Chapter 1161: First Volume, Chapter 1161: Summarizing the Lessons of Failure

First Volume, Chapter 1161: Summarizing the Lessons of Failure

The next morning, as dawn barely broke, Yutian Town, two hundred li outside Gusu City.

The news of last night's bloody battle at Gusu City reached Qin Feng's hands.

After reading it, Qin Feng casually handed the letter to Zhao Yuxiong.

Learning that the twenty-thousand-strong vanguard had been reduced to only two thousand—a loss rate of ninety percent—even Zhao Yuxiong, known for his composure, could not help but frown deeply.

"So twenty thousand vanguard troops were crushed like this?"

"Brother Qin, this battle has inflicted massive losses on our army; Sun Bo bears undeniable responsibility."

In Zhao Yuxiong's view, those twenty thousand vanguard troops were all elite soldiers; even if they couldn't win, retreat should have been possible.

A full twenty thousand men!

And they were completely shattered!

The remaining two thousand could no longer form any combat effectiveness; to say the vanguard force had been annihilated would not be an exaggeration.

Not only Zhao Yuxiong, but even Qin Feng had not anticipated the vanguard's defeat would be so devastating.

It wasn't because Sun Bo commanded ineptly.

On the contrary, Qin Feng had been constantly monitoring the front lines using intelligence provided by the Brocade Uniform Guard.

Whether the surprise attack on New Year's Eve or the Battle of the City Gates, apart from the horrific casualties, strategically speaking, there was little to fault.

After all, on the battlefield, opportunities vanish in an instant; as vanguard commander, Sun Bo naturally had to seize every possible chance to capture Gusu City.

Reality proved once again that Qin Feng had not overestimated Sun Bo's command ability—rather, he had underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Southern Border Generals.

Though the Southern Border was a land of rice and fish, rich in resources, its soldiers were no mere ornamental pillows.

On the contrary, since the founding of Shedynasty, the Southern Border had shouldered the burden of resisting the Southern Barbarians.

Though the Southern Border's battles against the Southern Barbarians were less frequent than those against the Northern Di, when they did fight, it was a fight to the death.

The Southern Border lacked horses; cavalry was its greatest weakness.

But naval warfare was unmatched, and infantry combat was equally formidable.

Seeing Zhao Yuxiong's firm stance demanding severe punishment for Sun Bo, Qin Feng immediately soothed him softly.

"This battle's fault lies not with Sun Bo."

"In essence, the vanguard has endured multiple major battles in a short span, exceeding its breaking point."

"Lin Wenwan, holding Gusu City, must have grasped the full picture; she knew Sun Bo's vanguard fought alone, having endured two brutal battles in succession."

"Sun Bo's vanguard was surely exhausted, morale shattered; when they launched an offensive seeking open field battle, it was only natural they were crushed in one blow."

"Moreover…"

"The army Gusu City sent out, in both scale and equipment, was no inferior to Sun Bo's vanguard; combined with home-field advantage and morale superiority, their victory was no surprise."

As he spoke, Qin Feng pointed to a passage in the letter.

"It clearly states that three thousand Beixi Light Cavalry were constantly supporting, yet utterly failed to relieve Sun Bo."

"Even when the Black Cavalry arrived and attempted to break through the enemy lines head-on, they were repeatedly pushed back by the enemy's heavy-armored infantry."

"Even with Sun Bo's vanguard, Beixi Light Cavalry, and the Black Cavalry combined—such a large mixed force—still could not defeat Gusu City's army."

"Clearly, the problem was not command—it was simply insufficient troop strength."

Hearing this, Zhao Yuxiong frowned: "We had infantry, Black Cavalry, and Beixi Light Cavalry—perfectly balanced. How can you say we lacked troops?"

"Brother Qin, is there something about this battle you see that I don't?"

Qin Feng knew well why Zhao Yuxiong was agitated: it was because the Black Cavalry had been humiliated on the front lines.

This was the first time the Black Cavalry had attempted a direct assault and nearly lost themselves.

Zhao Yuxiong, who had always won every battle, naturally wanted to know exactly where the failure lay.

Combining the battlefield details in the letter with his own knowledge of troop types, Qin Feng could draw one conclusion.

The heavy infantry had failed.

"Whether during the New Year's Eve siege or the Battle of the City Gates, Sun Bo must have committed all his elite forces."

"Though both ended in defeat, the returns were immense; if it were me, I'd have taken that risk too."

"What if we had captured Gusu City?"

"Precisely because of these two battles, Sun Bo's heavy infantry suffered devastating losses."

"With this core force gone, the deployment of all troop types and the defensive lines became extremely vulnerable."

"The Black Cavalry, though heavy cavalry, excels in breaking through lines—not holding them."

"In other words, if heavy infantry held the line behind them, the Black Cavalry could strike forward and shatter enemy defenses, maximizing their advantage."

"Conversely, with only the Black Cavalry and no heavy infantry, even if they broke through enemy lines, they'd immediately be surrounded and annihilated by the enemy's heavy-armored infantry."

Zhao Yuxiong now vaguely understood the battle's weakness.

After the Black Cavalry broke the enemy line, no heavy infantry followed to fill the gap; if light infantry advanced, they'd be slaughtered by the enemy's heavy-armored troops.

Heavy cavalry versus heavy-armored infantry, without numerical superiority, could hardly crush the enemy.

Qin Feng was now also troubled.

Battlefield conditions changed in an instant; before arriving, Sun Bo still had elite troops at his disposal.

Now, only two thousand scattered, broken remnants remained.

Most critically, the ten thousand North Border Cavalry Qin Feng had summoned were all light cavalry.

In other words, Qin Feng now had no "heavy infantry" available.

Qin Feng couldn't help sighing: "On the battlefield, victory doesn't necessarily require heavy infantry."

"But to avoid defeat, heavy infantry is absolutely indispensable."

"Before the heavy infantry arrives, engaging in open field battle against Gusu City holds no chance of victory."

This line of reasoning contained not a trace of pessimism, but was a rational analysis grounded in battlefield conditions.

In the past, Qin Feng had been invincible on the battlefield solely because his enemies were the Northern Di.

The Northern Di had vast lands but sparse populations, and their Heavy Infantry moved slowly, making deployment and maneuvering difficult.

Thus, they only assembled Heavy Infantry to launch Military Siege against Cities when they themselves attacked Shedynasty.

In contrast, when defending passively against Qin Feng's advances, the Northern Di could rely only on Cavalry for mutual support.

But now, the enemy Qin Feng faced had become the Nan Jing.

Cavalry was nearly negligible, but Ji Zhan had reached its peak, supplemented by Cities to rely upon and powerful Logistics.

To clash head-on with the Nan Jing was madness—unless one's head had been kicked by a donkey.

Zhao Yuxiong sighed helplessly: "I never expected these scholar-soldiers of the Nan Jing possessed such formidable Combat Effectiveness."

Scholar-soldiers?

Qin Feng said nothing, but inwardly strongly disagreed with Zhao Yuxiong's remarks.

The world knew only that northern soldiers were strong and ferocious.

Yet few realized that southern soldiers were equally fit, skilled, and remarkably resilient.

In Ji Zhan against Ji Zhan, northern soldiers gained not the slightest advantage.

What constrained both sides was not physique, but weather and terrain.