Vol 9 Chapter 126 (1/2)
Chapter 126
VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 126: DON’T TELL ME THESE ARE YUAN ZHI’S WORRIES (2)
Liu Bei POV
“So in summary, we are now in a 10,000 vs 15,000 scenario, which means we are basically back to square one.” Chen Gong finally spoke up after being silent the entire time. Looks like she’s done with her work as her silk sheets and bamboo scrolls were now neatly by the side.
“And the enemy is far better geared than we are. Apart from the 2,000 sets of heavy armour which we got from the enemy, all of our troops are lightly geared so we are at a unit type disadvantage here.”
“I see…” I nodded but then something else came to mind. If the enemy was left with 15,000, after adding together the losses they suffered from both battles… Does that not mean that they were 30,000 strong to begin with?
— I knew it, I just knew that their vanguard was 30,000 strong!
Wu… Yuan Zhi’s words came to mind again. Looks like she really did know about it beforehand… No no no, now is not the time for this.
“Then will the enemy siege Xinye city?” I asked, “The enemy is currently camping outside the city right?”
When they heard what I asked, everyone, especially the 3 in charge of defending the city, all grimaced.
“That’s not something that is set in stone.” Liao Hua said as she shook her head and set down her bamboo scroll, “Normally, one wouldn’t proceed with a siege unless the numerical advantage was significant enough.”
“It is the rule in war, if our forces are 10 to the enemy’s 1, to surround him; if 5 to 1, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into 2. Based in this, our enemy should be aiming to draw us out into a field battle.” Chen Gong continued and her eyebrows jumped, “But if we look at the current situation, it is very possible that the enemy could take Xinye city by force.”
“Eh? Can they?” I asked as they only had 5,000 troops in excess of ours and looked at Huang Zu who nodded.
“What she said is right. Firstly, we are sorely lacking archers so our ability to fight back when they lay siege is low. Secondly, our walls are too thin and short and we are still in the midst of our fortification works. Lastly, if the enemy attacks and opens the gates, the battle is basically over.”
Ah, that’s right, I almost forgot that Xinye city was too small a city.
“Once the gates are open, it’s no different from a field battle.” Yun Chang continued, “When the time comes, it will be difficult for us to prevail given our unit type disadvantage.”
“Un…” I grunted as I sank into thought. Looks like it will be difficult for us to defend even in a siege battle huh?
“But if you think about it from their point of view…” Zi Long began speaking as she continued to eat her food, not looking at everyone. Her expression all this while has been grim and has not shown any signs of alleviating.
“From their point of view?”
“A siege battle would be their last resort. They will definitely choose to employ psychological attacks first. I am sure Cao Ren and Li Dian know this.” Zi Long explained, “Besides, the enemy has a strategist as well.”
“A strategist?”
“Yes, based on Lord Guan Yu’s description, she should be Yuan Shao of Hebei’s Shen Pei.”
Shen Pei… Who was that again?
“The one who is always scurrying around behind Feng Ji.” Zi Long reminded me irritatedly when she saw that I did not recall who it was.
Oh! Her huh?
“Ahem,” Zi Long cleared he
r throat and continued, “So be it Cao Ren, Li Dian or Shen Pei, they should know that a siege is not the wisest choice to make.” She then looked at everyone before continuing, “They should also know that they will have to endure suffering grave losses if they do so. Are they willing to sacrifice the entirety of their elite vanguard troops? I’m not too sure.”
“But since they have set up camp outside the city, that means that they have begun to prepare themselves for that eventuality.” Huang Zu said, “So we still have to refocus our efforts on training archers and fortifying the city defences.”
“Based on this morning’s intelligence reports, enemy troops that were initially garrisoning in Fan city have begun heading out towards the encampment here.” Chen Gong said as she tossed over a bamboo scroll. Unfortunately, because of her height, she missed by a fair bit, “Ahem, Lord Sun Qian, please help me pick it up.”
“… Here.”
“No, it’s for Xuan De.”
“… Here, my lord.”
“Ah, thanks…” I smiled stiffly at their exchange as I received it. When I opened the scroll, I saw that there was not too much written on it, just information that the movements of about 6,000 people were detected, “6,000 huh? Then that brings the total forces sitting outside to be about 13,000.”