Chai Lingde stood on the walls of the South Flower Gate City as he stared blankly at Zhao Hai's camp. At the same time, he also stared blankly at the passage that led to the foot of the mountain.
Originally, in order to guard against Zhao Hai's attack, they had dug a lot of trenches along the way. These trenches were all within the attack range of the ballistas. This was to force Zhao Hai's army to face these trenches when they attack the city. This way, more people would die.
This arrangement was very good. This was because if Zhao Hai wanted to attack South Flower Gate City, then these trenches would be more than enough to deal with.
But now, what made Chai Lingde stunned was that in addition to the trenches that they dug, there were countless more trenches that appeared outside of the attack range of the ballistas. And all of these trenches were dug by Zhao Hai's army. Moreover, Zhao Hai's army was still digging.
Ever since Chai Lingde received this news, he had been standing on the city walls in a daze. Now, he truly understood how terrifying Zhao Hai was. Terrifying, too terrifying. It seemed like every step of his plan was within Zhao Hai's expectations. Wasn't this terrifying enough?
Chai Lingde sent a letter to the City Lord, telling him that he wanted to leave the city and camp at the foot of the mountain. This way, he wouldn't have to worry about a water source and he would be able to delay Zhao Hai. As for Zhao Hai's attack, it was already within Chai Lingde's plan. Chai Lingde wanted to block Zhao Hai's army outside of Mount Zhuhua. He was afraid that Zhao Hai's army would enter the South Flower Gate and wreak havoc.
This plan was good, it could even be said to be very good. But now, it didn't look good at all. This was because if they wanted to attack the city, then they would first have to fill up the trenches that they dug. This wasn't difficult since they had their own ballistas to protect them. But now that Zhao Hai's army was digging trenches, Chai Lingde had a headache. If they wanted to go down the mountain, then they would have to face the trenches that Zhao Hai's army had dug. It was impossible for Zhao Hai's army to not use the ballistas to block those trenches. When that time comes, how many of them would be able to survive?
Chai Lingde was also surprised by this point. He discovered that Zhao Hai seemed to know about his plan. Therefore, before he could carry out his plan, he had already sealed it. If Chai Lingde were to carry out his plan, then he wouldn't even know how he died.
At this time, Shangguan Cheng arrived by Chai Lingde's side. He looked outside the city and sighed, "General, the City Lord has replied. He doesn't agree with our plan. He wants us to retreat to Huanhe City and set up defenses there. As long as we can hold on for a month, the reinforcements from the other cities would arrive. At that time, we wouldn't have to worry about Zhao Hai's army."
Chai Lingde nodded, then he turned to Shangguan Cheng and said, "Alright, let's retreat. Even if we leave the city now, it's impossible. It's better to retreat as soon as possible."
Shangguan Cheng nodded, then he said, "Then I'll make the arrangements. We'll retreat as soon as possible. If we wait any longer, then we'll run out of water. At that time, it would be troublesome to retreat."
Chai Lingde nodded and said, "Alright, go and make the arrangements. We'll leave tomorrow. If we can't take anything with us, then just burn it. We can't leave it for Zhao Hai."
Shangguan Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, I understand. I'll make the arrangements." Chai Lingde nodded, then he waved his hand. Shangguan Cheng then withdrew. Chai Lingde turned his head to Zhao Hai and muttered, "I won't let you have an easy time, I definitely won't."
At this time, Liu Hong saw the reaction of South Hua Gate City. When he saw the people of South Hua Gate City packing up their things, Liu Hong immediately knew that the people of South Hua Gate City were going to retreat. He didn't think that the people of South Hua Gate City would attack them. Therefore, he immediately returned to the camp and went to see Zhao Hai.
Zhao Hai called Liu Hong into the tent and said, "How is it? What's the reaction of South Hua Gate City? "
Liu Hong replied, "Alliance Lord, they're packing up their things. It seems like they're going to retreat. What should we do?"
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Retreating is good. Once they retreat, we can directly go over Mount Zhuhua. Liu Hong, you don't need to monitor them anymore. Immediately take your scouting team over Mount Zhuhua and directly enter Southflower City. Draw a map of Southflower City for me. At the same time, take a look at where their army is retreating. Right, if you find a suitable ambush spot, report it immediately." Liu Hong nodded and said, "Alright, I'll be leaving soon.
Liu Hong nodded, then he immediately left the tent. Then he led his scouting team out of the camp. After he left, Zhao Hai immediately called the other commanders into the tent.
After everyone sat down, Zhao Hai looked at everyone and said, "I have some bad news for everyone. I hope that everyone can be mentally prepared." Then Zhao Hai paused and looked at everyone. When everyone heard Zhao Hai say bad news, their expressions turned serious as they stared at Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai looked at their expressions and sighed, "The bad news is that our trenches were dug in vain. I'm afraid that the people of South Hua Gate City are going to retreat."
Upon hearing Zhao Hai, everyone stared. Then they understood that Zhao Hai was teasing them. If the people of South Hua Gate City were going to retreat, then Zhao Hai's plan would succeed. The people of South Hua Gate City wouldn't be able to hold on, they would run away. They would be able to take South Hua Gate City without spending a single soldier.
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but feel excited. Zhao Hai looked at them and laughed. "Alright, everyone, tell the brothers to stop digging ditches. They're too tired. Come back and rest for two days. Then we can cross Mount Zhuhua. Go and arrange it." Zhao Hai nodded.
Everyone nodded at the same time. Then they stood up and cupped their fists towards Zhao Hai before turning around to leave. However, their hearts were still filled with excitement. One must know that most of these commanders participated in the war against the Sacred Court. At that time, they were blocked outside of South Hua Gate City and suffered a crushing defeat.
At that time, they thought of many methods and used many tricks. However, South Hua Gate City was like an iron wall. No matter what they did, it wouldn't budge. But now? Now, Zhao Hai didn't even use a single soldier. In less than a month, the people of South Hua Gate City had already retreated. They didn't even suffer a single injury. The gap between them was too big.
Many of the commanders were bitter. They couldn't help but smile bitterly. Last time, they lost miserably because they couldn't capture South Hua Gate City. If they used Zhao Hai's method to cut off the water supply of South Hua Gate City, then the other side would have two choices. One was to leave the city and fight. The other was to withdraw from South Hua Gate City and make way for Mount Zhuhua. No matter what the result was, they wouldn't have lost so miserably.
The gap was too big. Compared to Zhao Hai, the gap between Year 19 and Zhao Hai was too big. They couldn't deny it even if they didn't want to.
At this point, Zhao Hai's army had already stopped digging trenches. On the contrary, they were preparing to fill the trenches. When the soldiers heard that the trenches that they dug were going to be filled, they didn't complain. They had no reason to complain. If they could dig trenches, then they would be able to defeat the enemy. Who would be willing to risk their lives to fight the enemy? Now that the soldiers heard that the enemy was about to retreat from South Hua Gate City, they were very happy. They knew that the Sacred Academy's army of several hundred thousand was defeated in front of South Hua Gate City, resulting in countless casualties. Before this, they were worried about the battle in South Hua Gate City. But now that they heard that the battle was over and that they were victorious, how could they not be happy?
At this time, Chai Lingde wasn't in the mood to care about what Zhao Hai and the others were thinking. They packed their things and left South Hua Gate City the next day. They returned to South Hua City and prepared to form a defensive line in Huan River City in order to block Zhao Hai's attack.
The news of Chai Lingde's departure was quickly received by Zhao Hai. He didn't need others to tell him, he just needed to see the flames in South Hua Gate City. Since Chai Lingde and the others couldn't take away the large weapons, they could only burn them. Naturally, the flames were a signal to let them know that the enemy had retreated.
After Zhao Hai saw the flames, he also sent Sky Dance Experts to check the sky. They discovered that the defenders of South Hua Gate City had indeed left. However, the city was now in a sea of fire, it was impossible for people to enter.
Zhao Hai wasn't in a hurry. He began to have the army slowly fill up the trenches that were dug by the defenders of South Hua Gate City. At the same time, he also had the army dig a channel for the water that flowed out of the cave. This way, the water would flow to other places and wouldn't block their path. Because of this, Zhao Hai had a lot of things to do. He didn't need to rush over Mount Zhuhua, he just needed to wait.
After several days of filling the trenches and digging the channel, the road ahead was finally clear. Moreover, the fire in South Hua Gate City had also been extinguished. Zhao Hai and the others could finally leave.
In the past few days, Zhao Hai also received some information from Liu Hong. They didn't find a suitable place to ambush, but they did draw a topographic map. At the same time, they also discovered Chai Lingde's goal. They established a defensive line in Huanhe City, which was a troublesome matter.
Huanhe City was on the opposite bank of the Huanhe River. The Huanhe River's flow was very fast, the surface of the river was very wide and the water was very deep. Aside from using boats and bridges, it was impossible for soldiers to wade across the river. Originally, there was a bridge over the Huanhe River, it was an iron lock bridge. However, this iron lock bridge had been torn down by Chai Lingde, making it even more difficult for Zhao Hai and the others to cross.
In addition to tearing down the bridge, Chai Lingde also did something else, and that was to rob grain! That's right, Chai Lingde did rob grain. Moreover, he didn't rob other people's grain, but the grain of the people on the Huanhe River. In other words, Chai Lingde gave the order to rob the grain of his own people. Moreover, he also left them on the Huanhe River. This news made Zhao Hai very surprised, he didn't think that Chai Lingde would do such a thing.
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