Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains

Chapter 457: 222, Zhang Liang's Special Technique and Over-the-Wall Ladder Part 3

But Zhan Taiqing was adamantly against letting him partner with Hou Yucheng.

"Yuyang has already fallen, next, it depends on whether, as the Master of the Hou Family said, Jinjia Army and Gu Tianyun come to the rescue swiftly..."

The words of Zhang Zhenwei snapped Hou Yuxiao back to the present. He looked at the army below, which had begun to consolidate its battle formation and control the city. He took a deep breath, shook his head, and said, "A grandmaster's pace at most takes a little over an hour to get the message out. Whether it's Gu Tianyun or the two hundred thousand warriors of Jin Xing County's Jinjia Army, if they intended to help Yuyang, they should have arrived by now. Their absence likely means they won't be coming!"

As he spoke, the expressions of several generals of the Brahman World Purifying Army surrounding them instantly changed. Zhang Zhenwei's brows furrowed as he asked, "Master of the Hou Family, this is different from what you said before we set off!"

When they departed from Long Guan Prefecture, Hou Yuxiao said: a surprise attack on Yuyang by a hundred thousand troops of the Brahman World Purifying Army to take the prefectural city and to restrain the forces from Jin Xing County and the prefectural forces under Gu Tianyun. If both sides were to rush to aid Yuyang, then the troops from Long Guan Prefecture would immediately strike, putting pressure on the Ling Dong Prefecture, where Wanjian Holy Sect had deployed five hundred thousand heavy troops.

Using a small force to bind an enemy's vital strength wasn't a very sophisticated strategy, but it succeeded because Hou Yuxiao provided a method for the army to navigate the wilderness undetected, achieving a surprise effect. With Zhan Taiqing's order, Zhang Zhenwei agreed and personally led half of the Brahman World Purifying Army to execute this strategy.

But now, Hou Yuxiao was again saying that neither Gu Tianyun nor the Jin Xing Army's forces would come to Yuyang's aid, which naturally caused Zhang Zhenwei and the other generals some confusion.

"This ruse of mine would only work if neither the Jinjia Army nor Gu Tianyun could see through it. Gu Tianyun isn't foolish, and the Jinjia Army is Xu Du's elite force, their commanding generals are naturally not fools either. If they see through our intentions, they won't come to Yuyang's aid. There's nothing strange about that!"

You have your tactics, and I have my countermeasures. Whether a strategy works depends on whether your opponent is following the path you've predicted. Hou Yuxiao's explanation was clear, and upon hearing it, Zhang Zhenwei and the others immediately understood.

Zhang Zhenwei's expression grew pensive, and he quickly grasped the implications in Hou Yuxiao's words, as if suddenly realizing something, he looked up and said, "Since they are not coming to rescue Yuyang, they must be taking advantage of the absence of our hundred thousand troops to rally the two hundred thousand Jinjia Army and the defense forces of Ling Dong Prefecture to launch a direct attack on Long Guan Prefecture. Master of the Hou Family, am I right?"

Hou Yuxiao nodded and said in a low voice, "Precisely, General Zhang has a keen eye. If Gu Tianyun and the commander of the Jinjia Army are not foolish and don't want us leading them by the nose, by now they should have gathered all troops and left Ling Dong Prefecture towards Long Guan Prefecture."

"Then don't we have to return to aid Long Guan Prefecture?"

Zhou Ting's face showed alarm. The Holy Church's troops deployed to Hedong on this campaign, aside from their hundred thousand, were seventy-three thousand stationed within Long Guan Prefecture. If Long Guan Prefecture were to fall, it would be an incredibly heavy blow to the Holy Church.

Zhang Zhenwei, however, was different. After thinking for a moment, a sudden bright expression appeared on his face, as he understood Hou Yuxiao's intention.

"Who says we have to return to aid Long Guan? Gu Tianyun knows that our hundred thousand troops are a decoy to lure them, so he's leading all the troops from Hedong to attack Long Guan, unaware that our hundred thousand troops are not mere targets but a sharp blade, one capable of slicing open a great wound in the land of Hedong!"

After Hou Yuxiao had finished speaking, seeing that a few were still puzzled, he inquired softly to the crowd, "As commanders, let me ask you all, is it easier to defend a city, or to attack one?"

"Of course, it's defending..."

Zhou Ting didn't finish his sentence before he realized the implication and after thinking for a moment, his expression suddenly became very animated...

Everyone knew that in the Battle of Hedong, it was the Rakshasa Holy Sect who crossed the Tongtian River and took the offensive against Xuzhou Hedong. But if all of Hou Yuxiao's speculations were true, then at this moment, Gu Tianyun would already be leading a large force to attack Long Guan.

In that case, the offensive and defensive postures of both sides in the Battle of Hedong would be entirely reversed.

No, there's even more!

As long as Long Guan Prefecture could hold against Gu Tianyun's army, their hundred thousand troops need not return to aid, and could even...

Zhang Zhenwei looked towards the direction of Guangling Prefecture City to the east, his eyes suddenly alight with a gleam of understanding, and while also glancing at Hou Yuxiao, he recalled the words of the Holy Maiden and Fanyin Jialan, his wariness deepened...