Chapter Thirty: The Great Defeat of the Qin Army
The rolling Zhao army was like an unstoppable torrent. The first to be destroyed were the more than 10,000 Qin troops at the north gate of Ye Wang.
Xiao Wei Xin Yuan has been in the military for fifteen years, from a small soldier to a commander of thousands of people. He has experienced dozens of battles, was injured, shed blood, and several times thought he would die on the battlefield, but fortunately, he survived and reached his current position.
For over a decade, he followed the Qin army as they swept across the land. Those who fell before his sword included the armies of Wei and Chu; the swift cavalry of Zhao, and the ferocious and bloodthirsty troops of the Yi Qu tribe. But no matter how powerful or cunning their opponents were, it was always the Qin army that emerged victorious in the end. The heads of their enemies became the symbols of their own glorious military achievements.
Although the Battle of Guandu has been going on until now, the Qin army has suffered heavy casualties. However, Xin Yuan still believes that the last laugh will be theirs. After all, the great Qin is invincible in battle and unbeatable in attack.
But just as he was commanding the Qin army to launch its final charge, preparing to take down Wang Yi with one blow, a loud rumbling sound of iron hooves came from behind him.
Without turning around, he knew that Qin's army was in great danger. Now more than half of the Qin army had been injured and it was impossible to have such a huge momentum. The enemy troops coming from the north of Ye Wang, weren't they the Korean army of the upper party of Korea?
When he turned around and saw the unstoppable momentum of the 100,000-strong Zhao army coming towards him, all that was left in his heart was despair.
"Attack the city with all your might!" He shouted out his final command.
Taking down Ye Wang still leaves a chance for survival, but staying in place and forming an array to resist the 100,000-strong Zhao army? That's just a dead end!
Under Xin Yuan's command, countless Qin soldiers climbed up the cloud ladder with their lives, trying to quickly occupy Ye Wang in order to hold out and resist.
But no matter how fast the Qin army climbed, they were not as fast as Zhao's crossbow arrows. Under the pincer attack of Han and Zhao armies, 12,000 Qin soldiers were soon killed.
Zhao Jun's torrent continued to push westward towards Ye Wang, sweeping away everything in its path, with small groups of Qin troops being instantly engulfed by the torrent along the way.
In the Qin army's central camp, Hu Yang listened in terror to the scout's report.
The rumbling sound of war drums outside had already been heard by himself. At first, he thought it was the reinforcements sent by Bai Qi, after all, when the King of Qin heard that Zhao Guo had dispatched 100,000 troops to support Ye Wang, he ordered Bai Qi to rush to reinforce him on one hand, and on the other hand, ordered him to be vigilant against the Zhao army.
But Zhao Jun just left Handan, didn't he? He dared to launch a fierce attack on Ye Wang because the main force of Zhao had not yet arrived. After all, if he defended and waited for reinforcements, by the time they arrived, he would not only have no merit but also be guilty. The loss of 40,000 troops was a rare defeat for Qin, and his best outcome would be to be stripped of his title and military position, demoted to a commoner.
But now, the 100,000-strong Zhao army has suddenly launched a surprise attack, and the Qin army north of Handan is bound to suffer heavy casualties. Without time to consider how the Zhao army had arrived, Hu Yang racked his brains for a countermeasure.
Unfortunately, this question has no solution. If Zhao Jun had arrived a little earlier or later, he would not have fallen into such a dangerous situation. Hu Yang made a decision in his heart, for now, the only plan is to abandon the car and protect the commander.
"Order the Dragon and Tiger Troops to launch a counterattack, we must hold off the Zhao army. Buy time for our troops to regroup!"
"Yes!" Deputy General Wang Xūn sighed quietly and led his troops away.
It's not the time to be lenient, Zhao's army is approaching fiercely. Our side can only sacrifice 10,000 cavalry and 10,000 charioteers to buy time. Even if we can only hold them back for half an hour, it will be enough for the remaining 40,000 Qin soldiers to gather.
The golden horn sounded in the sky above Ye Wang. The Qin army, which was about to attack the south and east gates of Ye Wang, hastily returned to the west gate camp without knowing the reason. This is the most urgent gathering horn, no matter how big things are, they must be put down, gather, and those who are late will be beheaded!
The good military discipline of the Qin army played a huge role once again. The desperate resistance of the 20,000 elite Qin soldiers bought enough time for Hu Yang. By the time the Zhao army had annihilated the cavalry and vanguard, Hu Yang had almost completed the assembly of his main force. The only regret was that the Qin army at the East Gate of Ye Wang was too far away, and despite their best efforts, they were intercepted and annihilated by the enraged Zhao army!
Knowing that he had missed such a good opportunity, Lian Po also sighed. If he had known earlier that the Qin army was so bold and attacked the city from all sides, he would have divided his troops into two routes at the north of Wangcheng City.
But now the situation is not bad either, 100,000 Zhao troops vs 40,000 Qin troops with chariots and infantry. Lian Po believes that he will be the one laughing in the end.
The King of the Wilderness was boiling. The Crown Prince Yan looked at the 100,000 Zhao iron cavalry annihilating the Qin army in the north of the city like withering leaves, and also saw that the 20,000 Qin army had been holding back the Zhao army for half an hour before collapsing. After Hu Yang's central army was surrounded, he knew that Ye Wang was finally safe.
Without minding the fatigue of the expedition, he immediately sent someone to Wen Di and Cheng Gao to report. As soon as the mainstay of the Zhao army arrived, the Han and Wei armies in the two places could finally feel at ease and reinforce Ye Wang.
The wind and water turn around, the Qin army was surrounded by a group of people beating him up a few days ago, now he can finally raise his eyebrows and take a breath, and beat the Qin army hard. The next thing should be the time for the Three Kingdoms to hunt together.
Just as Lian Po's army surrounded Huyang and the Qin army, which had formed a turtle-shaped formation, was at a loss for what to do, the Han army took the initiative to come forward. The arrival of cumbersome stone-throwing vehicles and powerful siege crossbows made Lian Po smile with joy.
"Your Highness is too polite."
Lian Po maintained sufficient respect for Prince Rang, after all, he was the prince of Korea, and Korea was currently a loyal ally of Zhao. More importantly, Lian Po felt guilty towards Prince Rang, if not for the need to defeat the Qin army more quickly by using this clever plan, he would have been able to rapidly reinforce Guiling.
Although countries do not have true feelings, Lian Po is a sentimental person and has been resentful about this. If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have been disliked by King Zhao later on and lived an unfulfilled life.
"How can you say that, General! You have traveled thousands of miles to rescue the people of Yeowang, and this is a great kindness to my country of Korea." The prince replied with a smile.
Looking at the prince who was wearing armor stained with blood, yet still spirited and energetic, Lian Po replied solemnly: "Zhao and Han are allied states. When an allied state is in trouble, how can Zhao not offer its assistance? I dare to ask your highness, where are the remaining Qin troops?"
Now Zhao Jun has killed and surrounded the Qin army, with only 600,000 troops left. Where did the remaining 400,000+ Qin army go? Lian Po had a rough guess in his heart, but he still needed Prince Ranye to confirm it personally.
About 35,000 people were killed by our army, and the remaining 5,000 wounded should be treated in the Qin army's large camp.
"What?" Lian Po was shocked by this one word.
How could the Han army inflict such a heavy blow on the Qin army in just three days? Did the Han army suddenly become stronger or did the Qin army become weaker? This shouldn't be!
"I don't know about the casualties of your army. Our army still has some military doctors, if the prince needs them, just give the order."
The crown prince smiled and thought to himself, "You want to know about our military casualties, but you don't have to be so evasive and add another sentence to cover it up." He didn't decline: "Then thank you for your kind intentions, General. Although our army inflicted great damage on the Qin army, unfortunately, our losses were also significant. We had 25,120 soldiers killed in action and 6,308 wounded."
This is strange, Lian Po secretly underestimated in his heart. The side defending the city occupies the geographical advantage, and the loss is generally smaller, normally 1:3, 1:5 or even 1:10 are possible, but the casualties ratio between Han and Qin is 1:1.3, this shouldn't be!
It seemed as if he knew Lian Po's doubts, so the prince explained, "The Qin army drove our innocent civilians in Korea to attack the city. In order to rescue the besieged civilians, our army lost more than 6,000 people. The Qin army ambushed our reinforcements coming from Chenggao, causing us to lose more than 8,000 soldiers. That's why there are so many casualties."
Lian Po nodded and thought to himself, "In that case, if we subtract these extra casualties, the ratio of casualties between the Han army and the Qin army would be 1:2.5, which is reasonable. After all, the Qin army was brave and had been at peace for a long time, so it's inevitable that they suffered more losses in their first battle."
As they spoke, the catapults and ballistae had been tested and were ready for action, awaiting only a single order to begin their assault on the Qin army's main camp.
