Vol 9 Chapter 139 (1/2)
Chapter 139
VOLUME 9 CHAPTER 139: DON’T TELL ME THIS IS ANOTHER TRICK (5)
Li Dian POV
To be honest, this sort of ending is not bad too. And we ought to be thankful to the heavens and our ancestors that we did not lose. Our result as it stands is only worth a pa.s.s. Cao Ren’s and my personal results are a failure however.
“… Lord Li Dian.”
“Un?” Cao Ren called out to me again just as I was feeling ashamed. I looked over and saw that she too was looking at Xinye city with a sad and dreary smile.
“Actually, I was just thinking about what you were talking about.”
Eh? I thought that Cao Ren was going to wax lyrical about the weather and the scenery or perhaps lament about what had happened before but she brought up what we just discussed.
“You mean… The thing about bringing out all of our forces from Fan city?”
“Un.” Cao Ren nodded, “If we do that, we have 17,000 troops at our disposal.”
Yes, apart from the bare minimum to defend the city, that’s how many troops we can move. As for the enemy, let’s see…
“There is no doubt about the enemy’s numbers at this point. After the 2 battles, they have perhaps 11-12,000 troops remaining.” I said as I extended my fingers and used them to gauge the height of Xinye’s city walls, “Xinye’s city walls are very short and are just barely over half of Fan city’s. A siege will not be too difficult. If we can ensure that we lose no more than 5-6,000 troops before we break the city defences, the city is ours.”
Of course, this does not account for the enemy generals. If I account for their prodigious individual abilities and their ability to boost the morale of the enemy troops, then we might have to add 1-2,000 troops to the enemy’s effective strength.
“But the losses will probably great right?” Cao Ren said as her smile diminished.
“Indeed. Which is why we have to make a decision as soon as possible if we want to launch a siege.” I nodded, “It seems like the enemy has intentions of fortifying the walls and if we wait for a few days more, we won’t be able to take the city.”
…
“Hu~” Cao Ren sighed and threw back the problem to me, “What do you think?”
“As a warrior, I believe we should do it.” I said and stopped to think for a moment before continuing, “We can’t stop now after fighting this far. We just need to prepare as much as we can before we proceed.”
“I see…” Cao Ren nodded, “I too would like to fight.”
Unlike me, who based my choice on my path as a warrior, Cao Ren arrived at the same conclusion through her own pride as my lord’s cousin.
“Un…” I grunted and exhaled through my nose, warming it up, “But this is all just empty talk?. Shen Pei will definitely not agree.”
Practically of all Fan city’s troops are under her control now after all. Of the 17,000 strong combined force, 11,000 belong to Yuan Shao and 6,000 to us. The ratio has basically remained almost the same as when we first started.
Ever since the second battle, Shen Pei has gained the upper hand when it comes to having a say in how the battle should go relative to us. She also has relatively high standing amongst Yuan Shao’s troops. If Shen Pei does not approve of our plans, we cannot act unilaterally since more than half of the troops here do not belong to us.
Apart from Fan city, her troops are also stationed in a few other small encampments in between the encampment here and Fan city. I turned back and looked at the troops who wore different uniforms than
our troops. It was not just the uniforms that were different – They do not even eat with our troops.
“We need to have a good, long talk with Shen Pei about this later.” I said and Cao Ren nodded.
“Yes, it just so happens that Shen Pei herself will be coming here to discuss details regarding how Fan city’s role will be in our supply lines and… Our plans for a siege.”
Un, I do not think it is likely at all that Shen Pei will take our view. Administrative officials and warrior generals tend to have widely differing opinions on such things. Especially when we both belong to different factions.
“It would be for the best if we can get her approval.” I said, “If we do, not only can we take the city, we can also further deplete Yuan Shao’s troops.”
“Softer, will you? We have some of them in our midst.” Cao Ren said as she waved her hands frantically with a stiff smile, “I don’t think we need to think too much about that.”
… Hmph, I suppose. It was just a random thought that came to mind anyway.
With no topics left to continue the conversation with, I looked down and saw that Cao Ren was rubbing her hands. Looks like she’s only just a little weird but she is still human and will eventually feel cold.