"If my goal were simply to defend, I would only need to hold the city tower, and the Wei Army couldn’t even dream of breaching the walls."
"But this time, we launched a surprise attack to crush the Wei Army, all for the sake of the subsequent offensive," Zhao Feng said with a confident smile.
"General," Qi Sheng asked with curiosity, "how exactly did you manage to circle around to the Wei Army’s rear for a surprise attack?"
Regarding this plan, not even Tu Sui and the others were fully clear on the details, let alone Qi Sheng. They only knew that Zhao Feng had a plan to defeat the Wei Army.
"More than a month before the Wei Army’s attack, I had already ordered General Zhang Han to secretly build ships and rafts and hide them at Hongze Crossing," Zhao Feng said with a slight smile. Get full chapters from novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"No wonder General Zhang Han received orders to patrol the Wei River and took more than ten days to return," Wu Yue said, the realization dawning on him.
"Hongze Crossing has waters so turbulent they can capsize even large ships. General, how did you lead an army across?"
"And given Wei Wuji’s caution, wouldn’t he have deployed troops to defend Hongze Crossing?" Qi Sheng asked, puzzled.
"It seems General Qi knows Wei Wuji quite well," Zhao Feng said, looking at Qi Sheng with some surprise.
Qi Sheng immediately clasped his fist in a salute. "To be honest, General Zhao, I do know a bit about Wei Wuji. In particular, his caution in military matters is comparable to Lian Po of the Zhao state. When he first led his army to attack, I admit I had little hope that you could successfully defend the city. I never imagined you would not only hold Wei City but completely crush the Wei Army." As he finished, the undisguised reverence in his eyes was impossible to miss.
"Indeed," Zhao Feng began with a confident smile. "Although Hongze Crossing is known as the most difficult part of the Wei River to traverse, I personally visited the local fishermen there before the war. I learned from them that every winter, there is a low-water season. The day I led my army across was the very beginning of that season."
"Furthermore, while Wei Wuji is cautious and did dispatch an Army Marquis Camp to guard the crossing, his men would never have imagined I would lead a sneak attack," Zhao Feng said with a faint smile. "I imagine all the Wei troops Wei Wuji posted along the Wei River shared the same mentality. Their own army was launching an offensive with over one hundred thousand soldiers. They would assume the Qin Army would be focused entirely on defense, perhaps even failing to hold our ground. How could we possibly spare troops for a sneak attack? To them, it seemed impossible. And because of that, the Wei forces guarding the Wei River line were utterly routed by my surprise attack, suffering catastrophic casualties as they fled."
"I understand now," Qi Sheng said respectfully. "General, your military genius has earned my deepest admiration."
"Alright," Zhao Feng said, getting straight to the point. "You have all defended Wei City for many days. Those who need rest should take it now."
"General, you are the one who is truly exhausted, having crossed the river and launched a surprise attack on the Wei Army," Tu Sui immediately countered.
"It seems you’re not ready to rest yet, are you?" Zhao Feng asked with a knowing smile, appearing to see right through Tu Sui’s thoughts.
"General," Tu Sui said, stepping forward. "If the offensive is to continue, I request permission to take part!"
As soon as he spoke, the eyes of the other generals lit up.
"We request to go into battle!" the generals all cried out, rising to their feet.
"Wei Wuji has been on the attack for days. Our soldiers who defended the city are exhausted," Zhao Feng said gravely. "If we give chase without rest, we would be courting death and bringing disaster upon the entire army."
"I understand," Tu Sui could only respond respectfully upon hearing this.
"However," Zhao Feng added, "I will grant you two days of rest. After that, only ten thousand soldiers will need to remain in Wei City to clear the bodies. The rest of you may march out."
At this, anticipation lit up all the generals’ faces.
Zhao Feng addressed the assembled generals. "General Zhang Han accompanied me on this expedition and has already achieved great merit. The task of guarding Wei City will fall to him. The rest of you will rest for two days, then immediately lead your units to catch up with me."
At his words, all the generals’ faces lit up with excitement. "We accept your command!"
"May I ask, General," Tu Sui inquired, "where do we plan to attack Wei this time? If we mobilize against Wei on a large scale, I’m afraid we won’t gain much of an advantage. After all, Qin is attacking the Zhao state."
"Who told you I intend to keep attacking Wei?" Zhao Feng replied with a light smile.
"Then, General, you mean to...?" Tu Sui asked in surprise.
"Clear the road from Yingchuan to the Zhao state. I intend to join the war to exterminate Zhao," Zhao Feng said with a cold laugh. "As for Wei, after this battle, they won’t have an opportunity to counterattack Qin for some time."
"Clear the road from Yingchuan to the Zhao state?"
All the generals were stunned by Zhao Feng’s plan. Their gazes involuntarily fell on the map in the main hall. Although it was not as complete as the one personally overseen by the King of Qin, the situation in the Land of the Three Jins was still clear enough.
"The distance from Wei to Zhao is nearly a thousand li. How long will it take us to clear the way?" Qi Sheng couldn’t help but ask.
"Now that the crisis in Wei City has been resolved, we have plenty of time. One month, two months, three months—we have ample supplies and provisions to sustain our campaign," Zhao Feng said with supreme confidence.
In Wei City, supplies and provisions sent earlier by the Great Qin Court were stockpiled, enough for an army of one hundred thousand to last for three months.
Moreover, Shangwei City served as Wei’s primary supply hub. Wei Wuji had stored provisions for his army of nearly two hundred thousand there. With those supplies, Zhao Feng was confident he could fight another brilliant campaign without worrying about provisions.
"General," Tu Sui said with concern, "we have no foothold for crossing the river, and the Wei Army might have already set an ambush along the Wei River."