The Devil's Tribulation

Chapter 457 Lu Sihao

After Sun Erleng resolved his heart knot after the Great Zhou won Yingcheng, he started to hold a battle meeting the next day. Except for Ren Bin who was escorting grain and grass, all the other commanders were there, and they were all in high spirits. Because everyone knew that holding a meeting of this level meant that there would be a battle. After everyone was present, Sun Erleng slowly walked out from the back tent, followed by a little tail, Sun Zhengjun.

Now Sun Zhengjun is also considered Sun Erleng's personal soldier, and he follows him no matter how big or small the matter is. In the past six months, he has learned a lot about marching and fighting, and has also seen blood. Everyone knows that the commander-in-chief should train the eldest son as his successor, so although Sun Zhengjun is young, no one dares to look down on him. The moment Sun Erleng walked out of the back tent, all the generals immediately stood up and shouted, "Hello, commander-in-chief!" Sun Erleng smiled and sat down and said, "Sit down, everyone is in good spirits."

Everyone sat down, and Sun Erleng didn't waste any words, and went straight to the point: "Everyone, from Yingming City to now, we have captured a total of seven cities, and it took six months. What do you think, generals? Tell us~" The generals whispered, and no one dared to speak first. Sun Erleng called on him, "Chengqi, you speak first." Chengqi, Sun Erleng's first batch of personal soldiers, is now a general. Chengqi stood up with a miserable look on his face, hesitating and not knowing where to start.

Sun Erleng's face darkened and he said, "Why, you are so eloquent at home, but you are silent in front of me? General Lu, you speak~" Lu Sihao, who has been with Sun Erleng for ten years, is a bit old, fifty years old this year. Lu Sihao stood up and bowed, saying, "General, I think that although we have captured seven cities, it was too easy. Except for the first battle of Yingming City, which encountered a resolute resistance, the following cities were captured almost without bloodshed."

There aren't many generals who have good brains. For example, Ren Bin, even though he usually shouts a lot, he is not so impulsive when fighting. Another one is Lu Sihao. Most of the others only know how to fight. They fight as the commander says without thinking for themselves. Sun Erleng nodded with satisfaction and continued to ask, "Does General Lu think there is a problem here?" Lu Sihao said, "There is insufficient information now, and I am just guessing for the time being..." "It's okay, speak boldly." Sun Erleng patted the table and said, "Listen to me, don't just fight all day long, learn more from Lu Sihao, and use your brain more when fighting!"

Lu Sihao was praised by the Marshal more than once or twice, and everyone was used to it. Lu Sihao quickly said modestly: "I am just guessing. If I am wrong, please forgive me, Marshal and everyone." Everyone hurriedly bowed and said: "No, no, please go ahead, General Lu." Lu Sihao sorted out his thoughts and said: "From the first battle, the Marshal's Yong and Gan Ying should have been known to the other side. The Chu army's garrison commander is Qi Hong. Everyone should know his character. He is cautious and wise. When he saw that Yingming City could not be defended, he immediately retreated, and he retreated step by step in an orderly manner, avoiding a large-scale collapse. For this point, I admire him very much."

Sun Erleng nodded as he listened and asked, "This Qi Hong is indeed quite capable, but this time he has retreated three cities in a row. What do you think, General Lu?" Lu Sihao smiled and said, "This is related to my next guess." Everyone pricked up their ears. Lu Sihao continued, "I guess that there must be a problem with the Chu court. Although Qi Hong organized the evacuation in an orderly manner, the soldiers and generals at his disposal were not replenished at all. 800,000 troops were withdrawn from Yingming City, and now there are still 800,000 troops guarding the city. Logically, each city should have at least 200,000 defenders. Qi Hong retreated seven cities in a row, but he didn't gather any defenders at all. What do you think is going on?"

The generals scratched their heads, no one could come up with a solution. Sun Erleng looked at the generals below and said, "Do we need to think about this? When Qi Hong lost Yingming City, the defenders did not think about supporting him, but ran away with their soldiers!" Lu Sihao bowed to Sun Erleng and said, "General, you are wise..." "Stop flattering me." Sun Erleng waved his hand impatiently and said, "Go on~" Lu Sihao smiled and continued, "Logically, these defenders should have divided their troops to support Qi Hong, or defend their own cities, but they all ran away. This shows one thing."

Lu Sihao stopped talking and looked at his colleagues. Sun Erleng said angrily, "Lu Sihao, please speak more directly. These people can't think of these things. Hurry up and tell me. If you keep teasing me, I will beat you up!" Lu Sihao hurriedly bowed and said, "Don't blame me, Marshal. I just want to drink some water~"

The generals laughed. Lu Sihao took a sip of water with some embarrassment and continued, "Qi Hong got this position by nepotism, so many people disobey him and wait to see his joke. If it weren't for Ji Guozhu's support, Qi Hong would not have been able to hold on to his position. Qi Hong knew that the little force he had was simply not enough to resist the Yong and Gan Battalions and our 500,000 elite troops. Therefore, Qi Hong could only retreat while creating some trouble for us, delaying time and waiting for the reinforcements from Chu. However, there are many factions in the court of the Great Chu, which hinder each other. I think it is not an easy task to quickly gather reinforcements and food. So I guess that the reinforcements and food from the Great Chu should not have set out yet, or even have not been assembled yet, so Qi Hong had to retreat several cities again to lengthen our army's supply line and give the Chu army a chance to breathe."

After listening to Lu Sihao's analysis, Sun Erleng thought silently for a while, and finally decided: "As soon as Ren Bin's food arrives, we will attack the city immediately. I want to see whether Qi Hong can defend it!" Lu Sihao hurriedly advised: "Marshal, we only have 500,000 soldiers and horses now, and the 8 million troops of the court have just entered Yingming City to rest. It will take at least a month for them to reach us. If we go too deep into the territory of Chu, once our retreat is cut off, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Sun Erleng laughed and said, "General Lu, you are good in everything except being too cautious. Didn't you just say that? Those generals of Chu are waiting to see Qi Hong make a fool of himself. Who will come to help him cut off our retreat? Besides, I don't want to send all 500,000 troops. This time, I will personally lead the Yong and Gan Battalions and 200,000 troops to attack the city. You take 300,000 troops to stay behind and keep an eye on Shengying City for me!"

Lu Sihao knelt down hurriedly and tried to dissuade him loudly, "Please think twice, Marshal! You are the commander-in-chief of the three armies. If there is any mistake, the eight million troops of the Great Zhou will be leaderless. How will you explain to His Majesty?!" All the generals knelt down together. Sun Erleng was furious. He wanted to kick Lu Sihao, but he held back in the end and said impatiently, "Okay, okay! I won't go, okay? Cheng Qi, I order you to attack the city the day after tomorrow! If the enemy resists fiercely, you retreat immediately. Do you understand?" Cheng Qi immediately shouted, "I obey your orders~"

Sun Erleng was a little frustrated. Since the first sneak attack on Yingming City, he could only go to the second line to observe the battle situation. The people around him did not give him a chance to fight. His pair of axes were rusted. He wanted to satisfy his desire, but now even his son has fought several times, but he has not fought once. Looking at the generals kneeling on the ground, Sun Erleng knew that after becoming the marshal, he would have almost no chance to fight on the battlefield.