"What force is this?"
"How could they be so powerful?"
Dunruo was inwardly startled. Even his own Heibingtai Anshi couldn’t have faced a force of Prefecture Soldiers several times their number so directly without suffering heavy casualties. Yet these men retreated completely unscathed, without a single loss.
"Investigate their characteristics and the weapons they use. Report back to me when you’re done," Dunruo instructed Guo Kai after a moment of thought.
"Yes," Guo Kai agreed immediately.
This force couldn’t have appeared from nowhere. It must be a well-trained unit. I just don’t know which state trained them, Dunruo thought. As the leader of the Heibing Platform, he was naturally on high alert regarding this suddenly emerged force.
「Just five miles outside Handan City!」
The Qin Army was methodically setting up camp.
「Within the Shangjiangjun’s tent!」
When Zhao Feng entered the tent, Wang Ben and Yang Duanhe immediately looked over.
"General Zhao has arrived."
Zhao Feng immediately smiled and greeted them, "Generals. Shangjiangjun."
"Have a seat." Wang Jian smiled slightly, his gaze particularly gentle as he looked at Zhao Feng.
And Wang Ben, his brother-in-law, regarded him with clear admiration.
Yang Duanhe smiled and said directly, "The primary credit for capturing Wu’an City belongs to you, General Zhao. I wanted to congratulate you, but I didn’t expect you to lead your troops in pursuit so quickly."
"You’re too kind, General Yang," Zhao Feng replied with a smile. "Capturing an enemy city is simply my duty."
"Nonsense." Yang Duanhe waved his hand. "Wu’an City was garrisoned with 300,000 troops. I originally estimated it would take at least a month to capture, with no fewer than 100,000 casualties. But thanks to your breakthrough, General Zhao, the Zhao army’s defenses inside Wu’an collapsed, allowing our army to take the city in a single day."
Wang Jian raised his hand with a slight smile. "There’s no need to say more about this achievement. I have already reported it to the Great King. After Zhao is annihilated, you will be rewarded according to your merits." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ Nove1Fire.net
"Thank you, Shangjiangjun," Zhao Feng said.
Although it was what he deserved, proper etiquette had to be maintained. Taking Wu’an City this time might not get him promoted to Shangjiangjun, but it added to his qualifications, and his noble rank could likely be raised again.
"Alright." Wang Jian’s tone turned serious. "Now that our three main commands have gathered at Handan, it is time to discuss the plan to take the city, just as we did for Wu’an.
"Handan City is easy to defend but hard to attack, even more so than Wu’an. Handan is a formidable fortress. Unlike Wu’an, which was isolated, attacking all three of Handan’s gates simultaneously is nearly impossible."
"Pang Xuan won’t have positioned all his troops inside Handan City," Zhao Feng said gravely. "If I’m not mistaken, the Zhao Border Army is already on the move."
"You are correct," Wang Jian said in a somber voice. "The Zhao Border Army has indeed mobilized. Moreover, I have received intelligence that Li Mu is dead."
At these words, Wang Ben and Yang Duanhe’s expressions changed. A flicker of shock was quickly replaced by joy. "Li Mu was Zhao’s top War General! Without him, the state of Zhao is like a man who has lost an arm. This is great news for Qin!"
"First Lian Po, and now Li Mu. Only Pang Xuan is left in Zhao. This is wonderful! Without Li Mu leading them, I wonder how much of their combat effectiveness the border army can still display."
As generals of an enemy state, Li Mu’s death was naturally a cause for celebration for Wang Ben and the others. After all, if Li Mu were alive, he would undoubtedly be a very troublesome opponent. With Li Mu dead, the Daqin Elite Soldiers would be able to avoid many more casualties.
Zhao Feng, however, had other thoughts.
It seems Guo Kai reported Li Mu as dead, without mentioning he was rescued. Guo Kai, you are as cunning as ever. However, since we have intelligence on so many of Zhao’s internal affairs, could Guo Kai already be under the King of Qin’s control? That must be it. I handed him over to Tu Sui, and he was later given to the King of Qin. He must have been brought under control back then. The legendary Qin War God of history truly belongs to Qin. Otherwise, how could this happen? First, the plot targeting Lian Po, and now this ambush to kill Li Mu. It’s impossible that Qin isn’t pulling the strings somewhere. Previously, Lian Po was forced to hold his ground outside the city. I never believed that could have happened without someone manipulating events from behind the scenes. It must have all been Guo Kai’s doing.
Wang Jian continued solemnly, "This is the intelligence I’ve just received. Zhao’s General Yan Ju has led 100,000 soldiers from the Frontier Army from Dai Territory to Handan. They are now stationed east of the city.
"Furthermore, Pang Xuan has implemented a new policy creating a Supervisory Army. For example, in each Army Marquis Camp, there will be one hundred supervisory soldiers. They are tasked specifically with executing any soldier who attempts to flee in battle. If any of these supervisory soldiers themselves try to flee, their entire clan will be exterminated."
Hearing this, Zhao Feng and the other two generals fell silent.
After a moment, Wang Ben said with a serious expression, "The Zhao Border Army is Zhao’s strongest cavalry. Their horsemanship and archery in nomadic dress are unparalleled. Although our Daqin Elite Soldiers are powerful, in a direct cavalry engagement, we would have almost no chance against them.
"And even during a siege, if the Zhao Cavalry launched a surprise attack, our foot soldiers would be unable to stand against them."
Their style of mounted archery in nomadic attire was, after all, world-renowned.
"It’s unlikely that all 100,000 soldiers of the Frontier Army are cavalry," Zhao Feng said. "If they have even 30,000 cavalry, that would probably account for their entire mounted force."
In his previous life, he had read novels where armies of several hundred thousand cavalry were common. But now, having truly commanded an army, Zhao Feng understood just how rare cavalry actually was.