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Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors-Chapter 501 - 266: Stand Firm_3
Chapter 501: Chapter 266: Stand Firm_3
Until they consumed the entire Jin army of more than one hundred thousand soldiers!
This mad plan shocked all the commanders of the army loyal to the emperor, but they had to admit, if successful, it would bring more than a century of prosperity to the Qi Dynasty.
There were threats, incentives, and spiritual encouragement.
Coupled with the heroic spirit shown by this new ruler during this period, most commanders, like Wang Jianxiong, were prepared to fight to the death.
Meanwhile, within the Jin encampment, there were undercurrents stirring.
Eventually, Wanyan Sheng overcame other opinions in the army and made a decision.
Breakout!
...
All these things were completed within a mere day and night.
Actually, the Jin’s response was not slow, even quite fast.
After the fierce battle with the Western Army, both sides retreated for recuperation.
Liu Fa, after a brief rest, immediately led the elite troops to visit the various loyalist armies to reward them and unify their thoughts.
On the Jin side, there was a heated debate about the next steps to take.
Initially, they hesitated to retreat because they had just seized half of what they wanted and were reluctant to stop. They hoped to use Emperor Yingzong of Qi, whom they held, to seize more from the Qi Dynasty before retreating.
Thus, the Jin waited until this field battle with the Western Army.
They assumed that the Western Army would definitely be defeated in the field battle, making it natural to clean up the loyalist armies and then besiege the capital.
However, the Western Army demonstrated formidable combat strength, and the Jin did not gain any advantage but instead were slightly at a disadvantage.
This made Wanyan Sheng and many Jin commanders feel that the situation was adverse.
But many in the army still refused to accept this reality.
These commanders believed the Jin could still fight!
The previous slight victory of the Western Army was just due to their luck, they thought. This time, if the entire Jin army pressed forward and engaged in a fierce battle, the Jin would surely win, and the Western Army would definitely collapse!
This couldn’t be said to be overconfidence by the Jin, rather, it was a form of path dependency.
A brute hitting an iron board first thinks not that the board is too hard, but that he didn’t strike hard enough.
In past battles, whenever the Jin encountered a deadlock, they would simply continue fighting fiercely, and this brute force approach always ended in their victory.
Thus, even now, facing setbacks on the battlefield, these Jin commanders still believed they could resolve it by fighting fiercely.
But Wanyan Sheng, after all, was a general adept in strategy.
His operational details might not be impressive, and he was often outmaneuvered by General Han Fuyue, but his judgment of situations was of the highest order.
When he realized that the loyalist armies of the Qi Dynasty were forming a surrounding net, and with the formidable strength shown by the Western Army, he became determined to temporarily retreat and fight another day.
It still took some time to convince everyone of this idea.
When the news of the loyalist army encirclement reached them, most Jin commanders laughed out loud.
The loyalist army?
Was it that group whose combat effectiveness was worse than pigs?
The Jin had already encountered the loyalist armies many times.
During the last siege of the capital, although the Jin failed to break through, the various loyalist armies around them dared not attack proactively and merely watched from the sidelines, not assisting each other even in distress—a situation that left a deep impression on the Jin.
The reason the Jin didn’t seek a decisive battle with the loyalist army was simply that it wasn’t worth it.
Since they won’t actively attack and just watch from the sidelines, why should I exert so much effort? Just concentrate on attacking cities and looting as planned, ignoring them.
Therefore, this time too, most Jin commanders thought the encirclement was laughable.
Such combat strength of the loyalist army, that encirclement was just paper-thin, easily breakable.
They didn’t see this encirclement as any threat but merely as a bluff from the Qi Dynasty. After all, the Qi Dynasty had often employed such tactics before, showing cunning tricks that easily fell apart upon a light touch.
In the end, it was still Wanyan Sheng who, against popular opinion, finalized the decision to retreat.
Three days later, the Jin soldiers broke camp and began to break out northward from Moutuo Ridge.
Of course, Wanyan Sheng also considered the likelihood that the Western Army would pursue, so he arranged for elite troops to cover the rear.
With the individual quality of the Jin soldiers, whether breaking out or covering the rear, there shouldn’t be too many issues.
As for the vanguard... after all, they were fighting a disorderly mob, so they didn’t need to exert too much effort.
In Wanyan Sheng’s view, as long as they pierced through this paper screen and broke out from one of the loyalist army’s defensive areas, they could then fight and retreat. By then, the Western Army would not likely pursue aggressively, ensuring their safety.
...
Soon, a fierce battle ignited near the capital of the Qi Dynasty.
The Jin attempted to withdraw from Moutuo Ridge and began to fiercely attack the northern loyalist armies.
Originally, the Jin thought this offensive would quickly end, their primary concern being a potential rear pursuit from the Western Army.
But the situation turned out to be vastly different from what they had expected!
In the attack, the Jin did not deliberately choose a main direction but simply picked the most convenient road. After all, in their eyes, the so-called loyalist armies were all a disorderly mob, with not much difference in strength, so why bother planning a specific breakout route?
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