Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 312 - 222: Trial Pass! (10,000-word update, requesting monthly pass)

Chapter 312: Chapter 222: Trial Pass! (10,000-word update, requesting monthly pass)

[3 days before the Battle of Niu Zhu Pier]

The fog before his eyes dispersed, and a system prompt appeared before Li Hongyun.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, "Niu Zhu Pier! I, Hu Han San... oh no, I, Li Hongyun am back!"

After three days of relentless struggle, he had finally returned to the battlefield of the Battle of Niu Zhu Pier.

Unlike players like Chu Ge or Zhao Haiping, who specialized in particular areas, he had balanced his development between civilian and military lines.

On Wang Wenchuan’s reform side, Li Hongyun just made some improvements to Wang Wenchuan’s policies and skillfully avoided a severe drought, ensuring the new policies continued.

In this way, although the income and results from the reforms were not as great as Chu Ge’s, they at least persisted and accumulated a substantial amount of military supplies for the Qi Dynasty.

In the military training line under Yu Jiaxuan, Li Hongyun didn’t spend all his time fighting bandits, but selectively eradicated several large bandit forces led by tea thieves and used the military supplies from Wang Wenchuan’s reforms to form the Flying Tiger Army.

During this process, he could also play both sides against each other, using both Yu Jiaxuan and Wang Wenchuan roles in cooperation.

For example, using Wang Wenchuan’s chancellor authority to assign Yu Jiaxuan to assess areas where the new policies were implemented, boosting their performance; then, using Wang Wenchuan’s authority again to direct resources toward Yu Jiaxuan’s Flying Tiger Army, giving him the necessary support; and while playing Yu Jiaxuan, leveraging Wang Wenchuan to focus all local resources on building the Flying Tiger Army.

Three different playing strategies resulted in different outcomes at the Battle of Caishi.

Chu Ge focused mainly on advancing through Wang Wenchuan’s line, resulting in a massive accumulation of military resources for the Qi Dynasty, from the Flying Tiger Army’s equipment to other Qi Army gear, including warships, armor, weapons, crossbows, and firearms, maximizing the military supplies;

Zhao Haiping focused mainly on advancing through Yu Jiaxuan’s line, resulting in a very capable Flying Tiger Army with combat training and bandit-suppression, slightly lacking in equipment but with strong combat will and cohesiveness in tactics, making a direct confrontation with the Jin Army possible;

Li Hongyun balanced both lines, although not particularly outstanding in either, he achieved a balance in practical combat capability and level of armament in the Flying Tiger Army through mutual cooperation.

The final hurdle in forming the Flying Tiger Army was managing the impeachment and the envoy with the imperial token demanding a halt to inspections properly.

Zhao Haiping’s approach, which was actually Yu Jiaxuan’s historical approach, was to take the imperial token but feign confusion and delay action. The envoy, infuriated, petitioned for his impeachment, but this process would take at least a month.

Yu Jiaxuan used that month to build the Flying Tiger Army and then compile the related documents to report to the emperor.

The premise here was that although some special means could be used to divert some funds from other areas during the construction of the Flying Tiger Army, it was crucial not to leave any clear leverage for political enemies.

In this way, as long as the accounts were clear and the Flying Tiger Army was well-formed once completed, the emperor naturally would not pursue these details.

Li Hongyun’s solution, however, was to utilize Wang Wenchuan’s identity to directly supply the Flying Tiger Army with everything it needed, suppressing the political enemies’ impeachment.

The premise of this operation was to at least achieve certain results during Wang Wenchuan’s reforms and ensure Wang Wenchuan’s stable chancellorship. Otherwise, it could very well lead to his dismissal and reform failure.

In any case, after much effort, Li Hongyun had finally returned to Niu Zhu Pier.

Here, he was to face a decisive battle with the Jin soldiers who had previously forcedhim into a desperate retreat.

Currently, he rode a tall horse, clad in armor, with five thousand men of the Flying Tiger Army behind him, including two thousand elite cavalry and three thousand elite infantrymen.

Although the number of the Flying Tiger Army was not large, the quality of troops was paramount; Under Yu Jiaxuan’s meticulous training, their combat strength had surpassed most of the Qi Dynasty’s armies.

Moreover, these five thousand men of the Flying Tiger Army were not the entirety of the player-controlled military forces.

Near Niu Zhu Pier, there were many more remnants of the Qi Dynasty army, totaling nearly twenty thousand men. These included not only infantry and cavalry but also a formidable naval force of a hundred warships.

If these forces could be properly utilized, winning this battle was not impossible.

"These cavalry and infantry will each be commanded by one of you two.

"Attack immediately when the Jin soldiers land, giving them no chance to return!

"As for myself, I will personally command the naval forces!"

Li Hongyun called two deputy generals from the Flying Tiger Army, instructing them to lead the cavalry and infantry to attack as soon as the Jin soldiers landed and were still unsteady.

Meanwhile, he boarded the largest warship, ready to face a decisive naval battle with the Jin Army.

He thought over briefly and then organized the hundred warships into five groups: one patrolling the river to intercept, two providing cover upstream and downstream, and two hidden behind the mountains of Niu Zhu Pier, ready to emerge suddenly during the fierce battle and catch the enemy off guard.

The wind swept the clouds across the sky, and the sun rose high.

After Li Hongyun finished deploying his troops, the historical timeline of the game sped forward, reaching the moment when the Jin soldiers began to cross the river.

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