Chapter 31: Breaking Out of the Encirclement (Part 1)

  In the Qin army's central camp. After finishing counting the troops at hand, Hu Yang suddenly fell silent, and the entire large tent was also quiet as a ghost town.

  There is no worse situation than this, the original 100,000-strong army now has only 40,000 people left, including more than 3,000 seriously injured soldiers, and in fact, there are only 37,000 combat-effective soldiers. The most critical thing is that the entire army is now surrounded by 100,000 Zhao Guo iron cavalry, and breaking through the siege is basically hopeless.

  But breaking through the siege is even more hopeless, because the Han army of Chenggao and the Wei army of Wendi will definitely come to support the Zhao army after learning that their own side is surrounded by the Zhao army, at which time their situation will be even more dangerous.

  No one was willing to take the lead, because no one had a better way. Now there are only two roads, either defend and wait for reinforcements, or break through. But both of these seem like dead ends. As for surrender? That's not even in Old Qin's consideration.

  Hu Yang did not make a sound, but he knew he was finished. No matter how the war developed from now on, he would bear all the blame for defeat. The Great Qin does not allow failure and naturally does not recognize failure. Even if it is a defeat as great as his own, it is only due to the incompetence of the commander, not because of any fault of the Great Qin itself.

  Now the King of Qin needs someone to take responsibility for this consequence, Great Qin needs someone to explain that Great Qin is still invincible, as long as the general is not incompetent, and that person can only be himself.

  Hu Yang was filled with regret. If only he hadn't underestimated the enemy and rushed in impulsively, if only he hadn't been so eager to establish a great military achievement that would resound throughout the land, everything could still have been salvaged. Even if he had faced an attack by 100,000 Zhao cavalry, plus 100,000 Han or Wei troops, he was confident he could hold out until Wu Anjun's reinforcements arrived. But now, it was all too late...

  Looking at the silent generals, Hu Yang put away the regret in his heart and spoke out to break the silence of the great account.

  "Gentlemen, the Zhao army has now surrounded our troops. Within two days, the armies of Wei and Han, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, will also arrive on the battlefield. The situation is extremely critical; if we are not careful, our entire army may be annihilated."

  "A few days ago, I received an order from the King of Qin: The reinforcements led by Wu Anjun will arrive soon. According to the army's schedule, in another five or six days, the main force should also arrive at Ye Wang."

  "Great, Wu Anjun has arrived and we are saved." someone exclaimed happily.

  "What? It'll take five or six more days to arrive? By then, we won't need the enemy to attack us, we'll die of thirst." A careful listener caught Hu Yang's last sentence.

  "That's better than rushing out to die." Someone immediately refuted the suggestion of breaking through.

  Listening to the discussions of the people below, a bitter smile appeared on Hu Yang's face.

  In the eyes of the old Qin people, Wu Anjun is the synonym for invincibility in battle. One can't help but feel inferior to him. If only I had known earlier, I would have regretted not doing so from the start!

  It was only five days ago that I received the imperial edict from the King of Qin, and even if the army sets out with the king's envoy, they would have traveled no more than half the distance by now.

  There are still five days before the army arrives at Ye Wang, which is already the most optimistic estimate. Does this lone army have only five more days? Hu Yang himself didn't know either.

  "Hu Yang's single sentence stopped the whispers in the big tent."

  "Waiting in place is a solution, but without water source, can we hold on until Wu Anjun comes to reinforce or not, do you think the Korean army's military equipment will let us pass these five days safely?"

  Yes! The Korean military's reputation for being strong is renowned throughout the world, otherwise they wouldn't have earned the title of "Strong Korea". If the defenders of Yeouiju had handed over their trebuchets, siege crossbows and other equipment to the Zhao army, how many more rounds could they have held out? All the generals silently pondered this question, and the conclusion they reached was that they couldn't hold out.

  "So, I decided to break through. The earlier we break through, the greater our chances of survival. In another hour, it will be dark, and after dark, the Zhao army's offensive will inevitably weaken. At midnight, we will divide our troops into two routes: one route will rush straight to Ye Wang, creating a false impression that our army is strongly attacking Ye Wang; the other route will break through to the west, withdrawing to Yi Que, where there are 5,000 soldiers from my Qin state, and we can regroup and wait for reinforcements."

  The big account fell silent again as Hu Yang's words trailed off here.

  At this point, breaking through the siege is the only choice. However, everyone knows that the army pretending to attack Handan will definitely be a dead end. The Zhao army must focus on defending against Handan, preventing the Qin army from launching a surprise attack on Handan and defending the city. Only the army that breaks through the siege, although with great difficulty, has a chance of survival.

  No one is willing to sacrifice for nothing, and even if they are, the soldiers under them are not. As military personnel, they will obey orders that send them to their deaths, but this does not mean they will selflessly give up opportunities to survive for others.

  "This defeat is not the fault of everyone, but mine alone, Hu Yang. Therefore, I have decided that I will lead the central army with 10,000 soldiers to launch a fake attack on Ye Wang, and you all lead the remaining troops to break through the siege!"

  Huyang's casual remark dispelled the oppressive atmosphere in the tent.

  "General!" The generals all cried out in unison.

  "My mind is made up, and I don't need to hear any more. The casualties in this battle are so severe that the blame lies entirely with me. I have written a detailed account of the battle on bamboo slips. If you can escape by luck, please present it to the king on my behalf, and I will be eternally grateful."

  "General!" The generals all shed tears.

  "Alright! It's settled then. Are you refusing to obey orders? Do you think my sword is dull?"

  Deputy General Wang Xiong secretly sighed and led the way out of the main tent.

  Huyang's decision was within his own expectations, and for him now, dying in battle could still salvage some reputation. Otherwise, even if he broke out of the siege, he would be bound to the imperial court and executed by beheading.

  But breaking through, how much hope is there? Wang shook his head.

  Forget it, let's hold on until nightfall and talk about it later. If we really die in battle, we won't disappoint our own expectations. Wang Tong cast aside his distracting thoughts and commanded the army to defend against Zhao's attack.

  As the catapults and trebuchets were ready, the armies of Zhao and Han finally launched their final attack on the Qin army. In an instant, countless giant stones and crossbow arrows flew towards the Qin camp, darkening the sky, and countless Qin soldiers fell under the giant stones and crossbow arrows of the Han army.

  The Qin army also organized archers to counterattack, but the Zhao army was hiding outside the range of the Qin army's archers, and the Qin army had no way to deal with this. However, as soon as a Qin army daredevil squad or archer emerged from the camp to attack the enemy's catapults, they were often annihilated by the tightly arrayed Zhao army. Several times, the Qin army was forced to hide behind their war chariots in desperation.

  Such an attack lasted for nearly half a time, until the Korean army's catapults were exhausted, and the attack was over. But when the Korean army stopped, the Zhao army began again.

  The mighty Zhao cavalry charged towards the ruined Qin camp, which had been destroyed by the catapults. The desperate Qin soldiers used long spears and spiked wooden barriers to block the advance of the Zhao army. One side sought to establish an eternal achievement, while the other fought for their lives. The battle was a fierce and brutal clash between two forces that were like water and fire. As soon as it began, the fight had reached a fever pitch. The frenzied Qin soldiers built a Great Wall with their own flesh and blood, but the Zhao cavalry, which had lost its momentum, could only look down from above and slaughter the Qin soldiers.

  From sunset to complete darkness, every step forward for the Zhao army became difficult. Although they only advanced a hundred paces, they inflicted casualties of over 5,000 on the Qin army.

  At last, the dark night that the Qin army had been hoping for arrived. In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, Lian Po decisively ordered the troops to retreat and wait until dawn to attack the Qin army's main camp again.