"Damn, damn, this is utterly detestable!"
Gao Chi trembled with anger, slamming his fist heavily onto the table beside him, causing the dishes on it to clatter loudly.
Are they really so impatient? They won’t even give us a mont to breathe before launching their attack?
"Hold the line, we must hold the line, we must hold Valley Pass!"
Gao Chi stared at the border defense map behind him, his eyes bloodshot!
He also wanted to charge to the frontline to kill the enemy, but he was the commander, he had to co up with a complete plan to reduce the soldiers’ casualties.
So, he’s been studying the local terrain maps over the past few days, hoping to use the area’s topography to block the enemy army.
However!
To his frustration, the enemy seed more familiar with this place than he was. As soon as he made a deploynt, the enemy saw through it and countered him.
Gao Chi was nearly driven mad over the past few days!
He even suspected whether there was a traitor among them.
It shouldn’t be!
The Supre Emperor was their lord, who had always treated them well, bestowing them favors. Who would be so idle as to betray the Supre Emperor, betray Dazhou?
But one cannot be too careful, so Gao Chi ordered a discreet investigation, only to find no one had betrayed them. The question then beca, could the enemy predict their moves?
This was even more terrifying!
"Who is the enemy’s general?"
"Not sure, but soone heard the Liang Army shouting ’Your Highness, Eldest Young Master!’"
"Eldest Young Master?"
Gao Chi frowned. Over the years he had defended the Northern Border and had frequently clashed with Liang Country, he knew those leading generals and their tactics.
This ti, the opponent’s thods were so fierce and cunning, hitting him off guard, he felt it certainly wasn’t those familiar ones.
Now upon hearing this, indeed!
Only, who exactly was this Eldest Young Master? He had never heard of him before!
"Great General, Great General?"
Seeing Gao Chi frowning and not speaking, the young soldier beside him got a bit anxious and urged him.
Gao Chi looked up, his expression turning firm: "Go, to the city wall, reinforcents are coming soon, we need to hold on a bit longer!"
"Yes!"
The presence of the army commander in person imdiately lifted the previously low morale on the city wall. Gao Chi walked through the crowd, watching the enemy troops climbing up densely below, clenching his fists tightly.
Their complete disregard for life, charging recklessly to seize the city, what on earth were they aiming for?
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
"Clang, clang, clang!"
"Kill——"
In the distance, the sounds of the two armies clashing kept echoing. Gao Chi watched the fallen soldiers, his eyes gradually reddened, suddenly he drew the long knife beside him and shouted loudly: "Kill the enemy, kill the enemy!"
"Charge——"
In an instant, the Zhou Army seed to be filled with endless courage, desperately charging towards the enemy climbing up!
At the sa ti, elsewhere, at the Liang Army’s rear, Li Qingmu stood on a mound, gazing distantly at the battlefield ahead.
There, the flas lit up the sky, making it appear like dayti despite being night!
Beside him was a general from the Liang Yulin Guards, Lu Zhi, one of Rong Si’s confidants. This ti, he ca both to protect the Eldest Young Master and to watch over him.
Rong Si had complicated feelings towards this son; she wanted to trust him unconditionally yet worried about being betrayed, so Rong Si made preparations for both outcos, sparing no effort.
Lu Zhi glanced at the rising casualties, frowning: "Eldest Young Master, how much longer will this attack last?"
His tone was already a bit impatient and resistant. If Li Qingmu didn’t give a result soon, he might even turn around and order the troops to halt!
Li Qingmu looked at him plainly. He had no good feelings for soone who ca to supervise him, and said only: "Wait!"
Wait?
Lu Zhi got annoyed, urgently speaking: "Eldest Young Master, have you never led an army, never fought? Once the army sustains more than thirty percent casualties, morale will plumt. We sent fifty thousand n to attack; now, we’ve already lost several thousand. If it continues like this, morale will collapse!"
"I am aware."
"Aware? Ha, if you are aware, why still..."
Lu Zhi trailed off, suddenly feeling a chill down his spine!
Li Qingmu just looked at him coolly, yet the look in his eyes was like that of death itself, chilling his entire body!
"Just a few thousand." His voice was eerie, like a demon from hell, "If it hasn’t reached the point where morale collapses, how can the enemy be fooled into thinking we’re retreating because we can’t hold them?"
"This..."
Lu Zhi was montarily stunned, his mind not fully grasping, or perhaps realizing sothing, yet feeling like he couldn’t grasp it completely.
"Ha..." Li Qingmu chuckled softly, with a hint of mockery in his smile, "General Lu, warfare inherently involves casualties. If the sacrifice of so can be exchanged for a great victory, then those people have died a aningful death!"
"General Lu, since we’re doing this, we must see it through to the fullest, not be indecisive! How else to honor the brothers who have already perished?"
Lu Zhi’s body trembled; Li Qingmu’s words struck a chord deep within him!
Indeed, they had already sacrificed, so they must ensure their deaths are aningful!
He looked at the Eldest Young Master with a complex expression. From the beginning, he had opposed having the army disguised as refugees to infiltrate the enemy’s rear, believing it to be walking into a trap. Yet later, it proved he was wrong.
By killing so Dazhou people, then using disguising techniques to dress as them, and letting so seemingly weak soldiers blend in, rely a few thousand disrupted the enemy’s rear.
Now, changing tactics facing the still strong Valley Pass, the attack was rely a facade, intending to retreat as if morale had collapsed.
By doing so, the enemy would think they had won, would relax, and then under the cover of night, another assault could be launched!
At that point, it wouldn’t be rely a probe but an all-out assault, determined to break through Valley Pass!
"General Lu, in warfare, reducing casualties is important, but sotis, certain casualties are unavoidable! A battlefield without casualty, can it even be called a battlefield?"
Lu Zhi remained silent.
Li Qingmu said no more and instead looked coolly at the towering city wall.
Actually, he was waiting, waiting for those few people, just not knowing when they would co?
Hopefully, they don’t wait until he’s about to break the city; what’s the point then?
While Lu Zhi worried about how to breach the wall next, Li Qingmu was considering whether to slow down? Moreover, he had to pick a spot, and that spot would be the final stand at the pass.
He certainly wouldn’t let the Liang Army truly invade Dazhou, as that would render him unable to face the ancestors of Dazhou in the future.
"Kill——"
"Charge, charge, kill the enemy!"
From afar, the sounds of brutal combat between the two armies continuously reached, gradually, fate of battle shifted towards Dazhou, as more Liang soldiers fell, affecting morale.
If losses continued, morale would soon collapse.
Watching the Zhou Army fight with increasing vigor as the Liang Army waned, Li Qingmu finally ordered the retreat.
Then, the Liang Army retreated like a tide.
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