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墨書 Inktalez
According to the initial agreement, Wang Jian needed to lead the Charioteer Camp to break through the encirclement and notify the trapped Qin Army. Concerned that it might be a trap, he refrained from acting rashly and instead discussed with Meng Wu, deciding to infiltrate Great King Village first to confirm the situation.
In fact, this task could have easily been assigned to his subordinates, but Wang Jian chose to personally take two Veterans with him. If it turned out to be a staged act, they could slip away without participating in the performance. However, if they confirmed the true identity of the surrounded Qin Army, they would proceed according to their original plan. If the forces for breaking through were insufficient, Wang Jian would signal his Charioteer Camp to come in for support.
Compared to other strategies, this plan seemed flawless. It ensured the rescue of their brothers trapped by the Zhao Army while minimizing exposure if any issues arose.
This strategy was proposed by Wang Jian, and Meng Wu was only concerned with saving people; any conditions based on that premise were acceptable. After confirming the time and signals once more, they took advantage of the night to traverse mountains and reach the outskirts of Great King Village.
Indeed, this place was a battlefield!
Great King Village was ablaze, with flickering dark red flames illuminating the sky like flowing red liquid. Due to the onset of night, the smoke and fire from the Zhao Army had all retreated. They were currently preparing meals, getting ready to eat and rest afterward.
As seasoned veterans on the battlefield, both Wang Jian and Meng Wu could discern whether their opponents were genuinely fighting or merely pretending. Analyzing the condition of the Zhao Army's Wounded, they concluded that this was no act! There was no reason for comrades to harm each other! Moreover, many Soldiers bore injuries that clearly resulted from desperate struggles; if they were merely sparring, their wounds wouldn't be so severe.
Meng Wu turned to Wang Jian and whispered, "It should be our people; we can confirm it with about seventy or eighty percent certainty."
Since they had already discussed their action plan, even a fifty percent certainty warranted entry. Wang Jian merely nodded noncommittally and suggested that it would be prudent to wait for reconnaissance results before drawing any conclusions.
All that remained was waiting for the exhausted Zhao Army to fall asleep before taking action. For safety's sake, Wang Jian and his two subordinates donned Zhao Army uniforms. They had already prepared relevant passes for emergencies. Now that they needed to infiltrate secretly, these preparations came in handy.
Time seemed to drag painfully during their wait; what felt like just an hour seemed more like a year. As Wang Jian prepared for action, he simply closed his eyes and lay down in the woods feigning sleep. He was dozing off when he heard Meng Wu's footsteps approaching.
Ah! It seems it's almost time to depart!
Wang Jian turned over and sat up, stretching lazily. Ever since he took on the task of the Communication Camp, he had clearly felt a bit overwhelmed. The constant action day and night left him unable to rest properly.
Meng Wu reached out to pull Wang Jian up and then called over the two veterans, Sima Kong and Wang Yi. He instructed them to ensure General Wang's safety and warned them not to venture into Great King Village if they sensed anything amiss. This mission was to rescue people, not to walk into a trap.
In fact, even without Meng Wu's reminder, Sima Kong and Wang Yi were well aware of the situation. Their unit had already penetrated deep behind enemy lines, and if they were exposed, they would immediately face pursuit and interception from the Zhao Army's main forces. The most terrifying aspect was that once surrounded by the Zhao Army, it would be a dead end. Not only would there be no Qin Army coming to their aid, but even the thought of survival would be cast aside.
The two men repeatedly assured him they understood, which also served to reassure the General.
Sima Kong was also a general of the Qin State but had been promoted later than others due to unavoidable circumstances. Many of his peers held ranks of four or five levels above him, while he was still just a minor second-level officer.
Wang Yi was a typical veteran who had served for over a decade but had only just been promoted to second-level officer. According to him, he had originally planned to retire as a first-level officer.
Regardless, both were standard veterans. The military was like iron, but the soldiers were like flowing water; here, "flowing" referred more to those who had died in battle or were severely injured and could no longer serve in the military. Having spent over ten years in the military meant that their survival was not solely due to luck.
This also allowed them to have more brothers than ordinary people. It wouldn't be accurate to say they knew everyone since this deployment of the Qin Army in Shangdang was formed by drawing troops from various units.
Wang Jian brought veterans with him primarily for their honed instincts on the battlefield. The situation in war is inherently complex, and a moment's carelessness can cost lives. Relying solely on military uniforms to identify one's own troops usually leads to a short life.
The Zhao Army was one of the first among the feudal states to implement Barbarian Clothing and Cavalry Archery, which influenced all cavalry units across the feudal states to wear similar attire. Additionally, although each country's army served its own nation, they were essentially all part of Zhou Tianzi's forces. The decorations of each army were nearly identical; differentiation relied mainly on their flags and insignias. Another distinguishing factor was their weaponry, which also showed little variation.
The Qin State made the most significant changes among them, including longer General's Swords than usual and uniquely designed Crossbows. In contrast, individual soldiers in other feudal states primarily used bows and arrows for rapid-fire capabilities.
Although the Zhao Army also possessed their own Crossbows, these were only issued for use by the Charioteer Camp. Their Seventeenth Infantry Battalion was uniformly equipped with bows and arrows, while the Qin Army's Seventeenth Infantry Battalion continued to be equipped with Qin State Crossbows. This led to a clear disadvantage for the Zhao Army in terms of weapon range during joint operations against the Qin Army's infantry and cavalry.
The obvious difference in weapons led to the abandonment of their own arms. Since they needed to disguise themselves as Zhao Soldiers to infiltrate Zhao Camp and enter Great King Village, carrying Qin State Longswords and Qin State Crossbows was naturally out of the question.
Wang Jian tidied his hair and then wrapped a cloth around his head. He took the Bronze Dagger handed to him by Meng Wu and hung it at his waist, while slinging the bow and arrows on his back. This time, the military had Zhao State Crossbows, but they chose not to carry them due to their low shooting accuracy.
If they needed to use ranged weapons, a bow and arrow would certainly be more effective. Even if the range was short, at least they could ensure sufficient shooting accuracy. Using a Zhao Crossbow would be a joke if they couldn't hit a target all day!
This was just a joke, not meant to be taken seriously. After all, Zhao Crossbows were widely used by the Zhao Army and were not as inadequate as mentioned above. However, if someone had become accustomed to using good weapons, switching to something inferior would make it difficult for them to perform!
The three of them tidied themselves up neatly and then mounted their horses to pay their respects to General Meng. Their fate now depended on luck! If fortune smiled upon them, they might meet again; if not, this could be their last farewell.
It was only at the moment of true parting that one realized all the words they had prepared in advance could not be spoken. Meng Wu clasped his fists and bowed to the three Scouts, reminding them to be cautious. If they sensed anything amiss, they must not take risks!
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