Chapter Thirteen: The Normal and the Strange Combine for Victory

  The night is cool as water, quiet and soundless.

  The large camp in the north of the city was where the Goguryeo army was stationed, and this large camp that occupied a large area in the north of the city could accommodate an army of 30,000 at the same time.

  At this time, the large camp had only 9,000 soldiers and horses, making the vast camp seem a bit empty. All the soldiers in the camp already knew that of the 11,000 soldiers and horses who went out early in the morning, only a few followed the prince back.

  The whole camp was abuzz with the news that the great Sui army had arrived, some said it was 30,000 strong, but immediately someone argued that it was 50,000, and there were even those who claimed that the Emperor of Sui himself had come to lead the troops in person, bringing with him an army of one million, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to defeat the Fifth Master.

  Rumors spread like the wind, especially after all the officers above the rank of captain were summoned by the king to discuss matters, and the soldiers became even more panicked.

  In the big camp, facing those terrifying rumors that made everyone's heart palpitate, no soldier could sleep. Everyone gathered in twos and threes, chatting and guessing who would defeat the king today. Tonight, the sky was pitch black, even the usual twinkling stars were all hidden behind the clouds.

  A team of soldiers pushed dozens of carts into the military camp, and many people recognized that the leader was none other than Jinbudalai, a high-ranking official beside Prince Wang.

  "Passing down the king's order, tomorrow the Sui army will definitely come to attack the city. The king sympathizes with all the generals and soldiers, and has specially ordered me to pass on this command: today, reward all the generals and soldiers with 10,000 catties of beef and mutton, and 1,000 jars of fine wine. Everyone can eat and drink their fill, and tomorrow we will behead those Sui dogs who dare to come and attack the city." As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers behind him immediately moved all the beef, mutton, and wine from the carts and began distributing them to the soldiers in the big camp, whose mouths were already watering in anticipation.

  Every time before a big battle, wine and meat are distributed, which is also a military tradition. At this time, all the officers above the commander-in-chief were deceived by Gao Qi to the south gate. These small soldiers had good wine and meat to eat, who would care about other things? Such an opportunity is hard to come by, today the king is generous, why not rush to grab it.

  Today, the military officers who came to offer wine and meat were particularly generous, with no restrictions on anyone, as long as you wanted to eat and drink, they even proactively encouraged everyone to have more. The unbridled revelry continued for several hours, until just before dawn, when almost all the soldiers in the entire camp had lost their sobriety, many of whom were so drunk that they fell asleep hugging wine jars on the open ground outside the tents.

  Chen Kefu stood on the gate tower of Nancheng, from this high gate tower, he could see the rolling hills outside the south gate. If it weren't for Gao Qi's overconfidence in leading his troops out of the city to fight and then fearing death and surrendering to the Sui army, if Gao Qi had led his 20,000 soldiers to hide in the city and defend the mountain fortress, with only 3,000 horses, they would have been unable to do anything except sweep through nearby villages.

  But at this moment, he was already standing on the city wall, and it was a bloodless victory. The last seven regiments sweeping the battlefield outside the city had also entered, although they were a bit later than Chen Kefu's initial estimate, but they brought him unexpected surprises.

  In the daytime, in a battle tens of miles away, three thousand broken army camp cavalrymen, with their strong and experienced veterans, plus elite armor and weapons, and also having experienced generals like Li Benlei. They won a big victory over the 11,000-strong Goguryeo second-line troops led by Gao Qi, which can be said to be a complete victory. More than 700 of the 10,000 Goguryeo infantrymen were killed, and nearly 2,000 were seriously or lightly injured. Most of these casualties were because Gao Qi went out of the city for a field battle without bringing enough shields, and encountered Chen Kefu's broken army camp cavalry, which was also a bow-riding army, and was injured by indiscriminate 45-degree shooting.

  Especially after the Goguryeo was defeated, the Goguryeo people began to collapse. The entire 10,000-strong infantry was captured by several thousand cavalrymen from the broken military camp, with more than 7,000 prisoners taken. Only their 1,000 cavalrymen were slightly better off, but they too were a key target of the broken military camp's cavalry, and over half of them were annihilated, with hundreds captured, leaving only a small number of defeated soldiers fleeing in all directions on horseback, escaping from the battlefield. However, upon hearing that those defeated soldiers were fleeing towards Liaodong City, Chen Kefu's heart was put at ease once again.

  "General, I was worried about the situation here and didn't want to waste time bringing them along, so we killed all those wounded. We just brought over a total of 8,000 people, and we also captured more than 800 war horses, countless armor, flags, and banners. Congratulations, General, for achieving this great merit! When it's reported back to the imperial city, His Majesty will surely reward you greatly. You are already a Hawk-Yang Lang Jiang, who knows, maybe this time His Majesty will directly grant you a Tiger-Tooth Lang Jiang, that's a high-ranking official of the fourth rank!" The face of Hu Haina, the deputy commander of the vanguard cavalry, was full of smiles, but with that scar, it looked more like he was crying.

  Chen Kefu patted Hu Hai's shoulder, "Lord Hu is now a sixth-grade military officer in the Yuezhi Riding Colonel. This time, when rewards are given for achievements, he will definitely be promoted to Eagle Strike Lang Jiang, which is fifth-grade. General Hu is so young and has a bright future ahead of him."

  "Hu Hai's mouth was agape with excitement as he said, 'Thank you, General, for your cultivation. I am deeply grateful for your powerful command and divine military strategy, which has allowed me to achieve this minor merit. All of this is thanks to the General's benevolence. From now on, I will only follow the General's orders, and if there is anything I can do, I swear to die without hesitation.' Hu Hai had not been without merit in the past, but having merit did not necessarily mean one would receive a reward. In the military, it was not uncommon for merits to be usurped by others, and some superiors would even intentionally suppress their subordinates if they felt they were disobedient. Chen Kefu was not alone in breaking into the military camp; there were nine other cavalry captains of the same rank as Hu Hai who were all part of Chen Kefu's group, and it was said that they had grown up together as children in the General's household. If Chen Kefu were to slightly suppress him while intentionally promoting his own confidants, Hu Hai would be completely helpless."

  Chen Kefu looked at Hu Hai's excited appearance and smiled, "As long as you follow me, General will absolutely not treat the brothers who follow me unfairly. Tell me, how many casualties did our brothers suffer this time?" This was what he cared about most, each of these soldiers were his treasures.

  "General, today the thousand cavalry of Goguryeo caused us a lot of damage. I just counted and this time our army lost 113 brothers in battle, and over 200 are injured. Among them, about 200 have light injuries, and over 30 have severe injuries, most of whom may not survive. Those lightly injured brothers will recover after some rest, but at least 20 or more brothers will be disabled and can no longer fight on the battlefield."

  An encounter battle between elite and secondary troops, they relied on their advantages in all aspects but still paid the price of more than 300 casualties, which is one-tenth of the losses. Just thinking about this number makes him heartbroken. Even if those lightly wounded people recover after rest, he will still lose nearly 150 veteran soldiers, one-fifth of his troops. How long does it take to cultivate an elite soldier? He can't calculate the time it takes for these veterans to grow up, but he knows that in just one battle, a simple encounter battle, he lost one-fifth of his men.

  If they had encountered a garrison like the one in Liaodong City, if Gao Qi hadn't surrendered today, then even if he wanted to take down this mountain city, he might have been annihilated under its walls. One who has never managed a household will never know the value of firewood and rice; one who has never commanded an army will never understand the cruelty of war.

  "Have you brought back the bodies of those brothers who died in battle?" Chen Kefu asked with a heavy tone.

  "General, I brought back all the brothers. When we triumphantly return one day, they will surely rest in peace and their souls will return home." Hu Hai was also a veteran general on the battlefield, but he had never met a general like Chen Kefu who treated his fallen soldiers with such kindness. He couldn't help but feel even more respect for him.

  I took a look at the new book rankings and we're now over 80th place, everyone keep giving your support to Mu Zi, let's charge forward together!