509 Foundation of Aristocratic Family (1/2)
Mulan Stronghold had suddenly turned into the hot spot of the southwest battlefield.
Since Hong Xiuquan insisted on fighting, Yang Xiuqing naturally needed to follow his orders to the end no matter the sacrifice. After all, at least in the current moment, Hong Xiuquan's prestige in Taiping Country was unassailable.
Just as Taiping Country's south army was attacking Mulan Stronghold, Han Xin led the Leopard Legion to rush his troops to assist Mulan Stronghold, as he had received instructions from the Military Affairs Department.
Since they had spent two days at the command center, even if they rushed, they could only reach Mulan Stronghold at the 28th at the earliest.
Hence, Baiqi's troops needed to defend for at least two days.
Apart from that, they had just occupied Wuzhou Prefecture, and it was not officially under Shanhai Territory's rule. As a result, the logistical supplies of the army came from Zhaoqing Prefecture.
One could say that Han Xin leading his troops to Mulan Stronghold was a risk in itself. However, Han Xin was a person who would grasp his chances; he knew that if this chance was lost, it would not come again.
Taiping Country attacking Mulan Stronghold meant that their attention was solely on the frontline. The moment the Leopard Legion attacked them from the back, they could lose immediately.
For victory, Han Xin was willing to take this risk.
As for the Liao Kai’s 1st division of the Dragon Legion, they were still traveling through the one hundred thousand mountains. They most probably would not make it in time for this battle.
Furthermore, due to the current situation in Wuzhou Prefecture, Ouyang Shuo did not dare to send the Guards Division.
Using just one division to control the entire Wuzhou Prefecture was something that already caused Ouyang Shuo to feel fear. After he left the courtyard, he ordered Lin Yi to lead two regiments and one mountain barbarian division to sweep all the other powers in Wuzhou Prefecture.
The number of mountain barbarian tribes in Wuzhou numbered in the hundreds. Amongst which, sixty lived in Chiyou City, while the remaining became the powers in Wuzhou Prefecture.
The day that Ouyang Shuo reached Chiyou City, he had already instructed Wang Feng to lead a one hundred man squad to post notices to announce Shanhai City’s rule.
Based on the letter that Wang Feng sent back, some places had even locked out the Divine Martial Guards.
Facing these ignorant mountain barbarians, Ouyang Shuo naturally had to show his hand. He also wanted to make use of the chance to clean out the stubborn powers in Wuzhou Prefecture. Such actions would help clean out the obstacles for Fan Zhongyan and his rule of Wuzhou Prefecture.
The Black Snake Guards, including the Military Intelligence Division, had never given up on infiltrating the various counties and cities in Wuzhou. Under the help of both intelligence organizations, Lin Yi's lightning operation would definitely succeed.
……
In the letter from the Black Snake Guards, they reported that Tianjing City only had forty thousand troops stationed. Ouyang Shuo was actually tempted to just lead the Guards Division and the four mountain barbarian divisions to attack it and remove their main camp.
In truth, this idea was actually exceedingly tempting.
After thinking about it clearly, Ouyang Shuo decided to give up the idea for three reasons.
Firstly, Tianjing City was not easy to occupy.
After Hong Xiuquan received a second life, he would definitely run his city well. Based on what the Black Snake Guards sent, the city walls of Tianjing City, including the defences, were all top grade in the wilderness.
Based on grade, it was half a grade higher than a prefecture and laid between a prefecture and a capital city. If one gave him a little more time, he could truly achieve the scale of a capital city.
Hence, without siege weapons, taking it down was just a pipe dream. Not for other reasons, but because he was sure that there would be cannons mounted on the wall.
Cannons might not be good for sieges, but for defending purposes, they were a real killer weapon. Shooting down from the walls, if the enemy lacked protection, it would really kill anything in its path.
Its power and killing ability was even scarier than the three bow arcuballista.
With only the current independent mountain barbarian divisions, Ouyang Shuo did not have the confidence to take the city down.
Secondly, Xunzhou Prefecture was not some back garden.
Hong Xiuquan's rule had religious teachings as its core.
Hence, in Xunzhou, be it the officials or the people, they were all the believers of the Taiping religion.
Ouyang Shuo believe that the moment he entered their territory, no matter how careful he acted, his troops would be revealed to Hong Xiuquan, and they would have nowhere to hide.
Hence, a sneak attack was completely impossible.
Hong Xiuquan's rule was truly an iron bowl. All the people in Taiping Country were his believers, and they acted as his eyes and ears. Any movement, however slight, could not escape his attention.
In comparison, Chiyou's rule was merely cruel and inhumane.
Thirdly, Wuzhou Prefecture was not stable yet.
This instability did not just lie in the previously stated elements, as there was a more important point—he had to defend against the Wannan City-state up north.
After the Battle of Zhaoqing, any neighbor of Shanhai City had realized an important point—if they did not want Shanhai City to swallow them, just defending was not enough. They needed to maintain vigilance at every moment. Moreover, when the moment arrived, they should even attack, attacking as a form of defense.
If not, at any moment, they could be like frogs in warm water, getting killed off one by one.
Furthermore, the leader of Wannan City-State, Caiyun Zinan, was not a simple figure. Before this, he was so quiet. However, during the Battle of Julu, he had finally revealed his strength.