The war cries that lasted the entire night shook the heaven and earth. Sun Zihu and the western elites who had just arrived were not in the mood to sleep in such an environment, so it was only natural that they found it harder to do so now.
In spite of this, Sun Zihu had issued a death order, "Sleep! Whoever can't sleep tonight will be punished as defying a military order! Also, the list of offenders will be reported to Marshal Wang. Marshal Wang will decide how to judge them! "
The order was extremely unreasonable, but it was the most appropriate one at the moment.
To Sun Zihu, the reinforcements from the Western Front were the only time he and his brothers had to rest for the night.
After this night, it would be blood and fire, life and death.
Why had Han Sanhe launched such a ferocious attack at this time?
One of the reasons was to prevent them from getting a good rest!
If the one hundred and fifty thousand troops who had just arrived did not rest well, the damage to their overall combat power would be significant.
The most direct result would be that Han Sanhe's Dongxuan army would lose at least tens of thousands of men!
It could even have a great impact on the entire battle!
"What are Sun Zihu and the rest doing?" Fu Baoguo, who was so tired that he was barely human, asked with bloodshot eyes after midnight.
"Snoring, thunderous snoring," answered a general.
"Well done!" Fu Baoguo nodded in satisfaction. "Western troop elites indeed!"
The other generals also had looks of admiration on their faces.
To be able to sleep in such an environment, they were no ordinary people. They were truly of exceptional quality!
It looked like the western troop elites who had come as reinforcements were not much weaker than the eastern troop.
"We know that we should sleep and rest, but we really don't want to sleep, yet we have no choice. Firstly, Sun Xianfeng has given us a death order; secondly, the threat is upon us. Disobeying a military order is secondary, but the key is that the violator will have to report back to Marshal Wang. If it's true, we'll be blacklisted as cowards. So, we have to sleep even if we're beaten to death. Besides, only a good night's sleep and rest can we better deal with that damned Han Sanhe. When we've rested and rested well tomorrow, we'll settle the score with Dongxuan. We'll let them know that Yutang's military isn't just limited to the eastern troop, but the western troop as well!"
The battle that lasted the entire night finally came to an end at dawn.
Fu Baoguo had paid a heavy price of seventeen thousand men in this battle!
Dongxuan's army was even worse off. There were no less than thirty thousand corpses left under the city, and at least ten thousand of those who were slightly injured managed to drag their lives back.
In this offensive and defensive battle, both sides fought with all their might.
The Steel Cavalry, who had been roaming the nearby forest in search of battle opportunities, had moved out more than twenty times that night. In just one night, they had used up all the arrows they had brought with them, leaving not a single one behind.
It was only at the break of dawn on the second day that Fu Baoguo could finally heave a sigh of relief.
But Sun Zihu requested to fight!
"You're the one who knows the strength of the reinforcements at the Western Front the best, so you'll have full authority to command and assign your troops." Fu Baoguo said, "I only have one request. Buy us a day and a night of rest!"
"Don't worry, General Fu. The western troop will do their best. Even if they have to sacrifice their lives and be wiped out, the Fortress of Resilience will not fall! "
Sun Zihu returned the salute solemnly.
What he had seen along the way during the long journey had made Sun Zihu truly understand the importance of the Fortress of Resilience. After the Fortress of Resilience, it was a vast expanse of flat land; there was no longer any danger to defend!
Once this fortress was breached, Yutang would be exposed to the enemy naked, at their mercy. It was no wonder that there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood every time they fought here. It was because this was the only path that the invading enemy had to pass through.
If Dongxuan wanted to invade Yutang, they would have to breach the Fortress of Resilience. Only by doing so could they talk about invading Yutang!
As for crossing the two mountains on the side, it was not entirely impossible. The only condition was that Dongxuan's soldiers were experts of the fifth peak and above. That was all!
Of course, even crossing the two mountains on the side of the Fortress of Resilience was not entirely safe. There were still countless steep cliffs and obstacles along the way. Even a cultivator who had attained the fifth heaven of the peak realm might not be able to cross it safely!
This was the lesson that Dongxuan had learned through countless bloody battles since Yutang had built the Fortress of Resilience.
Although Han Sanhe was the God of War of his generation, his intelligence unparalleled, he could only fight Fu Baoguo head-on in front of the Fortress of Resilience!
Other than that, there was no other way to bypass the Fortress of Resilience!
Sun Zihu had followed Western Marshal Wang Yunzhu for more than a decade. He was a veteran of the battlefield, or else he would not have been entrusted with such a heavy responsibility by Wang Yunzhu to lead this expedition. He was indeed the person who was the most familiar, the most knowledgeable, and the most suitable to lead the western reinforcements!
Sun Zihu accepted the military order solemnly and arranged his troops immediately, splitting the hundred and fifty thousand men into five waves; thirty thousand men in each wave, replacing all the soldiers who were currently guarding the fortress.
Many of the soldiers closed their eyes and started snoring the moment they were replaced. Some did not even leave their posts; there were even many who fell asleep standing up.
Even Fu Baoguo himself had shut his eyes immediately after giving his orders and was carried back by the assistant general and janissary beside him.
Marshal Fu had been sleeping all along the way.
No one knew what he was dreaming about, but the janissary felt that the cotton jacket on his back had been drenched by the marshal's tears.
Who would have believed that Yutang's renowned marshal, Fu Baoguo, who had always been cold-hearted, would actually cry?
Fu Baoguo's assistant general and janissary were not surprised, for their eyes were filled with tears as well.
The Fortress of Resilience, Yutang's four hundred thousand brothers at the eastern border, including the martial world's reinforcements and ordinary citizens who had volunteered to join the war, amounted to less than four hundred and fifty thousand men.
Up until now, there were only two hundred and thirty thousand men left!
In other words, up until now, a total of one hundred and eighty thousand brothers had fallen at the Fortress of Resilience forever!
Now, none of the warriors in the Fortress of Resilience dared to gather.
Even after the war, when they were at their most tired, those generals who were used to drinking a little to relieve their fatigue and get together with their brothers were now drinking alone and crying as they drank.
They dared not greet or call for friends, only wishing to drink alone.
It was because the people who used to drink with them could not be gathered no matter how they called for them now.
The eight brothers who used to drink together had suddenly become three, then two.
How did the two of them feel when they were together?
It was not drinking, it was digging their hearts out, one by one!
That night.
Every soldier who had been relieved of their duties, after waking up from their deep slumber, immediately burst into loud sobs that were filled with suppressed emotions.
Looking at the neatly arranged wills left by their comrades beside them, looking at the money they had left behind to beg for them to bring home for the army …
Recalling how their brothers had roared and used their chests to block the saber that was slashing at them, blocking the arrows that were aimed at them with their own bodies …
Recalling how the cunning fellow had taken a big stride in front of them and turned into a porcupine by the countless arrows, he had turned into a porcupine. Turning back, he was still laughing with blood foaming in his mouth. "F * ck … I've been cunning all my life, I've been impulsive this time … I've really been impulsive …"
Then, his comrades who had fallen.
Recalling how the brothers had laughed and patted his shoulder when they had gone to war, "If I die in battle, you must help me take care of my mother!"
"If I die in battle, I'll entrust my family to you."
"If I die in battle, my child is still young. Brother, you'll have to work hard."
"This is the divorce letter. If I die in battle, don't tell my family about my death. Send the divorce letter back first and let that woman go. We'll talk about it later. She's too stubborn, if I were to send the news of my death back now, she would really guard me for the rest of her life … "
"You haven't found a wife yet. Just nice, if I die in battle, you can come to my house. My wife is pretty and gentle, you can marry into my family and help me take care of my child. If you feel uncomfortable, you can change your surname to yours. At that time, my mother will be your mother, my son will be your son, and my wife will be your wife!"
"..."
Thinking of these entrusted tasks, everyone burst into tears!
When they had spoken, there had been laughter; there had even been scuffles and curses, but now that they thought of it, it was heart-wrenching.
Fu Baoguo woke up in the middle of the night, his eyes staring at the ceiling listlessly. After a while, he suddenly covered his mouth, tears streaming down his cheeks like a flood. Clutching his chest, he felt the excruciating pain as he sobbed, "A hundred and eighty thousand … a hundred and eighty thousand brothers … gone just like that …"
He sucked in deep breaths, the pain in his heart making it hard for him to breathe.
It was said that a general's heart should be like iron, but how could a general's heart be like iron? Even if it was like iron, it was not real iron after all; it would still hurt!
The agony seeped into his bones!
It had only been a day, but Fu Baoguo and the eastern border troop's heart-wrenching agony had been thoroughly tasted by the western troop who had come as reinforcements.
The bitterness of it was truly heart-wrenching for every soldier of the western troop.
Han Sanhe's probing attack alone had caused the western troop to lose more than two thousand men in a straight line!
This was really just Han Sanhe's probing attack.
His ultimate goal was to find out who the reinforcements from yesterday were.
He had to find out who they were before he could devise a targeted strategy.
…
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