Chapter 115 The Rhythm of War
The pace of war began to quicken.

Within Yingdu City, the various government offices began to operate at a rapid pace. If, prior to this, when the First Prince was in command of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, he had only been maintaining the basic situation, then the moment the Jingnan Marquis arrived, the bureaucratic system here instantly became extremely efficient.

Whatever needed to be done, whatever needed to be procured, the support and provisions for the various armies, and so on; the Jingnan Marquis was only responsible for approving the orders, which would be quickly passed on to the relevant departments.

If it wasn't done well, it didn't matter; the chief official would be directly executed, and the deputy would take over. If it still wasn't done well, more would be killed.

Within Yingdu City, no one dared to object, at least, no objections appeared on the surface. Government offices at all levels began to operate with all their might.

This was the value brought by prestige. Of course, there was also the added bonus of the Jingnan Marquis's own "infamous reputation."

Things that the First Prince couldn't do or didn't dare to do were nothing to the Jingnan Marquis.

The so-called "the law does not punish the multitude," rallying crowds to protest, or anything like that, no one dared to collude or even attempt, because everyone knew that this master truly would kill people, and would do so without hesitation.

Compared to the east bank of the Wangjiang River, the west bank had a very clear difference: it still retained a relatively complete ruling system, and government offices at all levels were able to operate.

Although there was a war going on, the spring plowing and the autumn harvest a while ago were both barely completed, and the organizational strength in other aspects was still there.

At the same time, because the Yan people were a foreign new regime, their deterrent force against local family powers was extremely strong. The local forces of the Cheng Kingdom, who originally dared to defy the local officials of the Cheng Kingdom, not only did not dare to resist when they saw the Yan people, but instead actively offered tributes and fawned upon them.

People are like this, and human nature is like this.

In contrast, on the east bank of the Wangjiang River, after the Savages entered the pass, they only cared about burning, killing, and looting on a large scale, engaging in a business of draining the pond to catch the fish.

Gold, silver, wealth, population, and so on; perhaps they were too afraid of poverty, even thinking of carrying iron pots back to the snow plains.

The pseudo-regime established by Situ Yi was just a layer of window paper, with little control over the local areas. Although the Yan people were defeated in the last Wangjiang River battle, the Savages and the Chu people also sold out the new dynasty established by Situ Yi. After losing the already small number of troops who still supported him, Situ Yi, the new "Cheng Kingdom" emperor, even had Yupan City, the "capital," occupied by Qu Tiannan. He could only take his younger brother to a small county town further east called Fengxin to re-establish a new capital, euphemistically called "relocation of the capital."

Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that the entire east bank of the Wangjiang River was in a state of anarchy.

This was probably not the situation that the Savage King wanted to see, but it was also a situation that the Savage King could not change, because after the Savages entered the pass, he simply could not control the Savage warriors under his command from burning, killing, and looting.

A team of cavalry galloped on the west bank of the Wangjiang River, reconfirming the location for crossing the river tomorrow.

By the afternoon, everyone had rested.

In the evening, the laborers should arrive here. Although the river surface had frozen, reducing the difficulty of crossing the river, some preparations still needed to be made on the river surface to allow nearly ten thousand cavalry to cross the river quickly with their men and horses.

In fact, after the Wangjiang River defense line froze, its defensive capabilities directly dropped by more than 80%. When the water surface froze, the speed of passage would be greatly increased, the difficulty would be greatly reduced, and the defending side would be unable to make effective and timely interceptions.

Jin Shuke handed the wind oil essence he had treasured to the First Prince,

"Apply some, just apply it under your nose."

The First Prince nodded, took a little, applied it under his nose, took a deep breath, and immediately felt refreshed.

"This thing is good."

"Of course, it is, but unfortunately I only have one bottle left. Next time, after the battle is over, after returning to Shengle, I'll get some to send to you."

"Thank you."

"You're too kind, really too kind. You are a noble, we understand each other without speaking."

"Tacit understanding?"

"Oh, yes, hehe."

Jin Shuke scratched his head with some simplicity.

In fact, anyone who wasn't an idiot could tell who the First Prince was, because his mount...

The all-black Pixiu was too conspicuous. In the entire Yan army, someone of this age with this mount, their identity was really easy to guess.

This time, Jin Shuke didn't need to figure it out; it was like an open-book exam.

He had to serve this master well, but also grasp the proper measure.

However, Zheng Fan had another consideration for putting the First Prince in this team, that was, more than half of the people under Jin Shuke's command were Barbarians, who had been brainwashed by the Blind Man for the longest time, with the best results, and were the most loyal to General Zheng.

Tian Wujing wanted to put the First Prince here with him, and Zheng Fan couldn't refuse, but he had to ensure that this army continued to bear the Zheng surname.

Jin Shuke was a proud student of the Blind Man who had been tested, and his ideological and political stance was definitely able to withstand scrutiny.

If it were replaced by other Jin generals, they might be thinking about switching to another patron. After all, even if the Yan prince had just suffered a defeat, that patron looked thicker and more fragrant than General Zheng.

Judging others by himself, General Zheng felt that if he were put in that position, he probably couldn't help but hug it.

Admittedly, the First Prince wouldn't usually do such a thing, and Tian Wujing wouldn't allow such a thing to happen, but the necessary precautions still had to be taken, otherwise Zheng Fan himself would feel uncomfortable.

The First Prince said:

"This time we will cross the river from here to harass the Chu army's rear. I just don't know why we are not allowed to harass the Savage's rear."

This was like a question, and also like a soliloquy.

Since he had suffered a defeat, the First Prince began to study Tian Wujing's strategy. The sons of the Ji family, especially these princes, were particularly resilient under the蹂躏of that Emperor.

Zheng Fan once joked with the Blind Man and the others, saying that although the Yan Emperor's education method was brutal, the princes' success rate was actually quite high. In later generations, the Yan Emperor could completely write a "On the Superiority of Adversity Education," and directly transform into an educational expert.

Jin Shuke smiled when he heard this, took a sip of water from his water bag, and said:

"Because the Chu people are prone to lack of food, but the Savages will not lack of food."

"Why? The Chu people must have brought a lot of food and grass with them when they went on the expedition, and during this time, there should also be support from food and grass from within the Chu Kingdom. The Savages, on the other hand, only know how to kill and plunder, and many things are transported back to the snow plains."

Jin Shuke smiled somewhat unnaturally,

Said:

"Because the Savages can graze."

"Graze now?"

"Yes, they can eat sheep."

"No, impossible, there are not enough sheep to eat." The First Prince said with certainty.

He was not the kind of prince who stayed in the prince's mansion all the time, never leaving the gate. He knew what cattle and sheep meant to herdsmen, which was equivalent to the fields of the people in the Central Plains. Would they be willing to eat them casually?

Jin Shuke shook his head and said:

"Does your highness know that there is a kind of sheep that has two legs?"

"........" The First Prince.

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

After a long time, the First Prince nodded, bit his lip, and indicated that he understood.

Tian Wujing only attacked the Chu people's food supply lines and rear because he had known that the Savages would do that?

Jin Shuke knew this because the Barbarians had done this to the Yan people when they were strong in the early years.

It's just that now, the desert is weak and the Yan people are strong, and it is almost impossible to do that again.

"Your Highness, in my opinion, the Savages are just a group of wolf cubs. Don't look at how fierce they are jumping now, but they are not the opponents of tigers after all. To deal with the Savages, you only need to find a suitable opportunity and charge at them head-on. At that time, it will be clear who is strong and who is weak."

The Savages are very similar to the Barbarians to a certain extent,

But the Barbarians have always looked down on the Savages,

Jin Shuke also had this mentality.

I can't beat the Yan people, but I can't clean you up?

"On the contrary, I think the Chu Kingdom is more difficult to deal with. In the battlefield, the last thing you want to face is an orderly opponent."

The First Prince nodded when he heard this. He had fought against the Chu people. Li Bao led his army to die on the east bank to cover his retreat.

The Azure Luan Army of the Chu people was indeed elite.

"The Chu people's infantry phalanx is not easy to bite."

The Chu people were extremely strong in infantry battles, and they had complete arms. Even in the wilderness, as long as the Chu people formed a formation, it would be difficult for iron cavalry to find a place to attack.

Jin Shuke smiled:

"So you have to trap the Chu people."

The First Prince asked:

"What after trapping them? Are we going to attack the city?"

"After trapping them, we will fight the Savages."

Surround Chu and fight Savages?

The First Prince suddenly felt that the Barbarian man in front of him was very different, really different, because the First Prince had a premonition that the centurion named Jin Shuke, who was now his nominal "superior," seemed to have guessed Jingnan Marquis's strategic layout.

The First Prince immediately sat cross-legged, facing Jin Shuke, and said:

"Tell me in detail."

Jin Shuke was also a little excited. He liked to talk, but he had been suffering from not having a suitable audience around him, so he couldn't say some things.

"The Savages, to put it bluntly, are just a group of mad dogs, but the Chu people are different. The Chu people can build cities and defend them;

Why is the current situation on Wangjiang River so difficult to fight? Isn't it because the Chu people are involved?

The Chu people and the Savages are actually mutually beneficial on the east bank of Wangjiang River."

"Uh........"

The First Prince didn't remind him that he had said the wrong word again, as long as he could understand it.

"Without the Savages, the Chu people would not be able to display their strength at all, and they could only be passively beaten in front of our cavalry, because the existence of the Savages made up for their shortcomings in this regard.

And if the Savages didn't have the Chu people, if the Chu people weren't here to occupy and defend Yupan City for them, their ending would only be war and retreat, and there would be no other choice.

Because of the appearance of the Chu people, the Savages are qualified to hold out against us.

This is called, strategic... strategic space, yes, that's the word.

Therefore, if we trap the Chu people, the Savages will definitely save them. The king of the Savages, even Mr. Bei said is a remarkable character, and will definitely not watch the fire from the other side, is it called watching the fire?"

"Watching the fire from the other side."

"Oh, yes, after all, we are strong, although we were defeated once, but counting our Zheng family army... no,

Counting our Shengle army, a total of 50,000 Jingnan troops have come, and that Marquis has also come. To say something you don't like to hear, your highness, the feeling that that Marquis is standing behind us and the feeling that you were standing behind us is different for us soldiers."

"I know." The First Prince nodded.

He didn't deny this, and he wouldn't deny it.

The advantage that a war god can bring to an army is not only the tactical and strategic advantage, but also the terrifying addition to the morale and confidence of the soldiers.

The First Prince then asked:

"Then tell me, how should we fight the Savages?"

"Hey, what's so difficult about this? Just charge on horseback, shoot two rounds of cavalry, and then draw the saber and crash directly into them. In terms of cavalry and archery, your highness, your Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army are really no worse than us Barbarians. What are you afraid of the Savages?

To fight with the Savages, there are actually no other twists and turns at all. In my opinion, it's like two groups of wild dogs fighting. The strongest and most capable must be placed in the middle to fight against the other side!

As long as the most capable group on the other side is defeated and subdued, the rest will lose their courage.

Last time, the reason why the left-wing army was defeated so thoroughly was because that group of people was really..."

Speaking of this, Jin Shuke closed his mouth, realizing that he seemed to have said too much.

The First Prince closed his eyes, took a deep breath, nodded, and said:

"It's my fault."

The fault was that he thought too much, the fault was that he was too cautious, and the fault was that he had complicated things that could have been simple.

"Your Highness, your temper is really good, hehe."

"I also grew up in the army."

"Hehe, is that so, well, maybe I shouldn't say these words, and I don't have the qualifications to say them, but your highness, Mr. Bei said that failure is the mother of success;

Don't be discouraged, you can get up again in the future, your assets are stronger than ten thousand people."

"General Zheng is really enviable to have a general like you under his command."

The implication of these words can actually be understood as a hint.

Because everyone knows that it is impossible for the First Prince to be a captain under the Shengle Army forever.

But Jin Shuke just pretended not to understand,

The First Prince only thought that he was a little impatient, and resolved the embarrassment:

"I'll take a few more people over there to take another look to make sure there are no Chu scouts."

"Okay, you have worked hard."

"This is what I should do."

After the First Prince left,

A Barbarian soldier took the initiative to approach Jin Shuke and whispered:

"Jin Shuke, that Yan noble seems to admire you very much, you are going to be successful."

A disdainful smile appeared on the corner of Jin Shuke's mouth,

He reached out and slapped the Barbarian soldier's helmet unceremoniously,

Scolding:

"Have you forgotten who gave you food to eat?"

"No, I dare not. I, I'm just happy for you."

"Happy?"

Jin Shuke "hmph"ed, and there was no trace of the respect he had shown to the First Prince on his face,

Said coldly:

"The Yan nobles all treat us as dogs, only General Zheng really treats us as human beings.

I came from a criminal tribe, and I've been a dog long enough,

Now,

I want to be a human."