Chapter 367: Snowy Night
In early winter, due to the influence of the Little Ice Age, even around Mount Tai in the Central Plains, there was heavy snow.
Zang Ba stayed in the warm stone house. The carefully designed kang made him feel slightly hot. He slowly got up and opened the window a crack.
Looking at the beautiful snow-covered scenery outside, humming a song softly, I felt quite happy.
Suddenly, Xu Shu walked into the room, shook off the snow on his velvet robe, looked at Zang Ba who was contented, and smiled slightly.
"Xuan Gao, you're in a good mood!"
"It's a snowy day with picturesque scenery. It's a good time for you and me to have a few drinks."
After saying this, he took out two bags of fine wine from his arms, poured them into the kettle in the room, and placed it on the stove to boil.
The rich aroma of wine quickly spread.
Zang Ba smiled even more when he saw Xu Shu coming, and he quickly greeted him, "Yuanzhi, you've come just in time! Such a snowy scene needs some good wine to accompany it."
The two of them sat on the kang, and the warm feeling made Xu Shu quickly take off his woolen robe.
"Xuan Gao, how is it? Are the houses and stoves for the soldiers ready?"
Zang Ba smiled slightly: "Of course. Otherwise, how could I dare to use this stove? If your majesty knew about it, you would punish me."
He poured a glass of wine for Zang Ba and poured another for himself.
After taking a sip of hot wine, Xu Shu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Comfortable."
"I never thought that we could live so comfortably in the army in this cold winter." Xu Shu sighed.
"This is the case for us, but I'm afraid Yuan Gonglu's subordinates won't receive the same treatment." Zang Ba said with a smile.
"His Majesty has sent us the latest order, asking us to seize the Taishan Mountains and drive Yuan Gonglu out while the weather is cold and the coalition forces are not convenient to mobilize."
Hearing what Xu Shu said, Zang Ba's eyes suddenly lit up: "Your Majesty is wise!"
Seeing this, Xu Shu raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm afraid it's not just your Majesty who has been thinking about this for a long time."
Zang Ba chuckled and said, "The one who understands me is Yuan Zhi!"
He had always been restless and had been so upset by Yuan Shu's "bullying" before, so how could he bear not to retaliate?
When the allied forces retreated, he realized that the opportunity had come and had already made suggestions to Tian Ze.
It’s just that Jia Xu had already made the suggestion, but it was never put to use.
Although he was suppressed by Yuan Shu in winning over the bandits, Zang Ba was still confident when it came to mountain warfare.
Even though it was freezing cold, it was not a problem for him but an opportunity instead.
"The bandits under Yuan Gonglu's command have very poor quality and weak will."
"Although they are influenced by their talents, they are always hostile to our army and are determined to resist. But they are just a mob after all."
"It's freezing cold, let alone taking precautions, it would be good enough for them to arrange sentries to stand guard. Yuan Benchu and Yuan Gonglu are not so generous as to build warm houses and prepare cotton clothes for them."
The cotton-padded clothes that had become popular under Tian Ze were still rare in the hands of other princes and were rarely circulated.
Tian Ze was very reluctant to sell these materials, which were not "urgently needed" but extremely important, and sold them directly as luxury goods.
If the wealthy families under Yuan Shao and Cao Cao wanted to buy the same cotton coat, they would have to pay no less than a hundred times the price of the local people.
It was basically impossible for Yuan Shao and other princes to produce cotton clothes on a large scale. After all, there was not enough food to grow, so how could they have the time to grow cotton?
Therefore, it was impossible for Yuan Shao to equip his soldiers with cotton clothes, let alone these bandits.
The freezing cold weather may not kill anyone, but it will greatly deplete their physical strength and destroy their will. It would be great if the bandits could retain two or three points of their already fragile combat power in such an environment.
As for Zang Bajun, although he was also greatly affected, he was much better off in comparison.
Don't be afraid of being weakened, as long as the opponent is much more weakened than you are. "These bandits have no fighting power in this kind of weather. They can be defeated in a snap."
"Even if they are alert, as long as we waste two or three days, they will definitely not be able to bear it. How can we miss such a good opportunity?"
Listening to the whistling cold wind and looking at the snowflakes flying in the sky, Zang Ba's eyes were full of satisfaction.
Xu Shu nodded.
When supplies are extremely abundant and training is extremely strict, the harsher the environment, the more beneficial it is to them.
Mountain warfare, night warfare, and winter combat are all Zang Ba's specialties.
Especially the soldiers under their command have lived in the cold Youzhou all year round. Although Mount Tai is very cold now, it is just normal for them.
What's more, they have cotton-padded clothes, so the impact during the war will not be great.
"How many troops are you going to mobilize?" Xu Shu asked.
"With such a good opportunity, we must do something big!" Zang Ba's eyes flashed.
"I plan to leave 20,000 troops behind just in case, and disperse the rest of the soldiers. Use Qutun as a unit to harass these bandits."
Hearing this, Xu Shu took another sip of wine, smacked his lips and said, "Are you playing such a big game? What if Yuan Gonglu's army attacks us?"
Zang Ba sneered: "I don't think he has the ability to do that."
Although he was tricked by Yuan Shu, Zang Ba did not have much respect for Yuan Shu.
Yuan Shu's characteristics and talents meant that he was not very good at frontal combat, especially at attacking strongholds.
With 20,000 troops left, Zang Ba would not be afraid in such weather even if all of Yuan Shu's 200,000 bandits came to the border.
"Let alone Yuan Gonglu, even if Yuan Benchu came, I would not be afraid." Zang Ba said confidently.
Upon hearing this, Xu Shu was slightly stunned, and then seemed to have thought of something.
"Has the road behind the mountain been dug through?"
He was well aware of Yuan Shao's combat capability. Zang Ba was so confident that he definitely did not think he could win the battle, but he had left himself a way out.
Zang Ba nodded and said, "The road is a full five meters wide. Even if Yuan Benchu searches all the surrounding mountains, he will have a hard time finding the exit."
"Even if Yuan Benchu attacks, I am confident that I can complete the evacuation overnight."
Xu Shu nodded.
A cunning rabbit has three burrows. If you can’t win, just run away.
This is consistent with Zang Ba's style.
"What about the tunnel? How's the digging going?"
Zang Ba tapped the ground lightly and chuckled, "Initial results."
"No one can defeat me, Zang Xuangao, in the mountains and forests."
Seeing Zang Ba's smug look, Xu Shu couldn't help but roll his eyes at him.
"That's right, but no one knows how to be a bandit better than you. And you're a bandit who's afraid of death."
Every profession has its own expertise. When it comes to robbery and survival, Zang Ba is a professional.
Just look at the situation of the army under Zang Ba's command and you will know what kind of person he is.
After learning about Zang Ba's mountain warfare tactics, Xu Shu understood it even more.
This guy looks carefree, but in fact he is as evil as some vicious strategists.
(End of this chapter)
