Chapter 21: A New Strategy

  In the last rays of sunset, a team of Qin soldiers with white flags gathered up the last body of their comrades. The Han army stood silently on the city wall, watching as the Qin army retreated into the distance.

  Is it because no one is secretly shooting cold arrows, or are they too greedy for military achievements? Or has today's excessive slaughter already made the spirit numb and tired? In fact, neither is true. This is just a flash of humanity on the battlefield.

  Apart from slaughter, there is always a reason for us to survive and continue fighting.

  Maybe tomorrow, I will become one of the lost souls of today. At that time, who will collect my body and who will summon my soul? My hometown is so far away, I hope I can find my way back home.

  "Shall I say I have no clothes? I will share my cloak with you. The king is raising an army, I will sharpen my spear and halberd to join you in the same feud. Shall I say I have no clothes? I will share my socks with you. The king is raising an army, I will sharpen my halberd and armor to work together with you. Shall I say I have no clothes? I will share my trousers with you. The king is raising an army, I will repair my armor and weapons to march together with you."

  The Qin army's camp was ablaze with raging flames, as they were burning the bodies of their fallen comrades, a traditional practice. The faint sound of Qin music drifted through the air above Ye Wang.

  The young archer who survived today is the same little soldier who was held at knife point by General Wu, now staring blankly into the vast starry sky.

  How good it would be if there were no wars! Thinking of the sworn brothers who drank and chatted together yesterday, today they died in battle and turned into a handful of ashes. Even the little soldier couldn't help but sigh that human life is as cheap as wild grass. But, wild grass also wants to live, let alone humans? This world is like this!

  "Zhi Hua, what are you thinking? Stand guard properly. If the Qin army launches a night attack, you'll be the first to suffer, did you hear that?"

  A faint voice came from beside his ear, Zhi Hua's expression tightened and he hastily replied.

  In the Qin army's central camp, Hu Yang was staring at a map with rapt attention, deep in thought. Deputy General Wang Jun stood quietly by his side.

  "What internal response does Ye Wangcheng have for our Great Qin?" Hu Yang asked aloud.

  "General, we didn't invest much effort in the Wild King City. After all, Qin and Han had good relations before. According to the previous king's instructions, the main target of our spies was on the side of Wei State. So, there are only a dozen or so insiders within the Wild King City."

  "In this way, the opportunity to break through the door from within is slim." Hu Yang sighed.

  On the way, the army encountered a sudden blizzard and was delayed for two days. In these two days, the whereabouts of our own army were exposed, and the situation took a drastic turn for the worse.

  The Korean royal castle increased its garrison by 15,000, and the small wild king gathered an army of 20,000, suddenly becoming a turtle shell that was difficult to crack. Its own raid plan failed.

  The fall of Weindi was so rapid that it put his own 100,000-strong army in an embarrassing situation, and his plan to attack King Ye from both east and west was declared abandoned.

  Cursing Wang Xin, the guardian of Wendi, in his heart, Hu Yang had to put his energy back into how to capture Ye Wang City.

  Originally, today was an opportunity to capture the wild king, and a series of actions successfully confused the Korean army. Just as the city was about to be broken, unexpectedly, the soldiers who climbed up the city wall were driven down again. Such a situation has never happened before. Is it that the Korean army has some secret weapon? Or did they send out their elite troops?

  Listening to the Qin army's chanting of Qin songs by his side, Hu Yang couldn't help but consider whether to continue the fierce attack tomorrow. Today was only the first day, and they had already lost 5,000 soldiers, which was beyond his expectations.

  According to his own estimate, the Korean army also suffered more than 3,000 casualties. At this rate of fighting, if he wanted to take down Yeowang Castle without losing 20,000 men, it would be impossible. But such casualties were absolutely unacceptable to him.

  Not to mention the 80,000 Wei troops still lurking around Wendi, General Lian Po's 100,000-strong army alone is enough to make him drink a pot. The key to this battle lies in quickly defeating the Han army; once the Han army is defeated, the Wei army will inevitably be intimidated, and only then will his true opponent - the Zhao army - emerge.

  In Hu Yang's view, stepping on Zhao Guo's famous general Lian Po to rise to power is the ultimate victory. However, such a well-planned grand banquet was interrupted by the stubborn Korean army.

  How can we lure the Korean army out? Once in a field battle, Hu Yang believes he has a hundred ways to annihilate the Korean army.

  "General, according to our scouts' report. The main general of Zhao's aid to Han, Lian Po, is still in Handan. Of course, this is still three days ago news. It is said that the reason why Zhao has not sent troops for a long time is that the preparation of food and grass is not ready. Our time should still be sufficient." Deputy General Wang Kui spoke up.

  "This is rare good news." Hu Yang smiled coldly.

  Originally thought Zhao Guo was rare to be tough for a while, but unexpectedly it turned out to be internal strife. Lian Po didn't come just in time, seven more days were added, just enough to deal with the Han army and the Wei army.

  "General, I have a plan. Since the Korean army is holed up and won't come out, why don't we send out a small group of cavalry to raid the surrounding counties, destroy their farmland, burn their houses, and dig up their ancestors' graves? In just a few days, the Korean army will definitely come out to fight."

  "What a wonderful plan! This plan is truly brilliant!" Hu Yang exclaimed in admiration.

  If any man with blood would have his home and ancestral grave destroyed, he would be furious! If the Korean army still doesn't take action in three days, I'll rush to Xingyang alone, and see how the troops amassed on the Chenggao line are doing. Can't just abandon the monarch and the country, can it?

  But I was too constrained before. Always thinking of luring the Korean army out of the city and deciding to fight in the wild, but ignoring the seven-inch place of South Korea.

  Looking at this deputy general who was very much in tune with his own heart, Hu Yang began to sweep away the gloom and, with a pleased expression, pulled the deputy general over.

  The Yeowang Castle is another scene.

  In order to prevent the possible strong attack of the Qin army on the next day, the Crown Prince also made two preparations: on the one hand, he sent someone to Xinzeng, requiring the workshop to work overtime and provide at least 3,000 crossbows urgently; on the other hand, he hastily summoned the Hu riders to come to Ye Wang overnight.

  Since Lian'guang has shown its unique value, the Crown Prince naturally wants to reuse it. Deploying the Tiger Riders is because there is a trump card in hand, so as not to be like today. At the critical moment, playing the trump card can instantly turn the tide of battle.

  After tallying today's casualties, the Crown Prince also sighed that the Korean military was indeed weak. One-third of today's casualties were caused by the Qin army climbing up to the city head.

  The individual combat effectiveness is weak, and the coordination is not tacit. If it weren't for the tall city walls, Prince Yan even doubted whether the Han army could withstand a single charge from the Qin army.

  No one knows how long this war will last, and the prince is not willing to give up any opportunity to improve his strength. So, he summoned all officers above the rank of captain for a midnight meeting to summarize the gains and losses of today's battle.

  Thousands of generals spoke freely, each expressing their own views. The meeting was much more successful than Prince Ze had imagined. After the meeting, Prince Ze did not slack off either, on the one hand ordering people to sort out the conference summary, and on the other organizing thousands of generals to learn again in their respective teams.

  The prince personally went to the two thousand people there, on the one hand to boost morale, and on the other hand also to urge the thousand people to take this matter seriously.

  The leaders are all like this, let alone the lower-level Shizhangs. Layer by layer of summary meetings were held in various corners of Ye Wang City, and indeed, many unexpected results were revealed.

  That night was calm and peaceful, and the next day was another sunny day. The Qin and Han armies were ready to fight again, with a new battle about to begin.