The Demon Lords-Chapter 704 - 146 Beating the Drum to Gather Generals_3

Sigh. It's quite relaxing now that my overwhelming sense of justice isn't compelling me to meddle.

Over there, seeing that the Jin man they had finally captured had gone limp, the wild people started to divide their forces for a siege. Although they were referred to as wild people, their faces were those of Jin people. They were clad in armor and carried decent weapons. The front-row soldiers held shields, while the back rows carried siege ladders. Behind them, others pushed siege rams.

Then, halfway to the city wall, before the Shengle army had even fired an arrow, the wheels of the siege ram fell off. In the end, they had to rely on two lines of soldiers carrying the large log to continue their advance. If they knew this would happen, why bother with such a pointless charade?

"My lord, the wild people's siege has already revealed two absurd mistakes," Liang Cheng reported. "First, they are forcibly driving these slaves, captured with great difficulty, to attack my south wall, despite there being no moat or trench outside it. In fact, it's utterly pointless; the expenditure of arrows is negligible.

"If I were on the opposing side, I would have put these hard-won slaves to work on logistics in the military camp—felling trees, building fortifications, and so on. Manpower is always needed somewhere.

"Placing the slaves under the city gate and wall now will cause immense trouble for their main assault later. After all, the space beneath the city wall is limited."

In ancient wars, the number of civilian laborers often exceeded twice that of the regular army. This is why armies claiming to be forty or eighty thousand strong usually included these logistics personnel in their count.

"Actually..." Liang Cheng hesitated for a moment, then continued, "they are accustomed to driving herds of cattle and sheep with them on campaigns as provisions. However, it's clear that after entering the pass this time, they've been solely focused on plundering and sending goods back home, taking everything they need from the Jin land.

"Moreover, from the time the wild people invaded until the war engulfed half of the Cheng State, spring plowing and autumn harvests in these areas were largely disrupted. So, by now, even if the wild people want to plunder, it's unlikely they can find sufficient supplies nearby.

"The area around Snow Sea Pass was where they first entered and where they plundered most ruthlessly. The wild people should be running short of food by now."

"So, you're suggesting that these slaves... could be...eaten?" Zheng Fan asked.

Liang Cheng silently concurred.

"Do you always have to be so morbid?" Zheng Fan thought. I know you're a zombie, and I know you and A Ming enjoy your little cups of red together to cultivate your sensibilities, but do you really have to be so blunt?

"My apologies," Liang Cheng said.

"Continue. I'm listening," Zheng Fan replied.

General Zheng considered it a remedial lesson.

"The second mistake the wild people made is their choice of main attack direction," Liang Cheng explained. "My lord, look, they are focusing their assault on the very wall section where we are currently standing."

This referred to the upper part of the salient—the section of the wall that jutted out.

"However, in a real siege, the chances of successfully breaching the city by directly attacking the main gate are very low. Any defending force will heavily fortify its gates."

"But I don't see many defenses deployed beneath this gate…" Zheng Fan observed.

Zheng Fan understood. He nodded and said, "So, you're deliberately letting them breach this gate?"

"Not deliberately," Liang Cheng clarified. "Let's just say, if we can hold it, we will. If not, we'll let them break through the first gate, and only the first gate."

There were no stairs leading to the ramparts in the upper section of this salient. Therefore, if the wild people breached the gate here and rushed in excitedly, they would find themselves facing another, even stronger gate. Simultaneously, the Shengle army soldiers on all four sides of the inner walls would rain down fire on them from every angle. The wild people who charged in would be trapped, squeezed together, passively awaiting their deaths.

"This really is like an old sow in a bra—one trick after another!" General Zheng couldn't help but exclaim.

"My lord," Liang Cheng said, "I've just spotted a third mistake. The wild people are beginning their assault now. Allow me to escort you back to the rear wall first. We can talk as we go."

"Alright," Zheng Fan agreed.

General Zheng readily complied.

As the two retreated to the rear wall, away from the front line, Liang Cheng continued, "My lord, observing this first wave of attacking wild people, they look no different from Jin people. I suspect they are Geremu's troops.

"Since Geremu was of Jin origin, it's perfectly normal for his forces to consist mainly of surrendered Jin soldiers.

"Now that Geremu is dead, the wild people's Ten Thousand Households Chiefs are directly ordering Geremu's former troops to spearhead the assault. Ordinarily, this would be correct, as someone has to make the initial push.

"However, that strategy would make sense only if Geremu were still alive. With Geremu long dead, blatantly using them as the first wave of expendable forces will easily incite resentment among these surrendered Jin soldiers. Not only will their morale plummet during the siege, but later, if we decide on another night raid, we could use their encampment as a breakthrough point."

"Ready! Release!" Xue Three was commanding his men to launch the stone projectiles.

In truth, these "stone eggs" had limited destructive power, especially since it was difficult to create fragmenting explosive shells. Normally, defenders used catapults to target siege towers or the enemy's artillery. The wild people, however, had none.

Nevertheless, having to worry about "meteorites" constantly falling from above while attacking the city was, in itself, a massive blow to the attackers' morale.