Chapter 216 I'm Really Shameful
People say that General Huo and General Yun defeated Wushuang.
But now there is another name, which has spread far further than "General Lion Power" and "General Mysterious Power" and makes people shudder at the mere mention of it -
Sheep General: Jiao Zuotai.
Treat "people" as "sheep", capture them, keep them in captivity, slaughter them, and eat their meat.
They eat the people of Nan and beat the people of Nan.
After a destructive campaign of looting, smashing, and burning, the century-old city was set on fire, leaving behind only broken walls and ruins. Then, the Sheepman General Jiao Zuotai, with 200,000 black-scaled cavalrymen who fed on humans, left.
Originally, Yun Chen and others had kept the secret about this terrifying "cannibal enemy army" for fear of shaking the morale of the army.
But the distance was thousands of miles and there were countless cities, and wherever the Black Scale Cavalry passed, it was like a swarm of locusts.
As soon as they saw the people of Nan Country, the Black Scale Cavalry were like hungry wolves that had not eaten for three days seeing sheep. They either killed them at will or took them all captive.
Regardless of gender, age or status, they were first raped and enslaved, then brutally killed, and finally put into the pot and became rations for the Black Scale Cavalry.
At the beginning, Jiao Zuotai and others knew to dig a泔水坑 and bury the bones to cover up this inhumane act of cannibalism.
But later, as the war lasted longer and the situation became more urgent, they simply stopped hiding.
Huo Gannian and Yun Chen pursued the enemy all the way and saw corpses floating for thousands of miles, wailing everywhere, and piles of bloody bones on the roadside, which shocked all the soldiers of the Lion Army and made them cry.
Carrying this national hatred and family feud, the Lion Army drove the Black Scale Cavalry back to the border city of Guying in one breath.
Because of the successive efforts to recover lost territory in the war zones, the Lion Army has left nearly 100,000 men behind to defend cities along the way, shouldering the heavy responsibility of rebuilding the city-states and comforting the people.
Ye Yan and Hua Jue were responsible for rebuilding the Huo Gang branches in various places, and they also led the Huo Gang brothers to rush around.
Today, the Lion Army has a strength of 200,000 soldiers, which is equivalent to the 200,000 Black Scale Cavalry who firmly occupy Guying City.
However, Guying City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The city is surrounded by dense mountains and the terrain is complex. The Lion Army is at a geographical disadvantage.
Secondly, the Black Scale Cavalry has 200,000 strong soldiers and their warhorses are superior, making them far more powerful than the 20,000 cavalry of the Lion Power Army.
Since the story of the "Sheep Man General" spread, the morale of the Lion Army has plummeted, and they've become extremely frustrated. Everyone is saying, "How can we fight without horses? We can't even outrun them. Before we can even take two steps, they're being captured and used as 'army rations'!"
Thirdly, there are 20,000 captured Dongyan soldiers as hostages in Guying City since it fell into enemy control.
And General Yan Shijiu of Dawn, who had been captured for half a year and whose life or death was unknown.
The Lion Army was unable to attack head-on, and the battle once again fell into a stalemate.
Huo Gannian and Yun Chen led a group of military advisors, deputy generals, and capable generals, and thought hard for several days in the commander-in-chief's tent, but they could not come up with any plan to win the battle.
Zhi Luo said: "Guying City is now an iron wall. A direct attack would be too costly. It is better to attack strategically. Can we devise a plan to lure the enemy out of their lair so that we can engage in battle?"
Rong Yi smacked his teeth. "What the military advisor said makes sense, but the city is surrounded by mountains, plains, rivers, and swamps, and the terrain is complex. We have few horses, and they are not as strong and good as the enemy's war horses. Even if we use a trick to lure the enemy out, I'm afraid we won't have the advantage and won't be able to outrun them!"
Rong Jiang pondered for a while, pointed to the side and rear of Guying City on the map, and tentatively suggested:
"How about we take a longer route, go around the eastern border, and then outflank the Black Scale Cavalry from both inside and outside?"
After he finished speaking, Rong Jiang felt a little embarrassed to see everyone looking at him like a fool, but he still asked:
"Why...is my suggestion so bad?"
Rong Yi put his arm around Rong Jiang's neck and said with a teasing smile, "Not bad, very good!" Then he pointed at the map and cursed:
"What's that to the east? See those words? 'Lintian Peak'. The highest and steepest peaks in all of Nan Country! Even eagles can't fly over them. How are hundreds of thousands of people supposed to get over there? Are they supposed to sleepwalk over them?"
Rong Jiang blushed with embarrassment and stopped talking. Luo Dongdong, who was standing beside him, took over the conversation and pointed to a large empty area in the south and asked:
"Here? Just go this way!"
Rong Yi looked disgusted and couldn't help but slap Luo Dongdong on the head. "You're a living father, right? That's the sea! How are hundreds of thousands of us going to get across? Spend thirty years building a ship? Or spend three hundred years turning into fish?"
Seeing that Luo Dongdong was embarrassed, Zhiluo hurried out to rescue him, and his soft voice interrupted, easing the atmosphere:
"There's no need to waste time building warships that can carry tens of thousands of people. Hundreds of ships each carrying a thousand men would be enough. They could serve as the vanguard and charge into Guying City. Once the city is breached, the remaining main forces can attack."
That's one way.
Everyone looked at Huo Gannian and Yun Chen.
Yun Chen shook her head: "No. The closer the warship gets to the shore, the slower it will go." She gestured on the map with her hand and continued:
"If we rely solely on our soldiers charging on foot to cover this last bit of distance, I'm afraid they'll all become sitting ducks."
Huo Gannian nodded in agreement. "If we can solve the difficulty of traveling quickly over this last distance, and with the Huo Gang's boats, we can try a naval attack."
Solve one problem, and a new one immediately arises.
Everyone gathered in a circle in front of the map, thinking hard.
After a long while, Luo Dongdong said whimsically:
"We simply have too few horses. The Black Scale Cavalry has 200,000 warhorses, and we only have 20,000. We can't outrun them, and we can't kick down the city gates. Otherwise, we could just jump off the boat with our horses, rush ashore, and charge into Guying City like the wind!"
Rong Yi didn't even raise his eyelids, and raised his hand to hit Luo Dongdong on the head.
Everyone treated Luo Dongdong's words as a joke and let it go after listening to them.
Only Yun Chen's face froze, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Huo Gannian saw it, raised the corner of his eyelids slightly, and then quickly dropped them. He was shocked in his heart, but there was no trace of emotion on his face.
Zhiluo also noticed Yunchen. She looked puzzled and was about to ask a question when Huo Gannian spoke casually:
"Let's focus on land warfare and siege, and don't think too much about anything else."
After saying that, Huo Gannian glanced at Zhiluo casually, and a slightly stern look immediately suppressed the doubts in Zhiluo's heart.
After discussing for most of the day without any results, it was already night, so Huo Gan ordered everyone to rest and only left Zhiluo behind.
As if anticipating a reprimand from his superiors, Zhi Luo stood still in the tent, looking nervous and trying to appear calm and solemn.
Huo Gannian didn't have any special expression. He just looked at Zhiluo indifferently, without saying a word, until Zhiluo felt uneasy.
Even though He Yunchen became a major general, he still talked and laughed with the soldiers, and was very close to them, without any airs.
Even though Huo Gannian did not hold any official position, he just sat there alone, exuding the aura of a strong, sharp, and calm superior.
But he would completely restrain this kind of aura in front of Yun Chen.
When she thought of this, Zhi Luo felt a sudden pang of pain in her heart, and she could hardly keep a straight face.
"General, are you going to reprimand me for what happened in Yancheng half a year ago? I rashly suggested that General Yun take the risk alone to steal the defense map, and nearly lost his life?"
Huo Gannian remained silent and said nothing.
Zhi Luo had no choice but to ask again: "Is it about today's matter? I did notice that General Yun wanted to say something, but I didn't bring it up this time."
Huo Gannian still didn't say anything.
Looking at those phoenix eyes that seemed to see through everything, Zhi Luo felt a little anxious and said directly:
"If Zhiluo is wrong, please let me know, General!"
Huo Gannian shook his head, but what he said made Zhiluo embarrassed:
"Military Advisor, you're worrying too much. Besides securing Yingcheng, there's another, more important matter: the safety of the city's inhabitants and the captive Dongyan soldiers. This matter must be kept secret to prevent any unforeseen consequences. Military Advisor, please consider a countermeasure."
Huo Gannian cared about the people, but she knew Luo was full of selfish thoughts, which made her feel ashamed.
Avoiding Huo Gannian's gaze, Zhi Luo quickly took the order and retreated.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
