Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors-Chapter 472 - 260: Great Victory_2

Tian Shizhong was so angry he huffed and his whiskers bristled, "How preposterous!"

During this period, he felt like he really was out of luck.

As a military commander, not to mention waging war, he couldn’t even manage daily training properly.

Otherwise, General Han Fuyue’s peerless mighty army—which had been invincible under his command in actual history—would not have deteriorated in just two decades under Tian’s lead, becoming no different from the combat effectiveness of any regular Xiang Army unit.

However, it was precisely someone like him that was highly favored by Qin Huizhui.

Therefore, Tian Shizhong himself had no desire to take on this troublesome task. He just wanted to collect his unearned pay and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor, but he had to reluctantly take command of the troops due to the emperor’s and Qin Huizhi’s unshirkable orders.

He would absolutely not send out troops, neither to attack General Han Fuyue nor the Jin soldiers.

In fact, this was exactly what Qin Huizhi had stressed to him: as long as he could guard the retreat path to the south of General Han Fuyue’s forces and ensure that General Han Fuyue died in battle, it would be considered a great achievement.

Tian Shizhong had some self-awareness at least.

He was well aware that, although he had thirty thousand elite troops, it would still be difficult to hold them with his abilities. If General Han Fuyue really retreated south and attacked his forces, they might actually collapse on the spot.

This was not an unfounded worry, but a highly probable event.

After all, when the Qi Dynasty and the Jin once agreed to attack Yan Yun from both sides, the Jin soldiers swept southward irresistibly, while the Qi, led by Tong Daofu with their elite Western Army, lost even when fighting the battered enemy and were hanged and beaten.

Garbage was garbage, and it will never change under any circumstances.

So, Tian Shizhong still had to find a dependable Deputy General who, at least when General Han Fuyue really came to fight, could stand firm.

But the problem returned to the same insoluble loop: trustworthy commanders couldn’t fight, and those who could fight were fans of General Han Fuyue.

This Meng Lin, as the Deputy General, had repeatedly mentioned to Tian Shizhong that he wanted to fight the Jin soldiers.

That was quite normal after all. What true warrior with some ambition didn’t have deep-seated hatred for the Jin? Who wouldn’t want to reclaim lost lands, slay Jin soldiers, and achieve glory?

Tian Shizhong had to do a lot of talking before he managed to suppress him.

He thought about replacing him, but after much consideration, decided against it.

Perhaps another person wouldn’t be as compliant as Meng Lin!

He would just endure a little longer.

Tian Shizhong’s thoughts were quite simple, after all, he didn’t need to take the initiative to attack, just to stay put. Endure a few more days, and once General Han Fuyue died in battle, his return to the Qi Dynasty would be a great accomplishment.

...

"Report!

"General, the latest military dispatch."

The messenger delivered the newest military dispatch to the central tent, and Tian Shizhong took it, waving him off with a gesture.

He had kept his troops stationary for some time, but scouting for military intelligence was still necessary.

Every one to two hours, new dispatches were delivered to him.

More than a month had passed since the Jin soldiers began their attack on General Han Fuyue.

After Wanyan Sheng’s forces were initially defeated with heavy losses, the Jin changed their strategy.

They began to fight a war of attrition, advancing steadily and cautiously.

Clearly, Wanyan Sheng had realized that he couldn’t win a head-on fight with General Han Fuyue!

Since he couldn’t prevail, he exploited General Han Fuyue’s disadvantage of having fewer troops and insufficient logistics, relentlessly pressing the attack.

During this time, General Han Fuyue did organize a few counterattacks and surprise raids, achieving some good results. Still, Wanyan Sheng, a warrior known for his toughness, somehow withstood those attacks without crumbling.

And now, the supplies in General Han Fuyue’s army were finally running low.

Many local civilians wanted to bring grain to them, but they couldn’t go through the Jin lines, as it was too risky of being harassed by cavalry raiders. These civilians then turned to the Qi Army side to deliver their grain but were all blocked by Tian Shizhong.

When Tian Shizhong met these civilians, he spoke to them very kindly, "I appreciate your intentions on behalf of General Han Fuyue. If you have military rations, you may give them to me, and I will ensure they are delivered to General Han Fuyue. The front lines are perilous, and the fighting is fierce; it’s best if you elders and folks from my hometown do not go there."

The civilians were deeply touched and immediately showered Tian Shizhong with their spittle as a form of ’gratitude’.

"Corrupt official! Don’t think we don’t know you’re here to harm General Han, are you?"

"Give military grain to you? We wouldn’t feed you even to a dog!"

"Dog thief, not only do you refuse to support General Han, but you also intercept the provisions we send to him. Have you no conscience at all?"

After a barrage of insults, there was nothing Tian Shizhong could do.

People these days were too smart to be fooled!

Helpless, all he could do was hide in his large central tent and not come out again, at the same time ordering his Qi soldiers strictly not to let the grain-delivering civilians pass through.

Every day, outside the army camp, one could hear the painful curses of the civilians, and Tian Shizhong, unable to do anything, just let it happen.

After all, he couldn’t allow the Qi Army to slaughter its own people, right?

Even if he had the mind of a traitor, he didn’t have the guts for it.

So, as General Han Fuyue and the Jin soldiers fought for nearly a month, Tian Shizhong was also cursed for a month in his camp.

But thankfully, these hard days were nearly at an end.

According to the latest dispatch, General Han Fuyue’s army was now lacking food, and after continuous difficult battles, their morale had also been impacted. Meanwhile, the Jin soldiers, after resting and building up strength, were prepared to launch a final assault.

The Jin didn’t want to drag things out too long, either. The Rebel Army at the rear was revolting with full force, and Wanyan Sheng wanted to quickly kill General Han Fuyue and then return to suppress the rebellion.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m