Chapter 273- Surrounding a Point and Destroying the Reinforcements
Chapter 273- Surrounding a Point and Destroying the Reinforcements
Translator: TeamTWO
Editor: Jun
The generals all exclaimed, respect and awe in their eyes. However, Baiqi was a very serious guy and rarely laughed, so the generals didn't dare to sing his praises in the tent. They all looked at him, their war god, with eagerness at how he was going to arrange the troops.
Ouyang Shuo sat in a corner, emotions filling him. Only such a person like Baiqi could become a commander-in-chief. Generals like Shi Wanshui and E'Lai could never be, the difference between them were very obvious.
Unfortunately, to try to to convince Baiqi, it was as difficult as scaling the heavens. Although the player force had made a commendable performance, it wasn't enough to earn Baiqi's respect.
"Generals, receive my orders!" Baiqi's words broke Ouyang Shuo's thoughts, making him focus once again.
"Yes general!" Huan He and Ying Bao replied.
Huan He being too late to assist resulted in Wang Ling's death. As such he felt a pent up anger. If the Wei wanted to disturb them, naturally, he was furious and wanted to teach them a lesson.
Ying Bao and the other generals didn't look up to anyone in the military, only respecting Baiqi.
"Tomorrow morning, Meng Ao will go close to the southern side of Gu Pass and make an aggressive stance to bait them. Wang He will react from the side and at the same time ensure the safety of the grain route."
Wang He and Meng Ao, one was courageous and fierce, while the other was stable. It was nice that they were polar opposites. As it was a fake attack, Baiqi purposely sent Meng Ao to attack. He was worried that Wang He would be rash and really attack, affecting the whole plan.
"Yes!"
After all the generals left, Baiqi looked for Wang He and secretly told him some words before letting him leave.
The next day, Meng Ao and his troops left and waltzed toward Wang Ling Camp, acting as if they were going to go all out.
Wang He's forces on the west also moved out, dust and dirt rising from their movements.
Atop of the Gu Pass, Zhao Kuo and Zhao Sheng stood together.
To the decree from the Pingyuan Lord, Zhao Kuo, although he didn't agree with it, he had no choice to accept it. Following the king's orders to build a defensive line, and not go out and fight.
Seeing Meng Ao's forces charging forward, Zhao Kuo didn't think much. He had sent 50 thousand men there and within a day, they had fixed the camp, and it was usable again.
Adding up Zhao Zhuang's 100 thousand forces which were at the foot of Gu Pass, he didn't think the Meng Ao's forces could succeed. Thinking back, even the 150 thousand forces he had couldn't take down Wang Ling's camp in such a short time.
"What is the Qin army rushing for?" The Pingyuan lord asked.
Zhao Kuo laughed. "Their grain supplies were cut off, so I think they want to go all out before our reinforcements arrive."
"Baiqi is a god when using troops, so why would he be so rash? Is there a scheme in all of this?" The Pingyuan lord couldn't understand and said uneasily.
"What a joke! Although Baiqi is smart, even the heavens favor us, what can he do?" Although Zhao Kuo had lost to Baiqi, he didn't believe that he was lousier than him and wanted to prove himself.
Seeing the arrogant and overconfident Zhao Kuo, the Pingyuan Lord kept quiet. He didn't have any proof and anything would just be a conjecture, so he could only believe in what Zhao Kuo said.
Using the cover of Meng Ao's forces and also the dust made by Wang He's troops, Huan He and Ying Bao led 100 thousand cavalry and sneakily left the camp, going toward Baijing to the east.
The iron cavalry of the Qin army weren't like the light armored cavalry of the Zhao army, and could bring milk and dried meat. What these soldiers brought were meat which needed a fire to cook. Compared to the Zhao army, it was much more troublesome.
Luckily, Ouyang Shuo and the lords of the Shanhai Alliance took out their military grain pills and lessened their logistical stress. If not, without such help, these troops would not make it so far.
In a short time, the troops managed to enter the Henei prefecture.
Henei prefecture, although it was a new prefecture that the Qin had taken over for a short while, as the Qin king commanded his men from there and provided rewards to the people. They were very happy and supportive.
Hence, these 100 thousand cavalrymen were like fish in water in the Henei prefecture.
The Wei country’s Xinling lord had led the 150 thousand troops, and entered Henei prefecture. However they were like sparks in a dark night. In Huan He's eyes, there was nothing mysterious or secretive about their movements.
Huan He was very clear that this operation; it had to be fast and swift. Firstly, they had little resources left and couldn't last for long. Secondly, if they come out for too long, they would raise the doubts of the Zhao army.
After Huan He and Ying Bao finished their discussion, they chose a route that the Wei army had to pass by and prepared an ambush. They wanted to attack them before they could react and destroy them in one fell swoop.
The ambush point they chose wasn't a canyon or a special ground but a very normal plain. It was hundreds of miles around and apart from a official road, it was just a few scattered villages.
A hundred thousand cavalrymen hid in the villages. Not far from the village was a dense forest; the dense vegetation was also a good cover for the troops.
Seeing such a huge army, the villagers were freaked out.
Apart from acquiring some grain from the villages, the soldiers didn't do anything too out of hand. Baiqi was very strict and didn’t allow his troops to rob civilians. Even a general like Ying Bao, who wasn’t afraid of anything, definitely wouldn't go against Baiqi's orders.
After the troops settled down, Huan He sent scouts to investigate and monitor the movements of the Wei army.
Two days later, the Wei army appeared as expected.
Looking from afar, the 150 thousand men army stretched out over 5 kilometers. Their army, which was once the best, had deteriorated and wasn't as good as they once were.
An army that was moving wasn't suitable for sneak-attacks as they stretched too long. Even if they killed the front enemies, the ones at the back could form up and they definitely wouldn't be able to effectively kill them.
Hence, the place that Huan He chose was where the Wei army set up camp. As they traveled for a long time, and adding with the fact that there were few Qin troops in Henei prefecture, they naturally didn't pay much attention when they set up camp.
What they didn't know was that not far away, a pack of hungry wolves were staring at them.
As the Wei army set up camp, a hundred thousand iron cavalry was like a black flood and rushed out of the forest straight toward them.
The thunderous galloping made the whole ground shake; it was like a tsunami. The black wave swallowed up the land; the green plains was now covered in black.
"Oh no, it's the Qin army!" the Wei army panicked. The soldiers in the Wei army had suffered a lot at the hands of the Qin army, and fear had built up in their hearts.
At that point, the Wei army had started to gather in the camp. Travelling non stop for a day was really tiring. They put down the heavy grain that they carried and were prepared to settle down. They didn't expect that enemy forces would attack, causing panic in the camp.
Screams, shouts, horse galloping, bowls and pots crashing, scolds and various noises resounded; it was like they were in a huge market.
Luckily, the Xinling lord was a capable man, and he calmed the troops while reorganizing them at the same time. He ordered the cavalry to gather and intercept the Qin army while the infantry formed up behind them.
A 150 thousand man army naturally wouldn't set up camp at one spot. They were split into three groups. When the front group set up camp, the central group would rush there while the back group would still be moving.
Huan He led 50 thousand men to attack the front group. Ying Bao led the player force to destroy the center group. Xinling lord Wei Wujin personally led the center group.
In the current day and age, the only ones who could match the Qin army was the Zhao army. The Wei army in front of them were far from their past glory and were easy pickings.
The front camp, after a charge by Huan He's forces, couldn't form up. Huan He led his men and led a slaughter in the camp.
History would remember this once nameless plains because of this battle.
The center group’s camp was where the commander Wei Wujin was located. Shi Wanshui requested to lead the player force to attack them. This was the only remaining group of the Wei’s elite soldiers.
Shanhai City's cavalry was a level higher than that of Qin army's. The Wei elite soldiers naturally couldn't withstand it, and facing the metal flood led by the 2nd regiment, they had no choice but to engage.
It was a battle of the spear and the shield, and it ended in a complete victory of the Shanhai City cavalry.
The Xinling lord, who was highly confident, could only lead his guards and escape.
Even for the prideful Ying Bao, upon seeing the strength of the player force, his eyes froze. Before this trip, he was unhappy that Huan He had treated the player force too well, but now he understood why.
Although the Wei elite soldiers weren't as strong as before, they were still an elite unit. In front of the player force cavalry, however, they couldn't even withstand a hit, stunning Ying Bao.
In the huge plains, the Wei troops who stretched for miles were destroyed by the Qin army. Not only could they not connect up with the rear group, but they were broken up into many parts.
The Wei army was mainly made up of infantry. The small number of infantry wasn't enough to stop the Qin army cavalry. Instead they were pincered by Huan He and Ying Bao, and directly destroyed.
As the army lost its cavalry, the remaining infantrymen were unable to resolutely defend; they were like a bunch of sheep under the chase of the Qin army wolves, running for their lives.