Vol 9 Chapter 86 (2/2)

“Hai~ Yes. First, we lost a warrior general to a duel and then we got caught in a pincer attack. Next, I lost my spear and we lost many troops just to break through the surround.” I voiced out what I had been thinking about and felt sorrowful as ever before raising my head to do what I always did, “Ah yes, I lost my hat too.”

“Hai… Looks like we’ll have to reorganise our forces and rethink our strategies from here on out.” Cao Ren said as her smile faded away and was replaced by a serious expression, “This campaign did not get off to a good start at all and now our initially 30,000 strong force has now been reduced to slightly more than 20,000.”

I spied at Cao Ren as she said so and saw that though her expression did not change much, she was far easier to read as I could see her hand gripping her thigh tightly.

It was clear that this loss was no small blow to Cao Ren. As the commanding officer of the vanguard of the southern campaign, Cao Ren is ultimately responsible for this mistake. And as the vanguard of the vanguard, I should be even more responsible for this loss and our casualties.

And so, I decided to salute her now, “Lord Cao Ren, this battle was my–”

“No, there’s no need to say such things. You win some, you lose some. In battles and in life.” Cao Ren interrupted me just as I was about to claim responsibility for the battle and she then flashed me her signature smile, “If all you’re concerned with is what happened in the past, you will be unable to advance.”

“… Yes.” I nodded and withdrew my hands. As I looked at Cao Ren, I could not help but to see the figure of my lord. Compared to my lord however, Cao Ren is a lot kinder and personable. Though she is unsuited to being a ruler, she can be a good general.

“Alright, let’s discuss what will happen from now on for a bit.” Cao Ren said as she moved her horse closer to mine, “Though this battle was a loss, it would be a little too much if we were to say that we did not gain any information at all.”

Is she going to kick off a.n.a.lysis of information gleaned from the battle before we have even reached Fan city?

“Is it fine to talk now? Or is it–” I said as I looked at Lu Xiang. Could it be that Cao Ren has things to say only to me and is intentionally leaving out Shen Pei and Lu Xiang?

“No no no, I am not thinking of such things.” Cao Ren shook her head and smiled stiffly, “I just don’t want to wake her up, that’s all.”

Wu… So it was me who was being too dark huh… Even though I am a warrior, I am being despicable inside. Hai… I still have a long way to go as a warrior huh?

“Alright,” I said as I engraved this lesson in my heart and decided to tell her what I observed, “We have indeed gained a substantial amount of information in this battle.”

“Un.” Cao Ren nodded.

“Firstly, with regards to their total troop strength.” I extended a finger as I said so, “I initially thought that they did not have that many troops as I did not see many camps outside the city. In reality, their total force, inclusive of their ambush, was in excess of 10,000 troops.”

“More than 10,000, that means we have twice their forces. Ah… No, that’s not right.” Cao Ren shook her head as she said so, “If they were able to deploy that many to defend the city, then that implies they have more inside.”

I nodded, “If my guess is correct, they should have at least close to 20,000 troops or perhaps even more.”

“If that’s the case…” Cao Ren looked very serious as she twirled a single lock of hair, “Then our strength is insufficient.”

Yes, because of the lopsided losses in this battle, our troop strength is virtually equal. If this were Jiangxia city or Xiangyang city, then we would definitely have no chance. The other side would just need to lock up the city and they would be safe and sound, barring miracles.

But, this is Xinye.

“But Lord Cao Ren need not worry. They will not remain garrisoned in the city.” I said as I came to the conclusion, “I’ve seen Xinye city and the walls are about slightly more than half as tall as Fan city.”

“They’re that short? But that sounds about right. Our initial reports indicated that Xinye seems to be just a slightly larger county city., Cao Ren thought about it for a moment ss she blinked, “I understand what you mean. In that case, the enemy will definitely be forced to meet us in battle outside the city. They will be unable to house their entire force inside the city and the city’s defenses are far too weak.”

Yes, that is indeed the case. So though our forces are equal in strength, we are not at an absolute disadvantage as there is no defender’s advantage.

“There are another 2 points to add.” I pointed at Lu Xiang as I said so, “Lord Cao Ren, can you believe that Lu Xiang was able to force that Zhang Fei into a corner?”

“Eh?!” Cao Ren exclaimed in surprise and disbelief, “That Zhang Fei?”

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