Chapter 615: The Decisive Battle! (1/2)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The Annan Protectorate army's water problem was now quite severe, with Dalun Ruozan's surprise attack having proved highly effective. On almost the same day, Wang Chong's army found itself with not enough water to use.

Right now, even a high-ranking general like Luo Ji was finding his skin to be dry and his lips cracking. From this, one could easily imagine the severity of the army's water problem.

At present, the number of cooking fires lit by the Annan Protectorate army was not even one-tenth of what it used to be, and the drinking water for horses was under even stricter limits.

The already-plummeting morale was continuing to drop, and all the soldiers were concerned and fearful. At this very moment, Dalun Ruozan chose to spend every day wasting water to disturb the Annan Protectorate army.

”Although this a simple move, it's rather effective. We really don't have any countermeasure for it!” Old Eagle worriedly said as he peered down the mountain.

The Great Tang's water problem was no longer any secret. Even the lowest shield soldiers knew by now that the army didn't have much water left. Meanwhile, Dalun Ruozan was having people go up to the front every day and brashly use water to bathe and wash horses, provoking all the Tang soldiers.

Already in dire need of water, every person only felt their lips getting drier, their thirst more intense.

This was an instinctual reaction that was completely uncontrollable.

Even though they all knew that this was a battlefield where life and death were at stake, they still could not control their reactions.

Morale was wavering, and from the summit, even Old Eagle could sense the restlessness and unease.

”Kill the horses!” Wang Chong suddenly said.

”What?” Old Eagle asked in consternation, his brain still processing the order.

”Kill a few of the warhorses and use their blood to temporarily relieve the thirst. This is the only practical solution available to us right now,” Wang Chong sternly said.

”But if we don't have warhorses, what will happen to Young Master's plans? In addition, the Annan Protectorate army doesn't have many warhorses in the first place.”

Old Eagle was stunned. He had never expected Wang Chong to propose this kind of plan.

In the previous battles, the cavalry that Wang Chong had left in reserve on the summit had played an extremely important role, perhaps even reversing the course of the battle. The most elite force of Mengshe Zhao, the Dragon Son Corps led by Fengjiayi, had almost pierced straight through the entire Tang army and reached the summit.

In the end, it was Wang Chong's sudden strike of cavalry that had seized upon their weakness and cut the Dragon Son Corps in two, robbing it of its sharpness. A third of the Dragon Son Corps had died in battle, and even Fengjiayi himself had almost died on the mountain.

It was only through the dedicated efforts and protection of his subordinates that he had managed to escape.

Without warhorses, the Great Tang would lose much of its ability to maneuver.

”Just slaughter only a portion of them. Right now, delaying for one day is one extra day, and our competition is about who can last the longest. Pass on my order. Starting from now, daily water consumption will be measured in drops. Unless it is necessary, we can't afford to waste a single drop of water,” Wang Chong said.

For an army of sixty thousand to measure daily water consumption by the drop was simply unthinkable for a regular army. But there was nothing else that could be done. In the past, such an order would definitely have provoked a mass panic.

But after all of Dalun Ruozan's persistent efforts, the army was now fine with this measure.

He could be considered to have made the wrong move.

”Your subordinate understands.”

Old Eagle nodded.

”Besides, Dalun Ruozan's situation won't be much better than ours!”

Standing under the banner, Wang Chong looked at the opposing camp and suddenly smiled.

Dalun Ruozan was expending a great deal of effort, bringing pots, bags, and barrels of water to the base of the mountain. In front of the Annan Protectorate army, he would have his soldiers pour the water away, or use it to take baths or wash horses.

But Wang Chong didn't need to do anything, as Dalun Ruozan's own situation was already bad enough.

When lacking water, one simply had to begin rationing it.

What used to be one bag every day was now five, six, seven, or eight drops of water distributed twice a day. Though hard to endure, this was still bearable. But what would one do if one didn't have cow or sheep meat and couldn't get used to the diet of agricultural societies?

How could those people who used to eat cow and sheep every day eat rice? Eat vegetables? In their eyes, this was nothing but 'grass'!

Other people might have been able to endure through it, but the Tibetans were a fierce, courageous, and pugnacious people. They weren't the kind of people who could hold out.

From his vantage point on the mountain, Wang Chong could see that the front ranks of the army were calm. But a massive ruckus was occurring in the rear of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army. Even from this distance, Wang Chong could still hear the turmoil.

In a single day, Wang Chong had personally seen seventeen or eighteen quarrels break out, all of them between the Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang soldiers. Wang Chong could guess that the Tibetans, lacking food, had immediately gone to request food from Mengshe Zhao.

After all, they were nominally allies, and Ü-Tsang was sending out soldiers for the sake of Mengshe Zhao.

Alas, the two sides spoke different languages, so this resulted in senseless quarrels, even evolving into brawls that served to only deepen misunderstandings.

If this continued, Wang Chong would only need to watch as Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang tore at each other, injuring their own soldiers.