si-mexico Chapter 703 The calm before the storm
Chapter 703 The calm before the storm
It was not until midnight that the Yan army, running desperately for their lives and marching eighty miles, finally arrived two miles away from the Qian-Chu coalition camp.
The Yan army set up camp and started cooking in a hurry.
Zhang Han also leisurely led the Zhennan Army to the military camp.
The general's tent was the first to be set up.
Shen Changgong and others all gathered in the general's tent.
Ma Ling asked first,
"Where is your majesty now?"
Gongsun Wan'er said quickly,
"In the evening, we received news that they have arrived in Yecheng. We estimate that they will reach us after another day's journey tomorrow."
"That's good."
At this moment, Zhang Han strode in and said with a smile,
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for failing to stop the enemy."
Looking at the happy expression on his face, everyone was speechless.
This isn't an apology, it's clearly an attempt to take credit.
Shen Changgong glanced at him and said,
"Look at your happy face. Tell me, how many enemy troops did you kill this time?"
"Not many, not many, maybe about 80,000 people."
Zhang Han sat on the chair with a smile on his face, glancing at the others with a smug look in his eyes.
Li Bohan sneered,
"I don't know why you're so proud. This is the power of the Zhennan Army, not your achievement. What does it have to do with you?
Even if you were to replace them with anyone else and lead the Zhennan Army to fight, they would be able to achieve this result."
Zhang Han slapped Li Bohan on the head and scolded him with a smile,
"Damn it, if you don't speak, no one will think you're dumb."
Ma Ling waved his hand and said,
"Okay, now that we know that the Zhennan Army killed over 80,000 enemy soldiers, we can reassess the enemy's combat effectiveness.
When they retreated before, there were still more than 100,000 Chu troops left and 200,000 Qian troops left. But after today, they estimated that there would be about 250,000 troops left at most.
After two battles, our army now has about 600,000 combat-ready troops left, excluding the Yuying Army, and our manpower is still sufficient.
This king thinks that tomorrow our entire army should march out, surround the camp and attack, trap the enemy near the Han River, and annihilate them all on the riverbank.”
Shen Changgong nodded and said,
"I think it's feasible. In tomorrow's battle, we must completely annihilate the enemy. Even if it means a protracted war of attrition, we must completely surround and kill them on the banks of the Han River!
The enemy wants to fight to the death, but our army is not a pushover.
Our army will surround them on three sides, advance steadily, and then cut off their retreat, forcing them into a desperate situation and forcing them to surrender!
Hearing this, Jiang Shun was filled with questions and asked,
"Your Highness, where is the enemy's retreat? Aren't they blocked by the river?"
"Haha, are the enemies fools? If there's no way out by the river, will they run to it?
According to intelligence, the Qian army has already started cutting down trees to build bridges. This one night is definitely not enough for them to build a row of bridges leading to the other side of the river.
And with so many people crossing the river, one row of bridges wouldn't be enough.
They will certainly build a bridge while resisting our army, and then move south. After they move there, they will destroy the bridge, thus preventing our army from crossing the river.
So, we have to stop them from building the bridge."
"Your Highness, they're blocking the river. If we don't kill them and get in, how can we stop them from building a bridge? If we can kill them and get in, it doesn't matter whether they build a bridge or not. They can't escape anyway.
We don’t have a boat either…”
“But we can fly.”
Shen Changgong smiled leisurely and said,
"Our army now has quite a few hot air balloons, at least a hundred, right?
Get some divine thunder with long fuses, fly them into the sky, light them and throw them down. Even if only one out of ten hits their target, we can still blow up their pontoon bridge.
This move is called a bomber raid."
No one knew what a bomber was or what an air raid was, but the idea still caught everyone's attention.
Yes, they have a lot of hot air balloons. Even if their carrying capacity is not large, they can take turns to take off and float above the Han River. As long as the enemy builds a bridge, they will throw mines down and start blowing it up when it is halfway built.
There are bombardments on the ground and overhead. There is a big river behind you. If you jump in, you will drown. Unless you can swim, the enemy will have no way to escape.
During this agricultural civilization, except for those who depended on water for their livelihood, most people could not swim, nor did they have the cost or time to learn, as most of them were busy making a living.
Nie Bei coughed dryly and asked,
"Your Majesty, how should our army plan its tactics and fight tomorrow?"
Shen Changgong waved his hand and said,
"How do we fight? Six hundred thousand men against over two hundred thousand. Just surround them and attack. Each army will follow the location of their own camp. Tomorrow morning, march south and attack. Attack the enemy from three sides, leaving them no way to escape!"
"As ordered!"
Everyone immediately clapped their hands.
They all went to rest. After all, it was very late and they had to get up early to fight tomorrow.
After the Yan army had their fill of food and arranged their defenses, they went straight to sleep.
They could sleep, but the Qian-Chu coalition forces could not.
Many members of the Qian-Chu coalition knew that they had been driven to the riverside. They looked at the turbulent river in the south, which was several miles wide and a hundred meters deep. Even the nearest Peach Blossom Island was two miles away.
To the north is the Yan army, eyeing them covetously.
They are walking on thin ice all the way. Can they reach the other side?
Tomorrow's battle, life or death depends on fate.
Gongyang Ge and Xiang Qu went to bed early after discussing military affairs and arranging defenses.
The defenses they arranged were much more extensive than those of the Yan army.
Although a normal person would never rashly attack overnight after a long march of eighty miles, who can say for sure about those lunatics in the Yan army?
The Yan army was famous for its strict military discipline, strong fighting spirit, and a veteran army. It was also known for its tough style and was the typical army that was willing to risk its life for military merit.
As for the question of why he was willing to risk his life for military merit, it can be summed up in three words: he was afraid of being poor.
The State of Yan was very poor in the past. Its economy and national strength were weak, its war preparedness was insufficient, and military salaries were not paid on time.
They made their fortune quickly by plundering the wealth accumulated by other countries, rather than relying on stable tax revenue from various places.
The Yan army is composed of lower-class people. In fact, the people of all countries are poor. Since the implementation of the military merit system in Yan State, these soldiers have seen the hope of getting rich, and they really don't care about their lives.
The Yan army's madness on the battlefield would terrify the army of every country that encountered them.
But now, the Yan army camp has half-surrounded them all. The huge camp is so connected that it makes people terrified.
What made the Qian-Chu coalition happy was that the crazy Yan army calmed down unusually that night. Even though the two sides were very close to each other, the other side did not launch a night attack.
But everyone knows that this is just the calm before the storm.