Northern Liang Army head-on;"

"The second strategy is for This humble general to hold Mei County while my Lord leads the main force of the army to launch surprise attacks on Jingyang, Wugong, and other areas, then use those two locations as bases to lead the Xiaoguo Army in an assault to completely cut off the enemy's supply lines."

Gao Yuan knew how ruthless this move of Gao Xianzhi's was; it was equivalent to using Mei County as bait to firmly attract the enemy's attention and then completely disrupt the situation around Chang'an.

This would force Gao Long to order a retreat, and once the enemy forces began to scatter, they could be caught and defeated one by one.

If Gao Yuan were willing, he could even take the Shenji Camp there for a round of bombardment, which might allow him to take Chang'an directly and capture his 'dear' elder brother, Gao Long.

The only problem was that the pressure on the person defending Mei County would be immense.

Mei County could not be considered to have high walls or deep moats, nor did it have any strategic terrain, so it would be very dangerous once besieged.

After staring at the map for a while, Gao Yuan waved his hand.

"Your prestige is not enough; I'm afraid that as soon as they see Mei County has fallen, they will simply retreat, and our plan will be useless."

Gao Xianzhi immediately understood Gao Yuan's intention and quickly tried to dissuade him.

"As the saying goes, a man of high status should not place himself in harm's way. How can your precious personage take such a risk?"

Gao Yuan waved his hand dismissively and said with indifference.

"I am not some helpless person. With the soldiers by my side, if things really don't work out, I will simply lead the army to break through the encirclement."

Gao Xianzhi kept trying to dissuade him, but Gao Yuan argued his case, explaining that only a big fish like himself could firmly attract Gao Long's three-pronged army to the walls of Mei County.

After several rounds of debate, Gao Xianzhi could only helplessly accept Gao Yuan's plan and immediately went down to begin preparations.

According to Gao Yuan's plan, only ten thousand of the Xuanjia Army would remain to defend the city. It wasn't that he was unwilling to leave more troops, but rather that the county town was only large enough to fit that many people.

However, Xia Luqi was left behind. With this top-tier fighter present, everyone felt much more at ease, believing that even if they truly couldn't hold out, Xia Luqi's abilities would be enough to protect Gao Yuan as he broke through the encirclement.

Before the enemy could surround them, Wu Ban sent a large amount of grain, arrows, and other siege-defense materials, along with dozens of explosive packs, which could have a miraculous effect if used correctly.

With Wu Ban coordinating from Qishan and Chencang, Gao Xianzhi felt much more relieved and thus led the main force out of Mei County.

Two days after Gao Xianzhi's departure, the Northern Liang Army, which had been marching cautiously, finally arrived at the walls of Mei County.

Gao Bing, en own reason, and Gao Zi looked bewildered; this didn't look like a city under siege at all.

To be honest, when the Scouts first reported back, they didn't believe it, but seeing it now, they were all quite curious.

"Could it be that Gao Yuan failed to take the city and simply gave up the offensive to retreat?"

However, they soon got their answer as an arrow 'swished' through the air and landed on the ground dozens of paces in front of them, followed by the appearance of numerous flags on the city walls.

Looking at the red flags with gold 'Qian' characters and the similarly colored 'Gao' flags fluttering in the wind on the city walls, they finally realized that Mei County had already been lost.

Just as they were considering whether to retreat, Gao Zi, who had the best eyesight, suddenly let out a cry of surprise.

"Look at that person on the city wall!"

Everyone squinted at the city wall and, after careful identification, confirmed that the person standing there holding a longbow was indeed Gao Yuan.

Gao Bing was known for his resourcefulness and composure, and he immediately realized that if Gao Yuan was trapping himself in an isolated city and not hesitating to expose himself, he must have a purpose.

As for what that purpose was... it was as plain as the nose on one's face; Gao Long wanted to use Mei County as an axis to wipe out Gao Yuan's main force.

Since Gao Yuan had quickly taken Mei County, he could naturally pay them back in kind, using Mei County as an axis to lure the main force of the Northern Liang Army in the Guanzhong and then annihilate them in one fell swoop.

Having thought this through, Gao Bing sent a messenger that night to report the situation and his suspicions to Gao Long.

His suggestion was to retreat immediately and move the army back to their defensive positions to protect Chang'an.

As for Mei County, as soon as Gao Yuan's army withdrew, a county town with no natural defenses could be retaken whenever they wanted.

Upon seeing the letter sent by Gao Bing, Gao Long also fell into a state of indecision.

Mei County had been captured so quickly, which proved that the opponent was very strong and definitely not a pushover that could be easily handled.

Now the other side was clearly using Mei County and Gao Yuan as bait; if he bit down recklessly, he would surely suffer a loss.

But that bait was too tempting—Gao Yuan, Great Qian's Prince of Tang, the actual supreme commander of the three armies, known as the invincible and ever-victorious Jade-Faced Yama.

If he could be killed or captured alive, the benefits would be enormous.

The prerequisite for a person to resist temptation is that the temptation isn't great enough or isn't something they can reach with a bit of effort.

Now, Gao Yuan was clearly the bait that Gao Long could reach with a bit of effort; how could he resist such a massive temptation?

After agonizing over it all night, Gao Long finally made up his mind. Even if he knew there was a hook inside, he had to bite this bait, because as long as he succeeded, all losses would be negligible.

Having made up his mind, Gao Long also became determined. He decided to go to the front lines personally to meet his third brother and see if his title of Jade-Faced Yama was well-deserved or just an empty reputation.

Gao Long, who could be called Great Qian's Dragon Soaring, was top-tier in both decision-making and execution. He immediately drafted almost all the troops from the surrounding counties and transferred three thousand troops from Hangu Pass, assembling twelve thousand men.

Leaving two thousand men to guard Chang'an, Gao Long led ten thousand troops in a grand procession out of Chang'an toward Mei County.

Before the fighting began, no one would have imagined that a major battle deciding the fate of the entire Guanzhong would erupt around Mei County.

On the other side, news of Gao Long leaving Chang'an quickly reached Gao Xianzhi. Realizing this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he immediately ordered the army to launch a full-scale attack.

Liquan County is located northwest of Chang'an City and, along with Jingyang to its east, serves as a gateway to Chang'an.

Normally, three thousand troops were stationed in each, and together with the troops in Xianyang, they formed an extremely solid triangular region.

However, following Gao Long's all-out strike, the garrison here was left with fewer than a hundred men, all of whom were elderly or weak soldiers meant for daily peacekeeping.

The situation in Jingyang was much the same; it was essentially an empty city.

How could Gao Xianzhi pass up such a great opportunity? He took advantage of the city gates opening in the morning and the crowds of commoners pushing to enter to personally lead the Xiaoguo Army in a charge.

The defending soldiers didn't even have time to close the gates before the Xiaoguo Army rushed into the city. In less than half an hour, Liquan County was declared captured.

He then repeated the process, and the unprepared Jingyang was also quickly taken.

Xianyang City did have five hundred defenders, but unfortunately, facing tens of thousands of Qian Army elites, these five hundred soldiers were completely inadequate and could not hold out at all.

Clad in heavy armor and holding a large shield, Li Siye led the charge, climbing the siege tower and rushing onto the city walls, smashing through the defenders with a single blow each.

With this, the northern shield of Chang'an City was broken. Gao Xianzhi directly led his army to surround Chang'an and began constructing solid fortifications, adopting a posture of preparing for a long-term siege.