The hundred-thousand-strong army, whether they were injured, resting, or on duty, echoed almost at the same time.
"Brothers at home, comrades on the battlefield …"
The song was led by Fu Baoguo; the chorus was loud and majestic. How could a chorus of more than a hundred thousand people not be loud and majestic?
At this very moment, all of Yutang's soldiers could feel their blood boiling!
The entire sky and earth were trembling, fighting because of the singing of Yutang's soldiers.
The song spread far and wide, reaching the clouds.
The vigor of facing death with equanimity, the determination to fight until the very last moment, was as solid as a rock, unshakable, indestructible, and indestructible.
It was so loud that even Dongxuan's camp could hear it loud and clear.
The fervent pre-battle mobilization also involuntarily came to a halt.
Many of Dongxuan's generals walked up to the higher ground in silence, gazing at the pitch-black hill on the other side. The deafening song was coming from the other side of the hill, their gazes filled with uncontrollable respect.
Zhan Ge also stared at the other side of the hill in silence, his gaze exceptionally complicated.
Only Han Sanhe remained in his tent, not observing Yutang's movements. He stood with his arms behind his back, but the complicated expression on his lean face flickered back and forth. After some time, he finally walked out of the tent with his arms on his back and came to the top of the hill.
Zhan Ge was already standing there, looking at Yutang's camp. Seeing Han Sanhe's arrival, he turned to greet him at once. "Teacher, you …"
There was hesitation and respect in his voice, but more than that, it was a contradiction that stemmed from his own self-doubt.
"It looks like you've realized it as well?" Han Sanhe said faintly.
The song was still reverberating, reverberating endlessly. Even the mountains and valleys around Dongxuan's camp were reverberating from the rumbling.
Zhan Ge swallowed with difficulty and said, "Yes, I feel that tomorrow's battle will be the most tragic battle I've ever encountered in my life. I … I actually have doubts about this battle that I've already grasped victory in!"
A bitter smile hung on Han Sanhe's bony face as he said, "Your feeling is right. The battle tomorrow will be unexpectedly brutal, but the outcome is still predetermined. Dongxuan will win, but it will be a pyrrhic victory. Perhaps, it will be a losing battle!"
"I've only encountered such an army once in all the battles I've been through in my life." Han Sanhe uttered word by word, "A hundred thousand troops, a hundred thousand men of sacrifice! This is too scary! "
Zhan Ge said, "Once?"
"Back then, when we were fighting Shangguan Lingxiao, we had set up an ambush and bribed our spies. The encirclement was complete, trapping Shangguan Lingxiao in Sobbing Ghost Valley, seven hundred miles away from the Fortress of Resilience … We deployed a hundred and fifty thousand men and surrounded Shangguan Lingxiao's twenty thousand men. That battle was just like that. "
Han Sanhe's tone was filled with nostalgia.
"What was the result of that battle?" Zhan Ge asked respectfully.
"I was personally in charge of commanding a hundred and fifty thousand men on our side. Against twenty thousand men, we had set up an ambush in advance, our bows and arrows in place. It was a perfect time, place, and manpower. All three factors were in place, our odds of victory were set in stone. There was no way we would fail …" Han Sanhe sighed, "As for the result of that battle, none of Shangguan Lingxiao's twenty thousand men survived! All of them were annihilated! "
"When the battlefield was cleaned up after the battle, less than five hundred of Shangguan Lingxiao's twenty thousand men could be found with their corpses intact," Han Sanhe said seriously.
Zhan Ge suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body, a chill running down his spine as he asked anxiously, "What about us?"
He was very familiar with his teacher's habits. By saying things like this, he was laying out the foundation for his side's losses. His side's losses would be a number that would greatly exceed his own expectations!
Han Sanhe said faintly, "Of the hundred and fifty thousand men, only seventy-six thousand and three hundred came back alive!"
Zhan Ge felt his heart skip a beat, breathing labored for a moment, his eyes almost seeing stars.
They had the advantage of a geographical ambush and an insider, but they had still suffered a one-to-four casualty ratio!
"How is this possible? How could we, who had the advantage of time, place, and manpower, have suffered such casualties? Preposterous! Preposterous! " Zhan Ge, who thought he had mentally prepared himself, blurted out, disbelief written all over his face.
"Why is it impossible? I was there that day, I witnessed it with my own eyes. Thinking about it now, it's still vivid in my mind, engraved in my soul! "
Han Sanhe said, "Did you know that some of the enemy's soldiers were slashed dozens of times, lying on the ground motionless. They were actually waiting for Dongxuan's soldiers to pass by before they pounced on them, biting their targets' throats with the last bit of their strength. When the corpses were collected, more than thirty soldiers died in vain because of this …"
"Do you know, after that battle, only about two hundred of Dongxuan's seventy-six thousand and three hundred people were lightly injured? The rest of them were basically unscathed. No, I should say that among those who survived, there wasn't a single one who was heavily injured!"
Zhan Ge was a general who knew his soldiers well, understanding the deeper meaning of Han Sanhe's words at once. His face paled at once.
What a cruel battle that had been!
Not even a single one was lightly injured.
Not a single one was heavily injured.
Those who were slightly injured were all dead?
"That battle was Shangguan Lingxiao's last battle, it was also the last battle of the Shangguan Family of Generals. It was also the last time this old man and the Shangguan Family of Generals will fight."
Han Sanhe sucked in a deep breath. "Since then, this old man's respect for the Shangguan Family of Generals has exceeded that of anyone else. I don't even want to meet any heirs of the Shangguan Family of Generals anymore! "
He turned to look at Zhan Ge. "Zhan Ge, what you're going to face tomorrow might very well be another Shangguan Lingxiao. Fu Baoguo is even stronger and more fearless than Shangguan Lingxiao was back then! Most importantly, the total number of troops under him is five times more than Shangguan Lingxiao's! "
"Also, the morale boost before us has greatly surpassed Shangguan Lingxiao's."
"Against such morale … no matter how many casualties there are, it won't weaken. Unless the other side is completely wiped out, there's no chance of victory. " There seemed to be a ball of fire burning in Han Sanhe's eyes. "Lastly, if you win, you'll never forget Fu Baoguo for a moment in your entire life. He'll become the most important person in your life!"
"If you lose …"
Han Sanhe closed his eyes. "Then it'll be eternal damnation!"
"Are you ready?"
Zhan Ge felt his heart tremble as a sharp glint shot out from his eyes. "I'm ready!"
If he, who had a million men under his command, were to be defeated by Fu Baoguo's hundred thousand men … there would be no need for eternal damnation; he could just cut his own throat. What was the point of living?
"As a general, there has to be a battle that he has to face in his life, a battle that he has to overcome. Only by going through such a battle can he truly ascend to the position of a peerless marshal!"
Han Sanhe said faintly, "This is your chance, and also your catastrophe!"
The singing on the other side did not stop. Not only did it not stop, it grew louder and more intense.
In spite of this, the sharpness in Zhan Ge's gaze grew sharper. He sucked in a deep breath and said, "Teacher, don't worry! Tomorrow, I will definitely win this battle! "
Han Sanhe nodded.
Then, Zhan Ge asked humbly, "Teacher, what strategy do you think I should adopt tomorrow?"
Han Sanhe narrowed his eyes and said faintly, "I can help you make decisions for all the battles in the past. However, I can't do that for tomorrow's battle. "
"All of my suggestions, regardless of the pros and cons, will hinder and hinder you."
Han Sanhe said slowly, "I only have one last thing to tell you."
Zhan Ge said sternly, "Please speak, teacher. This disciple will learn."
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