Chapter 1645: Chapter 1645: Persuasion
"It seems there’s no other choice now. I’ve reviewed all the intelligence reports; Huo Ziqing carried a total of fifty thousand shi of grain when he set out for battle, and later received an additional fifty to sixty thousand shi, totaling over a hundred thousand shi of supplies. With the supply line cut and no more provisions, these supplies should last a little over a month. If used sparingly, perhaps two months at most. After two months, they’d have to slaughter warhorses for food, and a few days after that... they would begin to scatter, mutiny chaos would ensue, plundering civilians, arson, and killing, losing complete control," analyzed Ye Shikai.
"One month has already passed. That means General Huo must retreat within another month at most."
"But now the Qin Army holds the high ground and has severed our army’s retreat. Even if we want to withdraw, these Qin Army must ’agree,’ right," Mi Wen retorted.
"Then what do you want to do?" Ye Shikai countered.
"Rather than trying to break through the Qin Army blocking our rear, it would be better to advance courageously. The entire army should keep moving forward. If we can conquer the two counties of Ba Shu within a month, those lands are resource-rich and abundant in grain, enough to supply the needs of the army."
"No, that’s too risky," Ye Shikai immediately refuted upon hearing this. "It’s too dangerous to attempt this; Ba Shu is fortified by mountains and rivers. Trying to conquer it within a month is incredibly difficult, even the world’s greatest generals might not succeed. By then, the supplies would be depleted before we capture Ba Shu; advancing would be impossible, and retreating wouldn’t be feasible either. The entire army would face annihilation."
"The art of war lies in taking risks. If we can capture Ba Shu, the situation is set. Even if it costs a bit more, what’s the harm? Even if eighty thousand men die, as long as we have the territory, I’m not afraid we won’t be able to expand the army."
"You..." Ye Shikai’s heart surged with rage. "You’re joking with the lives of a hundred thousand brothers."
"If we cannot overthrow the Qin Dynasty, thousands of civilians die every day. Long pain is worse than short pain. If sacrificing these hundred thousand lives can bring peace to the world, wouldn’t you be willing?"
"If the price of peace in the world can easily be measured by lives, then the human realm becomes a purgatory," Ye Shikai muttered. The peace of the world has never been something that can be exchanged for a few lives. At the time, when a meteor fell in East County, Emperor thought that killing the civilians near the meteor would seal off those groundless ’words’ and bring peace. In reality, the mass killing sparked civilian resistance, which became the root of chaos."
"Mi Wen, let me give you some advice—let Huo Ziqing return."
"No, I absolutely cannot give up so easily," Mi Wen said coldly. Ye Shikai’s tone was close to pleading, but it was of no use.
"If...if you let him retreat, I promise you, next time I’ll personally lead the troops to campaign against Ba Shu."
"What did you say?"
"I said, as long as you agree to have the troops withdraw this time, I’ll lead the campaign to conquer Ba Shu next time," Ye Shikai said flatly, but he was deeply conflicted inside. He truly didn’t want to lead troops in battle again, but this seemed to be his only bargaining chip to convince Mi Wen.
"Are you serious?" A glint of shrewdness flashed in Mi Wen’s eyes. She originally wanted Ye Shikai to lead the troops for this campaign against Ba Shu, but she’d already agreed to Ye Shikai’s ’three months’ leave, so she could only have Huo Ziqing lead the troops. Now that he proactively proposed leading the next campaign, it was exactly what Mi Wen wanted.
"Don’t you hope for this?" Ye Shikai retorted.
"Alright then, since that’s the case, I agree," Mi Wen said with a faint smile, turning to walk outside, and she looked back once more when reaching the door.
"A gentleman’s promise is hard to retract; you must not go back on your word."
"Rest assured."
.......................................
Government office.
"Now that the Qin Army has completely cut off our army’s retreat, even if we wanted to withdraw, I’m afraid it’s not possible. If we forcibly attack their high-ground camp and attempt to carve a path through, there’d be significant losses," Ye Shikai said, looking at the map, feeling somewhat troubled. He had already learned the specifics from Wan Qi Yuan’s battle reports; the Qin Army was quick and had set up camps and checkpoints along the way, making a forced breakthrough not easy.
"So, have you come up with a solution?" At this moment, Mi Wen also approached, "I’ve already issued an urgent order for General Huo to open the retreat path and withdraw immediately. They only have thirty thousand men; they couldn’t possibly overpower our army."
"Being able to win and doing it well are two different things; the result is the same, but I want more brothers to return home," Ye Shikai said, rolling his eyes and murmuring. Unlike Mi Wen, who is ’unconcerned about details,’ he is quite ’concerned about details.’ Even if it could save a hundred or more brothers, he would devise a new plan, as long as it’s effective...
"Alright, then what good methods do you have?" Mi Wen asked.
"If a route could be found to circumvent the Qin Army’s blockade, that would be best," Ye Shikai answered.
"That’s impossible; I’ve scrutinized this map countless times, and all the retreat paths have Qin Army," Mi Wen immediately refuted.
"What’s not on the map doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist in reality. In fact, the map is just an ’introduction’ to the actual environment. The higher the precision, the more detailed the ’introduction,’ but achieving ’complete’ is impossible," Ye Shikai explained.
"Then do you have any idea?"
"I plan to go personally," Ye Shikai said firmly.
"There’s no spare manpower left in the city, you should know this."
"You’ve misunderstood, I’m not planning to take an army to rescue, but... to go alone," Ye Shikai shook his head and raised a finger.
"What? Going alone, absolutely not, that isn’t a teahouse, it’s a battlefield..."
"Alright, I’m aware it’s a battlefield," Ye Shikai waved his hand.
"If you go alone and are discovered by the Qin Army, even as a cultivator, you’d inevitably face danger."
"Precisely because it’s dangerous, I plan to go alone. If I were to bring escorts, it would be like directly telling the Qin Army that I’m a Chu General. On the contrary, if I go alone and disguise myself as a traveling doctor, the Qin Army surely won’t detect me," Ye Shikai explained.
"Is that... really feasible?"
"Disguising as a traveling doctor is surely safer than wearing a General’s uniform. Besides, I know some herbal medicine. I’m not boasting; if I take off the General’s uniform and put on cloth clothing, I become a real traveling doctor."
"Alright, be careful on the road."
"Mm, just before I leave, I want to go back and explain to Ling’er."
