Chapter 38: A Lie as Large as the Sky
Maybe it"s because she slept so late last night, but when Gu Nan woke up, the sun was already three poles high.
They should"ve already started eating breakfast.
Gu Nan crawled up from her bed. Her hair was a little messy, but she was always too lazy to take care of it anyways. She didn"t need to put on her armor because she had slept with it on. It"s not because she"s paranoid and vigilant or anything. The armor is just too frustrating to put on and take off, so she was just too lazy to deal with it.
She sat drowsily in her tent for a while longer, stumbling around with her fuzzy, sleepy vision. Her head still had a nagging pain in it. It was already past midnight when she got back, and operating on two or three hours of sleep is just too unnatural for her.
“Nn…” Gu Nan rubbed her eyes and splashed some water on her face from the basin nearby. There"s wasn"t much amenities in this military camp, and simply getting a basin of water was preferential treatment.
Putting on her boots, Gu Nan stepped out, still disregarding the messy hair and black circles around her eyes.
The soldiers were already out and receiving their breakfast. Everyone found an empty spot and squatted down to eat.
As she walked to the place where she normally ate, the atmosphere was already very lively. Quite a few people greeted her along the way with smiles.
After the fierce compet.i.tion between her and Meng Wu, the whole army recognized this valiant girl"s terrifying strength, and most people have a fairly good impression of her.
Among the entire camp, she"s more or less the only woman, so she"s instantly recognizable. But really, Gu Nan didn"t have some lofty position within the army, nothing more than a member of the general"s bodyguard.
Gu Nan went to her usual spot, and after being there for half a month, she"s already familiar with the members.
“Old Huo, it"s still this cake today?”
The squad leader, Old Huo, heard her voice and turned around. Smiling, he greeted, “Miss Gu has arrived.”
He looked down at his food and sighed, “Yes, it"s still dried cake. There is really nothing good to eat in the army.”
As he spoke, he distributed two pieces and handed it to Gu Nan. Smiling regretfully, he said, “It"s must have been hard on Miss Gu to accompany us to eat this stuff.”
“Hey.” Gu Nan feigned some displeasure. “If you can eat it, why can"t I?”
As she spoke, she took a piece of the dried cake and took a determined bite out of it.
But after a few more tough chews, Gu Nan returned to her forlorn state. “But really, this thing does have any taste.”
“Haha, haha.”
The squatting soldiers nearby and even Old Huo laughed.
Old Huo scooped a bowl of rice porridge soup and handed it to her. Then, he shouted out to the soldiers all around.
“Brothers, have more enthusiasm. When we send the Zhao scurrying, we will eat meat and steamed bread!”
“Oh!”
…
Bai Qi sat in the distance, similarly holding the rice porridge soup and dried cake in his hands, accompanying him was the deputy commander, w.a.n.g He, with a slightly disgruntled expression. He would rather sit inside and out of the cold wind, but Bai Qi wouldn"t budge.
Looking at the soldier"s lively cheering, Bai Qi"s face formed a very slight, but genuine, smile. Gu Nan seems to have integrated well. It seems his worries were unfounded.
“Eat meat, hmph, there"s no way the army will have enough meat to feed all of them.” w.a.n.g He scoffed lightly. “What a bunch of ignorant people.”
“Don"t stop them. When we win, they can eat anything they want. I"ll provide it for them.”
“Old man, you sure speak lightly!” w.a.n.g He rebuked loudly. “You"re not the one managing the supplies and budget.”
“At most, once we beat Zhao back, I can have them slaughter some of the captured horses.” Bai Qi said, unbothered.
“Slaughter the horses!? Do you know how much gold those horses are worth?”
“It"s not a big deal. We can report it as being killed in battle. The King won"t know.”
“Old man!”
“Really, I told you this much, you cannot make a complaint now.”
The three thousand Qin cavalry had arrived in front of the Zhao encampment.
There was still no movement from within.
“Reporting.” A soldier walked into Zhao Kuo"s tent and saluted. “The Qin force has come in front of the camp.”
Zhao Kuo nodded, not surprised in the slightest. “How many people have come?”
“More than three thousand.”
Really, it"s not too far off. They should have already probed our situation and want to stir up a storm.
The last bit of his luck seemed to be shattered.
He had hoped that perhaps Qin could take the initiative to attack the next few days. But now, it seems that even that path has been sundered, leaving only the option for a b.l.o.o.d.y a.s.sault.
“Ignore them.” Zhao Kuo"s voice was calm. In his hand, he held a bamboo slip in his hand.
“General, their taunts are ferocious, the soldiers want to storm out and fight them since they"re only three thousand strong.” The soldier"s face was quite grim, even he had the urge to slaughter them.
“Be patient, let them taunt if they wish.” Zhao Kuo said with a faint voice.
The soldier reluctantly nodded. “Yes.”
As the soldier left, Zhao Kuo finally released his grip on the bamboo slip. Looking down at it, it was actually blank.
He simply wasn"t in the mood to read. Focusing on devising a plan is the most imperative task to accomplish.
He must take the initiative to attack due to the decree. But rounding up all of the factors and odds, it"s just too unlikely to beat the six hundred thousand plus Qin army. But perhaps, at least the Zhao army shouldn"t collapse at the initial clash.
Under Qin"s curses, the Zhao army should have a bit more vigor.
When angry, there will always be more momentum than before.
In a battle of hundreds of thousands of people, momentum can be the factor that decides it all. Of course, just anger is not enough, there needs to be hope and confidence.
Zhao Kuo shut his eyes and, after a brief pause, opened it again. Picking up his brush, he began to write on the empty bamboo slip.
A fake decree. A fake decree from the King of Zhao.
Three hundred thousand reinforcements and one hundred thousand units of grain and gra.s.s will be sent to Changping.
He wants to spread this lie, a monstrous lie, around the Zhao camp.
But with this lie, he can contend with the Qin army.