Isolated town in northern border region

On the evening of the fifth day, when the last plank of the last suspension bridge over the Tiger Roaring River was nailed in place, a deafening cheer erupted from the north bank.

Six three-section suspension bridges span the river, resembling six giant gray-brown pythons crawling on the water. The bridge planks still carry the scent of freshly sawn wood varnish, and the ropes sway gently in the evening breeze.

Xiao Lie stood at the bridgehead and stepped on the first plank. The plank did not move, only making a dull sound.

"The entire army crosses the river."

Eighty thousand elite troops from the northern frontier began to cross the river in batches along six suspension bridges. The horses' hooves pounded on the wooden planks with a dull thud, the infantry stood in neat rows, and their swords and spears gleamed darkly in the twilight.

After the vanguard crossed the river, they quickly set up a perimeter on the south bank. Once they confirmed there were no ambushes, they gave a signal, and the follow-up troops began to accelerate their crossing.

The wind blowing across the river from the south bank carried the scent of earth and vegetation—the land of Chen, the land Xiao Lie was about to conquer.

Chen Guo's camp on the opposite bank was already empty.

Yan Que did not choose to fight a decisive battle on the riverbank. Instead, he withdrew his 120,000 troops to the hilly area forty miles south of the Huxiao River.

The hilly terrain was undulating, with large and small hills scattered about. Every hundred paces there was a small military camp, and the camps were connected by trenches and antlers, like a gray spider web spread across the land.

Yan Que sat in his tent atop the central hill, a map spread out before him, each military camp marked with a number and the number of soldiers stationed there.

His eyes were deep and unfathomable, as if they showed no emotion whatsoever. But if someone stared at them for a long time, they would find that there was not a trace of human emotion in them.

"Each village was garrisoned with between eight hundred and one thousand soldiers, and the distance between them was no more than one li (approximately 500 kilometers). They communicated using flags."

The deputy general stood beside him, pointing at the map.

"Xiao Lie's cavalry is invincible on the plains and his artillery is also powerful, but once they enter the hills, the cavalry can't run fast and the artillery can't cover the entire army."

"Every time he attacked a village, he would be attacked from the flanks by three other villages."

Yan Que neither nodded nor shook his head, but his gaze slowly swept across the map.

"What happens after the village is breached?"

The lieutenant was taken aback.

"After the city was breached... the defending troops were either killed in battle or forced to retreat."

Yan Que drew a line on the map with his finger.

"A fight to the death? Could they possibly defeat the elite elite troops?"

"Evacuate? Xiao Lie won't let a single one escape!"

"Pass down the order: once the lower camp is forced to retreat, the upper camp should immediately roll barrels of burning oil down and ignite them with fire arrows, inflicting maximum losses on the Chu army!"

The lieutenant's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded.

Yan Que noticed it and lingered on his face for a few more moments.

"Just say what you have to say."

The lieutenant hesitated for a moment.

"General, the soldiers' morale has been low lately..."

"The shelling along the riverbank those past few days was something I've never seen before, even as a brother."

"Moreover, General Yuanjia's 30,000 men were wiped out in Jingzhou overnight. After the news came, the people below were somewhat afraid."

"If we were to use fire now, it would be tantamount to cutting off our brothers' chance of survival, and I'm afraid..."

Yan Que did not respond immediately. He remained silent for a while, his voice devoid of any discernible emotion.

"Pass this on—everyone who survives this battle will be rewarded with ten taels of silver and promoted one rank."

"If anyone dares to undermine morale, send them to the military camp at the foot of the mountain and let them be the first to die!"

The lieutenant accepted the order and left, but as he stepped out of the tent, he glanced back at Yan Que's retreating figure and felt a chill run down his spine.

Inside the camp, the atmosphere was even more somber than he had imagined.

Several soldiers sat around the fire, the flames flickering and casting intermittent light on their faces.

A young soldier held a dry ration in his hand, took a bite, and then put it down, as if he couldn't taste anything.

"Did you see those cannons by the river those few days?"

The person next to him chimed in.

"I saw it! That thing was louder than thunder!"

"I glanced out from the north bank and saw a burst of fire, then the whole ship was gone!"

The third person lowered their voice.

"General Yuanjia's 30,000 men were wiped out overnight, and Xiao Lie even built a mound of skulls... What if we get surrounded too..."

The first soldier to speak interrupted him.

"Stop talking."

But his hands were trembling, and his fingers were shaking slightly as he held the dry rations.

Xiao Lie stood on the edge of the hill, looking at the outline of the layered military camps in the distance, and remained silent for a long time.

Luo Daniu squatted on a nearby rock, squeezing a handful of soil in his hand and kneading it repeatedly.

"Your Highness! This Yan Que is far more ruthless than Yuan Jia!"

"His tactics are simply using lives to buy time!"

Xiao Xiong jumped off his horse and pointed into the distance.

"Not only ruthless, but also very shrewd!"

"Each village had a watchtower, and they communicated with each other using flags."

"If we attack any one of them, the other villages will be able to see it, and we can complete the encirclement within half an incense stick's time."

Xiao Lie stared at the military camp, his gaze sweeping over the gray-yellow walls and the faintly visible flagpoles, calculating repeatedly in his mind.

He thought for a long time, then pointed to the nearest village.

"Let's take down this one first!"

"Chen Hu, divide your artillery into two groups. One group bombards the gate from the front, while the other group suppresses the villages on the left and right sides to prevent them from coming to our aid."

"Luo Daniu, lead the Trapped Camp to charge in from the front. Don't linger in the battle. After breaking through the gate, quickly clear out the garrison inside the village. Stop once you've taken the village."

"Xiao Xiong, you lead the Canglang cavalry to roam behind the stronghold. If things go wrong, immediately charge into the enemy reinforcements and cover the brothers' retreat."

The first day's attack lasted from dawn until dusk.

The cannons roared at dawn, and the first volley of shells smashed open the gates of the stockade. The elite troops poured in through the breach, and the defenders inside the stockade hastily prepared for battle.

The Chen army in that village collapsed in less than an hour. Some threw down their weapons and ran down the hillside, while others knelt on the ground with their hands raised.

Luo Daniu did not pursue, but instead stayed at the village as ordered by Xiao Lie, waiting for the advance the next day.

But the next moment, countless broken wooden barrels rolled down the hillside, leaving behind a trail of viscous kerosene.

Luo Daniu's seasoned intuition sounded an alarm in his mind!

"retreat!"

The Trapped Camp quickly withdrew from the camp, and then countless rockets attacked, turning the entire camp into a sea of ​​fire. Those Chen soldiers who were unable to escape rushed out of the camp gate covered in flames, screaming as they fell to the ground.

Luo Dani swallowed hard and looked up to the south.

"Is this even human?!"

On the second, third, and fourth days, Xiao Lie used the same method to eliminate those military camps one after another.

The Vanguard Battalion was responsible for the frontal assault, the artillery for suppressing the flanks, and the Wolf Riders for covering the rear.

There were casualties every day, and villages were captured every day, but after each village was captured, troops had to be sent to garrison it.

By the seventh day, he had captured seven fortified villages, killing more than 3,000 men and wounding nearly 10,000.

Meanwhile, those captured villages needed to be guarded by people, and the military strength was being diluted little by little.

Yan Que sat in the central command tent, listening to the battle reports from each camp every day, his expression remaining unchanged.

When the deputy general reported the day's casualty figures to him, he flipped through the documents on the table without even looking up.

"Understood, we'll add it to the next village."

The lieutenant hesitated for a moment.

"General..."

Yan Que looked up at him.

"Um?"

The lieutenant lowered his voice.

"The soldiers said Xiao Lie's cannons were too powerful, and the brothers were a little scared."

Yan Que put down his pen, remained silent for a while, and then spoke.

"Oh? Then let's grab a few, kill them, and hang their heads at the camp gate."

The lieutenant said nothing more and left the tent.

He stood outside the tent for a while before realizing that his back was completely soaked with sweat.

On the evening of the ninth day, Xiao Lie sat on his horse, looking at the village that had just been captured in the distance, his brows furrowed.

When Luo Daniu ran back from the front, his armor still had dried bloodstains on it.

"Your Highness, the village ahead has been captured."

He took a breath.

"But the brothers were starting to break down. They had been fighting for nine days straight and were just barely holding on."

"Moreover, the shells are being consumed rapidly. Chen Hu said that at this rate, by the time we take down these hills, we'll be out of shells."

Xiao Lie remained silent, his gaze fixed on the highest mountain in the distance, where Yan Que's central army was located.

"There's no other way; we don't have time to waste with him. We'll just have to use artillery!"

Back in his tent, Xiao Lie sat down at his desk with a map spread out in front of him.

The captured villages are marked with red circles; there are still dozens of villages remaining. At this rate, it will take at least a month and a half to conquer all the remaining villages, and half a month of the three-month deadline has already passed.

As he stared blankly at the map, he heard hurried footsteps outside the tent. A messenger lifted the curtain and entered, holding a small bamboo tube in his hand.

"Your Highness, a letter has been sent by carrier pigeon from the capital, written by the Princess herself."

Xiao Lie took the bamboo tube, uncorked it, and unfolded the paper strip inside.

The handwriting on the paper was Jiang Min's, and the strokes were slightly tighter than usual.

Accidents have occurred one after another at steel mills across the Great Chu, with many destroyed. Several transport railways leading to the southern front have also been damaged, disrupting the supply of artillery shells and provisions for some time.

Xiao Lie placed the note on the table and remained silent for a moment.

Luo Daniu leaned over and took a look. Although he couldn't recognize all the characters, he could guess the general idea.

"Your Highness... we're out of cannonballs? Should we still fight?"

Xiao Lie did not answer. He stared at the map, his finger slowly tracing over the unmarked hilltops.

"beat!"

"And we need to win even faster!"

"If the State of Chen is not destroyed, the States of Yan and Shu will only become more unscrupulous!"

"Jiang Jun will definitely support them secretly. Then, our Great Chu will be dragged into the quagmire!"