"Hahaha, it seems that Liang really has gone foolish. With so many great generals available, yet they chose a woman to defend Jinyang!

"Day by day, Pingyang Princess stubbornly remains inside, while our forces move freely and achieve victory repeatedly.

"Liang finally sends reinforcements to aid them, but still they let Pingyang Princess lead the troops? Truly laughable!

"It appears there's no need for us two generals to intervene; even if Yuchi Jingde were to lead the forces alone, he could easily crush the Liang Army!"

After speaking, he turned to the respectfully following Yuchi Jingde, "What do you think, how should we fight this battle?"

Yuchi Jingde arrogantly replied, "I am willing to lead a detachment and flank the Liang Army from behind. When the Liang Army attacks, we can strike them from both sides and easily shatter them!

"At that time, Jinyang will be as good as ours!"

Liu Wuzhou was delighted, "Excellent! I was thinking exactly the same!"

He saw this plan as perfect.

Yuchi Jingde was a veteran general who had long fought by his side and was deeply trusted. Although his rank was slightly lower than that of Song Jingang, his command in battle was somewhat stronger.

Moreover, Song Jingang was more suitable for direct combat.

Previously, they had not been idle under the walls of Jinyang City. Yuchi Jingde had been leading the cavalry to harass the surrounding towns and had achieved great success.

It seemed in open field cavalry battles, Yuchi Jingde was invincible.

Now, although the Liang Army had sent reinforcements, the highest commander on the battlefield was still that Pingyang Princess, a woman.

Liu Wuzhou was certain that as long as the Liang Army dared to attack, he and Song Jingang could easily hold the front.

With Yuchi Jingde flanking with the cavalry, striking from both sides, the Liang Army was bound to suffer a great defeat, leaving no room for doubt in this battle.

By then, all of Liang's efforts in River East, the territories, strongholds, supplies, and soldiers they had left behind would fall into their hands.

Thus, Liu Wuzhou, filled with confidence, handed over the majority of his elite cavalry to Yuchi Jingde to command and flank, seeking the perfect opportunity to engage and defeat the Liang Army.

...

On the other side, Dou Jiande was distressed.

After several battles, he had found that Meng Haigong was a tough nut to crack!

While they were locked in fierce combat, Wang Shichong launched an attack, causing Dou Jiande to suffer significant losses and forcing him to retreat.

This resulted in a somewhat awkward stalemate on the battlefield.

Neither side was confident they could directly overcome Meng Haigong, and surprisingly, Meng Haigong did not plan to ally with any of them, continuing to hold out.

Historically, Meng Haigong was a stubborn fool who had resisted Dou Jiande's army of a hundred thousand for four months until he was captured and had to surrender.

Now, situated between the Jin and Zheng states, he could maneuver more freely and was unlikely to surrender easily.

At this moment on the battlefield, Wang Shichong was relatively at an advantage, but to say he could annihilate Meng Haigong first, then Dou Jiande? That was not very realistic.

Every day Wang Shichong was urging Lu Heng, playing the role of Wei Zhen, to send secret messages to Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie to hasten their defection and permanently resolve Dou Jiande.

But Lu Heng kept making excuses, saying the time wasn't right yet and that he needed a battle that could decisively turn the tide before taking action.

During this deadlock, Wang Shichong received shocking news.

The Liang Army had marched from Chang'an and was fiercely attacking Luoyang!

And this time, it was both Prince Qi and Lord Wei joining forces!

Wang Shichong, leading his large army against Dou Jiande, had not many troops available around Luoyang, so Liang's Prince Qi and Lord Wei, taking advantage of their superior military strength, were sweeping through like a breaking wave, placing Luoyang in grave danger.

Wang Shichong was stunned.

Retreating now, the summer army would surely pursue, and things would spiral out of control.

He angrily went to question Wei Zhen.

Didn't you say that Liang was dealing with Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang and wouldn't come to attack me?

Lu Heng had anticipated this situation, so he was not panicked.

"Mr. Zheng, do not panic.

"Liang's actions indeed are somewhat illogical and unexpected.

"But of course, I have already calculated a strategy."

Seeing Wang Shichong's skeptical expression, Lu Heng slightly smiled and continued, "Rest assured, Mr. Zheng, while Liang's current approach seems formidable, in reality, it's improbable that they have come with their entire national forces."

Wang Shichong paused, "Why?"

From the battle reports, it seemed that the Liang Army was coming fiercely.

But how many exactly was unclear.

In the era of cold weapons, estimating the enemy's numbers was always a challenging matter. Many armies, claiming a million soldiers with barely a hundred thousand, inflated their numbers severely, mostly to intimidate.

So, regarding exactly how many from Liang had come, Wang Shichong could not be certain.

Lu Heng explained, "Mr. Zheng, from Liang's perspective, which do you think is more important?

"Is their origin of military operations in Jinyang more important, or is Luoyang more important?"

Wang Shichong thought for a moment, then immediately said, "Of course, Jinyang is more important."

For Liang, Jinyang was their military base, one might say their headquarters and rear.

Moreover, geographically, the River East where Jinyang was situated was too vital. It acted as a barrier against the northern Turkic and eastern Hebei forces, easily defended but hard to attack. Once lost, regaining it would be extremely difficult.

And Luoyang?

Firstly, Luoyang was a strong city, difficult to quickly conquer. As for the areas around Luoyang, they were basically without any defensible advantage; even if captured, once the enemy forces arrived, it would be like a plain wide open.

Lu Heng nodded, "Thus, for Liang, Jinyang is indeed what they must hold onto, and they must win this battle.

"But attacking Luoyang is more like a probe. They intentionally make a loud noise and arrive fiercely, intending to plunder a bit and then leave, unlikely to genuinely engage us in a drawn-out fight.

"If Mr. Zheng, you become agitated now and hurry back, that would be falling into their trap. By then, if Dou Jiande pursues from behind, you will regret deeply!"

Wang Shichong remained puzzled; he thought for a while, "Then, what do you think we should do, sir?"

Lu Heng replied, "This is easy to handle. Please allow me to take a detachment to reinforce. I have my ways to hold Luoyang, which is a strong city.

"Before we set off, I will send secret messages to Generals Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie.

"Mr. Zheng, you pretend to return to Luoyang, and Dou Jiande will surely pursue. All Mr. Zheng needs to do is set an ambush on the way, with Generals Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie secretly cooperating, and you can settle Dou Jiande in one battle!

"By then, when Mr. Zheng reunites his forces, the Liang Army will pose no threat at all!"

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