Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2630: The Southward March Begins, Commander Selection

Chapter 2630: The Southward March Begins, Commander Selection

The next day, at Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, all eight carved doors were wide open, and the morning light of late spring, carrying the fragrance of locust and willow trees in the courtyard, filled the hall, making the golden brick floor as clear as water.

Behind the imperial desk to the north, the Mountain and River Screen stands majestically, with the enormous map encompassing the entire world still hanging on the wall, as if it contained the vast landscape outside the palace within this small space.

Wang Yu sat upright behind the imperial desk, dressed in a black casual robe, without a court hat, his gaze calmly fixed on the direction of the palace gate.

The footsteps approached steadily and powerfully. Guan Zhong, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Bin, and Yao Guangxiao, four members of the cabinet, and Xue Rengui, Yue Fei, Li Jing, Hulü Guang, and Guo Ziyi, five generals, a total of nine people, entered together.

Nine people entered the hall, stood in two rows, one for civil officials and one for military officials, and bowed in unison, saying, "Your subjects pay their respects to Your Majesty."

Wang Yu nodded slightly: "Please sit down."

The nine men expressed their gratitude and took their seats. After a moment of silence in the hall, Wang Yu's gaze swept over them. Without any further pleasantries, he spoke directly: "The war against Qian has been in preparation for many years. Today, I have gathered you all here for one purpose: to assign the various routes and appoint commanders."

Upon hearing this, Xue Rengui, Yue Fei, Li Jing, Hulü Guang, and Guo Ziyi all straightened their chests and even began to breathe more rapidly.

They were well aware that since the five of them had been summoned back to Kyoto before the war began, and they had been subtly and overtly hinted that they should bring their families back as well.

This naturally indicates that one of the five men will be the commander-in-chief of the upcoming campaign against the south.

This is a major battle that can directly command hundreds of thousands of troops. Since Wang Yu started his army at the age of sixteen, it has been fifteen years. In those fifteen years, there have been dozens of battles, large and small, but none of them have reached such a scale.

Even the battle in which various forces destroyed the Huangfu Dynasty only involved a little over 700,000 troops, which is definitely not comparable to this great war.

Wang Yu raised his hand and pointed to the location of Xingbei Road on the map behind him, saying, "Bai Qi is already in Qi, with Zhang Liang accompanying him. When our army launches, Bai Qi's troops will become the Eastern Route Army, advancing westward from Linzi and directly attacking the northern flank of Jiang Qian."

"Issue another 200,000 Shenwu troops to travel by sea into Xingbei Road, and from there head south, directly into the rich and garrisoned lands of eastern Jiangqian. Xue Rengui, you will lead the troops along this route, with Guo Ziyi as your deputy commander!"

Xue Rengui and Guo Ziyi stepped forward, clasped their hands in a fist salute, and said in a deep voice, "Your humble servants obey orders!"

Upon hearing that the second army only numbered 200,000, Xue Rengui was not really keen on becoming its commander.

After all, if he were to lead this army, he would most likely lose his position as the commander-in-chief of the entire army. Although he felt some regret, since the situation had already been decided, Xue Rengui could only put aside his resentment and start to consider how his army would break the deadlock.

Finally, Wang Yu looked to the other side, but did not give the order immediately. After a brief hesitation, he slowly spoke.

"Yue Fei".

Upon hearing this, Yue Fei raised his eyes, but a surge of excitement welled up within him. He knew that the real highlight was about to begin.

The armies led by Xue Rengui and Bai Qi were destined not to be the main force, but rather a detachment.

Although taking over Xingbei Road would give the Han Dynasty a strategic advantage in its southward advance, the Han Dynasty's main offensive direction would still be southward through Yangxi Road, rather than using Xingbei Road as a breakthrough point to attack Daqian.

There's no other reason than that if Xingbei Road were used as the main breakthrough point, it would put too much pressure on the logistics of the Han Dynasty, or rather, the number of Han warships would not be enough to guarantee the sea transport of grain for a million-strong army.

"The four armies of the Savage Bear, the Tiger Warrior, the Iron Lion, and the Flying Feather have joined your ranks. With 950,000 elite troops as the main force, they will advance south from Yangxi Road towards Jiangqian." Wang Yu's voice rang out again.

Inside the hall, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. This was an unprecedented troop buildup since the founding of the Han Dynasty.

The four armies—the Barbarian Bears, the Tiger Warriors, the Iron Lions, and the Flying Feathers—were the elite of the Han Dynasty's forces. Almost half of the entire Han field army was deployed here; it was a total national war. Adding the armies of Bai Qi and Xue Rengui, the total force involved in this battle approached 1.4 million. Six of the Han Dynasty's nine field armies were involved.

This was also the reason for Wang Yu's slight hesitation just now. This was truly entrusting his lifeline to the generals below him. If any problems arose, the Han Dynasty would not only fail to expand, but would also face annihilation in an instant.

The most capable troops of the Han Dynasty were almost all stationed here.

Although if all the local militias were gathered together, a million-strong army could be assembled.

However, given that both are armies of millions, can their quality be compared side-by-side?

The two sides were not even in the same league in terms of the quality of their soldiers, the length of their training, or even their equipment.

The Han Dynasty's field army and imperial guards were truly won battle by battle.

Even though a large number of prisoners were taken in during the expansion of the field army, those prisoners were also veterans of the Great Yan and Great Song dynasties who had been through many battles.

Moreover, it's impossible for the local military garrisons to gather them all together; otherwise, the local areas would be in chaos.

Yue Fei suppressed his excitement, bowed deeply, and clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Your subject accepts the decree."

His voice was as steady as a mountain, as if the weight of 950,000 mighty soldiers pressing on his shoulders was nothing more than ordinary.

Wang Yu nodded and turned his gaze to the other person.

"Zhang Bin."

Zhang Bin's robes fluttered slightly as he raised his eyes and stepped out of the ranks.

"You will serve as the military supervisor and military advisor, accompanying Yue Fei," Wang Yu said calmly.

"You shall discuss military plans and make decisions with Yue Fei. If any of the troops disobey orders, you shall discuss the handling of them with Yue Fei."

In previous major battles, the Han Dynasty had never sent out a military supervisor, but this time was different. This time, the lifeline of the Han Dynasty was entrusted to one person. Even if the generals below him trusted him the most, someone still had to be sent to keep an eye on him and keep him under control.

Since the fall of the Great Wu Dynasty, there have been instances in the past few centuries where the war of the nation was completely entrusted to the generals below without any countermeasures.

However, it was precisely because of this that the Great Wu Dynasty came into being.

Since then, it has become common practice for dynasties to appoint military supervisors during national wars.

Zhang Bin lowered his head, his expression remaining calm and composed, and simply said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Wang Yu raised his hand, and Zhao Gao, who was beside him, stepped forward with a sandalwood box and bowed as he presented it.

The box lid was opened, and a bronze tally lay quietly on the brocade, the sight of the tally akin to seeing one's lord.

Wang Yu personally took out the tally and handed it to Yue Fei.

"By holding this token, one shall control all armies. All officers and soldiers shall regard the token as if they were seeing the Emperor. Anyone who disobeys this order shall be executed first and reported later."