Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1824: Chapter 1689: Victory or Defeat Hinges on This Battle

A foot above the ground, beams and wooden piers were laid, followed by layers of planks, essentially hollow inside, yet supported by numerous well-trimmed sticks.

Additionally, with a large number of wooden nails, the framework of a camp’s foundation gradually emerged, and the remaining task was to fill the vacant space between these elevated planks and the ground with insulation materials.

For this purpose, all the generals skilled in Qi Refining to Gang were summoned to plane shavings; around seven to eight thousand pieces of fine pine and fir wood were forcibly reduced to shavings, soaked in oil, and filled into the gaps between the planks and the ground.

Through nurturing, these oil-soaked pine shavings, combined with a large amount of sawdust, offered formidable insulation. After the efforts of over ten thousand Yuan Army members, after eight days, the Han Army finally completed the construction of their camp, covering an astonishing area of over 2,500 acres.

Incidentally, this camp was built over a foot higher than the Northern Huns’. However, with the heavy snow, any significant difference was indistinguishable, as the snow had successfully hidden everything Sheni Pei and others intended to conceal.

Of course, during the eight days the Han Army was building their camp, the Northern Huns experienced what felt like years of agony, finally unable to bear it on the sixth day, deploying over three thousand tribesmen to raid the Han Army amid the wind and snow.

Unfortunately, starting from the fourth day, Xun Shen had already ordered a relaxed exterior but tight interior defense, enhancing vigilance, canceling all night patrols, and setting up a large number of hidden posts. In the specially constructed wooden camp, once a movable plank was shifted, the hidden posts could just crawl in.

The large quantity of pine and fir shavings provided warmth comparable to winter clothing, allowing the hidden posts to lie inside. The hollow wooden structure made the transmission of footsteps clearer, allowing most hidden posts to ascertain any approaching threats outside by lying there.

Some hidden posts even prepared quilts in advance, lying in groups of three within the shavings, covered with quilts for rest, which was no worse than being inside a tent.

The originally pitiable state of patrolling in winter was forcibly twisted by Xun Shen into listening operations while lying under blankets. Except for strictly ordering that three people could not rest all at once, Xun Shen did not have many other demands.

Naturally, under such circumstances, no group of the Han Army’s soldiers stationed as hidden posts dared to slack off. Likewise, under these circumstances, the Northern Huns’ raid had no chance of success, as they never realized the Han Army’s soldiers were right beneath their feet.

Under these conditions, the night raid on the camp’s sixth day was a complete disaster for the Northern Huns.

Even the hidden posts themselves were unaware that Xun Shen had deployed over three thousand people beneath the camp floors within the shavings as hidden posts. With such a terrifying scale, even without a single patrolling soldier, the Northern Huns stood no chance of concealing their movements.

The raiding Northern Huns still thought the Han Army was overly negligent, granting them a significant opportunity. As the Northern Huns entered and deeply infiltrated the camp, confirming the Han Army truly had no patrolling soldiers at night, they were overjoyed and prepared for a fierce night raid on the Han Army’s core, only to encounter a pincer attack!

Out of the over three thousand Northern Huns, apart from over a thousand deliberately left by Sheni Pei, all the rest were wiped out. The Han Army’s sudden pincer attack left the Northern Huns unable to respond before suffering heavy losses.

Subsequently, under the leadership of a Northern Hun warrior, the Northern Huns charged left and right, narrowly approaching the Han Army’s core supply storage. By setting fires to divert the Han Army’s attention, they successfully broke through the encirclement and escaped.

Of course, this was all nonsense; Sheni Pei merely intended to let those Northern Huns go. To secure a decisive victory, one must consider strategic maneuvers when outnumbered, and this was a favorable opportunity.

After eliminating two thousand Northern Huns with minimal losses, Sheni Pei and Xun Shen no longer focused their efforts on the Northern Huns.

By the completion of the camp’s construction on the eighth day, Xun Shen and others entered the verification phase before implementing their strategies, beginning to meticulously compare details.

”The food supply here is not very secure; do you have any good solutions?” Xun Shen asked Sheni Pei. Although the burnt supplies were not the actual food, Xun Shen was still a bit worried. If something slipped later, food is the foundation of survival.

”What needs to be done with it? If we can dig such troublesome things, just find a spot to dig a pit, lay planks underneath, cover with planks above, and bury everything.” Xuu You casually responded, ”Leave it to me. By the way, didn’t you have a large amount of shavings with no way to handle? Give them to me.”

”First, did you dig through or not?” Xun Shen asked Xuu You. Lately, Xuu You had acquired a large piece of dark green Beautiful Jade, considerably boosting his intelligence, and lately, Xuu You couldn’t resist trying to dig that open-air Jade Mine.

”Got through, the soldiers were more diligent than I thought. Where there’s a heavy reward, there are the brave; the tunnels have been dug through. Thanks to the heavy snow, the noise of digging was mostly absorbed by the snow.” Xuu You nodded.

Earlier, Xuu You estimated he had reached the place, so he had a hole stealthily opened at night to take a look, then sealed it with yellow earth.