Chapter 194: Fighting Many with Few

Hearing the order to retreat, the Shu Army erupted in cheers.

It had been two months.

Living in muddy fields every day, with no grain or fodder left, and having to gnaw on tree bark to fight—who could stand it? Wouldn't it be better to go back to their wives, children, and warm beds?

The Shu Army, always known for its ferocity, actually had an unstable morale for a long time.

Once the order was given, they reorganized their ranks overnight; those packing up, those gathering their valuables, and those shouting and hollering—at every port, checkpoint, and among the soldiers besieging Hanzhong, everyone moved at the news.

The Shu King sighed.

What a huge loss!

He, the dignified Shu King, had actually failed to take even a single city of Hanzhong.

But regardless, running away was the best policy.

He thought to himself, when would he have another chance to play a proper game of chess with that Prefect Liu of Yinzhou.

A high start and a low finish.

Arriving with great momentum, leaving with their tails between their legs.

The Shu King had already prepared himself mentally to be mocked by all the Feudatory Kings and people of the world.

However...

What he did not expect was.

Before leaving, he still ended up losing all the war costs he had recovered from Wudu.

After two months of war, the remaining 160,000 Shu soldiers were actually chased and hacked at all the way by 10,000 Hanzhong Army soldiers wielding blades!

At this moment.

The sky was approaching dusk, and because of the wind and rain, it was dim.

Xiao Kang sat quietly in the brambles, watching the Shu Army, which was packing up their belongings and baggage, preparing to retreat.

"General, this..."

"Are we going to attack the Shu Army camp?"

"General, isn't this suicide?"

His subordinate lieutenants and officers were all dumbfounded. 15,000 men attacking 160,000—was this madness?

"Shut your mouths!"

Xiao Kang barked angrily.

This nearly day-long forced march had allowed him to truly witness the steel-like discipline of the Yinzhou Army. Those fellows in green uniforms seemed to never know what fear was. As long as it was an order from Prefect Liu, they would complete it even if it meant death.

Why?

Xiao Kang could not quite understand it in his heart.

What he did not know was.

The military soul of the Yinzhou Army was firm obedience to orders and the protection of the elders of Yinzhou.

A very simple sentence, yet it condensed the hearts of all the soldiers of the Yinzhou Army together. Why? Because in this era, almost all other armies were weapons and sharp tools in the hands of those Feudatory Kings and Nobles. They were tools used to fight for the world, show off their power, and assert sovereignty.

Only Yinzhou.

Only Prefect Liu of Yinzhou, in this era, had solemnly put forward the concept of serving the people.

Everything for the interests of Yinzhou!

Everything for the stability of Yinzhou!

This was the cleverness of Liu Zheng.

Even if we go to invade in the future, it is because of strategic needs and the needs of the Yinzhou people; this does not conflict with the original intention.

In this way.

The Yinzhou Army was united in heart and mind, with strong ideology; for the sake of their elders and wives and children at home, who would fear death?

Then, under an extremely strict reward and punishment system and the policy of compensation for martyrs, it would be strange if the combat effectiveness of the Yinzhou Army did not improve.

"Are you scared already? Look at those 5,000 soldiers!"

"And look at yourselves!"

Xiao Kang felt a sense of frustration that they would not live up to his expectations. Those 5,000 Yinzhou soldiers, wearing green uniforms, just lay in the brambles like that, motionless; if one did not look carefully, one would actually mistake this group of people for the grass...

His heart felt sour again.

What kind of army was this!

He was jealous.

He was truly jealous.

"Wait until dark, then strike for me, you hear? Spread out and strike; with 15,000 soldiers, you must make it look like an army of 100,000 for me!"

Xiao Kang was a great general after all; he had initially doubted Liu Zheng's judgment, but seeing that these Shu soldiers had already begun to retreat, he became excited and immediately knew that this was an excellent opportunity!

In this kind of weather, visibility was extremely low; as long as they created a massive momentum, and with the Shu Army already intending to retreat and having no heart to fight, they might just achieve the most impressive victory for the Hanzhong Army in this great war!

Time.

Passed bit by bit.

Night finally began to fall, and the Shu Army retreated in a hurry, regardless of day or night.

This made the 160,000-strong Shu Army's formation stretch out even longer.

In the vast night and the wind and rain, Xiao Kang finally shouted: "Kill!"

A thunderous roar.

10,000 Hanzhong Army soldiers and 5,000 Yinzhou Army soldiers shouted in unison.

For a time, the sounds of killing whistled, and the earth shook.

The Shu Army soldiers responsible for pulling the supply train in the rear were instantly alarmed and scrambled to pick up their weapons, but it was already too late; the soldiers of the supply unit were weak in combat power to begin with. How could they cope with the Yinzhou Army that came and went like the wind? The first to arrive were five thousand Yinzhou Army soldiers, who began a slaughter with every swing of their blades.

Following them was Xiao Kang's ten-thousand-strong Hanzhong Army.

This fellow was intent on pitting his own brothers against the Yinzhou Army to see who was superior, and he fought with considerable ferocity.

"The Yinzhou Army is here!"

"The Hanzhong Army is here!"

"Run!"

"Go quickly and tell the King of Shu that the allied army is attacking!"

The King of Shu had been in his Horse Carriage, but upon hearing this news, his face turned black: "What did you say? An allied army? Just how many are there!"

He did not believe it.

That mere King of Yong dared to come and pursue him; did he have a death wish?

"Your Highness, it is impossible to see how many there are, but... the sound is shaking the mountains and fields!"

The King of Shu trembled all over.

Could it really be a large army?

"Increase speed, quickly!"

"Pass down the order: fight in separate units, retreat as a whole!"

"Yes!"

At this moment.

Even the experienced King of Shu was finally deceived and issued a fatal military order.

In reality, in ancient times, an army of five thousand was a not-insignificant scale and a quite formidable combat unit. One must know that in later ages, five thousand was the establishment of a reinforced regiment. However, in every war, the mention of hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands made people somewhat numb to the scale of combat units.

Fifteen thousand...

If these men maneuvered back and forth and coordinated properly, they could fully project the momentum of several tens of thousands. Coupled with the weather, visibility was very low, and the Shu Army had no heart to fight.

Thus, for a time, these fifteen thousand were actually hanging onto the tail of the sixteen-thousand-strong Shu Army, beginning to ravage them to their heart's content.

"Kill!"

At this moment, Xiao Kang was thoroughly convinced by the ever-calculating Prefect Liu.

The resistance of the Shu Army at this time was not intense at all.

It even appeared that the King of Shu's order was to use these small, organized units of soldiers to throw their lives away, delaying the pace of the "allied army" behind them, while the Shu Army in front had already begun to accelerate their retreat...

If the King of Shu had been willing to be ruthless at this time and turn back to engage in a decisive battle with this "allied army," not only would he not have lost so miserably, he could have easily devoured this force of fifteen thousand entirely.

However.

He did not dare.

With the Hanzhong Army, Liangzhou Army, and Yinzhou Army—the "allied army" from three directions—and the Shu Army still hungry and rumbling, could they win?

Continue the retreat!

And so.

This classic battle of the few defeating the many, which would shock the world, unfolded just like that between Hanzhong and Wudu.