Chapter 477
The Qi Emperor, The Curtain Falls
Mi Heng's body was hung high and displayed a hundred paces outside the Qi army's camp, but no one dared to snatch it. Behind it lay Wei Wusheng, who had just defeated them, personally leading an army of tens of thousands, setting up camp with their backs to the river, completely blocking the Qi army's last breach.
Ji Yuan himself was not in the three more secure fortified camps, but in the main tent of the central triangular camp. The troops around him were not even the most elite.
With him maintaining morale, the Qi army did not experience any mutiny.
Is His Majesty in?
After inquiring with the guards outside the tent and receiving a positive answer, Chen Xing went inside.
At this moment, Ji Yuan was leaning back in a chair, eyes closed, meditating.
He appeared particularly calm after the defeat.
But Chen Xing knew how much pain this emperor was in.
"Your Majesty," Chen Xing stepped aside and, after a long silence, finally spoke to him, "We still have Wuwei and Tongmen Pass, the border troops haven't moved, and with the 30,000 elite troops here, even if only 10,000 went out, we still have at least 60,000 to 70,000 elite soldiers."
This is a simple calculation.
Because there are very few numbers left, practically none.
"With just these people, can you spare soldiers to guard Wuwei and Tongmen Pass?" Ji Yuan opened his eyes, looked down at him, and asked in return.
The borders of the State of Qi were too long, and there were too many places that needed to be garrisoned and guarded. It was impossible to allocate troops to control the foreign territories that had essentially lost their foundation of rule.
Therefore, Ji Yuan had to abandon Beiliang and then rely on his last elite troops to hold the border firmly.
What next?
What happens after that, we don't know.
If there were no war, the State of Qi could recover to about 70-80% of its former state in a dozen or so years.
But without war, it's impossible.
As long as Song Shi'an is alive, he will continue to launch northern expeditions.
“Your Majesty, our most urgent task right now is to return to Leyang first,” Chen Xing continued to persuade. “Although you have preserved these elite troops, if there is any further mishap, it will be an irreparable defeat.”
"Lord Chen, how much grain do we have left?" Ji Yuan suddenly asked.
"Your Majesty, the food supply is still plentiful, as the army's provisions at the front are mostly stored in the three Wulei fortresses, which are very safe," Chen Xing replied.
"Lord Chen, what I'm asking is, how much is left?" Ji Yuan asked again.
“Three hundred thousand shi,” Chen Xing replied.
"How many of us are there?" Ji Yuan asked.
"About 70,000, of which 50,000 are combat-ready soldiers," Chen Xing continued.
"Where is Song Shi'an?" Ji Yuan stared at him, asking one question after another.
“If we’re being conservative…” Chen Xing frowned and said, “There should be 400,000, of which at least 100,000 are military personnel.”
"Moreover, after he crosses the river, he can capture tens of thousands of my people," Ji Yuan added to him.
The gap in numbers between the two sides is widening.
However, the disparity in combat-ready troops was not that significant.
Because it's a stationary defense, it doesn't require as much manpower.
"Your Majesty, you wouldn't be...?" Chen Xing suddenly realized something and became somewhat nervous.
Could it be that our emperor has come up with another idea?
A smile played on Ji Yuan's lips as he stood up and explained the economics to Chen Xing: "Our army's provisions are mainly in Wuwei and here. After suffering heavy losses, the army here is even more abundant in provisions, and there will be no food shortage crisis for at least six months. As for Song Shi'an, we burned hundreds of thousands of acres of unharvested fields with our fires, and Song Shi'an also burned hundreds of thousands of shi of grain in Shuofeng to lure us into the city. Considering all this, how long can their provisions last?"
There are still over 100,000 people to support. Can Song Shi'an hold out until next year?
“If he massacres our civilians and surrendered soldiers, he should be able to hold out for a few more months,” Chen Xing said.
“Of course he could do that,” Ji Yuan said confidently. “But given his self-proclaimed righteousness, he wouldn’t do such a thing. Besides, if he really did, the people of Qi would die whether they resisted or not. Even if he killed us here, he wouldn’t be able to easily take over Qi.”
Why did Ji Yuan commit indiscriminate slaughter?
Because by that point, he no longer had the conditions for unification, and what he needed to do was deplete the enemy's manpower.
But Song Shi'an was different. He wanted to finish off Ji Yuan here and then take over the Qi territory.
Thus, the task was accomplished in one battle!
"Your Majesty, what if Song Shi'an insists on resisting and is determined to conquer this place?" Chen Xing asked rhetorically.
“When people are hungry, they will steal. But when people are starving to death, they will rob.” Ji Yuan was about to make one last gamble. “As long as I live and hold this camp by the Chishui River, the Qi Kingdom will not perish. Reinforcements from Leyang will continue to arrive this way!”
Ji Yuan has indeed squeezed the Qi state to its limit, and there really can't be any more people left to produce.
But now, he is in grave danger and will die if he is not rescued. Under these circumstances, no matter how much the people of Qi are at odds with each other or how much they hate this emperor, they have no choice but to offer their last ripples in order not to become slaves of a conquered nation.
After all, the emperor's death abroad was of no benefit to them.
"Your Majesty, we really have to retreat!" Chen Xing said excitedly, not wanting him to take such a risk. "Even if we do this, we won't be able to protect Beiliang. We'll lose everything except Wuwei."
"But do you know what will happen if we leave?" Ji Yuan argued firmly. "The encirclement is already formed. Breaking through by force won't be difficult; we have cavalry and elite troops. But what about the rest of the men? Seventy thousand men, all of them are capable fighters if equipped with weapons. If we leave, you say ten thousand? At most, five thousand can escape!"
Ji Yuan used to look down on these things because he had the means to do so.
However, these 70,000 people were his last remaining team.
All 70,000 people were wiped out and returned to Leyang; the rest were difficult to mobilize.
The heroic emperor Gao Yang turned into an out-of-control tyrant because his most trusted 100,000-strong Han army was wiped out.
Only these people were able to retain the majority, allowing them to retreat smoothly back to Wuwei City.
Ji Yuan still has around 100,000 combat-ready troops at his disposal, all of whom are experienced veterans and elite soldiers.
Even the cities of Wuwei and Tongmen Pass could be retained without abandoning them.
Ji Yuan can accept failure, but he cannot accept the failure of losing everything.
“Wuwei is right behind us, with 20,000 elite troops stationed there and ample supplies,” Ji Yuan continued. “To guard against this, Song Shi’an has had to disperse his forces. Leyang is more than twice as close to here as Sheng’an, so our reinforcements will surely arrive first. Therefore, all we need to do is stall!”
Chen Xing suddenly looked up, his sense of déjà vu overwhelming, and stared at Ji Yuan in realization: "Delay it until the frost and snow fall..."
.........
"Young Grand Secretary, Ji Yuan's army has made several feigned breakout attempts in different directions, but every time we mobilize our troops, he stops." In the camp, Huang Tong complained to Song Shi'an.
Inside the tent at this time were Song Tu, Huang Tong, San Gou, and Xiang Ping.
This is the most positive force, blocking the north and east directions respectively, preventing Ji Yuan from escaping.
On the left is Xiao Qun, and on the south is Wei Wusheng.
They have indeed surrounded the enemy and have even launched several harassing attacks, but without much success, and the encirclement has not shrunk much.
The original strategy was to wait for Ji Yuan to make a strong breakthrough.
If he breaks through, it will definitely be a cavalry charge, and their 70,000 men will inevitably be scattered and become a disorganized mess.
“Young Grand Secretary.” As Song Shi’an pondered, Xiang Ping spoke up, “Ji Yuan’s scorched earth policy, burning all the fields in Beiliang, has indeed caused him heavy losses. However, the prisoners we have taken in, as well as the common people, are being fed with our grain. If this continues, it will be detrimental to our army.”
The battle at Shuofeng was too brutal. It reduced Ji Yuan's army, which needed food, by tens of thousands, and burned a grain supply that could feed over a hundred thousand people.
This scheme to lure the enemy is ultimately a double-edged sword.
"What are your thoughts, General?" Song Shi'an asked.
"Pit them." Xiang Ping answered with just two words, very decisively.
While the others didn't dare to agree with this answer, most of them thought the same thing.
Since that was the case, Xiang Ping continued, "Ji Yuan attacked Shuofeng, using my Yu people as shields to fill pits. Now that we have won, there's no need to talk about benevolence and morality. Besides, these people are a surplus; we don't need them at all." The same applied to Song Shi'an's side.
The battles were so fierce that the combat troops were used up like firecrackers, so the demand for logistical support from the civilian population was not as great.
It's bound to cause hardship for the people, so why not just slaughter all the people of Qi? That way, there will be enough food.
“Doing this doesn’t guarantee we can capture Ji Yuan,” Song Shi’an said. “Even if we do capture Ji Yuan, the people of Qi will resist to the death because our army has massacred surrendered soldiers and civilians.”
"Young Grand Secretary, your contributions are already beyond words," Xiang Ping advised. "Isn't it unnecessary to finish everything in one go?"
There's absolutely no rush.
After this battle, the strength of the Great Yu Kingdom will be four times that of the Qi Kingdom.
“The general is absolutely right.” So Song Shi’an decided, “This battle cannot be delayed. We should resolve it quickly. If we cannot reach a stalemate, we will adopt the general’s suggestion.”
Everyone was surprised that he agreed so quickly, but they felt reassured by his words.
Only Xin Yue's expression towards Song Shi'an showed sadness.
"Song Tu," Song Shi'an said with gentleness and expectation, "The three Wulei fortresses are positioned to support each other, attacking one while the other two provide support. I don't need you to attack the city. But I want to see your courage in tearing apart their defenses."
I want to see your courage.
These words, like the whisper of a demon, instantly ignited Song Tu's passion.
"Yes, Young Grand Secretary!"
Song Tu clenched his fists and accepted the order.
And so, Song Shi'an's plan for a strong attack was laid out.
After the meeting, once the generals had left, Song Shi'an sat alone facing the sand table, deep in thought.
At this moment, Xin Yue stood beside him and asked, "Do you really want to kill the people of Qi?"
"Do you have a solution?" Song Shi'an countered.
Xin Yue paused for a moment, then shook her head: "I can't think of any other way but to let them go and return to Qi."
Moreover, letting them return to Qi is arguably the worst possible solution.
Doesn't this mean giving Qi more power to fight back?
In the end, it was mostly the people of Dayu who died.
Xin Yue didn't know what was wrong with her. Perhaps it was because she wasn't from Dayu, so she didn't have such favoritism towards Dayu.
Or perhaps she was a saint, believing that in war, those in high positions could die however they pleased, but the common people were too innocent.
“The food problem definitely exists; everyone can see it, and you can’t lie about it.” After saying that, Song Shi’an added, “So, if I don’t say it that way, the soldiers will have doubts.”
Xinyue understood what he meant.
We can't treat the soldiers and officers like idiots. So much grain was burned, and so many people were gained out of nowhere. How could we possibly feed everyone?
Soldiers having worries about their families can affect morale.
and many more……
So, I won't say that?
"Did you say that to reassure the troops?" Xin Yue asked in surprise.
"The purpose of unifying the world is to ensure the peace and tranquility of the people. But to unify the world by killing the people is surely putting the cart before the horse."
Song Shi'an smiled and said, "I have a plan."
What plan?
"Go and bring all the women of Qi here," Song Shi'an said.
“What are you doing…” Xin Yue was taken aback for a moment, but out of complete trust in Song Shi’an, she quickly accepted, “I’ll do it.”
In this way, most of the women among the people who had surrendered north of the Chishui River were taken in by Xinyue.
Moreover, because it was carried out by her, and due to her strict requirements, the number of cases of rape of women was not very high.
At the same time, Song Tu, the barbarian king, with great courage, forcibly tore the triangular camp apart from the middle, allowing Song Shi'an's siege force to completely surround Wulei in the northern camp.
After a full twenty days of attack and significant losses, they finally managed to capture the city with great difficulty.
However, when the enemy abandoned the city, they set fire to the grain and fodder that had already been doused with oil.
Ji Yuan's fortified camps are now reduced to two, one to the east and one to the west. Between the two camps are small encampments, which surround them like stars around the moon.
During this period, Ji Yuan also built many earthen buildings that resembled chimneys, without entrances, just like bunkers. There was no way to deal with them except to kill everyone inside.
In short, it's all about procrastination.
However, the encirclement has been reduced from the original 40 square kilometers to about 20 square kilometers, a reduction of nearly 50%.
Ji Yuan himself retreated to a fortified village on the left wing, while Chen Xing was stationed on the other right wing.
These fortified villages resembled those of the princes of old, but were larger, had higher walls, and offered much more usable space. Moreover, they housed only the army, making them more accurately described as castles.
At this moment, Ji Yuan had no idea what was happening outside.
But in reality, everything went exactly as he had predicted.
The garrison commander of Wuwei City took the initiative to send troops, which involved most of Wei Le's forces.
When they learned of the emperor's crushing defeat in Leyang, they held an emergency meeting and managed to force out 30,000 troops, who had already reached Tongmen Pass to come to the emperor's rescue.
In the once mighty capital city of Leyang, fewer than four thousand soldiers remained to defend it.
Ji Yuan was unaware of these things, but he was certain that they would happen.
All he needed to do was wait for the snow to fall, just like Song Shi'an did back then.
An autumn without harvest has arrived.
Standing atop the city wall, gazing northwards towards Ji Yuan, I felt a chill in the air.
Suddenly, he saw what appeared to be a ball of fire approaching from the horizon...
"Smother that fire!" Ji Yuan gave the order directly.
He knew that it was Song Shi'an's aircraft.
But he didn't understand why the other party was using it so blatantly in broad daylight.
Twenty hot air balloons, all taking off from the north, were spread out and carried by the north wind toward Ji Yuan's camp.
However, before they could even get close to the castle, they were shot down one by one with ballistae.
The hot air balloons fell one after another.
But when they landed, there was no one inside.
It was filled with sugar pancakes, a type of flatbread only found in Qidi.
It was quickly looted by the soldiers.
As they ate the cakes, they seemed to hear the folk songs of Qi, sung by women, coming from all directions... (End of Chapter)