Chapter 1 Ye Shuai

"Look, that's Marshal Ye..."

In the forward outpost, several resting soldiers noticed a group of officers on a hillside to one side, gazing at the plains in front of Guiyi City from afar.

"Why is Marshal Ye so far forward?" Another soldier craned his neck, then asked the grizzled sergeant major lying nearby, "Chief, is Marshal Ye here because we're about to attack?"

The sergeant major spat out the blade of grass in his mouth and said, "Don't overthink it. There's definitely going to be a fight, but when we fight isn't up to us. And the fighting isn't up to Marshal Ye alone, either." The sergeant major smiled, nodded, and said, "Hey, it depends on whether the other side wants to fight, whether they dare to fight. You bunch of brats just eat and drink well every day, do your drills and rest on time, and don't get sick and have the runs so you can't participate. If you miss this battle, you probably won't get another one before you retire."

Everyone nodded in agreement. The Yun Province army's style was becoming increasingly clear: thorough preparation, powerful combat, unwavering when still, and earth-shattering when moving... There were no enemies around who dared to attack Yun Province proactively. If they could successfully resolve this battle against the Zhenbei Military Command, they would probably spend the next few years resting and reorganizing their forces. Even if there were occasional operations to drive out small groups of enemies, these heavy infantry wouldn't be involved. They were born for major battles like this one.

Ye Tao really couldn't say he had any experience commanding such a battle. For Ye Tao, what was more important was choosing the best ideas from those around him, and those around him were very experienced. Dai Shijin, as the former patriarch of the Dai family, naturally went without saying. Dai Shihuan, who had been in charge of the entire Yun Province army before Ye Tao and Dai Yun, had also come. Although these two hadn't fought in such large-scale battles, they still had some experience in commanding them. Tan Weiran, Cheng Chi, Chi Lei, and others were also young generals with a lot of military book knowledge. This time, they would each command the left, center, and right armies to test their battle command abilities in actual combat. When a battle was needed, the Zhongjun Camp's (Central Army Camp's) energy was immediately brought into full play. The huge messenger team could report the situation of each unit at any time, while the staff officers could classify and summarize all kinds of information as soon as possible, reporting them in order of importance and urgency... Although there had been no actual combat, officers above the company level in each unit had already conducted two simulations in the Zhongjun Camp. The energy displayed by these officers, who were originally not highly regarded and thought to only play wargames and talk on paper, was not to be underestimated. After all, having military common sense still had a great impact on this basic business ability. Wargames and long-term tactical simulations might not directly turn this group of people into qualified practical officers, but at least they wouldn't be as ignorant as idiots.

"Ye Tao, the terrain here is flat, and if we really fight on the plains, it will be fair to both sides. If we arrange a duel here, Jiang Xujing, who has the advantage in numbers, should have no reason to refuse." Dai Shihuan carefully examined the entire planned battlefield and said calmly.

What scale should a battlefield be when hundreds of thousands of troops are involved? Although this was a battle known for its dense troop formations in this era, rather than sparse skirmish lines and trench warfare, the front line where the two armies would clash was still less than ten *li* wide. On their planned flat battlefield, there were only a few small slopes, not high enough to set up observation posts, but they had to make do. And the two villages on the battlefield were the real problem. Although some villagers had been evacuated, some remained. Now, in this buffer zone between the two armies, they were living quite comfortably.

"Uncle, please draft the challenge," Ye Tao said to Dai Shihuan. "Let's set the time for five days from now. Let's spend two days helping Jiang Xujing make up his mind."

"Very good." Dai Shihuan nodded and looked at Dai Shijin, saying, "Ye Tao, it's fine that you brought so many flaming oil bombs, but what are you doing with so much fine canvas? Isn't fine canvas used by the logistics营 (*ying* - battalion) to waterproof supplies? You really stockpiled so much in the rear."

Ye Tao smiled and said, "Uncle, I brought these to help Jiang Xujing decide to fight a decisive battle. Our current position is perfect, and it will be difficult to move forward. If we advance during the battle, we will directly charge under Guiyi City. If they shrink inside, we won't have a good way to deal with it. With this fine canvas, I can come up with some new tricks."

Dai Shihuan curled his lips and said, "Look at you, so happy. You don't even tell us what you're planning. You're the Pacification Commissioner, but also our junior. Do you know what it means to respect the old and cherish the worthy?"

Ye Tao smiled and shrugged, still saying nothing. There weren't many people in Yun Province who could talk to Ye Tao so easily. Ye Tao liked to get along with everyone as equals and hoped that people would offer their opinions and suggestions at any time. But the relationship between superiors and subordinates was still there. Dai Shikui was Ye Tao's father-in-law, so that went without saying. Dai Shijin and Dai Shihuan were the leaders of the Dai family, and they didn't like to put on airs. Their status was also there, so they got along very well with Ye Tao. Others couldn't be so relaxed.

Ye Tao just smiled and explained, "I'm really not good at fighting this kind of battle. But, think about what kind of background I have as the Pacification Commissioner. I can still come up with something fun. Just wait and see."

At this moment, the fine canvas was being cut into uniformly sized pieces in the military camp according to Ye Tao's requirements. A large number of sturdy wooden poles had also been transported here. However, because wooden poles had a wide range of uses, whether they were reprocessed into arrow shafts or used to support tents, the consumption was not small, so no one seemed to notice. But when these two things were put together, the situation was different. One by one, triangular frames were erected, covered with fine canvas, and equipped with simple undercarriages, turning them into gliders. Two guide vanes similar to vertical tail fins were even installed at the rear. Then, everyone watched as these undercarriages were loaded with flaming oil bombs and placed on track-type crossbow cannons that had been simply modified.

Because the design was so simple and the soldiers in the engineering team of the logistics battalion were so skilled, with the assistance of soldiers from several other battalions in all the transport work, a large team of one thousand men completed four hundred of these simple gliders in a whole day. They also completed the modification of fifty crossbow cannons. By the afternoon of the second day after the challenge was sent, these crossbow cannons and gliders were withdrawn from the front camp and lined up facing Guiyi City. At this time, they were about six *li* away from Guiyi City, which was about five times the maximum range of these crossbow cannons in normal times. Scouts from the Chun Nan side tentatively approached, but the scouts and cavalry of the Frost Wolves and Silver Wings armies did not force them to leave, nor did they intend to outflank them. It was as if they wanted them to see clearly.

"This thing is really hard to load..." Two soldiers from the heavy artillery battalion worked together to lift the glider over their heads, while another comrade standing on the crossbow cannon frame adjusted it to lock the glider into the guide rail. This was the first time the heavy artillery battalion had encountered such a difficult thing to load. The modified crossbow cannon had only lengthened the guide rail and couldn't let the glider slide in reverse from the front of the guide rail. Heaven only knew what it was. But apart from a few simple complaints, these people in the heavy artillery battalion really didn't have any grievances. Ding Shi and the others were even playing with these things themselves..."It's so awesome!" This was everyone's feeling after completing the first glider and the first modified crossbow cannon a few days ago and conducting a test firing.

Around the heavy artillery battalion's position, idle soldiers who were resting gathered to see what this thing was. And even in those camps several *li* away, some people had come.

"Everyone, get ready... Number One, Number One, you fire the first shot." Ding Shi shouted at an old soldier who was almost fifty years old. The honest-looking old soldier was standing next to the so-called Number One crossbow cannon. Compared to others, this old soldier had at least played with this thing that was officially named a glider bomb. Well, only once. But on this occasion, that was enough.

This old soldier, who everyone called Old Sun, was able to stay in the heavy artillery battalion, which required extremely high physical strength, at this age, so he naturally had some skills. He aimed and aimed again, carefully adjusting the cranks used to adjust the elevation and direction, locking them in place, and then squinted his eyes and waited quietly.

Everyone waited like that. "What is Old Sun doing?" a soldier from another battalion watching from the side asked in a low voice. So many people were silent, so he didn't dare to speak loudly either. "Shh... quiet, he's waiting for the wind."

"Wind?" Everyone around pricked up their ears. In the open fields, gentle breezes were blowing, and the scattered grass clippings in the air, the rustling of the weeds around the camp, and the fluttering of the flags in the camp all hinted at the existence of the wind.

Old Sun waited for a while before putting his hand on the pull rod used to launch the glider bomb. Then he squinted his eyes again.

Suddenly, Old Sun moved, and his hand pulled down hard. With a bang, the torsion spring instantly pushed the glider bomb out. The undercarriage on the glider bomb rubbed against the guide rail, making a sharp scraping sound. The scraping sound disappeared the moment the glider bomb left the guide rail. The world seemed to quiet down all of a sudden, leaving only the whistling sound of the glider bomb gently鸣 (*ming* - chirping)...

Those who were watching from directly behind the crossbow cannon felt that the glider bomb seemed to be deviating from Guiyi a lot, but the glider bomb drew a beautiful arc, tilted slightly, swelled its wings, and fell towards Guiyi City...

The glider bomb seemed to fly in the air for a long, long time before finally hitting the wall of Guiyi City. It wasn't a key location, far, far away from the city tower. It just exploded into a brilliant spark on the city wall and soon went out. But the Yun Province armies instantly burst into loud cheers...

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May all be well with the living, the dead, and the brave.