Chapter 1004: First Volume, Chapter 1004: Armed to the Teeth

First Volume, Chapter 1004: Armed to the Teeth

This heavy snowfall interrupted days of battle; Chen Si did not know whether to rejoice or despair.

He rejoiced because his soldiers could finally catch their breath, but despaired because the snow made logistical supply lines even harder to maintain—it would last at least four or five days, while the army's grain reserves could only hold out for three, meaning the Enemy Army need not launch another assault; they only needed to wait, and Chen Si's army would collapse on its own.

Chen Si knew clearly that continuing this war was now meaningless; defeat was already certain on his side.

But the King of Di had issued a death order: hold the line even if it meant fighting to the last soldier.

From the beginning, retreat was never an option for Chen Si; faced with this "snow of death," even he could not help but sigh: Heaven itself was dooming the Di.

Wu Kang and Jing Peng also knew defeat was certain, but they could not propose retreat.

Even if the entire army perished, they had no choice but to press on.

In truth, they would most likely never see the moment of total annihilation: after three days, when grain ran out, morale would begin to crumble; by day four, mutiny might break out; even with fierce suppression, by day five, despair would spread through the entire army.

Wu Kang stared at the crackling brazier and sighed: "Among all the generals under Heaven, I admire only two: Grand General Chen and Qin Feng."

"Grand General Chen, you did not lose to Qin Feng—you lost to the weather, to the situation."

After accepting the reality of certain defeat, the three felt a strange sense of relief.

Chen Si smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I thought this great battle would finally decide victory or defeat between me and Qin Feng—but before we even fought, I had already lost. To this day, I have not even laid eyes on Qin Feng; I fear I will never meet him in this lifetime."

"Do you know what the Enemy Army did last night, according to the Scouting Report?"

Seeing Wu Kang and Jing Peng's puzzled glances, Chen Si said helplessly: "Last night, the Enemy Army built stoves. They must have many skilled weather-readers who knew the snow was coming—so after ending their assault, they pitched tents, lit stoves, roasted meat, brewed tea, and rested to recover their strength."

Seeing Wu Kang and Jing Peng remain silent, Chen Si continued: "Three days ago, the commander of the Xi Xian front already reported that this battle could no longer be sustained—that only retreat could preserve our strength."

"I suppressed the report to avoid damaging morale; no one else knows."

"Hehe, the Xi Xian forces brought back a corpse of a Beixi Soldier after clashing with the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade."

"This man wore Light Armor, with his chest plate specially reinforced—neither hindering movement nor compromising protection—and yet he died from a Blunt Weapon, with eight arrows embedded in his body."

"His bravery was only one part of it."

"The Xi Xian commander ordered the Beixi Soldier's gear stripped down: besides his Armor, he carried a short knife, a short spear, a compact bow, and sixteen arrows—eight malformed arrows designed to pierce Light Armor, and eight armor-piercing arrows meant for Heavy Armor. He also carried one Water Pot, one Wine Pot, and two Grain Bags."

"The Wine Pot was small, but filled entirely with Alcohol—the white liquor brewed by Qin Feng himself, allowing soldiers to warm themselves when no Logistics Support was available."

"Inside the Grain Bags were roasted Millet, steamed wheat cakes, and ten pieces of La Rou Gan, each the size of an apricot kernel."

"Also countless small items: fire-starters, hemostatic medicine, bandages, and more."

"And this was just one ordinary Beixi Soldier."

Hearing Chen Si's words, even Jing Peng was speechless—and Wu Kang, who had spent his life on the Battlefield, could not speak for a long while; his entire worldview had been shattered.

A single ordinary Beixi Soldier carried such meticulously detailed gear that even if separated from the army, he could survive alone in the harsh wilderness for over half a month.

Now Wu Kang finally understood why even small Enemy Army Supply Trains, when attacked by dozens of Raiding Cavalry, could still organize effective Defense on the spot, win despite being outnumbered, and almost always hold out until Reinforcements arrived to drive off the raiders.

The cost to train and equip one Beixi Soldier was enough to forge three ordinary soldiers…

And this was only for the individual soldier; when you added the support of Supply Trains and Logistics Battalions, the per-soldier cost of a Beixi Soldier equaled four to five ordinary soldiers.

The Beixi Soldiers were Armed to the Teeth, elite beyond compare.

Even in open battle, no force under Heaven and Earth could break through the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade—and even more so, their Main General was Xu Mo, the second-greatest general in Beixi County after Qin Feng, deeply trusted by Qin Feng and granted extraordinary autonomy; thus, the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade became even more formidable.

The Main Force led by Li Zhang, though not as extreme as the Beixi Expeditionary Brigade, was still extravagantly well-equipped.

Though the army had advanced to the Ezhou North Line and endured days of brutal Battle, they still maintained their Ying Zhang, roasted meat, brewed tea…

Wu Kang even suspected that Qin Feng had secretly planned this war long before his diplomatic mission to Di—otherwise, how could he have assembled so much Material and Supplies on such short notice?

Even the famed Xiongying Brigade, hailed as peerless under Heaven, now seemed pale in comparison.

Wu Kang hesitated long, then finally voiced his thought: "Grand General, it is time for you to decide."

"If we continue fighting, we will be defeated within five days at the earliest, seven at the latest."

"At that point, the Enemy Army will sweep forward unimpeded and seize Jingji."

"But if we preserve enough strength, establish a new base on fertile land, and continue resistance, we might still have a glimmer of hope."

As soon as he spoke, the Ying Zhang fell utterly silent.

Chen Si understood perfectly what Wu Kang meant—he was suggesting betrayal of the King of Di, a roundabout path to saving the nation.

And yet, as the King of Di's most trusted general, Wu Kang had so readily voiced treasonous thoughts—it stunned Chen Si.

Sitting beside him, Jing Peng strongly supported Wu Kang's proposal; clearly, before this moment, they had already coordinated, and now they seized this opportunity to pressure Chen Si into joining them.

Jing Peng pleaded earnestly: "Grand General, rather than wait to die, we must plan another course!"

In the past, Chen Si would have harshly rejected this—but now, he had no choice: wait to die, or pursue a roundabout path to survival—there was no real dilemma left.

The most crucial point: with Jing Peng involved, their action would have legitimacy.