In the temporary encampment of the northern Wuhuan, Han Qing found the gloomy-faced Sheli with the compiled casualty figures.

"Lord Shariputra! In this battle, our army suffered a total of over 1,500 casualties, with 1,000 killed, 300 lightly wounded, and 200 seriously wounded!"

"What?! So many casualties in just one battle?!"

Although he was somewhat prepared, Reishi still found it hard to accept the casualty figures. Less than 30% of the troops had been killed or wounded in the first battle, and the team was on the verge of collapse!

"What should we do? Should we just retreat like this? If they occupy this place, with the Han backing them, it will be difficult for us to take it back in the future."

Relic looked at Han Qing unwillingly. He didn't want to give up like this and hoped that Han Qing could give him some advice or a reason that could convince him.

"this....."

Han Qing also began to frown and think. He was originally a powerful and ruthless person. As for how to harm the common people, that was his specialty, but he really didn't have the skills to devise strategies.

All those ideas he had before were given to him by Wang Ming. Now that Wang Ming isn't around, how can he come up with any good ideas?

"Mr. Han??"

Seeing that Han Qing remained silent, Sheli frowned and spoke up to remind him, his tone tinged with displeasure.

"Ah?... Oh, Lord Relic, I've thought of a way!!" Han Qing, whose thoughts had been interrupted by Relic, was suddenly awakened and hurriedly said.

Relic looked at Han Qing with an anxious expression, "What is the solution? Tell me quickly!"

"Lord Shariputra, in today's battle, most of our casualties were caused by the enemy's arrows! In direct combat, we suffered only about three hundred casualties. I believe that as long as we can block their arrows, we will definitely defeat them completely in one battle!"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Han is right!! If it weren't for those archers, we might already be sitting in their camp drinking victory wine!!"

Reli nodded repeatedly, looking enlightened. The dense arrow formation could indeed greatly restrain their cavalry charge.

"But how can we dodge their arrows? You saw it today, Qiuliju and Nanlou even killed their own people. If we fight them again, it will be very disadvantageous for our army!"

Then, Relic looked at Han Qing with a hesitant expression. Today's indiscriminate volley had certainly broadened his horizons.

In Sheli's view, it was because Qiuliju and the others knew that they could not defeat him, so they used this suicidal tactic. As long as he could not withstand the casualties, their goal would be achieved after they retreated.

As enemies and adversaries, what is the most important thing? It is to never let the other party get what they want, no matter what.

Clearly, the relic was caught up in this mindset: you want to control this vital passage and prevent us from heading south in the future? Well then, I'll make sure you don't get your way.

"Switch from riding to foot!!"

"Change from cavalry to infantry?"

Upon hearing Han Qing's idea, Relic was immediately taken aback, and then asked, "What do you mean?"

Han Qing smiled and said, "Lord Sheli, think about it. Those archers are just ordinary herdsmen. Even they can draw their bows, so their strength is not that great. The reason they were able to cause casualties to our army is simply because our army has no armor. Therefore, I think a wooden shield is enough to defend against them."

"Hmm, that makes sense. Continue!"

Relic nodded, clearly agreeing with Han Qing's statement.

Han Qing then continued, "Therefore, Lord Sheli, tomorrow you only need to send two thousand soldiers with large shields in front to block the arrows, and three thousand cavalry to follow closely behind outside the range of the arrows to prevent their surprise attack. Then advance slowly, and wait to engage them in close combat at the last moment!"

"Great idea!! Let's do it this way!"

Upon hearing Han Qing's suggestion, Sheli's eyes lit up. He could see from today's battle that Qiuliju and the others were determined to defend this place to the death. Their high vantage point and fortified position were very disadvantageous for Heli, whose troops were all cavalry.

Han Qing's conversion of cavalry to infantry, while sacrificing the flexibility of cavalry, proved to be more effective than cavalry in siege warfare.

Then, Reishi ordered the entire army to cut down trees in a forest west of their camp to make large wooden shields for the infantry.

On the other side, Qiu Liju and Nanlou listened to the casualty figures reported by their subordinates, their eyelids twitching with heartache.

Their losses were no less severe than those of the Sheli side, with over 600 dead or wounded in direct combat and over 400 killed or wounded by Huangfu Song's arrows.

But they still dared not utter a word of complaint. They realized that if Huangfu Song had not ordered indiscriminate archery, they would have suffered even more casualties if they had been defeated head-on by Sheli's men. Originally, they harbored resentment towards Huangfu Song, but now they secretly felt fortunate.

Just as the two were discussing, their scouts suddenly came to report on the movements of the relics.

Qiu Liju and Nanlou immediately sensed something was wrong, so they hurriedly went to Huangfu Song to ask for a solution.

"Commander Huangfu, what do you think we should do?"

"Hehe~ Relic is only courting death by doing this, no need to worry about it! You two just need to go back and rest well. Tomorrow will be Relic's end!"

Seeing their nervous expressions, Huangfu Song simply smiled and casually reassured them.

Huangfu Song's original goal was to force them to dismount and fight on foot, thus depriving them of their flexibility and mobility. Only in this way could he prevent them from escaping to the greatest extent possible and then completely annihilate them.

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