Twenty miles east of Beirui Mountain, late at night.
A campfire has been lit in the makeshift military camp in Dongpango.
In the blazing firelight, Uesugi Kenshin's face was deathly pale; the heat of the flames could no longer extinguish the growing chill in his heart.
A general with a face covered in blood was kneeling on one knee, reporting the battle situation to Uesugi Kenshin.
His voice was very low, and his lips were trembling.
"General Uesugi, according to incomplete statistics, in today's battle, General Fukushima's right flank suffered more than 26,400 casualties. The central route suffered more than 45,100 casualties."
General Kuroda on the left wing did not engage the enemy and therefore suffered no damage.
Generals Sanada, Usami, and Naoe led a special forces unit that attempted to attack from the enemy's flank, but were ambushed and suffered over 4,000 casualties.
In addition, during the evacuation...
Our army suffered nearly 80,000 casualties in this battle!
At this point, the man's voice was so soft that he could barely hear it himself.
“Eighty thousand died in battle!” Uesugi Kenkatsu blurted out instinctively.
He spoke in a trembling voice, his cold hands shaking slightly. He couldn't tell whether it was from exhaustion after the fighting or from the fear he felt at the sight of the enemy.
"General Uesugi, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war!" Kuroda Hanbei, the strategist sent by Emperor Ashikaga, comforted him.
This person had a white turban wrapped around his head, wore a white monk's robe, and had a pair of sharp eyes.
He frowned deeply after hearing the report.
Uesugi Kenkatsu lowered his head, pinched the bridge of his nose, and messy strands of hair fell from his forehead, making him look very frustrated.
“Strategist, I have fought my whole life, winning battles and losing battles,” said Uesugi Kenkatsu. “But a defeat like today is something I have never encountered before in my life.”
Eighty thousand people, eighty thousand people lost in one day, yet...
Masakatsu Fukushima, standing to the side, clenched his fists, his body trembling, and his face was deathly pale.
They were all renowned generals of Dongpango, known to everyone in Dongpango.
I never expected that upon arriving in Daxia, I would be so thoroughly humiliated by a mere brat!
Inside the main tent, the other generals also lowered their heads and fell into silence.
Not long ago, they had gathered together to discuss countermeasures against Lin Mo. After several days of planning, they devised a meticulous plan and deployed the most reasonable formation, determined to wipe out Lin Mo and his troops in Beirui Mountain.
At that time, they were full of pride and ambition. Many of them even started drinking and making merry after completing their plans, happily talking about their dream of marching into Daxia after annihilating Lin Mo.
And now, in just one day, those previous remarks are so shameful.
At this moment, Naoe Kageyuki, one of the special forces, spoke up, "Gentlemen, there's no need for this. I think the Great Xia army also suffered heavy losses in this battle!"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because these words immediately made everyone angry and agitated!
Like Kuroda's troops, Naoe Kageyuki's forces were deployed in the north and did not encounter the enemy, so they did not participate in the battle.
They received orders to retreat inexplicably and then withdrew from the battlefield one after another.
Naturally, they had no idea how humiliating this defeat was!
"Heavy losses?" Fukushima Masakatsu's expression changed. "Are you trying to humiliate us?"
"Humiliation? General Fukushima, what makes you say that?"
"Hmph!" Fukushima Masakatsu slammed his fist on the table. "I'm asking you, why did you remain inactive after the war started? As a special operations force, is this how you support us?"
"Support? I'm miles away from you!" Naoe Kageyuki retorted. "Your scouts haven't shown up at all. How can I support you?"
“Yes,” Usami Naoie, also a commander of the special operations force, retorted, “the only message we received was to withdraw! What, does being a special operations force mean we can act arbitrarily without following the pre-arranged battle plan?”
“That’s right, General Fukushima, you have a full 100,000 samurai under your command, yet you can’t defeat a mere tens of thousands of Great Xia soldiers?” Naoe Kageyuki sneered. “‘Ropponga’? I think it’s all hype!”
"You! Baka!" Fukushima Masakatsu cursed angrily.
"Baka, what do you think you're doing?" the other two generals roared back.
"No, that's not right. This time it's Sanada's fault!" Fukushima continued to shift the blame. "Sanada Yukiki. The plan was to circle around behind Lin Mo and attack from both sides. But what were you doing after the fighting started?"
The most frustrated person must be Yukiki Sanada.
According to the plan, he was to detour around Nanpei Mountain to contain Lin Mo's main force.
And that's exactly what he did after the battle began.
Everything was going smoothly, and Sanada Yukiki's troops successfully reached their destination.
Strangely, Lin Mo suddenly transferred all his main forces to support Xiang Yu's troops.
This move completely baffled Yukiki Sanada.
Dongpango does not produce fine horses, and the Xia cavalry are fast. Sanada Yukiharu ordered a pursuit, but before they could catch up, he heard Uesugi Kenshin's retreat horn.
This left Yukiki Sanada completely stunned.
He just watched the other armies retreat with a blank expression, wondering if he should just stay and wait to die.
So, Sanada Yukiki led his men in a big circle and inexplicably retreated.
"How can you blame me?" Sanada Yukiki was completely flustered. "It wasn't me who ordered the retreat!"
Upon hearing this, everyone instinctively looked at their commander, Uesugi Kenshin.
The pressure is now on Kenshin Uesugi.
To be honest, when Huo Tong betrayed Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu was attacked from the flank. Why did Uesugi Kenshin insist on retreating?
Uesugi Kenshin had no way to express his suffering!
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
