OBS Chapter 176: Great Victory in Jingzhou, Cruel Beginning
Chapter 176: Great Victory in Jingzhou, Cruel Beginning
As a former soldier, Xia Qin knew very well that in a feudal era like the Great Xia Kingdom, most armies would completely collapse and disintegrate if their casualties exceeded one-tenth.
Even the most powerful border troops will lose all willingness to resist when the casualty rate reaches one-fifth.
At this moment, after three rounds of fierce attacks, the casualty rate of the 50,000 troops led by Qin Haoran was probably as high as one third.
What does this mean? It means that now we only need to persuade the other party to surrender, and the other party will have almost no power to resist.
However, Xia Qin did not want to take this risk, and this was not her purpose. After all, the current situation was still firmly in the hands of the Qin family, and she needed a more thorough victory and better results.
Therefore, the current battle must be a war of annihilation with no room for maneuver.
As a result, the army under Qin Haoran had no choice but to wait for death to come.
When the thick smoke slowly dissipated, the tens of thousands of exhausted Qin army had no time to catch their breath before they were faced with a thrilling massacre.
They were still immersed in the shock of what had just happened and unable to recover, but three thousand cavalrymen came like a tide, leaving them no chance to breathe.
This massacre-like attack made Qin Haoran feel extremely frightened and helpless.
He was unwilling to face such a situation, so he could only hurriedly lead a few trusted generals and some defeated soldiers to flee the battlefield, fearing that he would die if he delayed even a little.
The endless shouting and screaming around did not diminish because of Qin Haoran's hasty escape.
On the contrary, the bloody smell on the battlefield became stronger and stronger, as if it was about to break through the cold winter air.
Under Xia Qin's command, ten thousand troops followed closely behind the cavalry, with great momentum, rushing towards the enemy like a torrent.
The battlefield was filled with blood mist, body parts, despair and chaos.
The thick smoke gradually dissipated. Xia Qin and Mo Ye stood on the city wall, gazing at the battle situation before them from afar, which was no surprise, with complicated emotions in their hearts.
Mo Ye looked at Xia Qin calmly and said calmly: "Xia Xia, now the situation has been determined. We are faced with two choices. One is to pursue the victory and take down the three northern counties of Jingzhou in one fell swoop; the other is to defend instead of attack and patiently wait for the enemy's next move."
He paused, and then continued, "At present, it is most beneficial for us to adopt a defensive strategy. If we go north to seize the three northern counties of Jingzhou, we will directly confront Kyoto, and the pressure we will bear will increase dramatically."
Xia Qin nodded slightly to show her agreement.
At this time, although there was dead silence all around and no air was flowing, the strong smell of blood had drifted to the top of the city wall hundreds of meters away.
Xia Qin wrinkled her nose slightly, and a hint of discomfort flashed across her face, but this subtle expression did not escape Mo Ye's eyes.
"Xia Xia, are you okay?" Mo Ye asked with concern.
Xia Qin did not respond, but walked straight to the front, staring at the tragic scene on the battlefield.
After just a few minutes, she suddenly gave a loud order: "Sound the gong and call back the troops! No need to clean up the battlefield, no need to bring back prisoners, the entire army retreats immediately!"
After a moment's hesitation, the guards quickly carried out the order.
He thought Xia Qin had softened her heart, so he quietly explained for Xia Qin: "After all, these are all Daxia soldiers, so it's understandable to let them go."
Mo Ye didn't say anything. He knew Xia Qin too well and knew that she was definitely not withdrawing her troops for this reason.
Xia Qin took a deep breath and said coldly, "More than 80% of the 50,000-man army were killed or wounded, especially the injured soldiers. They are a burden to both them and us. Letting them go back like this is in our best interest."
Mo Ye was speechless.
Wei Jun was also a smart man. Xia Qin spoke so bluntly, so he naturally understood Xia Qin's intention.
Out of an army of 50,000, 10,000 were killed, 30,000 were seriously injured, and the remaining 10,000 were probably also soulless.
Not to mention how to treat these 30,000 wounded soldiers, and whether it will affect the mentality of the army.
Those 10,000 people who were lucky enough to only suffer minor injuries will also spread the terror of this battle, and by then the enemy's will to fight will be compromised.
Thinking of this, the guard couldn't help but take a deep breath and muttered to himself: "If that's the case, these wounded soldiers will be in a miserable state..."
"I just made the best choice for everyone."
Seeing the hidden fatigue on Xia Qin's face, Mo Ye patted her shoulder gently and said, "Xia Xia, it's over. General Wei is watching here. Let's go back and rest."
"Yeah." Xia Qin didn't say anything else and nodded silently.
Mo Ye was right, the battle was over, and what needed to be done next was to deal with post-war matters and take care of the injured soldiers.
So she turned around and followed Mo Ye back to a mansion in Jingzhou City.
Along the way, the two were silent and the atmosphere seemed a little heavy.
After returning to the mansion, Xia Qin sat on a chair, frowned slightly, and said, "Mo Ye, with the current medical conditions, those soldiers cannot receive effective treatment. Most of them will die within a few days, and the rest will slowly pass away in the torment of this pain."
There was a hint of helplessness and sadness in her voice.
Mo Ye walked over to her, gently stroked her hand, and comforted her: "The battlefield is always full of cruelty and helplessness. You don't have to blame yourself too much. War has always been like this."
However, Xia Qin shook her head: "Don't comfort me like this. Before me, the battlefield of the Great Xia Kingdom was never like this, right?"
However, she did not continue the topic, but said: "However, this battle almost consumed all the bamboo bombs made in the past few months. I hope this battle will have a deterrent effect on them."
In a tent eighty miles north of Xia Qin's location, Qin Haoran sat very quietly.
He had been silent for more than half an hour, and the people around him were also silent.
Even a reckless person like Lie Shu knew that he could not disturb Qin Haoran at this moment.
"This woman is indeed a devil!"
This was Qin Haoran's evaluation of Xia Qin. He thought of his deceased cousin.
Seeing Qin Haoran speak, Zhao Nande beside him hurriedly reported the military situation in a low voice: "General Qin, after they attacked us, they quickly withdrew and did not capture our soldiers. Ten thousand were killed, and the others have returned now, but there are too many wounded. Even if all the doctors in the nearby states and counties were gathered together, they could not treat so many people."
Qin Haoran said without any hesitation: "Heal the lightly injured soldiers first. For the others, it's their lives."
Zhao Nande replied without hesitation: "Yes!"
"What should we do?" Qin Haoran didn't know whether he was sighing helplessly or asking several confidants.
"Commander, I have a plan," General Li said after thinking for a while, "Since Mu Jinyan is so cruel, we don't have to be soft-hearted."
Qin Haoran looked at him and motioned for him to tell him what he thought.
General Li immediately expressed his thoughts. After hearing his plan, Qin Haoran hesitated, and Liang Xueying on the side looked at him with disgust.