Chapter 769: So Very Large

"Charge for me, you bunch of trash! How can you not open a breach after so long!"

Qiao Yuan was furious.

He was a man who loved to indulge himself, so even while commanding at the front lines of the battlefield, he sat in a very warm and luxurious Horse Carriage, opulent and grand, surrounded by beauties of all kinds, with delicacies and fine wine served constantly. But his face now was completely livid.

It had already been half a month!

Half a month of non-stop bombardment—did this bunch of trash not know that the Liaodong Army's Cannonball supply was running low?

The mountaintop was about to be shaved in half!

Yet this bunch of Liangzhou Army soldiers were still holding on!

"Mandarin... our Cannonball inventory is down to two thousand rounds..."

"Mandarin... it is truly too cold..."

"Mandarin..."

Military reports came back one after another.

"Cold?"

Qiao Yuan was going mad: "You are cold, or is that bunch of Liangzhou Army soldiers cold? They haven't said they are cold, so what the hell are you talking about! Keep attacking, keep attacking!"

"Yes!"

"Mandarin... perhaps we should..."

Several ministers gathered their courage.

Qiao Yuan glared at them: "Perhaps what? At a time like this, you want the Mandarin to give up? Hmm? Is that possible?"

Everyone was silent as cicadas in winter.

Indeed.

Once this first shot was fired, it meant Qiao Yuan had no way back. This was rebellion! A crime punishable by the extermination of one's nine generations!

It was just that no one had expected...

These Liangzhou Army soldiers were actually this formidable! Their Liaodong Army held the home-field advantage, yet after so long, they still hadn't taken the place down!

"How much longer until the reinforcements from Nanyang arrive?"

Qiao Yuan asked coldly.

"Mandarin, seven more days..."

Seven days...

Qiao Yuan's eyes turned icy. In his plan, his own army of three hundred thousand should have been able to take this Wangchuan Valley! By then, the entire Tomb Cluster would be his! Even if the remnants of the Great Tang from Nanyang came, they would have to follow behind his tail.

This was the initiative.

But now...

He realized he had been too optimistic.

This Liangzhou Army was too fierce! They were practically like cockroaches that couldn't be killed! Those who were killed or frozen to death had no impact on their iron-like will!

Qiao Yuan had actually never fought any real battles since he was young.

The Liaodong Army, aside from driving away those Jurchen, had no real combat experience.

All Art of War and theory were just on paper.

War was always changing in an instant.

He suddenly realized.

His desire to rely on his own army of three hundred thousand to take Wangchuan was practically a pipe dream. He could only wait for the arrival of the Great Tang army from Nanyang...

He sighed deeply.

Once they arrived, this Wangchuan would certainly be taken, but by then, he would just be a lackey following others to drink the soup.

"Continue the fierce attack! But..."

He suddenly realized and decisively ordered: "Try to conserve strength, conserve strength!"

Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

Conserve strength? Then how could they continue the fierce attack?

"Go quickly!"

Qiao Yuan barked angrily.

Everyone was staring at the Tomb Cluster at this moment! Rather than this, it would be better to wait peacefully for the Great Tang army to arrive; by then, he should at least keep his troops strong and horses sturdy to have the capital to speak. If they continued to consume themselves like this... in this half month, sixty thousand of his men had already died here!

"How much longer until our reinforcements arrive?"

While Qiao Yuan was waiting for reinforcements, Liu Zheng was actually waiting too.

The consumption was too great!

Too great!

On Qiao Yuan's side, sixty thousand men had already been consumed; was it not the same on his side?

Forty thousand!

Although the number was smaller than Qiao Yuan's, their base number was smaller to begin with.

This rate of consumption was something Liu Zheng could not accept.

But there was no Method.

The weather was too cold.

Among these forty thousand men, it was feared that ten thousand had frozen to death! When fighting, no one could spare the time to keep warm, but after a wave of charges, people would discover that their bodies were already frozen through...

Where there were the dead, there was plague, which was also very terrifying.

Liu Zheng still had to allocate manpower specifically to handle the corpses of these tens of thousands of people...

Tragic.

The battle at Wangchuan Valley signifies the integrity of the Dragon Flame Nation's territory and the ownership of the Imperial Jade Seal; no one wants to give it up.

"Ten more days..."

The Prince of Yong said from the side.

Ten days...

Liu Zheng took a deep breath, his face full of worry.

The scouts at the front have already discovered that the three hundred thousand-strong army of the Great Tang remnants has arrived at Liaodong Port and has just disembarked...

Liaodong Port is usually only five days away from Wangchuan; even in this extremely harsh weather, it would take at most seven days to arrive.

Seven days.

After seven days, what they will face is an attack from an army of nearly six hundred thousand!

No, that will no longer be an attack; it will be a crushing blow!

They cannot win.

Absolutely cannot win.

At the scene, a sense of despair took hold.

The harshness of the combat environment and the disadvantage in the number of soldiers—logistical support is keeping up, but consumption is still very fast; after all, Taixi Stockade is only a small town...

"My lord..."

"Vice Minister Liu..."

"We..."

A group of people looked at Liu Zheng pessimistically.

Liu Zheng gave a bitter smile.

If they cannot win, what can they do?

Can they retreat?

No!

The Imperial Jade Seal is very likely down there!

I fear that in the eyes of Xie Tianyao, losing the life of this Vice Minister Liu is better than losing the Imperial Jade Seal! If they retreat without a fight, they will likely face the execution of their nine clans upon returning!

A headache.

If it were up to Liu Zheng's own wishes, he would definitely retreat.

It is merely a Tomb Cluster; after retreating and joining forces with reinforcements, they could just come back and fight. Even if they couldn't win, it would at least preserve their strength.

But the reality is that if they lose the Tomb Cluster now and the enemy's six hundred thousand-strong army guards Wangchuan Valley, it will be difficult for them to fight their way back up...

Defend? There is no way to defend.

Retreat? Cannot retreat.

Fight? They dare not go out to fight, as the Supreme Prince is still in the hands of Qiao Yuan.

What to do?

The group of people were all at their wits' end.

Just at this moment.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed and ran over.

"My lord, my lord, we found the passage!"

"What?"

Everyone was shocked and turned to look.

The person who arrived was none other than Wu Zhen and a few others.

Looking at the excited expression in Wu Zhen's eyes, Liu Zheng's heart stirred, and he immediately asked, "What is the situation?"

These few people were still wearing simple Diving Suits—that is, clothes made from the skins of wild beasts—which could resist pressure and keep them warm, but despite this, their lips were still purple from the cold, and they were constantly trying to find ways to warm themselves.

A trace of a smile actually appeared on Wu Zhen's usually calm face: "My lord, if you do not wish to retreat, this commoner has an idea..."

The crowd was stunned once again.

"Below..."

Wu Zhen chuckled: "It is very large... it could accommodate over a hundred thousand people!"

"What?"

The entire scene was shocked.

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