Chapter 1525: Siege and Encirclement

At this moment, Egypt.

The Battle of the French Port.

The outcome of the first day of fighting remained undecided; Nashadier held a slight upper hand, tearing a gap in the French encirclement.

The Liangzhou Iron Cavalry sought reinforcements.

Sashaer predicted that in this war, they no longer had any Method to continue surrounding Nashadier and could only announce a concentration of forces.

They wanted to annihilate Nashadier on the frontal battlefield.

But as Nashadier's reinforcements arrived, Sashaer's troops continued to fight bitterly.

Not until nightfall did both sides cease fighting.

However, after fighting until now, both sides had suffered quite severe losses; in the application of these strategies, neither side had gained any real advantage.

Sashaer's heart was filled with unease.

It was now inevitable that this war would become a Protracted War.

This was unfavorable for them, but they truly had no better Method at present.

Fortunately, however, they had stockpiled quite a lot of supplies in the city, so even in a Protracted War, they could at least hold out for a month.

On the other side, back in the military camp, Nashadier's expression was extremely ugly.

In this sortie, they had not gained an absolute upper hand; aside from wiping out eight thousand French Cavalry, there were no other combat achievements to speak of.

Although on the battlefield, the losses on Sashaer's side were greater than Nashadier's.

Yet in this war, Nashadier's Weaponry and Equipment were more sophisticated, and he even possessed the invincible Longyan Siege Cannon.

Nashadier, who originally had a massive advantage, was instantly furious after seeing his own results.

In his view, they had lost the first battle.

"We are holding the most advanced weapons in the world, and to attack a port city, not only did we achieve no results, but we also let the enemy kill six thousand of our men."

"How do you have the face to stand here!"

Nashadier roared at the generals under his command.

Everyone remained silent; having fought to such a state, they had nothing to say.

Nashadier let out a breath, sat down, looked up at these gloomy officers, and said coldly: "Everyone, speak on the reasons for this defeat."

One person stepped up and said: "I believe it is because our Siege Cannon is too weak..."

"Then you are dismissed from your post; go be Artillery today. Next." Nashadier said coldly.

"Why! The Longyan Siege Cannon did not play any role in this battle; is that not true?"

Nashadier looked at him indifferently: "The Longyan Siege Cannon is the most advanced Siege Cannon in the world today; that it could not shatter the city wall only proves that this city wall is hard enough."

"This is not the main reason for our failure."

"Continue."

The next officer glanced at Nashadier twice, then said: "I believe it is because our troops fell into an ambush, which led to the subsequent results."

Nashadier's expression softened slightly as he looked at him.

He said the next sentence: "I believe that our Scouts were not strong enough and did not obtain first-hand intelligence."

Upon hearing this, Nashadier's face immediately fell.

After he spewed profanities and kindly greeted every female in the other party's family, Nashadier said coldly: "If we could know all of Sashaer's deployments..."

"You come and command this war!"

That officer was momentarily speechless.

Nashadier glanced at him and once again said coldly: "Throw him down; let him go be an ordinary soldier."

Nashadier swept his gaze over everyone and said flatly: "Is there anyone else who can tell me the reason for the failure of this battle?"

After Nashadier dismissed two generals, everyone remained silent.

No one dared to say a word.

They also did not know what to say.

Nashadier looked at them and said flatly: "Longyan has an old saying: an incompetent general exhausts the three armies!"

"In this battle, it was I who ordered the pursuit; although the enemy paid a heavy price, we were completely unprepared when we were laying siege."

"We even forgot how to attack and only knew how to charge forward. This battle's failure is my responsibility, do you understand!"

As soon as these words were spoken, they brought about an even greater silence throughout the room.

Everyone stared blankly at Nashadier, not expecting him to say that he was the one most responsible for the failure of this battle.

Nashadier put down his military badge and sighed: "It was my command that was mistaken."

"General, you..." Everyone looked at this action by Nashadier, their hearts inexplicably touched.

Nashadier waved his hand, stopping what they were about to say.

"This is my favorite badge; if this battle is not won, I will absolutely not take it back."

Everyone was stunned; this badge symbolized Nashadier's honor.

They wanted to say something more, but Nashadier gave them no opportunity to speak at all.

"Alright, the war is not over yet. Chief of Staff, bring the map." Nashadier said in a deep voice.

Soon, a map was hung in the military camp.

Nashadier stood in front of the map; this map had been redrawn by Nashadier and his men when the battle began.

It was even more detailed than the map he had drawn before.

"The French Port is located in a plain area, not a valley that is easy to defend and hard to attack; there are no natural hazards to hold."

"Behind this city is the port, but our current Longyan Fleet can only blockade their ships and cannot attack."

"Behind this city is the harbor, but our current Longyan Fleet can only blockade their ships; it cannot attack."

"This city has high walls on three sides, with only one low-lying area on the west side."

"Two hundred meters from this city, there are also fifty artillery emplacements set up."

"The situation is as it is; as for the specific situation, we will have to see how the situation develops," Nashadier said in a deep voice.

The group frowned; this city should have been easy to attack.

The plains are vast, suitable for Cavalry charges, and without treacherous terrain, attacking should not be difficult.

However, the artillery emplacements built by Sashaer and the outrageously thick walls have left the Cavalry with little room to show their worth.

After pondering for a moment, Nashadier said, "My idea is for the Liangzhou Iron Cavalry to charge and kill from the left and right flanks."

"First, take out the artillery emplacements, then find a Method to attack the city."

"For the siege, Scaling Ladders and Flying Shuttles are the only two methods we can use; the walls built by Sashaer are simply impossible to breach."

"Our soldiers must climb the walls."

After the generals thought it over, someone said, "I think this method is good, but we currently do not know exactly how many enemy troops are inside the port."

"I am afraid that even if we climb the walls and open the gates, there will still be an Inner City."

"In that case, our gains might be wiped out in less than a day."

Nashadier nodded; that possibility indeed exists. Given Sashaer's caution, it would not be too surprising if he had built an Inner City.

Nashadier fell into deep thought; it now seems that breaching the city will be incredibly difficult.

What if we lay siege to the city?

If we surround it for ten days or half a month, and then launch a massive attack, the people inside will surely be weak by then.

Someone immediately offered a suggestion: "What if we lay siege to the city?"

The eyes of the group lit up.

Nashadier, however, said in a deep voice, "No."