Chapter 1679: Military Conference and Weapons of War

The dim yellow lamplight flickered slightly, illuminating the face of everyone in the commander's tent, the shifting light and shadow seeming to mirror the complex, surging emotions within them.

There were not many people in the spacious tent. Originally, Liu Min had intended to summon all commanders of a thousand men or more for the military conference, but he was dissuaded by Kang Baoyi, who argued that at a time like this, mid- and lower-ranking officers should be comforting their troops' morale, and to guard against unforeseen circumstances, they should not leave their posts.

Of course, more importantly, since the siege had stalled, this meeting involved military decisions and the future of the entire army, and it was not appropriate for mid- and lower-ranking officers to participate. Before a clear conclusion was reached above, secrecy was still necessary.

Liu Min accepted this reasoning, and so only a few senior generals from before the walls of Kucha participated in this military conference.

"We have been stalled before the walls of Kucha for over ten days, and today we fought a bloody battle without success. The losses from the siege have already been reported, and you have all witnessed it with your own eyes. What should we do now to break this deadlock?" The oppressive silence was finally broken by Liu Min, who looked around the circle and asked slowly.

By now, Liu Min had already reined in the towering rage and the head full of negative emotions from the day, and he had calmed down. Although his tone remained grave, it inexplicably made the senior generals of the Western Expedition present breathe a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness, please forgive this general for speaking bluntly!" Trench Formation Commander Murong Jiye spoke up immediately: "Our army has already bombarded the city of Kucha to ruins. Although today's battle was costly, the defenders are also at the end of their strength. If we can press on resolutely, there is no reason we cannot take the city and breach the gates!"

Murong Jiye was young and hot-blooded, and he could barely count as a relative of the imperial family, so he dared to boldly state his views. However, such words were a bit too audacious, implicitly criticizing the somewhat conservative decision to withdraw today.

Liu Min frowned slightly as well, for sounding the retreat was after all his decision. He looked at Murong Jiye and said, "The casualties are too heavy. Our army of tens of thousands has marched on a distant campaign, and every single soldier is extremely difficult to replace. If we suffer excessive losses for the sake of Kucha, how are we to fight the battles ahead?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Jiye immediately said, "Your Highness, if we retreat today, who knows how great a price we will have to pay in the future to regain the opportunity to break the city! Retreating today gives the defenders a chance to catch their breath. The casualties we fear today will be just as unavoidable tomorrow!

We have already lost several thousand men—what does a few thousand more matter? Camping before the city walls, the longer we delay, the more dangerous it becomes. Not to mention those Kara-Khanid cavalry roaming outside—if their reinforcements from home gradually arrive, how will we resist them then? I fear that at that point, we will not be thinking about how to take the city and break the deadlock, but how to retreat safely!"

Although Murong Jiye's words were somewhat academic, they still carried a fair amount of logic. However, such an attitude was somewhat disrespectful to the Prince of Wei.

Yang Yanzhao, standing nearby, glanced at Liu Min and spoke up: "General Murong, don't get agitated. The situation is far from that dire!"

Murong Jiye was not entirely single-minded either. He now looked at Liu Min, and seeing his expressionless face, could not help but feel a bit nervous. After hesitating for a moment, he clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness, this general was only speaking to the matter at hand. If I have offended in any way, I beg your forgiveness!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Min shook his head and said softly, "The reason I summoned you all for this military conference tonight is precisely to discuss the gains and losses of the previous battles. We need to speak freely and hold nothing back. Your words may not be pleasant to hear, but they did point out some problems!"

Pausing for a moment, Liu Min continued, "Perhaps I was hesitant and conservative. Perhaps if we had spared no casualties, we could have taken Kucha today. However, if we had exhausted all our strength today and still failed to take it, the blow to our army's morale would be more than we could bear!"

Liu Min's thinking was simple: first, he cherished the lives of his soldiers; second, if they retreated today, after two days of rest, there were still ways to stimulate recovery. But if they fought with everything they had and still could not take the city, it might cause people to lose confidence—and the consequences of that would be terrible.

However, it had to be said that Murong Jiye's words made Liu Min reflect with a start—was he being too weak? If he were more resolute, Kucha might not be impossible to take.

Both men's considerations had their merits, just from different vantage points. Murong Jiye was merely a general; he only considered how to take Kucha, and paying a greater price was acceptable.

Liu Min was the supreme commander. Besides taking the city and defeating the enemy, he also had to consider the safety of the entire army. Besides the enemy at hand, he had to consider future reinforcements, and the entire strategy for destroying the enemy state.

Hearing Liu Min's response, Murong Jiye breathed a secret sigh of relief and clasped his hands, saying, "Your Highness is magnanimous!"

"Yuanxian, you are personally responsible for supervising and directing the siege. What are your thoughts?" After being provoked by Murong Jiye, Liu Min had actually become even calmer, and his bearing was even more composed.

Upon being asked, Yang Yanzhao thought for a moment and replied, "Your Highness, the defenders of Kucha rely on three things to hold out: first, their fearless disregard for death, using enormous casualties to repel our attacks; second, their waiting for reinforcements—whether from within their country or the roaming cavalry outside, both give them the confidence to persevere; third, the city defenses of Kucha itself—this is their greatest reliance!"

"This general believes that if we wish to break the city, we should consider these three aspects. First, the Kara-Khanid defenders do not begrudge casualties and trade life for life. Though fierce, this cannot last forever. General Murong's statement that they are at the end of their strength has some merit.

This general has learned from questioning the siege officers that among the defenders on the walls today, a large number of civilians appeared who had weapons but no armor. This shows that under our fierce assault, their defensive manpower is already insufficient, unable to sustain such heavy losses, forcing them to use civilians to absorb the casualties.

Second, as Sunzi said, 'If you outnumber the enemy ten to one, surround them.' Our army besieges the city with three times their numbers, forming a posture of trapping the enemy, but we have not completely isolated the enemy in Kucha. The Kara-Khanid cavalry's harassment from outside the city has never ceased. Therefore, for the enemy's relief forces, we should focus on obstructing and delaying them, but our cavalry should now go all out—we can no longer let that band of Kara-Khanid roaming cavalry affect our siege.

As for the third point, today's results prove that the method of destroying the city with gunpowder is effective. The enemy can hastily patch up one section and hold on for a time with tremendous sacrifice, but they absolutely cannot defend everywhere! We still have plenty of gunpowder in the army, and we can concentrate its use to completely collapse their city walls. Once they lose their strong walls to rely on, no matter how unafraid of death they are, they will only add to our soldiers' merits of taking heads!"

"Deputy Commander Yang truly is a worthy scion of a military family!" After Yang Yanzhao finished speaking, Kang Baoyi, who had been sitting upright in a straight posture nearby, could not help but stroke his beard and praise: "These three points strike right at the heart of the matter!"

Seeing Kang Baoyi speak up, Liu Min nodded in agreement and could not help but ask, "What insights does General Kang have?"

Upon being asked, Kang Baoyi clasped his hands and replied, "Your Highness, this general also believes that if we maintain our current offensive, the defenders of Kucha cannot hold out for long. Even our own soldiers, with their toughness, find it hard to bear—how much more so the enemy trapped in the city? However, Your Highness's concerns are also justified. The problem of casualties must be resolved. Our Western Expedition is not merely for the sake of one city of Kucha. We must also anticipate the Kara-Khanids' counterattack in future battles!"

"Your Highness, since the Kara-Khanids can use civilians to absorb casualties in defense, why don't we use our servants and auxiliary troops to absorb casualties in the attack?" Formation Arrangement Commissioner Wang Shenjun offered a suggestion.

Moreover, this suggestion gained approval from many. Cherishing Han soldiers was showing care and love for one's troops, but the servants accompanying the army and the Uyghurs together numbered over sixteen thousand. These people's lives were not worth much, and using them to fill the casualty gap would not carry any psychological burden.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Liu Min considered briefly and made the decision: "First, draw three thousand men from those Anxi Uyghur able-bodied conscripts, issue them weapons, and have General Wang organize their training, preparing them for the siege!"

Seeing Liu Min entrust him with such a task, Wang Shenjun was immediately all smiles. As Formation Arrangement Commissioner, although his rank was not low, in actual combat operations he did auxiliary work. Now Liu Min was giving him an opportunity to earn merit, and he immediately accepted with fervor.

As the military conference deepened, the atmosphere gradually relaxed, and the commanders of the Western Expedition gained a clearer positioning and arrangement for the future of the Kucha campaign.

Without a doubt, taking the city of Kucha remained a hurdle that must be overcome—it was the most pressing priority!

"Your Highness, the Ministry of War has allocated a batch of cannons to support the Western Expedition!" At this moment, Field Headquarters Provisions Commissioner Xiang Deming reported a matter: "They say these are newly developed gunpowder weapons from the Eastern Capital's arsenal, more powerful than fire arrows, with tremendous explosive force, capable of striking the enemy from eighty zhang away! Used for sieges, they may prove remarkably effective!"

"Oh?" Liu Min's eyes lit up: "I have heard something of this. How many are there, and have they already arrived at the field headquarters?"

Xiang Deming said, "Only thirty units. The Ministry of War's intention is to use them on the Western Expedition battlefield as a trial. According to the information this general has received, the cannons along with the officers and men to operate them have already arrived at Gaochang, and arrangements have been made to transport them to the field headquarters. However, these things are heavy and cumbersome, and it will take some time for them to reach the field headquarters. In addition, I request that the field headquarters dispatch troops to escort them, lest they fall into the hands of the Kara-Khanid cavalry!"

"Arrange this matter with General Kang!" Liu Min could not help but feel somewhat disappointed—distant water cannot quench a nearby fire. Still, it was ultimately a good thing, and with the Ministry of War's directive behind it, he should give it due attention.

Kang Baoyi, as Army Supervisor, was after all meant to hold the line, and he had not gotten much fighting in the siege. At this point, although he was assigned the task of escorting and receiving the shipment, he was quite satisfied. For the matter of attacking Kucha, there were those young men to handle it; he could go deal with those Kara-Khanid cavalry and somewhat satisfy his thirst for battle.

"Rest for three days, build up our strength, make full preparations, and then attack Kucha again!" Finally, Liu Min concluded the military conference with an utterly resolute attitude.