Chapter 470
He crossed the river, and so did I!
The Chishui River has been completely blocked by the ships of the two armies.
It's like an irregular floating bridge, lying across the middle.
Soldiers from both sides fought on these ruins.
The bodies that fell into the water were like sandbags, filling the gaps between the boats.
The water can only flow slowly, like quicksand slipping through your fingers.
Such a scene is nothing short of a desperate hell.
Even under such circumstances, the will to fight remained incredibly strong.
"The first person to reach the shore will be ennobled and rewarded with ten thousand gold pieces!"
Qi Jun painted an incredibly terrifying picture, sending the adrenaline of every soldier soaring to its limit.
Desertion means death, cowardice means death, and charging ahead means death.
But if one can survive and reach the other side, then one will become a top-tier Celestial Dragon.
Wei Wusheng stood on the high stone platform atop the camp, looking across at the other side.
A dense mass of people charged toward the river, as if everyone risked having their battle lines breached.
but,
He turned his head away.
There are still many, many troops on our shore.
Is Ji Yuan really going to fight to the death?
Is it necessary to go all in like this?
Wei Wusheng didn't quite understand.
Although several hundred of his own people had already gone there, and the defection efforts there already had a popular base and could be carried out, Ji Yuan was not at his wit's end.
Why this decisive battle?
Could it be that after he landed, he had the confidence to win the battle decisively?
"Your Highness." Just then, Ye Changqing rushed over and stood beside him, reporting very seriously, "General Xiao Qun's Qi bandits have not launched a counterattack, and the downstream area remains in a stalemate."
"How is General Xiao Qun's attack going?" Wei Wusheng asked.
“The elite troops of Liangzhou are all here, and the ships are also mainly concentrated here. General Xiao Qun’s army is mostly infantry and not very strong, so it will be too difficult for them to cross the river,” Ye Changqing said. “If the offensive is too intense, the losses may be too heavy.”
Xiao Qun's main task was to continuously apply pressure.
"..." With his eyes closed, Wei Wusheng was thinking, thinking very seriously.
"Your Highness, I have a conjecture," Ye Changqing said very seriously.
“I also have a guess.” Wei Wusheng slowly looked at him.
"Your Highness, please speak," Ye Changqing said.
“Let’s say it together,” Wei Wusheng said.
After their eyes met, the two said in unison, "North wind."
All tactical exchanges.
Behind Wei Wusheng lies Shuofeng, the largest city in Nanshuo County.
Although it cannot compare with Wuwei, the strengthening of its development in recent years has made its strategic position extremely superior.
"Your Highness," Ye Changqing said, "a counterattack, not a full-scale counterattack? Aren't you afraid we'll have to mobilize troops from other places to fight him together?"
“That’s right,” Wei Wusheng said. “The fact that such a breach was made shows that Ji Yuan’s goal is not to launch a counterattack, but to capture this city.”
Why was Ji Yuan able to do this?
Because the locations of the two main cities are not the same.
The north wind blew out when the city was being built, leaving it with no natural defenses. Just across the Chishui River lies this city.
The reason it is strong now is because the security level of the city has been strengthened, and satellite fortresses have been built along this line, protecting it like stars surrounding the moon.
But no matter what, it's here.
Once you cross the river, that's it.
But Wuwei is the northernmost city of the Great Yu Dynasty, far from here, and is the real rear area.
Behind him was another gate—Tongmen Pass.
“That’s very likely. Ji Yuan has already secretly moved his troops here…” Wei Wusheng analyzed.
The stress tests in other places probably didn't reach Ji Yuan's limit, so even if the troops were moved, it didn't reach a level where it could be breached.
"There are twenty warehouses belonging to our army in the city, which together make up about four large warehouses," Ye Changqing said with a heavy heart. "This city cannot be lost."
“But once our army crosses the river, we can destroy all of his military farms,” Wei Wusheng said.
A difficult choice has arisen.
However, they had already had very intense discussions and debates about this situation.
“Tell Xiao Qun and Shi An,” Wei Wusheng immediately concluded, “that many of their garrison troops have probably already withdrawn, so try a strong attack.”
"If the attack is effective..." Ye Changqing understood Wei Wusheng's meaning.
"I will guard Ji Yuan."
Wei Wusheng said resolutely.
The turning point of the Finals – I'll be guarding Giannis.
Ye Changqing knew his determination, but he also knew how difficult this matter was.
"Both commanders are too decisive," Ye Changqing said with some admiration.
Ye Changqing did not expect that Ji Yuan, with his rear already unstable, would not choose to retreat directly before the uprising began or continue to hold his ground, but instead switch from defense to offense before the fire escalated.
Unexpectedly, Wei Wusheng, having the ability to defend with concentrated forces, chose not to provide support and instead allowed other fronts to directly advance to the other side, aiming to achieve the established strategic objectives first.
“Changqing, I really like one of Shi An’s sayings,” Wei Wusheng said with a smile, “My fate is the fate of the nation.”
"Your Highness, I understand."
.........
Song Shi'an received the letter sent by Ye Changqing. At this moment, he was in the main tent at Dongjindu.
His generals included Wei Le, San Gou, Song Tu, and Xiang Ping.
"Gentlemen, His Highness said that Ji Yuan on the other side has redeployed troops from the other defensive lines," Song Shi'an said. "If that's the case, then our forces should be three to four times larger than theirs."
"Young Master, we can cross the river now!" Wei Le said excitedly.
The others thought the same way.
“Border troops, Imperial Guards, and fully armed barbarian soldiers,” Song Shi’an said, looking at them. “The most elite troops of the Great Yu are all in my hands.”
"This is also why the young Grand Secretary has kept our army on standby," said Xiang Ping, a veteran general with considerable experience. "Because the crossing of the river resulted in enormous losses. Our strength lies in field battles and sieges. The best strategy should be to wait until the other fronts are open before crossing the river."
"The key question is whether a significant portion of the troops on the other side have withdrawn," Song Shi'an said.
He originally intended to use a hot air balloon for reconnaissance.
However, hot air balloons have limited altitude and speed, and while going up is easy, returning is not, making it difficult to make such a trip possible.
Such a risky move would only cause Ji Yuan, who was already on guard, to continue destroying his already limited number of ultimate weapons.
He has fewer than ten hot air balloons left.
“Young Grand Secretary,” Xiang Ping said again, “if Ji Yuan mobilizes his troops, then General Xiao Qun upstream should also have an opportunity.”
“But,” Wei Le said, “if General Xiao’s territory is difficult to conquer, will Your Highness’s army be at a disadvantage?”
At this moment, even the barbarian Song Tu couldn't help but say, "Although we are elite troops and it's a pity to lose them, wouldn't it be easier for us to attack the other side if we were elite troops?"
Wasteful as it may be, it's definitely useful.
Now, we're in a situation where everyone has their own version of the truth.
It all depends on what Song Shi'an decides.
But he remained calm and said, "As I just said, the key issue is whether the enemy forces on the other side have withdrawn."
Everyone looked at him, somewhat puzzled.
“Your Highness, my good brother,” Song Shi’an said quite readily, “would he say this to me when the opposing army hasn’t increased significantly?”
That reason is too blunt.
In ancient times, intelligence was often misjudged, leading to false reports of military intelligence.
Some people, when they can't win a battle, start spreading rumors that the other side has reinforcements.
Of course, some people are not spreading rumors; it's just that the other party's sudden actions exceeded their expectations, making them feel that they must be calling in reinforcements, and that they are facing far more enemies than they thought.
But Song Shi'an had unconditional trust in Wei Wusheng.
My brother felt so much pressure; he's definitely not trying to shift the blame.
“Sixth Prince, it seems you really did encounter an army larger than his own.” San Gou offered his own opinion based on his understanding of this true man, the King of Qin.
Therefore, it is clear what to do.
"If I don't use it because I'm worried about losing my elite troops, wouldn't that be the same as my army not existing?"
If you're afraid of getting your account banned but don't get involved in pornography, doesn't that just mean your account will be permanently banned?
With that, Song Shi'an made up his mind.
"Gentlemen," Song Shi'an said loudly, pointing north, "if he crosses the river, I will cross the river too!"
.........
"Your Majesty, Song Shi'an at Dongjin Ferry has begun his crossing attempt, extremely swiftly and fiercely," Chen Xing said to Ji Yuan. "He's attacking recklessly."
"Moreover, the army under his command is the strongest in his Yu Kingdom," Ji Yuan said.
“They should have already guessed that we’ve moved most of our troops here to take Shuofeng,” Chen Xing said.
“It’s not hard to guess correctly, the hard part is making the decision,” Ji Yuan said.
“He wants to completely destroy our military farms after crossing the river,” Chen Xing said. “Even if we cross the river and destroy their farms, we still won’t make a profit.”
Because the main area where the military farms of Dayu were concentrated was Huai County.
The scale of the area around Shuofeng is limited because it is a strategically important location.
This year, the resources have been reduced to the bare minimum, with manpower and materials mainly used for the construction of river defenses.
"Therefore, we must uproot Shuofeng and destroy the entire Nanshuo County," Ji Yuan said. "Then, we will retreat back to our Wuwei."
The tasks on both sides are the same.
Let this land be set ablaze.
The difference is that Ji Yuan also has a Wuwei.
The second battle will take place amidst the ruins.
Now that he's here, Ji Yuan won't leave.
Both sides have been completely extinguished, and one of them will not be able to recover for decades.
However, for Ji Yuan, the price might be even heavier.
It is the inevitable destruction of a nation after everything has been emptied out.
But this is normal.
If you gamble against someone whose assets are several times yours, you bet their entire fortune, and they bet their entire fortune, plus an arm or a leg, then it's only fair.
"Your Majesty, people from Qi are still pouring in," Chen Xing said. "We are all willing to fight you to the death!"
In less than a month, there have been approximately 300,000 casualties.
If Qi loses this battle, it will suffer the same fate as Zhao at that time: a complete break in the younger generation.
"Lord Chen, thank you."
Ji Yuan smiled warmly, a rare occurrence, then slowly turned his head back to look in the direction of the State of Qi.
These were the ancestral emperors of the Qi state, who, generation after generation, had all entrusted the throne to him. (End of Chapter)