Chapter 96: Losses and Gains

Because he was so exhausted, Liu Chengyou slept as if the world had turned dark and the sun and moon had lost their light. When he groggily opened his eyes, he realized it was already deep into the night. Through the gap in the tent roof, he could see the crescent moon hanging in the night sky shining very brightly, strands of clear moonlight spilling down along with starlight, and all around was tranquil silence.

His body was still full of drowsiness, his mind momentarily blank, and he only wanted to collapse back into sleep. It was also staying up late, but this time it was far more exhausting than the Battle of Yangtou Mountain — the pressure on both body and mind was not even on the same scale.

Liu Chengyou's current state was a bit like that feeling in his previous life, when he was still in university — on a Friday, he'd arrange to go with classmates to an internet café for a five-man all-nighter, eat breakfast when dawn came, go back to the dorm and keep gaming until the afternoon, then lie dead until Sunday. Only, his current state was naturally much worse than that.

After resting for a while, he recovered his senses, took a few deep breaths, and suppressed the urge to close his eyes and sleep again. Liu Chengyou got up and called out toward the tent entrance: "Someone come!"

"Your Highness." A personal guard squad leader entered.

"What hour is it?" His head was dizzy and faintly aching; pressing his palm to his forehead and rubbing it, Liu Chengyou asked.

"It has already passed the Hour of Hai." The squad leader answered.

Liu Chengyou was slightly annoyed: "Did I not instruct you to wake me at dusk?"

The squad leader lowered his head. Seeing this, Liu Chengyou said: "Where's Li Chongju?"

"Captain Li, he..." The squad leader hesitated: "Is outside the tent."

A flicker of doubt passed through his eyes. Liu Chengyou put on his shoes, rose, and walked out of the tent, only to see Li Chongju kneeling there with his head bowed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Liu Chengyou asked.

Hearing the voice, Li Chongju raised his head. That honest face was full of exhaustion, and he answered in a low voice: "I beg Your Highness to punish me!"

Raising a finger to rub his swollen eyes, Liu Chengyou said leisurely: "Oh? And what crime have you committed?"

"Last night I defied orders on the battlefield, and tonight I acted on my own, going against Your Highness's instructions..."

"As you say, the crimes you've committed are all capital offenses. What do you think I should do with you?" Liu Chengyou said, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Hearing this, Li Chongju blinked a little nervously, was silent for a moment, then said in a muffled voice: "No matter how Your Highness judges my guilt, I will have no complaint."

Liu Chengyou examined Li Chongju for another moment, then seemed somewhat impatiently waved his hand at him: "If you feel uneasy in your heart, go find Guo Rong yourself and let him judge and punish you. Hmm... as for now, stop kneeling. I'll give you another task."

"Please give your orders, Your Highness." Li Chongju's face was solemn.

Moving his fingers, Liu Chengyou said: "Go find someone and get me something to eat. My stomach is hungry!"

At first he was a bit stunned, then Li Chongju reacted, answered with a yes, and turned to leave. Watching his back, slightly faltering, it looked like he had been kneeling for quite some time.

Only then did Liu Chengyou turn his attention to his surroundings. The camp was already enormous — the Longqi, Jin, Yan, official, and civilian forces had all gathered together. Guo Rong, Xiang Xun, and the others had arranged everything very well, orderly and organized. Though the people were mixed, there was no chaos. Defenses had not been neglected either; the camp palisades and abatis were set up with good method, and the patrolling soldiers showed no sign of slackness.

Liu Chengyou's position was basically in the middle of the entire camp. He strolled around inspecting each section, then lay down on a cart piled with straw, gazing at the night sky. At this moment, his heart felt somewhat empty.

Uncontrollably, the events before and after this great battle replayed in his mind, and no matter how he thought about it, it all felt unreal. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept in from the southeast, stirring his already somewhat greasy hair. Feeling the wind's caress, Liu Chengyou's mind suddenly cleared.

A mischievous thought arose in his heart. In last night's great battle, although no meteorite had fallen and crashed into the enemy camp, that fierce summer wind still had some significance. He could barely count himself as... a wind mage...

Following the direction of the wind, he looked toward the northwest. That was a large stretch of dense forest. Though it was far away, he could clearly hear the rustling of the wind passing through, along with the long chirping of summer insects.

That should be the "Barbarian-Slaying Grove."

Liu Chengyou thought this in his heart, and at the same time secretly decided that tomorrow he would have someone erect a stele there. Incidentally, he would also find a Jin official to write an inscription about this battle to be carved on it.

By the time Liu Chengyou returned to the military tent, the food was already prepared — and had already gone cold. However, with his stomach hungry and not being a picky person, he paid it no mind and wolfed it down to fill his belly. When wiping his mouth, rubbing his chin and feeling the prickly, itchy sensation, Liu Chengyou only then noticed that in this day and two nights, his stubble had grown wildly.

After eating and drinking his fill, Liu Chengyou began disturbing people's peaceful dreams, ordering the officers of the Longqi Army at the army level and above, along with two cavalry commanders, to be summoned for a post-battle summary.

Of the familiar faces, two were suddenly missing. Sun Li, Commander of the Second Army, was still unconscious — after all this time, he was still hanging on by a thread, and there was a chance he might recover.

Fortunately, Zhang Yanwei, Guo Rong, Xiang Xun, Ma Quanyi, and Murong Yanzhao were still present.

"What is the situation with the Liao army?" Liu Chengyou first asked Han Tong, who had just returned.

"The Liao army has retreated to Zhending and is gathering its defeated troops to reorganize." Han Tong answered: "Your Highness, Zhending is only a little over fifty li from Luancheng. Once they finish reorganizing, I fear they may come south for revenge!"

"Collapsed morale is not so easily restored." Liu Chengyou said: "However, we must still be on guard. Strengthen the vigilance and have people watch Zhending City like hawks!"

"Yes!"

Liu Chengyou truly did not fear the Liao army returning at the moment — at least not the Liao army at Zhending.

After a brief moment of deliberation, Liu Chengyou swept his gaze around and spoke: "Report, then. What are our losses? What are our gains?"

At the question, Xiang Xun presented a ledger to Liu Chengyou. The general situation had basically all been tallied up. Liu Chengyou flipped through it while listening to his oral account.

The Longqi Army's casualties could only be described as grievous. Before the battle there were eight thousand soldiers; after the battle, only a little over five thousand returned to formation, and half of those bore wounds of varying severity, with more dying in camp from severe injuries. The rest had all been lost on the battlefield — either killed in action or missing, and it was impossible to recover all the bodies.

Officer losses were also considerable: of the two army commanders, one was dead and one wounded; a third of the next-level battalion commanders were lost; and the company and squad officers below that had even more casualties. The Second and Third Armies had some companies and squads where not a single man returned alive...

Accompanying Xiang Xun's narration, the several generals in the tent could not help but show gloomy expressions, and the atmosphere gradually grew heavy.

Liu Chengyou actually had some idea of the losses in his heart. Forcing a relieved expression, he said: "No matter how great the price paid, in the end we gambled and won — we are the victors. The soldiers fought with their blood and sweat; their blood was not shed in vain."

For the Battle of Luancheng, Liu Chengyou could basically imagine how future history books would describe it — it would roughly be filled with phrases like "overcoming a superior force with a smaller one," "a battle that laid the foundation," "a strategic victory," "a turning point in history," and the like.

Not to mention the other effects that couldn't be seen for now — compared to the abundant gains, the Longqi Army's losses were insignificant.

As for the exact numbers: excluding the Yan troops, among the Liao soldiers — Khitan, Xi, and other barbarian troops — over one hundred ten thousand, half had remained here, dying in the chaotic fighting. Nearly twenty thousand war horses were captured, tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, military equipment numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and wealth beyond counting...

Jin soldiers and Yan troops had surrendered one after another.

Of course, the Yan troops' casualties were severe — nearly half; of the Jin army's surrendered soldiers, fewer than ten thousand survived; as for those commoners and conscripted laborers, it was even more tragic. The corpses by the banks of the Xiao River must number over one hundred thousand — truly a scene of extreme carnage.