ALL NOVEL
Chapter 503
The Northern Nomad attack came suddenly and swiftly. After a fierce battle on the grasslands, both sides retreated back to their strongholds.
"General, I've scouted it out clearly. The five thousand elite Northern Nomad troops we fought were just a small part. There are about fifty thousand elite Northern Nomads attacking the Guanjin Line." General Jin reported.
Jiang Jizu frowned.
Over the years, the Dayu Dynasty had never stopped building defense lines to defend against foreign invasion. They were currently at the southernmost end of the Guanjin Line, which had just been erected three years ago.
The entire Guanjin Line was garrisoned with one hundred thousand elite Dayu troops. It was not something that just fifty thousand elite Northern Nomads could shake.
With ingenious defenses and troop deployment, it formed the Dayu Dynasty's strongest barrier.
Although there were still some cavalry who snuck through small paths and mountain roads, raiding and plundering small villages, as long as the main roads were all blocked, the Northern Nomad armies could only stare helplessly from outside.
This was the key to border defenses - to prevent the passage of major armies.
As long as the Northern Nomad cavalry could not trample into the inland Central Plains, the entire Dayu Dynasty would remain stable and prosperous, with singing and dancing.
"General, shall we lead troops to reinforce the Guanjin Line?" General Jin asked again.
Theoretically, reinforcements were not needed. Considering the abnormal situation, Jiang Jizu still decided to go take a look.
He took thirty thousand elite troops and arrived at the Guanjin Line's defenses through the heavily guarded official roads.
As expected, the Northern Nomads were defeated in every charge.
Zhou General, who was in charge of the Guanjin Line, came over smiling and greeted, "General Jiang came personally for such a trivial matter. They are just fifty thousand elites, who can't even get past the gates of the Guanjin Line."
Jiang Jizu remained silent, continuing to observe for half an hour to confirm the Northern Nomads were fruitlessly wasting their efforts.
The earlier doubts grew even more in his mind.
The two armies had been fighting for many years now and were quite familiar with each other.
The reason why the Dayu Dynasty had not been able to annihilate the Northern Nomads was because the Northern Nomads had superb cavalry skills and no fixed settlements, making them difficult to pursue and only able to defend passively instead of attacking actively.
The Northern Nomads were unable to break through the Dayu Dynasty's defenses because the Dayu troops had sufficient numbers and were capable of troop deployment and formation, especially adept at defensive line tactics.
Simply put, the two armies were usually like the Northern Nomads galloping ahead and the Dayu troops chasing behind.
Chase, chase, chase but unable to catch up, so they would return in vain.
For the Northern Nomads to take the initiative to provoke and attack with a minority against a majority was really rare.
"What's so strange about it? The Northern Nomad chieftain Anda has gotten quite old. His sons are also fighting over the succession. This is probably some reckless young prince trying to gain power and influence." Zhou General waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry, General. The defenses of the Guanjin Line are the best in the northern border. With me here, there is absolutely no danger. General should hurry back to avoid drawing the tiger away from the mountain."
Manpower on the border was not abundant. Conscription happened every year along with casualties every year.
Each defense line had about fifty to a hundred thousand elites garrisoned. The Guanjin Line had one hundred thousand, while Jiang Jizu's headquarters only had seventy thousand left.
He had brought thirty thousand here, leaving only forty thousand elites back at the nest.
Drawing the tiger away from the mountain was a common strategem. Jiang Jizu did not dare to delay, immediately ordering his four Vice Generals to lead troops back to defend, leaving only Vice General Jin with the Fourth Company to accompany him.
He was still uneasy about the abnormal Northern Nomads at the Guanjin Line.
"General, please rest assured." Zhou General patted his chest again. "I, Zhou, swear on my life that the solidity of the Guanjin Line defies imagination. As long as someone guards it, not to mention fifty thousand Northern Nomads, even a hundred thousand could not break through..."
Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud "boom" as something collapsed.
The two generals' expressions immediately became solemn.
Zhou General's attendant Vice General came running over in a panic. "Reporting, General! The defense line has collapsed!"
Then another Vice General: "Reporting, the number of Northern Nomads has surged with another forty thousand troops hidden under their horses' bellies."
The situation turned severe in an instant.
Ten thousand elite Dayu troops against ninety thousand elite Northern Nomads.
Although his face was ashen, after a long pause Zhou General said, "Fight! Deploy all troops and hold the line firmly. We're short ten thousand men but can definitely defeat the Northern Nomads."
A few rushed over to see their young generals already leading troops in battle, entangled with the hollow-eyed and sunken-cheeked foreigners.
Their side's shields and armor, the orderly brandishing of spears and halberds, matched up evenly against the ferocity and fearlessness of their opponents.
But the Dayu Dynasty had one hundred thousand elite troops, plus the five thousand troops led by Vice General Jin. They vastly outnumbered the ninety thousand Northern Nomad elites.
Moreover, forty thousand of those ninety thousand Northern Nomad elites were infantry.
Without the cavalry, the Northern Nomads were like tigers without teeth.
Although the defenses of the Guanjin Line had somehow inexplicably collapsed, victory was still undoubtedly certain.
Zhou General heaved a sigh of relief. Before he could smile, he saw the Northern Nomads array themselves orderly, as if they knew the weak points of the troop formations, and directly charged over murderously.
Wave after wave after wave.
The one hundred thousand elites fell like wild grass, unable to get back up.
Although the Northern Nomads were also taking losses, their spirits remained high, ceaselessly shouting battle cries - like they were celebrating victory, while also clamoring to press the attack.
Finally Zhou General's face turned ghastly pale. He had been one of General Fang's subordinates back then. The Guanjin Line was based on General Fang's vision, and the elite troops had trained in General Fang's military formations.
This had once made the Guanjin Line the strongest force within a hundred miles.
His arrogance came from their might. He was not blindly arrogant. He knew the power of the Fang family formations and the solidity of the Guanjin Line.
But he would never have imagined that General Fang's military manuscripts could be lost and traitors could appear in the Dayu Dynasty. Perhaps the Northern Nomads did not actually understand the Fang family formations, but they could find the weaknesses in the formations. They had shattered the Guanjin Line's defenses and were whooping as they charged through the city gates.
"Reporting, General, casualties are nearing ten thousand. The Northern Nomads are pressing closer and closer, the Guanjin Line is about to collapse." A vice general staggered over. "General, let's go."
"Go, General!" A boy of thirteen or fourteen also looked back and shouted. The next moment, an arrow pierced his chest and he softly collapsed.
Zhou General's eyes brimmed with tears, filled with guilt and regret, anger and resolve.
He drew the long sword from his waist, looked back at Jiang Jizu, and said, "General, hurry and go. I am the garrison general of the Guanjin Line. As long as I'm here, the Guanjin Line will stand. If the Line falls, I fall."
After speaking, he charged into the crowds without hesitation, slashing and hacking away.
Jiang Jizu reacted quickly but was still unable to stop him in time.
"General, I've already sent people back to request reinforcements," said Vice General Jin at his side. "You are the top general and cannot have any mishaps. Leave first."
"No." Jiang Jizu shook his head. "Look at the situation here. No matter what formations our troops use, the Northern Nomads can quickly break through them. If we really leave, Old Zhou can only await death."
"General, could you be thinking of..." Vice General Jin said with eyes wide open in shock.
"Yes, that's right. Old Fang's personally planned Guanjin Line has been broken through, along with the Fang family military formations. I don't know if there's some connection here, but I want to try the Jiang family formations with the troops from headquarters." As soon as he finished speaking, he stood on top of the highest city wall and commanded at the top of his lungs, "Men! Change formations! Retreat! Dragon Twist!"