To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck-Chapter 855 - 364 The Fall of Nanhai Country_3

Chapter 855 -364 The Fall of Nanhai Country_3

Huang Xuan listened to the report and already had a general impression in his heart. He couldn’t help but smile and turned his head to say, “Now that I am aware, the rest of you continue to monitor information outside the walls of Changsha, at the same time, block off any news of the army’s arrival at Fuyun Du. It must not be leaked.”

“Also, if there is any unusual movement from the Ning Army, report it to me immediately. Do not delay.”

The military officer hurriedly replied, “Understood.”

Afterward, the man hurried off, gathered a few colleagues upon reaching the shore, gave some instructions, and then the hundred or so agents and messengers from the Imperial City scattered in all directions, beginning their tasks.

Meanwhile, Huang Xuan, on the boat, waited outside the ferry dock for a while. Seeing that all supplies had been replenished and were in order, he did not continue to stay and directly ordered the fleet to leave the dock and move forward.

Fuyun Du was merely one of the ferry crossings within Changsha territory, part of the Dongting Lake region. Although it was within Changsha’s boundaries, it was in the western part of Changsha and still more than two hundred li from Changsha City.

...

If he were to land from here, then Huang Xuan, leading fifty thousand troops, would have to rush to the destination, and even if they maintained their combat strength, it would take at least two to three days.

The march of tens of thousands of troops on land would be grand and imposing, dust covering the sky, making it impossible to conceal their tracks and surely alerting the people of Ning.

Xiang Duan did not dare to deploy a detached army to enter Dongting prefectural residence, but he had the audacity to dispatch hundreds or even thousands of scouts to investigate areas around Changsha City, spanning from a hundred to several hundred li.

Even the Chu Army inside Changsha City would send out scouts to intercept and block the way; however, they couldn’t possibly head south in full force, and there would always be some information that slipped through.

Huang Xuan had come with the intent of catching his enemies off guard, launching a surprise attack on the Ning Army.

It wasn’t to lead troops as reinforcements, to fight a head-on battle with the Ning Army openly and honorably.

If Xiang Duan were to become aware that Chu had received reinforcements, caution would be heightened, and who knows, he might lead his troops to retreat straight away, pulling back to Yuzhang Prefecture.

Even if they did not retreat, they would likely hold the fort strong, splitting their forces to retreat to several county towns under their control in Changsha Prefecture, barricading themselves within.

For Huang Xuan to then proceed to capture each one would be extremely difficult.

In the end, the situation would become just like that of the Jiangxia battlefield, both sides locked in a stalemate, wearing each other down.

In such a case, the significance of Huang Xuan leading a surprise force would be completely lost.

He could only act as reinforcements, to strengthen the defenses within Dongting territory, with greatly diminished effectiveness.

Therefore, to avoid such a scenario, Huang Xuan’s troops could not travel by land but had to take the water route to remain concealed.

Luckily, within Changsha territory, there was Luoshui which flows into Dongting Lake and heads east, passing by Changsha City, and flowing into Yuzhang Prefecture.

There was also another river, Min Water, which likewise originated from Dongting Lake. However, this river first went north, into the Yueyang Prefecture where Baling was located.

After passing through several counties in the southern part of Yueyang Prefecture, Min Water made a turn and headed south again, eventually reaching Fengling County, the easternmost point of Changsha, where it met with Luoshui, the two merging into one river.

Fuyun Du was situated at the upper reaches of Min Water. From here, traveling a few more li northwards would allow one to navigate downstream from the upper reaches of Min Water, covering five hundred li by water to reach Fengling County and enter Luoshui.

According to the plan devised by Lu Yuan.

Upon reaching Fengling County, Huang Xuan would lead his troops to seize control of the county, then leave a contingent behind to block the water and land routes between Dongting and Yuzhang, thus cutting off Xiang Duan’s retreat and also preventing reinforcements from being sent from Yuzhang Prefecture by the Ning Army.

Huang Xuan would then continue to move upstream, bypassing through counties such as Anjiang, using the speed advantage of traveling by water to directly insert himself behind Changsha within half a day, attacking the Ning Army’s rear.

If swift enough, they could reach Fengling County within a day.

With Huang Xuan present, it wouldn’t take half an hour to break through the county.

Following the flow of Luoshui upstream from there to the outskirts of Changsha City, where the Ning Army was stationed, the waterway distance was only a bit over a hundred and forty li, which could be traversed by boat in less than half a day.

By noon the day after next, they would be able to launch their attack on the rear of the Ning Army.

With the convenience provided by the waterway and the swift transfer of the large force, it’s possible that by the time the army arrived behind the Ning forces, the opponent may not have even noticed.

Then, launching a surprise attack on their encampment would naturally be readily achieved with ease.

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As long as things went smoothly for Huang Xuan, Sun Siwen inside the city of Changsha, upon seeing the chaos in the Ning Army’s rear, would also command his well-prepared troops to strike out.

In such a pincer movement from both front and back, it could be possible to defeat the remaining eighty thousand troops of Xiang Duan in a single battle.

“`

Even if they couldn’t annihilate the opponent in one fell swoop, killing thirty to fifty thousand Ning soldiers would not pose any difficulty whatsoever.

And with the Ning Army suffering losses and Huang Xuan cutting off their retreat, once their food and fodder run short, even if some remaining troops staunchly defend the camp, they would not hold out for ten days or half a month.

Being utterly vanquished would just be a matter of time.

The early morning sun rose, casting a golden glow everywhere.

Bathed in the vibrant sunlight, Huang Xuan, who shared some of Lu Yuan’s thoughts, revealed a hint of a smile on his face, “The destruction of the Ning Army will take place within these two days.”

After the fleet entered the Min Waters, the flying boats dashed forward, covering a thousand miles in a day.

The moment to break the situation was fast approaching.

…

While Huang Xuan led the fleet rushing through the Min Waters toward Fengling county, just a few hundred miles away in Jiangxia City, Lu Yuan was also standing atop a mountain, gazing at the Yangtze River and looking southward, with a smile also spreading across his face.

“After besieging the city with fierce attacks for ten days, the Ning and Southern Sea armies suffered too many casualties to sustain themselves and abandoned the city to flee.

The remnants of the Ning Army and the survivors from Nanhai Country tried to escape by boat in the night but were discovered by Qingyunzi, who took the opportunity to lead his elite troops and the Inborn from within the army to raid and slaughter them.

In the end, you halted a small portion, and the rest all scattered in flight?”

Lu Yuan, recalling the news just received from the Avatar Qingyunzi, thousands of miles away in the Lingnan Region conveyed through divine thoughts, couldn’t help but feel immensely pleased.

When he had first deployed Huang Xuan as a surprise force, he had not fulfilled the Ning people’s wishes by dispatching reinforcements from Lingnan to aid the Chu forces at Dongting, leaving their strength fully intact, nor did they simply sit idle under the walls of Nanhai City.

Following Lu Yuan’s order not to divide the forces and for the main army to remain at Southern Sea and continue the siege,

Lan Cai’er, after consulting with Qingyunzi, decided to adopt the strategy previously used in the attack on Yulin.

With their side having three more Inborn than the Ning Army, including one whose strength was comparable to a second-stage Inborn Grandmaster, and with their overwhelming military strength, they launched another ferocious attack on Nanhai City.

Under the onslaught of the five Inborn and nearly three hundred thousand soldiers attacking day and night, the allied forces of Ning and Nanhai Country could only last ten days before succumbing to their grievous losses.

Especially on the side of Nanhai Country.

With the military strength severely diminished and the army ranks filled with inexperienced civilian workers, their combat capability was terribly weak.

Under the fierce attacks of the Inborn Grandmasters and the Chu elite, within a mere ten days, Chu forces stormed the city walls seven times, and three times nearly lost a section of the wall.

Although, with the help of the Ning Army, they barely managed to retake it,

the ten days of intense fighting and the slaughtering by the Inborn Grandmasters resulted in over thirty thousand casualties out of the hundred thousand Southern Sea forces within the city.

The remaining troops, due to these heavy losses, were low in morale and there were even multiple mutinies, with attempts to open the city gates and surrender to end the battle.

Although these attempts were subsequently suppressed, the Ning Army also lost over ten thousand men in this war, leaving only a little over twenty thousand soldiers, whose morale was equally low.

Given such circumstances, even the dimmest leaders from Nanhai Country and Ning could see that Nanhai City was indefensible.

In the end, to conserve their strength and minimize losses, the two countries finally chose to escape under the cover of night, leaving the area by boat.

However, while some wanted to flee, there were those who were unwilling to go.

A portion of the high-ranking officials from Nanhai Country, who hailed from local influential families, secretly relayed this information to the Chu forces outside the city, resulting in a massive collaboration and a night of slaughter.

Qingyunzi personally selected thirty thousand elite troops, who, alongside over ten thousand defected troops from within the Southern Sea Army and a section of the Southern Sea Navy unwilling to abandon their homeland, pursued the fleeing soldiers from both countries.

After a chase and slaughter, some of the battered forces from the two countries got away, while others were intercepted.

And later, as Qingyunzi led his troops back that very night, the unguarded Nanhai City finally fell, and the Chu Army smoothly entered and took over the defense.

With that, both Su Country and Nanhai Country were vanquished, and Chu now controlled all of this land, claiming unification over Lingnan.

The Southern Expedition had been a complete victory, and it could be described as perfect.

“`