Chapter 54: Spoils of War!

  Zhao Kuo left behind 2,000 soldiers to escort the seriously wounded back to camp and then led the remaining 13,000 Qin troops to attack the combined forces of Han and Wei.

  The allied forces did not expect the Qin army to launch a counterattack, and were caught off guard. However, the dense trenches greatly slowed down the advance of the Qin army, which soon found itself in a bitter struggle. Facing the combined forces of Han and Wei, which outnumbered them several times over, the Qin army did not retreat, and their skilled combat techniques, combined with seamless coordination, allowed them to fight on par with the enemy.

  Zhao Kuo originally thought that under the fierce charge of his own side, the timid Korean and Wei armies would quickly collapse. Unexpectedly, the Korean and Wei armies discovered that they could withstand the unstoppable Qin army, and their morale was greatly boosted.

  "The general has an order: for every Qin soldier killed, one dou of white rice will be awarded. For killing a Wu Chang or Shi Chang, the reward will be doubled; if a Qin Xiao Wei is beheaded, a thousand pieces of gold will be awarded!" The personal guards of Han and Wei rushed back and forth, loudly proclaiming their commander's incentive policy.

  "White rice! That's a delicacy that we only get to eat during holidays!" All the Allied soldiers subconsciously swallowed their saliva.

  It is said that where there are heavy rewards, there must be brave men. One dou of white rice is enough for a family of five to live on for three or four days. The more you kill, the more you get. If you accidentally really cut down the Qin army's jiaowei, you won't have to worry about anything for the rest of your life.

  The Allied Army took another look, and the Qin army in front of them seemed no longer to be a cruel enemy, but fragrant white rice. Killing them would bring honor and wealth to themselves. Greedy eyes appeared in the eyes of the Allied Army.

  The stalemate was quietly changing, as the Allied forces, regardless of casualties, fought bravely and took the lead, forcing the Qin army to retreat step by step. The numerical advantage of the Allied forces began to emerge, and they even started to encircle the Qin army in front of them.

  Zhao's expression changed greatly, originally thinking that the Han and Wei armies were just docile lambs, even if they had sharp horns, but they were just intimidating toys. As long as he launched a desperate charge, they would often collapse at the slightest touch. Unexpectedly, today the lambs transformed into hungry wolves, although still not as ruthless or strong as himself, but their numbers were sufficient to make him retreat, lest it be too late.

  "Retreat!" Zhao Xian gave the humiliating order.

  The Qin army's retreat further stirred up the wolf-like nature of the Han and Wei coalition forces, who pursued them relentlessly. Zhao Kuo began to regret his decision to dismount, thinking that if he had been more cautious and chosen to harass the Han and Wei coalition forces with mounted archers, the outcome might have been different.

  Twenty miles away, the Qin army is currently being harassed by cavalry archers.

  Zhao Jun did not attack Bai Qi's main force, instead choosing to launch a surprise attack from the south and north sides of Qin's camp. In order to buy time for his cavalry, Bai Qi mobilized an army of 100,000 men to block Zhao's advance.

  To the north is adjacent to the Luo River, now in the midst of a cold winter, the Luo River has frozen over, leaving little room for the Zhao army's cavalry to maneuver. Therefore, the south side is the focus direction of the Zhao army's attack.

  After the Qin army came out of the camp, the Zhao army fully played its characteristics of riding and shooting, wave after wave of arrow rain continuously shot towards the Qin army. The Qin army was limited by its mobility and could only passively withstand the beating.

  Bai Qi, in order to minimize losses, even used himself as bait to lure the Zhao army into attacking the Qin army's central camp. If it weren't for Lian Po's timely awakening and decisive withdrawal, the Zhao army might have been surrounded by the 100,000-strong Qin army.

  The 70,000 Zhao cavalrymen who had lost their mobility were no match for the 100,000 elite Qin troops. This outcome was not what Lian Po had hoped for.

  The situation began to stalemate. The Zhao army was worried about the loss and could not break through the Qin army's defense line, and the Qin army also had no way to deal with the swift and decisive Zhao army. At this time, Bai Qi frequently looked towards the east.

  As soon as Zhao Cong annihilated the Han and Wei armies and returned to reinforce the central army, Bai Qi could complete the encirclement of the Zhao army. Even if some of the Zhao army managed to escape, they would surely be intimidated. Bai Qi could then safely rush back to Xianyang.

  It was just that the goddess of fortune did not stand on the side of Qin today. Bai Qi did not wait for the news of Zhao She's triumphant return, but waited for the arrival of thousands of defeated soldiers carrying Zhao She's corpse to report back.

  In the 34th year of King Zhao of Qin, Bai Qi ordered his deputy general Zhao She to lead an army of 30,000 soldiers to attack the armies of Han and Wei. Zhao She was ambushed, shot by arrows, and died at the age of 34. Originally a great general who rose to prominence late in life, Zhao She became another fallen "famous general" after Hu Yang and Wang He due to the emergence of Prince Ran!

  "What?! Zhao Kuo has been defeated and killed?!" Bai Qi slammed his fist on the table.

  "Yes! General!" a surviving centurion replied tremblingly.

  "What's going on?! Speak!" Bai Qi was truly enraged, with 30,000 cavalry pursuing the fleeing weak armies of Han and Wei, how could they have been defeated?!

  "Reporting to the general, it wasn't 60,000 Han and Wei coalition troops at all! They had tied tree branches behind their horses' tails, which was roughly around 20,000 troops. We pursued them relentlessly, our vision completely obscured by dust, that's when we fell into the ambush." The Qin army's lieutenant felt he had lost unjustly.

  "How many troops are left?" Bai Qi asked the most concerned question.

  If we lose, then so be it! As long as there is sufficient cavalry strength, I still have a chance to make up for it.

  "There are only eight thousand cavalry left, with twelve hundred of them seriously injured." The company commander said painfully.

  "Good! Good!" Bai Qi said two "goods" in a row, and then scolded: "You tell General, defeated and returned, lost his main general, what is the crime in military law?"

  "Death... death penalty." The lieutenant suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Was the general going to kill him?

  "Just know that. Death penalty can be exempted, but living penalty is hard to escape. Take the thirty military rods yourself! Keep your useful body and wear the crime to make merits!"

  "Thanks, General!" The Qin army's lieutenant was overjoyed at his narrow escape from death.

  "Remember! The defeat of the army must not be made public, otherwise you will be waiting for your head to be displayed in public! Go and comfort the soldiers." Bai Qi reminded.

  "Yes, sir!"

  Now that the plan has failed, it's meaningless to continue stalemate with Zhao Jun. Bai Qi hesitated for a moment and gave a decisive order: "The whole army will abandon the blockade of the Zhao army and move towards the central army."

  The Qin army, unable to withstand the harassment of Zhao's troops, retreated in an orderly manner as if they had received a general amnesty. Lian Po saw that there was no good opportunity, so he let the Qin army leave.

  The Qin army suffered a loss of at least 10,000 men in the recent disturbance, while the Zhao army paid only with the lives of a few hundred soldiers, and really made a huge profit.

  "Report! General, envoys from the armies of Han and Wei have arrived, saying they want to join forces with our army."

  "Alright. Tell them, I'll go to welcome them right away!" Under the great victory of Lian Po, he decided to comfort the wounded hearts of the Han and Wei armies. Just now, the Qin army's cavalry was all out, and the losses of the Han and Wei armies must not be small.

  Before long, the commanders-in-chief of the three Jin armies met face to face.

  "General Lian!"

  "Your Highness, General Taizi, General Jin!" Lian Po inquired one by one.

  "Look at General so radiant with joy, it must be a victorious start!" The crown prince smiled and said.

  "It was just a small victory, killing over 10,000 Qin soldiers. Not worth mentioning." Lian Po smiled and waved his hand.

  "General Lian is indeed one of our three famous generals from Jin, his reputation is truly well-deserved!" Jin Bi also spoke up.

  "That's also thanks to your two armies attracting the attention of the Qin army. What were your losses?" Lian Po asked with concern.

  "It's okay, it's okay! However, 5,000 soldiers were injured." Baoluo said frankly.

  "That's good! I was worried that your army had suffered heavy casualties! I wanted to lead the troops to support you, but was blocked by the Qin army. It's really embarrassing! What is the outcome of your battle?" Lian Po was very suspicious in his heart that Han and Wei armies had such a small loss, but his mouth was another story.

  "Not much, just beheaded 20,000 Qin cavalry and Deputy General Zhao Yi of the Qin army." Jin Bi had a mind to show off, but pretended to be nonchalant.

  "What? Zhao She, the deputy general of the Qin army, has been beheaded?" Lian Po was shocked and lost his color.

  Seeing Lian Po's reaction, Jin Bi revealed a satisfied expression. He immediately told the story of how things had come to pass. Only then did Lian Po realize what kind of danger the combined forces of Han and Wei had faced, how they had managed to win in the face of adversity, and achieved results far beyond his own!

  "Your Highness, Crown Prince, this time I truly admire you." Calm in the face of danger, meticulous as silk, and using troops like a god, is this Han Ran a born general? Fortunately, he is not his own enemy, fortunately Korea is weak and attached to Zhao.

  "The general laughed and said, 'I'm just a bit quick-witted, that's all. The real victory still depends on the bravery of our soldiers, who fought with their lives on the line, one sword at a time. You, on the other hand, have shed blood on the battlefield and achieved countless merits in battle."

  The crown prince's humble words made Jian Bi, Jin Bi and Bao Yan burst into laughter, and for a moment, they were all delighted.

  "Now that the Qin army has suffered a new defeat, there are only 110,000 troops left. What do you gentlemen think Bai Qi will do next?" Han Ran shifted the topic back to the current situation.