Chapter 1537 – Cutting Nie Liang and Attacking Yang Tao, The Sword Points to the World (Seventy-Six)
Wei Ci’s face showed hesitation. Even though he knew that Old Master Sun Wen’s plan was feasible, there were too many variables involved.
Throughout history, how many feigned retreats turned into genuine collapses because of unforeseen circumstances?
Soldiers don’t understand the intentions of their superiors; they only know that their side was beaten into retreat by the enemy, which will inevitably dampen overall morale.
Morale is something invisible and intangible, yet its impact on the battlefield is immense.
With high morale, even rookies can chase elite soldiers all over the place; when morale is low, no matter how strong the elite troops are, they can’t match up against ragtag enemies.
Wei Ci wasn’t against Old Master Sun Wen’s plan; he just wanted to minimize the negative effects of the retreat as much as possible.
Qi Guanrang, seeing the situation, chose a middle-ground solution.
“Let them hold the line here for a while; you two go to Erdao City and get ready for the enemy,” Qi Guanrang decisively said. “If we retreat suddenly, the soldiers will think our side can’t contend with Nie’s army. If we prepare in advance, we should be able to minimize the impact of the retreat.”
Of course, Wei Ci couldn’t agree to that. Leaving Qi Guanrang alone to command, even with several generals to assist him, he still couldn’t cover the entire battle situation.
Things were already tight, and if Wei Ci and Old Master Sun Wen left too, the pressure on Qi Guanrang would be astronomical.
Qi Guanrang shook his head. “There’s no time to hesitate; you need to prepare quickly. Judging by the situation, the city gate can hold for another fifteen minutes.”
Wei Ci and Old Master Sun Wen exchanged glances and stopped opposing it.
This wasn’t the time to waste. Every extra second lost meant countless lives at stake.
“Come!” Qi Guanrang’s expression darkened a bit as he called over a soldier. “Immediately send someone to stack extra stones at the city gate!”
The enemy’s assault was fierce. Even though the soldiers on the walls were doing their best to shoot down the enemy carrying siege weapons, for every batch taken down, another batch replaced them, and the enemy was doing their utmost to provide cover. When dozens of enemies charged the city gate with siege weapons, Qi Guanrang could feel the ground slightly trembling beneath his feet. Despite the city gate being made of heavy solid wood, bronze, and fine iron, it couldn’t withstand such violent battering.
Since the city gate was bound to break eventually, it was better to use the time to give the enemy more trouble.
“Advisor, if we block the city gate—”
A general’s face showed hesitation; he was one of the few who knew about their lord leading troops out at night to ambush the enemy.
If they blocked the city gate, it would not only hinder the enemy but also obstruct their lord’s return.
Qi Guanrang’s face remained cold. “You only need to obey military orders and not question them on the field. When it comes down to it, I know what I’m doing.”
The general immediately clasped his fist and bowed. “Yes, I will obey your order!”
With that, he quickly organized some troops to pile stones to seal off the city gate completely. Even though the enemy continued to use siege weapons to batter the gate, it wouldn’t be easy for them to break through Zhanjiang Pass. They should still be able to buy some time.
“Why have you two advisors returned? Is something wrong ahead?”
Feng Yi was busy arranging for soldiers to send defensive equipment to the front lines when he caught a glimpse of Wei Ci and the others rushing in. His heart sank.
Wei Ci raised a hand to stop Feng Yi from speaking and briefly said, “The front gate has not yet fallen.”
Worry was etched across Feng Yi’s face. Even from this distance, he could hear the commotion at the gate. Every moment felt like walking on thin ice. Yet, he could do very little, only try his best to work hard and gain experience.
Sun Wen asked, “What about Lanlan?”
Feng Yi replied, “There were too many injured soldiers coming from the front. It’s chaotic, and Sun Lan is helping direct the transfer of wounded to the triage.”
During battles, the number of soldiers dying on the spot is not high; most soldiers die because they do not receive timely treatment.
Jiang Pengji understood this and naturally took measures to reduce mortality rates.
To that end, she established a combat medical camp. The soldiers in this camp not only needed to learn first aid but also combat skills alongside regular soldiers. Their responsibility was to specifically transfer frontline soldiers who had lost their fighting capability but were not dead yet.
Their medical knowledge didn’t need to surpass that of the military doctors in the field hospital, but they needed to know how to minimize secondary injuries during transfers.
Their combat skills didn’t have to be better than those of combat troops, but they needed to learn how to protect themselves.
These soldiers were essentially situated between the logistics medical team and frontline combat troops.
While they weren’t as proficient as either side, their role was indeed as critical, if not more so, in certain respects.
As the number of injured on the frontline grew, transferring them became disorderly; Sun Lan took the initiative to volunteer to help out.
Upon hearing this, Sun Wen felt both gratified yet a bit melancholy.
Having weathered many storms, he understood what a logistics injury camp meant. It may appear to be in the rear, but the scene there was no less than hell on earth. Sun Lan, who had never even seen a chicken killed, suddenly looking at such sights, he wasn’t sure if he could bear it.
Old Master Sun Wen placed a lot of value on his grandson, so subconsciously, he treated Sun Lan like a child, unaware that his grandson had already grown up.
War is the ultimate test of a person.
Initially, Sun Lan was helping with coordination, but as the manpower became insufficient, he began carrying stretchers and the wounded, moving back and forth dozens, if not hundreds of times. His shoulder’s clothing got worn away by the hemp rope, and blisters formed on his skin and palms. His originally clean clothes were stained red with the blood of the injured, making him look like a blood-soaked ghost from a distance. More determination now adorned his expression, making it hard to recognize his past self.
He overheard whispers of a possible retreat from the frontline and felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his soul nearly leaving his body.
Grandpa Sun Wen was still at the front; how was he doing now?
“Grandpa…”
Sun Lan gazed at the flames roaring on the horizon, his heart almost twisted into a knot.
However, he had no time to find out about his grandpa’s situation now; he could only grit his teeth and push down all his worries.
The vast injury camp was filled with wounded soldiers; some fortunate ones managed to land stretchers or straw mats, while more soldiers had to lie on the ground, leaning against each other to save space. Due to a shortage of female military doctors and medical supplies, many soldiers only had time for a quick clean-up of their wounds, stitching, and bandaging, with the rest left to fate. The seemingly rough medical methods were quite comprehensive for this era. Overall, Jiang Pengji’s soldiers had the lowest mortality rate during this period.
Listening to the cries of the wounded around him, Sun Lan took a deep breath, suddenly feeling an unprecedented impulse.
Yet, he quickly shoved that thought out of his mind.
His grandpa had high hopes for him, and he wouldn’t likely allow him to learn medicine and become a doctor. Sun Lan didn’t think he was cut out for it either. No matter how good their medical skills were, a doctor can only save a limited number of patients in their lifetime. It would be better to work hard in the future to become a local magistrate and benefit the people.
