For the soldiers.
The first battle is extremely important; it concerns whether the soldiers’ morale is sufficient and whether it is high enough. It is more inspiring than all the battles.
In the first battle, a victory was won, and the soldiers cheered in unison.
Celebrating this relatively smooth initial battle.
Yang He was very pleased.
But he didn’t dare underestimate the enemy, and certainly didn’t dare to throw a banquet for celebration.
With a stern face, he ordered everyone not to drink and to adhere to their duties diligently.
The soldiers, who were in high spirits, were greatly dampened by such a cold splash of water.
But they didn’t dare say anything, and everyone went about their business quietly.
The next day.
Western Xia indeed launched another assault.
This time, however, their attack.
Western Xia cleverly chose a strategic point thirty miles from the city along the river.
The terrain of Yinshan City is perilous, easy to defend but difficult to attack, a tough bone to crack.
With just a few thousand troops, Hai Geli can hold back ten thousand elite soldiers of the Great Chu Dynasty, demonstrating how easily defendable and hard to attack it is.
This move by Hai Xiangjin was indeed to avoid the strong and strike the weak.
However...
Yang He has been the Minister of War for over twenty years, experienced and thorough in his thinking; his abilities are not empty talk.
He had anticipated that Hai Xiangjin would employ such a tactic.
So, he allocated as much as thirty percent of the forces to guard the strategic point along the river.
Now...it indeed proved highly useful.
The two armies clashed fiercely, with both commanders sitting firmly in the rear to oversee the battle.
On the front lines, Yang Chenyi and Deputy General Cui led the troops to fight.
In Yinshan City, Xia Tingfeng and Deputy General Qin defended, coordinating attack and defense.
This battle lasted for a full three days and nights.
It finally ended when Yang Chenyi led a thousand elite soldiers through a small path to ambush the enemy’s supplies unit.
Without supplies, the enemy commanders fought on empty stomachs, soon becoming dizzy and weak, and fled hastily.
In the second battle, the Great Chu also won!
With victories in both the first and second battles, the soldiers’ morale surged, and the entire army was thrilled.
That night, after the troops returned.
Torches burned brightly in front of the camp, and soldiers chatted and bragged with each other.
"They say Western Xia is brave and good at war, but I don’t see them as anything special!"
"Exactly! They talk about being one against ten, and scared us so much we couldn’t sleep for days!"
"Isn’t that right? I had pent-up energy that I didn’t even get to use, and it’s over already? They have just this much skill?!"
"Hahaha, it’s really laughable!"
The soldiers laughed uproariously, and some came forward to question.
"You guys just know how to brag. If it weren’t for Young General Yang leading the troops to intercept their supplies, would we have won so quickly? You talk as if it’s your achievement! Are you not ashamed?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, several soldiers nearby quickly laughed and gathered around.
"You brat, we never said Young General Yang’s credit was ours! Who are you to lecture us here?!"
"Exactly! Without us, who drove away those two to three thousand Western Xia soldiers?"
"Isn’t that so?!"
"General Yang has credit, and so do we!"
Everyone laughed and got into a playful ruckus.
Yinshan City was also filled with joy, with soldiers teasing and jeering, essentially mocking the soldiers of Western Xia all around.
Fortunately, Great General Yang He remained collected.
He governed the army with strict discipline, impartial and incorruptible. The military regulations were as firm as steel, allowing no one to challenge them.
Joking is allowed, but anyone daring to cause trouble with alcohol would be dealt with by military law immediately.
The soldiers were well aware of the high standards of discipline enforced by the Great General.
Apart from a few light-hearted banter exchanges, they all stayed diligently at their duties.
Patrolling as needed, keeping watch as required, no one dared to slack off even a little.
...
The Great Chu Dynasty won the first battle!
The Great Chu Dynasty won the second battle!
One military report after another was urgently sent to the Capital City, appearing unobstructed on Zhao Junyao’s desk.
After reading, Zhao Junyao felt somewhat at ease.
Pondering over the matter, he handed the memorial to Li Shengan.
"Go! Have the news spread!"
Li Shengan did not hesitate.
"Yes!"
He saluted and turned to leave.
Zhao Junyao stood up, positioned himself in front of the towering bookshelf in the Imperial Study Room, and fell into deep contemplation.
Sure enough, he is not the same as before.
In the past, he was ambitious and high-spirited, eager to gather the Great Chu Dynasty’s million elite soldiers and personally lead an expedition to sweep the world, unifying the lands as the overlord.
Now, he has armies exceeding a million spread across the land and seas, but he has begun to fear war.
On careful thought, it is not war itself that he fears, but the series of vicious cyclical aftereffects brought by warfare.
The most direct harm of war is to the people.
People are displaced, good citizens become vagrants, the number of disaster victims increases sharply, the local economy deteriorates dramatically, villages are deserted, and land remains uncultivated.