When Yan Chi spoke these words, everyone was stunned.
Yue Qiong asked, “What do you mean by inviting the enemy into the pot?”
Yan Chi narrowed his phoenix eyes and spoke softly, “Wei County’s layout is quite complex, and the Rong barbarians are worst at urban warfare. On the plains, they can fight one against two, but once they enter Wei County, most of them will likely get lost. Since this is the case, why don’t we use Wei County itself as our battlefield?”
At these words, not just Yue Qiong, but Zhao Shuhua and Cheng Wei were all amazed!
Who could have imagined Yan Chi would think of such an extraordinary strategy?!
Yue Qiong leaned forward, “Use the county town as a battlefield? What do you mean? Explain in detail.”
Hearing this, Yan Chi asked, “Do you have a map of Wei County?”
Yue Qiong glanced at his deputy commander, who immediately brought forward Wei County’s defense map. Yan Chi took it, studied it intently for a moment, then laid it on the table and said, “Wei County’s small paths and alleys crisscross everywhere. The main streets twist and turn, with two stone arch bridges plus a clear river running through the city. Not just the Rong barbarians—even I would likely get lost on my first visit.”
After a pause, Yan Chi continued, “The Rong barbarians are born warriors, and they love to plunder. When attacking a city, they won’t spare any money or provisions—they’ll certainly try to loot everything. Given this, let’s leave some money and provisions in the city.”
Speaking thus, Yan Chi took a charcoal pen and drew several circles on the map. “I’ve looked, and these places are essentially independent market areas, each with its separate alley that winds around to exit the city. In total, besides the main street’s front and back exits, there are at least a dozen other exit points. We can first lay ambushes within Wei County, then let the Rong barbarians enter. We can then defeat them piece by piece. If the battle goes well, we can destroy the Rong barbarians. If not, we can retreat along the paths we know. Given the hot weather, we can use fire attacks, hidden arrows, traps—any method we can think of can be used in urban warfare. Then we’ll position enough troops at all exits—front, back, left, and right. Once we disrupt the Rong barbarians’ formation in the city, they’ll inevitably scatter and try to escape through various exits, and we need only wait to harvest them.”
Yan Chi added, “Wei County’s buildings are mostly made of stone, so if we use fire attacks, the fires won’t spread too far. Of course, if the Lord Marquis insists on preserving Wei County, then we can only face the Rong barbarians head-on north of the city.”
Yue Qiong slapped the table, “I’m not such a pedantic person! Wei County is already empty of people, and since the Rong barbarians love to enter our cities to plunder, this time, let’s make sure they don’t leave! We’ll use your method! We’ll first take advantage of the terrain—the Rong barbarians couldn’t dream of this!”
With Yue Qiong’s decisive approval, Zhao Shuhua and Cheng Wei were also amazed. Thus, the three sides began discussing this strategy of inviting the enemy into the pot. Finally, they agreed that after Yue Qiong returned today, he would arrange the defenses, first withdrawing some troops to the southern exit, then setting up traps and ambushes throughout the city according to the terrain. The Shuoxi Army would be responsible for all western exits, while the Northern Command Army would handle all eastern exits. If the Rong barbarians retreated, all three forces would attack together from the north.
With these arrangements settled, the second alliance meeting concluded. Yue Qiong returned to the city to make preparations and sent messengers to the eastern and western camps with the preparation details, so everyone understood the strategy clearly. As Yue Qiong had predicted, just one day later, the Rong barbarians launched a surprise attack at dusk.
Everyone had guessed the Rong barbarians would attack the city, but no one expected them to choose nightfall. This move gave the Zhou armies an advantage in timing.
When the Rong barbarians arrived impetuously and in great numbers outside Wei County, they didn’t find the expected strict defenses. Instead, the county was pitch black, appearing as if the Jinzhou army had already withdrawn. The Rong leader, being cautious, first sent several scouts into the city. The Rong scouts entered and saw winding alleys everywhere, making them cautious. They only followed the main road for a while, not seeing any Jinzhou soldiers, with silence all around. They became convinced the city was empty. When the scouts reported back, the Rong leader was overjoyed, thinking the Jinzhou army had retreated in anticipation of their counterattack. Thus, he ordered his army to enter the city without hesitation!
This time, the Rong leader brought most of his forces, nearly one hundred thousand troops. The army entered slowly, and at first, everything went smoothly. After walking some distance and seeing the city truly empty, the Rong barbarians became excited. Given their pillaging nature, seeing the city seemingly safe, they couldn’t resist breaking into the closed houses, looting one by one. Though Wei County’s residents had taken most valuable possessions when they left, some things remained. Whether silk, brocade, gold, silver, or grain, the Rong barbarians didn’t discriminate. Those at the front soon had their fill of plunder.
However, when these people arrogantly searched deeper into the market areas on both sides of the main street, chaos suddenly erupted!
First, a fire suddenly broke out in a workshop, surrounding several hundred Rong barbarians who were burned alive inside. In another residence, the entire courtyard was filled with traps, and the leading Rong warriors fell into deep pits filled with arrows before they could react. Many others who had just entered pitch-dark houses were killed by multiple cold arrows. What terrified the Rong barbarians most were the Zhou people who seemed to be everywhere yet nowhere visible—
The overconfident Rong barbarians focused only on looting and had their formation completely scattered. They spread out along the main road, then entered the rows of houses in small groups through the alleys. The Jinzhou army was well-prepared—whether fire attacks or cold arrows, everything happened in an instant. When the Rong barbarians realized what was happening, they were surrounded by chaotic small paths and didn’t know which way to escape. Yue Qiong had already made sure the Jinzhou army was familiar with the city’s roads, and now the Jinzhou soldiers moved like fish in the night’s shadows, taking lives at will—
By the time the Rong leader realized something was wrong, fires had broken out throughout the city, and countless Rong barbarian bodies lay in those pitch-dark houses. Everyone panicked at once. Those still in the market areas ran blindly toward the city exits through the alleys, only to encounter the Shuoxi and Northern Command armies guarding outside. The people at the front dared not continue forward, the formation fell into chaos, and many began turning back to retreat.
At this moment, Yue Qiong gave the signal, and the elite infantry hiding in the city charged out from various dark corners like demons, launching into the unprepared Rong barbarians. Though the Rong barbarians were physically robust, they couldn’t withstand this kind of assault. They suffered heavy losses of both troops and commanders. The Jinzhou army didn’t persist in fighting—they would kill and withdraw, like a shadow army impossible to catch or see through. If the Rong barbarians gave chase, new traps awaited them in unnamed alleys…
This guerrilla-style urban battle allowed the Jinzhou army to avenge their earlier shame of being besieged, and for the first time, they experienced the Zhou people’s intellectual superiority over the two Rong tribes. The Jinzhou army’s ghost-like tactics tormented the Rong barbarians in the city. Finally, after being worn down for over two hours, the Rong leader ordered a retreat. Thus, the army turned back, desperately retreating the way they had come. By this time, the Rong army had already lost over twenty thousand troops.
Seeing the Rong barbarians retreat, Yue Qiong gave a new signal. Immediately, all three armies pursued northward. The Northern Command Army and Shuoxi Army flanked from left and right, while the Jinzhou army harvested the rear half of the force still in the city. The Rong barbarians felt as if they were being haunted by evil spirits, unable to shake off their pursuers.
After a night of fierce fighting, by dawn, the Rong barbarians had fought their way back to the south of Lion Ridge. Seeing this, Yan Chi ordered a withdrawal, absolutely refusing to pursue further!
The Rong barbarians saw daybreak and, being on the plains outside the city, thought they could counterattack, but the three armies withdrew even faster than they had pursued. They could only watch helplessly as the Zhou armies departed, having sacrificed the lives of tens of thousands of their tribal brothers for nothing…
This battle was not only satisfying for the Jinzhou army—the Northern Command Army and Shuoxi army also achieved multiple Rong barbarian casualties with minimal losses, an extremely rare great victory. Somehow, the Jinzhou and Northern Command armies learned that this strategy was Yan Chi’s idea. Suddenly, the Shuoxi army’s reputation as battle gods spread throughout the three armies. Even the Jinzhou army soldiers, who had previously harbored many prejudices against the Shuoxi army, couldn’t help but admire them in their hearts.
After this battle, the Rong barbarians wouldn’t dare easily enter Wei County again. Yue Qiong ordered the Jinzhou army to reoccupy the city. After clearing the battlefield, the entire Jinzhou army, from top to bottom, was in high spirits—completely different from their misery when besieged in Fengzhou half a month earlier.
In the central command tent, Yue Qiong said, “After this battle, even the lowest soldiers’ morale has risen, showing how brilliant the Wise Prince’s strategy truly was! The Rong people have suffered too many losses this time and probably won’t dare move rashly for a while. Perfect timing for us to rest and reorganize.”
The military commanders below all agreed, full of admiration for Yan Chi.
Hearing this, Yan Qin said, “Shouldn’t we pursue our victory and continue attacking the Rong barbarians?”
Yue Qiong shook his head, “As we said that day, against the Rong people on the plains, we have no advantage—on the contrary, we’re at a huge disadvantage. But if we fight in cities or use ambushes, the results are very different. Therefore, while pursuing victory is possible, if we face the Rong barbarians head-on, we’ll be at a disadvantage. Better to rest briefly and plan our strategy. The Rong barbarians ultimately prefer to fight with brute force—if we use strategy, they’ll likely fall for our traps.”
Even these recent great victories had relied on strategy. Everyone hurried to agree.
Yan Qin also strongly agreed, “That makes sense, but… Lord Marquis, our supplies are running low. Since we’ve won several consecutive victories, why don’t we think of a good strategy to deal the Rong barbarians one final heavy blow!”
These consecutive victories had only worn down the Rong barbarians’ numbers. Until now, they still had nearly one hundred thousand combat-ready troops.
With one hundred thousand troops, if they faced the Jinzhou army, the Jinzhou army could still be defeated.
Yue Qiong also felt that while Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua were willing to help, they should devise a strategy to severely wound the Rong barbarians in one stroke. At that point, the Rong barbarians would surely retreat toward Cangzhou, and they need only pursue their victory. Then, regardless of what Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua decided, the Jinzhou army would have enough strength to handle the Rong barbarians.
Yue Qiong, being an experienced commander, was only slightly inferior to Yan Chi in strategy. Yan Qin’s words inspired him. He first sent messengers to express gratitude to the Shuoxi and Northern Command armies, then began pondering strategies to deal with the Rong barbarians in his camp. After sending people to scout the Rong barbarians’ position at Luofeng Slope dozens of times, Yue Qiong finally thought of a very reliable strategy. Two days later, Yue Qiong began having people convey his desire for a third alliance meeting.
Since previous cooperation had been smooth, Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua naturally no longer resisted alliance meetings and instead increasingly trusted Yue Qiong.
Two days later, at the original meeting place, Yue Qiong brought the Jinzhou army’s commanders to welcome Yan Chi and Zhao Shuhua into the tent. As soon as they were seated, Yue Qiong said, “These past days, scouts report that the Rong barbarians are just resting and have sent people to Cangzhou, seemingly to look for grain supplies from the military granaries near Cangzhou. It appears they want to prolong this situation with us…”