Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors-Chapter 491 - 264 Accomplish the Task in One Battle_2

Of course, in this realm, Prince Yun, played by Fan Cun, arrived at the critical moment to save Zhong Pingyuan and break the siege of Taiyuan, but the traps set up before were all solidly stepped on by Zhong Pingyuan.

Thus, at this time, for His Majesty to fully trust them, how could they not be moved?

Moreover, after working with the Western Army for such a long time, Liu Fa and Zhong Pingyuan were well aware that His Majesty’s military capacity was actually quite high, so much so that it could be described as unfathomably deep.

Perhaps this is an innate understanding some are born with?

As a "If I do it myself, I truly excel" kind of boss, he was now giving them ample respect, instilling in them a sense of trust.

Certainly, it might be precisely because His Majesty was knowledgeable in military matters that he accorded them such respect. And the more clueless someone like Emperor Yingzong of Qi was about military tactics, the more they would recklessly command.

Standing before the emperor, Liu Fa and Zhong Pingyuan began their report.

"Your Majesty, since the Jin soldiers stationed themselves at Moutuo Ridge, there has been some friction between them and our Western Army, with both sides probing and testing, victories and defeats occurring.

"The Jin soldiers have plotted several attacks but all have been repelled by our troops.

"At this point, several loyalist armies have arrived, and with the addition of several other rebel forces from behind, the time for a decisive battle with the Jin soldiers has come."

Fan Cun nodded his head.

All this was naturally within his—or rather, Emperor Taizu of Sheng’s—expectations.

The Jin, too, catered their tactics according to the opponent.

The Jingping Disruption was purely due to the emperor’s stupidity, a fact that was evident not just in the defense of the city but also in open field battles.

There’s no need to mention matters like a botched raid causing a storm within the city; crucially, after the arrival of various loyalist forces, the Qi Army outside the capital outnumbered the Jin soldiers, yet Emperor Yingzong of Qi managed not to utilize these forces effectively.

At that time, the number of troops of the Qi Dynasty far outnumbered the Jin Army. Although the Jin forces had been overwhelmingly victorious on their march southward, with nearly no Qi Army able to resist, it was also impossible for the Jin to completely annihilate the Qi forces.

Therefore, when Zhong Pingyuan first led the Western Army back to support the capital, such a curious phenomenon appeared.

While the Jin camped at Moutuo Ridge, daring not to make a rash advance, after Zhong Pingyuan entered the city, the Western Army, along with the various scattered Qi forces and loyalist armies, also stood still. Both sides were in a stalemate for a while, until that foolish raid plan broke the equilibrium.

This was enough to show that the Jin soldiers also did not dare to rashly attack these surrounding loyalist forces.

If they had absolute confidence, they could have wiped out these loyalist armies in the intervals between their attacks on the city. If there were no troops left around the capital capable of combat, whether attacking the city or negotiating peace, the Jin would have had more leverage, right?

That is to say, the Jin indeed did not have the confidence to wipe out all the loyalist armies; these forces might not be sufficient for an offensive, but they still were capable of self-defense without major issues.

However, since the loyalist armies had no single command structure and each knew that if they were beaten the others would remain motionless, no one dared to be the first to step out.

According to Zhong Pingyuan’s approach during the first siege of the capital, all that was needed was to wait until there were slightly more troops to gain a numerical advantage over the Jin, and then he could take charge of planning, which would likely lead to substantial chances of victory.

Only Emperor Yingzong of Qi did not listen to him.

And now, the situation was somewhat similar.

Even though Emperor Yingzong of Qi decreed the disbandment of all the loyalist armies, after Prince Yun entered the capital and seized the throne, he had once again decreed for the loyalist armies to come. Moreover, messengers were sent to contact various rebel forces in order to coordinate actions.

After this period of waiting, the Qi Army had already outnumbered the Jin soldiers.

During this process, watching as the various grand armies mobilized, the Jin of course became somewhat panicked.

But they didn’t have many options.

At this moment, they were stationed at Moutuo Ridge, in a standoff with the Western Army. The Jin had tried several times to raid the Western Army, but under the preparations of Liu Fa and Zhong Pingyuan, they had not succeeded in gaining any significant advantage.

The Jin also discovered that the camps of the Western Army were surrounded by deep trenches and high defenses, and if they were to attack head-on, they likely would not achieve the desired results.

With the Western Army entrenched like a thorn, the Jin could neither attack the city nor freely go after the other loyalist armies, out of fear that the Western Army might launch a sudden raid.

They could only watch as grand armies kept gathering.

The Jin had realized that this Western Army was somewhat different from the other Qi forces they’d encountered before that had crumbled instantly upon contact.

This left them in a dilemma, uncertain whether to advance or retreat.

Retreat?

Of course, they were reluctant. For most of the Jin, the Qi Dynasty still seemed easy to defeat; they had already taken over a section of the capital’s walls, plundered so much wealth from within the city, and even detained the emperor of Qi in their military camp.

They were one step away from the unrestrained slaughter that would follow breaching the city’s defenses.

To retreat at this crucial moment? That was absolutely unacceptable to them.

Thus, the Jin found themselves in vigorous internal debates. Some suggested an all-out assault on the Western Army’s encampment, theorizing that once it was taken, the Qi Dynasty would naturally collapse; others believed that the situation was now unfavorable and rather than risking further battle, it would be better to retreat.

But clearly, neither of these arguments convinced everyone in the Jin Camp.

So, Wanyan Sheng finally decided to wait for the Western Army to engage them in open field battle.

A ferocious attack on the well-defended encampment of the Western Army clearly would not be fruitful, but as long as the Western Army chose to face them in the field, it would allow the Jin to exploit their cavalry’s advantage and crush the Western Army in a single blow.

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