Chapter 3625
Waiting for the Right Opportunity
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Upon being notified, Gars didn't feel anything special and obeyed orders as always. However, because of Rahul's orders, he became more interested in Kusroy, the general who was nominally under his command but was actually the commander.
On the way to Rajgir and Gaya, Gars communicated and exchanged ideas with Kusroy, covering everything from daily life to military theory, war plans, and troop deployment.
Gars, who could be considered a commander of half a large army, quickly assessed Kusroy's abilities based on his own skills and knowledge.
Although the extent and strength of Kusroy's abilities are unclear, the fact that even I myself cannot fully grasp his capabilities is enough to demonstrate Kusroy's strength and reliability.
With such a guy in command, Gars felt no pressure at all when not facing the main force of the Han army.
Because it was a nominal command rather than an actual command, Gars' composure, demonstrated by maintaining a proper mindset and attitude, greatly reassured the morale of the troops.
Supporting Gaya and Rajagaha, a task that seemed simple, was actually seen by many Brahmin generals as nothing more than waiting to die.
Once you leave Huashi City, your only way out changes, and no one can say for sure whether you'll have a chance to come back.
This immense psychological pressure and burden affects the performance of every soldier.
In this situation, Gars's composure and ease greatly reassured the soldiers and even the generals.
After fighting such a long war, everyone knows very well what kind of person Gars is.
It's hard to judge whether someone is capable or not, but after all, he's a frontline commander, and Rahul's frontline commander at that. Even if he's not very good, he can't be that bad.
With this preconceived notion, coupled with the fact that the Han army was not the main force, the morale and condition of the entire Kushan army gradually stabilized.
“As the soldiers’ morale gradually stabilizes, although their strength may not be able to perform at an extraordinary level, their stability is still quite good. Especially for us, as long as the soldiers have the will and belief to fight, that’s enough!” Walking to the side of Kusroy, Gars quickly explained some knowledge related to the soldiers’ psychological state.
Originally, on the way forward, Gals also wanted to explain knowledge about troop training, military command, and so on, so that Kusroy could have a better understanding and be able to exert his abilities more effectively.
As a result of their conversation, Gals realized that the only knowledge he could teach the other person was probably related to the psychological problems of soldiers after a large-scale war.
This kind of knowledge is something that anyone who participates in war will learn sooner or later; his explanation of this aspect is essentially just slowing down the time it takes.
As for whether it would be useful, Garth couldn't make a precise judgment in his heart.
"Thank you!" Gars couldn't describe how important this was, but as the listener, Kusroy knew very well the value of the knowledge he had heard along the way.
In theory, as long as one has experienced enough wars, one can indeed understand and comprehend these things.
But how many opportunities does someone like Kusroy have?
In a war independently commanded and led by an individual, and having participated in wars for so long, Kusroy has only managed to achieve this once so far.
And the fact that he wasn't officially in command this time shows how precious this opportunity was. The more he learned about the pitfalls on the battlefield, the better he could prevent similar situations from occurring and avoid many detours.
Even without having personally participated in such a war, Kusroy was rapidly learning thanks to Gars's explanations in this area.
On the Han army's side, in order to capture Rajagaha and Gaya, Zhang Fei, as the commander, was quietly waiting, looking at the distant Gaya.
It was rare for him to command an army independently, and not only his own legions, but also several legions from allied forces.
This means not only bearing the weight of the lives of the legions under one's command, but also the weight of the lives of soldiers from other legions.
The lives of these people depend on his decisions; if he makes a wrong decision, countless people will never be able to return to their hometowns.
"How's the earthen wall coming along?" Looking at the distant city of Gaya and then at the earthen mound not far ahead, Zhang Fei turned to Sun Guan and asked in a very calm tone.
However, given Zhang Fei's volume, even when he spoke softly, his voice could still travel a great distance.
"We've been building this for almost two months now. If nothing unexpected happens, in another half month, the earthen wall will be taller than the city wall. At that time, we can jump directly into the city from the top of the earthen wall. Fortunately, the city wall of Gaya is not very high." Sun Guan pointed to the troops who were still carrying out civil engineering work in front of him and said quite steadily.
Because there was no rush, Sun Guancai did not offer any opinion on Zhang Fei's siege tactics.
After all, this method of siege was a clumsy trick passed down within the Han Empire to frontline generals, a way to slowly wear them down without caring about time or losses.
The only drawback of this siege method is that it wastes time.
However, the advantages are obvious: it puts less pressure on the soldiers and does not require too many casualties, thus maintaining the advantages of the city's defenders.
Sun Guan wasn't sure if spending so much time targeting just one city, Gaya, was the right approach.
"I wonder how long the garrison inside the city can hold out..." Zhang Fei turned his gaze to Jiaye City, staring intently at the city gate, hoping that the garrison inside would make the right choice.
As the Han army gradually built up the earthen walls, the advantage of Gaya City's walls would soon be eroded.
In this situation, if Gaya wanted to defend the city, or at least delay the inevitable, it had to find a way to break through the Han army's earthen walls.
Conventional long-range attacks alone cannot destroy this kind of rammed earth slope. The only option is to lead the army out to attack and forcibly drive away the Han troops building the earthen wall. Then, use legionary attacks and other means to quickly reduce the height of the earthen wall.
While this method wouldn't completely destroy the earthen wall, it would be very effective in buying time.
What Zhang Fei was waiting for was the moment when the defenders of Gaya City could no longer hold back.
The moment Gaya City can no longer withstand the pressure of the ever-rising earthen walls and chooses to launch an attack, that will be the time for him to lead his legion through the city gates, breach the walls, and capture Gaya City. (End of Chapter)