bookrandom Chapter 2030 Prepare in advance
Chapter 2030 Prepare in advance
Li Jing leaned forward slightly, his voice carrying a hint of seduction and a last glimmer of hope: "And we, like the most patient hunters, must cower in our fortresses, conserve our strength, and wait for our opportunity!"
"Wait for the moment when the Chu army is exhausted from its prolonged attack and reveals a weakness! Wait for a possible turning point!"
"Even if there is only the slightest possibility, as long as the opportunity arises, it will be the time for our army to launch a counterattack and turn the tide!"
"Everyone!"
Li Jing concluded in a deep voice, "This battle concerns the fate of the nation, the reputation we will have after our deaths, and the lives of these 250,000 soldiers!"
"I urge you all to set aside distractions, work together with one heart and one mind, each fulfilling your duties and strictly carrying out my orders!"
"Turn this camp into a meat grinder for the Chu army, and wear down their high morale bit by bit! Only in this way will we have a glimmer of hope!"
"The general will obey the order!"
This time, a unified yet tragic response rang out from inside the tent.
Despite the bleak future, Li Jing pointed out a clear direction in the face of adversity—to persevere and wait.
This is better than waiting in despair in silence for destruction.
The generals received their orders, hurriedly left the command tent, and rushed to their respective defense zones.
As night deepened, the Tang army camp, like a colossal beast awakening, began its final and most tragic preparations before the decisive battle—contracting its defenses, digging trenches, and setting traps.
Everyone understood that tomorrow, this place would be plunged into an unprecedented bloodbath.
All they could do was turn themselves into the hardest nail, nailing themselves firmly to this land until the very last moment.
Li Jing's order was like a boulder thrown into a still pond.
Although it failed to ignite cheers and fighting spirit, it did provide a clear direction for the previously bewildered Tang army, a massive war machine.
The desperate direction of war began to rumble forward with a tragic and oppressive rhythm.
The darkness became their last cover and their only means of survival in their race against death.
The first to take action were the satellite camps and forward outposts stationed around the main camp, extending out like tentacles.
The order came without much explanation, only the cold word "immediately".
Most of the Tang soldiers in these camps were troops that had suffered heavy losses in previous battles or were stationed as early warning units.
They packed their belongings silently and quickly, dismantling the weapons they could still carry, their faces bearing a sense of desolation at being abandoned and a fear of their unknown fate.
In the firelight, one could see squads of soldiers silently withdrawing from the positions they had been holding for perhaps months.
What they left behind were empty tents, fences that couldn't be completely dismantled, and piles of redundant supplies that had to be painfully burned in order to lighten their load.
Black smoke rose into the night sky, like a mournful prelude to this great army.
They merged into the main road and retreated towards the brightly lit but also behemoth-like core area of the main camp.
The process was filled with tension; no one made a loud noise, only heavy footsteps, the creaking of wheels, and the officer's low urging.
Li Jing's strategy was clear—abandon all unnecessary details, concentrate all forces, and clench them into the strongest possible fist, even if it meant losing strategic depth and drastically shrinking his room for maneuver.
Meanwhile, outside the main camp walls, a massive project is underway, racing against time.
Tens of thousands of Tang soldiers were herded into the cold wilderness by their officers at all levels, like sheep.
They did not wear armor, and many even wore only thin tunics, because heavy armor would severely restrict their movements.
Illuminated by torches and the faint moonlight, they wielded shovels and picks, frantically digging into the frozen ground beneath their feet.
"Hurry! Dig faster! If you don't want to be trampled into mincemeat by the Chu army's horses tomorrow, then you'd better work harder!"
The captains roared at the top of their lungs, and their whips occasionally struck the backs of soldiers who were a little slower, making a crisp sound.
"Hey-yo! Hey-yo!"
The deep, rhythmic chants echoed in the cold night, carrying a primal, defiant force against fate.
The soil was shoveled up one shovelful at a time, and trenches of varying depths began to spread rapidly across the land like scars.
These trenches were not uniform; some were wide and deep, designed to block heavy battering rams and cavalry formations.
Some were narrow and densely packed, filled with sharpened bamboo skewers and wooden spikes, known as "horse traps," specifically designed to deal with high-speed charging cavalry.
Sweat soaked their clothes, quickly freezing into a thin layer in the cold night.
But no one dared to stop; the instinct for survival and the fear of orders drove them to exhaust every last bit of strength.
The excavated soil was piled up on the side of the trench near the camp, forming a low earthen wall that could serve as a second line of defense for the archers.
Behind the team digging the trenches were engineers and auxiliary soldiers responsible for setting up obstacles.
They transported the camp's inventory and various obstacles that had been hastily constructed overnight to the designated area.
Heavy, spiked chevaux-de-frise were carried by dozens of soldiers shouting as they worked together to the key passage entrance, where they were stacked layer upon layer to form a thorny fence made of steel and wood.
Baskets upon baskets of barbed wire were generously scattered between the trenches and in the open spaces in front of the barricades.
No matter how these spiky little iron lumps were scattered, one of them would always point upwards, gleaming coldly in the firelight, waiting to pierce the hooves of horses and the soles of soldiers' feet.
Some soldiers even carried earthenware jars and carefully smeared the thick, pungent mixture of kerosene inside onto parts of the wooden fences and bundles of firewood that served as obstacles.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of earth, the sour stench of sweat, and the odor of kerosene, all blending together to create a bizarre atmosphere unique to war.
All of this preparation is aimed at one clear goal.
At all costs, delay, weaken, and kill any Chu troops attempting to approach the camp, especially their fearsome cavalry.
The entire Tang army camp was shrouded in an extremely eerie atmosphere.
There was no rousing pre-battle mobilization, no shouts of defiance, only mechanically efficient execution and the fear and despair hidden deep in everyone's eyes.
The soldiers worked silently, the officers urged them on in hoarse voices, and occasionally a supervising general would ride by on horseback, the sound of hooves particularly jarring in the quiet night.
They all knew what they would face tomorrow. The 380,000-strong Chu army, like wolves and tigers, riding the wave of their great victory and wielding absolute superiority, would surely launch a fierce attack like a raging storm.
All that they are doing now—digging trenches, setting up barriers, and retreating—may not change the final outcome, but at least it will allow them to live a little longer and make the enemy bleed a little more.
This is a kind of instinctive resilience that bursts forth in dire circumstances, not for victory, but simply for survival, or for dying with more dignity.