Chapter 950: First Volume_Chapter 950: Days of Fierce Battle

First Volume_Chapter 950: Days of Fierce Battle

Beside him, Cheng Tao's heart was in his throat; although the superior's order was to launch an all-out assault on Changshui County, the current tactics could not possibly hold—even elite troops couldn't withstand this. The Sixth Battalion had suffered over thirty percent casualties, the Seventh Battalion over half; that they hadn't broken morale already was a testament to their elite status.

But given Changshui County's fortifications, capturing the DefensiveLine required continuous troop deployment; the entire Vanguard numbered only five thousand men. Once casualties exceeded one thousand, whether the soldiers still fighting or those waiting in the Rear for rotation, all would be shaken by the unignorable piles of corpses.

At that point, not only would capturing the City be impossible, even holding military morale might prove unattainable.

"General, we cannot fight this way—before we take the City, our morale will collapse."

Facing Cheng Tao's protest, Jing Peng ignored him entirely, his gaze fixed on the burning City Wall ahead, expressionless, yet his mind racing to calculate his next strategy.

Cheng Tao was right—even if the superior had issued a death order, this approach was absolutely untenable.

For the entire Vanguard, once casualties surpassed ten percent, soldiers would realize the gravity of this battle; beyond thirty percent, morale risked collapse. Though as elite troops, Jing Peng trusted his men could endure thirty percent casualties and keep fighting—but what if casualties reached fifty percent? Soldiers would realize the siege was hopeless, lose their will, and start thinking only of survival.

At that point, Jing Peng would be forced to send Supervisors of the Army to execute soldiers who hesitated or fled—yet this would only be drinking poison to quench thirst, accelerating collapse.

Jing Peng's goal was to break through Changshui County's DefensiveLine before the Main Force arrived, eliminate the Enemy Army's combat strength, and capture Qin Feng alive.

But reality proved that even breaking through Changshui County's DefensiveLine was as difficult as climbing to heaven, let alone capturing Qin Feng alive.

Meanwhile, Jing Peng realized his earlier Ambush tactics had produced virtually no effect—his strategy had long been seen through by Qin Feng.

Five thousand men faced a fortified City defended by eighteen hundred troops, yet the enemy's weapons, equipment, morale, and even combat experience were superior to his own.

At this moment, Jing Peng had already considered a Military Retreat—but to retreat would mean defying the superior's Military Command.

For a moment, Jing Peng found himself trapped between advance and retreat.

Jing Peng cast a silent glance at Cheng Tao, who was beside himself with anxiety, and inwardly sighed—he doubted his own troops even knew that the superior's intent in attacking Changshui County was to spare no cost, to throw lives into the grinder, to crush this bone as quickly as possible.

Even if the entire Vanguard of five thousand men were annihilated, the superior would not care—he would simply pour in more soldiers.

Should he continue the brutal assault until all his soldiers were dead, or defy the superior's order, retreat, shoulder all blame himself, and allow Qin Feng to breathe?

Whichever choice he made, it was a disaster for Jing Peng.

The Fifth and Sixth Battalions gradually replaced the Seventh and Eighth Camps; fresh blood flowed in, yet the situation changed not at all—Changshui County remained as hard to crack as before.

This Siege Warfare raged from day to night, then from night back to day.

The dawn's light fell upon the earth, yet the battle continued—but the high-intensity assault and defense had ended, replaced by a standoff and consumption.

All soldiers who could be rotated had been pulled back; those withdrawn to rest, facing the even more solid East-West Defense Line, had no thought of attacking at all.

Jing Peng knew well: if they couldn't break the Cheng Nan Fang Xian, attacking the well-supplied East-West Defense Line was suicide. Yet after days of fierce battle, his soldiers' fighting spirit had been worn down; though they hadn't yet broken and fled, more and more soldiers were being executed by Supervisors of the Army—meaning they had lost the will to siege, and were now scheming to survive.

Now, the situation was beyond Jing Peng's control—even if he wished to strictly enforce the superior's Military Command, he was forced to alter strategy due to his soldiers' cowardice.

He shifted from large-scale operations to small-scale Ambushes, sending only a hundred or so men at a time to attack the City.

Half of these hundred carried Great Shields, blocking arrows fired from the City Wall to protect their comrades as they forced their way to the wall's base and hurled Hook Chains upward.

This "adding oil" tactic was never meant to capture the City—it was meant to deny the defenders any rest.

According to messages returned by the messengers, the Main Force had begun assembling; under Chen Si's command, they would arrive in another three or four days.

Thus, during this period, Jing Peng's sole mission was to consume as much of the City's Military Supplies and the defenders' physical and mental strength as possible.

During this time, Jing Peng also ordered messengers to report Beidi War Intelligence to Grand General Chen Si.

Upon learning Jing Peng had changed strategy, Chen Si did not anger—he fully supported it.

Even Chen Si had not anticipated how chaotic the situation in Wang Du had become, with factions deeply entangled; after all, he was a military commander, not a politician. Even if he forcibly suppressed with military might and executed orders bluntly, he could not assemble the Main Force in a short time.

Of course, this "short time" was relative—for any general, even the most loyal Imperial Party officers, the "Three-Day Deadline" was unacceptable.

Moreover, if the Main Force assembled hastily, countless flaws would emerge and disrupt the battle.

Thus Chen Si, under pressure, granted all generals four days to complete the Main Force's assembly.

Chen Si could only sigh at the immense impact of Zhen E's rebellion—and had no choice but to continue waiting.

Fortunately, Jing Peng was highly capable—a considerable comfort to Chen Si.

Chen Si, stationed at the Ministry of War, reviewed Jing Peng's Beixi County War Report. Though the battlefield results were horrific—had this been normal times, executing Jing Peng would have been justified—this was an extraordinary period. Jing Peng had followed the superior's orders and, after failing at the siege, still implemented the Exhaust-the-Enemy Attrition Strategy—this alone was exceeding expectations.

For this reason, Chen Si urgently dispatched one thousand Infantry to Changshui County to reinforce Jing Peng.

At this moment, Qin Feng had long left the City Wall and returned to the County Yamen.

The vast DaTang was empty except for Qin Feng; even Li Xiaolan and Shen Qingci had not come, leaving him alone to "calm down."

The City had indeed held—but Qin Feng's inner pressure had grown even heavier.