Jinting Han people

Chapter 199 The Eve of Another Battle (4k)

After losing 3,000 soldiers and without Sun Xiu's constraints, the generals of the Jin army discussed countermeasures and felt that they were not without a chance of victory.

Li Han's point was that, based on the experience of the previous battle, the rebels only had six or seven thousand elite troops. This group included cavalry and armor, while the rest of the troops had little combat power and were even somewhat hesitant to advance. In the next decisive battle, if they could locate the enemy's elite troops, abandon the rest of the troops, and defeat them first, the rest of the rebels would crumble.

Beigong Chun agreed with his assessment. He was renowned in the army for his ability to defeat thousands of enemies, his prowess unrivaled. Yet, yesterday was the first time he had fought such a humiliating battle, losing before he even had a chance to shine. He felt indignant. Of all the generals present, he was the most eager to avenge his previous defeat.

Therefore, Beigong Chun took the initiative to propose that the army should be divided into two armies, the front and the rear, with the cavalry as the front and the infantry as the rear. When going into battle, he would lead the cavalry in the lead, while the rear would raid the enemy lines as a follow-up.

If he breaks through the enemy's formation, the generals will lead the rear army to press forward. If he is at a disadvantage in the battle, he can also use the mobility of the cavalry to find a way to withdraw and wait for another opportunity to fight. If the enemy is relentless in pursuit, the generals can first gather the crossbowmen to catch the enemy's elite troops by surprise.

This was a well-established strategy. In fact, they had already done so during the previous battle. It was simply because Sun Xiu lacked military knowledge that the Jin army failed to capitalize on its inherent advantages. Now that the rebels had secured a temporary victory, they were likely to have replenished their armor, making the conditions for victory even more demanding than before. But there was no other option but to grit their teeth and continue the fight.

After some discussion, everyone assigned their tasks. Liu Xian's previous performance had been well-regarded by everyone, who considered him trustworthy. So, following Zhang Guang and Beigong Chun's suggestion, they handed over all the remaining crossbows to him, leaving him and Li Ju to support Beigong Chun at the rear.

Li Han and Zhang Guang were responsible for the left and right wings respectively, while Bai Yun served as the backup, and would go to help wherever the front line was at a disadvantage.

As for Zhang Fang, who had been rapidly promoted, while everyone recognized his bravery on the battlefield, they also harbored concerns about his cannibalism. Furthermore, Zhang Fang came from a poor family and had now become associated with Sun Xiu. The generals of the Western Expedition Army subconsciously marginalized him, allowing him to serve under Bai Yun, leading a group of wounded and weak troops.

With that, everyone's respective tasks were completed. By this time, daybreak had already begun, and the generals present were exhausted. They bid farewell to one another and returned to their respective camps to rest. Liu Xian hadn't rested in almost two days and nights. Upon returning to his tent, he collapsed onto the couch, quickly slipping into a drowsy state.

When I woke up again, it was five hours later.

But after working so hard for so long, as soon as he took a rest, the fatigue in his body was completely released, making Liu Xian feel sore all over and dizzy. In particular, several old injuries on his body flared up at the same time, like a steel knife scraping through his muscles, making Liu Xian cry out in pain. He lay on the couch for about half an hour before he finally recovered from this torment.

He walked out of the tent. It was already dusk. The light of the setting sun was no longer scorching, but so warm that it reminded people of a cradle. The clouds in the sky were also soft, reminding people of orange peels and rape flowers.

After Liu Xian washed his face with cold water again, he couldn't help but be dazed for a while until Li Sheng patted his shoulder from behind. He was stunned at first, then he reacted belatedly. He stood up and said with a wry smile, "Alas, now I know what it means to make a strong effort at the beginning, then decline, and finally run out of energy."

Li Sheng was concerned about the conversation last night and asked, "My Lord, how did things go last night?"

Liu Xian rubbed his eyes and replied, "Sun Xiu promised not to interfere, on the condition that we fight again in five days."

"Is there any chance of winning?"

"Before I woke up, I thought there was still some." Liu Xian rubbed the hidden injury on his shoulder, which was still numb, and couldn't help but sigh, "But now, I only care about one thing, which is how the soldiers are recovering."

After saying this, he immediately led Li Sheng to inspect the situation in the tents under his command.

As he had expected, a considerable number of soldiers remained slumped in their beds, unconscious. Even those who had awoke were often weak and hazy, with no interest in eating or drinking. Worse still, some, despite being uninjured, had developed high fevers and were clearly no longer capable of fighting.

Liu Xian went to the wounded camp and saw that the situation was even worse. Because the defeat had come without warning, the civilians in the camp had not been replaced, resulting in most of the wounded being left unattended.

The lightly wounded soldiers could still rely on self-healing, but the seriously injured soldiers' condition was rapidly deteriorating. The entire camp was filled with the stench of pus. Dozens of them had reached the incurable stage, with only their last breaths remaining. Several more had died quietly, and no one in the camp knew about it.

This silent death could destroy the army's morale and also bring plague. Liu Xian did not dare to neglect it. He quickly sent people to Fenyin City to summon a hundred civilians. They dug a pit outside the camp, wrapped the bodies in bamboo mats, and buried them on the spot. At the same time, they erected a wooden plaque for them, wrote their names on it, and piled some small stones on it, which became a tombstone.

Looking at these sloppily written tombstones, Liu Xian couldn't help but wonder, is five days really enough time to adjust morale?
But now that things had come to this, there was no room for regret. With the camp almost paralyzed, he could only do his best to help the Jin army win this battle. If they lost, the consequences would be unacceptable to himself, Hedong, and Xiayang.

Therefore, he followed his pre-arranged plan, armed with military orders, and went battalion by battalion to collect crossbow mechanisms. However, the results were less than optimistic. Zhang Gui had originally transferred 2,000 crossbow mechanisms from Chang'an, all powerful crossbows capable of breaking armor. However, during the Battle of Jishan, the fleeing soldiers found the crossbow mechanisms too heavy, and most of them were lost on the battlefield. In the end, Liu Xian only found 400 crossbow mechanisms.

This was bad news, as it meant the Xiongnu might have lost control of 1,600 crossbow bolts, a potent weapon on the battlefield. Liu Xian couldn't help but wonder: could Beigong Chun's cavalry truly defeat the rebels under the threat of so many crossbow bolts? His only consolation was that the crossbow bolts were specially crafted, unlike ordinary arrows. If the Xiongnu used up all the crossbow bolts captured on the battlefield, they would be left with nothing.

However, the most pressing issue to be resolved was morale. Liu Xian was helpless in this regard. He had neither the power to reward his soldiers nor sufficient prestige. The best he could do was to inspire his men by sharing hardships with them. However, this was not a panacea, especially after a defeat, which could easily lead others to mistake him for incompetence.

It was Li Han who came up with a solution. On the morning of the third day, he announced to the entire army that Sun Changshi had transferred another 10,000 reinforcements from Chang'an and they were on the way. As long as the Jin army could hold the Huns in Hedong for ten days, victory would be certain.

He spoke with such confidence that if Liu Xian had not been told in advance that it was a lie, he would probably have believed it to be true.

But whether it's truth or a lie, as long as people believe it, it can have a tangible impact on reality. After the news spread, the soldiers' morale did improve. The situation, which had previously been miserable, became acceptable. By the afternoon of the fifth day, the army had recovered to a level ready for battle. Liu Xian met with the generals again to confirm the time for the next move and the details of the battle. Everyone quickly said goodbye and took the time to prepare for rest. For many in the camp, this was likely to be the last night of rest in their lives.

Liu Xian had been planning to rest early, but when he was making his bed, Zhang Guang suddenly came up to him and said, "Huai Chong, I have something to give you."

The "things" he was talking about were six military drums about eight feet high, all of which were finely crafted and had gorgeous appearances. There were also lifelike tiger patterns painted on the drum surfaces. Now they were placed outside Liu Xian's tent, looking quite spectacular.

Liu Xian was confused and asked, "Isn't this a military drum for conducting? What did Brother Jingwu give it to me for?"

Zhang Guang smiled and explained, "Huai Chong, aren't you in the center of the army? Although we've agreed that each unit will cooperate with each other and command their own troops, there still needs to be someone to coordinate and coordinate, and the sound of drums is needed to boost morale. So these drums are all handed over to you. Once on the battlefield, you must provide thorough protection!"

"But...why didn't you tell me in advance?"

"Alas, time is short and I've been so busy that I simply forgot to mention it. Take it!"

Although Zhang Guang did not say it explicitly, Liu Xian could probably guess their intention.

Based on the experience of the previous battle, the Xiongnu's tactics were nothing more than targeting the Jin army's command system and forcing a breakthrough in the center. Although Sun Xiu had simply abandoned his army and fled, the Xiongnu did put enough pressure on them, so this time everyone decided to disperse their command.

But in this case, these drums became a hot potato. After all, war always requires drums to boost morale, but in the eyes of the Xiongnu, this is the breakthrough point they need to focus on tearing down. After the defeat, the others were unwilling to bear this pressure, so they handed it to Liu Xian.

At this point, Liu Xian couldn't refuse, but there was still one thing he wanted to understand.

Liu Xian pointed at Sun Xiu's tent in the distance and whispered:
"Does Sun Changshi know about this?"

Seeing Zhang Guang's embarrassed look, Liu Xian also understood.

To put it bluntly, Sun Xiu was also a jealous person. Taking over these drums meant he would be the nominal commander of the battle. Losing would mean imprisonment and punishment, while winning would mean his credit would be taken away. It was indeed a very unwelcome position. Liu Xian had already offended Sun Xiu, so everyone thought he was a case of too many lice to worry about, so they simply let him take over.

Great! The entire army was filled with fourth-rank officers, and now it was his turn as a sixth-rank county magistrate to be the commander-in-chief! Liu Xian found it both absurd and amusing. It reminded him of the old days when Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang started the uprising.

After Chen Sheng's uprising, the entire Pei County community responded by killing the county magistrate. Among the insurgents, the highest-ranking official was actually Xiao He. As a clerk in Sishui County, he had received the highest performance rating in the prefecture, qualifying him for an official position in Xianyang. Next in line was Cao Shen, a prison official in Pei County, known at the time as a powerful and influential official. In comparison, Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang had only once served as a village head and under Xiao Shen. However, by the time of the uprising, he had already lost his official position and was nothing more than a penniless bandit.

After the rebellion, the people of Pei County naturally wanted to nominate a high-ranking official as the new county magistrate. However, Xiao He and Cao Shen, both feeling their futures were bleak and fearing that if the rebellion failed, they would be punished by the Qin Dynasty as the ringleaders of the rebellion, so they hesitated to accept the position. Other prominent officials followed suit, with one pushing the offer to the other. After much deliberation, everyone finally reached a consensus and made Liu Bang, already guilty of a capital crime, the scapegoat.

Among all the people pushing and shoving each other present, no one could have expected that this was the starting point of Liu Bang's glorious military career.

This situation is somewhat similar to that of the past.

Thinking of this, Liu Xian no longer refused. He smiled at Zhang Guang and said, "I just hope that when the time comes, everyone won't think I'm just beating the drum randomly."

With this, the final handover before the battle was complete. Liu Xian carried the drums to his tent and flicked the drum leather with his fingers. The drumhead immediately responded with a deep drumbeat. Liu Xian smiled to himself and went to sleep again.

This time, he had a long dream. He dreamed of walking beside a frozen river. The sky and earth were gray and gloomy, the grass and trees withered and dead, and only a stone pagoda stood amidst the withered grass in the north wind. Beside the pagoda, farewell guests rode on horses, someone played a flute, and relatives shook hands and said goodbye, then rode away, disappearing into the sky, never to be seen again.

Liu Xian felt lonely and sad in this dead silence. He wondered when spring would come and when his family would be reunited.

Just as he was thinking, something strange happened in the sky. A volcano of fire fell from the sky, like a rain of fire, and countless wailing sounds followed. Liu Xian looked around in confusion, trying to identify the source of the sound, only to see a huge rock falling from the sky, smashing towards him!
Liu Xian suddenly woke up with a start. He sat up from the bed and touched his forehead, only to find that he was sweating coldly. It turned out that he had a nightmare. But strangely, the sound in his ears was still there. What happened?

With this thought in mind, Liu Xian stood up, walked out of the tent, and looked around. He saw that the camp gate not far away had caught fire. In the darkness, specks of sparks pierced the night sky, gathering into a ball of flame. The Jin soldiers in that area were fleeing in panic, wailing as they did so. Panic was spreading rapidly through the Jin army camp.

It was a night attack! No one had expected that the last time the rebels had taken the initiative in launching a joint battle, after their victory, they hadn't rested for a long time, but instead had taken the initiative again and launched a surprise attack!

The fire illuminated the night sky and most of the Jin army soldiers were awakened, but in this unexpected situation, they were mostly at a loss.

Under these circumstances, a defeat seemed inevitable.

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(End of this chapter)